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THE .ATLANTA GEORGIAN. JATL’ItbAY, OCTonnil 2\ 10 11 PHILOSOPHIC BASIS OF UNBELIEF I By REV. JAMES W. LEE, • PASTOR TRINITY METHODIST CHURCH W HATEVER Is assumed tn be true In the realm of matter and mo. ■ tlon that uniformly answers to , a- though It were true may be put Jo»n a* physical science. If It is aa- that hydrogen and oxygen In ertaln proportions can be turned ititc L compound called water, nnd If upon ,lon in accordance with tho formula uj o water results, It may bo known tMt the assumption was scientific. If '.. I, assumed to be -true that one atom Of hydrogen will combine with one of chlorine to form hydro-chlorlc acid, .ml action upon the assumption In ac- JSrdance with the formula (HCL) re- .alts In hydro-chlorlc add, then it may i* known that the assumption eon. formed to reality and Is scientific. If from certain calculations It 1a assumed Jo he true that there will be nn eclipse ", the sun at a particular hour on a particular day S5 years In the future, iail the action of the sun on that day answers exactly to tho assumption, then It may be known to be scientific. II has been Inferred for a long lime thtt all solid substances are permeated hr s mysterious, colorless, odorless. In tangible substance called ether. Hein, rich Hertz discovered that ether not only carried waves of heat, "light and color, but also electric vibrations. But ihe discovery of Iferts had not been out to practical test until Marconi *on {,!< father's farm. In Italy put up a transmitting pole on one side of a gar den and a receiving pole on the other Bn d actually sent a message from one to the other. "Herts caught the ctherlc »»ves on a wire hoop and saw the an- iwerlng sparks Jump across the un joined ends," but this satisfied his own m |nd, without Impressing or convinc ing the multitudes. Marconi, hnwever, demonstrated that the assumption to the nnture of ether answered to act, land now wc have knowledge of the oo.L ,h ?i! have been sent * ,he A 5t* * mlc by means of ether tlbratlons. Hence, our knowledge of , J,* * c i® n< ‘ e - 11 I* certain and \ ci I flattie. The things assumed to be true about It uniformly answer to act, as though they were true, and hence conform to conditions by which nil ! tom » of science are established. It would be easy to assume that world wide commerce would be Impossible If all men were Inveterate liars and con scienceless thfeves, and prove the truth of It. Hence, to say that trade rela tions are based upon honesty and truthfulness Is scientific because the statement Is sust&lnod by the facts of practical commerce. . To say that so cial existence would be Impossible If all men practically and violently hated ope another and never missed n chanA to bite and devour one another, would be scientific as. to say that a thing can not be both white and black at the same time, or as to say It would not be red hot and zero cold at the same time. Wo repeat, therefore, that whatever Is assumed to be true In the realm of thoughts, Ideas, conceptions, sensa tions. feelings and emotions that uni formly answers to act as though It were true. Is science. If we assume It to be true that God Is good, that He Is on tho side of human progress toward Ideal morality and that If our will sets Itself on the side of His goodness, we will rise In the scale of existence nnd upon so acting wo do in fact And our selves rising from a lower to a higher level of life, we know that our assump tion was scientific. If wo assume It to be (rue that God Is against what Is base and mean, nnd that If our wills choose whnt Is evil we will fall to a lower level than that of whiah wc are capable, and ftiul upon actually choos ing what Is bad* we do In fact fall to a lowfcr level of life, then wo may know that our assumption was scientific. . ' I. The attempt has been made to limit science not only by. confining It to ma terial objects nnd to such knowledge as tile mind can make out of Impres sions from langiblo objects, but also to limit It to the outside appearances of objects. It Is said we can not know what things are In themselves; we con only know what they appehr on the surface to be. It will appear to the average reader a waste of time to dis cuss this phase of the question, -but If we are to establish a scientific basis for religion, < we must be patient enough to study the question at the founda tions. It Is difficult work, but the profit of It will be apparent when we come to the ahpsratructure of religious knowledge. I? as much effort had been made tq disclose the fundamental pre suppositions of materialism nnd ag nosticism and atheism as has been made In fighting them In their devel oped form, there Would have been no such miserable manifestations of the abBurd Isms today. Their existence In tho open light today Is a serious re flection upon the mental powers of those supposed to have the cause of truth at heart, as the existence of fortune-teller Gypsies In a community Is a reflection upon the enlightenment of Its people. We have been