a
T orch of
VOL. 1.
8 IL V E R T 0 N , OUEGOX, T i l l
Im m o r t a lit y .
SDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1897.
vent these calam ities?
P rayers,
R e w a rd s of C o n fo rm ity .
sacrifices, processions, offerings, cer
By B. H Horne.
By F. L O hw h M .
emonies, are, we are told, tfie true
W hat is th is Im m o rta lity ,
There is a tradition th a t the a n
This dazzling prism beyond th e range m eans to disarm Celestial fury.
cient T hessalians m ade it a rule
of T im e?
But
why
is
heaven
angrv?
Because
th a t the guests of their banquets
F ar as m y b rain can clim b,
W hy are men m ust get d ru n k on pain of expulsion.
T hen, struggling on—and sh im m erin g men are wicked.
back to m e.
wicked? Because their n atu re is To let anyone rem ain sober, they
It is not possible to gain
corrupt. W hat is the cause of this argued, would not l»e just to the be
A tru th fu l com prehension of th is th o ’t,
fuddled m ajority, of whose condi
T his dream so god-like and un-sane, corruption? It is, a theologian of
tion he m ight be tem pted to take
Fearing, resisting, h a tin g to l>e n a u g h t. enlightened Europe will reply, be
all sorts of advantage. If the evils
W ould not a m illion years,
cause the first m an was seduced by of drunkennesss were undeserve«!
In rising circles, satisfy m a n ’s hope?
the first woman to eat an apple afflictions, it would certain ly be
Ten m illions, th en , of life m idst dying
which his God bad forbidden him true th a t sobriety w’ould give an
sp h ere s-r-
W ouldst thou still cry “ G ive me vet to touch. Who induced this woman individual an alm ost u n fa ir ad v a n
w ider scope” ?
tage over the rest of his fellowmen.
to do such a folly?
The devil.
W e know n o t w hat we crave—
He would be an archer try in g his
W
ho
created
the
devil?
God!
W
hy
We plunge through wordy m id n ig h ts
skill against hoodwinked rivals, a
of the m ind
did God create this devil destined runner challenging the speed of
And all liecause we dread o u r need
to pervert the hum an race? We shackled com petitors. There is not
ful grave,
Seeking to reco n stru ct th e laws d e know nothing about it; it is a m ys a m echanical or industrial avoca
signed.
tery hidden in the bosom of the tion in which sobriety does not give
a man the advan.age which health
W h a t has th e l>est m an d o n e—
diety.
W h at could th e t>est th a t ever lived
and freedom confer over crippling
Does the earth revolve around
e ’e r do
disease. For the baleful effects of
To justify a rank with S tar and Sun? the sun? Two centuries ago a de
intem perance are by no m eans lim
Nay m ore, for they m ay end when
vout philosopher would have re ited to the m om ents of actual intox
d ates fall due.
plied that such a th o u g h t was blas ication, but react on the half-lucid
T h eolo gy E x p la in s N o th in g .
phem y, because such a system intervals, and even on the alter
years of th e reformed toper. Tem-
could not agree with the holy book,
By Jean Mealier
peiance, in the widest sense, of
which
every
C
hris
ian
reveres
as
If we would lielieve th e adherents
abstinence from unfit fond ami
of religion, nothing could be ex inspired by the diety himself. drink, would be the best gift which
plicable in the world w ithout it; W hat is the o p in io n to d a y about it? the faries could best-ov on a favorite
child, for the blessing of frugal hab
nature would be a continual enigm a; N otw ithstanding the divine in sp ir
its includes alm ost all other bless
it would be im possible f«>r m an to ation, the C h rist,an philosophers
finally concluded io rely upon evi ings w hatever. S pontaneousgayety,
com prehend himself. But, a t the
the sunshine of the unclouded soul,
dence rath e r th an upon the testi-
bottom, w hat does this religion ex
is dim m ed by the influence of the
mony of their inspired books.
first poison-habit, and the regretful
plain to us? The more we exam ine
W hat is the hidden principle of retrospects of the “ lost paradise of
it, the more we find th a t theoligieal
the actions and of the m otions of chib lh o o d ” are founded chiefly on
notions are tit but to perplex all
the hum an body? It is the soul. the co n trast of poison-engendered
our ideas; they change all into m ys
W h at is a soul? It is a spirit. distem pers with the m oral and
teries; they explain to us difficult W hat is a spirit? It is a substance physical health of earlier years.
things by impossible things. Is it, w hich has neither form, color, ex Tem perance prolongs th at sunshine
then, explaining things to a ttrib u te pansion nor parts. How can we to the evening of life. Bv tem per
them to unknow n agencies, to in conceive of such a substance? How ance alone the dem on of life-weari-
can it move a body? We know neis can be kept at bay in tim es of
visible powers, to im m aterial causes?
nothing about it.
H ave brutes fiercest trib u latio n .
U ndim m ed
Is it really enlightening the hum an souls?
