The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-09-19
az WILLIAM t. ELLIS.

son tor sept ~ is q quarterly Re
view.
ny WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
Daily newspapers will always con
a,nue to be more attractive to the great
bd dy OF people than wise and inform
ina volumes. for the simple reason
tina the newspaper mirrors life.
Win Itever its faults and shortcomings.
it m ust be admitted of the daily press
that it quite fairly represents contem-
poral ,eous human nature. Flesh and
blood, persons walk through it's pages
everyt day. They work and love and
ouarra and aspire and sin. just as they
do in life. In other words, the attrac-
tivenea Of journalistic history is its
biograp hical aspect Carlyle said: The
best his tory is biography" We most
clearly understand events and epoehs
as they IRE embodied in the careers ct
the acton s who had part IN them.
Therein too, is the charm of the Old
Testament and history Of the Jews.
ThA sacred narrative depicts the living,
breathing men and women whose lives
were interl woven with the events de-
scribed.. ---,-.-
For three months the Sunday schools
OF the wOrId have been studying an
epochal period In Israefs history. as
they have read it in the lives OF three
or four outstanding men. These were
the raskIlers at the new nation. To
know them IS to understand the his
4orv OF the Je VS. as this nation passed
from a theOcracy to Kingdom. Two
anointad men are the outstanding fig
ures. aud the spiritual and political
decline and rise respectively of these
characters has held the center Of in
terest.
So from the heights Of VIII
LIES parting stream deseends,
And. as a moment turns the slender
riIl,
Each widening torrent bends.
From the same cradle side,
From the same mothers knee,
One to long darkness and the frozen
tide,
One NO the peaceful sea.
LunLnousIy written on the very sur
face of these familiar stories. which
most persons learn to love in child
hood is the lesson that 1t is the spirit
that makes the man and that makes
the nation. When person or a peo-
pie loses spirituality, all is lost. The
state of the heart underles all other
conditions. Saul declined in spirit ere
he began to totter on the throne;
David grew in spiritual power and in
favor with God before he grew in the
graces OF the people, Then as now the
moral character and the spiritual train
ing of the nation and of its leaders
were the determining factors in its
destiny Our own land is to be shaped,
not by the strife and contending am
billions and policies Of the politicians,
of religion and morality. AS Words
worth says:
Nor vet
Grave this within thy hearty If spirit
ual things
Be lost through apathy. or scorn, or
fear,
Shalt thou thy, humber franchises sup
port,
However hardly won or justly dear;
What came from heaven to heaven by
nature elings,
And. if discovered thence, its couse is
short" 2 p
The beginning Of the troubles of old
Isrgel. like the troubles of many a
modern man, was the desire to follow
the fashion. 1t was not courageous
enough and wise enough to live its
own life in it's own way. Because the
neighboring nations had kings, Israel
would not be content until it too had a
king The wise counsel of the man OF
God. the last of the judges, venerable
Samuel, it disregarded. Nevertheless,
Samuel did not fall into pet and sulk
because his advice was not needed. He
coun seled the people fairly and brave
~ vet did not desert them when in
perversity they chose to follow folly.
it was a magnificent spectacle which
this grand old man of Israel presented
as. rejected from the place of leader
ship himself, in the rejection of the
kingshlp Of Jehovah whom he repre-
scented. he yet faithfully sought to help
his people make the best of their Sec
ond choice. For himself he is an Inn
mortal example Of a first-grade man IN
a second place.
Seeking Asses. Finds a Throne.
Diligently seeking some stray asses
the handsome youth Saul comes upon
the SCENE. That day, when he had
left the home of his father, Kish, in
pursuit of a commonplace task, he lit
tie dreamed that he was to find in
stead The pathway to a throne. Head
and shoulders above his fellowmen, OF
magnificent physique and com eliness
with tnG arslor of youth in his heart
purified by real spirituality, he was
q figure tNo win admiration as he came
face to face with this great opportun-
jty. ..-.
Like many a later counterpart. Sau
could not stand prosperity and honor
He grew big in his own sight. He
thought tocA much OF saul and too lit.
tie of duty and of God. He was ar
early examrle Of that familiar type o.
man who walks through life as in z
lane OF mirleors, seeing only himself
whichever way he turns. Satisfied with
this image he soon ceased to grow
Saul the big became Saul the lit.
tie: saul the modest became Sau
the vain; saul the magnaniinou,