content t.i fight agnostic linns and materialistic tigers as they came upon our theologi cal premises furious and full-grown. Hut have made no determined effort to clean up and clear out and capture the habitat where they breed, so as to rid ourselves of further molestation from them. II. In 1804 Immanuel Kant, the greatest thinker since Aristotle, died. In the last quarter of the eighteenth century he published his Immortal work, "The Critique of Pure Reason," a book that has done \ more harm and more good than any philosophical REV. JAME8 W. LEE. treatise ever published. In arresting the sensattonlsm of John Locke, and the nut nnd nut skepticism of David Hume, his contribution was of untold vnlue, but In reviving nnd giving form to the view thnt we con know nothing but phenomena, the appearances things, and not things In themselves, he arrested the progress of the human mind In Its efforts to arrive at a ra tional theory of the sum of tilings. He proposed tu do In the realm of metaphysics what Copernicus did In explaining celestial movements. When he found thnt he could mako no prog- rees by assuming that all the heavenly bodies revolved around the spectator, he reversed the process and tried the experiment of assuming that the slice tator revolved, while the start re mained at rest. Ki.nl proposed to make the same experiment with r.egard in the Intuition of objects. He said that It had hitherto been assumed that our perceptions conformed to objects, but that all attempts to ascertain anything about the essences of these objects upon this assumption had failed. Sc. he proposed to see If he could not be more successful In metaphysics by as suming that objects conformed to cog nitions. The attempt to Introduce a complete revolution In the procedure of metaphysics, after tho example of the geometrician* and the natural philosophers, constituted, he said, the aim of The Critique of Pure Reason He proposed to overturn the experience of tho human race, and rule out of court the combined common sense of mankind, by seeking to prove that our notions do nut regulate themselves necore'lt’g to the things we see and touch and taste, but that things regu late themselves according to cur no tions. Thnt Is, where a tree stands be fore a person, It Is not as the plain farmer supposes, n tree out there as it appears to be, but Is the tree tho no tion of the farmer has made It. His cognition of It does not conform to the tree, but tho tree conforms to his cognition. As to what the tree la In Itsell. the farmer has no means of knotting, he only knows the thing as It appears In his cognition, yhat la. the tree before him out there In th< field he does not know at all, he only I ih ■■■ .i mi-ntiil t Iff the powers of hla thought have set up In his mind. He knows nothing of the tree In Itself, and nothing of the tnlnd upon which the appearance of the tree Is lm- pressed In Itself. He simply knows the appearance, tho notion. So, in reality, the tree Is nothing but his own notion. It Is ths state of Ills o<Vn consciousness during the time the object In question Ik before his eyes. This will seem trivial and absuid to common sense. Rut, however ridiculous It may appear, If Is well enough t> consider It. For from this thickly set grove of word* about the Impossibility of knowing the mind In Itself, and the object that lm- oreHses It in Itself, and nothing but tho apic-ni-nncc of the object, etc., has come the little foxes which have been spoil ing the vines of thought for a hundred yer.m. It may appear to some that in tellectual fox-hunting Is a wasts of time. Rut it Is not. All harmless onl- mated forms of existence have n right to Pvc, but such as prove themselves to be pests should be tracked dotvn and killed. There are microbes that are useful In the economy of life, and there are others that cauae disease. Pasteur used all the powers of his genius to show the nature and hiding places of distinctive germs, and he served the interests of universal health. III. Religious science, and for that mat ter any science, la Impossible with Kant's theory of knowledge. Any knowledge that gets hold of reality* must presuppose three points as set tled. If you are to have knowledge of n tree you must take It for granted thnt you perceive It and all there le of It, thing. In Itself, appearanco and all, and you must take It for granted thnt you are the person who perceives the tree, and that the mind with which you look through your eyes to see the tree you know In Itself as well ns the part of It that appenrs, and you must take It for granted thnt for the time you are look ing at the tree you are in correspond ence with It through the perception of It. So In this simple bit of knowl edge there is a perceivrr. a thing per ceived, and a perception. The first represents n person capable of seeing, the second an object to be seen, and the third the activity of the tnlnd In see ing. Now, Kant denletl the possibility of knowing the object in Itself, and the mind that 1- holds 111<■ • t In Itself. nnd enntended .that In