The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-06-17

was a big thing to spell BAKER.
When we reached "crucifix' we had
Visions of expansion and suspendors
and when we progressed to ''intelll-
g.bility" and ''incomprehensibility
we thought that there were no more
worlds to conquer. But there were,
far away on near the last page was
a catalogue of jawbreakers, such
ph-th-is-ic. which was called ''tisic,
aad emichilimackinac' and 'bonny
clabber," etc. We innoccntly suppos-
ed that the old blue back spelling
book contained all the words in the
world. but by and by we found out
that we were only in the rudiments.
The little dictionary and English
reader and Murray's grammar and
Smiley's arithmetic were all ahead OF
us. in course of time, however, we
learned to parse. which is a latin
word taken from ''quae pars oratione'
what part of speech. Then we mas
tered the rule of three, which is now
called proportion, and soon advanced
to tare and tret, which we whispered
was enough to make the devil sweat"
About this time we began to wear
shoes ali the year round and to brush
our hair and had picked out sweet
heart and held her hand ON the sly
when we stood up to recite, and some
times we used the looking-glass to see
how the downy beard was coming.
When well up in our teens we we're
promoted to the institute and nitro
duced to Latin and Greek and Algebra
and History. | remember the first SEN
tence in the old ''Historia Sacra,
Deus Creavit coelum ct terrain mira
sex dies''-God created the heavens
and the earth in six days 1t was like
a confession of faith and made q more
lasting impression, for we had to
study out and parse it, | remember
cur history and how Thomps Allan,
who had been porting over Alcibiades.
PericIes. Thucydides. Sophoces and
Demosthenes. suddenly came on a SEN
tence beginning with the word be
sides" and he called it besides
and thereby got a nickname that
stuck TO him through life.
But we old men have long since
forgotten our Latin and Greek except
the small words that make up much
Of our modern English. Even Inn
tied knowledge of Latin and Greek
IS a great advantage and great com
fort in defining our language. 1t IS
Of inestimable value to professional
men. to doctors and druggists, botan-
lists and horticulturists and those who
cultivate flowers But nobody can
readily read Latin or Greek nowadays
except the professors and teachers in
our schools. Not long ago | pondered
over a Latin preface in n very old
book and had to give it up. | turned
it over to Professor Dawes and he
rendered it very beautifully and no
doubt correctly. but his good wife
told me as a secret that he worked
on If every night till midnight for a
whole week with his coat off and the
nersDiration oozing from his classic
brow.
was Illuminating about these things
because ! came across some words to-
day that | never heard of and had to
consult the big. dictionary for a
meaning. OF course we have to make
new words all the time to keep up
with Inventions and science, but these
words are old. as old as John Calvin
and they seemed to have created a
!. mighty discussion in making up the
Presbyterian confession OF faltn at
Westminster Abbey 250 years ago. !
was perusing an editorial in a New
York paper in which it was stated
that over forty presbyteries Of the
northern church were in favor OF
amending the confession of faith and
going back to supperlapsarlanlsn,
which was the doctrine of John Cal
vim. That the Westminster confess
sion was subIapsinarian and not Cal
whistle. That was q revelation to me,
and so / have been reading up ON
these abst1use things and find that
there was a long and bitter discussion
vim. That the Westminster comics
decreed the doctrine of election before
the creation of man or after he fell
Calvin declared the former, which
he called sublapsinarianism, but the
Westminster assembly declared that
the decree OF election and probation
was not determined on by God until
Adam had sinned and fell. | tell you,
my Christian friends, those two long
words are to the common mind as un-
Ineligible and ipcomprehensible as
were ''unintelligibility and ''incom-
prehensibility" to me when a school
boy. | have got along without them
all these years and | am not going
TO strain my mind with them now.
There is enough in the Sermon on
the Mount to guide us and comfort us
in our journey of life. These oldtime
theologians were desperately in earn
est ondoctrinal matters for they were
in a mighty controversy with nigh
ty foe and no man had a right TO be-
lieye as he pleased and be at peace
Even Calvin had Seryetus arrested
and burned as a hereto because he
denied the trinity Of the Godhead.
Servetus was Unitarian in faith ard
a good man in all the relations of
life. Sometimes | fear we have too
much compleXity Of doctrine. | mean
some of the preachers and theolo9@ians
of the schools. The people are all
right and give themselves very little
concern about doctrine. They want
preachers to preach about life and
duty, how TO live and how to die. 1t
is not doctrine that takes converted
people into this church or that
church. 1t is ociation-prediiec-
tion-our fathers were there or our
mothers or our special friends, and
we worshipped there or attended Sun
day school when children, and we feel
more at home there. The peculiar
j.. n ~