Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-08-23

lorn and wretched face. Rising UP
after awhile, he finds that it is Thack-
cray in the mirror. Oh, yes. this world
is a cheat. Talk about man gaining
the world! Who ever gained half of
the world? Who ever owned a hemis-
phere? Who ever gained continent?
Who ever owned Asia? Who ever
gained city? Talk about gaining the
world! No man ever gained it, or the
thousandth part of it. You are de-
handing that l sell my soul, not for
the world, but for a fragment of it.
Here is a man who had had a large
estate for 40 or so years. He lies down
to die. You say, That man is worth
millions and millions of dollars" Is
he? You call up surveyor, with his
compass and chains, and you say,
There is a property extending three
miles in one direction and three miles
in another direction" Is that the way
to measure that mans property? No!
You do not want any surveyor, with
compass and chains. That is not the
way to measure that mans property
now. 1t is an undertaken you need,
who will come and put his finger in
his vest pocket and take out tape
line, and he will measure five feet nine
inches one way and two and a half
feet the other way. That is the mans
property. Oh, no; | forgot; not so
much as that, for he does not own
ayen tho plana in which ba liac In tho
cemetery. The deed to that belongs
to the executors and heirs. Oh. what
property you propose to give me for
my soul! II you sell bill of goods,
you go into the counting room and say
to your partner: do you think that
man is good for this bill? Can he give
proper security? Will he meet this
payment? Now, when you are offered
this world as a possession l want you
to test the matter. do not want you
to go into this bargain blindly. l want
you to ask about the title. about the
insurance. about whether men have
ever had any trouble with it, about
whether you can keep it,about whether
you can get all or the -thousandth
or one hundred thousandth part of 1t.
There is the world now. / shall say
no more about it. Make up your mind
for yourself, as | shall before God have
to make up my mind for myself about
the value of this world. / cannot af-
ford to make a mistake for my soul,
and you cannot afford to make mis-
take for your soul.
The Soul Beyond Value.
Now let us look at the other prop
erty-the soul. We cannot make a
bargain without seeing the compare
mate the value of it? Well, by its ex-
quisite organization. 1t is the most
wonderful piece of mechanism ever
put together. Machinery is of value in
proportion as it is mighty and silent
at the same time. You look at the
engine and the machinery in the
Philadelphia mint, and as you see it
performing its wonderful work you
will be surprised to find how silently
it goes. Machinery that roars and
tears soon destroys itself; but silent
machinery is often most effective.
Now. so it is with the soul of man,
with all its tremendous faculties, it
moves in silence. Judgment, without
any racket, lifting its scales; memory,
without any noise, bringing down all
it's treasures; conscience taking it's
judgment seat without any excite
ment; the understanding and the will
all doing their work-velocity, majes-
ty, might, but silence, silence. You
listen at the door of your heart You
can hear no sound. The soul is quiet.
1t is so delicate an instrument that
no human hand can touch ii. You
break a bone, and with splinters and
bands the surgeon sets it; the eye be-
comes inflamed, the apothecary's wash
cools it; but soul off the track. I'M
balanced, no human power can read
just it. With one sweep of its wings
it circles the universe and over
vaults the throne of God. Why, in
the hour of death the soul is so
mighty it throws aside the body as
though 1t were toy. 1t drives back
medical skill as impotent. 1t breaks
through the circle of loved ones who
stand around the dying couch. With
one leap it springs beyond star and
moon and sun and chasms of immen-
sity. 1t is superior to all material
things! No fire can consume it; no
floods can drown it: no rocks can
crush it: no walls can impede it; no
time can exhaust 1t. 1t wants no
bridge on which to cross a chasm. 1t
wants no plummet with which to
sound depth. A soul so mighty. so
swift, so silent, must be priceless
soul.
calculate the value of the soul also
by its capacity for happiness. How
much joy it can get in this world out
of friendships, out of books, out OF
clouds, out of the sea, out Of flowers,
out of ten thousand things. and yet all
the joy 1t has here does not test its
capacity. You are in a concert before
the curtain hoists, and you hear the
instruments preparing-the sharp
snap of the broken string, the scrap
ing of the bow across the viol. There
is no music in that" you say. 1t is
only getting ready for the music. And
al the enjoyment of the soul in this
world, the enjoyment we think is real
enjoyment, is only preparative; it is
only anticipative; it is only the first
stages of the thing; it is only the en-
trance. the beginning of that which
shall be the orchestral harmonies and
splendors of the redeemed.
Power of the Soul.
You cannot test the full power of the
soul for happiness in this world. How
much power the soul has here to find