knowing a tree we really know nothing beyond the ap- i pearance of It In perception. Professor Clifford said “the object la a set of changes In my consciousness, and not anything out of It." Upon the basis of Kant's theory of knowledge Fichte declared: "There Is nothing lasting either within me or w ithout me. but everywhere ceaseless change. I know nothing whatever of any other being, nnd nothing of myself. There Is no being. I myself know absolutely nothing, and 1 am nothing. Images exist. They alone are. and they know themselves nfl.r the manner of Images —Images which flit by without theie being anything before which they lilt; Images which by Images depend upon Images. I myself am ono of these Im ages; Indeed, I am not even this, but merely a confused Image of theso Im ages. See reality becomea a myster ious dream, without life ns an object, or Intellect ns the subject of this dronm—a dream which Itself depends solely upon a dream.” Thus by Clif ford nnd Fichte, we have Kant's theory of knowledge reduced to Its lost an alysis, one denied the renllty of the object perceived, and the other, deny ing both, regarded perceptions ns lin ages Hitting by. without there being anything before which they can flit. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••* "HOME, SWEET HOME” "When he came to himself He said, 'I will arise and go.’” —The 14th chapter of Luke. J L By REV. JOHN E. WHITE, PASTOR SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH HAVE wished that I could gather out nil the fragrant words of language, and garland all tnt invert flowers of rhetoric and weave In all the tints of beautiful literature and call m aid the genius of the poets and lay under tribute all learning and cul ture and refinement/ of thought and be thrilled with the breath of true elo quence, to make a lit eulogy of the fart wrapped In the significance of the great word "Home." But though ’this were an achievement possible, there would be some one to say, “You have not told It all. More than that, my home meant to me." And I could not resent his disap pointment, for 1 would disappoint my- eelf. More than I can tell, my home meant to me. My boyhood's home, tho home I threw kisses at when I drove off on the day of the great Charleston earthquake, to go to college, the home thtt death had entered and sanctified; the home that welcomed mo When I enme "baric "after four years',' changed end altered home, but home to me still, because my father Is there and 1 am safer there than anywhere else In all the world. 1 have known a man whn In mlddld age came to crushing ruin through fault and human weakness. He did not wait to ask If the world wduld despise him nor even to test the loyal ty of his friends, but quickly threw all behind him, and wounded though he wos, and a prodigal's story to tell though he had, he sought a straight flight through the bitter, wretched dis tance and found the hiding of his old home and Ills father's house. It was a true Instinct. Tho happy heart heats happier nt home, but to the miserable, home Is almost heaven. There Is no place jlko home. In the evening when the shapes are forming about the corners of the streets the belated child runs—home. In his desolation and frlendlesaness the young man who has come to grief In Ihe rliy makes one plea, "I want to go home," In her last moments a poor, lest girl, dying In sin, begged that we would bury her at home. The ruined business man starts up from the wreckage about him and goes home for peace. The widowed dnugh- colleges will be packing up, Joyful, happy, hilarious. Where are you go ing? Going home, aren’t you? The Canter of Civilization. The home Is the germinal nucleus of civilization. Every problem of hu man society has Its nerve center In the home. It Is the seed of all the harvests of all the upward evolution of the race. - If you will put an acorn under the glass you will And rudiments of a per fect oak. It Is all there, roots, trunk nnd limbs. If you will put tho home under tho test of history It will yield every car dinal fact of civilisation. The state Is In the home, the church Is In the home, social forces are In the home. Industrial organisation is In the home. Not more accurately does the acorn prophesy.the great oak than the home foretoken the manifold organisations of Look back at that-earliest record of home life. The grand old Patriarch Abraham stands by his fireside In the center of a home. Sarah sits in the helpmeet's place by his side. The first thing Is authority gathered to a. point In the Patriarch. This foreshadows political authority. He then builds an altar and gathera his family about. This foreshadows the church. The children and the servants have their allotted tasks. They drive the herds forth In the morning and- bring them In the evening. This Is the first labor organization. Abraham exercises a masterful and undisputed sway over all. This Is government. He gathers his family together and pursuee the robbers who have kid naped his son. This wps the 'first military force. So also It Is In ths horns