The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-03-02

vote. The time will come when all
you ladies will have that privilege. I
am not going to talk to you about your
patron saint, but will leave that to the
| others"
Mr.. Connelrs remarks were we'll re-
ceivcd and the speaker Of the evening
was then introduced in the person Of
Rev. d. ID. Hopkins, pastor Of the First
Welsh Baptist church, who was as
signed the subject of "St. David" Mr..
Hopkins responded rs follows:
REV. d. d. HOPKINS ADDRESS.
We take 1t for granted that At. David
as he Is &C mmonly called existed IN Wales
some time In the remote past. Very little
| we know Of this remarkable and famous
man, because very little has been written
In regard to lin that VIC In the present
| day can rely on. If we are rather skcp-
| tical as to the correctness of what has
been written about ~. David Gira1dus
Cambrensis says: For David was re-
markable for his sanctity and religion,
as the history Of his life will testify
Giraldus who wrote on Wales and Ire
land in the Twelfth century. evidently
| believed the traditit ms and legions about
David. because he says Of him. "Amoigs 1t
the many miracles recorded of him, three
| appear to me the most worthy of admira-
tion--his origin and conception. his pre-
election thirty years before his birth, and
what exceeds all. the sudden arising of
the ground at Brevy under his feet while
preaching. to the great establishment Of
all the beholders.
| Yet. very little Is said by Giraldus
about st. David. but even his reference
! to him proves beyond any doubt that
\ he believed the popular traditions that
were current In his time. Giraldus was q
Catholic and his description Of religion at
the time I'm Wales has been given us from
that standpoint.
| We say sometimes of such and such q
statement ut is too good to be true.
| and we can say of st. David, "if every
| thing that has been written Of him IL
| true and correct. that he was Il person
| Of superhuman capabilities; but II only q
man. a thinking animal. finite and falli-
| BILE, then some things that have been
handed down to us as historical state
ments must be false and misleading
| We can easily account for the supposed
miraculous element in his life, IL We re-
member that the historian in the dark
| ages looked at everything through a
certain kind of glass. while he ought to
have collected his materials and seen that
what he was handing down to posterity
| was correct
| Yet he might have been innocent and
honest, because 1t Is possible that his re-
ligion had transtlgured everything be-
| fore his eyes We cannot believe. for in
stance. that the stories given in Mabin-
ogion are historically true more than the
story of Alladin and the wonderful lamp
I In the Arabian knights, yet they arc
given US i'm an historical style.
There Is such thing as philosophy of
history. and 1t is the duty of the philos-
! opher. when dealing with any kind Of his
I tory to compare notes and analyze what
| is given as the supposed history Of the
! past
| This is not the case with some Of st.
| Davids biographers. because they have
read the miraculous element into his life
| in order to prove that he was good man
and a God-sent to the Welsh nation. II
| little attention be paid to what Giraldus
| has written We will not be surprised at
his belief in the miraculous element In
| the life Of st. David.
In his Itinerary through Wales" We