Newark post., 1910-07-06
Gods World And How To Live In It
dre.. By Joseph Wing Before The Students And Visitors The Oator
Al Delaware College On Thursday OF Farmers Week. January ST. 1910

Donate OF lime if | did not think that
it would be quite difficult to carry it
out unless we first laid foundation. oi
material prosperity, for money is ne ID
ed in this propaganda.
What do | mean by reverent attitude
toward Gods world and its creatures?
Let me illustrate. One day in old
England ! wandered along foot-path
through field OF wheat, nearly ready
for harvest. 1t was splendid wheat,
the owners OF that soil had held it i'll
reverence for centuries The footpath
was common property of the dwellers
in the old city of Salisbury. Thous-
ands OF feet trod this path, feet of
rich and feet OF poor. No fence Inn
tied the path, one could stray into the
wheat as far as he pleased. And yet
the wheat grew tall, straight and un-
harmed to within a foot Of the path.
1t was little lane, not more than
three feet wide. through tall wheat.
No one would pull off the heads, no
one would step on the young corn ,
as they called it, because of that rev.
erent spirit they held, first for the
earth itself, for the beautiful growth
springing up on it, for the rights OF the
owner OF the soil and crop.
The law made them do that" |
hear some one whispering. Not at
all 1t is probably true that the law
OF England is more carefully enforced
| than is the law of America, but it was
not fear OF Law that made little ieet
respectable i'll the midst of a great
! wheat field where no eye but that ol
| God could see 1t was merely that
| from infancy these people had been
| taught reverence. Reverence ioI
| plants, reverence for animals, rever-
ence for others Let's go on farther
| Up on the hillside above the whea,
field was a great pasture. There OF
that Sunday afternoon went many
people, young and old, grave and gay
In little groups they sat on the grass
! or beneath the great ems. Sheep fec
in the pasture. Children wandered
about picking flowers and now ane
then they would run up to feeding
sheep and give them friendly pats o
the hand The sheep merely looked
around inquiringly and maybe took ;
step or two away, then resumed feed
ing. There was perfect understanding
you see between child and iootpath
child and pasturelard, child and am
mails. grazrpg there, respect, appre
citation for each one.
How are you to teach reverent ap
preciation?" | hear you whisper. 1t /
born within us, think, what we nee,
only to do is to see that it is not lost
Let me illustrate again. A woman il
our village planted n the grass il
front of our little Church certain bulb
that pushed up i'll Spring, howe
shoots that then urfolded buds am
bloomed out in gay little blossom
starring the short green grass. Ger
tain small children came up the stree
one day as | happened TO be neal
they espied the flowers and exclaimed
they ran eagerly to look at then
smiles dimpling their little faces, the
they knelt down and put their littl
noses in the blooms to enjoy the frae
rance, laughed, arose and trotte
!, gavlv on. Not a thought of destroy
ing one OF them; already i'll these Iii
tie minds had bloomed love for tn
beauty OF the flowers, admiration
! eagerness to know more OF them an
reverence for them, they would nt
step on them because some instn'
told them that they were in mann,
sacred, that they could love them an
, enjoy them but must not take thei
away. that these flowers belonged t
them, bloomed for them, yet bloome
: and belonged to others as well. No
take those little children who instinc
, lively loved the tiny flowers, who il
: stinctively went to them and knelt bt
lore them and buried their little nose
in them and then went away havln
done them no harm, take those litt
children. | say, and give them teacl
|, ing that shall carry this spirit right Il
: through their young lives, always n
verence Tor whatever God has mad
!, be it OF plant or animal lie or wha
, and all things good are possible.
repeat with all possible emphasis til;
II this spirit OF interest, pleasure al
reverence is natural to childhood al
: it is we, the elders, who ought TO 10
down in deep humiliation and hide ot
!, heads in the very dust, it is we VII
: by our word and example destroy III
q spirit OF childlike respect, love and re-
: crence for all that is good in the wor
i that God has made.
Il All, father, ah mother, before nj
: who told that child that the man
/ black skin was "nigger,' who to
e that child that this other man fro
Italy was a ''dago?' Would the chi
' ever have learned that unmerite
i scorn that has made hatred and en-,
n and misunderstanding come into h