Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-04-22
A SERMON IN STONES.
The Diamond the Most Wonder
full Of Precious Stones.
Extract From n Sermon Delivered by DR.. g,
II. Cohen, at ohef sholom Synagogue.
Friday Evening, April 20, 1900.

Sohen AT Ohef Sholom Synagogue:
The diamond is the most wonderful
OF precious stones. 1t easily surpasses
all other gems in beauty. 1t has but
lately obtained its great value. for it Is
only in recent times that the lapidaries
/ nave discovered a method of grinding
the stone from the rough state into the
brilliant. The diamC.ld is clear us
water colorless. adamantine in lustre
and perfectly transparent. 1t reflects
the light with even greater beauty than
does. the spectrum. The rays OF light
that enter il are hurled against its
walls. crushed into their comporcnts
and separated through its multitude OF
facets. dazzling the eyes with rapidly
Changing coiorS and combinations OF
colors. When bathed in light it seems
| all ahame with tongues of red and blue
ana orange and gold. as If in its pride
IL would rival the source OF light itself
because diamonds are so rare and
| beautiful. many people think they are
| composed of some rare and precious
element. But this is mistake. Dia-
mondS are composed entirely of car
bon-one of the simplest elements, and
Il common one at that. 1t is in the air
| we breathe. in the water we drink, in
| the fuel we use for fires, in the stone
\ ana wood with which we build. 1t is
one of the building elements in plants
| and animals. The science of chemistry
tells us that 1t is the only element never
absent in substances obtained from the
| two Kingdoms of organic nature. An
| thracite coal contains SS per cent. car
| bon. But the difference between coal
and diamond is this. The diamond car
bon has been subjected 10 a great force
and OF the process of equalization
| while the coal carbon has not To be
plain, may say that for ages immense
grinding forces, assisted by nature
have been working upon the diamond
washing away its impurities crushing
out all foreign substances. hardening it
TO the toughneSs of adamaDtinc. While
In the case OF coal. when God made 1t
coal He ceased work upon 1t. and it will
always remain the same. soft, black lus-
treless-flt only to do the mental work
of giving warmth. When the diamond
in the rough is completed in the lab
oratory of nature work does not cease
Man takes 1t. polishes and grinds 1t I'M
I'll II sparkleS as the dewdrop on the
| blade OF grass that catches the light of
the morning sun. The more work ma
ture cXpends upon it the purer it be-
comes; the more work man expends
| upon 1t the more 1t sparkles and the
greater its value. The diamond is a
sample of what labor can do.
The labor of God and man produces
the beautiful diamond. The labor of
God and man makes for intelligence
and success in the world, and produces
the great men of genius. Now children
are. we may say, almost formless mat
ter. as the carbon out of which the
diamond is made. But in the period OF
youth the parents and teachers take the
place OF God in developing the child. It
is during this period that the most i'm
portant work OF development is done
Parents can make of their children dia-
| monds in the rough If they VII only
cXpend sufficient labor upon them. 1t
may seem harsh and cruel to many to
subject children 10 Il discipline COM
| parable to that which God subjects
carbon to turn to diamond; but If we
hope for great things to come from our
youths we must subject them to n. orys-
talization of the mental faculties-that
! is, cleanse the mind and subject them
to the crushing and grinding forces of
| self-labor in the home and in the
school. If you hope that your children
shall become brilliant make of them
diamonds in the rough"
If man has been made q diamond
in the rough by his parents or teachers
! then with Gods help he can rise from
the great formless mass of humanity
up to the great geniuses of history, who
surpass their fcllow-men as the dia-
mond surpasscs the other gems. But
| there are very few large pure diamonds
God was sparing of those beautiful
stones. so he moulded only a few in ma
lures laboratory. Likewise. large.
pure souls are very rare. God moulds
not one in millennium. Cast a glance
over the roster of history and pick out
the men whom you would say had great
souls. The number five or ten will
complete the list. There are few pro-
digiously great men in hstory-ono
Socrates, one Orlow q Plato. one Re-
gent an Isaiah, one Sanci n SpinoZa
Most men whom we call great are n I
best only two or three or four carat
men. and of these few are OF the frs
water. Their lustre is furnished by
some weakness; their transparency is
marred by some untruth, q desire or
passion. anger. pride, lust. glory. Strive
to be great and brilliant: strive to be
come a great soul: strive to write your
name among tho immOrtlls of earth. If
you achieve success you deseve the full
reward OF your labor; but If you do not
succeed do not despair; know that of the
myriads of men who have peopled the
earth very very few have reached the
goal toward which you strive Maybe
each failure is q lever to raise yourself
and fellow men to higher things While
your hopes have failed Of fruition, you
have the satisfaction of knowing that
when all Impurities are crushed out OF
men and women Il generation shall peo- |
pie the earth that shall be as pure and
sparkling as the "Regent'-the purcst
of gems.
Over two-thirds of all the diamonds
mined are small. TO be used as brill |
iants or rose diamonds; they are called |
bort They are crushed into powder
and used to polish larger gems. II we
cannot he like a diamond. whose brill |
lance will i!lumine the world of society. !
intellect and commerce, we can at least |
he Ike precious bort to assist others to |
become great and removed. We can