,,what ,,all ,,the ,,world',s ,a-,,seeking ,or1 ,the ,vital ,law of ,true ,life1 ,true ,greatness ,power and ,happiness by ,,ralph ,,waldo ,,trine ,new ,york ,dodge ,publishing ,company #bbj ,east ,twenty-,third ,street ,,preface4 ,there are two reasons the author has for putting forth this little volume3 he feels that the time is1 as it always has been1 ripe for it2 and second1 his soul has ever longed to express itself upon this endless theme4 ,it therefore comes from the heart--the basis of his belief that it will reach the heart4 ,r4,w4,t4 ,boston1 ,massachusetts ,,preface ,,to ,,revised ,,edition4 ,it is impossible for one in a single volume1 or perhaps in a number of volumes1 to reach the exact needs of every reader4 ,it is always a source of gratitude1 as well as of inspiration for better and more earnest work in the future1 for one to know that the truths that have been and that are so valuable and so vital to him he has succeeded in presenting in a manner such that they prove likewise of value to others4 ,the author is most grateful for the good1 kind words that have come so generously from so many hundreds of readers of this simple little volume from all parts of the world4 ,he is also grateful to that large company of people who have been so good as to put the book into the hands of so many others4 ,and as the days have passed1 he has not been unmindful of the fact that he might make it1 when the time came1 of still greater value to many4 ,in addition to a general revision of the book1 some four or five questions that seemed to be most frequently asked he has endeavored to point answer to in an added part of some thirty pages1 under the general title1 ,character-building ,thought ,power4 ,the volume enters therefore upon its fifteenth thousand better able1 possibly1 to come a little more directly in touch with the every-day needs of those who will be sufficiently interested to read it4 ,r4,w4,t4 ,sunnybrae ,farm ,croton-on-the-,hudson ,new ,york ,,contents4 ,,part ,i4 ,,the ,,principle ,,part ,,ii4 ,,the ,,application ,,part ,,iii4 ,,the ,,unfoldment ,,part ,,iv4 ,,the ,,awakening ,,part ,v4 ,,the ,,incoming ,,part ,,vi4 ,,character-,,building ,,thought ,,power ,,what ,,all ,,the ,,world',s ,a-,,seeking4 ,,part ,i4 ,,the ,,principle ,would you find that wonderful life supernal1 ,that life so abounding1 so rich1 and so free8 ,seek then the laws of the ,spirit ,eternal1 ,with them bring your life into harmony4 ,how can ,i make life yield its fullest and best8 ,how can ,i know the true secret of power8 ,how can ,i attain to a true and lasting greatness8 ,how can ,i fill the whole of life with a happiness1 a peace1 a joy1 a satisfaction that is ever rich and abiding1 that ever increases1 never diminishes1 that imparts to it a sparkle that never loses its lustre1 that ever fascinates1 never wearies8 ,no questions1 perhaps1 in this form or in that have been asked oftener than these4 ,millions in the past have asked them4 ,millions are asking them to-day4 ,they will be asked by millions yet unborn4 ,is there an answer1 a true and safe one for the millions who are eagerly and longingly seeking for it in all parts of the world to-day1 and for the millions yet unborn who will as eagerly strive to find it as the years come and go8 ,are you interested1 my dear reader1 in the answer8 ,the fact that you have read even thus far in this little volume whose title has led you to take it up1 indicates that you are1--that you are but one of the innumerable company already mentioned4 ,it is but another way of asking that great question that has come through all the ages--,what is the summum bonum in life8 and there have been countless numbers who gladly would have given all they possessed to have had the true and satisfactory answer4 ,can we then find this answer1 true and satisfactory to ourselves1 surely the brief time spent together must be counted as the most precious and valuable of life itself4 ,there is an answer3 follow closely1 and that our findings may be the more conclusive1 take issue with me at every step if you choose1 but tell me finally if it is not true and satisfactory4 ,there is one great1 one simple principle1 which1 if firmly laid hold of1 and if made the great central principle in one's life1 around which all others properly arrange and subordinate themselves1 will make that life a grand success1 truly great and genuinely happy1 loved and blessed by all in just the degree in which it is laid hold upon1--a principle which1 if universally made thus1 would wonderfully change this old world in which we live1--ay1 that would transform it almost in a night1 and it is for its coming that the world has long been waiting2 that in place of the gloom and despair in almost countless numbers of lives would bring light and hope and contentment1 and no longer would it be said as so truly to-day1 that man's inhumanity to man1 makes countless thousands mourn2 that would bring to the life of the fashionable society woman1 now spending her days and her nights in seeking for nothing but her own pleasure1 such a flood of true and genuine pleasure and happiness and satisfaction as would make the poor1 weak something she calls by this name so pale before it1 that she would quickly see that she hasn't known what true pleasure is1 and that what she has been mistaking for the real1 the