The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1903-12-18
Tnorcnrs on ABSOLUTE TRUTH.

through space ~ q cannot tell Wnen,
nv the power of almighty law, our solar
sv.tem. among myriad other solar
systems. commenced journeyings and
suavings Of such marvellous accuracy
os 10 permit the calculation, years in
advance. of the exact spot where the
heavenly bodies will be at a certain mo-
mspt Yet. IN those unknown ages OF
the psst. the possibilities Of all
koowledge that now is were buried.
Now understand that messages can
he sent from hemisphere TO hemisphere
without wire Yet this has been pos
.ible ever since the dawn Of creation
In other words. wireless biography, OF
any other mysterious power that we
have secured from nature, was always
there waiting to be discovered, was al
Wavs true, had bIded its time through
the ages, simply waiting for the seer to
see Between those creation days and
our day stretch ages Of cropping for
light and seeking for knowledge, and
The world has been discovering part
truths ever since the first inquiring
glance Of the eye, with intelligence back
ofit looked out upon the world.
A truth never varies. It is the I'M
derstanding Of "a truth that varies. 1t
is the tendency Of partknowledge to
claim for itself full knowledge; hence,
persecution by the narrow-minded Of
those who would not concede that all
hitherto known was all that could be
known. Our human tendency has
been 10 feel that what we knew was
an and % be content with that limited
knowledge rather than To- cast ourselves
outward into the flowing stream that
ever passes by the things that are yet
70 be discovered and which in them
selves, after an, are only part-truth and
not all oft
Take an Illustration to prove that
even truth about physical things is not
brought into existence by knowledge
Deep down in South Africa the Zam-
best Falls, with a volume greater than
that Of Niagara, have been numbering
through their gorge Of disappearance
age after age, sending up their clouds
Of yapor as proof of the mighty force
there going 20 waste They are a truth.
The fact that Livingston at last saw
these magnificent Falls, now to be
chained to produce power for huge, IN
developed region once given over to
wild beasts and brutal men, does not
make these Falls any more a truth than
they ever were. From this one illus
tration, we having minds can multiply
a thousand
We see that my apprehension Of any
truth, spiritual OF physical, does not
affect truth al all. IL affects u.s. The
more Of truth we understand in any
line Of investigation, the more our
hearts grow hungry for fuller truth,
unless We are Of the foolish kind who
are content with a mere taste instead
Of the fuluess that is for every one who
will take truth aud cleave to it.
A little truth creates hunger. a lit
lie truth impels the mind, so that it
grows afraid Of dogma. Truth, par
ueularly IN spiritual matters, tends to
make Us suspect those who are abso-
luiely positive I'M their assertions. The
idea We have today may be quite
changed tomorrow by more apprehen-
sion, just az the simple play thing of
those who first discovered the power
Of yaporized water, has developed until
laundering locomotives drag enor-
nous tonnage behind them; or, just as
The power that Franklin puzzled over
when bis kite was in the thunderclOud,
mas been more fully understood until
vast rivers are harnessed aud the pow
e. OF their forces is turned into lnvisi-
ole currents that miles away work the
viii Of men like intelligent creatures.
Every line Of human knowledge is
sun 10 condition of growth. There
is no exception. The more we know
Of the universe, the more we know Of
TIE marvellous power that called it IN
10 existence, and yet We are no more
familiar with the form Of that power
Than when the Ignorant bowed before
lhe winds and other forces Of nature
ana called them Gods. In matters Of
Toe spirit, as distinct from those Of the
intellect, the same growth is going on
ana on until in the general fOrethOught
and kindly provisions Of nature, men
zee no longer a fierce, vindictive crea-
'or but one Of fatherly kindness, pa
uence, with power Of vision that sees
'he future from The beginning, and
therefore knows better than we the
Things that axe best. Yet Of Him we
sun learn. They who claim to know
a" Of His council are they who know
'east Of &C. They VINO would learn
most Of Him are they who feel that
'hey haye set many things to learn.
summed up, those who know most
VI truth are those who have least con-
ceit aboutit Those who are closest to
we center Of things are those who
humbly confess that they have only
Just commenced Co learn. Those who
zee themselves a part Of one vast uni
'eIse sweeping towards another desti- |
ny awaiting them in the great pro-
sie's OF this system forward through |
space, are the ones who not yet know
lns al OF truth, are nearest TO il by the /
Wy openness and humility Of their /
minds.