The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1882-04-27
By Request
Probability of a Future. Life.
Abstract from "a Lecture Delivered
by a. F. FrencFl, ut UniOH Park
Hiatt, Sunday Evening, March
18th, 1889.


grow old. Mankind cling to them
with an all absorbing interest from
generation to generation, and from age
to age. Such questions address us as
an ever present consciousness in the
human race. They meet us at every
step in life. We cannot drive them
from us in the hours of solitude and
they often make us feel alone among
the multitude. Two questions break
from nearly all lips and rise spontane-
GUS from every heart, Whence and Whitt-
er? We long to know more of life's
mighty past, and also to part the clouds
that veil the future. We strain our
eyes to look behind cradle, and also
TO look beyond a coffin and 81 grave.
Every thoughtful mind must be deeply
impressed with the limitation of our
knowledge. We can only coast along
the shore of these two seas and every
shell or pebble we may gather is to
such minds a sacred memento, thrown
up by the eternal energy from the
mysterious labyrinths of being. l have
sometimes asked myself shall we ever
navigate this ocean of the past ? Can
we ever map the empire of the future ?
When we have spent u life time press
ing back these clouds, will not the
yelled Sphinx still stand before us and
mock us with her riddle? There is a
legend of an old monk who spent his
life in lamentati0n. He mourned that
he must die, and that he did not know
when the event would occur, nor what
his destiny would be in the great here
after. Surely the old monk only ut
tered the plaintive cry of the human
heart in every age.
/ desire this evening to discuss the
probability of a future life. | wish to
call your attention to o few OF the
many intimations nature has given us
of our destiny hereafter. When I
speak of probability mean something
more than a mere possibility. The
evidence L wish to offer is negative
evidence, which, while it may not
thoroughly establish future conscious
existence for man, yet it points very
clearly in that direction. 1t is not i'll
any sense new evidence, but it is evil
dence which is rapidly accommodating 6
in the minds of such readers as reject
the agnostic tendencies of the age.
Before entering upon the subject, let
us ask, what means this wonderful
universe of which we form q part
Has nature any definite end or aim
Is there infinite wisdom in the order
and phenomena of this universe ? or
is the mighty energy which girds us
on every side the result of blind chance
and unthinking force? If we can sat
isfy ourselves there is design in the
order and evolution of the universe,
we may as rational beings learn to read
the thought of God after him, and such
lessons will be to us q sure ana perfect
word of prophecy.
Itoccurs to me that upon every side
of US there is evidence of design. We
may look in any direction we please
and we are confronted by intelligent
force or power. We may not be able
to comprehend its magnitude. but we
can see in the smallest part of this
power the finger marks of divine in
| telIigence. The atheist trusts this in
telligence. He has absolute faith in
the orderly processes of nature. What
is order but persistency in a given form
or method, and whence comes such
| persistency? Look at the young world
| when it leaps from the burning heal
! of the sun. A law of motion wraps il
in its eternal arms and carries it for
ward. 1t proceeds in definite order
of career. Every move it makes upon
the mighty chess board ofspace seems
predetermined for it. An unseen hanC
sets all potent energies at work within
it. The hot flames begin to cool and 8
crust forms upon the surface. TheI
the stately tread of the earthquakes
break up this granite floor, and yolca
nos sport their blazing fireworks in the
! lsky-Out of this gaseous ocean come
land and sea. Out of land and SCI
comes life. Out of one place of life
seems to spring another still higher
| q a. wv hnh fNIIV
| tonight. What has done all this? Dc
you answer me-force Then | ask
20 is this force intelligent r OF? [
you say that it is not, then whence
comes the intelligence it evolves
Does order spring from chaos and life
from dead unconscious matter wherein
no life exists?
/ A future conscious life seems prOba
BILE for man in the manifest design o
ais existence. No matter from Wha
point of observation we look, man j:
the central figure of all life. There i:
no fact more thoroughly established
than that man is the micrOcOsm of tht
world. His existence is the compile
ton of q design, made manifest in tht
struggling forces of universal nature
| When the young world leaped from
the sun it started on the road to man
hood and womanhood. It's song as il
fioated on the blue breast of space wa'
ID prelude to the coming king of th'
world. Every pause of life which ap
peared was a prophesy of life still
higher, and each paved the way an,
smoothed the path for man. Whel
man came he came as the king of th'
world. Some may inquire, after man
what? But | think that our scientist
are fast settling the question, that afte
man We can look no further. He Car
ries in his organism the rudiments o
lost physical powers. There are dor
manG muscles which were active in tn
brute. He appears as an animal beinI
just on the ebbing tide of life. No
can we claim after the present man
another race of men who shall star
life with all our wisdom and reacl
thereby some ideal humanity on eartl
about which our modern theorists tall
so much. 1t is beautiful to talk abou
this ideal humanity Oh earth. / hav
listened with pleasure to many of thes
fanciful dreams, but the vision fall
and the sleeper awakens on his pilloI
of stone.n The ideal city and repuhli
and the ideal humanity are beautifu
ideals, but no more Every child bor
into this world must walk the ston
path of experience, and nature has Civ
ell us no intimation children Will b
born sages in the near future. Man
, the fruit of the tree of life. Shall h
live only to draw sigh or heave
. smile at life's open gate and then g
out in darkness? What infinite foil
for law of progress to toll throug
, the ages to produce conscious thinkin
man, and then end his life with thi
, brief earthly experience. 1t seems
me the design in nature is abrupt
terminated if we concede to man Ii
other future existence.
Moreover, I think a future life
made probable in the adaptation {
means to ends everywhere manifested
Looking again at man from this phys
J ical standpoint, we are impressed wit
the wonderful adaptation between hir
and the universe. His physical natur
is in perfect accord with his environ
ments. Nature seems to have antic
pated his necessities and to have mad
ample provision therefor. To main
tain the constant waste in his system
food is necessary. Our scientists teI
us hunger and love are two force
which have impelled the world. Hun