Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Nov 1, 1883
Triumph of the Reformation.
By Mrs. E. G. White
UPON his return from Wartburg, Luther gave his attention to the work of revising his translation of the New Testament, and the gospel was soon after given to the people of Germany in their native tongue. This translation was received with great joy by all who loved the truth; but it was scornfully rejected by those who chose human traditions and the commandments of men.
The priests, who themselves knew little of the Scriptures, were alarmed at the thought that the common people would now be able to discuss with them the precepts of God's word, and that their own ignorance would thus be exposed. Rome summoned all her authority and power to prevent the circulation of the Scriptures; but decrees, anathemas, and tortures were alike in vain. The more she condemned and prohibited the circulation of the Bible, the greater was the anxiety of the people to know what it really taught. All who could read were eager to study the word of God for themselves. They carried it about with them, and read and reread, and could not be satisfied until they had committed large portions to memory. Seeing the eagerness with which the New Testament was received, Luther immediately began the translation of the Old, and published it in parts as fast as completed.
About this time there appeared a new foe of the Reformation. Tidings reached Wittenberg that Henry VIII., king of England, had written a book supporting the Romish doctrines, and violently attacking Luther. Henry was one of the most powerful monarchs of Christendom, and he vainly imagined that he could, without difficulty, annihilate the Reformation. He drew no arguments from the Scriptures in support of his position, but cited instead only the authority of the church and the traditions of the Fathers. He also resorted to contempt and ridicule of his "feeble adversary," as he termed Luther, styling him also a wolf, a poisonous serpent, a limb of the devil.
The appearance of this book was hailed with great delight by the partisans of Rome. Its superficial reasoning and harsh denunciations suited well a people who wilfully rejected the truths of God's word. It was lauded by princes and prelates, and even by the pope himself, and Henry VIII. was revered as a prodigy of wisdom, even a second Solomon.
Luther read the work with astonishment and contempt. Its falsehoods and insulting personalities, as well as its tone of affected contempt, excited his indignation, and the thought that the pope and his partisans had exulted in so weak and superficial a production, inspired him with a determination to silence their boasting.
Again he took up his pen against the enemies of the truth. He showed that Henry had sustained his doctrines only by the decrees and teachings of men. "As to me," said he, "I do not cease my cry of, 'The gospel, the gospel! Christ, Christ!' and my enemies continue to reply: 'Custom, custom! Ordinances, ordinances! Fathers, Fathers!' St. Paul says, 'Let not your faith stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.' And the apostle, by this thunder-clap from Heaven, at once overturns and disperses, as the wind scatters the dust, all the foolish thoughts of such a one as this Henry."
"To all the decisions of Fathers, of men, of angels, of devils, I oppose," says he, "not the antiquity of custom, not the habits of the many, but the word of the eternal God, the gospel, which they themselves are obliged to admit. It is to this book that I keep; upon it I rest; in it I make my boast; in it I triumph and exalt. . . . The King of Heaven is on my side; therefore I fear nothing." And with arguments drawn from the word of God did Luther demolish and scatter to the winds all the sophisms of his opposers. It was with the new doctrines and their advocates as with the Israelites in Egypt,—"the more they were afflicted, the more they multiplied and grew."
Luther's writings were eagerly read alike in the city and in the hamlet. At night the teachers of the village schools would read aloud to little groups gathered at the fireside. With every effort some souls would be convicted of the truth, and, receiving the word with tears of gladness, would in their turn tell the good news to others.
The words of inspiration were verified, "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." The study of the Scriptures was working a mighty change in the minds and hearts of the people, not only reforming the morals, but arousing the intellectual powers to a strength and vigor heretofore unknown. The papal rule had placed upon the people an iron yoke which held them in ignorance and degradation. All their instruction and discipline had been of a character to encourage a superstitious observance of forms; the prescribed routine of worship was scrupulously maintained, but in all their service the heart and intellect had little part. Yet many of these worshippers possessed dormant powers that needed only to be awakened and called into action. The preaching of Luther, setting forth the plain truths of God's word, and then the word itself, placed in the hands of the common people, had not only purified and ennobled the spiritual nature, but had imparted a new life to the intellectual powers.
