the power of truth

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THEPOWERQFTRUTH

INDIVIin[AI.-PROBI MS

AND-POSSIBIUTIES

t* /^

WILLIAM*GEORGE*JORDAN

V4

NEW YORK

BRENTANO'S


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V

y CopyrightJ I902, iy Brentano*sPublished August^ 1902

HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARYFROM THE ESTATE OFHANNAH P. KIMBALL ^

JUNE 23, 1922

Printed by Carl H. Heintxemann Boston


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Contents;

T^he Power of Truth iT^he Courage to Face Ingratitude 23People who hive in Air Castles 41Swords and Scabbards 59The Conquest of the Preventable j^Tbe Companionship of Tolerance 95The Things that Come too Late 115The Way of the Reformer 133


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C^e ^loott of Cmtl^


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[


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CJe 5^otJjer of CrutJ

T JRUTH is the rock foundationIof every great character. It isI loyalty to the right as we see

l i.

,J it; it is courageous living of ourlives in harmony with our ideals ; it is al-ays

power.L Truth ever defies full definition. Likeelectricity it can only be explained bynoting its manifestation. It is the com-ass

of the soul, the guardian of con-cience,the final touchstone of right.

Truth is the revelation of the ideal ; butit is also an inspiration to realize that ideal,a constant impulse to live it.L Lying is one of the oldest vices in theworld

it made its debut in the first re-orded

conversation in history, in a fa-ousinterview in the garden of Eden.

Lying is the sacrifice of honor to createa wrong impression. It is masquerading

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Ciê tôtoev of Cnitlîn misfit virtues. Truth can stand alone,for it needs no chaperone or escort. Liesare cowardly, fearsome things that musttravel in battalions. They are like a lot ofdrunken men, one vainly seeking to sup-ort

another. Lying is the partner andaccomplice of all the other vices. It is thecancer of moral degeneracy in an indi-idual

life.L Truth is the oldest of all the virtues; itantedated man, it lived before there wasman to perceive it or to accept it. It isthe unchangeable, the constant. Law isthe eternal truth of Nature

the unity

that always produces identical results un-eridentical conditions. When a man dis-overs

a great truth in Nature he has thekey to the understanding of a million phe-omena

; when he grasps a great truth inmorals he has in it the key to his spirit-alre-creation. For the individual, there

is no such thing as theoretic truth ; a greattruth that is not absorbed by our whole

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Ci^e t^otoet of Cmtl^mind and life,and has not become an in-eparab

part of our living,is not a realtruth to us. If we know the truth and donot live it,our life is a lie.L In speech, the man who makes Truthhis watchword is careful in his words, heseeks to be accurate, neither understatingnor over-coloring. He never states as afact that of which he is not sure. What hesays has the ring of sincerity,the hall-ark

of pure gold. If he praises you, youaccept his statement as net, * you do nothave to work out a problem in mentalarithmetic on the side to see what dis-ount

you ought to make before you ac-epthis judgment. His promise counts for

something, you accept it as being as goodas his bond, you know that no matter howmuch it may cost him to verify and fulfilhis word by his deed, he will do it. Hishonesty is not policy. The man who ishonest merely because it is the bestpolicy,**is not really honest, he is only

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Ci^e t^otoer of Cniti^politic.Usually such a man would for-ake

his seeming loyalty to truth andwould work overtime for the devil

if

he could get better terms.C Truth means that which one trowethorbclieves.'* It islivingsimply and square-yby our belief; it is the externalizing ofa faith in a scries of actions. Truth is everstrong, courageous, virile,though kindly,gentle, calm, and restful. There is a vitaldifference between error and untruthful-ess.

A man may be in error and yet livebravely by it; he who is untruthful in hislife knows the truth but denies it.The oneis loyal to what he believes, the other istraitor to what he knows.L What is Truth?*' Pilate's great ques-ion,

asked of Christ over three thousand

years ago, has echoed unanswered throughthe ages. We get constant revelations ofparts of it, glimpses of constantly newphases, but never complete, final defini-ion.

If we but live up to the truth that[6]


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Ci^e t^otoer of Cniti^we know, and seek ever to know more, wehave put ourselves into the spiritual atti-ude

of receptiveness to know Truth inthe fullness of its power. Truth is the sunof morality, and like that lesser sun in theheavens, we can walk by its light,live inits warmth and life, even if we see but asmall part of it and receive but a micro-copic

fraction of its rays.C Which of the great religions of theworld is the real, the final, the absolutetruth ? We must make our individualchoice and live by it as best we can. Everynew sect, every new cult, has in it a grainof truth, at least ; it is this that attracts at-ention

and wins adherents. This mustardseed of truth is often overestimated, dark-ning

the eyes of man to the untrue partsor phases of the varying religious faiths.But, in exact proportion to the basic truththey contain do religionslast,become per-anent

and growing, and satisfyand in-pirethe hearts of men. Mushrooms of

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Ci^e po\x tv of Cntti^error have a quick growth, but they ex-aust

their vitalityand die, but Truth stilllives.41 The man who makes the acquisition ofwealth the goal and ultimatum of his life,seeing it as an end rather than a means toan end, is not true. Why does the worldusually make wealth the criterion of suc-ess,

and riches the synonym of attain-ent? Real success in life means the in-ividua

conquest of himself; it means how he has bettered himself ' ' not howhas he bettered his fortune? The greatquestion of life is not What havel ? butWhat am I?41^Man is usually loyal to what he mostdesires. The man who lies to save anickel, merely proclaims that he esteemsa

nickelmore

than he does his honor.He who sacrifices his ideals, truth andcharacter, for mere money or position,is weighing his conscience in one pan of ascale against a bag of gold in the other. He

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Ci^e i^tver of Ctutl^is loyal to what he finds the heavier, thatwhich he desires the more the money.But this is not truth. Truth is the heart'sloyaltyto abstract right,made manifest inconcrete instances.

f[^The tradesman who lies,cheats, mis-eadsand overcharges and then seeks tosquare himself with his anaemic con-cience

by saying, lying is absolutelynecessary to business, is as untrue in hisstatement as he is in his acts. He justifieshimself with the petty defence as thethief who says it is necessary to steal inorder to live. The permanent businessprosperity of an individual, a city or a na-ion

rests finallyon commercial integrityalone, despite all that the cynics may say,or all the exceptions whose temporarysuccess may mislead them. It is truthalone that lasts.f[^The politicianwho is vacillating,tem-orizing,

shifting,constantly trimminghis sails to catch every puff of wind of

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Ci^e i^tver of Crutl^popularity, is a trickster who succeedsonly until he is found out. A lie may livefor a time, truth for all time. A lie neverlives by its own vitality,it merely con-inues

to exist because it simulates truth.When it is unmasked, it dies.^ When each of four newspapers in onecity puts forth the claim that its circula-ion

islargerthan all the others combined,there must be an error somewhere. Wherethere is untruth there is always conflict,discrepancy, impossibility.If all the truthsoflife and experience from the first secondof time, or for any section of eternity,were brought together, there would beperfect harmony, perfect accord, unionand unity, but if two lies come together,they quarrel and seek to destroy eachother.41^ It is in the trifles of daily life thattruth should be our constant guide andinspiration. Truth is not a dress-suit,consecrated to special occasions, it is the

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Ci^e i^otver of Cntti^

strong, well-woven, durable homespunfor daily living.C The man who forgets his promises isuntrue. We rarely lose sight of thosepromises made to us for our individualbenefit ; these we regard as checks we al-ays

seek to cash at the earliest moment. The miser never forgets where he hideshis treasure,'' says one of the old philoso-hers.

Let us cultivate that sterling honorthat holds our word so supreme, so sacred,that to forget it would seem a crime, todeny it would be impossible.C The man who says pleasant things andmakes promises which to him are light asair, but to someone else seem the rockupon which a life's hope is built is cruellyuntrue. He who does not regard his ap-ointmen

carelesslybreaking them orignoring them, is the thoughtless thiefof another's time. It reveals selfishness,carelessness, and lax business morals. It isuntrue to the simplest justice of life.


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Cl^e i^tver of Cmt)^C Men who splithairs with their con-cience,

who mislead others by deft,shrewd phrasing which may be true inletter yet lying in spiritand designedlyuttered to produce a false impression, areuntruthful in the most cowardly way.Such men would cheat even in solitaire.Like murderers they forgive themselvestheir crime in congratulating themselveson the cleverness of their alibi.C The parent who preaches honor to hischild and gives false statistics about thechild's age to the conductor, to save anickel, is not true.CThe man who keeps his religion incamphor all week and who takes it outonly on Sunday, is not true. He who seeksto get the highest wages for the least pos-ible

amount of service, is not true. Theman who has to sing lullabies to his con-cience

before he himself can sleep,is nottrue.C Truth is the straightline in morals. It

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^t l^tvet of Ctutl^use of words; it may be acquisitivenessthat makes lying the handmaid of theft.But if,in the life of the child or the adult,the symptom be made to reveal the dis-ase,

and that be then treated, truth reas-ertsitselfand the moral health is restored.

