"Have you
no charm against death?" The Greek as well as the barbarian confessed to
the helplessness of man before the great enemy. Centuries before Christ,
Sophocles the Athenian wrote:
"Wonders are many! and none is there greater than man, who
Steers his ship over the sea, driven on by the south wind,
Cleaving the threatening swell of the waters around him.
"He captures the gay-hearted birds; he entangles adroitly
Creatures that live on the land and the brood of the ocean,
Spreading his well-woven nets. Man full of devices!
"Speech and swift thought free as wind, the building of cities;
Shelters to ward off the arrows of rain, and to temper
Sharp-biting frost--all these hath he taught himself. Surely
Stratagem hath he for all that comes! Never the future
Finds him resourceless! Deftly he combats grievous diseases,
Oft from their grip doth he free himself. Death alone vainly--
Vainly he seeks to escape; 'gainst death he is helpless."
--_Chorus from Antigone._
What unspeakable pathos in the cry of humanity's helplessness before
death, the great enemy! But when Adam went out of Eden, it was with the
assurance of life from the dead through the promised Seed, if faithful.
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