Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-09-10
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
(Original.l
INHUMANITY.

lectures on government, begin with the dec
laration that man is social creature. They
assert, and the assertion is not questioned,
that each individual human being is linked
to every other human being by bond which
nothing but death can sever. Admitting
that man is a social creature, it must be adj
mitted at the same time that in man there
is a vast amount of inhumanity. 1t is this
inhuman element which is in mans fallen
nature, that more than anything else rem
ders the life of all men so miserable. 1t IS
the outgrowth of a corrupt and unsanctltied
nature. Well has modern poet said:
"Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands MOURN
The development of the social element of
mans nature is necessary to the securing Of
the greatest good of each individual men,
ber of the human family, and consequently,
to the securing of the greatest good OF the
whole human family. Unfortunately the
inhuman, or to call things by their proper
name, the diabolical clement which is in
our nature, when not eradicated or subdued
by grace, crowds out all that is good in hu-
man nature and allies man to tiends and
devils incarnate. This is strong language,
but it is not as strong as that of Jesus Christ.
eye" said he to his own kindred according
to the flesh, "are of your father, the devil,
and the lusts of your father ye will do"
Evidently our Saviour did not mean to say
that the devil was the maker of those whom
he addressed, but he did mean that all men,
by nature, have the disposition of the devil.
It is common to speak of man, as lord of the
lower world. Such he certainly was when
he came from the hands of his maker, but a
great change has taken place. Without
grace he has no pre-eminence over the most
insignificant worm. There is in his nature
an amount of cruelty which is found in none
of the irrational animals. Wolves prey
upon other animals, but never upon each
other.
"He came unto his own and his own re-
ceived him not" is the record of the recep-
ton which the Lord of glory received of the
Jews. How sad He who left his seat at
the right hand of the majesty on high is
psaimist, in vision, saw this and said, 81 am
become stranger unto my brethren, and an
alien unto my mothers children"
Examples of inhumanity are to be found
in every land, and they are so numerous that
none need be cited to prove its existence.
The Jews of old "envied Noses" the leader
whom God had chosen to bring them out of
a cruel bondage, and establish them in the
promised land of their fathers. In varie-
ty of ways, too barbarous to be mentioned,
they prosecuted and put to death the proph-
cts whom God sent to instruct them; and
finally they crucifed, between two thieves,
the Lord of glory. Socrates, the Wisest and
best of the heathen, was put to death because
he was wise and better than the multitude.
In the Capitol of our country there is me-
mortal door to Columbus. The discoverer of
the western continent is seen with their
small ships crossing, for the first time, the
Atlantic; below he is seen with large
number of ships and multitude OF follow
ers At the foot is the closing scene OF the
old mans days. Bent over with the burden
of wears. his hands are manacled and he is
loaded with a great chain. The bronze
door repeats the history of the greatest dis
coverer the world ever saw, or, in all proba-
bility, ever will see. He who found home
for the poor, afflicted and prosecuted OF all
lands died without a home and it is not
certain where his bones rest.
The principle of inhumanity is so strong
in the human heart that it requires con-
slant effort to keep it down. 1t manitests
itself in ten thousand ways. One of the
most common is oppression. This has dl-
rect tendency to bring fat lands to barren
ness. Of this many examples might be
cited. Oppression, experienced from the
cradle to the grave, prompted one OF the
greatest poets to say:
''If I'm designed yon lordling's slave
By Natures law designed
Why was an independent wish
Fer planted in my mind?
IF not, why am 1 subject to
His cruelty or scorn?
Or why has man the will ndpower
To make his fellow mourn?"
Whoever desires to get life-picture OF
inhumanity as it exhibits itself in oppres-
sion let him read over the historical and
prophetical parts of the Bible. Amos des..
cribes the rulers and mighty men of Israel
as 'selling the righteous for silver and the
poor for pair of Shoes" Again they are
said to "buy the poor for silver, and the
needy for a pair of Shoes" OppressorS are
called ''Kings of Bashan." They were in
iauitous, cruel and rapacious, and are des-
crbed as crushing the poor and needy.
Power is good thing, and so is wealth,
but they are good things which few can
possess without abusing. 1t would be diff
cult to find, in the whole range OF history,
single individual, who was possessed of
either great power or greatwealth, who was
not also an inhuman oppressor. 1t is mar
velous how inhumanly cruel those become
who are, in the mysterious providence of
God. raised from the humble walks of life
to sit among princes. They tread upon the
class from which they were taken and scorn
the poor. Inhumanity is a great sin. 1t is
a sin which God positively declares he will
punish. ''This saith the Lord for three
transgressions of Moab and for four, viii!
not turn away the punishment thereof"
The transgressions of Moab were very nu-
merous. This is expressed by the clause
"for three transgressions and for FOUR" but
the particular one which was distinctly be-
fore the eyes of God WAS inhumanity. tits
thus stated "Because he burned the bones
of the King of Edom unto lime" This act
of inhumanity God declared he would pun
ish. No amount of repentance on the part
of those who did this foul act could induce
him to turn away from his purpose to pun
ish them. Nearly the same language IS
used with regard to the children Of Israel.
They. too, had sinned most heinously, but
the sin for which God says he will punish
them is inhumanity. The reason that God
gives why he would punish them is thus
Stated "Because they sold the righteous
for silver and the poor for a pair OF shoes;
they pant after the dust of the earth on the
head of the poor, and turn aside the way OF
the meek" By "the dust of the earth on
the head of the poor" is meant the distress
ed condition of the poor, yet notWithstand-
ing this, these monsters of iniquity pant
after that is swallow up the poor. For the
poor, especially the righteous poor, God has
a tender regard. "Their prayers enter into
the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth." "Behold
the hire of the laborers who have reaped
down your fields, which. is kept back by I
fraud, crieth and the cries of them which
L,,,o .oo,od oro ontorod into tho ears of the