C Constantly telling a child not to lie isgiving life and intensity to the lie.'* Thetrue method is to quicken the moralmuscles from the positive side, urge thechild to be honest, to be faithful, to beloyal, to be fearless to the truth. Tell himever of the nobility of courage to speak thetrue, to live the right,to hold fast to prin-iples

of honor in every trifle then heneed never fear to face any of life's crises.C The parent must live truth or the childwill not live it. The child will startle youwith its quickness in puncturing thebubble of your pretended knowledge; ininstinctivelypiercing the heart of a soph-stry

without being conscious of process ;in relentlesslyenumerating your unful-

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Ci^e l^tver of Cmti^filled promises; in detecting with the jus-ice

of a court of equity a technicality ofspeech that is virtuallya lie. He will jus-ify

his own lapses from truth by appealto some white lie told to a visitor, andunknown to be overheard by the littleone, whose mental powers we ever under-stimate

in theory though we may over-raisein words.

C Teach the child in a thousand ways,directlyand indirectly,the power of truth,the beauty of truth, and the sweetness andrest of companionship with truth.4L And if it be the rock-foundation of thechild character, as a fact, not as a theory,the future of that child is as fully assuredas it is possible for human prevision toguarantee.C The power of Truth, in its highest,purest, and most exalted phases, standssquarely on four basic lines of relation, the love of truth, the search for truth, faithin truth, and work for truth.

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Cl^e poDoott of mt]^C The love ofTruth is the cultivated hun-er

for it in itself and for itself,withoutany thought of what it may cost, whatsacrifices it may entail, what theories orbeliefs of a life-time may be laid desolate.In its supreme phase, this attitude of lifeis rare, but unless one can iegin to puthimself into harmony with this view, theindividual will only creep in truth, whenhe might walk bravely. With the love oftruth, the individual scorns to do a meanthing, no matter what be the gain, evenif the whole world would approve. Hewould not sacrifice the sanction of his ownhigh standard for any gain, he would notwillingly deflect the needle of his thoughtand act from the true North, as he knowsit,by the slightestpossible variation. Hehimself would know of the deflection

that would be enough. What matters itwhat the world thinks if he have his owndisapproval ?4L The man who has a certain religious

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Cl^e l^otver of Crut)^belief and fears to discuss it,lest it may beproved wrong, is not loyal to his belief, hehas but a coward's faithfulness to his preju-ices.

If he were a lover of truth, he wouldbe willing at any moment to surrender hisbelief for a higher, better, and truer faith.41^The man who votes the same ticket inpolitics,ear after year, without caring forissues, men, or problems, merely voting ina certain way because he always has votedso, is sacrificingloyaltyto truth, to a weak,mistaken, stubborn attachment to a worn-out precedent. Such a man should stay inhis cradle all his life

because he spent

his early years there.C The search for Truth means that theindividual must not merely follow truthas he sees it,but he must, so far as he can,search to see that he is right.When theKearsarge was wrecked on the RoncadorReef, the captain was sailingcorrectly byhis chart. But his map was an old one; thesunken reef was not marked down. Loy-

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Ci^epo\x ttof Cnit)^altyo back-number standards means stag-ation.

In China theyplow to-day,uttheyplow with the instrument of fourthousand years ago. The search for truthis the angelof progress in civilizationand in morals. While itmakes us bold andaggressiven our own life,tteaches us tobe tender and sympatheticith others.Their lifemay represent station we havepassedn our progress,or one we must seekto reach. We can then congratulateur-elves

without condemningthem. All thetruths of the world are not concentratedin our creed. All the sunshine of the worldisnot focused on our doorstep.e shouldever speakthe truth, but onlyin loveand kindness. Truth should ever extendthe hand of love;never the hand clench-ng

bludgeon.C Faith in Truth isan essentialto perfectcompanionshipith truth.The individ-al

must have perfectonfidence and as-uranceof the finaltriumphof right,nd

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Ciê iôtver of Crut)ôrder, and justice, and believe that allthings are evolving toward that divineconsummation, no matter how dark anddreary life may seem from day to day. Noreal success, no lastinghappiness can existexcept it be founded on the rock of truth.The prosperity that is based on lying, de-eption,

and intrigue, is only temporary

it cannot last any more than a mush-oomcan outlive an oak. Like the blind

Samson, struggling in the temple, the in-ividuawhose life is based on trickery

always pullsdown the supporting columnsof his own edifice, and perishes in theruins. No matter what price a man maypay for truth, he is getting it at a bargain.The lying of others can never hurt us long,it always carries with it our exonerationin the end. During the siege of Sebasto-pol, the Russian shells that threatened todestroy a fort opened a hidden spring ofwater in the hillside,and saved the thirst-ng

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Ci^e i^toer of Ctut)^C Work for the interests and advance-ent

of Truth is a necessary part of realcompanionship. If a man has a love oftruth, if he searches to find it,and has faithin it,even when he cannot find it,will henot work to spread it ? The strongest wayfor man to strengthen the power of truthin the world is to live it himself in everydetail of thought, word, and deed tomake himself a sun of personal radiationof truth, and to let his silent influencespeak for it and his direct acts glorifyit sofar as he can in his sphere of life and action.Let him first seek to be^before he seeks toteach or to do, in any line of moral growth.C Let man realize that Truth is essentiallyan intrinsic virtue, in his relation to him-elf

even if there were no other human

being living; it becomes extrinsic as heradiates it in his daily life. Truth isfirst,n-ellecthonesty the craving to know

the right ; second, it is moral honesty, thehunger to live the right.

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]^e poXotv of Ctutl^

your head high, toss it fearlesslyand de-iantly,look every man calmly and un-linchingly

in the eye, as though you rode,a victorious king, returning at the headof your legions with banners waving andlances glistening, and bugles fillingtheair with music. You can feel the greatexpansive wave of moral health singingthrough you as the quickened bloodcourses through the body of him whois gladly, gloriously proud of physicalhealth. You will know that all will comeright in the end, that it must come, thaterror must flee before the great white lightof truth, as darkness slinks away intonothingness in the presence of the sun-urst.

Then, with Truth as your guide,your companion, your ally,and inspira-ion,

you tingle with the consciousness ofyour kinship with the Infinite and allthe petty trials,sorrows and suflferingsflife fade away like temporary, harmlessvisions seen in a dream.

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Cl^e Cotivage to face 3Itf$tatftuDe


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C|)e Courage to :f ace3Jngratittttie

mNGRATITUDEhe mostpopular sin of humanity, is for-getfulness of the heart. It is therevelation of the emptiness ofpretended loyalty. The individual who

possesses it finds it the shortest cut to allthe other vices.C Ingratitude is a crime more despicablethan revenge, which is only returning evilfor evil, while ingratitude returns evil forgood. People who are ungrateful rarelyforgive you if you do them a good turn.Their microscopic hearts resent the hu-iliatio

of having been helped by a su-erior,and this rankling feeling filtering

through their petty natures often ends inhate and treachery.C Gratitude is thankfulness expressed inaction. It is the instinctive radiation ofjustice, giving new life and energy to the

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Ci^e Courage to face Slttfitatftutieindividual from whom it emanates. It isthe heart's recognition of kindness thatthe lips cannot repay. Gratitude nevercounts its payments. It realizes that nodebt of kindness can ever be outlawed,ever be cancelled, ever paid in full. Grat-tude

ever feels the insignificance of itsinstalments ; ingratitude the nothingnessof the debt. Gratitude is the floweringof a seed of kindness ; ingratitude is thedead inactivity of a seed dropped on astone.C The expectation of gratitude is hu-an

; the rising superior to ingratitude isalmost divine. To desire recognition ofour acts of kindness and to hunger forappreciation and the simple justice of areturn of good for good, is natural. Butman never

rises to the dignity of trueliving until he has the courage that daresto face ingratitude calmly, and to pursuehis course unchanged when his goodworks meet with thanklessness or disdain.

