HISTORY by J. Clarke

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 30, 1860

HISTORY

By J. Clarke

Is generally considered an interesting and profitable study, and it is necessary to have a correct view of the past, in order to know our present position; and especially is a knowledge of history indispensable to understand prophecy.

I am fond of reading history; was formerly exceedingly interested in ancient history as a means of pleasure and mental enjoyment; but I read it now as a means of information.

I have just been glancing my eye over some of the sketches given by Hallam (middle ages) of the great men, who by their skill and ability founded empires and kingdoms, and viewing their splendid acts, their brilliant victories and attainments, I am struck with astonishment; but as an offset to this, the background view of their crimes and cruelty, and the oppressive acts which they considered necessary to enforce their authority, their conscriptions, their disregard of lesser interests of individuals, and small communities, their impure record of domestic cruelty and crime, the record of those (so-called) minor interests, sacrificed on the altar of ambition, individual rights and happiness always sacrificed when in the way of the conqueror's car, these grated harshly upon the ear.

Wearied with the recital, and finding that the most virtuous characters in history are generally soon borne down with the force of the less conscientious, and my heart pained within me to find everywhere scattered along in the stream of time, ruined prospects, and blighted hopes, crimes of deepest dye staining the reputation of the most honored heroes; mighty kingdoms arising amidst injustice, oppression, bloodshed and fraud; and viewing these mighty governments advancing to greatness, and in a short period, falling into insignificance; changes, continually altering boundaries, cities depopulated by war, governments rising and falling;—wearied and sad I laid aside my book, thought a moment of this confused state of things in which historians themselves are almost lost amid the rubbish of historic records, thinking too of the fallibility of the historian, who is often partial, and with a stroke of the pen has often done injustice to the really virtuous, while the reckless but brilliant conqueror has been almost deified; with such thoughts as these, my heart was pained; where could I rest my mind? No spotless character combining power, heroism, virtue, loveliness, majesty and beauty, and empire, met my gaze; all was an arid waste, a wilderness of woe, a bloody field of battle, an adulterous, viperous crowd.

I took up the Bible and opened to the book of Mark's gospel, and there I found my ideal in reality; there stood forth in the first ten chapters, our glorious King, combining in his character everything I desire to see; power with love, benevolence with justice, empire with humility, respect to the rights of the least, equally with the greatest; sympathy with the suffering, without any ambition to exalt himself above those he benefited, always relieving the burdened, and bearing the heaviest of burdens in his own glorious person; no stain upon his spotless character; I could look upon him, and gaze, and the more I gazed, the more I admired, the more I loved. What could we do without a model of perfection amid such a ruin of nations? See him stilling the

waves, healing the diseased, feeding the five thousand with a few loaves, I could look at him as the tower of defense, amid a million of foes, a noble model of character, a Deliverer, a King, a Conqueror; brave and true, of noble birth, of ancient family, of highest and boundless empire; no selfish designs lessen his influence, but purest, most disinterested benevolence appear in every one of his acts. He is the one altogether lovely; there is one hero in history. J. CLARKE.