The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-02-10


lies down to die. You say:
THAT man is worth millions anG
millions Of dollarsr'
Is he? You call up a surveyor, will
his compass ant chains and you say
There Is a property extending thre,
miles In one direction, and three In an
other direction
Is that the way to measure that
mans property? No. You do not
want any surveyor. with his compass
and chains. That Is not the way yor
want to measure that mans property
now. 1t is an undertaken that you
need, who will come and put his finger
In his vest pocket. and take out tape
line, and he will measure five feet
nine inches one way, and two and q
half feet the other way. That IL the
mans property. Oh, no: forgot not
so much as that, for he does not own
even the place in which he lies I'm tn,
cemetery. The deed to that belongs
to the executors and the heirs. Oh
what property you propose to give
me for my soul.
/ If you sell bill OF goods you go
into the counting room and say to your
partner: "Do you think that man is
good for this bill? Can he give proper
security? VIII he meet this pay
ment ?"
Now, when you are offered this world
as possession, | want you to test
the matter. do not want to ask
about the title, about the insurance,
about whether men have ever had any
trouble with II, about whether you can
keep 1t, about whether you can get ALL
or the ten-thousandth. or one hundred.
thousandth part OF 1t.
Now let us look at the other property
the soul. We cannot make Il bargain
without seeing the comparative value
The soul. How shall estimate the
value OF 1t? Well, by It's exquisite or,
ganiZation. 1t is the most wonderful
piece of mechanism ever put together
Machinery is OF value in proportion as
1t Is mighty and silent ut the same
time. You look Mt the engine and the
machinery in the Philadelphia Mint,
and. as you see 1t performing its won
derfsl work, you will be surprised to
lind how silently it goes. Machinery
that roars and tears soon destroys it.
'en; but silent machinery is often most
effective. Now. so II Is with the soul
Of man, with all its tremendous facul-
ties-it moves in silence. Judgment,
without any racket, fitting its scales:
memory, without any noise. bringing
1own all its treasures; conscience tax
.ng its judgmentseat without any ex-
citement: the understanding and the
will all doing their work Velocity,
majesty, might: but silencc-silence.
You listen at the door of your heart.
You can hear no sound. The soul is
all quiet. 1t is so delicate an instru-
ment that no human hand can touch
It. You break bone, and with splint-
ers and bandages the. surgeon sets II ;
the eye becomes inflamed the opthe-
cary's wash cools it; but soul Off the
track, unbalanced. no human power
can readjust 1t. With one sweep of its
wing II circles the universe. and over
vaults the throne OF God Why, in the
hour Of death the soul Is so mighty
it throws aside the body as though it
were a toy. 1t drives back medical
skill as impotent. 1t breaks through
the circle of loved ones who stand
around the dying couch. With one leap
it springs beyond star and moon and
sun, and chasms Of immcnsity. Oh. it
is soul superior to all material
things, No nres can consume ii: nc
floods can drown it, no rocks can crush
it: no walls can impede II; no time can
exhaust 1t. 1t wants no bridge on
which to cross chasm. 1t wants no
plummet with which to sound depth
A soul so mighty, so swift, so silent,
must it not be a priceless soul?
| calculate the value of a soul, also
by its capacity for happiness. How
much JOY it can get in this world out
of friendships, out of books, out Of
clouds, out OF the sea, out of flowers,
out of ten thousand things? And yet
all the JOY it has here does not test its
capacity. You are in q concert before
the curtain rises, and you hear the in
struments preparing-the sharp snap
Of the broken string, the scraptngs Of
the bow across the viol.
There Is no music in that" you
say.
1t is only getting ready for the mu-
sic. And all the enjoyment Of the
soul in this world, the enjoyment we
think is real enjoyment. is only pre-
parative: 1t is only the first stages Of
the thing; it is only the entrance, the
beginning Of lnat which shall be the
orchestral harmonies and splendors Of
the redeemed.
You cannot test the full power Of the
soul for happiness in this world. How
much power the soul has here to find
enjoyment in friendship; but, oh. the
grander friendships for the soul In the
skies, How sweet the flowers here;
but how much sweeter they will be
there do not think that when flow
ers die on earth they die forever. l
think that the fragrance Of the flowers
Is the spirit being waited away into
I.I