The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-02-05
CurIOus Malady.

A disease that ia spreading with alarming
rapidity is described In recent issue Of the
New York Tribune. 1t is called Morous SAB.
baticus, or Sunday sickness. The attack
comes on suddenly on every Sunday; no
ymptoms are felt on Saturday night; the pa
tient sleeps we'll and wakes feeling we'll, eats
a hearty break fast, but about churoh time
the attack comes on and continues until ser
vices are over for the morning. Then the
patient feels easy and eats hearty dinner.
is able to take walk, talk politics and read
the Sunday papers. He eats hearty supper,
but about church time he has another at.
tack. He retires early, sleeps we'll, and
wakes up Monday morning refreshed and
able to 60 TO work. and does not have ny
symptoms of the disease until the following
Sunday. The peculiar features are as fol-
First-It always attacks members Of the
church.
second-It never makes Its appearance e1-
cept on Sunday.
Third-The symptoms vary but it never In.
terferes with the sleep or appetite.
Fourth-It never lasts more than twenty
four hours.
Finh-It generally attacks the head of the
sixih-No physician ia ever called.
Seventh-It always proves fatal to the end
to the soul
Eighth-Religion is the only antidote.
Ninth-1t Is becoming fearfully prevalent,
and Is sweeping thousands every year per-
maDently to Observation-Disclosures Daily
Mail.
A strange disease seems to have broken out
In Anderson. Up to this time 1t has puzzled
the zeal OF the ministers and baffled the skill
OF the physicians OF the city.
Swine OF the fields, when called and fed.
will respond every time, with promptnest
only q short time until the swine lose tneii
q tHoo ,kn-n
sltiveness OF their ear-drums Is dulled, and
all the daughters OF music are brought low.
without feed swine are unable to hear or to
recognize the farmer. In some respects
human beings or sheep OF the folds are not
totally different in their characteristics from
those OF the swine.
It may be that the ministers OF Anderson
have not called the people and itmay be that
some OF them have failed 10 feed their mock.
The flock that is often fooled may be sooner
or later taken down with the fearful malady
that is now afflicting the good people OF An
derson. -
We are inclined to fear when Morbus, Sab
baticus attacks the people that their souls,
or their intelligence. may have been neglect
ed. II the preachers Of Anderson have
studied their sermons and have given the
people something to think about, and have
rem embered in their prayers the miserable
sinners that sit In the back part OF the
church, we do not see how Morbus Sabbath
Gus can exist Let the Mail tell the preachers
that sailing high in the bluest ether and say
Ing long string Of the most ornate airy
uothipgs do not count in prayer, any more
| than do empty words In an undigested dis
course or rambling speech in an alleged ser
| mon.
To feed the flock the shepherd must pre-
pare something with which to nourish a9d
to support the perishing souls to whom he
ministers. The average hearer knows when
he Is. cheated, even as does the disappointed
swine when he Is not given the life giving
grain. As long as men have as much sense
az the swine of the field 1t is useless for the
minister to withhold the ef1ort to make In
teresting the old, old story. A man OF ordi-
nary Intelligence knows when he has been
cheated, and the existence OF Morbus Sab.
baticus is at least one evidence that the hun
gering soul had not been ministered to.
The age of martyrdom is past. and the hun
gering souls Of worsbippers must be fed, or
they will fail, like the swine to see the neoes-
slty for looming up" merely to be counted.
Let the preacher give at least a modicum OF
thought as to what be is going to say on Sun
day morning. and let him try to say some
thing for the benefit Of his hearers. Almost
any body knows when he has been cheated at
church.
Let the preachers Of Anderson do as do the
preachers in Abbeville, and the disease call
ed Morbus sabbaticus will disappear. The
full attendance at our churches every Sunday
prove the ability and the zeal OF our preach.
ers to be such as to preclude the possibility
OF the existence Of that most dreaded OF al
diseases, Morbus sabbaticus. Our people go
to church for spiritual nourishment. and not
merely to have their forms and faces count
ed.