genuine1 is but as a baser metal compared to the purest of gold1 as a bit of cut glass compared to the rarest of diamonds1 and that would make this same woman who scarcely deigns to notice the poor woman who washes her front steps1 but who1 were the facts known1 may be living a much grander life1 and consequently of much more value to the world than she herself1 see that this poor woman is after all her sister1 because child of the same ,father2 and that would make the humble life of this same poor woman beautiful and happy and sweet in its humility2 that would give us a nation of statesmen in place of1 with now and then an exception1 a nation of politicians1 each one bent upon his own personal aggrandizement at the expense of the general good2 that would go far1 ay1 very far toward solving our great and hard-pressing social problems with which we are already face to face2 that1 in short1 would make each man a prince among men1 and each woman a queen among women4 ,i have seen the supreme happiness in lives where this principle has been caught and laid hold of1 some1 lives that seemed not to have much in them before1 but which under its wonderful influences have been so transformed and so beautified1 that have been made so sweet and so strong1 so useful and so precious1 that each day seems to them all too short1 the same time that before1 when they could scarcely see what was in life to make it worth the living1 dragged wearily along4 ,so there are countless numbers of people in the world with lives that seem not to have much in them1 among the wealthy classes and among the poorer1 who might under the influence of this great1 this simple principle1 make them so precious1 so rich1 and so happy that time would seem only too short1 and they would wonder why they have been so long running on the wrong track1 for it is true that much the larger portion of the world to-day is on the wrong track in the pursuit of happiness2 but almost all are there1 let it be said1 not through choice1 but by reason of not knowing the right1 the true one4 ,the fact that really great1 true1 and happy lives have been lived in the past and are being lived to-day gives us our starting-point4 ,time and again ,i have examined such lives in a most careful endeavor to find what has made them so1 and have found that in each and every individual case this that we have now come to has been the great central principle upon which they have been built4 ,i have also found that in numbers of lives where it has not been1 but where almost every effort apart from it has been made to make them great1 true1 and happy1 they have not been so2 and also that no life built upon it in sufficient degree1 other things being equal1 has failed in being thus4 ,let us then to the answer1 examine it closely1 see if it will stand every test1 if it is the true one1 and if so1 rejoice that we have found it1 lay hold of it1 build upon it1 tell others of it4 ,the last four words have already entered us at the open door4 ,the idea has prevailed in the past1 and this idea has dominated the world1 that self is the great concern1--that if one would find success1 greatness1 happiness1 he must give all attention to self1 and to self alone4 ,this has been the great mistake1 this the fatal error1 this the direct opposite of the right1 the true as set forth in the great immutable law that--we find our own lives in losing them in the service of others1 in longer form--the more of our lives we give to others1 the fuller and the richer1 the greater and the grander1 the more beautiful and the more happy our own lives become4 ,it is as that great and sweet soul who when with us lived at ,concord said1--that generous giving or losing of your life which saves it4 ,this is an expression of one of the greatest truths1 of one of the greatest principles of practical ethics the world has thus far seen4 ,in a single word1 it is service1--not self but the other self4 ,we shall soon see1 however1 that our love1 our service1 our helpfulness to others1 invariably comes back to us1 intensified sometimes a hundred or a thousand or a thousand thousand fold1 and this by a great1 immutable law4 ,the ,master ,teacher1 he who so many years ago in that far-away ,eastern land1 now in the hill country1 now in the lake country1 as the people gathered round him1 taught them those great1 high-born1 and tender truths of human life and destiny1 the ,christ ,jesus1 said identically this when he said and so continually repeated1--,he that is greatest among you shall be your servant2 and his whole life was but an embodiment of this principle or truth1 with the result that the greatest name in the world to-day is his1--the name of him who as his life-work1 healed the sick2 clothed the naked2 bound up the broken-hearted2 sustained the weak1 the faltering2 befriended and aided the poor1 the needy2 condemned the proud1 the vain1 the selfish2 and through it all taught the people to love justice and mercy and service1 to live in their higher1 their diviner selves1--in brief1 to live his life1 the ,christ-life1 and who has helped in making it possible for this greatest principle of practical ethics the world has thus far seen to be enunciated1 to be laid hold of1 to be lived by to-day4 ,he that is greatest among you shall be your servant1 or1 he who would be truly great and recognized as