St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-18
CONTRAsTED CHARACTERS.
Rev. w. j. Lhamon on Saul and
Simon and Their Prototypes.

At Christ church yesterday morning
the pastor, W. j. Lhamon, preached on
"Contrasted Characters represented
by Saul and Simon, mentioned in the
eighth chapter of Acts. He took &C.
casion to mention the lottery business
and to speak of the census.
ssThere are" SAID he, ''Some minor
differences between these two men.
Saul was prosecutor, Simon was a
sorcerer. The persecution of the one
grows out of noble nature, the Sorcery
of the other out of a grOveling nature.
Saul was religious, Simon was a juggler.
One loved righteousness, the other
loved gain; one was sincere, the Other
a quack; one was heroic, the other
comic; one sought to instruct
the people, the other to as
tonish them. Saul was young man,
who, if wrong, was nobly SO; and ST.
mon, if right, was baSeIy so. Victor
Hugo once described VCltalre as "a
monkey with genius, whom Satan had
sent Oh the earth with mission" In
some measure this description fits all
clowns, jugglers, quacks, lnountebanks.
sorcererS-all who make success of
getting other peoples money by anus
Ing Ili0lu VI uupiHS tICui.
The major contrast between Saul and
Simon is that the former had con-
science and the latter was conscience
less. There are some things above the
price of gold, but the constituencies
man does not know it. He will offer to
buy talent, character, Christ and heaven.
Simon wanted to buy the Holy Spirit.
He was so sordid that he thought holt
ness was in the market. He has given to
the world the word ''simony," and he is
yet abroad buying up congressman,
representatives, senators, governors,
and now and then newspaper. The
Louisiana lottery tried to buy North
Dakota, and many of her statesmen"
were in the market, but not all of them.
1t tried to buy Louisiana, and even the
United States, and constituencies men
everywhere are ready to sell, prostitut-
ing their manhood and playing traitor to
their trust. Thank God there was a
gubernatorial conscience in Dakota and
one in Louisiana above the price
of the lottery millions. Fifty-six news
papers III Nebraska offered to sell them
selves to the whisky ring. But there
are papers that cannot be bought. There
is enough conscience abroad to worry
Satan seriously. The men of conscience
are IlG 1OTtT6SS6S VI ClNlIlLdblOu. 1ucy
are the salt of the earth. They are the
ornaments of history. The governor of
Louisiana is hero not less than Gen.
Grant. He deserves a monument as
high as the highest.
Given a man with conscience, and
you can make of him statesman, re-
former, teacher, prophet, or mar
tyr. OF Simon and his like you can
make nothing but jugglers, quacks, pet
tifoggers, professional politicians, wire
workers. ringsters, lobbyists, spies, sa-
loonkeepers and traitors. In Simon
there is the material for Benedict
Arnold or an Aaron Burr; in Saul there
is the material for Garrison. Phil
lips, Sumner, Lincoln, Cromwell
or Luther. Put Saul and Simon into
active life side by side, and the upper
most question of the one will be, as it
right?'' OF the other, "Will it pay?"
If Saul were taking the census of Min
neapoIis he would ask: Exactly how
many people have WEI" If Simon, he
would say: 1--WE must make it 900
for the effect on Eastern capitalists"