Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-05-04


his illustrations from realm seldom
- utilized for moral and religious pur-
poses; 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 I.
the summer and gathereth her food in
the harvest"
The most OF Solomon's writings have
persisted. They have gone out of exist
ence as thoroughly as the twenty books
of Pliny and most of the books of Aes-
chylus and Euripides and Narro and
| Quintilian. Solomon's Song and Eccle-
siastes and Proverbs. preserved by inspir-
alton, are small part of his voluminous
productions. He was great scientist.
One verse in the Bible suggests that he
| was botanist, a ..oologist, an ornitholo-
gist, an ichthyologist and knew all about
reptilia. l. Kings iv., 33, He spake OF
| trees, from the cedar tree that is in Leb-
anon even unto the hyssOp that spring
| eth out OF the wall; he spake also of
| beasts and of fowl and of creeping things
and of fishes Besides all these scien
tific works, he composed 5000 proverbs
and ,005 songs.
/ Although Solomon lived long before the
microscope was constructed. he was also
ap inscctclogist and watched and de
| scribes the spider build its suspension
| bridge of silk from tree to tree, calling it
| the spiders web, and he notices its skill
| full foothold in climbing the smooth wall
| of the throneroom in Jerusalem, saying
1.-The spider tahc,h 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 ii was not until about 300 years
| ago, when Jan Swammerdam, the son
of an apothecary ut Amsterdam, Holland,
| began the study of the ant under power
| full lens that the full force of Solomon $
| injunction was understood. The great
Dutch scientist, in his examination of the
insect in my text. discovered as great a
display of wisdom of God in its anat-
omy as astronomers discover in the heav-
ems and was so absorbed and wrought
upon by the wonders he discovered in the
ant and other insects that body and mind
1
age, martyr of the great science of in
sociology
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 Won
| ders of antennae, by which it gathers
food, and of mandibes. which, instead of
the motion of the human jaw up and
| down in masticati0n, move from side 10
side; its nervous system, its charging
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 residence, its social life, its re
! publican government, with the consent of
the governed it's maternal facilities, the
habit Of these creatures of gathering
now and then under the dome of the ant
hilock, seemingly in consultation, and
then departing to execute their different
missions.
Not Altogether Commendablc.
But Solomon would not commend all
the habits of the ant, for some of them
are as bad as some Of the habits of the
human race. But what are the habits
/
| says, Consider her ways and be wise. "
| First Of all, providence forethought. an
| ticipation Of coming necessities. | am
sorry to say these qualities are not char
acteristic of all the ants. These creatures
Of God are divided into graniyorous and
carnivorous. The latter are not frugal,
but the former are frugal. While the air
| is warm and moving about is not hindered
| by ice or snOwbank they import their
cargoes of food They bring in their car
| AVIAN Of provisions; they haul in their
| long train Of wheat or corn or oats. The
| farmers are not more busy in July and
! August in reaping their harvest than are
! the ants busy in July and August reaping
| their harvest. They stack them away;
| they pile them up. They question when
! they have enough. They aggregate a
| sufficient amount to last them until the
next warm season. When winter opens,
| they are ready. Blow, We wintry blasts.
| Hang your icicles from the tree branches.
| Imbed all the highway under snowdrifts,
| Enough for all the denizcns 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 insectie be
| havior, 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 n luxurious
| habits and at death expecting some kind
/ friend to give their daughters employ
ment as music teachers or typewriters
or government employees? Such parents
| have no right to children. Every neigh
! borhood has specimens Of such improvi
/ dence. The two words that most strIk"
me in the text are sumner and win
! ter" Some people have no summer in
their lives. But in most lives there is a
period Of summer, although it may be a
/ short summer, and that is the time 10
/ provide for the future.
| One Of the best ways Of insuring the
! future is to put aside all you can for
charitable provision. You put crum-
! bling stone in the foundation Of your for
tun'. 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 temporal welfare when