Daybreak; A Romance of an Old World

by James Cowan

  CHAPTER XXXVIII.

  AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY.

  Thorwald paused again, and the doctor felt moved to say:

  "Your sketch has been richly enjoyed, Thorwald, and if it can be takenas prophetic, in any sense, of what is to come to pass on the earth, weare to see some happy days indeed. But a question has arisen in my mindwhich I would like to ask you. When you broke off your former narrative,things were in a pretty serious state among your ancestors. You have nowtold us in a general way that there was a great change for the better,and that every thing and every body improved until the time came when itwas easier to be good than not. I accept the fact, but do not understandthe practical operation of the causes that led to such a result. Forinstance, I would like to know how that industrial strife came to anend. The parties to it seemed to be full of bitter enmity and far enoughfrom ever loving one another. You have perhaps answered my questionalready, and my stupidity has prevented me from grasping your meaning."

  "Let me first ask you a question," said Thorwald. "I have inferred,from some words you have let fall from time to time, that your mind haschanged somewhat. Will you admit that whatever advance this world hasmade has come through the teachings of Christ?"

  "It would be rather presumptuous in me," answered the doctor, "to thinkof denying anything to which you hold so firmly. More than that, inthe light of what I have seen and heard here, my own views, so rashlyexpressed in the first days of our acquaintance, seem to me out ofplace. They were formed without sufficient study of the subject, and Iam free to tell you that I now believe the same influence to which youattribute your growth is the strength and growth of our race also."

  "Your words give me great pleasure," Thorwald resumed, "for now I knowI have your full sympathy. The troubles to which you refer, and all theclouds of that period, were dispersed by the growth of the spirit oflove in the world. Does that seem a vague and insufficient answer toyour question? Does the cause appear inadequate to the effect? PerhapsI should have warned you not to expect any new or startling methodof removing these evils. The world was not in need of any nostrum forcuring sin, nor of any new scheme of the visionary for teaching men howto find peace and happiness.

  "No, the old gospel was sufficient. The power was already at work whichwas to regenerate the world and, in time, to do away with all kinds ofoppression and injustice. The gospel did not spend its force so muchin attacking special forms of evil. It struck at the foundation of oursinful nature, and, by long and patient effort, won a firm place in ourhearts. Then the whole structure of evil passions and low desires fell,and our race began to build, on this new and safe foundation, morebeautiful and enduring mansions.

  "If we were to be the children of God, it was necessary for us to belike him, to deny ourselves, and to love our enemies. So, with thatspirit growing in our hearts, what place was there for greed and angerand strife between man and man?

  "One secret of the new power put forth by the church is to be found inthe union of all good men and women in its support. Before that periodmany people of character had stood aloof, giving little thought toreligion for themselves, and less still to its influence on the worldat large. Some of them were out-and-out unbelievers, but, for the mostpart, they were careless livers, too much engrossed in the affairs ofthis world to feel any anxiety about the world to come.

  "But now, in the march of events, the time came when the lines must besharply drawn between the good and evil forces. Iniquity presentedsuch a bold front, and all the foes of order and decency became sothreatening, that the moral forces of society had to combine for mutualprotection. The church, being the conservator of morals as of religion,was the only rallying point for these forces, and felt at once theimpulse of new life. Thus, society, in the hour of its extremity, foundthe true source of its salvation, and from that day its progress towarda higher state began, a progress which has never yet been stayed.

  "Let me urge you, Doctor, to learn a lesson from our history. Youacknowledge that, if the earth is to be saved from the evils whichthreaten its peace, it must be through the gospel. If, therefore, youand others like you wish to help speed the earth in its upward path,you must obey and work for that gospel. To do good to your fellowmenand assist in the regeneration of the world is only one motive for doingthis, but it will, I am sure, lead you to that other motive, a desire toplease your God. Every consideration calls you to leave your doubts andnegations, your neglect and indifference, and join with all the strengthof your character in a united effort to free the earth from some of itssin. When this is done, when all the good forces cease their strife andtheir cold neutrality and come together under the banner of love, youwill see a mighty change. Then will the earth grow bright with hope andbegin to realize something of the nature of its high destiny.

  "Let me continue to describe the effect of such warm-hearted, combinedlabor among us, and the result on our planet of the great spiritualawakening to which I have referred.

  "As men took note of the vast improvement going on around them, forevery department of life felt the quickening of the new zeal, theybecame more and more eager in the overthrow of evil. And they hadlearned thoroughly the great truth that the way to regenerate theworld was for everyone to build up his own character in truth andrighteousness. Noble lives, devoted to lofty aims, were the naturalresult of the change, and our race, emerging from such a state ofimperfection as I have tried to outline, began to realize with joy thatthey were living in a new world.

  "I wish I could describe to you in fitting words the wonderful nature ofthis advancement. All the pride and selfishness, so common to all heartsin our degenerate days, were now driven out and replaced by the spiritof self-denial. Love, the living principle in the gospel, had conqueredall its foes and was now enthroned in every heart.

  "Do not suppose all this came about in one generation. It is only bycomparing one period with another that we are able to see such markedprogress. Our development toward the higher life has always been step bystep, and sometimes so slow that the people actually living, and in whomthe change was taking place, were not aware of any growth.

