st. john of damascus (676-749 - Cristo Raul

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l8o ST. JOHN OK DAMASCUS.
any other animal, in every case the blow falls alike.
The tone of this answer will remind us of that given
by the Spartan survivor of Sphacteria, who, when an
Athenian was tauntingly supposing that all the brave
men on the island must have been killed, and none
but the sorry remnant left to surrender, replied that
it would be a wise arrow that could select the brave
and not the cowardly for its mark. Damascenus
proceeds to add a few remarks on the cause why the
flash precedes the sound. Both originate simultane
ously but
;
whereas the one, previously latent, is then
instantly visible, the other produces no effect until
it has come down from its height/* If the reason
given be not clear, he adds a natural illustration.
Let a man stand on a distant eminence and give a
signal by striking with his stick. You see the move
ment of his arm, as he strikes the blow, some little
space before the sound of it reaches you. If men
would only study the Bible, they would not be misled
by these childish fancies. Ignorance is a very mis
leading thing ;
and we suffer the greatest loss by not
obeying our Lord s precept to search the Scriptures.
As it is, all are full of excuses for neglecting the duty.
The soldier says he has no need of reading, being a
smaii of war ;
the husbandman pleads the necessity of
attending to his farm : and so we all fall short.
The simple answer to the monstrous fables about
the Strynga, or female forms that can pass through
closed doors on their malevolent errands, is that
Christ alone claimed and exercised this power, when
He came to the disciples after His resurrection ;
and
to aver that any ghoul or fairy can do the same thing