Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-10-30

preclate the testimony, and then ne res.
directed the dead cities of the earth,
and commands them, saying: "Open
your long scaled lips and speak! Mem
phis and Thebes, is the Bible true?"
''True!' respond Memphis and Thebes.
Babylon, is the Book of Daniel true?''
'"True!' responds Babylon. ''Ruins of
Palestine and Syria, is the New Testa-
ment true?" "True! respond the
ruins all the way frop, Joppa to the
Dead Sea and from Jerusalem to Da-
mascus
What mercy that this testimony of
the dead cities should come at time
when the Bible is especially assailed.
Two great nations, Egypt and Greece,
diplomatlzed and almost came to battle
for one book. a copy of "Eschylus."
Ptolemy, the Egyptian King, discovered
that in the great library at Alexandria
there was no copy of "Eschylus." The
Egyptian King sent up to Athens.
Greece, to borrow the book and make a
copy of it, Athens demanded q deposit
of S17To0 as security. The Egyptian
King received the book, but refused to
return that which he had borrowed, and
SO forfeited the $17, ZOO
The two nations rose in contention
concerning that one book. Beautiful
and mighty book, indeed! But it is a
book Of horrors, the dominant idea that
we are the victims of hereditary intlu-
ences from which there is no escape. and
that fate rules the world, and although
the author Goes tell of Promctheus, who
was crucitied on the rocks for sympathy
for mankind, powerful suggestion of
the sacrifice of Christ in later years, it is
a very poor book compared with that
book which we hug to our hearts. be-
cause it contains our only guide in life,
our only comfort in death, and our only
hope for a blissful Immortality. If two
nations could afford to struggle for one
copy of "Eschylus, how much more
can all nations afford to struggle for the
possession and triumph of the Holy
Scriptures?
But the dead cities strung along the
Nile not only dcmolish infidelity, but
thunder down the absurdity CT the mod
ern doctrine of evolution which says the
world started with nothing and then
rose, and human nature began with moth
ing but evolved into splendid manhood
and womanhood of itself. Nay, the sculp-
ture Of the world was more wonderful
in the days of Memphis and Thebes and
Carthage than in the days of Boston and
New York. Those blocks of stone
weighing 300 tons high up in the wall at
Karnac imply machinery equal to- if not
surprising, the machinery of the Nine
teenth century.
How was that statue of Rameses,
weighing 1877 tons, transported from the
quarries 200 miles away and how was it
lifted? Tell us, modern machinists.
How were those galleries of rock, still
standing at Thebes, filled with paintings
surpassed by no artists pencil at the
present day? Tell us, artists of the
Nineteenth century The dead cities OF
Egypt, so far as they have left enough
pillars or statues or sepulchers or temple
ruins to tell the story-Memphis Mig
dol, Hlerapolis, Zoan, Thebes, Goshen
Carthage-ai] of them developing down
ward instead of upward. They have
evoluted from magniticence into destruc
ton. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the
only elevator of individual and social ma
tional character. Let all the living cit
les know that pomp and opulence ane
temporal prosperity are no security.
Those ancient cities lacked nothing
but good morals Dissipation and sill
slew them, and unless dissipation ant
sin are halted, they will some day sla
our modern cities, and leave our palace
of merchandise and our galleries of ar
and our city hall as fiat in the dust a
we found Memphis on the afternoon O
that Thanksgiving day. And if tn,
cities go down, the nations will go down
''Oh," you say, "that is impossible; w,
have stood so long-yca, over a hundred
years as nation" Why, what of that
| hoe
a thousand years. God does not forget
One day with the Lord is as a thonsan,
years and thousand years as one day
are more rapidly working the destruction
} kind and all kind worked for the de
struction of the cities of Africa, once s.
mighty and now so PROSTATE. But thei
gods were idols, and could do nothin
except for debasement. Our God mad
: the Heavens and sent His Son to redeem
l the nations. And our cities will not g
down, and our nation will not perish be
cause the gospel is going to triumph
Forward! all schools and colleges an,
churches! Forward! all reformator
organizations. Forward! all the in
tluences marshaled to bless the world
Let our modern European and American
cities listen to the voice of those ancien
cities resurrected, and by hammer all
chlsel and crowbar be compelled t
speak.
notice the voice of those ancien
cities is hoarse from the exposure Q
forty centuries and they accentuat
slowly with lips that were palsied 70
ages, but all together those cities alon
the Nile intone these words: "Hear Ii:
; for we are very old, and it is hard for u
to speak. We were wise long befor
Athens learned her first lesson. w
sailed our ships while yet navigation wa
unborn. These obelisks, these pyramid!
these fallen pillars, the wrecked temples
these colossi of black granite, thes
wrecked sarcophagi under the bro,
of the hills, tell you of what was i
; grandeur and of what I am comil
, down to be. We snned and we fel
Our learning could not save us. Sc
these half obliterated hieroglyphics o
yonder wall, Our architecture could nc
save US. See the painted columns G
: PhilB, and the shattered temple of Esnel
Our heroes could not save us. Witnes
Menes, Diodoros, Rameses and Ptolem!
Our Gods Ammon and Osiris could nc
save us. See their fallen temples a
along the a. 600 miles of Mile Oh v