Man Makes Nature His Slave
Man Makes Nature His Slave.—A daily paper devotes a page of large type and illustration to boasting of the wonderful mastery that man is getting over nature—how he is compelling nature, through steam, electricity, etc., to do his slavish work and bear his burdens and attend to his menial tasks. There is a great deal of truth in this. Man has been able, during the last half-century, to make wonderful discoveries that have given him many advantages. Secrets of power that were locked up in steam and electricity when our fathers were boys are now used by us in the great lines of manufacture and in all forms of industry. But when it comes to man harnessing nature and making it a slave, there is a side to the question that we should not overlook. When those great tornadoes swept through the central part of this continent a few weeks ago, they left desolation everywhere. The Scientific American, in commenting upon them, averred that before these mighty forces of nature man is a very insignificant creature. He is absolutely helpless when nature breaks loose with her masterly power. And while man has done much in the way of using some of the forces of nature, he needs to be very careful how he boasts over his great attainments. We must not forget that back of the great forces of nature is the infinite power of the God who is the author of nature; and when man becomes too proud and boastful, it is sometimes necessary for him to have some of these great lessons in order to make him realize that he is not all in all himself.