The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-03-15
Weskle Suite igensrs,
"ST'c'"t Guy ana q u",y P"pcr
LIVING OVER A
LIT. Talmage Discourses on the
Preciousness OF Life.
man Not Satisfied with the MANY Mistakes
OF the Pasta Second Trial Would
Likely Prove q FaiIure-Prof-
iting BY the Past.

8 ~ n EhhG
IN = recent sermon at Brooklyn, Rev.
T. De Witt Talmage took for his sub
1ect: would You Like to Live Your
Life Over Again?" His text was Job il.
4: "Ail that a man hath will he give for
his Hfe." He said:
That is untrue. The Lord did not saw
II, but Satan said 1t to the Lord when
the v n wanted Job still more af-
nicted. hi record is: $50 went Satan
forth from the presence OF the Lord and
smote Job with sore boils." And Satan
mas been the author OF all eruptive dis
eases since then, and he hopes by poi
soning the blood to poison the soul. But
the result Of the diabolical experiment
which left Job victor proved the falsity
OF the Satanic remark: "All that a man
hath VIII he give for his life" Many q
captain who has, stood on the bridge of
the steamer till his passengers got OF
and he drowned; many an engineer who
has kept his hand ON the throttle valve
or his foot on the brake until the most
OF the train was saved while he went
down to death through the open draw
bridget many a fireman who plunged
into . blazing house to get a sleeping
child out, sacrificing his life In the at
tempt, and thousands OF martyrs who
submitted TO fiery stake and knife Of
massacre and headman's axe and guillo-
tine rathor than surrender principle,
proving that In many o case my text
was not true, when 1t saws "All that q
man hath will he give for his lifo."
But Satan's falsehood was built on q
truth. Life is very precious. and II we
would not give up all there are many
things WI would surrender rather then
surrender It. We zee how precious life
10 from the fact that we do every thing
70 prolong It. Honoe all sanitary regu-
iations, all study OF hygiene, all fear Of
draughts, all waterproofs, all doctors,
all medicines, all struggles In crisis Of
accident.
An Admiral OF tho British navy was
court-martialod for turning his ship
AROUND in time Of danger and so damag-
ing the ship. 1t was proved agains st
him. But when his time came to be
heard he said: Gentlemen, l did turn
the ship around and admit that IL was
damaged, but do you want TO know why
| turned it2 There was a man overheard
and I wanted TO ave him and l did save
him. ! considered the life Of me sailor
worth all the vessels OF the British
navy" No wonder he was indicated.
Life Is indeed very precious. Yea, there
are those who deem II 81 precious they
would like TO repeat 1t; they would like
10 try IL again. They would like to GO
back from seventy to sixty, from sixty
70 fifty, from afty TO forty, from forty 10
thirty. from thirty 10 twenty. I pro-
pose for very practical and useful pur-
poses, Is will appear before l get
through, 10 discuss the question WI have
asked Of others, and have again asked
Of us-would you like 10 live your life
over again?
The fact Is that no intelligent and
right fearing nan Is satisfied with his
past life. We have oil made so many
mistakes, stumbled into so many blum
ders. said so many things that ought
not TO have been said and done so many
things that ought not to have been done
that we can suggest at least 95 per cent.
OF Improvement. Now would IL not be
grand II the good Lord would say to
you: "You q go back and try 1t over
again. will by q word turn your hair
20 brown or black or golden, and smooth
all the wrinkles out of your temple and
cheek, and take tho bend out Of your
shoulders, and extirpate the stiffness
from the joint and the rheumatic twinge
from the foot, and you shall be twenty
one years Of age and just what you were
when you reached that point before"
II the proposition were made I think
many thousands would accept 1t.
That feeling caused the ancient search
for what was called the fountain OF
youth, the waters of which taken would
turn the hair Of tho ~octogenarian into
the curly lock Of q boy, and, however
old . person who drank at that fountain,
he would be young again. The island
was a4Ht 70 belong 10 the group OF tho
He1<xt&f. bot lay far out in the ocean.
Tt1 CREST spanish explorer, Juan Ponce
a. fe6a tellow-yoyagcr Of Columbus, I
kset no doubts felt thatif he could dis
cover that fountain Of youth he would
DO as much as his friend had done in
discovering America. So he put out In
1919 from Porto Rico and cruised about
among the Bahamas In search Of that
fountain am glad be did not fnd IT,
There Is no such fountain But IL there
were, and Its waters wore bottled up
and sent abroad at 81, 900 o bottle, the
demand would be creator than the sup.
ply, and many 9 man who hss oomo
through q life OF u~selessness, and per.
hsps sin, to old ago would be shaking
mp the potent liquid, and II he were d.
rected 10 take only . teaspoonful after
each meal would be 30 anxious 10 make
sur work he would take q tablespoonful
and II directed TO take 4 tablespoonful
would take q glassful, But some Of you
would have o 60 back further than 10
twenty-one years Of age 10 make q fair
start for there are many who man.
age TO get all wrong before that
period. Yea, In order to get q fair
start some would have 10 go back to
the father and mother and get them
corrected; yea, TO the grandfather and
grandmother and have their life cor
rected, for some of you are suffering
from bad hereditary influences which
started a hundred years ago. Well. II
your grandfather lived his life over
again and your father lived his life over
again and you lived your life over again.
what a %cluttered up place this world
would be, q place filed With miserable
attempts at repairs. | begin TO think
that Il Is better for zach generation %
have only one chance and then for them
20 pass of and give another generation
y chance.
Besides that, IL we were permitted h
live life over again. IL would DO a state
of stupid experience. The zost and spur
and enthusiasm of life comes from tho
fact that we have never been along this
road before. and cvery thing u new, anc
we are alert Tor what may appear nj tn
next turn OF the road. suppose you,
man In mid rife or old ago, were, Will
your present feelings and large attain
ments, put back into the thirties, or tn
twenties, or into the teens, what u nuts
ance you would be TO others and VIVA
an unhappiness to yourself. Your con
Bemporartes would not want you ar
you would not want them. Things tha
In your previous journey Of life stirred
your healthful ambition, or gave yoi
pleasureable surprise, o r led you int
happy interrogation, would only cal
forth from you a d,sgusted 20
pshawr' You would be blase at thirty
and . m~isanthrope at forty and unen
dur BILE at fifty. The most insne an
stupid thing imaginable would bo a sec
ond journey OF life. 1t Is amusing u
hear people say: II would like TO hv'
my life over again, II ! could take M
present experience and knowledge o
things back with me and begin undeI
those improved auspices" Why, wha'
- unin,aras+tno how uou would be will