Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-11-23
FROM THE KNOWN To THE UNKNOWN.
Fact That We Can Think Of Other Worlds is
Evidence We Are Made to Enter Them.


A large audience greeted Rev. B. J.
H. Shaw Sunday evening at the Con.
gregational church to hear his sixth
| lecture entitled From the Known tC
the Unknown" 1t was rich in
thought and research and in ouI
judgment the best one SO far deliv.
cred Of the series, while all have been
excellent. His audience was sc
| enrapped in following every thought
expressed that you could have heard
pin drop in the room. Lovers of the
good in literary effort cannot afford tC
miss these sermons. He Said
We are quite familiar with the fact
Of varying capacity TO know and OF
different attainmentS in knowledge:
there is keener desire in some than
in others, greater attention is given,
the inquSitiye spirit is strong, the
result of this is a larger discovery of
truth: many things nonresident tC
those who neglect their faculties have
real existence to those who cultivate
them, they live in world unseen by
those who have not opened their eyes.
and yet real world, full of interest, of
instruction and endless delight.
A blind man for instance does not
know what color is, nor does one who
is color blind know as much about it
as those who have d discriminating
eye, they do not know the meaning of
the words used to describe color.
When the ship Challenger was on
its voyage of scientific discovery a
sounding line was let down from it's
side to Il depth of 5 miles, the valves
Of the weight opened and certain
creatures of that region were en-
trapped and brought up. Now sup
pose that one of these animals had
spoken to another what | now say to
you-that the sounding weight came
down and carried many of their com
panions into another world, and sup
pose the other replied that is
impossible, | cannot believe it, and
never shall, did not see it happen, |
did not go with them to that other
world and will not believe there is one;
you have no hesitation in saying that
is not a good reason for denying the
truth OF the statement, and yet that is
precisely what man does who asserts
that nothing exists of which he is not
cOgniZant.
If we consider the senses only we
see how they may be cultivated-ma
more SenSitive-their range of activ-
ity and vision widened until more
facts and other worlds meintO view.
Take for example the variations in
our SenSitiveneSs to sound. When a
string or an organ pipe vibrates Is
times in second the ear catches low
thrObbing grOan which is the lowest
sound: let it make few vibrations
more, y in all, and musical SOUNDS
begin: if it vibrateS 32 times in a
second the note is produced an octave
higher. The highest note known to
the orchestra represents 4753 Vibra-
tiOnS in second, beyond that the
human ear cannot detect sound. Shall
we say therefore there are no quicker
vibrations because we have no sense
Of them? 1t would be foolish to do 50,
for as matter of fact we do discern
them in another way. when the vibra-
tiOnS are counted by millions instead
OF thousands they appear to us as
cOlOrS. When we think Of this it is
not difficult to believe that if we had
finer eye or ear, having capacity to
note vibrations more rapid than those
of SOund-mOre slow than those of
Sight-new worlds would be discovered.
Sir William Thompson suggests that
we are acquiring a new function of
sensation which he terms the electric,
and one of the most farSeeing writer's
OH scientific subjects says. "A sense
enabling Us to perceive electricity
would frequently disclose a scene as
varied as gorgeous sunset" How
arrogant it would be and contrary to
the experience of many, to say there
is no beauty or music lOvelier or sweeter
than that we see and hear.
The physical senses, then, have de-
velOpmentS and by an increase of
power have been able to pass from the
known to the unknOwn; the micro
scope and telescope have given greater
depth and extension of vision and new
worlds have burst into view. There
are, however, barriers to the senses
beyond which they cannot go, and it
is just here, where the senses fail that
the Reason begins its work and dis
plays superior pOWer-a finer pene-
tratiOn-a farther reach and vision,
The senses are baffled when we ask
them to tell us what supports the
earth. The colored preacher going by
his senses said the earth rested upon
rock, and when asked by dissatisfied
hearer what the rock rested upon,
replied very quickly, Dat am plain
enough, it am rock all de way down. ="
And the senses know no better, they
cannot give the true answer because
they see only what is visible to the
bodily eye, they can do no more than
affirm that all bodies of weight must
have something material to rest upon.
A house rests upon it's foundations and
they upon the earth beneath, but to
| the question, what does that rest
upon, they have no answer. We must
appeal to another power a larger
| knowledge higher wisdom, and the
reply is, that the worlds are held in
their places by the invisible power of
gravity. Who knows that, and by
what power? 1t is the answer OF the
philOSophic scientist to whom it has
come through the inductive power OF
reason, and we all accept it as a
settled fact.
The Reason, then. has the power tC
know truths which are beyond the
scope of the senses. Reason is the
great diScoyerer and is perpetually
finding new worlds. 1t was by this
power that Columbus discovered this
country: he did not simply look across
the mighty waters stretching away
far as the eye could reach: he did not
start out on voyage of adventure
with guess that there might be land
beyond the seas, he had no doubt
about it, he saw new world. not with
/ the eve of sense but by the cleal