such must find it in the capacity of a servant4 ,and what1 let us ask1 is a servant8 ,one who renders service4 ,to himself8 ,never4 ,to others8 ,alway4 ,freed of its associations and looked at in the light of its right and true meaning1 than the word servant there is no greater in the language2 and in this right use of the term1 as we shall soon see1 every life that has been really true1 great1 and happy has been that of a servant1 and apart from this no such life ever has been or ever can be lived4 ,o you who are seeking for power1 for place1 for happiness1 for contentment in the ordinary way1 tarry for a moment1 see that you are on the wrong track1 grasp this great eternal truth1 lay hold of it1 and you will see that your advance along this very line will be manifold times more rapid4 ,are you seeking1 then1 to make for yourself a name8 ,unless you grasp this mighty truth and make your life accordingly1 as the great clock of time ticks on and all things come to their proper level according to their merits1 as all invariably1 inevitably do1 you will indeed be somewhat surprised to find how low1 how very low your level is4 ,your name and your memory will be forgotten long ere the minute-hand has passed even a single time across the great dial2 while your fellow-man who has grasped this simple but this great and all-necessary truth1 and who accordingly is forgetting himself in the service of others1 who is making his life a part of a hundred or a thousand or a million lives1 thus illimitably intensifying or multiplying his own1 instead of living as you in what otherwise would be his own little1 diminutive self1 will find himself ascending higher and higher until he stands as one among the few1 and will find a peace1 a happiness1 a satisfaction so rich and so beautiful1 compared to which yours will be but a poor miserable something1 and whose name and memory when his life here is finished1 will live in the minds and hearts of his fellow-men and of mankind fixed and eternal as the stars4 ,a corollary of the great principle already enunciated might be formulated thus3 there is no such thing as finding true happiness by searching for it directly4 ,it must come1 if it come at all1 indirectly1 or by the service1 the love1 and the happiness we give to others4 ,so1 there is no such thing as finding true greatness by searching for it directly4 ,it always1 without a single exception has come indirectly in this same way1 and it is not at all probable that this great eternal law is going to be changed to suit any particular case or cases4 ,then recognize it1 put your life into harmony with it1 and reap the rewards of its observance1 or fail to recognize it and pay the penalty accordingly2 for the law itself will remain unchanged4 ,the men and women whose names we honor and celebrate are invariably those with lives founded primarily upon this great law4 ,note if you will1 every truly great life in the world's history1 among those living and among the so-called dead1 and tell me if in every case that life is not a life spent in the service of others1 either directly1 or indirectly as when we say--he served his country4 ,whenever one seeks for reputation1 for fame1 for honor1 for happiness directly and for his own sake1 then that which is true and genuine never comes1 at least to any degree worthy the name4 ,it may seem to for a time1 but a great law says that such an one gets so far and no farther4 ,sooner or later1 generally sooner1 there comes an end4 ,human nature seems to run in this way1 seems to be governed by a great paradoxical law which says1 that whenever a man self-centred1 thinking of1 living for and in himself1 is very desirous for place1 for preferment1 for honor1 the very fact of his being thus is of itself a sufficient indicator that he is too small to have them1 and mankind refuses to accord them4 ,while the one who forgets self1 and who1 losing sight of these things1 makes it his chief aim in life to help1 to aid1 and to serve others1 by this very fact makes it known that he is large enough1 is great enough to have them1 and his fellow-men instinctively bestow them upon him4 ,this is a great law which many would profit by to recognize4 ,that it is true is attested by the fact that the praise of mankind instinctively and universally goes out to a hero2 but who ever heard of a hero who became such by doing something for himself8 ,always something he has done for others4 ,by the fact that monuments and statues are gratefully erected to the memory of those who have helped and served their fellow-men1 not to those who have lived to themselves alone4 ,i have seen many monuments and statues erected to the memories of philanthropists1 but ,i never yet have seen one erected to a miser2 many to generous-hearted1 noble-hearted men1 but never yet to one whose whole life was that of a sharp bargain-driver1 and who clung with a sort of semi-idiotic grasp to all that came thus into his temporary possession4 ,i have seen many erected to statesmen1--statesmen1--but never one to mere politicians2 many to true orators1 but never to mere demagogues2 many to soldiers and leaders1 but never to men who were not willing1 when necessary1 to risk all in the service of their country4 ,no1 you will find that the world's monuments and statues have been erected and its praises and honors have gone