Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-05-16
take this world, for which you can give 70

take this world, for which you can give n'
possible insurance.
Astronomers have swept their telescope
through the sky, and have found out ina
there have been thirteen worlds, in the las
two centuries, that have disappeared. A
first they look just like other worlds. Thel
they got deeply red-they were on flre
Then they got ashen, showing they wer'
burned down. Then they disappeared
showing that even the ashes were scattered
And if the geologist be right in his prophe
cy, then our world is to go in the same way
And yet you want me to exchange my sou
for it. All, no; it is world that is burning
now. Suppose you brought an insurance
agent to look at your property for the pur
pose of giving you policy upon it, ant
while he stood in front of the house ht
should say: "That house is on fire now il
the basement" you could not get any insur
ance upon it. Yet you talk about this worlc
as though it we're a safe investment, al
though you could get some insurance upor
it, when down in the basement it is on fire
| 1 remark, also, that this world is a prop
erty, with which everybody who has.taken
| it as possession has had tronble. Now,
know large reach of land that is not built
|
ply that everybody who has had anything
to do with that property got into trouble
about it. 1t is Just SO with this world;
everybody that has had anything to do
with it, as a possession, has been in per.
| plexity. How was it with Lord Byronf
| Did he not sell his immortal soul for the
purpose of getting the world? Was he sat
| isfied with the possession? Alas! alas! the
poem graphically describes his case when
| it says:
Drank every cup ofjoy. ~
Heard every trump of fame;
Drank early, deeply drank,
Drank .draughts which common millions
might have quenched,
Then died of thirst because there was no more
to drink" t-s~i
Oh, yes, he had trouble with it; and so
did Napoleon. After conquering nations
| by the force of the sword, he lies down to
die, his entire possession the military boots
that he insisted on having upon his feet
while he was dying. So it has been with
men who had better ambition. Thacke-
ray, one of the most genial and lovable
souls, after he had won the applause of all
intelligent lands through his wonderful
genius, sits down in a restaurant in Paris,
| looks to the other end of the room, and
| wonders whose that forlorn and wretched
| face is; rising up after a while, he finds
that it is Thackeray in the mirror. Oh,
yes, this world is cheat Talk about a
man gaining the world! Who ever gained
half of the world2 Who ever owned a
hemisphere Who ever gained continent?
Who ever owned Asia? Who ever gained
city? Who ever owned Brooklyn? Talk
about gaining the worldl No man Xter
gained it, or the hundred -thousandth part
OF it. You are demanding that I sell my
soul, not for the world, but for fragment
of it. Here is a man who has had a large
estate for forty or fifty years. He lies
millions and millions of. dollars" Is he?
You call up surveyor, with his com pass
and chains, and you say: "That is a prop
erty extending three miles in one direction
and three miles in another direction" Is
that the way to measure that mans prop
erty? No: You do not want any surveyor
with his compass and chains. That is rot
the way you want to measure that mans
property now. 1t is an undertaken that
you need, who will come and put his finger
in his vest-pocket, and take out tapeline,
and he will measure five feet nine inches
one way, and two feet and half the other
way. That is the mans property. Oh,
I forgot; not SO much as taat, for he does
not own even the place in which he lies in
the cemetery. The deed to that belongs
| to the executors and the heirs. Oh, what
property you propose to give me for my
soul! If you sell bill of goods, you go
| into the counting-room and say to your
partner: "Do you think that man is good
for this bill? Can he give proper security
Will he meet this payment? Now, when
you are offered this world as possession, l
want you to test the matter. l do not
want you to 60 into this bargain bliudly. l
want you to ask about the title, about the
insurance, about whether men have ever
had any trouble with it. about whether
you can keep it, about whether you can get
all, or the ten thousandth, or one-hundred-
thousandth part of it.
There is the world now. shall say no
more about it. Make up your mind for
yourself, as I shall, before God, have to
make up my mind for myself, about the
value of this world. I cannot afford to
make mistake for my soul, and you can
not afford to make a mistake for your SOUL
Now, let US look at the other property
the soul. We cannot make bargain with
out seeing the comparative value. The
soul! How shall I estimate the value oft?
Well, by it's exquisite organization. 1t is
the most wonderful piece of mechanism
ever put together. Machinery is of value
in proportion as it is mighty and silent at
the same time. You look at the engine
and the machinery in the Philadelphia
Mint, and, as you see it performing its won
derful work, you will be surprised to find
how silently it goes. Machinery that roars
and tears soon destroys itself, but silent
machinery is often most effective. Now, SO
it is with thu soul of man, with all it's tre
mendous faculties-it moves in silence. Judg
ment, without any racket, lifting its scales;
memory, without any noise, bringing down
all its treasures; conscience taking its judg
ment.seat ihout any excitement; the un-
derstandiDg and the will all doing their
work. Velocity, majesty, might; but
silence. You listen at the door of your
heart. You can hear no sound, The soul
is all quiet. 1t is SO delicate an instrument
that no human hand can touch it. You
break bone. and with splinters and band
ages the surgeon sets it; the eye becomes
inflamed, the apothecary's wash cools it,;
but soul off the track, unbalanced. no bu-
man power eau readjust it. With one
sweep of it's wing it circles the universe,
and overvaults the throne of God. Why,
in the hour of death the soul is so mighty,
it throws aside the body as though it were
toy. 1t drives back medical skill as i'm
potent. 1t breaks through the circle of
loved ones who stand around the dying
couch. With one leap, it springs beyond
star and moon and sun, and chasms of i'm
mensity. Oh, it is soul superior to all
material things! No fire can consume it;
no foods can drown it; no rocks can crush
it; no walls can impede it; no time can ex-
haust it. 1t wants no bridge on which to
cross chasm. 1t wants no plummet with
which to sound depth. A soul so mighty,
so swift, SO silent, must be a priceless soul.
| calculate the value of the soul, also, by
its capacity for happiness. How much joy
it can get in this world out of friendships,
out of books, out of clouds, out of the sea,
out of flowers, out of ten thousand things.
and yet all the joy it has here does not test
its capacity, You are in a concert before
the curtain hoists, and you hear the instru-
ments preparing-the sharp snap of the
broken string, the scraping of the bow
across the viol. "There is no music in
that" you say, It is only getting ready
for the music. And all the enjoyment oil
the soul in this world, the enjoyment we
think is real enjoyment, is only prepara-
tive, it is only anticipative; it is only the
first stages of the thing; it is only the en-.
trance, the beginning of that which shall
be the orchestral harmonies and splendors
of the redaemed et