Persons of all ranks were to be seen with the Bible in their hands, defending the doctrines of the Reformation. The papists who had left the study of the Scriptures to the priests and monks, now called upon them to come forward and refute the new teachings. But ignorant alike of the Scriptures and of the power of God, priests and friars were totally defeated by those whom they had denounced as unlearned and heretical. "Unhappily," says a Catholic writer, "Luther had persuaded his followers that their faith ought only to be founded on the oracles of Holy Writ." Crowds would gather to hear the truth advocated by common men, and even discussed by them with learned and eloquent theologians. The shameful ignorance of these great men was made apparent as their arguments were met by the simple teachings of God's word. Persons of little education, women and laborers, were able to give from the Scriptures the reason of their faith.
The success that attended the Reformation excited the most bitter opposition. As the Romish clergy saw their congregations diminishing, they invoked the aid of the magistrates, and by every means in their power endeavored to bring back their hearers. These efforts were but partially successful. The people were hungering for the bread of life; they had found in the teachings of the Reformation that which supplied the wants of their souls, and they turned away from those who had so long fed them with the worthless husks of superstitious rites and human traditions. Sometimes the people, irritated at the thought that they had so long been deceived by fables, compelled the priests to leave their positions.
When persecution was kindled against the Reformers, they gave heed to the words of Christ, "When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another." The light penetrated everywhere. The fugitives would find somewhere a hospitable door open to them, and there abiding they would preach Christ, sometimes in the church, or, if denied that privilege, in private houses, or in the open air. Wherever they could obtain a hearing was a consecrated temple. The truth, proclaimed with such energy and assurance, spread like fire in the stubble. No effort could stay its progress. In the city of Ingolstadt, where was a university, and where, also, lived one of the most learned opponents of the Reformation, a young weaver read Luther's works to a crowded congregation. In the same city, the university council having decided that a disciple of Melancthon should be compelled to retract, a woman volunteered to defend him, and challenged the doctors to a public disputation. Women and children, artisans and soldiers, had a better knowledge of the Scriptures than learned doctors or surpliced priests.
In vain were both ecclesiastical and civil authorities invoked to crush the heresy. In vain they resorted to imprisonment, torture, fire, and sword. Thousands of believers sealed their faith with their blood, and yet the work went on. Throughout Germany, particularly in the Saxon States, in France and Holland, in Switzerland, in England, and in other countries, the Lord raised up men to present to the benighted minds of the people the light of God's word. Persecution served only to extend the work; and the fanaticism which Satan endeavored to unite with it, resulted in making more clear the contrast between the work of Satan and the work of God.
The cause of truth was destined to triumph. God's faithful builders were not toiling alone. Could their eyes have been opened, they would have seen as marked evidence of divine presence and aid as was granted to a prophet of old.482When Elisha's servant pointed his master to the hostile army surrounding them and cutting off all chance of escape, the prophet prayed, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see." And, lo, the mountain was filled with chariots and horses of fire, the army of Heaven stationed to protect the servant of the Lord. Thus did the angels of God guard the workers in the cause of the Reformation. God had commanded his servants to build, and the combined forces of earth and hell were powerless to drive them from the walls. Saith the Lord, "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night."
THE RETURN HOME.
By John Mason Neale
[A hymn of the Greek Church in the tenth century, translated by John Mason Neale, D. D.]
SAFE home, safe home, in port !
Rent cordage, shattered deck,
Torn sails, provision short,
And only not a wreck,
But oh, the joy upon the shore
To know our voyage peril o'er.
The prize, the prize, secure,
The athlete nearly fell;
Bore all he could endure,
And bore not always well.
But he may smile at conflicts gone
Who sets the victor's garland on.
No more the foe can harm,
No more of leaguered camp,
Nor cry of night alarm,
Nor need of ready lamp.
And yet how nearly he had failed,
How nearly had that foe prevailed!
The lamb is in the fold,
In perfect safety penned;
The lion once had hold
And thought to make an end,
But One came by with wounded side,
And for the sheep the Shepherd died.
The exile is at home.
Oh, nights and days of tears!
Oh, longings not to roam!
Oh, sins and doubts and fears!
What matter now (when men so say)
The King has wiped those tears away.
Oh! happy, happy bride !
The widowed homes are past,
The Bridegroom at thy side,
Thou all his own at last!
The sorrows of thy former cup
In full fruition swallowed up.