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Cl^e Courage to face SjngtatftutieC Man should have only one court of ap-eals

as to his actions, not what will bethe result? how will it be received?'*but is it right ? Then he should live hislife in harmony with this standard alone,serenely, bravely, loyally and unfalter-ngly,making right for right's sakeboth his ideal and his inspiration.CL Man should not be an automatic gasmachine, cleverly contrived to release agiven quantity of illumination under thestimulus of a nickel. He should be likethe great sun itself which ever radiateslight,warmth, life ^nd power, because itcannot help doing so, because these quali-ies

fill the heart of the sun, and for it tohave them means that it must give themconstantly. Let the sunlight of our sym-athy,

tenderness, love, appreciation, in-luenceand kindness ever go out from usas a glow to brighten and hearten others.But do not let us ever spoil it all by go-ng

through life constantly collecting re-[27]


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Cl^e Coumge to face %nqx^titvititceipts,as vouchers, to stick on the file ofour self-approval.CL It is hard to see those who have sat atour board in the days of our prosperity,flee as from a pestilencewhen misfortunedarkens our doorway; to see the loyaltyupon which we would have staked ourlife,that seemed firm as a rock, crack andsplinterlike thin glassat the first real test ;to know that the fire of friendship atwhich we could ever warm our hands inour hour of need, has turned to cold, dead,gray ashes, where warmth is but a haunt-ng

memory.C To realize that he who once lived inthe sanctuary of our affection, in the frankconfidence where conversation seemedbut our soliloquy,and to whom our aimsand aspirations have been thrown openwith no Bluebeard chamber of reserve,has been secretly poisoning the waters ofour reputation and undermining us by hislies and treachery, is hard indeed. But no

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Cl^e Courage to face Sjngtatftutieactivities and enterprises of the worldwould stop in an instant, topple and fallinto chaos. Withdraw confidence in hu-anity

from the individual, and he be-omesbut a breathing, selfish egotist,the

one good man left,working overtime innursing his petty grudge against the worldbecause a few whom he has favored havebeen ungrateful.L If a man receives a counterfeit dollarhe does not straightway lose his faith inall money, at least there are no suchinstances on record in this country. If hehas a run of three or four days of dullweather he does not say the sun ceasesto exist, there are surely no bright days tocome in the whole calendar of time.C If a man's breakfast is rendered an un-leasant

memory by some item of foodthat has outlived its usefulness, he does notforswear eating. If a man finds under atree an apple with a suspicious lookinghole on one side, he does not condemn

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Ci^e Courage to fact Sltfgtatftutiethe whole orchard; he simply confines hiscriticism to that apple. But he who hashelped some one who, later,did not pass agood examination on gratitude,says in avoice plaintivewith the consciousness ofinjury,and with a nod of his head that im-liesthe wisdom of Solomon : I havehad my experience, I have learned mylesson. This is the last time I will havefaith in any man. I did this for him, andthat for him, and now, look at the re-ult

C Then he unrolls a long schedule of fa-ors,carefullyitemized and added up, till

it seems the pay-roll of a grelt city.Hecomplains of the injusticeof one man, yethe is willing to be unjust to the wholeworld, making it bear the punishment ofthe wrong of an individual. There is toomuch vicarious suffering already in thisearth of ours without this lilliputiant-empt

to extend it by syndicating oneman's ingratitude. If one man drinks to

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Ci^e Courage to face Slngmtftntieexcess, it is not absolute justice to sendthe whole world to jail.^ The farmer does not expect every seedthat he sows in hope and faith to fall ongood ground and bring forth its harvest ;he is perfectly certain that this will notbe so, cannot be. He is counting on thefinal outcome of many seeds, on the har-est

of all,rather than on the harvest ofone. If you really want gratitude, andmust have it, be willing to make manymen your debtors.f^The more unselfish, charitable andexalted the life and mission of the indi-idual,

the larger will be the number ofinstances of ingratitude that must be metand vanquished. The thirty years ofChrist's life was a tragedy of ingratitudes.Ingratitude is manifest in three degrees ofintensity in the world He knew themall in numberless bitter instances.fL The first phase, the simplest and mostcommon, is that of thoughtless thankless-

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Cl^e Courage to iface Sjngtatftuiieness, as was shown in the case of the tenlepershealed in one day nine departedwithout a word, only one gave thanks.^ The second phase of ingratitude is de-ial,

a positive sin, not the mere negationof thanklessness. This was exemplified inPeter, whose selfish desire to stand wellwith two maids and some bystanders, inthe hour when he had the opportunity tobe loyal to Christ, forgot his friendship,lost all thought of his indebtedness to hisMaster, and denied Him, not once ortwice, but three times.C Thethird phaseofingratitudeistreach-ry,

where selfishness grows vindictive, asshown by Judas, the honored treasurer ofthe little band of thirteen, whose jealousy,ingratitude, and thirty pieces of silver,made possible the tragedy of Calvary.C These three thanklessness, denialand treachery run the gamut of ingrati-ude,

and the first leads to the second, andthe second prepares the way for the third.

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Cl^eCourage to face SlngtatftudefLWe must ever tower highabove de-endence

on human gratituder we cando nothingreallyreat,nothingtrulynoble. The expectationf gratitudesthealloyf an otherwise virtuous act. It everdulls the edgeof even our best actions.Most persons look at gratitudes a pro-ective

tariffon virtues.The man who isweakened in well-doingy the ingrati-udeof others,sservingod on a salarybasis.He is a hired soldier,,ot a volun-eer.

He should be honest enoughto seethat he is workingfor a reward ; like achild,he is beinggoodfor a bonus. Heis reallyegardingis kindness and hisother expressionsf goodnesss moralstock he iswillingo hold onlyso longastheypay dividends.^ There isin such livinglways touchof the pose ; itiswaitingor the applauseof the gallery.e must letthe conscious-ess

of doingright,f livingp to ourideals,e our reward and stimulus,r life[34]

ttaaaasMNiMariHMMiaBiAiitai^abaiiteMa


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Cl^e Coutage to face Slngratftutiewill become to us but a series of failures,sorrows and disappointments.fL Much of the seeming ingratitude in lifecomes from our magnifying of our ownacts, our minifying of the acts of others.We may have over-estimated the impor-anceof something that we have done ; itmay have been most trivial,purely inci-ental,

yet the marvellous working of theloom of time brought out great and unex-ected

results to the recipient of our favor.We often feel that wondrous gratitude isdue us, though we were in no wise the in-pirati

of the success we survey withsuch a feeling of pride. A chance intro-uction

given by us on the street may,throughaninfinityof circumstances, makeour friend a millionaire. Thanks may bedue us for the introduction, and perhapsnot even that, for it might have been un-voidable,

but surely we err when we ex-ecthim to be meekly gratefulto us for his

subsequent millions.[35]


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Ci^eCourage to factSlngtatftuDefLThe essence of truest kindness liesinthe grace with which it is performed.Some men seem to discount allgratitude,almost make itimpossible,y the way inwhich theygrant favors.They make youfeel so small,so mean, so inferior; yourcheeks burn with indignationn the ac-eptance

of the boon you seek at theirhands. You feelitislikea bone thrown ata dog,instead of the quick,sympatheticgraciousnesshat forestallsyour explana-ions

and waives your thanks with a smile,the pleasuref one friend who has beenfavored with the opportunityo be of ser-iceto another. The man who makes an-ther

feel like an insect recliningn ared-hot stove while he isreceivingfavor,has no righto expect future gratitude,eshould feel satisfiedif he receives for-iveness.

^ Let us forgethe good deeds we havedone bymakingthem seem small in com-arison

with the greaterthingse are do-[36]

^mmmmtmtimmm


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Ci^e Cottvase to iface SIngtatttnDeof his silence is misunderstood. Sometimesthe consciousness of his inabilityto repay,develops a strange pride genuine grati-ude

it may be, though unwise in its lackof expression a determination to saynothing, until the opportunity for whichhe is waiting to enable him to make hisgratitude an actuality.There are countlessinstances in which true gratitude has allthe semblance of the basest ingratitude,ascertain harmless plants are made by Na-ure

to resemble poison-ivy.^ Ingratitude is some one's protest thatyou are no longer necessary to him ; it isoften the expression of rebellion at thediscontinuance of favors. People are rarelyungrateful until they have exhausted theirassessments. Profuse expressions of grati-ude

do not cancel an indebtedness anymore than a promissory note settles an ac-ount.

It is a beginning, not a finality.Gratitude that is extravagant in words isusuallyeconomical in all other expression.

