The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-08-11
DIVINE WORSHIP AT ACTON.
Over Five Thousand People Attend Sun
days Services at the Camp.
The Sermons by Revs. Tincher. Martin and
TeYis Hon. Will Cumbacks Lecture
on "0uF Neighbors.
SATURDAY AT ACTON.


An Entertaining Lecture by Hon. VIII Cum
hack ON ssOur Neighbors."
After the usual devotional exercises at the
Acton camp meeting, Saturday morning, ser
mon was delivered by Prof J. II. Martin, super
intendent of the public schools at Madison, Cd
''The Hidden Treasure All men desire happi-
ness, he said, but they seek it in different ways.
Some try to attain it in the accumulation of
wealth, and some in the worldly amusements.
The true source of happiness, however, is hidden
in the word of God The most interesting feature
Of the day was the lecture delivered in the even
ing, by Hon. VIII Cumback on "Our Neigh
bors.1 When man is alive, according to
Biology, is" Mr.. Cumback said, when he is in
correspondence with his environment He
very much doubted if the cultivated biologist
gets any more comfort out of his existence than
we do out of ours. Social life, as well as physi-
cal life requires correspondence with environ
ment In the former it is our neighbors, In
the latter it is the atmosphere The question,
however both in the scientific and social phases, is
wholly one of wind-too much wind. A man
does not become a philosopher by clothing the
common ideas of every day life IN
the large and unused words of the language;
vet we come to think men who are doing this
very thing something more than mortal because
But Ethey are only mortal after all.
They go to protest ia bank, quarrel with
the gas company and lose the buttons off their
shirts like the rest Of us. Science comes daily
with some new truth by the light of which some
new law is revealed to guide men upward Re
lgion stirs the divinity within him, ard lifts him
above the material into the purer realm of the
spiritual Given each their fair share OF credit,
they would accomplish much less if they were
not REINFORCED by the social life. The world is
dark to the man who shuts out all the social
light about him and wanders through the may
cells of his soul with the dim lighted candle of
his own selfish life. Human igenuity has
never yet invented a felon's dungeon so dark,
occupant as the man who is a
voluntary prisoner In the narrow cell of self
The fz., influence OF social life is better
seen and felt in the towns than in the cities.
The narrow circles in which the people IN the
cities move keeps them intolerant; so that the
best thought and largest specimens of men gen
orally come from towns and the country You
can trust your neighbors. No better evidence
can be had of having lived good life than the
hearty commentator of those who know us
best and longest. There is absolutely no telling
how many mean things we would do it we had
no neighbors to watch u.s. The people who are
constantly moving out of one neighborhood into
another never reform. The bright people are
those who have an active interest IN the welfare
and happiness Of all The reason why some peo-
pie are so dull is because they only invest in a
few billiards, like themselves, and eonse
quently become more and more stupid. Your
neighbors win sit in judgment not only
on your politics and religion but on your habits;
on your food and your liquids, ON your dress
and address on the kind of folks that come to
see you and the sort of people you go to see; on
your prosperity and adversely. You must have
the prejudice Of this court In your favor. If
you have been loaHing out a large amount of
charity when you had them where charity was
most needed, they will come and pay it back
with interest; but it seems that there is always
fearful shortage Of charity in all neighborhoods.
No matter how our successes and our defeats
come to be known to eur neighbors, the very
we would be willing to admit Society exists
for the benefit Of its members, and not its mem
bers for the benefit of society. We and our
neighbors make that society what it Is Ma
iionai life and strength yilization--is but the
aggregations Of neighborhoods.