The C arth u sian assures eyes can more easily recognize the
mind when, in its em barrassm ent, you th a t they are m achines. But gleam of sunshine behind the clouds.
it is directed to the ‘‘depths <»f the do we not see them act, feel, and The pris 'tiers of the outlaw ed C ir
treasures of divine wisdom,” upon think in a m anner which resembles cassian insurgents adm itted th at, in
which they tell us it is in vain to th a t of men? This is a pure illu spite of hunger, har«lships, and c o n
turn our bold regards? Can the sion, you say. But why do you stant danger, their captors con
divine nature, which we know noth deprive the brutes of souls, which trived to enjoy life better than their
ing about, m ake us understand w ithout understanding it, you a t enemies in the brandy-reeking ahun-
m an’s nature, which we lind so diffi trib u te to m en?
It is th a t the dance of their headquarters. The
cult to e x p la in ?
souls of the brutes would em barrass m yth of the Lotus-eaters described
Ask a C hristian philosopher what our theologian*, w ho, content with a nation of vegetarians who passed
is the origin of the world. He will i he power of frightening and dam n life so p leasan tly th a t visitors re
answ er th a t God created the uni ing toe im m ortal souls of men, do fused to leave them, ami renounced
verse. W hat is God? We do not not take the game interest in dam n th eir native lamls. The religion of
know an y th in g about it. W hat is ing thoseof the brutes. Such areth e M oham m ed m akes abstinence from
it to create? We have no idea of puerile solutions which philosophy, intoxicating d rin k s a chief d u ty of
it! W hat is the cause of pestilences, alw ays guided by »be leading-strings a true believer, and th a t law alone
famines, wars, sterility, in u n d a of theology, was obliged to bring has prevented the physical degen
tions, earth q u ak es?
It is God's forth to explain the problems of the eration of his followers. W ith all
wrath.
W hat remedies can pre- physical and moral world.
th eir m ental sloth and the enervat-
XO. 50.
ing influence of their harem life,
the T urks are still the finest repre
sentatives of physical m anhood. At
the horse fairs of B ucharest I saw’
specitm ns of thi-ir broad-shouldered,
proud-eyed ru-tics, whose ap p ear
ance contracted strangely with th a t
of the sluggish boors and furtive
traffickers of the neighboring n a
tives. After twelve h u nd red years
of exhaustive wars, altern a tin g with
periods of lu x u ry am i tem p tin g
w ealth, the descendants of the A ra
bian conquerers are still a h ard y ,
long-lived race, physically far su p er
ior to the ru m -d rin k in g foreigners of
th eir coast towns. For more than
six hundred year® the tem perate
Moriscos held th eir own in war and
peac»* against all natio n s of C hiis-
tendom .
T heir Sem itic descent
gave them no n atu ra l ad v an tag e
over th eir C aucasian rival»; hut
they entered the arena of life w ith
clear eyes am i unpalsied h earts,
and in an age of universal su p ersti
tion m ade th e ir co u n try a garden
of science am i im lustry. T h eir cit
ies offered a refuge to the scholars
and philosophers of three continents
and in hundred* of pitched b attles
iheir indom itable valor prevailed
against tm- w ine-inspired heroism
o f their adversaries.
Frugality h a sc u n d diseases which
«l»*tied all other reme«lies.
For
thousands of reformed g lu tto n s it
has made life worth livi ng, after the
shadow s of m isery already th re a t
ened to darken into the gloom of
approaching night. Luigi Coruaro,
a V enetian noblem an of the six
teenth century, had im paired his
health by gastronom ic excesses till
his physicians despaired of his life,
when, as a last resort, he resolved
to try a com plete change of diet.
His father, his uncles, and two of
his brothers had all «lied before the
a tta in m e n t of their fiftieth year; but
Luigi determ ined to try conclusions
with the deainon of u u n atu rah sm ,
and a t once reduced n isd aily allow
ance of m eat to one-tenth of the
usual q u a n tity , a <1 bis wine to a
stin t barely sufficient to flavor a
cup of V enetian cistern water. Af
te r a m onth of bis new regim en he
r*gaine«l his appetite
After ten
weeks he found him self able to take
long w alks w ithout fatigue, and
could sleep w ithout being aw a k en -«1
by nightman* horrors. At the eml
of a year all the sym ptom s of
chronic indigestion had left him,
and he resolved to make th® plan
of his cure t he rule of his life. T h at
li e was prolonged for a ce n tu ry —
forty years of racking disease, fol
lowed by’ sixty years of unbroken
h e a l t h , unditnined clearness of
m ind, unclouded content. H ab it
ual abstinence from u n n a tu ra l f<»o«l
and drink saves th e trials of con
sta n t self-control and the a lte rn a
tive pangs of repentance. ‘‘Blessed
are t*»e pure, for they can follow
th eir in clin atio n s with im punity ’’
— Bible "f N ature.