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Ci^e Cottvase to iface f ngmtitutieL No good act performed in the worldever dies. Science tells us that no atom ofmatter can ever be destroyed,that no forceonce started ever ends; it merely passesthrough a multiplicity of ever-changingphases.Every good deed done to others isa great force that starts an unending pul-ation

through time and eternity.We maynot know it,we may never hear a word ofgratitude or of recognition, but it will allcome back to us in some form as naturally,as perfectly,as inevitably,as echo answersto sound. Perhaps not as we expect it,howwe expect it, nor where, but sometime,somehow, somewhere, it comes back, asthe dove that Noah sent from the Ark re-urned

with its green leaf of revelation.L Let us conceive of gratitude in its larg-st,

most beautiful sense, that if we receiveany kindness we are debtor, not merely toone man, but to the whole world. As weare each day indebted to thousands for thecomforts, joys,consolations, and blessings

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Ci^e Courage to iface f ngtatttnDeof life,let us realize that it is only by kind-ess

to all that we can begin to repay thedebt to one, begin to make gratitude theatmosphere of all our livingand a constantexpression in outward acts, rather than inmere thoughts. Let us see the awful cow-rdiceand the injusticeof ingratitude, notto take it too seriously in others, not tocondemn it too severely, but merely tobanish it forever from our own lives,andto make every hour of our living the radi-tion

of the sweetness of gratitude.

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people txji^oWit in 9iit agtlt^


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people\ |)0lt\)ein ^tr

IIVING in an air-castleisaboutas profitables owning a half-interest in a rainbow. It is nomore nourishinghan a dinner

of twelve courses eaten in a dream.Air-castles are built of goldenmomentsof time,and their onlyvalue isin the rawmaterial thus rendered valueless.C The atmospheref air-castlesisheavyand stupefyingith the incense of vaguehopesand phantomideals. In them manlulls himself into dreaming inactivitywith the songs of the mightydeeds he isgoingto do, the great influence he somedaywill have,the vast wealth that will behis,sometime, somehow, somewhere, inthe

rosy,sunlit daysof the future. Thearchitectural error about air-castlesisthat

the owner builds them downward fromtheir gildedurrets in the clouds,nstead

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ptoplt t0]^oUi t in aft Ca^tUjssof upwardfroma solid,irm foundation ofpurpose and energy. This diet of mentalotus-leaves is a mental narcotic,ot astimulant.^ Ambition, when wedded to tirelessenergy isa greatthingnd a goodthing,but in itselfitamounts to little.Man can-ot

raise himself to higherthingsbywhat he would like to accomplish,utonlyby what he endeavors to accomplish.To be of value,ambition must ever bemade manifest in zeal,in determination,in energy consecrated to an ideal.Ifitbethus reinforced,hus combined, the thinairyastlemelts intonothingness,nd theindividual stands on a new strong founda-ion

of solid rock,whereon, day by dayand stone by stone, he can rear a mightymaterial structure of life-work to lastthroughtime and eternity.he air-castleever representsthe work of an architectwithout a builder ; it means planseverput into execution. They tellus that man

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ptoplt tDl^o Ut t in 9iit caittlesijoy of attainment, as the tired travellerfills his mind with the thought of thebrightness of home, to quicken his stepsand to make the weary miles seem shorter,but the worker should never reallyworryabout the future, think little of it exceptfor inspiration,to determine his course,as mariners study the stars, to make hisplans wisely and to prepare for that futureby making each separate day the best andtruest that he can,C Let us live up to the fulness of our pos-ibiliti

each day. Man has only one dayof life

to-day. He didliwc yesterday, hemay live to-morrow, but he has only to-ay.

CThe secret of true living mental,physical and moral, material and spirit-al,

may be expressed in five words:Live up to your portion.This is the magicformula that transforms air-castles intofortresses.C Men sometimes grow mellow and gen-

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erous in the thought of what they woulddo if great wealth came to them. '* If Iwere a millionaire, they say, and theylet the phrase melt sweetly in their mouthsas though it were a caramel, *' I wouldsubsidize genius; I would found a college;I would build a great hospital ; I woulderect model tenements ; I would show theworld what real charity is/' Oh, it is allso easy, so easy, this vicarious benevo-ence,

this spending of other people's for-unes Few of us, according to the lateststatistics, have a million, but we all have

something, some part of it. Are we livingup to our portion ? Are we generous withwhat we have ?L The man who is selfish with one thou-and

dollars will not develop angelic wingsof generosity when his million comes. Ifthe generous spirit be a reality with theindividual, instead of an empty boast, hewill, every hour, find opportunity to makeit manifest. The radiation of kindness

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ptoplt tDl^o Lite in ^ft a tlt^need not be expressed in money at all. Itmay be shown in a smile of human inter-st,

a glow of sympathy, a word of fellow-hipwith the sorrowing and the strug-ling,

an instinctive outstretching of ahelping hand to one in need.CNo man living is so poor that he can-ot

evidence his spiritof benevolence to-ardhis fellowman. It may assume that

rare and wondrously beautiful phase ofdivine charity, in realizing how often amotive is misrepresented in the act, howsin, sorrow and sufferinghave warped anddisguised latent good, in substituting aword of gentle tolerance for some cheaptinsel of shabby cynicism that pretends tobe wit. If we are not rich enough to givecold, hard cash, let us at least be toorich to give cold, hard'' words. Let usleave our air-castles of vague self-adula-ion

for so wisely spending millions wehave never seen, and rise to the dignityof living up to the full proportion of our

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ptoplt tDl^o Utt in att Cajsstlesipossessions,no matter how slight theymay be. Let us fill the world around uswith love, brightness,sweetness, gentle-ess,

helpfulness,courage and sympathy,as if they were the only legal tender andwe were

Monte Cristos with untold treas-resof such gold ever at our call.

.CLet us cease saying: If I were, andsay ever : ** I am.'* Let us stop living in thesubjunctive mood, and begin to live in theindicative.CThe one great defence of humanityagainst the charge of unfulfilled duties is**lack of time. The constant clamoringfor time would be pathetic,were it not forthe fact that most individuals throw awaymore of it than they use. Time is the onlyreallyvaluable possession of man, for with-ut

it every power within him wouldcease to exist. Yet he recklesslysquandershis great treasure as if it were valueless.The wealth of the whole world could notbuy one second of time. Yet Society assas-

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sins dare to say in public that they havebeen killing time/' The time fallacy hasput more people into air-castles than allother causes combined. Life is only time;eternity is only more time ; immortality ismerely man's right to live through un-nding

time.C If I had a library I would read/' is theweak plaint of some other tenant of an air-castle. If a man does not read the two orthree good books in his possession or acces-ible

to him he would not read if he hadthe British Museum brought to his bed-ide,

and the British Army delegated tocontinual service in handing him booksfrom the shelves. The time sacrificed toreading sensational newspapers might beconsecrated to good reading, if the in-ividual

were willing merely to live up tohis portion of opportunity.C The man who longs for some crisis inlife, wherein he may show mighty cour-ge,

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I^eople t0]^o Utit in 9iit amt^that courage in bearing bravely the pettytrials, sorrows and disappointments ofdaily life,is living in an air-castle. He isjust a sparrow looking enviously at themountain crags where the hardy eaglebuilds her nest, and dreaming of being agreat bird like that, perhaps even daringin a patronizing way, to criticise hermethod of flightand to plume himselfwith the medals he could win for flyingif he only would. It is the day-by-dayheroism that vitalizes all of a man's powerin an emergency, that gives him confi-ence

that when need comes he will andmust be ready.C The air-castle typifiesany delusion orfolly that makes man forsake real livingfor an idle, vague existence. Living inair-castles means that a man sees life in awrong perspective. He permits his lowerself to dominate his higher self; hewho should tower as a mighty conquerorover the human weakness, sin and folly

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ptoplt tDl^o Ui t in ^iv Casitlesithat threaten to destroy his better nature,binds upon his own wrists the manaclesof habit that hold him a slave. He losesthe crown of his kingship because he sellshis royal birthright for temporary easeand comfort and the showy things of theworld, sacrificing so much that is best inhim for mere wealth, success, position,or the plaudits of the world. He forsakesthe throne of individuality for the air-castle of delusion.CThe man who wraps himself in theNapoleonic cloak of his egotism, hyp-otizi

himself into believing that he issuperior to all other men, that the opera-glassesof the universe are focused uponhim and that he treads the stage alone,had better wake up. He is living in anair-castle. He who, like Narcissus, falls inlove with his own reflection and thinkshe has a monopoly of the great work ofthe world, whose conceit rises from himlike the smoke from the magic bottle of