The Signs of the Times.
“Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:12.
VOLUME 9. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, FIFTH-DAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1883. NUMBER 41.
Temperance, and Sunday Observance.
By A. Graham, D. D.
LIKE that of temperance, the Sunday question is gaining great prominence and is becoming greatly mixed up with the political questions of the times. The prohibition of the debasing traffic in intoxicating liquors is a necessity and comes legitimately within the scope of politics, and it is to be regretted that in many States the Sunday question has been linked to the temperance issue. We regard this move as an extremely unfortunate one, as it can only indefinitely postpone the time of the triumph of temperance principles, if it does not bring speedy and permanent defeat.
The temperance question, in which all classes of our citizens, white and black, Jew and Christian, Protestant and Catholic are alike interested, should be brought before the American people disconnected from party politics and entirely free from any religious question. There are thousands upon thousands of American citizens, including those of every religious and political creed, who favor prohibitory legislation on the temperance question, but who do not favor the forced observance of Sunday, or any other day, by civil law. Notwithstanding this fact, temperance leaders in many of the States are, unwisely, as we think, combining the two questions, and we have fears as to the result of the experiment.
The writer, with others, has devoted years of hard labor to the upbuilding of a popular temperance sentiment in the South, and he is as unflagging as ever in his zeal for that good cause, and would have every temperance man at this particular time, devote his energies to the one great question—prohibition.
We do not propose to discuss, in this article, whether the first day or the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath. It matters not which of the two days is linked to the temperance question; the result must be the same.
We are not in favor of combining these two questions, not only because of the injury it will most certainly work to the cause of temperance, but we oppose it on the ground that to enforce the observance of any religious rite, or Sabbath, by legislative enactment, is, at once, incompatible with the spirit of our free institutions, and antagonistic to the foundation principles of our Government. Those who have it in their hearts to favor such a law should not find fault with the part that Rome played in ages past.
It has been argued that this is a "Christian nation," and that in a free country like this, where Christianity is the religion of the people, and the Bible is the standard of faith accepted by all classes, it should legislate on such matters. This is precisely the position Rome took hundreds of years ago, and it is to be hoped that "free America" will refuse to follow in the footprints of old Rome. And we are not ready to admit that this is a Christian nation. It never has been; it never will be. True, Christianity is the dominant religion in this country; still, this nation is far, very far, from being a Christian nation.
Here the government rests upon the people, and its character and power are determined by their votes. As citizens, it would be well always to act in harmony with religious principles and convictions, but, because it is right to adhere to religious principles it does not follow that it is right to enforce, by civil law, the observance of any particular day as a Sabbath, or any religious rite. And we would as soon legislate as to the doctrines the people must believe, as to legislate in regard to the Sabbath they must keep. There is as much consistency in the one as in the other.
It is true that the perpetuity of our Government depends upon the character, the intelligence, and the religious principles of its citizens, and these are determined by the institutions fostered, such as our churches, universities, colleges, etc., but no certain class has any right to force the acceptance of their religious ideas, whether right or wrong.
The leaders of the Sunday movement say that it is not the question whether men shall be forced to be religious on that day, but whether there shall be any Sabbath at all. It is presumed that there can be no Sabbath unless its observance is enforced by law. This is fallacious, for, in the absence of such a law, both Christians and Jews, all, could observe as a Sabbath either the first or the seventh day as they might please, and that, too, without molestation. It follows, legitimately, that no such law is necessary. And the first-day keepers have no more right to be protected from the noise of the seventh-day keepers who work on the first day, than the seventh-day keepers have to be protected from the noise of the first-day keepers who work on the seventh day. A law enacted by the keepers of the first day compelling those who keep the seventh day to cease from labor and rest on Sunday would be decidedly wrong—tyrannical.
We believe that every person should have the privilege of keeping holy any day he or she may please, without the slightest interference from the civil authorities, and, in this particular, amenable only to our Father above, to whom all must render an account at the coming Judgment.
Man, fallible man, never has received authority to compel obedience to the laws of Jehovah, nor to inflict penalties upon those who violate them.
No nation, no ecclesiastical organization, no, not even the church of Christ, should arrogate to itself this right.
