The Progress., 1897-06-19

danger Of poorly regulated inquisitivd.
ness? She wanted to know how the fruit
tasted. She found out, hut 5000 years
have deplorcd that unhealthful curiosity.
Healthful curiosity has done u great deal
for letters, for art, for science AND Cor re-
Ngion. 1t has gone iiown>into the depths
Of the earth with the geologist and seen
the first chapter of Genesis written In the
book of nature, illustrated with engraving
on rock, and it stood with the antiquarian
while. he blew the trumpet of resurrection
over buried Herculnneum and Pompcii,
until from their sepulcher there came up
shaft and terrace and amphitheater.
Healthful curiosity has enlarged the tele-
scopio vision Of the astronomer until worlds
hidden In the distant heavens have troopcd
forth and have joined the choir praising
the Lord. Planet weighed against planet
and widest comet lassooed with replen-
dent law. Healthful curiosity has gone
down and found the tracks Of the eternal
God in the polypi and the starfish under
the sea and the majesty of the great Jeho-
yah encalnped under the gorgeous cur
tains of the dahlia. 1t has studied the
spots on the sun, and the larva in a beech
leaf, and the light under a flrefy's wing,
and the terrible eye glance of condor
pitching from Chimborazo. It has studied
the myriads Of animalcule that make up
the phosphorescence In a ships wake, and
the mighty maze of suns and spheres and
consultations and galaxies that blaze on
in the march of God. Healthful curiosity
has stood by the inventor until forces that
were hidden for ages came to wheels, and
levers and shafts and shuttles-forces that
ay the air, or swim the sea, or cleave the
mountain until the earth jars and roars
and rings and crackles and booms with
strange mechanism, and ships with nos
trils of hot steam and yokes of fire draw
the continents together.
say nothing against hea1thful curl
ostty. May 1t have other Leyden jars,
and other electric batteries, and other vol
taio piles, and other magnifying glasses,
with which to storm the barred castles of
the natural world until 1t shall surrender
its last secret. We thank God for the geo.
logical curiosity of Professor Hitchcock,
and the mechanical curiosity OF I4iebig,
and the geological curiosity Of Culver, and
the inventive curiosity. of Edison, but we
must admit that unhealthful and irregu-
lar inquisitivcness has rushed thousands
and tens Of thousands into ruin.
Eve just tasted the fruit. She was curl
Gus to find out how it tasted, and that
curiosity blasted her and blasted all na-
tbons So there are clergymen In this day.
inspired by unhealthful inquisitiveness
who have tried to look through the key
hole of Gods Inysteries-mysteries that
were barred and bolted from all human
fnspection--and they have wrenched their
whole moral nature out of joint by trying
to pluck fruit from branches beyond their
reach, or have come out on limbs Of the
tree from which they have tumbled into
ruin without remedy. A thousand trees
of religious knowledge from which we
may eat and get advantage, but from Ger
tain trees of mystery how many have
plucked their ruin! Election, free ngency,
trinity, resurrection-in the discussion Of
these subjects hundreds and thousands Of
people ruin the soul. There are men who
actually have been kept out OF the king
dom of heaven because they could not IN
derstand who Melchisedec was mott
Like Dead Sea Fruit.
Oh. how many have been destroyed by
an unhealthful inquisitiveness! 1t Is seen
In all directions. There are those who
stand with the eye stare and mouth cape
of curiosity. They are the first to hear a
build 1t another story high and
two wings to 1t. About other peoples ap-
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