Torch of reason., July 28, 1898, Image 1

T orch
VOL. 2.
Not Understood.
JoUGHT
z
R eason .
SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1898.
NO.
to me hke the passing cloud.”
1 adoration seemed to him the crown who m ade the tree, and prevented
‘ Grieve not that men know n o t of the whole m oral n atu re of m an. it from bearing figs; second, th a t
\
:milerst<K»<l. We move along a su n ­
you; grieve that you know not But while full of veneration, he God the a 11-wise, who is not subject
d e r—
Our paths grow w ider as th e seasons m en.”
seems to have been deficient in the to hum an passion, being h ung ry ,
creep
u Io rule with equity is like the sense of sp iritu al things. A per-! went to the fig-tree, on w hich he
Along the y e a rs; we m arvel and we
wonder
N orth Star, which is fixed and all sonal god was unknow n to him ; knew there would be no figs, ex ­
Why life is life, end th e n we fall
th e rest go round it.”
so th a t his worship was directed, pecting to find some there; th ird ,
*
asleep,
Not understood.
“ The essence of know ledge is, not to God, hut to an tiq u ity , to an- th at God the all-ju st then punished
N t understood.
We g a th e r false im ­ having it, to apply it; not having cestors, to propriety and usage, to the tree because it did not bear figs
pressions,
the state as father and m other of in oppositon to G od’s eternal o r­
And hug th em closer as th e vears go it, to confess your ignorance.”
“ If my m ind is not engaged in its subjects, to the ruler as in place dination. This account is a pro­
by,
Till virtues often seem tran sg re ssio n s;
Perfectly sincere, found m ystery to a tru ly religious
And th u s m en rise and fall, an d live my worship, it is as though I wor- of au th o rity .
and die,
shipped not.”
deeply and absolutely assured of all m an. He bows his head, flings his
Not understood.
“ Form erly, in hearing men, I th a t he knew, he said nothing he carnal reason aw ay, and looks at
Not understood. Poor souls, w ith s tu n t­ heard ih eir words and gave them did not believe.
His pow’er came the m atter in a prayerful sp irit,
ed vision,
Oft m easure g ian ts by th e ir narrow credit for th eir conduct; now’ I not only from the depth and clear- with ati eye of faith. F a ith as a
guage;
hear their words and observe their ness of his convictions, but from the grain of m ustard seed will remove a
The poisoned sh a fts of falsehood and de­
conduct.”
absolute honesty of his soul.
rision
m ountain. The only difficulty is to
Are oft im p e lle d ’gainst those who
“ A m an ’s life depends on virtue;
Confucius was em inently d is­ get th e grain of faith ; all is easy
m ould th e age—
if a bad m an lives, it is only by tinguished by energy and persist­ when th a t is done. The “eye of
Not u n d e rsto o d .
good forture.”
ency. He did not stop working fill faith ’ is a great help, it sometimes
Not understood.
How trifles often
“ Some proceed blindly to action, he died. H is life was of one piece, enables men to see th at which does
change us!
The th o u g h tle ss sentence or th e fan ­ w ithout knowledge; I hear much beautiful, noble.
“ The general of not exist.—[Chas B radlaugh.
cied slig h t
a large arm y ,” said h e ,“ may be de-
Destroy long years of frien d sh ip and and select the best course.”
estran g e us,
He was once found fault w ith, feated, but you cannot defeat the
And on our souls th ere falls a freezing
W hat is Religion?
when in office, for not opposing the determ ined m ind of a peasant.”
b lig h t;
Not understood.
m arriage of a ruler with a d istan t He acted conform ably to this
Religion, prim arily , is the a tti­
Ah, me! th a t m en could see a little relation, which was an offence thought and to another of his say-
clearer,
tude of emotion toward the m yste­
Or judge less h a rsh ly w here they can ­ against Chinese propriety. He ¡-a id /u g s. “ H I aui building a muun
W onder and
not s e e ;
“ I am a happy man; if I have a tain , and stop before the last bas­ rious, the unknow n.
ketful of earth is placed on the fear are the im pulses which are the
Ah, me! th a t m en would draw a little
fault, men observe it.”
n earer
sum m it, I have failed of my work.
T oone a n o th e r — they would h a p p ie r
Confucius was hum ble. H e said: But if I have placed hut one bas­ tap-roots of religion. Religion,sec­
l>e—
“ I cannot hear to hear myself called ketful on the plain, and goon, 1 am ondarily, is the a ttitu d e of the in ­
An d u n d e rs to o d !
tellect toward the m ysterious, the
equal to the sages and the good. A 11 really building a m o u n tain .”
The prim itive being
M any beautiful and noble things unknow n.
th a t can be said of me is, th at I
W ritin gs of Confucius.
are related concerning the ch arac­ wonders at w hat he sees or hears;
study with delight th e conduct of ter of C onfucius—of his courage in
he fears it if its aspect is new to
the sages, and instruct men w ithout the m idst of danger, of his hum ili-
BY .JAMES F R E E M A N C L A R K E,
him or if he has learned from expe­
w eariness therein.”
ty in the highest position of honor.
rience th at it m ay h u rt him.