that ths wondrous working of family reduplication takes Its rise. From the parent root grows nut other homes nnd families, and In an orderly progression humanity Is multiplied and safeguarded. The tribe Is born out of the process, having common Interest and common cause. A chlof, chosen bv consent as being stronger than his kindred, assumes the place of leader ship. Thus the nation follows the tribe. People come to social conscious ness. -Society has arrived. Civilian- ter, nhatteml and lonely, back tlnn la society eapreialiiR In tho large home to wear her weed* of obacurlty. I what the home expreaaea In the minm- In a while the ttudent boya at our ture. Tho endleaa Interduplleatlon con- tlnues In unaltered relation to true cen ter and source of energy—tho home. The nation Is a grand fact, but the home Is a subllnier moral entity. Hems Ideals. Have you ever pondered the signifi cance of the word "homely?" If about a person, you mean a certain appear ance of unpretentious plainness; If about a figure or manner of speech, you mean a certain quality of alm- B llcity and absence of the artificial. ines this not suggest one of the no blest Ideals known to men? Truth, reality and force, fer which no apology can bo demanded, lies In that Ideal. Definitely, the conviction Is commqp that the home Idea In Its highest ex pression Is found not In palaces.and mansions, but In the domiciles of sim pler and more modest families. Not that the palace may not be a home. It may be if heart Is there and life finds there its primary laws of rela tion. Borne palaces have been homes. Queen Victoria's palace was a home; It had the great home Ideal. One day Queen Victoria, desiring during some state ceremonial to consult her hus band. the prince consort, went to hie bed room to find him. She knocked and he Inquired: "Who is It?" She answered: "The queen." But the door was not opened. Again she knocked: "Who Is It?" “The queen,” she said, somewhat stiffly. "The queen has no place In my room," the prince consort answered. She understood and knock ed again. "Who Is It?" "Victoria," she said. "Victoria has all right and all honor In my room,” the husband said as he gallantly led her In. The Brit ish people were taught for almost a half century to appreciate what that grand broken-hearted woman meant, when In paroxysms of tears she sobbed out by her husband's coffin a grlof so strange In a palace: "Oh, there's no one jo cnll me Victoria now!" " 'Tie home where the heart te In dwelling, great or small, And there's many a stately manelon That le never ibhome at all.” The royal Ideal of the home le elm- f ile, honest, old-fa,hloned love. Love s a casket full of many gome. Courte sy Is one of (hem. unselfishness Is one of them, kindness It one of them, loy alty Is one of them. A true home breeds gentlemen and gentlewomen. Do you ever consider REV. JOHN E. WHITE. thnt your conduct on the street or out In tho busy world may reflect honor on your futhcr nnd mother, or bring them Into nn undeserved contempt? The other day a street car conductor, with a good face, rudely addressed a gentleman and his family. Including myself, as we were returning from the burlnl of a dear and beloved daughter In the rudest fashion: "Come on, or you can wait fifteen minutes for the next car." How It Jarred. But do r ou know what I at once thought of? thought of thnt young man's home What a sorry family It must have been. Now It may be I was wrong— that he misrepresented his father and mother. I could not say a truer word to some of you than to remind you that this world Is going to Judge your home and your people by your conduct. Un justly perhaps, but that Is all the more cruel and mean of you that you will bring the smut of contempt and dia gram on people'who are clear of guilt. Home Perils. Let me speejt of one of thp Insidious perils of the home. Every peril of the home Is a menace to society, because the stamp our homes put upon child hood and youth will be the moral Im primatur of our citizenship. One of the clearly marked perils of the home In our modern life Is the tendency to renounce authority and discipline. This Is not Imagination. 1 know It to bo the truth. Domestic lawlessness Is rampant. Mnny fathers are too busy creating nn estate to leave when hs dies to pay any real attention to the creation of heirs fit to Inherit It. “I always let him do as he pleases,” says the backbonolesa conglomeration of Inert paternity in a tone of proudly foolish generosity. "I always let him do as he pleases." What Is the natural result? if the parent Is poor, the boy will swell Ihe ranks of the law breakers nnd curse society. If ths pa rent Is rich, the boy la practically sure to me a wealth-proud Idiot of a citizen who bribes truculent eoclety to make a place for a fool because he has money to set 'em up with—a non-pro ducer, a useless counterfeit of man hood—and If he doesn't go to the dogs, he might as well, for not one single human Interest suffers shock or loss, not one blade of grass or a single leaf quivers In regret when he dies. If