Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1896-05-14

Edehghtand the gudzofAw ar theffsdi+
vinity. @Butsdid this people flourish
and prosper? Did it continue and en-
dure? No, il soon passed away, de
stroyed by firesand sword, amid the
ElErathfnl abominatiop of its4neighbo"s.
as fatesM waf-Ioving~ Egypt
EanYgbetter? Her numberless archers,
~inserried ra~nks.rushed into fight, and
dHtQ vietory.SHes left~onreeord i'm
posing andapompouslists Of her snc-
eessful battles. But, it was all to- no
purpose. Intime, ~shesnapped as11nder,
like oneaof her own river-reeds before.
the might of Persia. In Subsequent
ages, we behold the pathetic spectacle,
of the Egyptian peasants sco0pingtheir
mi1astones out of the ace of herRam-
ises, the mostcolossal statue of the
wOrfd@&4&
Again: M LAM natioHs; in the East,
from natural selfshness. andsindolence,
in the West, from a. preposterous let
ter-woi ships of IthesBible, hapeAcher-
ishea the debasing and sgrovelling Mea
OF AJsOtutispa-the crawling that iss at
EthAfootof someroyal house, the deif-
cation Of some human divinity. So it
was under the cruel, bIsod-poisoned
despotisms sof Asia, and under the.
wicked. deifed Caesars. The nations
whit needed this idea hasdisappeared
crushed, into dust beneath the revulv-.
ing wheelsS0f. relentless Time From
this debased notionwe have beensayed
bv the mighty PASSION for HUertn,
which had its home in the breasts of
E~ourfatherse C9sarism, ~autocracy, Ma
poleonlsm, is, for us, utterly in pvssible
forever III
Further: We see snother Ideal of
nations to have been, O so much war
Itself as its glory, poa1ip and .tdnae. Such.
was the ideal of France. But she
learned wisdom through bitterly hu-
initiating experience. Even the tran
scendent military genius of a Napoleon
could not build up an enduring empire
On such a false and vile conception Of
what a nations purpose should be-.
For nearly two decades the eagles O.
victory perched upon his war-fags
They then Dol their flight and have
not once returned to the armies of
France. The lesson which France was
TO learn from the worshipo glory, was
completed, We may trust, in the Franco
German war, aquarter of a century ago,
when She was trodden under foot and
humiliated Is never before in her his
tory. For centuries, glory was her idol,
as we'll as ideal-''La Gloire" was
her wal cry,-and it brought her.
unutterable shame. GLORY" was a
favorite word in the dispatches of
Napoleon. 1t is not once used; if
mistake not, by Washington or Wei
fington, or Lee. The nation which
follows glory, follows a will-of-the-
Wisp which tiutters over the marshes
of death, wherein it shall be engulfed
and destroyed. AIMS t4.
Other nations have had as an Ideal
the gaining Of eCedlth. A nation is but
the aggregate of it's sons and the love
of money is a snare to countless indi-
viduals. OF all false gods, the lowest
that, fell from heaven is Mammon.
He is the curse of all that put their
trust in him. He was the god of An
Gent Babylon, of Ancient Tyer, of
declining Rome, and of medieval
Spain. eff the King of Mexico said
Cortez, has any gold, let him send it
to us, for and my companions have
a disease Of the heart, which is cured
heart, which drove the conquerers of
PERU and Mexico to their careers of
shameless and horrible atrocity. It
was this Unsuitable greed, as well as
the inquisitorial bigotry of the Span
lard, which most Of all aroused the
fury of England, the predestined
seourage of that naughty, "eruel' and
avaricious power. The sun of Ath-
ems did not sink more surely in the
Day VI oNI pCuSo, Id VIC RIOIN III
Spain sank with her Armada on the
rocky shores of England. What has
this material wealth, the only kind of
wealth which we recognize and the.
only kind which the Scriptures do.
not recognize at all. or only with in
tense warnings ever done for man or
for nations?
Consider, then, what a study of3the
philosophy of history teaches us in
this matter, aud how we should
harken unto it. Whata lesson, and
at the same time what a warning it
brings to us! The essence of wisdom
for nations, as well as for individuals,
consists in ~forecasting and determin-'
ing the future by learning the teach
ings OF the Past and avoiding it's err
rors, as they are writ upon the pages
of human history. 3N#NN E@UE
1t is perfectly plain, therefore, that
the future of u country depends
upon our National Ideal, and what it,
shall be depends upon as. If our
ideal is noble and lofty and pure, the
time will soon be at hand, when the
world will see what it has never yet.
seen since the beginning of creation
the greatest numbers and the highest ciriG-
zdtiOn united IN the same race and thai
race the american people. 5t1.sf
And euhat shall be our ideal? Surely
it can and must be one, and that is
righteousness and Liberty; alvin ideal,
each bound to the other and the sep
aration of which brings death to both
and destruction to the nation. The
people which go forward with the,
firm and abiding resolution to make
for Righteousness and to possess and
hold liberty, will move onward with
stately steps and unfaltering trust, to.
a destiny as grand as enduring, and
as lofty as sublime. 1t need fear no
foe, for it has, ever ready at hand,
the weapons with which to conquer
and annihilate the only foes that ever
yet destroyed a nation, viz, lust and
avarice. -asAt. tt+a Hos
Such a nation will have the two
fold qualities of greatness and strength,
1t will be great in the possession of
grand and heroic virtues; greatin the,
spirit to overcome self, and selfish
ness and sin. 1t will be great in it's
purity of life, great in its allegiance
to truth. 1t will be strong int its
power to exercise self-control, with
out whcih neither individuals nor ma
lions ever accomplish much. 1t will
be strong in the wisdom, which
knows how to draw the line sharply
between liberty and license, strong in
its ability, to protect the weak and
defenceless and right the wrongs Of
| the oppressed and down trodden. In
a word, it will be strong in all the
| virtues which go to make up rue Ia
tiona1 greatness. :
Oh, my brothers, as we stand here
this day by the graves of the heroic
| dead. Shall we not seek to catch
their spirit of Self-sacrifice and man