The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-08-05
The Blessing Asked


the macon ItAtgIdph
The Telegraph's dispatches relate
that on July "a Dr.. w c. Kendrick
OF Dawson, in this state, a successful
physician and a confederate veteran
on seating himself at the breakfast
table, said, Let us have the blessing
now" then fell backward and died
almost without a struggle
Did DR.. Kendrick receive the bless
ing he was about to ask for when he
thus suddenly passed from this life
in his eighty-third year?
This question recalls a story in
Guided in his history by Herodotus,
who lived 4S4-48S B. c. Scion, the
Athenian lawgiver, who figured about
two centuries earlier than Herodotus,
is represented as travelling in Asia
for observation of other governments
and as discoursing on happiness with
Croesus, King of Lydia. Scion hav-
ing explained why he regarded Tel
lus, the Athenian, as the happiest OF
men, was asked by Croesus whom ne
considered the happiest, believing
that he himself would be named, for
the power and wealth of the Lydian
king were already a proyerb. But
the wise Scion, to the establishment
of Croesus, answered:
"Cleobis and Biton, for they be-
ing natives of Argos, possessed a
sufficient fortune, and had withal
such strength of body, that they
were both alike victorious in the
public games; and moreover the
following story is related of them:
When the Argives were celebrating
a festival of Juno it was necessary
that their mother should be drawn
to the temple in a chariot; but the
oxen did not come from the field
in time. The young men there
fore put themselves beneath the
woke and drew the car in which
their mother sat; and having con-
veyed it forty-five stades they
reached the temple. After they had
done this in sight of the people,
a most happy termination was put
to the lives; and in them the Deity
clearly showed that it is better for
a man to die than to live For the
men of Argos, who stood round,
commended the strength of the
youths, and the women blessed her
as the mother of such sons; but the
mother herself, transported with
Joy both on account of the action
and its renown, stood before the
image and prayed that the goddess
would grant to CleObis and Biton,
her own sons, who had so highly
honored her, the greatest blessing
man could receive. After this pray
er, when they had sacrificed and
partaken of the feast, the youths
fell asleep in the temple itself, and
never awoke more, but met with
such termination of life. Upon
this the Argives, in commemora-
ton of their piety, caused their
statues to be made and dedicated
at Delphi" Thus Scion adjudged
the second place of felicity to these
youths.
We read further that Croesus, the
most celebrated muIti-millionaire of
his period, was enraged to think that
any one could regard as more fortu-
nate than himself CIeObis and Biton,
mere youths, who died after the per-
formance of a noble act. But Scion in
that the millions of Croesus
might not always secure him against
misfortune-a saying which was re-
membered when the Lydian king lost
all and became the chattel of the
Persian conqueror, Cyrus,
The story is interesting as showing
how different was the attitude of the
ancient Greeks toward death-even
sudden death-from that of the av-
erage European or American of the
twentieth century