Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-01-29
For the Sunday Appeal -..-.
Enff.H oa ~ oh UTaraav

You will not be a Sunday-school teacher,
and why? Surely you are believer in the
principles of revealed religion? Surely you
do not mind the labor? Sunday is such a
dull, empty day, the work is really a relief
to me. How should / briefly answer these
simple interrogatories? No, 1 did not OBJ
ject to the labor. Yes, did believe in the
principles of revealed religion. And then,
why will L not take Sunday-school class?
The question remains to be met. / am a
teacher by profession; l delve at il five days
of the week-sometimes hewing out the
principles of the English language, digging
up the roots, pruning the branches; some
times Juggling at the knots OF Euclid; some
times resolving into its elements the already
abridged form of science-but / teach moth
ing that life, with its rush and roar, will
silence that my own life has silenced and
rejected; plant nothing that the strong sun
of developed reason will wither up with his
touch because it has no root. The utter
faith of those innocent eyes turned search
iugly to mine repels the falsehood that rises to
my lips. How could / meet those eyes in
after years, and read in their quiet scorn the
accusation: "She taught me this, and it was
false and worthless; hours OF suffering |
spent bent over my little desk grating it into
my stubborn memory; none of the after
works OF life have seemed so hard as those
first hours OF hard study. Truths gained
then will burn like treasured gems lhro' all
nv life, but to have studied, to have suffered
for naught. TO gain thro' anguish what is
false. And she kne1 that it was false" Too
wildly / remember the early trial OF learn
ing what God created on each separate and
several day OF the six marvellous days of
creation. And still the Sunday school primer
grinds it out to the suffering child, while the
teacher smiles at the holy faith of child
hood. That faith awes, frightens me. Woe
to the sophistries that sully its suow. Woe
to revealed religion which will teach to the
child what the coming years will falsify.
How beautiful and holy are the parallels OF
the old Bible; with what deep, spiritual
meaning the simple pictures are craven upon
the ages. How dare We profanely hawk
them into the exchange of realism, dissect,
ticket, label them. Make nursery rhymes OF
its awful imagery, infants food OF its cloud
made mamma To child OF seven, life's
dreadful. Nature must not be roughly
aroused, the great world and its sad old his
tory must be advanced upon slowly, eau.
tiously. Yet to this child we relate the po-
eticaI myth of the fall of man. To this
child we tell the story OF Hagar. Don Juan
is too black, The Merry Wires Of Windsor too
dirty for our girls of sixteen, yet the child
of seven is taught the story of Abraham's
infdelity. She must not eucher her little
sister out OF her chewing gum, yet she is
given a picture prize when she learns the
history OF Jacobs sharp practice in the
birthright of the fathers blessing. Why
spread these things before our children's
eyes? Why pretend to explain what is in
explainable TO a child? Why give them
tropes and metaphors that fill their little
lives with difficulties, things that they cam
not grasp, save sacrilegiously, things that
awaken wonder and cannot satisfy
"There is a temple rot built with hands,
pure and holy chapel in the magic palace of
thought. To each of US is given this private
sanctuary. There Gods own footsteps
CLEAN, there the wings of the angels hover,
Justice, of mercy, OF love. Let the windows
still be yelled from the mockiRg, doubling
world; let the dim, religious light OF revela-
ton still teach us our kinship to the uncre-
ated; still image for us the imperishable, i'm
mortal, but on the walls of that crystal
chapel hang no dusty cobwebs where the
housefy may be caught; where the earth
worm may be born, but where Gods message
cannot come. Tack up signs of barter, tell
ribald tales of mans infirmity, feed the natu-
raj body with all epicurean conceits,
but leave the spiritual body TO the molding
hands of the Divine Creator. Feed it not
with the strong Bible food boiled down to
insipidity; rayish it not of its white, wonder
ing innocence. Lay not YOUR soiled fingers
upon the crystal walls. Leave to their ma
ture the religion. To yon are given their
bodies and their minds and their hearts. Do
well your part by these and leave to the
great God who made it the unseen, uncircum-
scribed, immortal spirit. That is why do
not teach In the Sunday schools, lest | judge
myseH worthy OF the wrath Of that Master
who said of those who should scandalize one
OF his little ones. Better that a stone were
tied about his neck and that he were cast
into the sea- Lucfs r. JEFFERIEs.