out to those who were large and great enough to forget themselves in the service of others1 who have been servants1 true servants of mankind1 who have been true to the great law that we find our own lives in losing them in the service of others4 ,not honor for themselves1 but service for others4 ,but notice the strange1 wonderful1 beautiful transformation as it returns upon itself1--honor for themselves1 because of service to others4 ,it would be a matter of exceeding great interest to verify the truth of what has just been said by looking at a number of those who are regarded as the world's great sons and daughters1--those to whom its honors1 its praises1 its homage go out1--to see why it is1 upon what their lives have been founded that they have become so great and are so honored4 ,of all this glorious company that would come up1 we must be contented to look at but one or two4 ,there comes to my mind the name and figure of him the celebration of whose birthday ,i predict will soon be made a national holiday1--he than whom there is no greater1 whose praises are sung and whose name and memory are honored and blessed by millions in all parts of the world to-day1 and will be by millions yet unborn1 our beloved and sainted ,lincoln4 ,and then ,i ask1 ,why is this8 ,why is this8 ,one sentence of his tells us what to look to for the answer4 ,during that famous series of public debates in ,illinois with ,stephen ,a4 ,douglas in #aheh1 speaking at ,freeport1 ,mr4 ,douglas at one place said1 ,i care not whether slavery in the ,territories be voted up or whether it be voted down1 it makes not a particle of difference with me4 ,mr4 ,lincoln1 speaking from the fulness of his great and royal heart1 in reply said1 with emotion1 ,i am sorry to perceive that my friend ,judge ,douglas is so constituted that he does not feel the lash the least bit when it is laid upon another man's back4 ,thoughts upon self8 ,not for a moment4 ,upon others8 ,always4 ,he at once recognized in those black men four million brothers for whom he had a service to perform4 ,it would seem almost grotesque to use the word self-ish in connection with this great name4 ,he very early1 and when still in a very humble and lowly station in life1 either consciously or unconsciously grasped this great truth1 and in making the great underlying principle of his life to serve1 to help his fellow-men1 he adopted just that course that has made him one of the greatest of the sons of men1 our royal-hearted elder brother4 ,he never spent time in asking what he could do to attain to greatness1 to popularity1 to power1 what to perpetuate his name and memory4 ,he simply asked how he could help1 how he could be of service to his fellow-men1 and continually did all his hands found to do4 ,he simply put his life into harmony with this great principle2 and in so doing he adopted the best means1--the only means to secure that which countless numbers seek and strive for directly1 and every time so woefully fail in finding4 ,there comes to my mind in this same connection another princely soul1 one who loved all the world1 one whom all the world loves and delights to honor4 ,there comes to mind also a little incident that will furnish an insight into the reason of it all4 ,on an afternoon not long ago1 ,mrs4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher was telling me of some of the characteristics of ,brooklyn's great preacher4 ,while she was yet speaking of some of those along the very lines we are considering1 an old gentleman1 a neighbor1 came into the room bearing in his hands something he had brought from ,mr4 ,beecher's grave4 ,it was the day next following ,decoration ,day4 ,his story was this3 ,as the great procession was moving into the cemetery with its bands of rich music1 with its carriages laden with sweet and fragrant flowers1 with its waving flags1 beautiful in the sunlight1 a poor and humble-looking woman with two companions1 by her apparent nervousness attracted the attention of the gate-keeper4 ,he kept her in view for a little while1 and presently saw her as she gave something she had partially concealed to one of her companions1 who1 leaving the procession1 went over to the grave of ,mr4 ,beecher1 and tenderly laid it there4 ,reverently she stood for a moment or two1 and then1 retracing her steps1 joined her two companions1 who with bowed heads were waiting by the wayside4 ,it was this that the old gentleman had brought1--a gold frame1 and in it a poem cut from a volume1 a singularly beautiful poem through which was breathed the spirit of love and service and self-devotion to the good and the needs of others4 ,at one or two places where it fitted1 the pen had been drawn across a word and ,mr4 ,beecher's name inserted1 which served to give it a still more real1 vivid1 and tender meaning4 ,at the bottom this only was written1 ,from a poor ,hebrew woman to the immortal friend of the ,hebrews4 ,there was no name1 but this was sufficient to tell the whole story4 ,some poor1 humble woman1 but one out of a mighty number whom he had at some time befriended or helped or cheered1 whose burden he had helped to carry1 and soon perhaps had forgotten all about it4 ,when we remember that this was his life1 is it at all necessary to seek farther why all the world delights to honor this1 another royal-hearted elder brother8 and1 