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I^ople tDl^o Lite in Qiiv Cajstlejsshould hold dear

for the sake of a mere

stack of money-bags, is,despitehis robesof ermine, only a rich pauper living in anair-castle.CThe man of ultra-conservatism, thevictim of false content, who has no plans,no ideals, no aspirations beyond the dullround of daily duties in which he moveslike a gold-fish in a globe, is often vainenough to boast of his lack of progres-siveness,in cheap shop-worn phrases fromthose whom he permits to do his think-ng

for him. He does not realize thatfaithfulness to duties, in its highest sense,means the constant aiming at the per-ormance

of higher duties, living up, sofar as can be, to the maximum of one'spossibilities, not resignedly ploddingalong at the minimum. A piece of ma-hinerywill do this, but real men everseek to rise to higher uses. Such a man isliving in an air-castle.C With patronizing contempt he scorns

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ptoplt tDl^o lite in 9iiv Cajttiejsthe man of earnest, thoughtful purpose,who sees his goal far before him but iswilling to pay any honest price to attainit; content to work day by day unceas-ngly,

through storm and stress, and sun-hineand shadow, with sublime confi-encethat nature is storing up every

stroke of his effort,that, though timesoften seem dark and progress but slight,results must come if he have but courageto fight bravely to the end. This mandoes not live in an air-castle ; he is butbattling with destiny for the possessionof his heritage, and is strengthened incharacter by his struggle, even though allthat he desires may not be fullyawardedhim.C The man who permits regret for pastmisdeeds, or sorrow for lost opportuni-ies

to keep him from recreating a proudfuture from the new days committed tohis care, is losing much of the glory ofliving. He is repudiating the manna of

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new life given each new day, merely be-ausehe misused the manna of years ago.

He is doubly unwise, because he has thewisdom of his past experience and doesnot profitby it,merely because of a tech-icality

of useless, morbid regret. He isliving in an air-castle.C The man who spends his time lament-ng

the fortune he once had, or the famethat has taken its winged flight into ob-ivion,

frittering away his golden hourserecting new monuments in the cemeteryof his past achievements and his formergreatness, making what he ever was everplead apology for what he is, lives in anair-castle. To the world and to the indi-idual

a single egg of new hope and de-erminatwith its wondrous potency

of new life, is greater than a thousandnests full of the eggs of dead dreams, orunrealized ambitions.C Whatever keeps a man from living hisbest, truest and highest life now, in the

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indicative present, if it be something thathe himself places as an obstacle in his ownpath of progress and development, is tohim an air-castle.fL Some men live in the air-castle of in-olence

; others in the air-castle of dissi-ation,of pride, of avarice, of deception,

of bigotry, of worry, of intemperance, ofinjustice, of intolerance, of procrastina-ion,

of lying, of selfishness, or of someother mental or moral characteristic thatwithdraws them from the real duties andprivileges of living.C Let us find out what is the air-castle inwhich we, individually, spend most of ourtime and we can then begin a recreationof ourselves. The bondage of the air-cas-le

must be fought nobly and untiringly.fL As man spends his hours and his daysand his weeks in an air-castle, he findsthat the delicate gossamer-like strandsand lines of the phantom structure grad-ally

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ptoplt tDl^o lite in 9iiv Casstlesibegin to grow firm and firmer, strength-ening with the years, until at last, solidwalls hem him in. Then he is startled bythe awful realization that habit and hab-itancy have transformed his air-castle intoa prison from which escape is difficult.fL And then he learns that the most de-eptive

and dangerous of all things is,the air-castle.

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^ttN)t2i0 and ^cal)l)at2)0


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the scabbard. The scabbard may be takenfrom us; the sword, never.fL The world spends too much time,money and energy on the scabbard oflife; too little on the sword. The scabbardrepresents outside show, vanity and dis-lay;

the sword, intrinsic worth. Thescabbard is ever the semblance ; the swordthe reality. The scabbard is the temporal;the sword is the eternal. The scabbard isthe body ; the sword is the soul. The scab-ard

typifiesthe material side of life ; thesword the true, the spiritual,the ideal.C The man who does not dare follow hisown convictions, but who lives in terrorof what society will say, falling prostratebefore the golden calf of public opinion,is living an empty life of mere show. Heis sacrificing his individuality, his divineright to live his life in harmony with hisown high ideals, to a cowardly, toadyingfear of the world. He is not a voice, withthe strong note of individual purpose ; he

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is but the thin echo of the voice of thou-ands.He is not brightening, sharpening

and using the sword of his life in truewarfare ; he is lazily ornamenting a use-ess

scabbard with the hieroglyphics ofhis folly.C The man who lives beyond his means,who mortgages his future for his present,who is generous before he is just, who issacrificing everything to keep up withthe procession of his superiors, is reallylosing much of life. He, too, is decoratingthe scabbard, and letting the sword rust inits sheath.L Life is not a competition with others.In its truest sense it is rivalry with our-elves.

We should each day seek to breakthe record of our yesterday. We shouldseek each day to live stronger, better, truerlives ; each day to master some weaknessof yesterday ; each day to repair past fol-ies;

each day to surpass ourselves. Andthis is but progress. And individual, con-

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scious progress, progress unending andunlimited, is the one great thing that dif-erentia

man from all the other ani-als.Then we will care naught for the

pretty, useless decorations of society *s ap-rovalon the scabbard. For us it will be

enough to know that the blade of ourpurpose is kept ever keen and sharp forthe defense of right and truth, never towrong the rights of others, but ever toright the wrongs of ourselves and thosearound us.C Reputation is what the world thinksa man is; character is what he really is.Anyone can play shuttlecock with a man*sreputation ; his character is his alone. Noone can injure his character but he him-elf.

Character is the sword; reputationis the scabbard. Many men acquire in-omnia

in standing guard over their repu-ation,while their character gives them

no concern. Often they make new dentsin their character in their attempt to cut a

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deep, deceptive filigreeon the scabbard oftheir reputation. Reputation is the shella man discards when he leaves life forimmortality. His character he takes withhim.C The woman who spends thousands incharitable donations, and is hard and un-haritable

in her judgments, sentimen-allysympathetic with human sin and

weakness in the abstract, while she arro-atesto herself omniscience in her harsh

condemnation of individual lapses, ischaritable only on the outside. She is let-ingher tongue undo the good work of

her hand. She is too enthusiastic in deco-atingthe scabbard of publicity to think

of the sword of real love of humanity.CHe who carries avarice to the pointof becoming a miser, hoarding gold thatis made useless to him because it does notfulfill its one function, circulation, andregarding the necessities of life as luxu-ies,

is one of Nature*s jests, that would[6s]


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^tDovHjS and ^cal)I)avtis(be humorous were it not so serious. Heis the most difficult animal to classifyinthe whole natural history of humanity he has so many of the virtues. He is astriking example of ambition, economy,frugality, persistence, will-power, self-denial, loyalty to purpose and generosityto his heirs. These noble qualities hespoils in the application. His specialtyisthe scabbard of life. He spends his daysin making a solid gold scabbard for thetin sword of a wasted existence.L The shoddy airs and ostentations, ex-ravagance,

and prodigality of some whohave suddenly become rich, is goldplat-ing the scabbard without improving theblade. The superficial veneer of refine-ent

reallyaccentuates the native vulgar-ty.The more you polish woodwork, the

more you reveal the grain. Some of thesudden legatees of fortune have the wis-om

to acquire the reality of refinementthrough careful training. This is the true

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method of putting the sword itself in or-erinstead of begemming the scabbard.

C The girl who marries merely formoney or for a title, is a feminine Esauof the beginning of the century. She isselling her birthright of love for the pot-age

of an empty name, forfeiting thepossibility of a life of love, all that truewomanhood should hold most dear, for amere bag of gold or a crown. She is deco-ating

the scabbard with a crest and her-ldic

designs, and with ornaments of puregold set with jewels. She feels that thiswill be enough for life,and that she doesnot need love, real love, that has madethis world a paradise, despite all the otherpeople present. She does not realize thatthere is but one real reason, but one justi-ication

for marriage, and that is, love;all the other motives are not reasons, theyare only excuses. The phrase, marryinga man for his money, as the world bluntlyputs it,is incorrect the woman merely

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^tDotD0 anD ^cabbarD0marries the money, and takes the manas an incumbrance or mortgage on theproperty.C The man who procrastinates,fillingisears with the lovelysong of to-morrow,is following the easiest and most restfulmethod of shortening the possibilitiesflife. Procrastination is stiflingaction bydelay, it is killing decision by inactivity,it is drifting on the river of time, insteadof rowing bravely toward a desired harbor.It is watching the sands in the hour-glassrun down before beginning any new work,then reversing the glassand repeating theobservation. The follyof man in thus de-aying

is apparent, when any second hislife may stop, and the sands of that singlehour may run their course, and he willnot be there to see.C Delay is the narcotic that paralyzes en-rgy.