Gut
<(T.
• serene,” » said
. / H - i s - w ritings - and life-h av e given
The life of Confucius was devoted
1 he good j m an is
*
the law to Chinese thought. H e is of this w onder and fear grow m en­
to com m unicating to the Chinese he, “ the had alw ays in fear
the patron sain t of th a t great em ­ tal theories as to w hat this new and
nation a few great m oral and relig­
“ A good m an regards the root ; pire. H is doctrine is the slate re- dangerous thing is; later, the th e­
ious principles, which he believed
he fixes the root, and all else flows
of tlu* nation, sustained by orizing is extended to the causes of
would insure the happiness of the
i he whole power of the em peror and
out of it.
The root is filial piety;
and the literary body.
His hooks the thing th a t has produced asto n ­
people. H is devotion to this aim
the fruit brotherly love.”
are published every year by socie- ishm ent or fright. H aving not yet
appears in his w ritings. T hus he
“ There m ay he fair words a r.l an
firm ed for th a t purpose, who co-ordinated the im pressions receiv-
save:
hum ble countenance when there is d istrib u te them gratuitously. H is ed from external nature, that is,
p e n d a n t s enjoy the highest con- h ,
„„ c!aH(iified knowled
,,o
•At fifteen years I longed f"r | little real virtue, »
s id é ra tio n . I he n u m b e r of tem p les ! .
,
* .....................
.
wisdom. At th irty my mind was
“ I daily exam ine m yself in a erected to his m em ory is sixteen science, the prim itive being im ag-
fixed in the pursuit of it. At forty
One of them iues, n atu ra lly , th a t w hatever is
threefold m anner: in my transac- hundred and sixty.
I saw clearly certain principles. tions w ith men, if I am upright; in occupie8 ten acres of land. On the about him in the world is alive ,
At fifty I understood the rule given
two festivals in th e year sacred to like him self; th a t it is a person,
i t
.
•
v m y intercourse with friends, if I am i-
j t
by heaven. At sixty everyth.ng I
¡„ ,f
and whether j ¡ ||u8| rate '
T 2 ,„ ,t
2 eacrl1tlced, that i t does as he would do. back-
Lack-
heard I e a s i l v u n d e r s to o d
A t a e v - I a , l , , I u h R na wnetner I m u sirate some seventy thousand an im als of .
.
...
.
,
. ‘
’
the teachings of my m aster in my different kinds, and tw enty-seven n ,g sclenLfic acquaintance with the
entv the
tllfi desires
ttpuirnu of my xt lixxurt
~
J
“ .
. .
7 _ ...
-
1 •
i
. . . . . . .
h eart nn
no
thousaud pieces of silk are burned universe, he m ust believe th a t all
conduct.”
longer transgressed the law .”
on his altars. Yet his is a religion phenom ena are caused by beings of
“
F
aithfulness
and
sincerity
are
“ If in the morning I h ear about
w ith o u t priests, liturgy, or public the sam e nature as himself. O ut of
the
highest
things.”
worship
except
on t these
two occa- ,1 <lre’ _ ,,,e grOW,a " ,e l,el,ef , . ,n T r ' t8’
the right way, and in the evening I
M
« « ,s.-( Ten
S r,.a
Religions.
“ W hen you transgress, do not
die, I can be happy.”
and as in dream s we see an im als
He says of himself: “ H e is a fear to re tu rn .”
and trees and rocks and w aters as
“ Learn the past and you will
man who through his earnestness
well as men and women, so the
Solved by Faith.
in seeking knowledge forgets his know the future.”
prim itive man found spirits in all
food, avd in his joy at having
The Jesu s of the four gospels is these as well as in his own kind;
The great principles which he
found it loses all sense of his toil, taught were chiefly based on fami- alleged to have been God all-wise; hence anim ism .
T h ird ly , religion
and thus occupied is unconscious Jy affection and duty. Curiously being hungry, he went to a fig-tree, ¡s the more or less system atized
that he has alm ost reaebad old enough, this teacher of reverence when the season of figs was not yet congeries of dogm as concerning
age.”
was distinguished by a rem arkable come.
Of course there were no figs these assum ed persons, the places
Again:
“ Coarse rice for food, lum p on the top of his head, where upon the tree, and Jesus then caused which they inhabit, and their deal-
water to d rin k , the bended arm for th? phrenologists have placed the the tree to wither away. This is an ings with m ortals. F o u rth ly , re­
» pillow,— happiness m ay be enjoy- organ of veneration. Rooted in his interesting account to a tru e or- ligion is worship, propitiation of
even w ith these; hut w ithout organization, and strengthened hv thodox trin ita ria n . Such a one w ill the m ysterious and unknow n thus
virtue both riches and honor seem all his convictions, this element of believe: first, th a t Jesu s was God, in carn ated .—[W alker.