The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-05-02
THE NATURAL WORLD.
DR.. Taimage Says God Regulates the Ant
Hill as Well as the Human
Habitati0n.
The Most Of SoIomon's Writings Have Gone
Ont OF Existence.


Dr. Talmage draws his illustrations from
realm seldom utilized for moral and relig-
1ous purposes; text, Proverbs vi. 6-S: GO
to the ant, thou sluggard. Consider her
ways and be wise, which, having no guide,
overseer or ruler, provideth her meat in
the summer and gathereth her food in the
harvest"
The most Of Solomon's writings have
perished. They have gone out OF exist
ence as thoroughly as the twenty books of
Pliny and most of the looks OF Aeschylus
and Euripides and Varro and Quintiiian.
Solomon's Song and Ecclesiastes and
Proverbs, preserved by inspiration, are a
small part of his voluminous productions.
lie was great scientist. One verse in the
Bible suggests that he was a botanist, a
zoologist,, an ornithlologist, an ichthyolo-
gist and knew all about reptlia. Kings
~, %; lie spake OF trees, from the cedar
tree that is in Lebanon even unto the
hyssop that springeth out of the WALL he
spake also of beasts and of fowl and of
creeping things and of fishes" Besides all
these scientific works he composed 5000
proverbs and 1905 songs.
Although Solomon lived long before the
microscope was constructed he was also
an .insectologist, and watched and de-
scribes the spider build its suspension
bridge of silk from tree to tree, calling il
the spiders web, and he notices its slSlful
toothold in climbing the smooth wall of
the throneroom in Jerusalem, saying,
The spider takcth hold with her hands
and is in kings palaces" But he is espe.
cially interested in the ant, and recon-
mends its habits as worthy of study and
imitation, saying, go to the ant, thou
sluggard, consider her ways and be wise,
which, having no guide, overseer or ruler,
provideth her meat in the summer and
gathereth her food in the harvest"
But it was not until about 30, years ago,
when Jan Swammerdam, the son of an
apothecary at Amsterdam, Holland, began
the study Of the ant under powerful lens,
that the full force of Solomon's injunction
was understood. The great Dutch scien-
tst in his examination of the insect in my
text discovered as great display of the
wisdom of God in its anatomy as astrono-
mers discover in the heavens, and was so
absorbed and wrought upon by the won
ders he discovered in the ant and other
insects that body and mind gave way, and
he expired at forty-three years of age a
martyr of the great science of insectology.
No one but God could have fashioned
the insect spoken of in the text or given
it such genius of instinct--its wisdom for
harvesting at the right time, its wonders
of antennae, by which it gathers food, and
OF mandibles, which, instead of the mo-
ton of the human jaw up and down in
mastication, move from side to side; its
nervous system, its enlargng doors in hot
weather for more sweep of breeze, its
mode of attack and defense, closing the
gate at night against bandit invaders; its
publication of the earth for human resi-
dence, its social life, its republican gov
ernment with the consent of the gov
erned its natural fidelities, the habit of
these creatures of gathering now and then
under the dome of the ant hillock SEEM
ingly in consultation and then departing
to execute their different missions.
But Solomon would not commend all the
hnlNt 10 nf tl,a ,,.t CO.. 1ft tIa,,.
bad as some of the habits of the human
race. Some of these small creatures are
desperadoes and murderers. Now and
then they marshal themselves into hosts
and march in straight line and come upon
an encampment of their own race and de-
stroy its occupants, except the young,
whom they carry into captivity, and if the
army come back without any such cap
tives they are not permitted to enter, but
are sent forth to make more successful con-
quest. Solomon gives no commentator
to such sanguinary behavior among insects
any more than he would have commended
sanguinary behavior among men.
But what are the habits which Solomon
would enjoin when he says, Consider her
ways and be wise?" First of all, provi-
dence, forethought, anticipation of coming
necessities. | am sorry to say these quail
ties are not characteristic of all the ants.
These creatures of God are divided into
are not frugal, but the former are frugal.
While the air is warm and moving about
is not hindared by ice or snowbank, they
import their cargoes of food. They bring
IN their caravan of provision; they haul in
their long train of wheat or corn or oats
The farmers are not more busy in July
and August in reaplng their harvest. They
stack them away. they pile them up. They
question when they have enough. They
aggregate sufficient amount to last them
until the next warm season. When winter
opens they are ready.
Blow We wintry biasts Hang your icices
from the tree branchesl Imbed all the
highways under snowdrifts! Enough for
all the denizens of the hills. Hunger shut
out, and plenty sits within. God, who
feedeth every living thing, has blessed the
ant hill.
In contrast with that insectile behavior
what DO you think of that large number of
prosperous men and women who live up
to every dollar that they make, raising
their families in luxurious habits and at
death expecting some kind friend to give
their daughters employment as music
teachers or typewriters or Government
employees! Such parents have no right to
children. Every neighborhood has speci-
mems of such improvidence. The two
words that most strike me in the text are
summer" and winter" Some people
have no summer in their lives From the
rocking cradle to the still grave it is relent-
less January. Invalid infancy followed by
some crippling accident or dimness of eye
sight or dullness of hearing or privation or
disaster or unfortunate environment makes
life perpetual winter. But in most lives
there is period of summer, although it
may be short summer, and that is the
time to provide for the future
One OF the best ways of insuring the fu-
ture is to put aside all you can for charit-
able provision. You put a crumbling stone
in the foundation of your fortune if you
do not in your plans regard the sufferings
that you may alleviate. You will have the
pledge of the high heavens for your tenn
poral welfare when you help the helpless,
for the promise is Blessed is he that con.
sidereth the poor; the Lord will deliver
him in time of trouble"
Then there is another way of providing
for the future. If you have $1,000 year
income, save 800; or $4,000 year, save
$500; or $4,000, save $1,000. Do you saw
such economy is meanness? l say it is a
vaster meanness for you to make no pro-
vision for the future and compel your
friends or the world TO take care of YOU
or yours in case OF bereavement or calam-
ity
There are women who at the first in
crease of their husbands resources wreck
all on an extravagant wardrobe. There
are men who at the prospect Of larger
prosperity build houses they will never be