We are aware of the fact that our position will be severely criticised by hundreds—perhaps thousands—of Bible Banner readers, but we assure all that we have prayerfully investigated the question, and have an earnest desire to be and to do right. Our position, we think, is in harmony with the words of our Redeemer, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Matt. 7: 12.
May the blessings of God rest upon us all, and the love of Jesus dwell richly, and in saving power in all our hearts.—A. Graham, D. D., in Bible Banner.
Purposes of Discipline.
By T. L. Cuyler
God's loving discipline has several purposes; and one of them is correction. Who knows our faults as well as our all-wise Father? It is a reasonable supposition that before the infinite mind of God there rises a complete and beautiful ideal of what his earthly child might be, and what he will yet be in the perfected estate of Heaven. He so deals with us as to bring us nearer to that divine ideal. Before the mind of my friend Palmer there arose a certain conception of "Faith kneeling before the Cross;" and he aimed to realize that conception in marble. With patient toil he applies the chisel to every false line that his artist-eye detects in the statue; no touch too trivial, if it cuts away the slightest blemish. So our heavenly Father employs the chisel of correction; and many of us know to our sorrow that he cuts deeply, and sometimes cuts to the quick. He is a weak and worthless parent indeed, who imitates poor Eli, and never corrects the vices of his son. Can we suppose that our loving Father will ever commit so wanton a wrong as to spare his chastising rod, and thus spoil his earthly child for all the highest purposes of being? The bare thought is an insult. If we had more of the spirit of Job, and knew what was for our good, we would rather say: Father, stay not thy hand, cut where thou wilt; smite as thou wilt; prune away what thou wilt; perfect thine image in us, and make us meet for the inheritance of glory! "Happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty." It is a blessed thought that, when our heavenly Father applies the knife, he hath the skill to cut the diseased spot; when he prunes he knows just what limb to lop off. It looks like a ruthless process to put a plow through a velvet greensward; but the farmer foresees the springing blades, and that within a few months the torn soil will laugh with a golden harvest. Why should you and I cry out in angry remonstrance when God puts the colter through the subsoil of our selfishness? Afterward this torn soul may yield the plentiful fruits of the spirit. Deep plowing makes holy harvests.
Ah! brethren, there are bitter mercies as well as sweet mercies; but they are all mercies, whether given to us in wine or given in wormwood.
A second purpose of God's discipline is prevention. His absolute foreknowledge beholds every possible contingency, and foresees not only what you and I will be, but also what we might do under other circumstances. It is against this preventive discipline of love that our ignorance often rebels most violently. Because we cannot see just what God is saving us from, we vent our foolish reproaches; if we could see this we would often kneel down and thank God for certain trials as the richest of his mercies. That commercial calamity which swept away the fortune was sent because God foresaw that prosperity would work spiritual bankruptcy. When he lowered another child into a vale of humiliation it was to preserve his child from the dizziness which pride was bringing on; and when he laid another Christian's idol in the tomb it was God's last inevitable protest against a worship that was perilous to both the living and the departed. From the "evil to come" God spares the living as often as the dead. When we reach Heaven we will wonder at and adore the chastening hand that often warded us away from many an unsuspected pitfall and many an unseen precipice.
We need hardly to remind our readers how often our heavenly Father employs his discipline for the development of character, and for the perfecting of graces. A boy reared up in luxury and indolence becomes mere pulp. God often lays heavy burdens upon us, which he could easily spare us as far as his power is concerned; but these loads are needed to give us spiritual sinew. He makes the back equal to the burden. God might keep us, if he would, out of many a heated furnace of affliction. But he is a refiner, and hot furnaces often make bright Christians. They tell us that, when a silversmith is engaged in purifying his metal he keeps a close eye on the molten silver. He is sure that the process is perfected when he can see his own face in the heated metal as in a mirror. So when our heavenly Purifier can see his own image in the chastened soul he is satisfied. The trial has wrought its blessed purpose; the affliction which was not joyous but grievous is working out its exceeding weight of glory.
God disciplines us often for the good of others. Parents are subjected to a certain regime for the benefit of their children. More than one pastor has been tried in the fire for the profit of his flock. "Six weeks of painful, dangerous sickness did more for me than six months in a theological seminary," said a sagacious minister. That model minister in Rome wrote to his son Timothy: "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus."—T. L. Cuyler, in N. Y. Independent.
