Telegram-herald., 1890-02-14
IDEAS Asour nEAvEn.
Ass1rsaloss aHa fNlths CsaesroInx "a.
Gue,&f Besond.

eue@s Besona.
Every body Z a. heard q tAs r.oor old
ssnow. aged. bens aouole - labor ard
sickness. and Nlsh only second -hzna
- lnraaos with pleasure. who When
sSksa hls i4ss - heaven answered tat
IL seemed - hin = place whare one
might sit forever tn an easy chair sna
be served with cake and vine by angels.
Sgcb heaven seemed - his magma
ton -nurtured al his life on aches ana
pains snd thoughts q the labors of The
morrow veritsble elysiua, the al
uthesis q his somber experiences of
iife. zn3 IN conSeQ Gence there was moth
ing irr~ leyant n his answer. bat simply
a description 0f what q him VAS
thought full q Joy and comfort 70 his
aching bones Simple. however. as was
The old mans answer. u vas repre-
sentative q the universal voice OF man
kind, and contained within il the germ
of that faith which IA al is las
blossomed ous into aspirations of the
bliss and Joy % the great unknown"
whose problem has never YET been
solved
The early Christians. torn by Wild
beasts ia the Roman arena, driven 70
secret worship in underground holes.
persecuted, t0rinented and despised.
pictured q gorgeous city with streets Of
gold and eates Of pearl, through which
they could pass with erect head and
crowned with gold, bearing palms in
their hands and decke0 in new robes,
singing Till their hymn should resound
as the voice of many waters. This, ac-
cording 10 writer IN the Brooklyn
Standardization, was the Patmosian
heaven, a scene of splendid felicity and
pure beaufcation. What more entranc-
ing idea could there be Of such reward
for those who are faithful unto death.
and what more bright and sweet 10 the
poor. quiyering martyrs who, while
wyithing IN flames and torture, could
look smilinglyup 20 the troop of"bright
ones" who come 10 bear them away 10
such delights.
Tho Hebrew apocryphal literature de-
scribes an upper, or heavenly, and a
lower, or earthly, paradise. Each is
divided into seven dwellings, each Of
which is twelve times ten thousand
miles IN length ard breadth. A column
ascends from the lower 10 tho upper
heaven. by which the souls of the
blessed mount 10 the higher after
temporary sojourn IN the lower. The
Talmud names as one of the glories Of
the upper paradise tho society Of Enoch,
Elijah, Moses and Ezra, who walk in
the light Of the coming Messiah. At
the last day all Israel's enemies arc TO
be cast into Gehenna and the blessed
gathered together IN the higher para
disc.
The Mohammedan heaven, as de-
scribed in the Koran, is a place Of the
rarest delights, where the righteous re-
cline on messy couches in a fair garden,
listening to enhancing strains and
drinking of the rarest and pleasantest
beverages.
The heaven of the old Norsemen is
the abode of the heroes slain in battle,
who live again in the scenes Of their life,
but amid eternal victories, chanting
sagas and battle songs and quafiing
mead from the skulls Of their enemies.
OF an entirely different nature IS the
heaven of the Buddhist. II consists OF
twenty-eight grades in q gradually as
cending scale OF happiness as follows:
The not-fghting the Joyful, the change
enjoying, the changing othors-ar-
bitrarily, the assembled Brahmas, the
servants of Brabma, the great Brabmas,
limited light, illimited lights, pure
light, limited purity, illimited purity,
perfect purity. great merit. unconscious,
the not great, the exempt from pain,
the well-seeing, the beautiful, the
highest. illimited space, illLmited
science, the place Of naught. that Of no.
thought and that Of not-no-thought,
this last being a sphere whore al the
activities Of life are nil. Indeed. the
final goal of Buddhism looks toward the
destruction of sin by exhausting its ex-
istence, or by impecing its existence.
Much akin 70 this are the Brahminical
and Shinto heavens, as we'll as that of
the Parsees, which look toward final
glorificadon in a sta.e of ecstatic peace
in company with Abura-Mazada, their
supreme deity.
There ia something pathetically sim
pie in tho distinctively opposite idea in
which the red mans heaven is con
ccived To him there is spread out tho
happy hunting grounds where, with his
dog, his bow and arrows. he may follow
the deer over rustling prairies and
through the whispering woods with no
paleface 10 follow TO impose upon him
the restraint he despises; all Of which
has been 80 happily described by Pope.
10, the poor Indian, whose untutored mind
Sees God ia clouds. or bears him IN the wind
HIS soul proud science never taught 70 stray
Far as the solar walk or milky way;
Yet simple nature 20 his hope has given
Behind the cloud top'd bin an humber hes-en;
Some safer world IN depths ~ woods en- hTaceG.
Some happier island IN the watery waste.
Where slaves once more their native and b>
hold.
10 thieves torment, no Christians thirst for
gold.
To bo. contents his natural desire:
lie asks no angels wing. no -eraph's fra
BUT thinks admitted - that equal sSv.
His fsithfui dog shsfl bear bin company.
The Road to Prosperity.
The man who saves something every
year. quotes contemporary. who bad
heard the remark from every quarter.
is on IT, road % prosperity. ltmay not
Be possible 70 save much. II not. save
little Do not think that q dollar or
dina a 80 snail q o~- % Ia -