When Alexander was asked how heconquered the world, he said: By notdelaying. Let us not put off till to-mor-

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bravely the prosperity of another, it hasmental dyspepsia because someone else isfeasting, it makes its owner's clothes turninto rags at sight of another's velvet.Envy is the malicious contemplation ofthe beauty, honors, success, happiness, ortriumph of another. It is the mud thatinferiority throws at success. Envy is thegangrene of unsatisfied ambition, it eatsaway purpose and kills energy. It is ego-ism

gone to seed; it always finds thesecret of its non-success in somethingoutside itself.L Envy is the scabbard, but emulation isthe sword. Emulation regards the successof another as an object lesson; it seeks inthe triumph of another the why, the rea-on,

the inspiration of method. It seeks toattain the same heights by the path it thusdiscovers, not to hurl down from his emi-ence

him who points out the way of at-ainment.Let us keep the sword of emu-ation

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the battle of honest effort, not idly dullingand rusting in the scabbard of envy.^ The supreme folly of the world, thesaddest depths to which the human mindcan sink, is atheism. He surely is to bepitied who permits the illogical philoso-hy

of petty infidels, or his misinterpre-ationsof the revelations of science, to

cheat him of his God. He pins his faithto some ingenious sophistry in the rea-oning

of those whose books he has readto sum up for him the whole problem,and in hopeless egotism shuts his eyes tothe million proofs in nature and life, be-ause

the full plans of Omnipotence arenot made clear to him.^ On the technicality of his failure tounderstand some one point perhaps itis why sin, sorrow, suffering and injusticeexist in the world

he declares he will

not believe. He might as well disbelievein the sky above him because he cannotsee it all ; discredit the air he breathes

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^tDotDjS atiD ^cal)l)arD0because it is invisible ; doubt the realityof the ocean because his feeble vision cantake in but a few miles of the great sea ;deny even life itself because he cannot seeit,and no anatomist has found the subtleessence to hold it up to view on the endof his scalpel.C He dares to disbelieve in God despiteHis countless manifestations, because heis not taken into the full confidence ofthe Creator and permitted to look overand check ofFthe ground-plans of the uni-erse.

He sheathes the sword of belief inthe dingy scabbard of infidelity.e doesnot see the proof of God in the daily mir-cle

of the rising and setting of the sun,in the seasons, in the birds, in the flowers,in the countless stars, moving in theirmajestic regularity at the command ofeternal law, in the presence of love, jus-ice,

truth in the hearts of men, in thatsupreme confidence that is inborn in hu-anity,

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worship the Infinite in some form. It isthe petty vanity of cheap reasoning thatmakes man permit the misfit scabbard ofinfidelity to hide from him the glory ofthe sword of belief.C The philosophy of swords and scab-ards

is as true of nations as of individuals.When France committed the great crimeof the nineteenth century, by condemn-ng

Dreyfus to infamy and isolation, deaf-ningher ears to the cries of justice, and

seeking to cover her shame with greatershame, she sheathed the sword of a na-ion'shonor in the scabbard of a nation's

crime. The breaking of the sword ofDreyfus when he was cruelly degradedbefore the army, typified the degrada-ion

of the French nation in breakingthe sword of justice and preserving care-ully

the empty scabbard with its ironicinscription, Vive la justice.4[^ The scabbard is ever useless in the hourof emergency ; then it is upon the sword

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itself that we must rely. Then the worth-lessness of show, sham, pretence, gildedweakness is revealed to us. Then the triv-alities

of life are seen in their true form.The nothingness of everything but thereal, the tried, the true, is made luminantin an instant. Then we know whetherour living has been one of true prepara-ion,

of keeping the sword clean, pure,sharp and ready, or one of mere idle,meaningless, day-by-day markings offolly on the empty scabbard of a wastedlife.

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Cl^e Conquesit of ti^eptttittttMt


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Cl^e Conquest of tl^et^retentabledivine statute-books of life. When a manpermits a torchlightprocession to paradethrough a powder magazine, it is notcourteous for him to refer to the subse-uent

explosion as one of the mysteri-usworkings of Providence/'C Nine tenths of the world's sorrow, mis-ortune

and unhappiness is preventable.The dailynewspapers are the great chron-clers

of the dominance of the unneces-ary.Paragraph after paragraph, column

after column, and page after page of thedark story accidents, disasters, crime,scandal, human weakness and sin mightbe checked off with the word prevent-ble.

In each instance were our infor-ationfull enough, our analysis keen

enough, we could trace each back to itscause, to the weakness or the wrong fromwhich it emanated. Sometimes it is care-essness,

inattention, neglect of duty,avarice, anger, jealousy, dissipation, be-rayal

of trust, selfishness,hypocrisy, re-[78]


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Cl^e Conquejtt of tl^et^retentablevenge, dishonesty, any of a hundredphases of the preventable.C That which can be prevented, shouldbe prevented. It all rests with the indi-idual.

The preventable exists in threedegrees: First, that which is due to theindividual solely and directly ; second,that which he suffers through the wrong-oing

of those around him, other indi-iduals;third, those instances wherein he

is the unnecessary victim of the wrongsof society, the innocent legatee of thefollyof humanity and societyis but themassing of thousands of individuals withthe heritage of manners, customs and lawsthey have received from the past.L We sometimes feel heart-sick andweary in facing failure, when the fortunethat seemed almost in our fingers slipsaway because of the envy, malice ortreachery of some one else. We bow underthe weight of a sorrow that makes all lifegrow dark and the star of hope fade from

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d^e Conquestt of tl^et^retentableour vision ; or we meet some unnecessarymisfortune with a dumb, helplessdespair.It is all wrong, we say, it is cruel, itis unjust. Why is it permitted?*' And, inthe very intensity of our feeling,we half-unconsciously repeat the words over andover again, in monotonous iteration, as ifin some way the very repetition mightbring relief, might somehow soothe us.Yet, in most instances, it could be pre-ented.

No sufferingis caused in the worldby right. Whatever sorrow there is thatis preventable, comes from inharmony orwrong of some kind.^ In the divine economy of the universemost of the evil, pain and suffering areunnecessary, even when overruled forgood, and perhaps, if our knowledge wereperfect,it would be seen that none is nec-ssary,that all is preventable. The fault ismine, or yours, or the fault of the world.It is always individual. The world itselfis but the cohesive united force of the

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Cl^e CoHQuejSt of tl^e)^rei)entablethoughts, words and deeds of millionswho have lived or who are living, likeyou and me. By individuals has the greatwrong that causes our preventable sorrowbeen built up, by individuals must it beweakened and transformed to right.Andin this,too, it is to a great degree our fault ;we care so little about rousing public sen-iment,

of lashing it into activityunless itconcerns us individually.C The old Greek fableof Atlas, the Afri-an

king, who supported the world on hisshoulders, has a modern application.Theindividual is the Atlas upon whom thefate of the world rests to-day. Let eachindividual do his best, and the result isforeordained; it is but a matter of the un-onquerable

massing of the units. Leteach individual bear his part as faithfullyas though all the responsibilityrested onhim, yet as calmly, as gently and as un-worried as though all the responsibilityrested on others.

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Ci^e ConQuestt of tl^epttiumtabltC Most accidents are preventable as atBalaclava, someone hasblundered/' Oneof the great disasters of the nineteenthcentury was the Johnstown flood, wherethe bursting of a dam caused the loss ofmore

than six thousand lives. The floodwas not a mere accident, it was a crime.A leaking dam, for more than a yearknown to be unsafe, known to be unableto withstand any increased pressure, stoodat the head of the valley. Below it lay achain of villagescontaining over forty-fivethousand persons in the direct line of theflood. When the heavy rains came dieweakened dam gave way. Had there beenone individual, one member of the SouthFork Fishing Club brave enough to havedone merely his duty, one member withthe courage to so move his fellows and tostir up public action to make the barriersafe, over six thousand murders couldhave been prevented.CWhen a tired engineer, sleepy from

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Cl^e Conqueitt of ti^epvthtntahltoverwork, can no longer cheat nature ofher needed rest, and, drowsing for a mo-ent

in his cab, fails to see the red signallight of danger, or to heed the explod-ng

of the warning torpedo, the wreckthat follows is not chargeable to the Al-ighty.It is but an awfiil memorial ofa railroad corporation's struggle to save-two dollars. One ounce of prevention isworth six pounds of coroner's inquest.It is a crime to balance the safety andsacredness of human life in the scales withthe petty saving that comes from trans-orming

a man into a mechanism and for-ettinghe has either a soul or a body.

