The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-07-25

The discourse of the Rev. H. M. Sim
mons at the First Unitarian church yester-
day was one of those curious and interest
ing efforts of his in which out-Of- the-way
facts are summoned to shed light Oh the
most practical of subjects. Satan came
also" was his text, and at the start, per-
haps, there were some who fancied that he
proposed to come to the defense of his Sa-
tanic majesty with the same learning and
ingenuity that he defended Cain few
weeks ago. But he did not do anything of
the kind. The tendency OF his discourse
was to show the fearful results that have
followed the belief in literal Satan in the
treatment of the insane. MIR. Simmons
went on to show that in the early books of
the Bible. through the books of Moses and
the long histories that follow and down
through many Of the prophets there is not
one hint of Satan or of any devil In Isaiah
there is a denial of the existence of such
being. But about the time of the captivity
he begins to make his appearance. In the
book of Job Satan is alluded to. but he is a
rather innocent creature there, not by any
means the tend that he developed into
later. He appears as the officer of the divine
| court, or, as some writer has put it, like
prosecuting attorney who simply tries men,
but has no hostility to them. at any rate
none to Jehovah. Twice more he is men
toned in the Old Testament. and that is
positively all that it has to say about him.
And the expression. the devil, does not Oc
cur in the whole Testament, although dev-
| iIc ,,nI in, fIn D,,%
later times the Jews got to believing in Sa-
tan great deal. And, consequently. he
figures abundantly in the New Testament,
and in later ages devils took very impOr-
tant part One medieval person expressed
the belief that the air is as full of devils as
it is of snowtiakeS during winter storm.
Luther tells some certain and sure" stories
regarding the devils, and one authority
says that to set out to prove the existence
of devils is like lighting candle to prove
the existence of death, so well attested are
the facts.
But the main intent of the address was
to show how this belief in devils and the
belief that insanity was due to the presence
of devils in persons, was the cause of the
harsh treatment of the insane. which has
been practiced until in comparatively recent
times. The speaker referred frequently
to the recently published papers of EXPIRES
ident A. d. White, and the story was one
of absorbing and fearful interest. The idea
that people were possessed by devils put an
end to kind treatment of lunatics. The
curses that were visited upon them, and the
whippings and scOurgings. all for the pur-
pose of reforming them. were fearful to
think of. OF course. such treatment of the
poor maniacs was appalling in its results.
Then came the movement which was started
by John Howard. who was followed up by
other reformers of the same stamp. Kind
ness and gentleneSs were substituted for
the chains and manacles. which were cast
aside. In the name of the unfortunate
people who have suffered so much i'm the
name of humanity and religion, the minis
ter returned thanks that these barbarties
of old are yielding to truer faith which
sees divineI government of law and
works. and worships by the diviner way of
lOve.-Pioneer Press.