An Answer to Ingersolism.
By Editor
THE following extract from the St. Louis Christian Advocate is an able answer to Ingersolism and the arguments of his infidel followers:—
Has infidelity ever raised a man or woman from the haunts of vice, and made his or her life clean? Has it ever taken a drunkard from the gutter, the gambler from his cards, the fallen from a life of shame? Has it ever found a man coarse and brutal in character and life, and made him a kind husband and faithful father? Has it ever gone out into the heathen lands, and found a people ignorant and barbarous, delighting in rapine and murder, and by the power of its teachings, lifted them out of their degradation until they adopted the customs of civilized nations? Is there in all history of infidelity a story of its moral triumphs that will match the regeneration of the Fiji Islands under the labors of the Wesleyan missionaries? Has it added anything to the sum of human happiness? Does it bring one ray of comfort into the chamber of death, filling the soul of the dying with peace, and the hearts of weeping friends with hope? The religion of Jesus Christ has done all these things. The tree is known by its fruits.
Opening Our Hearts to God
THERE is dew in one flower and not in another, because one opens itself and takes it, while the other closes itself and the drop runs off. So God rains goodness and mercy as wide as the dew, and, if we lack them it is because we will not open our hearts to receive them.
"The Easiest Way Is the Best Way."
By W. N. Glenn
THIS is an old saying, and I became so accustomed to hearing it used in connection with secular affairs, that I had about set it aside as a lazy man's motto, and therefore practically unreliable. I had not, until recently, even dreamed that it possessed any practical value in a moral sense. I had allowed my mind to become so imbued with the thought that "we must through great tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14: 22), that I almost overlooked the hard way of the unbeliever.
I believe the Christian course might be made a little more enticing, especially to the young, were it not for the too general supposition that the way of the world is an easy way, and that Christianity contains about all there is of bitterness in this life. Not long ago my thoughts were turned into another channel by a sentence from the pen of one of our most familiar writers, as follows: "We make very hard work for ourselves in this world when we take such a course that the Lord is against us."
Immediately my mind reverted to a Scriptural confirmation of this sentiment, found in Prov. 13: 15: "Good understanding giveth favor, but the way of transgressors is hard." The author of this proverb knew whereof he spoke, and he did not have reference to a future punishment either, but to every-day experience. We have only to look around us a little to see the verification of his words. It is hardly necessary to refer to the fact that the heaviest famines, earthquakes, and other great disasters have come upon the nations that have forgotten or rejected the way of the Lord to find the proof. We can find it nearer home. In our large cities the haunts of crime and filth are also the abodes of suffering and disease. Go through the prisons, the asylums, and the almshouses, and, with rare exceptions, you do not find the followers of Christ. The majority of Christians are poor, but they seldom become paupers.
But how is it in the ordinary walks of life? Some young men professing Christianity look upon their fellows of the world with feelings akin to envy, supposing that there is enjoyment in the evening revelings of the worldling; and sometimes they are drawn into the vortex in the vain search for pleasure. But here, also, the wise man truthfully pictures the situation, as many a victim will testify. "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine." Prov. 23: 29, 30.
But some imagine that to be rich would be an easy way. Were it even so, it is well to remember that it is a hard thing to get riches in this life, and even harder to retain them. Very few become rich, and few who do will tell you they have had an easy time. Then the danger of riches mark this as anything but an easy way. "He that trusteth in his riches shall fall." Prov. 11: 28. The deceitfulness of riches choke the word. Matt. 13: 22. "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you." Jas. 5: 1. No, the way of worldly rich men is not an easy way, all things considered, if it does show a glittering exterior.
A careful survey of the whole field reveals the fact that the way of the wicked has no firm foundation or sure promise of reward. The Lord's way is perfect (Ps. 18: 30), and he "girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect" (verse 32). The perfect way must be the best way—it is the Lord's way, and his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. See Matt. 11: 28-30. Have we afflictions, the consolation of the Spirit will make them "light" and "but for a moment." 2 Cor. 4: 17. Not so the afflictions of the wicked. "The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." Ps. 1: 6.
Verily the easiest way is the best way. W. N. GLENN.
Postal Jottings—No 4.
