These contend under the prestige of a thousand years of possession

These contend under the prestige of a thousand years of possession

These contend under the prestige of a thousand years of possession

We attack with slender array, but unflinching purpose, the gloomy powers of ignorance that are allied to doubt and indifference. These contend under the prestige of a thousand years of possession.

Ignorance and Prejudice are twin giants that renew their life upon each other; they are as old as chaos, and are invulnerable to the weapons of ordinary warfare. Like the fallen angels, they are

"Vital in every part,
And can but by annihilation die."

One of the Greek fables, typifying the struggle of man against circumstances, was a story of the battle between Hercules and Antæus, son of the Earth. The fight was long and doubtful, for whenever the mortal was felled to the ground by the power of the vigorous god, his force was renewed by contact with the breast of his mother Earth, and he sprang to his feet and recommenced the never-ending strife.