The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-11-06
STRANGEINFLU.ENCES
We Are Often Affected By Forces
We Seldom Recognize.
-, T,1osre EnIarSes Epon LiumAA
Accountability IL His Sermon
Some Great Surprises o1
: the New " orld.
ycoDv-ight, 1901. By Louis kiopscn. n. S.J
Washington, Oct. p.

rCopy-ighs. 1901, By Louis k!opsca. n, .! )
Washington, Oct. =.
In this discourse DR.. Taimage dem
onstrates that we are affected Dy
forces that we seldom recognize and
enlarges upon human accountaoltiCE'
the text is Job 1881: "Canst titoo
bind the sweet Influences OF I1eI-
ades?"
What is the meaning Of that cues
ton that God put TO Joe: H"'e We
au our lives been reading II 2t'1 S-
most Of US ignorant O. It's 0e@U'S
and power ard practical suggestive
ness? A acar;1g.e passage OF
Scripture many thought it TO De. But
the telescopes were busy age aiser
age and astronomical obser7a11ons
kept on questioning the skies until
the meaning OF my text comes out
lustrously. The P!eiades Is CON
stelIation Of seven stars appearing 10
the naked eye, but scientific Instru-
nents reveal more than &CO properly
belonging to the group. Alcyone IS
the name OF the brightest star OF that
group called the Pleiades. A husstan
astronomer observed that Alcyo2e IS
the center OF gravitation OF our solar
system. Hugh Macmillan says tAae
the sun and its planets wheel around
that center at the rate Of 422, 900 niles
q day in an orbit which it will take
100000 years to complete. The flel-
edes appear in the springtl1ne ana are
associated with flowers and GENIAL
warmth and good weather. The naVl-
CATION of the Mediterranean was from
May to Novenber--the rising and the
setting Of the Pleiades. The priests
OF Belus noticed that rising and set
ting 1000 years before Christ.
Now, the glorious meaning Of ny
text is plain as well as radiant. 10
give Job the beautiful grace OF hui
Enility God asked him: "Canst thou
bind the sweet influences OF the
Pleiades?" Have you any power over
the laws Of gravitatioa? Can you
modify Or change an influence WELD
ed by . star more than 100000 miles
away? Can you control the winds OF
the springti1ne? Can you call out the
6owers? Eow little you know con-
pared with onoiscience! How little
YOU can do compared with Omnipo-
sence!
The probability is that Job had
been tempted to arrogance by his vast
nttairments. He was netalurgist,
zoologist, g poet, and shows by his
writings he had knowledge Of hunt
ing, Of music, of husbandry, Of nedi-
cine, Of mining, Of astronomy, and
perhaps was SO far ahead OF the
scholars and scientists of his time
that he may have been somewhat
puTed up; hence this Interrogation OF
my text. And there is nothing that
SO soon takes down human pride az
an Interrogation point rightly thrust.
Christ used it nightly. Paul mounted
the parapet Of his great arguments
with such battery. Men of the
world understand it. Denosthenes
began his speech on the crown and
Cicero his grafton against Catilino
and Lord Chatham his most famous
orations with question. The empire
Of gnorance is SO much TasteC than
the empire Of knowledge that after
the most learned and elaborate dis
QUESTION upon any subject Of sociol-
ogy or theology the plainest man may
ask question that will make the
wisest speeches.. After the pro
eoundest assault upon Christianity
the humblest- disciple may make eo
inquiry that would silence Foltaire.
Called upon, as we ali are at times,
TO defend our holy religion, instead
OF argument that can always be an
swered by argument let US try the
power Of Interrogation. We ought to
be loaded with at least half dozen
questions and always ready, and when
Christianity is essailed a1d we are
told there is nothing in it, and there
Is no God, and there never was
miracle, and that the Scriptures are
unreasonable ard cruel. and that
there never viii be judgment day,
take out Of your portable arnory Of
Interrogation something like this:
What makes the condition OF women
n Christian lands better than in
heather lands? Do you think it would
be Kind in God to turn the human,
race into g. world without any writ
ten revelation to explain and epcour-
ege sad elevate and save? And If
revelation was made, which do you
prefer, the Ze1da-Yesta Of the Per-
sian or the Confucian writings OF the
Chinese or the Koran OF Mohanne6
or our Bible? If Christ is not 0 Di-
vine being, what did He mean when
He said: Before Abran was amp
r the Bible is bad book, where are
Ehe evil results of reading it? DID
you Gee any degrading influence Of
tho book in your father or mother
Or sister, who used to read It? Do
yeu Ro5 think that . judgment day
IS necessary in order to explain and
Sx up things that were never ex-
planned or fixed up? If our religion is
illogical and al imposition upon hu-
man credulity, why were Herschel and
Washington and Gladstone and VIII
liam Mckinley it's advocates? How
C1o IL happen InaI our TelS-on Iur-
1ished the theme for the greatest
poem ever written, Paradise Lost"
eHd to the painters their greatest
themes in the federation OF the
Nagi," 1.-THE TRANSPORTATION" THE
last Supper" The C-uc;fxion, The
Entoubment," The Last Judgment"
and that all the schools OF painting
put forth their utmost genius in pre-
eentias The Madonna"
Why was it that William Shakes
peare, after amazing the world aE he
will amaze all centuries with the
epleador and power Of "Ghe Mer-
chant of Venice" and "Coriola1ns," !"
Murdered from Ambush.