The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-07-29

s2Tl ems the philoso-
phical city, to
Corinth the pleasure-loving city, and
to Rome, the military city. each of
them centres of influence from
whence radiated beams of light to
every quarter of the earth.
Strange Providences.
Away off in the city of Rome there
dwelt a Jewish couple, Aquia and
Priscilla. The Emperor, Claudius. in
fit of rage against the Jews, banish-
ed them from Rome, and heavy-heart-
ed and disconsolate these two people
emigrated far away to Corinth, and
settled down to their trade of tent
making. From the opposite direction,
unknown to them, disappointed itin-
Grant preacher. Paul by name, was
coming toward the same point. After
his mission was ended in Athens the
lonely preacher tramped the interven-
ing forty-fye miles which brought
him to Corinth. He was also a tent
maker by trade. He at once sought
employment. Being himself a Jew
he naturally inquired for his own coun-
trymen.
And so 1t came to pass that the
tent maker Paul. became a laborer
and a boarder in the family of the
tent makers. AQuila and Priscilla.
Hard luck and persecution, extradi-
ton and Punishment are not hand
some courtiers, but they often intro
duce us to people who are the Prime
Ministers of the King.
Paul, the Tent Maker.
What grander testimony can be CIV
ell to the dignity of labor than that
of the tent maker, Paul. All day he
toiled at his trade and preached the
gospel by the good work he turned
out, as well as by the words he ut
tered. We often see Paul pictured as
a preacher in a crowd of listeners, but
this lesson shows him as a toiler, and
day laborer. Cordage lying headped
up around him, canvas drawn over the
floor in folds, balls of twine scattered
about here and there, the tent maker
Mt work. | warrant you his seams
never ripped, his cloth never proved
to be shoddy. No one ever had to
say sneeringly, II bought these cheap
tents of that Christian See how he
cheated mel"
The dignity of labor! Paul's hands
were hardened by it. Peters and An
drew's and Johns were burned in the
sun. Christ, the son of carpenter,
himself working at the bench. Paul
evidently was not looking for good
place" an easy berth, fat salary.
Else he would never have accepted "a
CALI to Corinth He got near the peo-
pie by working with them. They did
not pull him down; he lifted them
up. He spent no time grumbling and
complaining because he had to toll,
be did not feel that it was his right
to have people feed him with chick
ems, put elegant dressing gowns on
his back, and soft slippers on his feet.
and pamper his body and develop his
pride. He worked for what he got and
was Independent of all.
That was one reason why he was
such fearless preacher. He was
not afraid of losing his salary If he
told people the truth, and if he
couldn't live in one place he could in
al anu IL ne cOuluH
he certainly could practice, and he
was equally good in both. His tents
were as good as his sermons, and he
didn't have to eat any mans bread,
or be any mans puppet. Independent.
dignified, self-reliant he is magnifi-
cent example to scores of men who
are marching about from one church
door to another begging for the privi-
lege of eating their bread and drink
Ing their water.
Not that manual labor is the only
kind of labor. The fact that preach
er has white hands and wears good
clothes does not necessarily mean that
he Is not laborer. Mental labor is
often more strenuous than digging
bitches. Perspiration of the body is
often a relief, where brain sweat is
slow suicide. Many man in the
pulpit works harder than some men
in the foundry. The one pounds iron
and Is able to shape 1t; the other
seeks to mould human hearts and
finds them harder than flint and as un-
changeable as fate. He carries all sor-
rows, bears all burdens, receives all
condolences, visits all perilous places.
risks all diseases, responds to all calls,
takes all rebuffs, and is responsible
for a whole parish of human beings.
Work! 1t is the common lot OF man;
with pen or spade, with needle or
yardsticlI, with hammer or plough.
with type or sewing-machine, hard
labor for life is passed upon all men.
Let us all put heart and interest and
love into 1t, and so be happy with the
dignity of 1t. For as the old poet put
It, who sweeps room as in Gods
sight, makes that, and the action