True, just and wise labor laws are part ofsociety'sweapon for fightingthe prevent-ble.

L When a terrible fire makes a citydeso-ateand a nation mourn, the investigationthat follows usually shows that a littlehuman foresight could have prevented it,or at least, lessened the horror of it all.

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Cl^eConqueist of fl^eptt\ tntabltevery precautionhat human wisdom cansuggestto preventit.When a man with apistoln hisrighthand,clumsilyoveredwith a suspicious-lookingandkerchief,moved alongin a line of people,nd pre-entinghislefthand to President McKin-ley,ressedisweapon to the breastof theChief Executive of the American people,some one of the secret service men, paidbythe nation to guardtheirruler,houldhave watched so zealouslyhatthe tragedywould have been impossible.wo Presi-ents

had alreadyeen sacrificed,uttwenty years

of immunityhad broughtdreamysense of securityhat lessened thevigilance.e should emulate the exam-le

of the insurance companieswho de-linecertain risks that are extra haz-rdous.*'

C Povertyas no necessary placein life.It is a disease that resultsfrom the weak-ess,sin,and selfishnessof humanity.a-ureis boundless in her generosity;he

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Ci^e Conqueitt of ti^e)^ret)ental)leworld produces sufficient to give food,clothing, and comfort to every individual.Poverty is preventable. Poverty may re-ult

from theshiftlessness,idleness, intem-erance,improvidence, lack of purpose or

evil-doing of the individual himself.tL If the causes do not exist in the individ-al,they may be found in the second class,

in the wrong-doing of those around him,in the oppression of labor by capital,inthe grinding process by which corpora-ions

seek to crush the individual. The in-ividuamay be the victim of any of a

thousand phases of the wrong of others.The poverty caused by the third class,theweakness and injusticeof human laws andhuman institutions, isalso preventable, butto reach the cause requires time and unitedheroic effort of all individuals.tL In the battle against poverty, thosewriters who seek to inflame the pooragainst the rich, to foment discontent be-ween

labor and capital,do grievous wrong[87]


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Ci^eConqueitt of ti^eptthmtahltto both. What the world needs isto havethe two broughtcloser togethern thebonds of human brotherhood. The poorshould learn more of the cares, responsi-ilities,

unrecorded charities,nd absorb-ngworries of the rich;the rich should

learn more intimatelyhe sorrows, priva-ions,struggles,nd despairf poverty.

C The world islearninghe great truth,that the best way to prevent crime is tostudythe sociologiconditions in whichit flourishes,o seek to giveeach man abetter chance of livingis real lifeby re-oving,

ifpossible,he elements thatmakewrong easy,and to him, almost necessary,and byinspiringim to fightife'sbattlebravelyith all the helpothers can givehim. Science iscooperatingith religionin strivingo conquer the evil at the rootinstead of the evilmanifest as crime in thefruitof the branches. It isso much wiserto preventthan to cure; to keepsome onefrom beingburned isso much better than

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Cl^e Conquest of tl^e^ttmtabUThethoughtlessspeech, revealing our lackof tact and sympathy, cannot be recalledand made nothing by the plea, I didn'tthink/' To sensitive souls this is no justifi-ation

; they feel that our hearts should beso filled with the instinct of love that ourlipswould need no tutor or guardian.4L Our unfulfilled duty may bring unhap-piness and misery to hundreds. The dress-aker's

bill that a rich woman may tosslightlyaside, as being an affair of no mo-ent,

to be settled at her serene pleasure,may bring sorrow, privation or even fail-re

to her debtor, and through her to along chain of others. The result,if seen inall its stern reality,seems out of all pro-ortion

to the cause. There are places inthe Alps, where great masses of snow areso lightlypoised that even the report of agun might start a vibration that woulddislodge an avalanche, and send it on itsdeath-mission into the valley.4L The individual who would live his life

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Clê ConquejSt of tlêpttttntabltto the best that is within him must makeeach moment one of influence for good.He must set before him as one of his ideals,to be progressivelyrealized in each day ofhis living : If I cannot accomplish greatdeeds in the world, I will do all the goodI can by the faithful performance of theduties that come to my hand and beingever ready for all opportunities. And Iwill consecrate myself to the conquest ofthe preventable.*'4L Let the individual say each day, as herises new-created to face a new life : To-ay

no one in the world shall suffêr becauseI live. I will be kind, considerate, carefulin thought and speech and act. I will seekto discover the element that weakens meas a power in the world, and that keeps mefrom living up to the fullness of my possi-ility.That weakness I will master to-day.I will conquer it,at any cost.4L When any failure or sorrow comes tothe individual, he should be glad if he can

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Cl^e Conqueitt of tl^eptt\ tntabltprove to himself that it was his fault, for then he has the remedy in his ownhands. Lying, intrigue,jealousy are neverremedies that can prevent an evil. Theypostpone it,merely to augment it. Theyare mecely deferring payment of a debtwhich has to be met later, with com-ound

interest. It is like trying to put outa fire by pouring kerosene on the flames.4L Jealousy in the beginning is but athought, in the end it may mean thegallows. Selfishness often assumes seem-ngly

harmless guises,yet it is the founda-ionof the world's unhappiness. Disloy-ltymay seem to be a rare quality, but

society is saturated with it. Judas acquiredhis reputation because of his proficiencyin it. Sympathy which should be the at-osphere

of every individual life is as rareas human charity.The world is sufferingfrom an over-supply of unnecessary evils,created by man.They shouldbe made lux-ries,

then man could dispense with them.[92]


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Ci^e CompantotfjSl^i)) of CoUtance


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Ciie Contpantoufiiiitp ofColerance

INTOLERANCE is part of theI Iunnecessary friction of life. Itj|^ I is prejudice on the war-path..-M J Intolerance acknowledges on-y

one side of any question, its own. Itis the assumption of a monopoly in think-ng,

the attitude of the man who believeshe has a corner on wisdom and truth, insome phase of life.C Tolerance is a calm, generous respectfor the opinions of others, even of one'senemies. It recognizes the right of everyman to think his own thoughts, to livehis own life, to be himself in all things,so long as he does not run counter tothe rights of others. It means giving toothers the same freedom that we our-elves

crave. Tolerance is silent justice,blended with sympathy. If he who is tol-rant

desires to show to others the truth[97]


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Cl^e (mpanUm^ip of Colemnceas he sees it,he seeks with gentleness anddeference to point out the way in whichhe has found peace, and certainty, andrest ; he tries to raise them to the recog-ition

of higher ideals, as he has foundthem inspiring ; he endeavors in a spiritof love and comradeship with humanityto lead others rather than to drive them,to persuade and convince rather than tooverawe and eclipse.C Tolerance does not use the battering-ram of argument or the club of sarcasm,or the rapier of ridicule, in discussing theweakness or wrongs of individuals. It maylash or scourge the evil of an age, but it iskind and tender with the individual ; itmay flaythe sin, but not the sinner. Toler-nce

makes the individual regard truth ashigher than personal opinion ; it teacheshim to live with the windows of his lifeopen towards the east to catch the firstrays of the sunlight of truth no matterfrom whom it comes, and to realize that

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Cl^e Companionjs^fl) of Colet:ancethe faith that heso harshly condemns mayhave the truth he desires if he would onlylook into it and test it before he repudiatesit so cavalierly.C This world of ours is growing better,more tolerant and liberal. The days whena difference in politicalopinions was solvedand cured by the axe and the block; whena man's courage to stand by his religionmeant facing the horrors of the Inquisi-ion

or the cruelty of the stake, whendaring to think their own thoughts onquestions of science brought noble mento a palletof straw and a dungeon cell,these days have, happily, passed away. In-oleran

and its twin brother. Ignorance,weaken and die when the pure white lightof wisdom is thrown upon them. Knowl-dge

is the death-knell of intolerance

not mere book-learning, nor education inschools or colleges,nor accumulation ofmere statistics,nor shreds of information,but the large sympathetic study of the

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Ci^e tmfpaniottfS^ip of Colemnce'1 III. I

lives^ manners, customs, aims, thoughts,struggles,progress, motives and ideals ofother ages, other nations, other individ-als.

