"The Most Important Half-Minute"
To the question raised by Janus last week—What was the most important half-minute in history ?—a considerable number of replies have been received. The following extracts represent the general trend of opinion. The answer with most numerical support behind it is embodied in a verse sent by the Rev. Cecil Grant, of Boar's Hill, Oxford : That moment when upon Damascus' road Saul knew the Nazarene for Lord and God Did shape the fate of men and nations more Than all the change and chance of human war.'
OtlIter, suggest ions .
I assume that ' history.' may include that written by Nature. If this is so, then, without any doubt,. the most important minute' was that during which life.' came on to this -planet."--B. IvAN SUTHERLAND, Northfield Frain,
Lowick,- Berwick-on-Tweed. •
" The moment -of hesitation which occurred before the Blessed Virgin Mary said the words : Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to Thy word.' (The Divine proposal of redemption awaited-the concurrence of a human will-r -would that will concur ?)"—The Rev. H. H. RUMSEY, Quorn Vicarage, Loughborough.
For Milton and Sir Thomas Browne the most fateful moment was that when Eve took her first bite of that for- bidden fruit, whose mortal taste brought death into the world and all Our woe.' But for those who do not believe that story, I submit that the thirty seconds occupied by the Emperor Franz Josef in July, 1914, when he signed the ultimatum to Serbia was the most calamitous in all history." —Cuts. AVarour, Sutton.
" I submit that. the most important single minute of history occurred on the night of Thursday in the first Holy Week. The scene is the Upper Room, and the action is that described in the Fourth Gospel, Chapter XIII, verses 21 to 30. It is the scene where Jesus makes the last appeal which He can to Judas Iscariot, and when He sees that it is of no avail lets Ion go out into the night, knowing that he is going to arrange for His arrest. That, I submit, is the supreme crisis of the Ministry."—The Rev. ROGER LLOYD, Great Harwood.
. " Suppose you were given the choice of deleting from history one of two things : (1) The introduction of Christianity ; (2) the discovery of anaesthetics--which one would you put
your pencil through ? Religion Science. If religion is given the minute, then that was when Jesus was trapped into admitting He was `a king' and afterwards saying the word '.king,' the fatal word, had two meanings. If He had said ' No ' to Pilate, instead of His ' Thou sagest,' Pilate might have released Him as only a Jewish prophet and history might have only. had Mithra. If science _is given the minute, the award would go to the discovery of ether.in America. Opium and antiseptics are harder to associate with any one minute if hardly less important in themselves."—FRED. GOURLAY, M.D., Rathmorc, Elgin.
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The paragraph quoted by Janus last week was from Nassau Senior's essay on Berrycr. It relates to the phase of the Freneh-Revolution when Robespierre had been arrested by the Convention, the Conunune had called out the National Guard, and a force under Henriot surrounded the building where the Convention was meeting,-but the artillerymen, after hesitation, refused the order to fire.
....If," says. Senior, the cannon had fired, and Henriot's forces . . . had rushed into the hall where. the members were .sitting . . . seems probable that the greater at of the assembly would have been massacred on their seats.
Robespierre would have been absolute master of Paris . . Piehegiu might have imitated Monk, and royaltY have _been restored by a native army in 1794 instead of by a- ihreign one in 1814 ; or Nantes and Lyoiis and Bordeaux and Tertian and La Vendee might have sliecessfidly 'risen 'against Paris, and, France have split into hostile con'imiinitieS: Referrn would have been delay=ed hi Great Britain and Ireland. The half-minute during which it was undecided ichether the artillery would fire or not, is the most important half-iiiiderin history."
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