Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-06-01
THE IMMORTAL SOUL.
The Commencement Sermon of
the Female Academy.
A Fine Discourse On An Interesting
Theme at the Methodist Church
Sunday Morning.


GAINESVILLE Female Academy was
preached at the Methodist church by
DR.. j. b. West yesterday morning.
Long before the time for service
every available seat in the church
was occupied. The center peWs were
reserved for the pupils OF the Acad-
envy. At II o'clock the little girls
and young ladies, preceded by their
respective teachers, marched in and
took their seats. TastefulIy attired
in white, with jaunty straw hats and
ribbons to match, they looked incom-
parably bewitching.
The choir rendered some excellent
music, after which the pastor selec-
ted his text from the 9TH verse Of the
I'd chapter Of Genesis "And the
Lord God formed man Of the dust Of
the ground and breathed into his nos
trils the breath Of life, and man be-
came living soul"
The minister thanked his audience
for encouraging the cause of educa'
ton by their presence, and in few
words, expressed the pleasure it at
forded him TO address young ladies
on such an occasion, saying that he
intended to depart somewhat from
conventional form and had chosen for
his subject the human soul.
The body, he said, was well under
stood, hut the soul has ever been a
great secret. The nature, character
and destiny of the soul have been
the subjects of wide speculation and
source Of constant study. Neither
the wise or foolish have been able to
promulgate anything with certainty
concerning it. Its manifestations are
seen in nature Not only the soul,
but its properties, give rise to much
speculation. The Greeks, notably,
thPorized concerning this mysterious
subject. Thought and feeling, he
said, are not different from the soul,
but are material principles in man.
Soul and spirit are the same; the
spirit is but quality of the soul,
used Interchangeable. TO Illustrate
the soul is The air, the spirit the
wind. The spirit of plants, animals
or man all have a governing purpose,
controlled by fixed laws, The SOU
of man may be under a good or bad
spirit. st. Paul says the soul and
body are separate entities, but that
one spirit influences or controls man
Mini and matter comprehend every
thing.
Whatever the soul, it is immortal
the gift of the grace of God. II
may lose its qualities, but it remains
the same, from the highest character
to the lowest. The soul is rational
The vital principle in the lower ami
mails ceases at death. With man il
lives on till the final judgment. Sol
onion says: "WhO kn0wcth the
spirit Of the beast that gOeth down.
! His day is fixed here, but the spirit
Of man goeth up to GOd-its ultimate
destiny. Man came originally from
Goa, and TO Him he will return
clothed with perfection and crowned
with eternal life. No torture or earth.
| ~ trouble can hinder this COnsumma.
ton.
While admitting that the doctrine
of the Immortality OF the soul does
not rest upon clearly ascertain6d
grounds, and that much of the eVi
denCc is obscure and inferential and
not open to direct insight so that it is
dcmonstrabIe by argument, yet faith
removes all possible doubt. 1t is a
belief that is well nigh universal and
is accepted by all peoples, the South
Sea Islanders not excepted.
Then, by a line of close reasoning,
the minister supported his argument
by citing the various manifestations
of nature to show that every organ
ism is pre-assurcd Of its own destiny,
As is the soul of its immortality, and
contrasting the restricted possibilities
of the lower orders of life with the
unlimited powers of expansion OF
man.
The application Of the great law OF
life to the condition of man is an I'm
ansWerable argument in favor Of this
great truth. Otherwise this law
would be Il scheme without signili-
cance, "A beautiful problem marrod,
without design. II time We're the
only patrimony Of the soul, then the
promises held out to man are stupen-
douS frauds-God and nature IA stu
pendouS ialschOod and had be-
gun "A work they were unable to ac-
eomplish. But everything in the
universe points unerringly to the one
great fact that there is a life beyond
and that the soul Of man is an ever.
living, expanding principle.
The minister based his argument
on nature, but the scriptures contain
other arguments equally irrelutable,
which he briefly summarized.
Cnnclmdimg bis sermNn. De Mosl