The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-28
REV. F. e. DEwHURsT's SERMON AT
PLYMOUTH CHURCH YESTERDAY.
Necessary to Get Back to Free and
Simple and Natural
Life Again.

life. 1t is just exactly the embodiment of
forces and ideas and PRINCIPLES in some
form of outward reality that has made our
age the bountiful and active age it is.
Science and art have combined to multiply
selves more and more with the creations
and embodiments of this fecund and ex-
haustless period: It is long way from the
portable tent of the nomadlc age to the
nome OF even the poor man in this city. 1t
is longer way from the log cabin or the
pioneer to the palace OF his millionaire
grandson. Seventy years ago there were
twenty-three miles of railroad In operation
in the United States. Now there must be
over 100000 miles; and the railroads are only
sign and token of material progress and
of the multiplication of things. Now the
question of deepest import to which we
come back is this: In all this abundance
of things which we possess have we a cor
responding increase and abundance OF life?
Let us think moment what are some of the
accomplishments of this growing affiuence
of the outward life.
In the first place it has Enthusiastically
and Of responsibility The more things we
have to take care of the more worry end
concern we have about the care of them.
1t is no wonder we falter when we read,
Take no thought for the morrow, for the
morrow viii take thought for the things of
itself 1t is not surprising that we declare
it to be an impracticable and impossible
doctrine for our times; II is so largely. The
jewellers in tents did no, have to watch
continually FOR leaky gas pipes ana IN f Pad
If now and then a windstorm blew down the
tent it was easily set up again and with no
such perilouS consequences to life and limb
as a tornado sweeping through o great city.
1t was not necessary to double lock the
doors against burglars and the convenience
OF silver spoons was not diminished by the
necessity of hiding them away at night.
you remember what Stephen Girard said
to the man who wishes he was as rich as
Mr.; Girard He said you would not be
willing to take care of my property for
what l get for doing it, for all l get is my
board and clothes There is a sad pathos
sadness
because Of the truth involved in 1t, the fact
cropping out 50 unconseiously that al! any
man gets going through this world, is his
board and clothes and a place to sleep.
That's all he gets unless he gets something
more and better. But unless he gets that
something more and BETTER which he may
get in a very primitive and simple form of
life, then million times a million dollars
cannot give him any more than those three
things. 1t may be finer food and a better
coat and a better bed, but 1t reduces itself
after all to the three Notwithstanding
to eat, something to wear and a place to
HOW CARES INCREASE.
ST feel pretty sure that 1 should get a
unanimous vote if / should appeal to you
on this first point, that the increase of our
material things has a tendency to increase
our cares and anxieties. We are using up
our nerve force in taking care of the things
We accumulate When | came to Indian
apolis to live regarded with satisfaction
the fact that the force and time had put
into shoveling coal into the furnace in the
winter time could be used to better advan-
tage in other ways. But l find that all the
books in my library and in my neighborS'
libraries that are bound in leather are suf-
fering badly from this benefcent fuel of
ours. l wish they were bound in cloth or
paper. / would rather go back to shoveling
coal. find that am troubled and con-
cerned over seeing things go to pieces in
this way. and in spite of myself am anxious
/
of you when you buy pretty piece of china
or bric-a-brac begin instantly wondering
how long 1t is going to stay whole. The
anxiety is contemporaneous with the pos
session, and is buried only with the broken
pieces.
Il read the other day that it costs $1,000
to fire the larger guns on our warshipS for
a single timee 1t wouldn't take very much
of a scrimnlage on the part of our white
squadron to fire off as much good solid
wealth as would send whole army of our
struggling boys and girls through the
best universities. It's terribly costly bust
ness, this keeping peace with your neigh
bors.
II wish to speak of just one more way in
which the possession of things seems to an
tagonize the spirit of life. 1t is that fatal
tendency which the acquisition and accumu-
lation of things have of feeding upon them
selves. l have recalled a great many times
the remark made to me several years ago
by a gentleman who was on the editorial
staff of one of the leading daily papers In
Boston. He had invited me to dine with
him, and after dinner we spent the evening
together in his library, and he remarked
that he had been working ten or dozen
years to accomplish the great desire he had
at heart and he had succeeded; and when
/ looked inquiringly to learn the object, he
pointed to the walls of the library; they
were covered from floor to ceiling and on
all sides with books. It was certainly a
there contemplatively enjoying the fruits of
his toll. / have known other men who
might make that confession, but much as
love and value books, l nave come 10 pc
lieve that neither life nor knowledge con-
sists in the ability of man TO line the
walls of his house with the printed and
bound products of other mems brains. But
possession and accumulation Of things feed
upon themselves. Some men collect books
some postage stamps-but life does not con-
sist in the abundance of any one OF these
things What then Is the CONCLUSION r OF me me
passage back to the Oriental alternatives or
rather, we have tried to-albeit some OF you
may jump the fence. But the solution OF
life is not in that direction; to be choked
with the cares of this world is bad, but TO
be God-intoxicated is bad too. Life does
that Rousseau suggested. Let us get back
to nature; let us reconstruct the primitive
eon9ons OF me u Let ts US nuoW ON whn
enthralls us and get back once more to the
free and simple and natural lie.
DEVELOPING THE SPIRIT.
'But no one seriously believes that such
a movement of life is possible. The sun will
not go back upon the dial plate. ClVlllza-
ton will not retrace it's steps. For us the
one and only question is: Can we make the
abundance of things which we possess con-
serve and develop the life Of the spirit? And
when we have fully weighed all the SEEM
ing hindrances we still see how great are
the gains. Modern science has invented
war ship which will destroy either the enc
my or itself without a moments warning,
but modern science has also broken down
the barriers of the nations; It has estab-
lished commerce, made possible human m
tercourse, travel and education so that pro-
vincialism, ignorance and superstition are
passing away; and in the face of these
things enmity and war cannot flourish.
There is vastly more and better and nobler
life because of all this progress. And VINO
can doubt the sweetening and emanclpatng
influence that has been spread abroad by
the abundance of the things that we possess
in the way Of education and OF art; the ac-
cess we have to the minds of this and OF
past ages; enlarged meaning and expert
ence of life that comes through pictures ana
books and music; they are all forms and
phases of wealth; they belong to the things
of which we have greater ana greater
abundance.
But after ALL the value Of these things
to life is determined by the use we make
of them. One of our most thoughttul econ
omists has said that there can be no higher
economic development unless II IS toward
a higher moral development. To have the
higher economic development there must be
the better man.. If, then. we can De sure
of the sources Of our life, II we can know, in
the very depth Of our hearts, that however
much we may live by bread and every ex-
ternal blessing svnbolized by bread, we
must still live by every word that pro-