The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-06-29


: ways lived en- his own homestead
in England. 1t was, as be tells US,
while he sat musing amid the
ruins Of Rome, covered with the
evening shades. Of an Italian au-
tumn, and listening to the Friars
as they cbauted their vespers in
the temple Of Jupiter that be con-
ceived the purpose of his immor
tai work. And: indued with the
spirit of the inspiring scenes be-
fore him he has quickened into
life 'the Forum and the Triumphal
arch, and made them tell their
thrilling stories of the greatness
of the nations of antiquity Sur
rounded by the ruins Of one Of
the greatest cities Of the world
and listening to the spirit wall
and dying murmurs of one of the
proudest empires on the globe, he
caught the inspiration of the
scene and under it's influence pro-
duced living monument to his
memory. .
The magnificent scenery of 1t,
ally and Greece, that ,balmy at
nosphere and those clear, blue
skies, were as favorable to the
cultivation of the art Of poetry as
the period in which the great
poets lived and the patronage
they received. Z. - ~sz-.,=
IfLuther had not gone to Rome
and witnessed, the denominations
ofthe~ man of SIM in all their
dreadful deformity,Sh he might have
lived and died in the shackles Of
Romisb superstition. If Wash
ingtonszbad.s resided in England
instead Of America, be would, per-
haps, never have merited the
proud title Of Father of his coun.
try And if you, my young
friends, had never bad a Bible,
and had not been born in this
gospel land and trained in yon-
der college, you, perhaps, would
never have thought Of making an
effort TO do all in your power TO
benefit yourselves and others.
And in your efforts you have
the advantage over many who
have merited tho appreciation
and praise Of a generous world :;
for you have been taught TO in-
terpreL all history III the light OF
Divine Revelation, and in this
Jou have the power TO rise to the
full dignity of our noble manhood.
For it is, after all, to the Bible
that we must 60 for all that we
hold dear, and all that constitutes
true selfdenial and genuine phil
an:hropy. To it the nations, an
cient and modern, are indebted
for whatever advancement and
advantages they have enjoyed.
The Christianity of the Bible is
intimately interwoyen with all
true civilization, all real progress,
and all useful and philanthrophic
institutions. 1T is true that
Greece, Rome, Egypt and Assyria
have shed their light upon the
world. 1t is true that the arts
and sciences attained considerable
perfection there. They are the
acknowledged glory of the an
cient world and their history is
instinct with life which enkindles
in US an enthusiasm akin to that
inspired by Christianity itself. But
how true, after all, is the fact that
it is Christianity, perverted and
crippled though it be, that gilds
all the hill-tops as we look over
the fields of their5science, lite-a
ture and art.
Take, if you please, even the
Angustsn age of Rome, and the
palmiest days of Athenian pros
, perity, and you 'will find theil
philosophy far inferior to that O.
Bacon, Reid and Hamilton, anc
> the great masters of England anf
! Germany, and their poetry far in
ferior that of Milton, Tenpyson
Longfellow andBickersteth. 'Theil
history, instead of being philoso
ply teaching by example, is sim
ply a narration of events 1t il
true that Homer and Virgil
2 Demosthenes and Cicero 'ar'
! names that will be revered ant
] loved As long as poetry is read O.
oratory admired We would no
r detract one iota from the well
S deserved reputation those ancien
3 worthless have acquired ; but it i
to Christia njtv ar last that W