The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-08-12

The earth. which e find today bright with varied hues. vocal with in.
Vulnerable sounds. rich in fruits and fragrant with odors, lay for an almost
jncacuIabe period Of time destitute or all but destitute, OF color, soundless|
save for the noise Of wave and tempest, and with no promise as yet Of the
rich pofuson Of vegetable and animal forms that now diversity its surface
and iii 1t with the thrill and manifold activities OF life. We often speak OF
man as 1.-THE air Of all the age, but not often, probably; do We pause to re-
aze the Significance Of the word. We talk of evolution, but seldom make
any due effort to grasp the plenitndc and grandeur OF the thought. These
senses Of which we have the use and each Of which brings a different world
natural to hear, to touch. to smell, to taste, that we forget through what
slow processes, by what al. incalculablc number Of slight accretions and deli
cate notifications. these wonderful channels Of knowledge and sensation have
been made for us. We goback through the ages and we come to sightless,
vocclcSs world. For period probably as long as all the rest Of geological
time the only forms Of life were potozoa. Sight was developed among the
wonderful crustaccans Of the S'lurian period, but as yet there were no or
yans of hearing. The first STIMULATION Of an insect wing was heard Of it was
heard in the IeyonEn age, the birth epoch Of the first yertebates. fishes:
but long ages had to pass before the first bee hummed over a flower or the
first butterfly huttcrd its wings in the sunshine. There were n flowers in
the Deyonian age nor yet in the ensuing Carbonierous. though in both there
was a mighty vegetation.
The earliest birds belong to the Cetaceous pcriod-thc classic age Of
reptiles. They were not songSers, howevcr-far from it, nor we're they
beautiful to look upon, for they had strong points Of affinity with the reptile
tribe from which there is reason to believe they we're developed. 1t was not
till well into the Tertiary period that birds IS we know them began to trl
and twitter in the woods. 1t was in the some period that the mammals be.
gan to take maNcriuI possession of the earth. The earliest mammalian
forms were not the perfect organisms a regards form or activity with which
the modern world is familiar and many Of them had but IA comparatively
short existence. In the Tertiary period, however, there was vast outbreak
Of insect, bird, and mammalian life, and now began in earnest the struggle
for existence that struggle which has carried existing forms Of lite to sol
high a point Of perfection.
In the Quartenary period appears man. Whence? How? These are
questions which it is impossible not to ask, but for satisfactory answers to
which We may have to wait a long time. All analogy leads usto believe that
man was developed from some humber form Of life. Upon him was bestowed
the great and unique gift of a superior thinking faculty, the material organ
Of which is undoubtedly his brain. Man clocks before and after, - and II he
also 'Sighs for what is not, ;" that too ta notable mark OF his superiority.
Other animals learn from experience, but to man it is given to sometimes
anticipate experience. He sees things in their relations. and a relation be.
comes to him IS real as the thing itself His thought is therefore compared
with the thought III we may 50 characterize it-of the nearest to him Of the
lower animals, like a higher algebra compared with the processes of a very
elementary arithmetic, His senses are not in general keener than those of
the lower animals, The latter, indeed, often surpass him in this respect,
but what he secs r hears is for practical purposes increased a hundredfod
by what he is able to infer thcretrom. He knows what to look for over a
wide range Of possible phenomenal and separate the significant from the in.
significant.
So equipped, the human race has entered upon a world already prepared
n a wonderful manner for its habitation. Many were the struggles it had
ito endure In the early ages; but society was formed, and man, by the aid Of
his felowman, triumphcd over all his oes -triumphcd, at least. sufficiently
to perpetuate his race and hand down from generation to generation a slow.
y lettering Inheritance. And now in these latter days, the human indi.
vdnal in a civilized land can look forth on scene of peace and plenty and
beauty. In this advanced stage Of the physical world the song of the bird,
The hum OF the bee, the CLEAN of the FREELY, the coors and odors of flowers,
the golden ripple Of the cornhcds, the tnts and favors Of the autumn fruits
are his richly to enjoy. lie gaes at the clouds, at the stars. at the brm.
ming tide OF the ocean with thoughts that have been widcned and strength.
encd by the mental efforts of a Thousand buried generations. II there is nv
duty, therefore, that is incumbent on the Ia of today IL is to know some.
thing by his own efforts OF he wonderful and beautiful world in which he
has SO great an inheritance Not without feelings of love should he gaze on
the landscapes which the hbors Of his forefathers have helped to make beau.
tfuli and not without Feelings OF reverent interest should he regard the dali
ly play Of the natural forces in the world around hin, We sbomd MI hus,,
dents in our way; it may not be much that we can do, but son little Mot or
corner OF the h'a o knowledge we should rcigouly till, that we NAV add,
II not a sheaf, at least II blade to The farvcsts which the workers ara hriro.
ing in. ~
Who can reflect, however, on the beauties and harmonjcs .s>~x.,...
without remembering That human society is far as yet from having re,ched
its perfect harmony! II there is a natural lands.,rot h.,. - NJ. S"s.
landscape; ana mere the b'ts are many, 20 many that it is dimcut not to be
discouraged at times, even when making full allowance for NJ Inc yo,, tia,
society has realized and represents. The man Of strenuous mind will no,
however, he discouraged, lie will acknowledge the existinp evil AM will
patiently seek eat remedies in the storchouse OF natural knowledge Nature
duly Intercepted will supply the remedy. For the world mart from nan
she has established the bcnehcent law OF natural selection. for man aso sho
has established that law, but In the heart Of the human being she has i'm
planted, Is an adjunct to it, the law of justice. The full scope Of that law
has never yet been adequately understood by human society; and fmr.Hfths
Of the legislative tinkering that is done by ur politicians springs from a
simple ignoring of it. We wish most strongly that every man Of science in.
stead of turning away from politics as something most alien to his studies
would make a duty Of asking himself this question: What light does nv
studies throw upon the questions, or son one or other of the questions that
are now most debated in the political world? 1t may be that the parucumn
facts with which u given man of science deals may have no visible beariupJ
on any question of the day; but what about the scientific methods he pmI
sues have they no bearing? We are convinced that light must came spm4
day from the direction OF science. 1t is for the men Of science to Sc that
they 10 o nii IN the'r aty IN t'S most important respect. = j
nlSCuSSlNG the question OF building II capitol, theesteemed Biloxi
- Herald has this say: The present legislature has fittercd away
| Awn npnorf Ii nifirSu with rrfcrrncni n huIdinu u au aa,iaul .~~A-A--