The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-07-21

of God. There is a feeling of helpless
ness in our nature and if man can't find
a God he will make one. 1t is curious
how strangely similar are all the heather
mythologies to the Bible religion. st.
John says. and there was war in
heaven and Michal and his angels fought
against the dragon and his angels and
hurled them down That old dragon,
which is the devil, was cast down unto
the EARTH Just so in Grecian and Ro-
man and Scandinavian mythology; there
was war in their heaven and the good
deities prevailed and the evil were cast
OUT, but not destroyed. Jupiter had war
with the Titans and dethroned them.
Oden, or Wooden, as he was called, had
war with Loki and dethroned him and
gave him Hela or He'll, for his kingdom
The Scandnavians had a serpent to fig
ure in the dawn of their creation, and
that serpent was ever gnawing at the
roots of the tree of life-a tree that grew
by a spring and was kept in perpetual
bloom by the water of the spring. This
spring was at one end of the rainbow and
the home of Wooden and the gods was at
the other end and as oft as the rainbow
appeared Wooden and his retinue made
use of it as beautiful bridge over which
they passed to the spring to drink and
renew their youth and hold their high
court and sit in judgment upon offenders.
Just so our religion tells us of the tree
of life and the water of life and the
leaves of the tree which are for the
healing of the nations.
This Scandinavian mythology was a
beautiful and fascinating religion
and the Norsemen, including the
Danes and Swedes, believed in
it as pously as we believe in
our Bible and Christianity Indeed it
took centuries TO overthrow it and plant
Christianity there. For centuries it held
sway over all Germany and even to this
day all Christendom uses the names of the
days of the week that came down from
the Norsemen, for Wednesday was Wod-
ensday and Thursday was Thursday. Thor
was Woden's son and was the god OF the
clouds. When he wished to make it thun-
der and shake the rain out of the heavens
he took two great mountains, one in each
hand and clapped them together. Friday
was Fryga day. Fryga was Woden's wife.
Just so we got the names OF the months
from the Roman mythology and we got
the consultations in the heavens from the
Egyptian mythology and it remains I'M
changed to this day. But | wish the
young people to know and remember that
in all mythologies their religion was
founded upon a faith that truth and JUS
tice and virtue must prevail over evil.
The good were rewarded and the evil
were punished not only in this world,
but in the world to come. The difference
is that our religion is founded upon love
thnr hon illCtj q
have but one God instead of q hundred.
Now it seems that Jupiter and his
brothers, Pluto and Neptune. after they
had whipped the Titans proceeded at once
to divide their great domain. Jupiter
was the eldest and smartest and so he
gave the seas to Neptune and hades to
Pluto and kept heaven for himself. Smart,
wasn't he! Hades was not hell at that
time. The spirits of the dead, both good
and bad, mingled together in hades until
Pluto concluded to separate the fnrepent-
ant and incurable ones for fear they
would usurp his kingdom and SO he es-
tablished a hell and called it Tartarus
and shut up all the hardest cases there
in.
Now Pluto married daughter of Ceres
and she had a son named Plutus. He was
the god of wealth and that is where the
word plutocracy came from. Our mill
lionaires belong to it, So it seems that
the god of money is brother in law to
the god of hell. Pretty close kin and
dangerous, but it is according to scrip
ture, for it says that s'the love of money
is the root of all evil and lit is easier
for camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for 4 rich man to go to
heaven" Now this Plutus began to give
his riches to the good only, but Jupiter
didn't like that and struck him blind So
that he couldent tell one man from an
other and so he gropes his wav about
slowly till he finds man. Then he gives
him a pile of money and suddenly opens
his wings and flies away.
That. too is symbolic of what scripture
says. ''Riches take wings and fly away"
The love of money seems to have been
aceursed in all ages. The wedge of gold
not only cursed Achan, but afflicted all
Israel Milton says that Mammon was
one of heavens gods-'one of the spirits
that fell His looks and thoughts were
always downward bent, while he admired
the golden pavemepts in heavens streets
and never, looked up to aught divine.
Then let no one wonder that riches grow
in hell 1t is the soil that best deserves
the precious bane.'
No wonder, then that Mr.. Carnegie be-
came alarmed and hurried to disgcrge.
What a world of care he is now going
through in distributing his wealth. He
receives thousands of pleading letters,
know, for many have been sent to me to
be forwarded to him-many piteouS APP
peals for a little charity. OF course,
forward them and that is the last of it.
They are perhaps read by proxy and then
destroyed. DR.. Samuel Johnston wrote
truly when he said "Riches fortify a man
against but one of the ills of life, and
that is poverty" Cresus had no monu-
ment. | know of one that was erected to
a very rich bad man--an old bachelor
and his executor man of unflinching in
tegrity had chiseled in the marble these
words: ssHe began the world poor boy
and died citizen of large estate. This is
his best eulogy."
He might as we'll have never lived and
doubtless would be better off now. How
many of the rich deserve a similar eulogy
on their tombstones. Old Agur's prayer
was safe one-"Give me neither poverty
nor riches" These great accumulations
impoverish somebody. They generally
come from the sweat and toll OF the poor
Carnegie. the New York Herald says. was
worth not less than $500,0O0,0oo. and no