The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1906-08-17

run against him. I Audiences are al
ways hattered wien they hear allus-
ions to the calling with which they
are 1fr;Hiiisr, atfd he Is the wise speak
or who comprehends this truth.
The greatest OF all the teachers, III,
who spake az never man spaN
drew nearly all of his imagerys; 4 SIS
storeis from farm life. He wasB
on a farm and knew all ahf&
simple agriculture Of that peg
period, which consisted lsS
grape growing, interspersei}
few cereals and small herds .IAMD
and sheep. Thus we find tH
and notable sayings oolorS
sions to the shepherd, t
the lost sheep, the hus{
Il wers and trees pecr,f
dlne. Ole day o grea}
assembled on a hill o.
Gennessaret. They wi
rude, dull Of undersl5-r
not n Of them able til
70 reach them the te;I II
In language that til, ! III.
stand. Childhood W.
lngs In story form. Il
to have the facts Wis
familiar interpreted
The weaver does not cgl
s s'eas Gf BUT he t'1 %ill i pSl, ,,BrOught
when the preacher talk q
tho work CT the Loom. 3SS99flGC HIN{i
to have the life we knoS
Vivid the great truths u
comprehend. w
It uaQ IN tho mlllttfn5 do on thu hill
side from q boat that had been pushed
off the shore that the celebrated par
able Of the sower was delivered. Prob
ably as he talked a farmer was sowing
che grain in full sight of the speaker
and the people. How natural, there.
fore, to lift forth q hand toward him
and say: Behold, a went forth
to SOW" Simply, easily and natural.
ly, the thoughts Of the hearers were
led up from what was commonplace
and everyday to what was new and
eternal. Jesus recognized that all o.
life is q parable. When we consider
the marvellous application made Of
the simple peasant life Of Galilee, we
are constrained to wonder what teach.
ings he would draw from the complex
civilization Of today. How electricity
wireless telegraphy, steam and the
modern city, with its wonderful build
ings, would be made eloquent with
his teachings OF the higher things Of
the spirit. 1t is the ofloe of the par
able to invest the material with the
spiritual moaning, but no imagery Is
so suitable for this purpose az that
drawn from rural scenes and the sur.
%roundings Of farm life. The fate Of
the soWn grain teaches an agricultu
raj - we'll as q moral lesson. That
which fell on the trampled wayside
vas lost. So also the portions which
fell on stony ground and that which
was choked by the thorn bushes
Only the grain which fell on fruitful
> soil yielded results, and this produced
, r1any fold. TIE good farmer under
stands that II be would have good
crops he must use only pure seed and
: plant 1T In the right place.
The great literature OF the world
: likewise owes It's chief charm to i'm.
, agery drawn from nature. Homer de-
scribes u .ysses, returning home after
his long wanderings, as finding his
. wife, Penelope, spinning among hel
landmarks" Poor old Macduff, heart
broken over the murder Of his wife
and children, uses the illustration
! most familiar to his life In the exola
= nation: They have killed the her
and all her brood at one fell swoop.
Gray's immortal elegy, In almost
o every stanza, draws on rural scenery
. . to point his moral and adorn his tale
. 1t Is Tho lowing herd wind slowly
\ DER the lea,' or "drowsy tinklings lul
= the distant fold," and innumerabl,
. other metaphors drawn from the field
q that lend beauty to this inoomparsbl
product Of genius. Take the farm
: and what 1T tekches out Of our poetr,
ana great would be the loss thereof
On the contrary, but the poetry aug
gested by those things which he deal
, into tho heart Of the farmer, an,
y great would be the addition to tn
If charms Of his existence. Unless W
u are able to appreciate the natura
It beauties around us, to extract 9enti
d ment from leaf and grass and fl Jwer
h we are reduced to the level Of tn
dumb beasts who know no use TO
such things except to devour them.
\,