The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-12-02
CAIL,NGOf sIMrLES.

f- CALLING OF slMPLES.
To. know well the familiar Things OF
every day life. their virtues and the best
ways OF utilizing them Is prime wisdom.
So. too. is II TO know the simplest and
most harmless remedies for common ALL
ments and accidents, the simplest ways
OF doing things. the easiest methods OF
management so as not to waste time
and money In pomp and nonsense. And
the man who Is most familiar with SIM
pie, honest little ways and laws, and ha-
b.tually follows them is going to last
longest and be acknowledged the wisest.
The idle world is very ambitious, and.
as a consequence, dearly loves 10 i'm
pose upon and be cheated. 1t does not
want simple wisdom and common sense,
in anything: II must be humbugged. And
so humbug and glamour make up large
part OF the occupation OF the multi
tude high and low; the balance being
pretty much taken up in staying or rem
edying the evil consequences Of their am
bilious and foolish methods and vices.
Ii is lamentable to think OF the time
and labour and care and money that
are spent on mere grandeur, on what
has nothing to do with our goods. but
only costs and damages US. The misery
Of our fallen condition Is that avarice
and ambition are regarded as the only
things worth living for, their pursuits as
the summum bonum. and life without
them not worth living while in fact
they do consume our lives, as, in their
service. we labour and strive 20 get in
and out Of difficulties. Men spend their
time in anything else Than gathering
smples. And yet simples make the pure
and healthy and happy lives. And they
are everywhere the elements OF HE ana
power and permanence. And forever the
desire TO do Things in grand way ana
ambitiously is the sure guarantee OF iall-
ure and disaster and death. The trst
principles Of synthetic geometry are SELF
evident propositions, and It's frst lesson
Is a Culling of Simples: statement or
obvious truths, a part IS less than
the whole. a straight line is the short
est distance between two points, and the
like. And from these it rises to the
grandest results. In the mastery of
every art and science We pass from the
A. B. C's upward. from simple 10 com
pick. from weak beginning to large
achievements; rs II was told to LIES
typical pilgrims Ito humble thee and to
prove thee, that so He might do thee
good at thy latter end"
Culling Of simples is a very wholesome
thing TO think about and TO do. Friar
Lawrence in his morning walk solilo-
quizes:
Now ere the sun advance his burning
eve
The day to cheer and nights dark dew to
dry
I must MI up this ozler cage Of ours.
With baleful weeds, and precious juiced
flowers.
Q mickle is the powerful grace that lies
In herbs, plants, stones, and their true
For nought 50 vile that on the earth
doth i've
Bat to the earth some special good doth
give:
Nor ought so good, but, strained from
Revolts from trre birth, stumbling on
abuse"
He knew when and where and how TO
gather virtUous simples.
The spirit in Comus tells Of certain
shepherd lad
OF small regard 10 see to, yer well skill
~ FNt4g NuNuluS pant ana Nedllng nero
That spreads her Verdant leaf 10 the
morning ray:
He'd show me sImples Of thousand
names.
Telling their strange and vigorous fac
ultes
Among the rest a small unsightly root.
But Of divine effect he culled me out:
The leaf was darkest and had prickles
on #,
But In another country, as he said
Bore a bright golden flower, but not in
this soil
Unknown, and like esteemed, and the dun
swain
rreads on It daily with his clouted shoon
And yet more medicinal IS II than that
molu,
He called it haemony. and gave II me
ANA Dade me keep il as Of sovereign use"
The great King Of Israel says: MY
heart is not naughty, nor mine eyes of
~: neither do I exercise myself in great
matters, nor In things too high for me.
Behold l have behaved and quieted my
self as weaned child" And the Apostle
advises: As new born babes desire the
sincere milk of the word that We may
grow thereby. The best sense and pletv
is compounded Of many simples all pure
and after the art of the divine apothe-
cary: the Spirit Of Wisdom and Unde.-
standing and Goodness.