as we think of this simple1 beautiful1 and touching incident1 how true and living becomes the thought in the old1 old lines6-- ,cast thy bread upon the waters1 waft it on with praying breath1 ,in some distant1 doubtful moment it may save a soul from death4 ,when you sleep in solemn silence1 'neath the morn and evening dew1 ,stranger hands which you have strengthened may strew lilies over you4 ,our good friend1 ,henry ,drummond1 in one of his most beautiful and valuable little works says--and how admirably and how truly6--that love is the greatest thing in the world4 ,have you this greatest thing8 ,yes4 ,how1 then1 does it manifest itself8 ,in kindliness1 in helpfulness1 in service1 to those around you8 ,if so1 well and good1 you have it4 ,if not1 then ,i suspect that what you have been calling love is something else2 and you have indeed been greatly fooled4 ,in fact1 ,i am sure it is2 for if it does not manifest itself in this way1 it cannot be true love1 for this is the one grand and never-failing test4 ,love is the statics1 helpfulness and service the dynamics1 the former necessary to the latter1 but the latter the more powerful1 as action is always more powerful than potentiality2 and1 were it not for the dynamics1 the statics might as well not be4 ,helpfulness1 kindliness1 service1 is but the expression of love4 ,it is love in action2 and unless love thus manifests itself in action1 it is an indication that it is of that weak and sickly nature that needs exercise1 growth1 and development1 that it may grow and become strong1 healthy1 vigorous1 and true1 instead of remaining a little1 weak1 indefinite1 sentimental something or nothing4 ,it was but yesterday that ,i heard one of the world's greatest thinkers and speakers1 one of our keenest observers of human affairs1 state as his opinion that selfishness is the root of all evil4 ,now1 if it is possible for any one thing to be the root of all evil1 then ,i think there is a world of truth in the statement4 ,but1 leaving out of account for the present purpose whether it is true or not1 it certainly is true that he who can't get beyond self robs his life of its chief charms1 and more1 defeats the very ends he has in view4 ,it is a well-known law in the natural world about us that whatever hasn't use1 that whatever serves no purpose1 shrivels up4 ,so it is a law of our own being that he who makes himself of no use1 of no service to the great body of mankind1 who is concerned only with his own small self1 finds that self1 small as it is1 growing smaller and smaller1 and those finer and better and grander qualities of his nature1 those that give the chief charm and happiness to life1 shrivelling up4 ,such an one lives1 keeps constant company with his own diminutive and stunted self2 while he who1 forgetting self1 makes the object of his life service1 helpfulness1 and kindliness to others1 finds his whole nature growing and expanding1 himself becoming large-hearted1 magnanimous1 kind1 loving1 sympathetic1 joyous1 and happy1 his life becoming rich and beautiful4 ,for instead of his own little life alone he has entered into and has part in a hundred1 a thousand1 ay1 in countless numbers of other lives2 and every success1 every joy1 every happiness coming to each of these comes as such to him1 for he has a part in each and all4 ,and thus it is that one becomes a prince among men1 a queen among women4 ,why1 one of the very fundamental principles of life is1 so much love1 so much love in return2 so much love1 so much growth2 so much love1 so much power2 so much love1 so much life1--strong1 healthy1 rich1 exulting1 and abounding life4 ,the world is beginning to realize the fact that love1 instead of being a mere indefinite something1 is a vital and living force1 the same as electricity is a force1 though perhaps of a different nature4 ,the same great fact we are learning in regard to thought1--that thoughts are things1 that thoughts are forces1 the most vital and powerful in the universe1 that they have form and substance and power1 the quality of the power determined as it is by the quality of the life in whose organism the thoughts are engendered2 and so1 when a thought is given birth1 it does not end there1 but takes form1 and as a force it goes out and has its effect upon other minds and lives1 the effect being determined by its intensity and the quality of the prevailing emotions1 and also by the emotions dominating the person at the time the thoughts are engendered and given form4 ,science1 while demonstrating the great facts it is to-day demonstrating in connection with the mind in its relations to and effects upon the body1 is also finding from its very laboratory experiments that each particular kind of thought and emotion has its own peculiar qualities1 and hence its own peculiar effects or influences2 and these it is classifying with scientific accuracy4 ,a very general classification in just a word would be--those of a higher and those of a lower nature4 ,some of the chief ones among those of the lower nature are anger1 hatred1 jealousy1 malice1 rage4 ,their effect1 especially when violent1 is to emit a poisonous substance into the system1 or rather1 to set up a corroding influence which transforms the healthy and life-giving secretions of the body into the poisonous and the destructive4 ,when one1 for example1 is dominated1 