By Henry Veysey
JEHOVAH-SHALOM. "Peace be unto thee," said the Lord to Gideon, and so says he to many a fearful one. Christ has died for thee. Heb. 2 : 14. He has been delivered for thy offences, He has been raised again for thy justification. Rom. 4 : 25. He was wounded for thy transgressions, bruised for thy iniquities. Isa. 53 : 5, 6, 8. Gideon showed his faith in God's word by calling his altar, "The Lord is (my) peace," or, "Let the Lord send the peace." He has promised, which means the Lord will send it. Judg. 6 : 24. Some, being justified by faith and by blood (Rom. 4 : 24, 25; 5 : 1, 9), have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our peace. Eph. 2 : 14. The sacrifice is accepted. God has reconciled us to himself through Christ. 2 Cor. 5 : 18 (R. V.).
2. As children of God, peace of mind is our portion and happy experience, under all circumstances, if we are not anxious about our family, pecuniary and temporal affairs, but in every detail, small as well as great, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving for past and present mercies, let our requests be made known unto God. Then the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall, without any question, keep our hearts and minds, as with a garrison (Greek, as in 2 Cor. 11 : 32), in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4 : 6, 7.
3. The God of peace himself, by his sweet Spirit, will be with us, our companion and joy, if we do the true, honest, just, pure, lovely, gracious things (R. V.) done by Paul, aye, by Christ. Phil. 4 : 8, 9; 1 Cor. 13 : 1; 1 Pet. 2 : 21; Phil. 2 : 5. May Jehovah-Shalom be known by each of us a hundredfold more than in the past. HENRY VEYSEY.
Battle Creek College, Mich.
The Power That Excels.
By H. Y. Russell
THE Scriptures inform us that prior to the coming of Christ, Satan will work with power, and signs, and lying wonders. 2 Thess. 2: 1-10. The book of Revelation speaks of miracles being wrought to deceive the world, just before the appearing of the Son of man. Rev. 13: 11-14; 16: 12-15. And Jesus himself, when speaking of the things which were to precede his coming, said that false christs and false prophets shall arise, and show great signs and wonders, to deceive, if possible, the very elect. Matt. 24: 23, 24. Our adversary has more power than is realized by the world. But the saints of God have no cause to fear, for angels are sent forth to minister to them. The psalmist says the angels excel in strength. Ps. 103: 20. They are God's ministers to act as guardians over those who fear him, and shall be heirs of salvation. Heb. 1: 14. They are mightier than the powers of darkness.
In Acts 19: 12-16 we find an instance of the evil spirits being controlled by the servants of Christ, and of their exercising their power over others. "And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul." The sick were healed and evil spirits went out of those who were possessed. But when certain exorcists tried to cast out the demons, they rose in anger against them, and the pretenders were glad to escape from their fury.
Why did the evil spirit impel the man who was possessed to violently assault the impostors who tried to cast him out in the name of Jesus? They did not so assail Paul when he commanded them to come out. It was because Paul was chosen of the Lord, and the power of Christ was with him. The impostors spoke in the name of "Jesus whom Paul preacheth." They themselves did not preach Jesus; they did not know him. The demons feared the power of Jesus; they feared the power with which his servant was clothed. They did not fear those "vagabond Jews," strolling exorcists, who sought to exalt themselves by using the name of Jesus as a magical "charm," while they had no faith in him. No doubt the demons were enraged that the name of Jesus was exalted over them; a name by which they might be subdued. And they manifested this rage even at the expense of the servants of Satan, their own master or leader. It is always thus with hypocrites and pretenders. They may exalt themselves for a time. Satan may use them to bring the name and cause of Christ into reproach, but he does not respect them; he will not protect them when they are assaulted. The magicians of Pharaoh did wonders, and received the commendation of the king whom they turned away from the message of Moses. But they were at length put to shame, and had to confess that the finger of God was in the work of Moses, for the plague was upon them also. And Paul says so will it be with those who in like manner oppose the truth by counterfeiting the miracles and power of God, in the last days. 2 Tim. 3. H. Y. R.
Travel Makes the Wise Better
TRAVELING sometimes makes a wise man better but always a fool worse.
How We Spell.
