San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-10-21

| Fiji the earth and Subdue it," said the
| LORD, and rule over the fishes of the sea
! and the fowls Of the earth, and all living
creatures that move upon the earth"
The meaning Of creation" it has been
well said, us not understood until dust
stands erect In living man" The law
| OF nature endureS. Man must remain the
| monarch of nature; the purpose of nature
and Of all its forces must be the service of
man, the betterment and elevation of
man. There is no other value than this in
material things. To rate man inferior TO
matter is the reversal of tic divine order
| ing Of the universe.
Be there as much as there NAV the de-
velopment of natures forces and the har-
Messing OF them to the chariotS of science
and industry. BE there searchngs into
| the abysmal secrets of earth. sea and
| sky. BE there trade and commerce. But,
| throughout, be the aim to build up man
into higher manhood, into more in
| telligent, better aud a happier being.
| he it always man who is progressing.
| Man not growing, nothing has been ac-
compllshed: man deteriorating, there is
| evil one. Perish trade and commerce, IL
| thereby maniS IesSened in his sense of
| righteousness, and the fibre of his heart
| is hardened. Perish the most ippenions
| machinery. IL its constituencies wheels In
| their mercileSS rotations annihilate the
purity and happiness of human souls.
Labor is a'curSe, il man is thereby made
| the slave OF matter and sSsimilated TO
matter The wealth of nations is a
blaSphemy thrown into the face of the
| Creator, if riches lead to Selfishness and
narrow -mindedneSs in the possessors. and
the accumulation thereof condemns the
| multitude to misery and sin. Man is the
| precious being; man must be saved, and
| lifted upward; the progress of man Is the
sole progress. Nor by man must we be
| allowed 10 understand a few men here
and there amid the masses of their fell
| lows. The few may have grown to noun
| tain heights; II the many dwell in the
| darkened valleys of suffering and of soul
has not care of the few; he has care of all.
For the benefit of all has he swung the
earth into space, and lit above il his fiery
orbs. Progress through the whole human
family Is the progress which God wills,
and which we should name progress.
There is danger lest eXpositions, where
all is wood and marble, gold and silver,
| machinery and cereals: where matter
alone feastS the eye, and speaks to the
soul, silently teach false lessons of pro-
| greSS. All is well with the world. IL might
seem, If matter is improved. Men seek
matter and admire matter. Matter, then,
is the all important. The tendency of the
| its well-wisherS desire. Nothing should
be done to accelerate it. There is
need to repeat aloud the poets warning:
I'll fares the land, to Fastening Ills
prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men de-
cay"
This the mission of the congress auxili-
airy. 1t will put into the foreground man,
as the chief factor and first fruit of civil
izatiOn and progress; its programmes of
studies will bringOut in cleareSt light his
grandeur and final destiny.
The plans OF the congress auxiliary are
most comprehensive. They extend along
| all the lines of the growth of man.
| There are the departments of agrcul-
! ture, engineering, commerce and finance,
etc, etc, in which his relations to matter
receive due consideration. Man lives
upon the earth, derives hence his subsist-
ence, and in subIecting 1t to his service
he enlarges by exercise the powers Of his
soul Far be it from us not to recognize
as vital elements in progress, and as
strong evidences OF IL, the triumph Of
mind over things.
| The marvelS of physical and mechani-
cal sciences, in which the age glorifies
| itself: It's surprising inveD tionS, enabling
| us 10 dominate more completely over
nature, aud to yoke its Subtlest forces TO
our Industrial charIots; It's vast discov-
| cries opening up TO our gaze the whole
surface OF the globe. revealing to us the
| entrailS OF earth and the remote regions of
ethereal Space-we admire and praise.
| God gave to us the material universe
| that we study it and use it, Material
| progress Is 10 less within the lines of his
| supreme law than progress moral and
| sp ritual. The whole man must grow,
and grow In all directions. | am as impa-
tlent with the narrOwneSs which limits
| him in one direction, as with that which
| limits him in another. The sole lesson
which inculCate is that the earth is the
fOOtStool of man, and that material pro-
greSS in its grandeSt flights, fails unless
| man retains throughout his higher nature,
| and is made by it a greater and better be-
| ing.
The interests of mans mind are cared
| for in the departments of education, sci
| ence and philosophy, literature, the pub
| Tic press, etc. Man is primarily an intel
| ligence. His other operations depend
upon and follow from his knowing With
out knowledge the darkening clouds of
| barbariSm never rend over the face of a
| people. There is no progress without it
in material things, and none in other
| realms of human aspiration. And as
| progress must reach over the whole
| human family, so knowledge, however
varied in degrees, must be universal 10 its
diffusion.
The moral life Of man wells up in the
| heart, beneath the vvifying dewS of di-
vine grace. Into this inner sanctuary
congresses have little access. Yet it is
we'll that the Importance of the moral
| life Of the individual and of society be
cmphasized; for Righteousness and we'll
doing are the vital condition of healthful-
ness I'm body and in soul. Congresses
give aid Oy directing outside social cnr-
rents, the influences of which make
strongly for good or evil. Hence we
have the department of moral aud social
reform, including congresses on charity,
philanthropy, prevention, reform, etc,
and the department of temperance, mar
Shalling into mutual counselling the de-
voted leglOns OF men and women who
times.