Democratic messenger., 1906-10-20
Caln,ase
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaec. d. d.

Los Angeles cal. oct li-ln this
sermon the preacher shows that rs
are the forcrunncrs OF growth and or
dcrly development in nature. So social
disturbances uphcavals. labor strikes
and the conflict of ''the classes and the
masses are the inevitable precursors
OF orderly national development The
text is Proverbs xiv. I. Where no
oxen are the crib is clean. but much
increase Is 10y the strength of the OK"
All true lovers of the beautiful should
read the messages of its great high
priest. John Ruskin. There never lived
II man who welded poetic-prose pen
like his Ills Seven Lamps of. Archi
lecture" AMI Ethics of the Dust and
stones Of Venice" his Sesame and
Lilies" and Grown of Wild Olive" his
studies of Waysidc Flowers and Of
"1hc Cloud Form" and the Relation
of Natural Science to Art offer 10 the
aesthetic enthusiast visions of this
world which cannot bc found among
the writings of any other writer. living
or dead.
Well do remember the powerful
fascination which held me when | first
pcruscd one of his books. Though |
have seen many sagcs. yet not one Of
these ever impressed me with the awe
with which looked upon the trem-
bling form of this mighty pcnman,
whose face saw many years ago
when as student travelling through
England | saw Il nurse lead John Rus
kin along the country road for his aft
ernoon walk What was the more re
markablc about this view was this: At
that time | was looking only upon the
shell of man was watching Il
great writer whose body was alive, but
whose mind was dead. If you have
read the biography of John Ruskin
you know that IN his last days he was
n mental wreck The brain which had
created thoughts which will charm the
English speaking world for all time
had burned Itself out When saw
helpless man. His mind was Mel
rose abbey IN ruins.
If YOU have read John RuSkin care
fully YOU may remember how in one
chapter he makes mighty plea for the
aesthetics of life as against the ruthless
invasion of commcrcialism He de
nounccs in vehement language the
hcartlcss vandalism of tho business
world which would paint Il horrible
advertisement of some patent medi-
cine upon the rocks of n majestic pali-
sadc or frpwnng Gibraltar He be.
waits the fact that Eugland's artistic
scnSibiiiics are 50 chilled and dulled
that She would allow the Inanufactur-
cr's wheel tp turn into muddy stream
The clear. beautiful waters that leap
out of the mountains, aud he eXcorl-
atrs the iconoclastic brutality Of tue
lmhcrman which would bury the AK
In the heart of the grand old oaks that
for centuries have been lifting up their
leafy hands To God in an attitude OF
prayer But. though John Ruskin, our
teacher. our Gamaliel. our aesthetic high
priest. who leads us in worship ut the
altar of the beautiful, makes this plea
for the preservation of the woods and
the valleys. though he would strike
down the hands Of the icOnoclast who
would dcSeCratc the high cliff. yet the
whole world knows that IL CONNER
cialism did not shut It's eyes at times
10 the aesthetic our railroads would be
unable 10 tunnel under the mountains
and the farmers could never cover their
fields with grain In order that the in
crcaslng human race may live we must
cut and tear down and slash. In many
senses we must have Il chaotic cosmos
in order to have progression.
Disorder Is Necessary.
II you will turn to my text and read
IL carefully. as the inspired penman
meant il To hc read. you will find that
the thought which ! am enunciating
King solomon taught In his book OF
Proverbs thousands of years ago. He
goes out one morning. when the com.
planning farmer enters his barn. Ev.
erything there is filthy and dirty. The
straw beds upon which the oxen slept
are all musscd up and must be- raked
ont into the barnyard and the stalls
cleaned The chickens have flown into
the haymow and scattered the hay.
The grain bags have been broken open
hy the mice The mangcr itself is in n
fearful state. The oxen In nosing for
their food have scattered II every
where "Oh. dear" eXclams the farm
or. lust look AT that barn. Did you
ever see such n mess? II is work. work,
work: clean. clean clean. never finish
fixing mp the barn one day, but | have
10 90 10 work and fix IL all up again
the next" Ills true that what you
say is hard" answers the wisest Of all
men. But farmer. remember that you
cannot have tldIncsS and cleanliness II
You have oxen. and II yOu did not have
any oxen YOU could not pillow your
fields and could not SOW your grain and
could not receive any financial return
- Ftst..... tst,... II