Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-09-19


land Here Jacob pillowed on Il stone,
saw the ladder used by angels feet, and he
set up II stone and consecrated it, TO night
| the heavens were full of laddcrs--!irst
ladder of clouds, then II ladder of stars, and
all up and down the heavens are the angels
| of beauty, angels Of consolation, angels of
God ascending and descending Surely
| God is in this place, said Jacob, and
knew it not But tonight God is in this
| place, and know itp'
The doctor has this to say about tradition,
history and fact before beginning the real
work of the book;
care the places that | see in Palestine
and Syria and the Mediterranean isles the
genuine places of Christly, patrarchal
and apostolic association? Many of them
are not, and many of them are We have
no sympathy with the belwarllng of
tradition. There are traditions contra
dicted by their absurdity, but if for
several generations II sensible tradition
goes on in regard to events connected with
certain places, am as certain Of the local.
ties us though pen and document had fixed
them. Indeed sometimes tradition is more
to be depended on than written communi
cation. A writer may, for bad purposes,
reasonable traditions concerning places
connected with great events are apt to be
true. | have no more doubt concerning
the place Oh which Christ was cruciicd
or in which Christ was buried than have
about the fact that our Lord was slain and
intombed. But suppose traditions contra
lict each other? Then try them, test them
compare them as you do documents 1t is
Il 70 ia
true and false, than apocryphal books from
inspired books. De not use the word ira.
dition as synonym for delusion There
is Il surplus of Christian inldes travelling
the Holy Lanl who are from scalp to heel
surcharged with unbeliefs A tradition
may be as much divinely inspired us a
book. The scenery of Palestine is inter.
Joined, intertwisted, nterockcd with the
Scriptural occurrences. The learned Rit.
ter, who has never been charged with any
weakness of increduity, writes; No one
can trace without joy and wonder the veri
fcation which geography pays to the his
tory of the Holy Land
"When the brilliant Renan went TO Pal
estine he was stuffed with enough incredu-
lily to make dozen Thomas Paines, and
yet he gives the following experience: The
marvellous harmony of the evangelical pict-
ure, with the country which serves as its
frame, was to me revelation. had be-
fore my eyes fifth gospel, mutilated but
still legible; and ever afterward in the re
citals of Matthew and Mark, instead Of an
abstract being that one would say has never
existed, saw wonderful human figure
live and move So said an unbelever In
this my visit to Palestine, in the year OF
our Lord lSS9-90, | also find the landscape
commentary, The rivers, the mountains,
the valleys, the lakes, the rocks, the trees,
the costumes of the Holy Land, agree with
Matthew and Mark and Luke and John
The geography and topography are the
background of the Gospel pictures. They
carry different part OF the same song
Admit Palestine and you admit the New
Testament. a distinguished man years
ago came here, and returned and wrote,
4 went to Palestine an infldel and came
home Christian Ny testimony will be
that came to Palestine firm believer in
the Bible and return thousand fold more
confirmed in the divinity Z. the Holy
Scriptures"
Quite rs interesting us anything else in
the book is this announcements:
Wandering up and down the chief art
galleries of Europe have looked for Il face
of the Saviour which would like to have
in my life of Christ. The on, | have
chosen in preference to ali is that eve,utcl
by yodng painter.
IL have no idea that the Fourteenth cent
ury, or the Fifteenth century, or the Six
teenth century mono9olizsd ali the brain.
| think the best music is yet 10 be com
posed, the best sculpture yet to be thiseipd,
the best paintings are yet 10 be presented
to the world We are almost always dis
appointed with picture Of Christ. Il e.
the universal lcriticism Of such pictures.
while admire the artistic merit of this
production, the picture, is not my idea Of
the Saviour The picture Is apt To repre-
sent Christ either as effeminate or severe.
weak or awful. TO commingle in one pict-
ure strength and humility, suffering aud
triumph, the lionlike and the lamblike, the
I face that frnwned the bestormei lake into
a calm, and yet was such an invitation g.