Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Literary
June 4, 1859
The Caledonian
Saint Johnsbury, Caledonia County, Vermont
What is this article about?
Article quoting a divine's reflection on the afterlife, where one awakens in God's likeness, illustrated by a child from Mammoth Cave discovering the vibrant upper world, contrasting earthly life with eternal summer.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
The Other Life.
The Knickerbocker quotes from some unknown divine this thought concerning the future life, and the beautiful illustration which follows it.
"What the other life may do to me I know not," says the eloquent man, "but this I know and feel: I shall awake in God's likeness and see him as he is; and out of every longing I hear him say, Oh, thirsty, hungry soul, come to me."
"If a child has been born and spent all his life in the Mammoth Cave, how impossible would it be for him to comprehend the upper world! Parents might tell him of its life, and light, and beauty, and its sounds of joy; they might heap up the sand into mounds, and try to show him, by stalactites how grass, and flowers and trees grow out of the ground: till at length, with laborious thinking, the child would fancy he had gained a true idea of the unknown land. And yet, though he longed to behold it, when the day comes that he was to go forth, it would be with regret for the familiar crystals and rock-hewn rooms, and the quiet that reigned therein. But when he came up, some May morning, with ten thousand birds singing in the trees, and the heavens bright and blue, and full of sunlight, and the winds blowing softly through the young leaves, all a-glitter with dew, and the landscape stretching away green and beautiful to the horizon, with what rapture would he gaze about him, and see how poor were all the fancies and interpretations which were made within the cave, of the things which grew and lived without: and how he would wonder that he could ever have regretted to leave the silence and dreary darkness of his old abode. So, when we emerge from this cave of earth into the land where spring growths are, and where is eternal summer, how shall we wonder that we have clung so fondly to this dark and barren life."
Is there not a "Better Land"?
The Knickerbocker quotes from some unknown divine this thought concerning the future life, and the beautiful illustration which follows it.
"What the other life may do to me I know not," says the eloquent man, "but this I know and feel: I shall awake in God's likeness and see him as he is; and out of every longing I hear him say, Oh, thirsty, hungry soul, come to me."
"If a child has been born and spent all his life in the Mammoth Cave, how impossible would it be for him to comprehend the upper world! Parents might tell him of its life, and light, and beauty, and its sounds of joy; they might heap up the sand into mounds, and try to show him, by stalactites how grass, and flowers and trees grow out of the ground: till at length, with laborious thinking, the child would fancy he had gained a true idea of the unknown land. And yet, though he longed to behold it, when the day comes that he was to go forth, it would be with regret for the familiar crystals and rock-hewn rooms, and the quiet that reigned therein. But when he came up, some May morning, with ten thousand birds singing in the trees, and the heavens bright and blue, and full of sunlight, and the winds blowing softly through the young leaves, all a-glitter with dew, and the landscape stretching away green and beautiful to the horizon, with what rapture would he gaze about him, and see how poor were all the fancies and interpretations which were made within the cave, of the things which grew and lived without: and how he would wonder that he could ever have regretted to leave the silence and dreary darkness of his old abode. So, when we emerge from this cave of earth into the land where spring growths are, and where is eternal summer, how shall we wonder that we have clung so fondly to this dark and barren life."
Is there not a "Better Land"?
What sub-type of article is it?
Essay
What themes does it cover?
Religious
Death Mortality
What keywords are associated?
Afterlife
Mammoth Cave
Spiritual Awakening
Heavenly Vision
Divine Likeness
What entities or persons were involved?
Quoted In The Knickerbocker From An Unknown Divine
Literary Details
Title
The Other Life.
Author
Quoted In The Knickerbocker From An Unknown Divine
Subject
Thought Concerning The Future Life
Form / Style
Prose Reflection With Analogy
Key Lines
What The Other Life May Do To Me I Know Not, But This I Know And Feel: I Shall Awake In God's Likeness And See Him As He Is; And Out Of Every Longing I Hear Him Say, Oh, Thirsty, Hungry Soul, Come To Me.
So, When We Emerge From This Cave Of Earth Into The Land Where Spring Growths Are, And Where Is Eternal Summer, How Shall We Wonder That We Have Clung So Fondly To This Dark And Barren Life.
Is There Not A "Better Land"?