The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-01-11
The Figures 1900" Leok Strange to
The Philosopher.
THEY SHOW TIME Is FLYING FAST
AMI Soon WI; Come Eterulty-Tne
Century Question-Thinks Il Is
about Settled.


and shorter as he grows older and wis
sr. and haw the period is surely COM
ing when there will be 30 years or
months and time will be no more.
According to scripture this thing call
ed time is I perishable elastic COM
pressible creation adapted TO man In
his state Of probation and not at all
necessary to the creator who said be
fore the wCrld was made | am" God
always speaks of himself the present
tense, Il am" He is one eternal now
without beginning of years or end OF
days. We can net comprehend this,
but as We near the goal we can almost
catch glimpse of its poss bihty. That
time is compressiblc and elastic all of
Is have experienced for so.nesimes the
hours seem very long and sometimes
very snort. In our dreams we some
times condense hours and days Of
events in a few delirious moments.
never shall forget the anxiety and ag-
ony of long effort to keep my broth
ar from fighting duel and how | help
ed to write all the correspondence be-
tween him and his adversary and how
at the last the duel could nc. be avoid
ed and how ! carefully selected and
loaded his pistol and measured of the
distance and then made another effort
to pac.fy an1 adjust and prevent the
duel. but all in vain and he stood TO
the mark and fired and fell. The re-
port OF gun that was fiered back of
hnnCp a a 1. rsaH
and ii was this report that condensed
all the long train of thought and
events into NON ents space. My wife
vas sitting by my bedside with her
hand upon my feverisa bow and de-
clared that had not been aslcep more
than minute-and yet | remembered
every line and word of that cores
pondence, and when | recovered from
my fever could repeat il. The time OF
hours was condensed into moments
Just so those Who were thought TO he
drowned and rcsuscitated tell Us that
a panorama Of their whole life came
before them as they lest consciousness.
Every word and thought nd deed and
every scene they had witnessed from
/ their childhood was as vivid and real
as if it were just transpiring. The-a
can be no doubt about this experience
of many persons. 1t is well confirmed.
! We are just on the verge OF knowing
we VIII know wlen we put OF this
mortal coil and our souls are released
wonderful things ard my faith is that
and free. We have implanted within
us spark OF divinity, but only a
I spark.
/ But, alas, how little we do know and
how utterly helpless We are. We know
not whence we come nor whittier we
are going. We can not make one hair
white or black. We can not tell by
what mysterious power we raise our
hands or move our feet or wink our
/ eyelashes. We can not add a day or
an hour 70 our lives nor foresee the ac-
cidents that may befall us as we move
to and fro on the land or sea. We can
not escap> the pestilepce that walketh
at noondi.y nor make ourselves secure
against fire and food and famine
What p:tiful creatures We are, and vet
We see everywhere around us young
men VINO are conceited and proud IF
their manhood or their money and we
see young girls who are vain of cheir
beauty or their dress when they played
no part in the formation Of the one or
the earning of the other. A beautifu!
woman Is close kin to the angels, and
she should be thankful that God made
her SO, but she has no excuse in the
world for being vain. Humility Is her
loyliest ornament. AS for these con-
ceited and naughty young men who
Strut around in fine clothes that they
never earned CT that they got by short
cuts or disholorable means, they ex-
cite only pity OF contempt When we
/ icok upon them we can but exclaim
with Dayid, Lord. what is man that
thou art mindful CT him." Young men
why don't you humble yourselves un-
der the mighty hand of God who made
you? You have not the remotezt idea
who you are today. and you don't care
IL you havn't. You have travelled
300,O00.000 OF miles since the last ys
nc got back 10 the same place yol
started from. You travel 20c00 miles
IN hour and every day turn summer
tault $500 miles round and don't
know IL, and you don't care IL you
don't The Creator is your engineer
and runs your train without a run-off
or collision ard you never think OF
Him or thank Him. You seem TO
think you are doing IT.
But abosrt $50 years ago all Christen-
tom got the divisions of time settled
Town upon the present basis and I
hope ii will stick. We do not know
that the Saviour was bern 1899 years
ago last Christmas, but that is as near
as can be appropriated. and II is rear
erough for ell Christians 10 observe
ard be thankful for.
1900. There Is a meaning IN those
'gures. Every time they are wr;ttar
IN lett5Tlead or ledger or a bank
cote CT cheek Or hotel registe- or
printed cn aIe wspaper they mean
something. The pens OF Christians
and inf6els and Jews and gentiIes are
all writing y visible and indellible up
on the paper. Every moment Of time
it is being written al ever the f5rld
I and every mark establishes fact-a
great IA ctthat 1899 yeas ago there
was n tir.h-a nolahle birth. and old
father Time suddenly stopped che old
calendar ard begsr Few count aad
called II Ano DcIalnl WHAT a won
scrful event il must have been tia,
.Jsed the record or the ages arl star
| ed time on a new cycle. How in the
world did it happen? The Greeks b I'D
their calendar aad tie Romans had
theirs and the Jews had cne that was
handed down by Moses. TIE Greeks
had the olyarieds and the Romans tbs
birth Of their ancient city. and the Nc
hammedans the fight OF Mahcmet. but
all were overshadowed sgd still ars
by the one set up by handful o.
friendless Christians. What a won
derful thing is this date, these -four
s;rple figures. We write these ever,
1av and red t--a-n eve----e-e
Tte1 let u IL oord cyo wat
..ey mean ard p--ve -ril A.D, II 81
| fa,-a Hor sfitufiou