there were any practical way for the world to protect Itself, It would be a law of eminent social Justice If fath ers and mothers were fined and pun ished upon proof that they did not maintain discipline In their household. IVhy do I say so? The cltlsens of a city met eome time ago to Investigate nnd Inaugurate a movement against lawlessness and crime which had broken out alarmingly. The Inefficien cy of the police was the principal cause assigned, though eome said It was the laxity of the courts; some said It was the vagrant laws, and variously ths discussion ranged. A communication wos sent by the chief of police, who was not present because he was under criticism. Here Is what he said. He said It was the homes of the people, | Home.” To that principle Intent In rich and poor. He declared that the absence of a wholesome discipline In the home and Indifference to church attendance had much to do with the spread of crime. It was a well-known fact, he said, that 60 per cent of the 'Inmates of the Jails and prisons are under twenty-five years of age. Crimi nal tendencies are begotten Ih boy hood and girlhood. Where there Is no supervision of reading, no care taken as to the choice of companions, no knowledge of haunts, no concern abou& habits, no regulation as to the even ing hours, no Insistence upon church attendance—In short, no righteous home government—It would be more than passing strange It a vast ratio of those who are thus permitted to drift toward manhood and womanhood should not become desplsers of the law of tho land. How could It be other wise? Now, this happened In a West ern city. It might have happened In Atlanta, without missing a line. We express our horror that ths ne groes are, so many of them, criminal. It Is nn wonder. They have little home life, little home regulation. They are not always encouraged ‘by their white neighbors. Just after our riot an old negro put his finger on the sore spot when he complained that the negro boys,, including one of his own, did as they pleased at home, without correc tion. "And, boss," he said, "the white folks won’t let us whip ’em. I Jos' been arrested and carried down to Judge Brllee' court, end what fur? 'Cause some white' folks said I was er whipping that boy er mine and he was er hollering. Course, he was hoi lerln', but now I'm erfeard to whip him again.” A south Georgia widow explained lo General Wheeler how she maneged to raise her boys. “How did you manage to raise such a fine lot of boys, 'way off here In the woodmV he asked her. "Waal, stranger,” she answered, "I am a wlddy woman, and alt I had to raise 'em on woe prayer and hickory, but I raised ’em powerful frequent" The Power of the Heme, The power a man's love of his home has over him Is a noble power. As a man yields himself to Its Influ ence the finest elements of his man hood awaken In response. The Inspira tion of Southern chivalry In the days of the Confederacy was "Home, Bweet every line of "Dixie".and vibrant In every note, the Southern boye marched away to advance the records of the world In valor. My father has often said In my hearing that he got no In spiration sa a soldier from any lore for the Institution of slavery and little from the constitutional right of seces sion, for he was opposed to secession, but that one thing nerved hie heart un failingly. and that was that'hla back was to hli home and native soil and the enemy was clamoring at the north ern border. The earliest Iiletllle of American knighthood shows a forest lined with Indians and a settler etand- Ing In his rude doorway with a smok ing rifle In his hand and a.dauntless light on -J)ls face, while behind are bis frlnhtenr'il.\vlfr nnd children. We have nn Insignificant standing army In thin country, hut wc nre held safe from all'the myrmidons that all ■ I . t . CM 1"'« "1 s eon 1.1 le.tineh against us by the millions of men who would rally In a day to defend their homes from Invasion. Now, I thank.God that spirit Is here In us all. But how Vemote tb<- harm our homes may suffer from war. How much nearer and more real the danger of their dishonor nt our own hands. The power our homes have to com mand us Is Invoked 111 behnlf of good morals. I appeal to It In the name of sobriety and purity. I appeal to It In behalf of a decent life lived amid temptations to Indecency. The Cotton Mill Indicator. Ariadne tied a silken cord about the ankle of her brother, Theseus, ns h'< went toward the labyrinth to slay In mortal combat the monster of the grotto. "When you fee! the gentle drawing of the cord.” she cold. "It la to let you know that your sister Is thinking of you." There are two thou sand students In Atlanta and three thousand young men and women who have left homes behind them to do bat tle In this city. And so I know that there are five thousand silken cords stretching from Georgln and Southern nresldes held by the loving hands of fathers nnd mothers and sisters. • * Do you not feel right often the draw ing of thh silken cord? They are thinking of you. They are praying for you at home. THE