Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1908-09-30
The Prince
OF Peace.
Famous Lecture Delivered
by William Jennings Bryan
at Numerous ChautauquaS
and Y. NJ. c. AS, and at
Tokyo. Manila, Bombay.
Cairo, Jerusalem.
Proof of Immortality.


the peace which belief in a futur
life has brought to the sorrowing? 70,
may talk to the young about death enc
ing all, for life Is full, and hope il
strong, but preach not this doctrine Il
the mother who stands by the death
bed of her babe or to one who is within
the shadow of Il great afiliction
Christ gave us proof of immortality
and yet it would hardly seem necessary
that one should rise from the dead tC
convince US that the grave is not the
end. To every created thing God has
given a tongue that proclaims a resur.
rection.
If the Father deignS to touch with di-
vine power the cold and pulseess heart
of the buried acorn and to make it
burst forth from its prison walls, will
he leave neglected in the earth the soul
Of man, made in the image of his Gre
ator3 If he stoOps to give to the rose
bush whose withered blossoms float
upon the autumn breeze the sweet as
surance of another springtime, will he
refuse the words of hope to the sons of
men when the froStS of winter come?
If matter mute and inanimate though
changed by the forces of nature into q
multitude of forms, can never die, will
the spirit of man suffer humiliation
when it has paid a brief visit like a
royal guest to this tenement of clay?
No; | am as sure that there IS another
life as am that live today.
In Cairo l secured a few grains Of
wheat that had slumbered for more
than three thousand years in an Egyp-
tian tomb. AS | looked at them this
thought came into my mind: If one of
those grains had been planted on the
banks OF the Nile the year after it
grew and all its lineal descendants
planted and feplanted from that time
until now, its progeny would today be
sufficiently numerous to feed the tenn
ing millions of the world. If this in
visible germ Of life in the grain of
wheat can thus pass unimpaired
through three thousand resurrectiOns
] shall not doubt that my soul has
power to clOthe itself with a body |
suited to its new existence when this |
earthly frame has crumbled into dust.
A belief in immortality not only con-
soles the individual. but it exerts d |
powerful influence in bringing peace |
between individuals. If one really |
thinks that man dies as the brute dies. |
he may yield to the temptation to do
injustice to his neighbor when the cir !
cumstances are such as to promise Sc
curity from detection. But if one real
~ expects to meet again and live eter-
nally with those whom he knows to-
day he is restrained from evil deeds
by the fear of endless remOrse.
Again, Christ deserves to be called
the Prince Of Peace because he has
given us measure of greatness which
promotes peace. When his disciples
disputed among themselves as to
which should be greatest i'll the
kingdom of heaven, he rebuked them
and said, LET him who would be
chiefest among you be the servant Of
all" Service is the measure of great
ness 1t always has been true It is
true today and il always will be true
that he is greatest who does the most
of good And yet what a revolution 1t
will work in this old world when this
standard becomes the standard Of life
Nearly all Of our controversies and
colnbats arise from the fact that we
are trying TO get something from each
other. There will be peace when our l.
aim is TO do something for each other
Our enmities and animosities arise
from our efforts to get as much as
possible out of the world There will
be peace when our endeavor is to put
as much as possible into the world
Society will take an unreasonable step
toward peace when it estimates cit
zen By his output rather than by his
income and gives the crown Of its ap-
prOval to the one who makes the lar
gest contribution to the welfare Of all
Christ has also led the way to peace
by giving us a formula for the prOpI.
cation Of good. Not all Of those who
have really desired to do good have !
employed the Christian method-not
all Christians even. In all the history
Of the human race but two methods
have been employed 5
The first is the forcible method
The other is the Bible plan-be not c
overcome Of evil, but overcome evi! l.
with good And there is no other way
of overcoming evil am not much Of ?
a farmer / get more credit for my u
farming than / deserve, and my little
farm receives more advertising than it d
Is entitled to. But am farmer enough u
will spring up again, and know that Il
II plant something there which has g
more vitality than the weeds | shall g
not only get rid of the constant cut IL
ting, but have the benefit Of the crop
besides. u
In order that there might be no mis- u
taEn about his plan Of propagating y
rood Christ went into detail and laid OF
emphasis upon the value Of example III
so ike that others seeing your good W
works may be constrained to glOrify u
rOur Father which is in heaven" d.
There is no human influence so potent
or good as that which goes out from IN
IN upright life. "
The Worlds Only Hope. 81
1t may be slow process, this con- =
Iersion of the world by the silent inau- -.
nee Of noble example. but it is the -
My sure one and the doctrine anplic ~ -,
fo