The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-09-05
In The
Religious World
TIL MEN WHO BALkED Al
PALACE FARE.
The International Sunday School Les
son For September Is "Danici ana
His COmpaniOns." Daniel i: S-2o.
(By WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

might have been a con-
yentional kinglet had he come to MS
throne at a .ess critical period. In
another age, Daniel and MS lrlehds
would probably have lived and died
in Judean obscurity.
Judah was disintegrating. The nrSt
exile to Babylon had carried OH,
among the captives, Daniel and ms
three companions, all choice young
men from the capital. Babylon was
raging over the whole earth; but SIZE
was nearer to her fall than her pfodu
king and mobiles dreamed.
This group Of -four prisoners DOUBT
less to any observer to De
only an inconsiderable fragment of the
of a minor Baoylonlah
campaign. In ruth, they meant more
to the world. in some aspects, than dld
NebuchadneZZar himself. There Is a
sense in which Daniel is bigger than
Babylon. There are millions Of per
sons who have only hazy notions OF
when and where Babylon existed, 70
whom Daniel is a real personality,
with a living influence on their W
characters. This is one more OF the
reyersals of history; one Of the para
doxeS which illustrate the Scripture
teaching that the first shal be last,
and the last first. Babylon is today
a heap of red mud, save where pains
taking German e~xcaSatorS have dug
out the ruins of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS pal
ace. Daniel is still one of the char
acter-forming leaders Of history.
We wonder what Daniel thought Of
Babylon. and Babylon thought
Of Daniel. The former is more i'm
portant. New York gives scant heed
to the immigrants h weekly throng
within her gates, and she would dis
dain the opinion Of every one of them.
Nevertheless, it is not at all unlikely
that among these alien throngs is
some prophet-authOr who is yet to
arise and give the truest judgment of
America, and Of its metropolis at the
nations gateway. The man who was
kind to Daniel and his friends lives in
the immortal record by that fact,
While the names of all his mightier as
sociates are forgotten. 1t is good pol
icy, as we'll as hospitality, to pay
Christian heed to the stranger who
has come to a strange land.
Captiyes For q Royal Court.
The worth of the conquered is the
glory of the c~onqueror. The pick Of
the exiles which ACKNOWLEDGMENT
brought from his various cOnQuests
were set apart to adorn his court. The
valor, beauty, wit and wisdom of his
captives were a distinct qualification
AZ (A4odlC ~ LA1S III 1hCiS WIG
reasons of pride as we'll as Of prudence
for gathering in personal attendance
upon himself those who would appear
TO be the leaders of the exiles whom
he had brought from Babylon.
These favored ones were sure of an
easy life. True. they were still cap
tives. but they were rose-garlanded
captives on soft couches. What this
meant to the deterioration Of their
character. since there is no atmosphere
SO enervating as that of a palace, no
thought was taken. Who cared If this
favoritism resulted in the moral col
lapse of the four young Hebrews and
their associates?
An Unselfsla Selfishness.
The grim fact is that nobody is par
ticularly interested in the highest well
fare Of a person except himself. It
may be an unusual lesson to draw
from the story of Daniel, but it is a
true one; that there is a sense in
which everybody should Look out
for Number One" That proverb Is
commonly quoted as Of ignobIe i'm
port. It may nave an exalted mean
ing, however. Ones noblest self must
be conserved and cultivated by ones
own efforts. Family and associates
are not always friends to the best de-
velopment of ones life. The most al
truistic people will drain ones powers
ruthlessly, in order to serve the cause
in Which they themselves are most
Interested.
Every efficient person has to fight
a ceaseless battle to keep his powers
for their highest use. He alone car
care for his own health and for his
own mental and spiritual growth. If
he has not the decision of character
to say mo, to even good tasks, he
will be crushed beneath the extra bur
dens which are not his proper work. 1t
fal<nc tho cninn nf THn~ " r.
able to be different" and to preserve
ones Individuality for its divine ends.
The Parable OF the Bandar-LOg.
Consider the promising authors who
have been made shipwrecks by social
attentions AS the Bandar-log, or
monkey folk of the tree top. carried
away Mowgli captive. so many an
other leader Of the jungle has been
kidnapped to be the p~laything of chat
tering society. The peril which con-