Newton and Voltaire on Railway Traveling
In the SIGNS of December 9, there was published a short paragraph entitled, "Newton and Voltaire on Railway Traveling," credited to Rev. J. Craig. It was merely an extract, and given as such, and for the statements contained therein, the editors of this paper are not responsible, while they have every reason to believe them true. But the San Francisco Chronicle's religious column editor has doubts of the correctness of Mr. Craig's statements, as might be expected, and very inconsistently challenges the editor of the SIGNS to prove them. And more, it challenges us to give "the passage in Daniel (or 'Revelations') predicting railway traveling at the rate mentioned, with chapter and verse." This challenge is mere infidel braggadocio, for there is no intimation in the paragraph referred to, of the existence of such a passage anywhere. There is the simple statement that— "Sir Isaac Newton wrote a work upon the prophet Daniel, and another upon the book of Revelation; in one of which he [Newton] said that in order to fulfill certain prophecies before a certain date was terminated, namely, one thousand two hundred and sixty years, there would be a mode of traveling of which the men of his time had no conception; nay, that the knowledge of men would be so increased that they would be able to travel at the rate of fifty miles an hour." The editor of the SIGNS is also challenged to mention the volume and page of the passage in Voltaire, where Newton is called "a poor dotard," for expressing the sentiment accredited to him above. Now we do not presume to know upon what authority Mr. Craig based his assertions; there are, no doubt, authentic sayings of Voltaire not in any of his own published works. But we would ask the editor of the Chronicle if he holds himself ready to furnish vouchers for all the statements made in selected articles in his paper, even though they bear the indelible impress of truth on the face. Or, is the unreasonable demand made in this particular instance merely to cast a shadow of doubt upon the genuineness of the Bible prophecies? That railroad travel is a subject of prophecy, and a sign of the day of God's "preparation," may be seen by a reference to Nahum 2:3, 4.