Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1905-01-05
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BEST THUMBED BOdA


After listening to The petty patter Of
social smart talk, IL is always IL well
come tonic To hear IL great man speak
greatly OH Il great theme. And after IL
sufielt OF newspaper reading concern
ing daring adVenturesses. frenZied
flnanciers. crimes. disasters. politics
and trivial gossip. ii is a relief to turn
To a masterpiece of literature upon II
sublime subject.
Here we have, in the fragment of
Sacred writing which is an assigned
subject of study for millions of persons
next sunday. what conservative critics
nave called the greatest piece of litera-
ture In human speech. BY reason of
its style. us well as by reason of it's
substance. the prologue to the Gospel
of John has been awarded this high
place In the ranks of immortal. litera-
lure. As to its form. the simplicity,
dignity. rhythm n power of the
words are obvious even to the un-
scholarly: no only is the passage the
purest Greek In the New Testament.
u 1t is also the finest English. The
subject matter is the wloftiest that ever
engaged human thought-eternity, d.
Vlnlty, the beginnings of all things, the
dominant universal forces, life. light,
n the supreme mystery of the in
%carnation of the divine In the human.
OF God in man.
An immortal Bit Of Literature.
Having said this, it becomes neces-
sary to print the passage in question.
which is the Introduction. the sum
mary and the thesis. of the fourth Cos
pei. Contrast these few lines. in their
length. style and character, with the
longest and most important piece of
news in today's paper and behold the
difference:
In The BEGINNING Was The vcyl. and
the word WAS with God. and the wori
WAS God. The same was in the be-
ginning with God. All things were
made through him, and without him
was not anything made that hath been
made. In him was life; and the life
was the light of men. And the light
shineth in the darkness; and the dark
ness unprecedented it not. There came
u man, sent from God. whose name was
John. n same came for Witness, that
ne might bear witness of the light.
that all might believe through him.. he
was not the light, but came that he
might bear witness of the light. There
was the true light. even the light which
llghtrth every man coming into the
world. He was in the world, and the
world was made through him., and the
world knew him not. He came unto
his own, and they that were his own
received him not. But as many as re-
celved him, to them gave he the right
to become children of God, even to
them that believe in his name: who
We're born. not of blood. nor of the will
OF the flesh. nor of the will of man. but
of God. And the word became flesh
and dwelt among us (and we beheld his
glory, glory as of the only begotten
IRON the Father). full of grace and
truth. John beareth witness of him,
ana crieth. saying. his was he of whom
said. he that cometh after me is be-
come before me; for he was before me.
For of his fullness we all received. and
grace for grace. For the law was given
through Moses; grace INC truth came
through Jesus Christ: No man hath
seen God at any time; the only be-
gotten Son, who is in the bosom of the
rather, he hath declared him."
A Glimpse of the Author.
The man who could write such words
IS worth and as we print all
sorts OF trifiing anecdotes concerning
the authors of the Hood of fiction which
almost submerges the bookshelves and
library tables. there is warrant in pres
ent day usage for introducing the per-
sonalfty of his man John, whose Cos
pei will be the most widely read writ
ing in the world during the next six
months. when the International Sun
day School Lessons, studied by twenty
five million people. will be taken from
it.
John was the cousin of Jesus, who is
the central figure in everything he
wrote. His mother. Salome, was sis
ter to the Virgin. Zebedee. the father,
was a prosperous fisherman. and with
his sons. James II John, piled his
calling on the blue waters of Galilee.
II sturdy simplicity and independ-
ence of the average Galilean, who was
far removed from the polite artificiality
Of h city man. characterized John. as
well as all the other ten Galilean apos-
ties: only Judas. the traitor, being from
outside of Galilee.
John was naturally religious. and
when the %forerunner, John the Baptist
second cousin to both Jesus and John
appeared by the Jordan. the young
man attached himself to the virile her
aid. until the latter pointed out the
One Who Was TO Come. Thereunon
John found his brother James. and thew
became disciples of Jesus. Sons OF
hunder these two We're called. be-
cause of their strong. outbreaking char.
icters. 1t was an early frui of the new
life that John the Humorous should no.
come the spiritual, sympathetic COM
rade of Jesus. his closest friend in all
the world. The eagle is the emblem of
John in sacred heraldry. signifying his
soaring spirit and his penetrating
vision. He is the seer OF the New TIES.
lament. The Book OF the Revelation
came from his pen. as well as three
epistles and this fourth gospel. which
penetrates further into the mystery of
the incarnation than any other book in
the sacred canon.
An Editors Opinion.
One lays down most OF the recent
books which he has been beguiled into
reading with a Cui bono?-"What's the
use?" Frankly. there is no sufficient
reason to Justify the existence of one
tenth Of the books which pour from the.
presses nowadays. Not SO with the
volume to which we are here intro
luced. II mas one purpose, one aim,
clearly avowed, and to that 1t adheres
with II consistency that never sweryes.
The comon notion among young peo-
pie. n some Of their elders as well. ia