|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 10
The navigator, by a combination of astronomy and seamanship, is enabled
to plough the great deep, and at all times by mathematical calculation
to discover the exact position of his ship. What, however, would he be
without the aid of art? The compass, the sextant, or quadrant, &c., are
the means which enable him to attain these grand results, and to bring
his ship to the desired haven. The use of these is knowledge, and this
knowledge is power.
Alike with all other things which science and art have called into use,
knowledge is power, and this power was given by the Almighty, as I said
at the beginning of this lecture, to enable man to fathom the works of
creation. Let us then so live that we may ever admire the results of the
labours of science and of art, and at the same time ever remember Him
who has given us the power to discover and use them for our
benefit,--thanking God, who first made all things and pronounced them
very good, for His great mercy toward us.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Now carried out.
_A PENNY'S WORTH_;
OR,
"TAKE CARE OF THE PENCE, AND THE POUNDS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES."
A penny seems a small sum to talk about, and with many, I am sorry to
say, is looked upon as so insignificant as to be considered almost
worthless; but I hope, before I have done, to show you something of the
great value of even a penny, and of the effects and products we have
been enabled to produce and dispose of with a reasonable profit at the
cost of one penny. A much smaller sum than this was looked upon and
regarded as of inestimable value by our blessed Saviour, when He saw the
rich men and the widow casting their offerings into the treasury, for He
said: "All these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of
God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had."
Now what did this widow cast in? Two mites, which make one farthing.
Though this took place more than eighteen hundred years ago, it shows to
us even now the great value of small things when given with the heart
and used in the right way.
Money is a most desirable thing, and without it the business of the
world would come to a stand-still, but how to spend it aright is a
matter of grave thought, for it may with ease be spent in luxury, but it
requires a mind to use it profitably. Both pleasure and profit may be
gained by prudent and proper expenditure, and to show how even a limited
income may enjoy great comfort at home (and there is, I hope you think,
no place like home, and one's own home-fireside), I have ventured to
bring before you at this time what can be done for one penny.
The penny itself is a matter which leads one into thought. The vastness
of mind which has been brought to bear on the production of the coin is
itself worthy of consideration. Before any coin can be sanctioned by the
realm, it has to go through the ordeal of Her Majesty's Government, and
after all has been done to the satisfaction of the authorities, a little
bit of copper--though now, for the good of our pockets, mixed with an
alloy--is made to minister to our wants in ways which I hope to lay
before you as plainly and shortly as possible. First and foremost we
must have that great and valuable thing heat, for without heat generated
by fire we could have no penny. One of the first things required to
produce this heat is wood. Now the wood must be grown,--trees attended
to with care and at great cost. Years pass before they are either fit
for beauty or use, yet, during the time of their growth, the smaller
branches that are lopped off form just what is required to set on fire
the coal and coke to produce the heat which is necessary for smelting
and blast furnaces, for our own domestic fires, and various other uses.
A faggot of these lopped branches can be bought for a penny. Having thus
found out, as a beginning, one thing which can be obtained for a penny,
let us go on to see what has to be attended to and encountered before
this valuable coin can be made. Sums of money have to be spent, risks
very great have to be entered into, and beautiful machinery constructed
before it can be placed in our pockets. The mines of Cornwall have to be
reached for both copper and tin--a matter of great cost to the pockets
of speculators, and of anxiety to the minds of engineers, who lay
themselves out to gain the material. Furnaces have to be built to smelt
the ore and bring it into a workable condition. The Mint is then, after
the metal is ready, called into requisition to produce a coin which,
after all this labour and expense, is only a penny.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|