C Tolerance unites men in the closerbonds of human brotherhood, brings themtogether in unity and sympathy in essen-ials

and gives them greater liberalityand freedom inn on-essentials. Napoleonwhen First Consul said, Let there be nomore Jacobins, nor Moderates, nor Roy-lists:

letallbe Frenchmen/' Sectionalismand sectarianism always mean concentra-ion

on the body of a part at the expenseof the soul of the whole. The religiousworld to-day needs more Christ and lesssects in its gospel. When Christ lived onearth Christianity was a unit; when hedied sects began.C There are in America to-day, hundredsof small towns, scattered over the face ofthe land, that are over-supplied withchurches. In many of these towns, just

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Cl^e CompanionjSl^fi) of Coletanceworld needs a great religioustrust whichwill unite the churches into a single bodyof faith, to precede and prepare the wayfor the greater religious trust, predictedin Holy Writ, the millennium.C We can ever be loyal to our own be-ief,faithful to our own cause, withoutcondemning those who give their fidelityin accord with their own conscience ordesires The great reformers of the world,men who are honestly and earnestlyseek-ng

to solve the great social problems andto provide means for meeting human sinand wrong, agreeing perfectly in theirestimate of the gravity and awfulness ofthe situation, often propose diametricallyopposite methods. They are regardingthe subject from different points of view,and it would be intolerance for us, whoare looking on, to condemn the men oneither side merely because we cannot ac-ept

their verdict as our own.C On the great national questions brought

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Cl^e Companionj^fl^ip of Coletancebefore statesmen for their decision, menequally able, equally sincere, just and un-elfish,

differ in their remedies. One, as asurgeon, suggests cutting away the offend-ng

matter, the use of the knife, thistypifiesthe sword, or war. Another, as adoctor, urges medicine that will absorband cure, this is the prescription of thediplomat. The third suggests waiting fordevelopments, leaving the case with timeand nature, this is the conservative.But all three classes agree as to the eviland the need of meeting it.CThe conflict of authorities on everygreat question to be settled by humanjudgment should make us tolerant of theopinion of others, though we may be asconfident of the rightnessof the judgmentwe have formed as if it were foreordainedfrom the day of the creation. But if wereceive any new light that makes us seeclearer, let us change at once without thatfoolish consistency of some natures that

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Cl^eCotnpanioitjSl^ipf Colemncecontinue to use last year'slmanac as aguideto thisyear'sclipses.olerance isever progressive.C Intolerance believes itisborn with thepeculiaralentfor managingthe affairsofothers,ithout any knowledgeof the de-ails,

better than the men themselves,hoare givingheir life'sthoughto the vitalquestions.ntolerance isthe voice of thePharisee stillcryingthroughthe ages andproclaimingis infallibility.C Let us not seek to fitthe whole worldwith shoes from our individual last.Ifwethink that allmusic ceased to be writtenwhen Wagner laid down the pen, let usnot condemn those who find enjoymentin lightopera. Perhapstheymay some-ime

rise to our heightsf artisticappre-iationand learn the proper parts to

applaud.f their lighterusic satisfiestheirsouls,sour Wagner doingmore forus ? It isnot fair to take from a child itsrag doll in order to raise it to the appre-

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Cl^e Companion0]^ip of Coleranceciation of the Venus de Milo. The ragdoll is its Venus ; it may require a longseries of increasingly better dolls to leadit to realize the beauties of the marblewoman of Melos.

C Intolerance makes its great mistakesin measuring the needs of others fromits own standpoint. Intolerance ignoresthe personal equation in life. What wouldbe an excellent book for a man of fortymight be worse than useless for a boy ofthirteen. The line of activity in life thatwe would choose as our highest dream ofbliss, as our Paradise, might, if forced onanother, be to him worse than the after-death fate of the wicked, according to theold-fashioned theologians. What wouldbe a very acceptable breakfast for a spar-ow

would be a very poor meal for anelephant.4L When we sit in solemn judgment ofthe acts and characters of those around usand condemn them with the

easy non-


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Cl^e Compantonisi^ip of Coletancechalance of our ignorance, yet with theassumption of omniscience we reveal ourintolerance. Tolerance ever leads us torecognize and respect the differences inthe natures of those who are near to us, tomake allowance for differences in train-ng,

in opportunities, in ideals, in motives,in tastes, in opinions, in temperamentsand in feelings.Intolerance seeks to liveother people's lives y^r them; sympathyhelps us to live their lives with them. Wemust accept humanity with all its weak-ess,

sin and folly and seek to make thebest of it,just as humanity must acceptus. We learn this lesson as we grow older,and, with the increase of our knowledgeof the world, we see how much happierlife would have been for us and for othersif we had been more tolerant, morecharitable, more generous.C No one in the world is absolutely per-ect

; if he were he would probably betranslated from earth to heaven, as was

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Cl^e ompanitm^ip of ColetanceElijah of old, without waiting for thesprouting of wings or the passport ofdeath. It is a hard lesson for youth tolearn, but we must realize, as the old col-ege

professor said to his class of students,bowed with the consciousness of theirwisdom : No one of us is infallible, no,not even the youngest/' Let us acceptthe little failingsof those around us as weaccept facts in nature, and make the bestof them, as we accept the hard shells ofnuts, the skin of fruits, the shadow thatalways accompanies light.These are notabsolute faults, they are often but indi-idual

peculiarities.ntolerance sees themote in its neighbor's eye as larger thanthe beam in its own.C Instead of concentrating our thoughton the one weak spot in a character, letus seek to find some good quality that off-ets

it,just as a credit may more than can-ela debt on a ledger account. Let us not

constantly speak of roses having thorns, let[107]


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Cl^e CompanfonjSl^ip of Colemnceus be thankful that the thorns have roses.In Nature there are both thorns andprickles; thorns are organic, they havetheir root deep in the fibre and the beingof the twig ; prickles are superficial,theyare lightlyheld in the cuticle or coveringof the twig. There are thorns in characterthat reveal an internal inharmony, thatcan be controlled only from within ; thereare also prickles,which are merely pecu-iarities

of temperament, that the eye oftolerance may overlook and the finger ofcharity can gently remove.CL The tenderness of tolerance will illu-inate

and glorifythe world, as moon-ightmakes all things beautiful, if we

only permit it. Measuring a man by hisweakness alone is unjust. This little frailtymay be but a small mortgage on a largeestate, and it is narrow and petty to judgeby the mortgage on a character. Let usconsider the equity,'*the excess of thereal value over the claim against it.

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Cl^e CompanioitjSl^ip of Coletancetraining that helps the child to help him-elf

in his own growth. Parents oftenforget their own youth ; they do notsympathize with their children in theirneed of pleasure, of dress, of companion-hip.

There should be a few absolutelyfirm rules on essentials, the basic princi-lesof living, with the largest possible

leeway for the varying manifestationsof individuality in unimportant phases.Confidence, sympathy, love and trustwould generate a spiritof tolerance andsweetness that would work marvels. In-oleran

converts live, natural childreninto prigs of counterfeit virtue and irri-tatingly good automatons of obedience.C Tolerance is a state of mutual conces-ions.

In the family life there should bethis constant reciprocity of independence,this mutual forbearance. It is the instinc-ive

recognition of the sacredness of in-ividuathe right of each to live his

own life as best he can. When we set our-[no]


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Cl^e Cotnpanion0]^fp of Coletanceselves up as dictators to tyrannize over thethoughts, words and actsof others, we aresacrificingthe kingly power of influencewith which we may help others, for thepetty triumph of tyranny which repelsand loses them.4L Perhaps one reason why the sons ofgreat and good men so often go astray is,that the earnestness, strength and virtue ofthe father,exacting strict obedience to theletter of the law, kills the appreciation ofthe spiritof it, breeding an intolerancethat forces submission under which thefire of protest and rebellion is smoulder-ng,

ready to burst into flame at the firstbreath of freedom. Between brother andsister,husbandand wife, parent and child,master and servant, the spirit of toler-nce,

of making allowances, trans-ormsa house of gloom and harshness

into a home of sweetness and love.C In the sacred relation of parent to childthere always comes a time when the boy

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Cl^e Compantoniefl^fp of Colerancebecomes a man, when she whom thefather still regards but as a little girl facesthe great problems of life as an individ-al.

The coming of years of discretionbrings a day when the parents must sur-ender

their powers of trusteeship,whenthe individual enters upon his heritageof freedom and responsibility.Parentshave still the right and privilegeof coun-el

and of helpful, loving insight theirchildren should respect. But in meetinga great question, when the son or daugh-er

stands before a problem that meanshappiness or misery for a lifetime, itmust be for him or for her to decide.Coercion, bribery, undue influence,threats of disinheritance, and the otherfamiliar weapons, are cruel, selfish, arro-ant

and unjust. A child is a human be-ng,free to make his own life,not a slave.There is

the power of truth

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