  "But there have been special periods in our history when, after longyears of preparation, the race has come to a sudden appreciation of ahigher and better condition. The most glorious epoch of this kind cameat the close of the period I have just been describing.

  "Perhaps you have seen some rare plant, having come to its maturitythrough a process so slow as to bring discouragement, often, tothose who are cultivating it, now suddenly burst into bloom with suchmagnificence that the disappointments of the past are all forgotten inthe enjoyment of its beauty.

  "So broke that blessed day upon Mars. None so fair had ever dawnedbefore, and none less fair have we ever seen since.

  "While this spiritual awakening was taking place, there had been rapidprogress, also, in our material development. The evils that formerlyvexed our bodies having disappeared, we were now free from sin andsorrow alike, and so were prepared to enter upon duties relating to ourhigher condition.

  "All nature rejoiced with us, for the world itself was filled with thejoy and beauty which came from the knowledge of the Lord. Peace reignedin the animal creation, and such gladness abounded everywhere that it ishardly an exaggeration to say that the mountains and hills broke forthinto singing, and all the trees of the field clapped their hands."

  As Thorwald uttered these closing words, so beautiful and familiar, Iwas so impressed with their appropriateness to his narrative that Idid not stop to wonder where he had obtained them, but inquired witheagerness:

  "And is it true, Thorwald, that instead of the thorn there came up thefir-tree, and instead of the brier there came up the myrtle-tree?"

  "That describes the situation admirably," he answered, "and it isliterally true."

  "Why should that be so?" I asked.

  "Because, when sin was banished from our world, it dragged in its trainevery evil thing and left all bright and joyous behind it. Even theunconscious soil
was so improved in character that, whereas in theformer time it had brought forth by nature the thorn and brier andnoxious weed, there now sprang up spontaneously all manner of healthfulplants and fruits."

  "But," said I, "we do not attribute moral excellence to the ground thatproduces our food. How could the absence of sin make it any better?"

  "Like everything else," replied Thorwald, "it reflected the spiritualcondition of our race. By long and patient cultivation, by a constantuse of good seed, and by a persistent fight against every tendency toevil growth, men had so changed the nature of the soil that it yieldedonly that which was good. Even if left without care the ground did notdeteriorate, but the products took on the character of the times andgradually improved. To such a degree had our once sinful world beenchanged.

  "The disagreeable features in nature's laboratory were lost to everysense, while everything that was beautiful in sight or sound, or thatwas pleasant to the taste, now possessed an added charm. The birdssang in more joyous notes, the flowers glowed in brighter hue, and allcreated things burst forth in a song of praise to their Maker."

  "Is it possible," I asked, "that the growth of love in the heart willso transform a world and make even inanimate things more beautiful? Theearth is full of selfishness and I fear will be so for a long time, andyet we think we have a few things that are perfect. I cannot conceive,for instance, how anything could ever grow, sin or no sin, that wouldsurpass in beauty one of our finest roses."

  To which Thorwald replied:

  "Is this not of value to you, to learn that the roses of the future areentirely beyond your conception? Let me assure you that, with each newadvance in your progress toward a higher condition, there will unfoldwithin you new powers of appreciation for the increasing beauties innature, and new desires for spiritual perfections which are now too highfor your mind to grasp. Is it not a pleasure to know that there are manythings in reserve for the earth of whose character and perfections youcannot conceive?"

  "It surely is," I replied, "and we shall never cease to thank you forthis hour's talk. But now let me ask if you were not really in heavenwhen you reached such a happy state. With both man and nature redeemedfrom sin, with the tears wiped away from all eyes, with all griefsassuaged and sickness and sorrow forgotten, and with love supreme in theheart, what more was needed to make a heaven? Many of our generation onthe earth believe that the earth itself will be our heaven, when sin hasbeen driven out and peace and joy abound."

  "Oh, no, not heaven," answered Thorwald. "The earth will be better in athousand years than it is now, much better in ten thousand years, but itwill never be heaven."

  "But why?" I persisted. "We cannot understand how there could be anymore blessed place than the earth would be if it should ever reach thecondition which you have pictured to us as existing here."

  "You have just stated the trouble," Thorwald replied.

  "You cannot understand. With your present capacities you think a statesuch as I have described would be perfection; but you--I mean, ofcourse, your race--will come in time to see imperfections even in sucha life, and will, with increasing spiritual vision, see still higherthings to strive for. Let me urge you to keep your hearts attuned to theheavenly music and your minds open to divine influences."

  Here Thorwald was about to leave us, as we remained in quiet thoughtafter his solemn and impressive words. But I kept him a moment to askif they had solved all the mysteries of God's moral government. "By nomeans," he replied. "There are still many things unexplained in God'sdealings with us, and we think this is well. Life would lose much of itsvalue if the time should come when there would be nothing to learn.We know much of God's character, but are not acquainted with its fulldepths, and whenever we see or experience anything mysterious in hisprovidences we are content to wait for a fuller revelation of truth inthe future.

  "We shall see the time when all our questions will be answered--that is,in the world to come--and, in the mean time, we try to strengthen ourhigh and beautiful conception of God's character by referring everythingwe do not understand to his loving and gracious qualities, which we knowso well."