Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1905-05-05
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BY f. e. DAWSON.

Every process in nature is carried |
forward that everything may increase |
in truitfulness. The moment fruit
fitness is reached, that moment ex-
istence is a superiority. Whatever is
frutless is needless; whatever is
needless is obstructive; whatever is
obstructive should be removed.
This is the lesson taught the world
in the parable of the vine and the
branches. Various conjectures have
been made as to what suggested the
image which gave form to the opening
of this immortal discourse. What
ever may have been the cause of the
discourse the great, broad overmaster
ing lesson is this In life, natural,
physical mental and moral, in all the
affairs of life. civil and religious, the
universal law is fruitfulness or re-
moval. 1t is fruit or fuel the wine
press or the fire.
See how true this is in nature. The
plant that stops growing begins TO
die; the moment development ceases.
degeneration begins. The fish in the
Mammoth Cave of Kentucky are eye
less. Living in the dark and putting
to no use the power Of vision, nature
has revenged itself by taking away
the very means of seeing. Let the
arm hang quietly by your side and
the muscles will shrink and the limb
will be palsied Your will power may
be in full control, but the time VIII
| come when that arm will refuse TO re-
spond to the controlling mind, 1t VIII
lose the power to move. Atrophy
and paralysis are inevitable results OF
! failure to observe the laws of beng
every branch that beareth not fruit
is taken away" not arbitrarily, but
according to an memorable law.
The forces of nature, everywhere IN
matter vigorously work apart and to-
gether to remove what has ceased TO
discharge it's prescribed functions.
And so it is with civil and religious
| institutions The moment they out
live their usefulness they perish from
the earth. Nothing can save them.
They die because they have reached
the end of growth. To attempt to pre-
serve them is to result in putting on
exhibition an impertinent mummy.
| That is the reason Judaism vanished
from the earth; and that is the rea-
son all false religions will die and be
forgotten They leave no divine sap
in their branches; they will reach a
certain point of development as or
|
when that point has been reached they
will die of heart-failure, and the more
numerous are their followers the
more elements of decay there will be
in their final dsintegration.
So it is of schools and courts, OF
camps and customs, when they cease
to discharge their ordained functions
and the condition which called for
their continuance have changed, they
will pass away like the baseless fab
ric of dream There are few insti-
tutions which have the power OF life
perenially. Political parties which
are long in power need to be might
" aroused and re-adjusted to the
times or the blood-suckers and barn
acles which fasten upon them VIII
stunt their growth and cause their
overthrow. Nations in the past times
without number, have risen up and
thrown off and forever buried ruling
, dynasties, simply because they turn
dead morally and politically. 1t is
fruit or fuel; that is the law of life.
But for even the fruitful branches
there is a painful process The Vine
Dresser uses the knife on such a vine
to prune and purge it. All accretions,
s all superhuous products, all microbes,
all suckers" al things that do not
help to produce more fruitfulness,
must be removed and it is removed no
matter how beautiful.
A vine is not to produce leaves, but
fruit. The Master was constantly
g trimming" the disciples to cut back
the luxuriant growths of pride and
self-sufficiency.
A spoiled and petted young man
goes out from his fathers house to
school, and his first contact with the
examining teacher punctures his egg
otism. Whereas he thought he knew
everything he soon finds that he
knows nothing. So it is in business
life. The pruning knife of business
= competition slashes down to the
quick. But the sharp knife of worldly
assault only trims the vines that they
may produce better grapes. The
+ more you pound rosemary the sweet
:, err it smells, and the more the Chris
Le tian man is "cut back" the larger vii
hn he o1n W
- be the grapes of his consecrated life
I. No pruning, no grapes; no grinding
mill, no flour; no battle, no victory
no cross, no crown.
anticipate that in eternity, wheI
we come to reckon up our mercies
> We shall put in all those we nov
leave out, and leave out all thos
- ,a,,t In, Iaen1ah found his wv