Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1893-01-05

sees it made manifest by something having
life. For instance, serpent or q worm
crosses our path and we see the manifesto
ton of life; we place danger in their way
and we see proof of their instinct Of dan
ger and self-preservation. We crush them
and behold q mangled mass of matter, and
ask ourselves the question: Where has
fed and whence came the power that
gave them life and motion one moment
ago?
We look upon man and see the same ami
mated manifestation of life aud power, we
and may as well ask the same question re.
garding this power of life. And let me
ask another: Is the power that gave one
its knowledge Of life, terror of death, in
stinct of self-preservatlon and ability to
provide for its wants. different in one
species than in the others? Both Of those
crushed masses are susceptible Of analysis,
We find both composed of similar sub
stances. and consider it highly probable that
each ingredient returns in some way to re-
! plenish the vegetable and mineral sources
from which it came. Perhaps, IL
power outside of what understand as ma
ture furnished life, that too may have been
| returned from whence it came. 1t seems
to me that 1t must be the same power in
both cases. call it God or nature, as you
will. Some one says. THAT cannot be, be-
ats AZ
has" When have asked him to define
the soul am told 1T is the immortal
the thinking part of man."
| Nature teaches me that man Is born
! with as little Of this thinking part" AS
any other animal, and that it knows only
what all other animals know, viz: to
| breathe and draw It's food from its mother ;
and that 1t learns to think as It grows old
er, and learns other things, and must
say that that immortal thinking machine
is capable of thinking and planning out
many schemes that are not In accord with
| the golden rule. Nature also teaches me
that II man lives long enough-and many
do-after he passes q certain age. be
more rapidly forgefs what he has learned
by thought in earlier years than he ac
CURED 1t, and In time comes to know only
what he commenced life with-to breathe
and take nutriment from another. Where
is the soul In this case? Again am told
that mans conscience is his soul" A
study OF life and manners for many years
al ha rh{ nf fha haa
taught me that mans conscience is simply
matter Of education. dependent upon the
laws and customs of the community and
the society in which he lives.
Conscience, therefore. depends upon the
condition and refinement OF the law which
by its qualities raises or lowers the
standard of conscience, causing different
standards of the article in different tribes
and communities. For instance. in one
| section Of my own country mans CON
science is educated to suppose that dozen
wives is not too many W hile In other parts
| the law educates his conscience to under
| stand that one wife is all that he can safe
| ly manage; and the wife often teaches
| him that even smaller number would be
conducive to his earthly happiness.
! "Our aspirations after better things and
faith In an unseen ideal, are, in my opln-
! ion, more owing to our early training and
education than to other causes or reasons.
1t seems to me that it must take a won
derful amount Of faith TO enable one to be-
| to, ~ -
applies to the Saviour of the world, when
We have admitted the existence Of a Su-
preme Being who created all things.
Surely II there exists q Being so full of
wisdom that He could create and place In
order those countless millions of worlds
whirling through the eternity Of space IL
Being possessing an executive ability
that enabled Him to call into life and eX-
istence all those wonderful systems OF
worlds such Being must have known in
the beginning how all things must end.
There could be no higher power to tell
Him that His work was wrong, and it
must have been impossible for Him to
have made any mistakes In this great
work. He never would have committed
an error In the creation of so small an item
as man to such an extent as to cause Him
to repent that He had ever done the job,
and making it needful for this wonderful
Supreme Being to visit this little earth in
the form of man called Christ-for what
to save very small portion-accordiug
to the church-of His own work, which
He had constructed according to His own
designs. If such a Creator exists He es.
tablished all laws, and one of those laws
Is, that there can be no propagation OF
species, either in the vegetable or animal
kingdom. without q conjunction Of sexes
There is only one record of this law ever
having been violated. Suppose the world
with all its advancement and knowledge
had come to its present conditions and
this story of Christ's miraculous concep.
tion had never been told until now. how
many do you think there are who would
believe 1t: l repeat. one must have strong
faith to enable him to believe in tLis sun
seen ideal" When we take into consider
alton all those things nature teaches me to
doubt the truth of this story of Christ's
conception.
Nature also teaches me many othel
things. Among them she teaches me thai
all mankind are brothers, that nationally
and individually we are dependent upor
one another for many things, that human
hearts crave human sympathy, that it il
better for US to lead lives that are uprigh
and just, and benefit to the communit,
in which we live in this life, to relieve thu
distress of others as far as lays in ou
power In this life. because it is good to d,
so now and not for anything we hope TO
hereafter. Suffering men and womel
want relief here at this time, and thos
who have led lives that have been an an
noyance to the world and curse to al
who have come in contact with them, the
repent one week before they die and, &C
, cording to their own account, are goin,
straight to heaven, have been of no use t.
the world in which they have lived, an
the last act-dying-has been the onl