even if for but a moment by a passion of anger or rage1 there is set up in the system what might be justly termed a bodily thunder-storm1 which has the effect of souring or corroding the normal and healthy secretions of the body and making them so that instead of life-giving they become poisonous4 ,this1 if indulged in to any extent1 sooner or later induces the form of disease that this particular state of mind and emotion or passion gives birth to2 and it in turn becomes chronic4 ,we shall ultimately find1 as we are beginning to so rapidly to-day1 that practically all disease has its origin in perverted mental states or emotions2 that anger1 hatred1 fear1 worry1 jealousy1 lust1 as well as all milder forms of perverted mental states and emotions1 has each its own peculiar poisoning effects and induces each its own peculiar form of disease1 for all life is from within out4 ,then some of the chief ones belonging to the other class--mental states and emotions of the higher nature--are love1 sympathy1 benevolence1 kindliness1 and good cheer4 ,these are the natural and the normal2 and their effect1 when habitually entertained1 is to stimulate a vital1 healthy1 bounding1 purifying1 and life-giving action1 the exact opposite of the others2 and these very forces1 set into a bounding activity1 will in time counteract and heal the disease-giving effects of their opposites4 ,their effects upon the countenance and features in inducing the highest beauty that can dwell there are also marked and all-powerful4 ,so much1 then1 in regard to the effects of one's thought forces upon the self4 ,a word more in regard to their effects upon others4 ,our prevailing thought forces determine the mental atmosphere we create around us1 and all who come within its influence are affected in one way or another1 according to the quality of that atmosphere2 and1 though they may not always get the exact thoughts1 they nevertheless get the effects of the emotions dominating the originator of the thoughts1 and hence the creator of this particular mental atmosphere1 and the more sensitively organized the person the more sensitive he or she is to this atmosphere1 even at times to getting the exact and very thoughts4 ,so even in this the prophecy is beginning to be fulfilled1--there is nothing hid that shall not be revealed4 ,if the thought forces sent out by any particular life are those of hatred or jealousy or malice or fault-finding or criticism or scorn1 these same thought forces are aroused and sent back from others1 so that one is affected not only by reason of the unpleasantness of having such thoughts from others1 but they also in turn affect one's own mental states1 and through these his own bodily conditions1 so that1 so far as even the welfare of self is concerned1 the indulgence in thoughts and emotions of this nature are most expensive1 most detrimental1 most destructive4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the thought forces sent out be those of love1 of sympathy1 of kindliness1 of cheer and good will1 these same forces are aroused and sent back1 so that their pleasant1 ennobling1 warming1 and life-giving effects one feels and is influenced by2 and so again1 so far even as the welfare of self is concerned1 there is nothing more desirable1 more valuable and life-giving4 ,there comes from others1 then1 exactly what one sends to and hence calls forth from them4 ,and would we have all the world love us1 we must first then love all the world1--merely a great scientific fact4 ,why is it that all people instinctively dislike and shun the little1 the mean1 the self-centred1 the selfish1 while all the world instinctively1 irresistibly1 loves and longs for the company of the great-hearted1 the tender-hearted1 the loving1 the magnanimous1 the sympathetic1 the brave8 ,the mere answer--because--will not satisfy4 ,there is a deep1 scientific reason for it1 either this or it is not true4 ,much has been said1 much written1 in regard to what some have been pleased to call personal magnetism1 but which1 as is so commonly true in cases of this kind1 is even to-day but little understood4 ,but to my mind personal magnetism in its true sense1 and as distinguished from what may be termed a purely animal magnetism1 is nothing more nor less than the thought forces sent out by a great-hearted1 tender-hearted1 magnanimous1 loving1 sympathetic man or woman2 for1 let me ask1 have you ever known of any great personal magnetism in the case of the little1 the mean1 the vindictive1 the self-centred8 ,never1 ,i venture to say1 but always in the case of the other4 ,why1 there is nothing that can stand before this wonderful transmuting power of love4 ,so far even as the enemy is concerned1 ,i may not be to blame if ,i have an enemy2 but ,i am to blame if ,i keep him as such1 especially after ,i know of this wonderful transmuting power4 ,have ,i then an enemy1 ,i will refuse1 absolutely refuse1 to recognize him as such2 and instead of entertaining the thoughts of him that he entertains of me1 instead of sending him like thought forces1 ,i will send him only thoughts of love1 of sympathy1 of brotherly kindness1 and magnanimity4 ,but a short time it will be until he feels these1 and is influenced by them4 ,then in addition ,i will watch my opportunity1 and whenever ,i can1 ,i will even go out of my way to do him some