Evening star., 1958-07-13
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT
ITS Lie
BY DR.. FREDERICK BROWN HARRIS
CHAPLAIN Of the united states senate

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posed sphinx spoke. A mem-
Der Of the picturesque White
hall Guard. In resplendent
uniform. standing motionless
and silent as a statue while
being gazed upon curiously by
q tourist crowd. smashed the
hoary tradition Of centuries.
He talked back to the
aStounded guide. A group Of
Americans such as always
find one Of the greatest thrills
in the colorful spectacle Of
The Changing of the
Guard" were listening in
tently TO statements made
with regard to the uniform
and care Of the glittering
OUTFIT Of the particular guard
whom. at close range, they
were inspecting. There were
several untruths in the de-
scription ratified OF by the
professional lecturer. The
sealed lips Of the victim
then uttered words which
have been heard round
the world. Said the guard
to the guide, "You are
a liar" In explaining his in
dignant explosion, the soldier
afterward declared, HE lied
about the leather in our
boots, about the material in
our trousers. and about the
care Of our outfits" Evidently
believing that the guide knew
better, the aggrieved sentry
did not say, you are mis-
informed" He blurted blunt
ly, you are a liar" The fell
low-soldiers In this palace
brigade drank a toast to their
cornrade who thus dared pub
licly to refute the falsehood.
There is a scene in the
New Testament in which the
same charge rings out in a
most unexpected place. It
Is at a service of the early
church. The Apostle Peter
Is in charge. A prominent
member Of the church came
forward, ostentatiously, to
make an offering Of money
received from the sale of a
piece Of land. His name was
Ananias. He and his wife.
Sapphira, had conspired to
say that the money put upon
the church altar was the en-
tire amount received in the
real estate deal. The fact was
that they had kept back a
sizable sum while pretending
to give their all. Ananias
came first with his piouS pose.
rs this" asked Peter, "the
full amount you received from
the land?" ut is" replied
the donor "You are a liar"
said Peter. you have lied.
not just to man, but to God. !"
When the offender heard
these words. he fell dead, as
did a little later his wife,
his partner in falsehood. That
particular lie has come ring
ing down the centuries.
There are times when
known and palpable lies are
to be so branded and labeled.
The Kremlin's accepted doc
trlne, blessed by their high
priest. Lenin, is that a lie is
justifiable If it contributes
to the final victory of COM
munism. 1t is to the credit
OF the highest officers of our
Government that again and
again, instead of using the
euphonious terms of conven-
tional diplomacy. they have
said to those at the center
OF this vile conspiracy against
truth and decency, You have
lied" That charge has been
proved in dozens Of instances.
Some day the truth will
reach the now isolated Rus
sian people, and pulverize the
falsehoodS on which they are
now being fed. For instance,
a textbook now being used as
a Russian child's first ex-
posure to history is studded
with lies. This volume was
published in 1855 and is ap-
proved by the Soviet Min
istry of Education. Among
the deliberate distortions of
history is this statement: I'm
order to speed up the
termination Of the var and
to contribute to an immediate
establishment of a genuine
peace, the Soviet Union
entered the war against
the Japanese usurpers. On
September 2. 1945. under the
crushing blows Of the Soviet
army. Japan acknowledged
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