MOTIVE OF MANHOOD IMHMHIHtHHMMHHHMMIMII >•••••••••••••••••••••••< By REV. EVERETT DEAN ELLENWOOD, | PASTOR UNIVERSALIST CHURCH ' » ' T HERE are three fundamental Im pulses or emotions which He back of the motives which are responsible for all human activity. Mentioned In their regular order |n the rising scale of the development of moral consciousness, they are fear, cupidity and duty. The first Is the Product of the jungle order of civilisa tion, the second belongs to the moral nursery, while the third Is.only nt aome m the heart of a man, a inun endowed with divine possibilities, a man "created a title lower than the honor* 10 b * erown * d w,th * ,ory anrt Neither of these three motives Is In dividually to be condemned or ar raigned. Each Is good In Its place. Mch one represents a different stage m the moral development of a man. ‘tie highest morality Is a growth and no contributing element In thnt growth is to be despised. The Im portant thing, for spiritual culture. Is that one should early learn to' attach . Proper estimates of value to these motive springs of conduct. h.T., race has suffered much In the halting of its march toward a true clv- uitation, by the undue emphasis nnd CAHltatlon by Its lenders In moral cul- r!TC: of the two Inferior motives to righteousness. ... b* Of God. taken In Its strict- * l literal sense, may Indeed be “the ■*glnnliit nt wisdom:” the fear of Punishment as a deterrent may truly Point the way to the moral life. lhe rurnett desire to win the favor ?" d rewards of God may (bad the searching soul still farther away from ,|h,,„ m "ral chans of savagery, but not earnest searching of the conscience reveals to him that hi* •L. "owning motive Is duty may he himself to be In any degree freed '£* ‘■•Pressing bondage of sin *hoae strength Is the law." I I..-.? . great men. the actual t).! r * ■"'•ders of ever)’ age have been ei) !2?*. whone righteousness exceed- 1 *hatof the "Scribes and Pharisees," the transcendent souls whose lives recognized for their dominant motives neither the lash of fear nor the bland ishments of hope or desire, but who answered, as naturally ns the bird to his mate, the clear call of duty. The soul who lives od these heights of moral grandeur must have a feel ing of genuine pity for him whose decency Is due mainly to the gaoler, horrible death by being cast Into the the midst of a "burning fiery furnace." ’The ubiquitous trouble-maker soon brlnns to the monarch the report that certain Hebrews thch residing within his domain have refused to be guided and governed by the commands of the edict, notwithstanding the extreme stringency of its threatened pennlty. and an lll-coneenled contempt for that The offenders are brought before the righteousness which Is the product cf |<|ng who develops a terrifying rage an earnest nnd persistent yearning for "the recompense of the rewnrd,’’ but he welcomes with the eager hall or a comrade the one who elmply. and with singleness of motive, chooses for his feet the path of right for no other reason whatever than thnt It Is the path of right. The codes of morals formed by our race In Its younger years centered, of necessity, very largely about the first two of these primal motives, and It would appear that we have not yet made sufficient progress to place entire dependence upon the third us the rul ing motive of society. But. from ttn>o to time In the mnrch of the ages, we have been given Inspiring foregleams of a coming time when righteousness shall be aomethlng more thnn a dimly outlined Idea! and shall be the l»>«ses- slon of every human soul without either compulsion or purchase. One of these dashing feregleams must have lighted the soul of that dweller upon the mountalntop of In spiration. whoever he may have been, who gave to the world the book of Daniel. The soul of the man who clings to a belief In the possibility of righteousness for 'righteousness sake must be helpfully thrilled by tho dra matic story of the three Hebrew chil dren In the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Afflicted With an Inordinate egotism the pagan ruler has caused to be erected on enormous Image of gold and has dccreed'that at the sound of any sort of music, all men of whatever standing or station shall Immediately fall down and worship this linage. The penalty for refusal Is Immediate and upon their calm admission of their neglect to obey Ids commands. The edict with the penalty of Its dslobedl- ence nre repeated In their hearing and a demand made to know their inten tions In the matter. Calmly and de liberately there came a reply which must have astonished beyond measure the venal listener* and which thrills ever)' reader of this Inspiring drama. Sustained by the Inborn faith of their leader who at one time had gone out to a place appointed, "not knowing whither he went,” these three Hebrew children declare Unto the king their absolute faith In the ability of their God to deliver them out of nny situ ation, however perilous, If that deliver ance shall be In Accordance with the soul development