By Editor
PRESIDENT BERNARD, of Columbia College, believes in a reformed system of spelling. He recently wrote a letter to Professor Scott, of that college, in which every word is spelled in accordance with some example in our present orthography, and it shows by example and illustration the absurdity of our present way of spelling many words. The letter is a literary curiosity, and also an argument. The spelling of three hundred years ago is almost unintelligible. It would not require nearly so great a change as has already taken place since the earliest period of English literature to give us a simple phonetic orthography:—
Migh dier Cyrrh:—Eybowt phiphty yeers agough, eye enterteigned vews oph thee aurthografic kweschun kwight cymire two yewrs. Mower rheecenteigh ai hav rephlected ohn thea psubgikt ay gould diel, anned haph scene raezen too chainj muy ohpinyuns. Uy hav dyskuvered thath they karachturistiks oph hour Inggliesh aweorthograpeigh whitch yough kaul phaltz arr rheallee merritz. Yew peaa ey sownd shood haph butte wun rheprhezentativ; buth, ei asch yeu, iz naut anne aurthografike cystim chonstructid oune thaphth pryncipal ay contemtibul apphare buy thae cyde oph won in whitch epheeer sownd has twentie rheprezentathiphs? Yough kumplein uv psighlent leththerz. Inn yewer igknowruntz you phale too pureseve thatte wie haph know cylunt letters. Awl thoughts whitch ue kawl sough arr mierleigh kompownunt parrhts oph buy-litterhal, or try-litterhal, or mutigh-litterhal karrhachturz yewzd too denought cympal vokie elemence. Too illustraight. Thayr iz ay vokie elemunt kommuniy rheprhezentid buy thea karuktur u. Butte thysse iz ekwallie rheprhezentid buy eu, ew, ui, ugh, ough, etc., etc. Aynuther iz rhheprhezentid buy t; butte yi haz az ekwiphaylunts th (az inn thyme), tw (az inn two), and phth (az inn phthisic). Ai thurd, rheprezentid buy f, haz atte leezze won buy-litterhal ekwivaylent, ph.
Nou appligh theeze prinsipuls too thie spell-ynge oph ai wurred kombigring awl theighr phokle elemence, anned knowtiss thoe bewtiphul varhieteee theigh opphur two ower chawiss. Wee maigh haph frewt, or fruet, or frught, or phriewth, or throughphth. Inn vue ov possighbilitiee souch az theeze, whitch ey dough naut prethend tou eggsaust, amme ei naut joustyphyde inn saighing, 'Heer's writchness?'
Theigh pholt ov ower awrthaugrighfee iz knot, az eu klaym, thacht ite haz to menny rheprhezentathiphs phaur thee saim psowud; ite iz phthath itt konphinz eech souch psowud rheprhecephthayphthiph tou ay guarroe wreinj oph yewse. Iph, ohn thie uthur hanned, aul theaz eekwivalenth psowued repreigissentathiphthiye wur maid indysyskrimineighteigh inturchainjaybul, aigh paighg oph Inggliesh wood preazent ai vayrheed anned piktewrhesk appieranse, troughteigh pliezing to ey kaurrheth thaisphth. Hwot iz beth-thur, thair kood bee inn souch ai cystim know pooch thyng az bachd spealling—ay sirkumstants inphiniteigh konsouling two theigh moulthithewds hoo nou auphthen undirgough untolled aggnur yn eapistholayrie kompozishun bekaws, lyche Pinkee Rhosebudde inn thee Senturie Mayayzeen theigh kahut rhemembyrrh wheather itt shood be ei aur ie; phaur, yew cee, ytt wood bee boath.
Sough, cyrrh, iph igh ephphur uhdertaik tu wrheephawrm hour speillingue, ai shagl doo soe, buy thacheing aigh deepahrtower in theigh dyrhockshun dyametrikully oppoughatt too owers. Pherry trewlie yure ohbedyuntp surphant.
Proughphesyrrh Charrhlz P. G. Skachphth, Nieu Yawrrk, May 11, 1883.
We publish the above, not only as a literary curiosity, but as an exercise lesson to learners of our language. Every word is spelled correctly, according to English usage, or analogy. Let the young student first copy it off, spelling every word according to Webster, and then write out a list of words in which the combinations given above appear. When he has done this he will no doubt know more about the English language than he did before. It seems like an outrage to inflict upon the young mind the task of learning such useless and senseless combinations.