The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1943-12-16
The Sublime Character

Commercial Appeal.
In these days of world travail, when tn
peoples of the earth are in torment and al
,uish, it is appropriate to quote. here whs
lie wrote of Him in 1912, when the world wa
moving toward war.
In the Commercial Appeal Of December g.
hat year, appeared this estimate of the "pel
ect man.:
There is no other characte~ in history
like that of Jesus.
AS preacher, as doer o. things, and
as a philosophe4, nc man ever had the
sweep and the vision of Jesus.
A human analysis of the human actions
of Jesus brings to view rule OF life that
is amazing in its perfect detail.
The system of ethics JesuS taught dur
ing His earthly sojourn 1000 years ago
was true then, has been true II every cen
fury since, and will be true forever
Plato was a great thinker and learned
in his age, but his teachings cid not stand
the test of time. In big things and in
little things time and human experience
have shown that he erred.
Marcus Aurelius touched the reflective
ullIlQ VI Tile WOIlu, put le WCS do CO1u
and austere as brown marble.
The doctrine Of Confucius gave great
nation moral and mental dry rot
The teachings of Buddha resulted in
mental and moral chaos that makes India
dereict
Mohammed offered a system of ethics
which was adopted by millions of people.
Now their children 1--we in deserts where
Y.iu
where once there was moisture, and in
the shadows of gray, barren hills where
once there was greenness.
Thomas Aquinas was a profound phil
osopher, but parts of his system have
been abandoned.
Francis of Assist was Christ-like in his
saintliness but in some things he was
childish.
Thomas A. Kempis' Imitation of Christ
is thing Of rare beauty and sympathy,
but it Is, as it's name indicates, only an
imitation.
Sir Thomas More's Utopia is yet
dream that cannot be realized.
Lord Bacon in writing on chemistry
and medicine under the glasses of the
man working in Goth century laboratory
is puerile.
The worlds most Learned doctors until
hundred and fifty years ago gave drag
on's blood and the ground dried tails of
lizards and shells of eggs for certain all
ments The great surgeons hundred
years ago bled man if he were wounded.
Napoleon had the worlc at bis feet for
four years, and when he died the world
was going on its way as if he had never
lived.
Jesus taught little as to property be-
cause He knew there were things of more
importance than property. He measured
property and life the body anG soul, at
their exact relative value. He taught much
as to character, because character is of
more importance than collars.
Other men taught us to develop systems
., OF government. Jesus taught SO as to per-
feet the minds of men. Jesus looked to
the soul, while other men dWelled on ma
terial things.
After the experience OF 1000 years no
man can find a flaw in the governmental
system as outlined by Jesus.
Car and Kaiser. President and Social
list, give to its complete merit their ad-
miration.
No man today, no matter whether he
follows the doctrine of Mills. Marx or
George as to property, can find false
principle in Jesus theory OF property
sociologist has ever appropriated the per-
lection of the doctrine laid down by Jesus
in His Sermon on the Mount
Not all the investigations of chemists,
not all the discoveries of explorers, not
all the experiences of rulers, not all the
historical facts that go to make up the
sum of human knowledge on this day in
1912 are in contradiction to one word ut
tered or one principle laid down by Jesus
The human experiences of 1000 years
show that Jesus never made mistake
Jesus never uttered a doctrine that was
true at that time and then became obso-
lete.
Jesus spoke the truth; He lived the truth,
and truth is eternal.
History has ito record of any other man
leading perfect life or doing everything
in logical order. Jesus is the only person
whose every action and whose every ut
terance strike true note in the heart
and mind of every man born OF woman.
He never said a foolish thing, never did
foolish act and never dissembled.
No poet, no dreamer, no philosopher
loved humanity with the love that Jesus
bore toward all men.
Who, then, was Jesus?
He could not have been merely man.
Tor there never was man who had two
consecutive thoughts absolute in truthful
perfection.
Jesus must have been what Christendom
proclaims Him to be-a divine being-or
He could not have been what He was.
NO mind but an infinite mind could have
left behind those things which Jesus gave
to the world as heritage.
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