provided for them by Ills wisdom and His love. Moreover, they declare their ubsolute usaurance of their delivernnre from the power and authority of their tormentor. They are certain that God is able to deliver them from the "burning, fiery furnare” If His omniscience nnd His all-embracing love ahull determine such deliverance, but they are entirely willing to leave thle derision wltfi Him. And notv comes the most splen did declaration which may spring forth unfetered from a human souT. “But. If not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden Image which thou hast ret up.” They believe absolutely In the power of God to dp whatever Is best, hut. In this partlcu- Inr instance, without nny revelation of precedent; they admit their tack of cer tainty as to the Immediate outcome. REV. E. D. ELLENWOOD. But, as for themselves, they will be controlled by neither fear nor hope. Duty speaks, and her voice alone will they anewor. They calmly admit the strong probability that temporarily the carnal man may triumph and the In fliction of tlte cruel vengeance of the king shall visit upon their bodies sud den nnd horrible death, but the un happy prospect Is powerless to swerve them from their purpoec. They know what Is right. They recognize the path of truth and honor, and In this path shall they move regardless of the im mediate consequences. They evidently bslleve In righteousness for Itself. The writer of thin thrilling drama evidently Insists upon the Inevitable triumph of the right, even In Imme dlate and temporal things, for he here Interjects a miracle, Impossible to phys ical Inw, and which possibly lessens Bomowhat the value and power of the story to the materialistic mind. But we nerd not allow Ihe difficulties of the miracle to obscure for us the splendid lesson of the unqualified and triumph ant righteousness of these three sorely tried Hebrews. This Is the sort of virtue which the world must have before Ite men and women ehall be able to boast them selves as actually civilised and truly cultured, the virtue which Is neither of necessity nr convenience, but by natural and Instinctive choice. We believe that religion and Its teachings shall be found to be the most certain means to the highest culture and the purest ethics. But our prog ress In this direction must of necessity depend largely upon our Interpretation of religion and upon the human motive of conduct lo which that Interpreta tion makes strongest appeal. We can not legislate decenry and or der into human hearts. We do not make men good by putting them In jail. We only temporarily restrain them from doing evil. Human souls are not made actually righteous, either by ter rifying them with the fear of hell or by entrancing them with the hope of heaven Actual rlghteousnese, the righteousness which causes unfeigned rejoicing In the homes of earth and In the courte of heuven. Is not a sponta neous production. It Is the result nt slow and painful process, but It Is as stable ae the eternal hills. What sort of religion does your preacher feed to you on Sunday., when you go to him In search of spiritual instruction and discipline? Does he attempt to frighten you Into decency by rhetorically cracking the whip of hell In the ears of your superstitious terror? Or does he endeavor to whee dle you away from the path of death and Into the way of life by parting for your enraptured Imagination beau tlful pictures of the city celestial? Or doea he seek to soothe for you an out' raged conscience by promising the (filmlnatlon of salutary retributive Jus tice by means of a vicarious atone ment? -Or doea he try, with all hie might, lo help you to realize that you are sons and daughters of the most high God; that you ore moral and spir itual beings, endowed with the capacity to Judge between good Bnd evil and to determine what le right and what Is wrong, and that because God has en dowed you so fully and freely with Ills spirit of triumphant righteousness, He has a right to mpfldenlly expect great things of you. He has a right to expect that you will choose right In preference lo wrong, simply because It le right, and not primarily because It will bring you happiness, while Its opposite will result In misery? Which of these methods does your preacher pursue? It Is assumed that the majority of preachers are honest; that they are conscientious; that they are anxious to adopt what may appear to them to he the beat avenue of approach to the hearts and lives of their people. This being so, theh It follows that you who listen may form a reasonably corked Idea of your preacher’s mental estimate of your spiritual condition and your spiritual needs, by the habit, ual tenor of hie message, and from the basis upon which He makes to your consciences Hie appeal for righteous ness. And In case you should resenl and repudiate his hypothesis, remember that your only hope of successful vin dication of your position will He In subsequent conduct. Perhaps your preacher Is light. ARE YOU GOING TO PAINT? 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