The west Tennessee star. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1888, 1888-05-18


now in the basement" F" you could not get
any insurance upon it. Yet you talk
about this world az though it were a safe
investment, as though you could get some
insurance upon it, when down in the base
ment it Is on fire.
/ remark, also, that this world is prop
erty with which every body who has taken
it as a possession has hal trouble. Now,
/ know a large reach of land that is not
built on. / ask what is the matter, and
they reply that every tody who has had
any thing to do with that property got
into trouble about it. 1t is just so with this
world, every body that has had any thing
to de- with it, as a possession, has been in
perpiexity. How was it with Lord Byron?
Did he not sell his immortal soul for the
purpose of getting the world? Was he
satisfied with the possessionY Alas alas!
the poem graphically describes his case
when it says:
Drank every cup OF joy,
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
Oh, yes, he had trouble with it; and so
did Napoleon. After conquering nations
by the force of his 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 be ter ambition.
Thackeray, one of the most genial and
lovable souls, after he had won the ap-
plause of all intelligent lands through his
wonderful genius, sits down in a restaur-
ant in Paris, looks to the other end of the
room and wonders whose that forlorn and
wretehed face is; rising up after awhile,
he finds that it is Thackeray in the mirror.
Oh, yes, this world is a cheat. Talk about
a man gaining the world! Who ever
gained half of the world? Who ever
owned a hemisphere? Who ever gained a
continent? Who ever owned Asia? Who
ever gained a city? Who ever owned
Brooklyn? Talk about gaining the worldl
No man ever gained il, or the hundred
thousandth part of it. You are de-
manding that / sell my soul, not for the
world, but for fragment of it. Here is
man who has had large estate for forty
or Fifty years. He lies down to die. You
say, ''That man is worth millions and
millions of dollars - Is he? You call up
a surveyor, with his compass and chains,
and you say:
t'There is a property extending three
miles in one direction, and three miles in
another direction"
Is that the way TO measure that mans
property? No! You do not want any
surveyor, with his compass and chains.
That is not the way you want to measure
that mans property now. 1t is an under
taker that you need, who will come and
put his finger in his vest-pocket, and take
out tape-line, and he will measure five
feet nine inches one way, and two and
one-half feet the other way. That is the
mans property. Oh, no; forgot; not so
much as that, for he does not own even
the place in which he lies in the ceme-
terry. The deed to that belongs to the
executors and the heirs. oh, what prop
erty 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 viii
he meet this PAYMENT"
Now, when you are offered this world as
a possession, want you TO test the mat
ter. do not want you to go into this bar
gain blindly. | 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 car get all, or the ten-thou-
sandth, 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 / shall before God have to
make up my mind for myself, about the
value of this world. | can not afford to
make mistake for my soul, and you can
not afford to make a mistake for your
soul
Now, let las look at the other property
the soul We can not make a bargain
without seeirg the comparative value.
The soul? How shall ] estimate the value
of it? Well, 10y its exquisite organization.
1t is the most wonderful piece of mechan-
ism 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 machinery in the Philadelphia
mint and, as you see it performing its
wonderful work, you will be surprised to
find how silently it goes. Machinery that
roars and teBrs soon destroys itself; but
silent machinery is often most effective.
Now, so it is with the soul of man, with all
its tremendous faculties-it moves in
silence. Judgment, without any racket,
lifting its scales; memory, without any
noise, bringing down all its treasures;
conscience taking its judgment seat with
out any excitement; the understand
ing and the will all doing their work.
Velocity, majesty, might; but silence
silence. You listen at the door of your
heart You can hear no sound.
The sou. is all quiet. 1t is so
delicate an instrument that no human
hand can touch it. You break bone, and
with splinters and bandages the surgeon
sets it; the eye becomes inhamed, the
apOthecaIy's wash cools it; but soul off
the track, unbalanced, no human power
can re-adiust it. With one sweep Of its
wing it circles the universe, and over
vaults the throne Of God. Why, in the
hour Of death the soul Is 50 mighty it
throws aside the body as though 1t were
toy. 1t drives back medical skill as inn
potent. 1t breaks through the circle Of
loved OF es who stand around the dying
couch With one leap, il springs beyond
star ana moon and sun, and chasms of
immensity. Oh, il is "A soul superior to all
material things No fires can consume it;
no foods can drown it; no rocks can crush
it; no walls can impede it; no time can
exhaust it. It wants no bridge on which
to cross a chasm. IL wants no plummet
with which to sound depth. A soul 50
mighty, mighty, 50 swift, 50 silent,
must it be 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 friend
ships ont Of books, out Of clouds, out OF
the sea, out of flowers, out of ten thousand
things; and yeC all the joy 1t has here
does not test it's capacity. You are in
concert before the curtain hOists, and yOu
hear the instruments preparing
sharp snap Of the broken string, the
scraping Of the bow across the Yiol.
There is no music in that" you say. IL
Is only getting ready for the music. And
all the enjoyment Of the soul in this
world. the enjoyment we think is real en-
ioytnent, is only preparative; il is only
anticipatiye: it is only the first stages OF
the thing: il Is only the entrance, the be-
ginning OF that which shaIf be the
orchestral harmonies and splendors Of
the redeemed.
You can not test the full power Of the
so II for happiness in this world. How
N aeh power the soul has bere 70 find en-
Joysnent ia friendships. but oh, the grand
er friendships for the soai ia the skies I.
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