little kindnesses4 ,before these forces he cannot stand1 and by and by ,i shall find that he who to-day is my bitterest enemy is my warmest friend and it may be my staunchest supporter4 ,no1 the wise man is he who by that wonderful alchemy of love transmutes the enemy into the friend1--transmutes the bitterest enemy into the warmest friend and supporter4 ,certainly this is what the ,master meant when he said3 ,love your enemies1 do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you3 thou shalt thereby be heaping coals of fire upon their heads4 ,ay1 thou shalt melt them3 before this force they cannot stand4 ,thou shalt melt them1 and transmute them into friends4 ,you never can tell what your thoughts will do ,in bringing you hate or love2 ,for thoughts are things1 and their airy wings ,are swifter than carrier doves4 ,they follow the law of the universe1-- ,each thing must create its kind2 ,and they speed o'er the track to bring you back ,whatever went out from your mind4 ,yes1 science to-day1 at the close of this nineteenth century1 in the laboratory is discovering and scientifically demonstrating the great1 immutable laws upon which the inspired and illuminated ones of all ages have based all their teachings1 those who by ordering their lives according to the higher laws of their being get in a moment of time1 through the direct touch of inspiration1 what it takes the physical investigator a whole lifetime or a series of investigators a series of lifetimes to discover and demonstrate4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,,the ,,application ,are you seeking for greatness1 ,o brother of mine1 ,as the full1 fleeting seasons and years glide away8 ,if seeking directly and for self alone1 ,the true and abiding you never can stay4 ,but all self forgetting1 know well the law1 ,it's the hero1 and not the self-seeker1 who's crowned4 ,then go lose your life in the service of others1 ,and1 lo6 with rare greatness and glory 'twill abound4 ,is it your ambition to become great in any particular field1 to attain to fame and honor1 and thereby to happiness and contentment8 ,is it your ambition1 for example1 to become a great orator1 to move great masses of men1 to receive their praise1 their plaudits8 ,then remember that there never has been1 there never will1 in brief1 there never can be a truly great orator without a great purpose1 a great cause behind him4 ,you may study in all the best schools in the country1 the best universities and the best schools of oratory4 ,you may study until you exhaust all these1 and then seek the best in other lands4 ,you may study thus until your hair is beginning to change its color1 but this of itself will never make you a great orator4 ,you may become a demagogue1 and1 if self-centred1 you inevitably will2 for this is exactly what a demagogue is1--a great demagogue1 if you please1 than which it is hard for one to call to mind a more contemptible animal1 and the greater the more contemptible4 ,but without laying hold of and building upon this great principle you never can become a great orator4 ,call to mind the greatest in the world's history1 from ,demosthenes--,men of ,athens1 march against ,philip1 your country and your fellow-men will be in early bondage unless you give them your best service now--down to our own ,phillips and ,gough1--,wendell ,phillips against the traffic in human blood1 ,john ,b4 ,gough against a slavery among his fellow-men more hard and galling and abject than the one just spoken of2 for by it the body merely is in bondage1 the mind and soul are free1 while in this1 body1 soul1 and mind are enslaved4 ,so you can easily discover the great purpose1 the great cause for service1 behind each and every one4 ,the man who can't get beyond himself1 his own aggrandizement and interests1 must of necessity be small1 petty1 personal1 and at once marks his own limitations2 while he whose life is a life of service and self-devotion has no limits1 for he thus puts himself at once on the side of the ,universal1 and this more than all else combined gives a tremendous power in oratory4 ,such a one can mount as on the wings of an eagle1 and ,nature herself seems to come forth and give a great soul of this kind means and material whereby to accomplish his purposes1 whereby the great universal truths go direct to the minds and hearts of his hearers to mould them1 to move them2 for the orator is he who moulds the minds and hearts of his hearers in the great moulds of universal and eternal truth1 and then moves them along a definite line of action1 not he who merely speaks pieces to them4 ,how thoroughly ,webster recognized this great principle is admirably shown in that brief but powerful description of eloquence of his2 let us pause to listen to a sentence or two3 ,true eloquence indeed does not consist in speech4444 ,words and phrases may be marshalled in every way1 but they cannot compass it4444 ,affected passion1 intense expression1 the pomp of declamation1 all may aspire to it2 they cannot reach it4444 ,the graces taught in the schools1 the costly ornaments and studied contrivances of speech1 shock and disgust men when their own lives and the fate of their wives and their children and their country hang on the decision of the hour4 ,then words have lost their power1 rhetoric is vain1 and all elaborate oratory contemptible4 ,even genius itself then feels rebuked and subdued1 as in the presence of higher qualities4 ,then patriotism is eloquent1 then self-devotion is eloquent4 ,the clear conception1 outrunning the deductions of logic1 the high purpose1 the firm resolve1 the dauntless spirit speaking on the tongue1 beaming from the eye1 informing every feature and urging the whole man onward1 right onward to his object1--this1 this is eloquence4 ,and note some of the chief words he has used1--self-devotion1 patriotism1 high purpose4 ,the self-centred man can never know these1 and much less can he make use of them4 ,true1 things that one may learn1 as the freeing of the bodily agents1 the developing of the voice1 and so on1 that all may become the true reporters of the soul1 instead of limiting or binding it down1 as is so frequently the case in public speakers1--these are all valuable1 ay1 are very important and very necessary1 unless one is content to live below his highest possibilities1 and he is wise who recognizes this tact2 but these in themselves are but as trifles when compared to those greater1 more powerful1 and all-essential qualities4 ,is it your ambition to become a great states man8 ,note the very first thing1 then1 the word itself1--states-man1 a man who gives his life to the service of the ,state4 ,and do you not recognize the fact that1 when one says--a man who gives his life to the service of the ,state1 it is but another way of saying--a man who gives his life to the service of his fellow-men2 for what1 after all1 is any country1 any ,state1 in the true sense of the term1 but the aggregate1 the great body of its individual citizenship4 ,and he who lives for and unto himself1 who puts the interests of his own small self before the interests of the thousands1 can never become a states-man2 for a statesman must be a larger man than this4 ,call to your mind the greatest of the world1 among those living and among the so-called dead1 and you will quickly see that the life of each and every one has been built upon this great principle1 and that all have been great and are held as such in just the degree in which it has been4 ,two of the greatest among ,americans1 both passed away1 would to-day and even more as time goes on1 be counted still greater1 had they been a little larger in one aspect of their natures1--large enough to have recognized to its fullest extent the eternal truth and importance of this great principle1 and had they given the time to the service of their fellow-men that was spent in desiring the ,presidency and in all too plainly making it known4 ,having gained it could have made them no greater1 and having so plainly shown their eager and childish desire for it has made them less great4 ,of the many thousands of men who have been in our ,american ,congress since its beginning1 and of the very1 very small number comparatively that you are able to call to mind1 possibly not over fifty1 which would be about one out of every six hundred or more1 you will find that you are able to call to mind each one of this very small number on account of his standing for some measure or principle that would to the highest degree increase the human welfare1 thus truly fulfilling the great office of a statesman4 ,the one great trouble with our country to-day is that we have but few statesmen4 ,we have a great swarm1 a great hoard of politicians2 but it is only now and then that we find a man who is large enough truly to deserve the name--statesman4 ,the large majority in public life to-day are there not for the purpose of serving the best interests of those whom they are supposed to represent1 but they are there purely for self1 purely for self-aggrandizement in this form or in that1 as the case may be4 ,especially do we find this true in our municipalities4 ,in some1 the government instead of being in the hands of those who would make it such in truth1 those who would make it serve the interests it is designed to serve1 it is in the hands of those who are there purely for self1 little whelps1 those who will resort to any means to secure their ends1 at times even to honorable means1 should they seem to serve best the particular purpose in hand4 ,we have but to look around us to see that this is true4 ,the miserable1 filthy1 and deplorable condition of affairs the ,lexow ,committee in its investigations not so long ago laid bare to public gaze had its root in what8 ,in the fact that the offices in that great municipality have been and are filled by men who are there to serve in the highest degree the public welfare or by men who are there purely for self-aggrandizement8 ,but let us pass on4 ,this degraded condition of affairs exists not only in this great city1 but there are scarcely any that are free from it entirely4 ,matters are not always to continue thus1 however4 ,the ,american people will learn by and by what they ought fully to realize to-day--that the moment the honest people1 the citizens1 in distinction from the barnacles1 mass themselves and stay massed1 the notorious1 filthy political rings cannot stand before them for a period of even twenty-four hours4 ,the right1 the good1 the true1 is all-powerful1 and will inevitably conquer sooner or later when brought to the front4 ,such is the history of civilization4 ,let our public offices--municipal1 state1 and federal--be filled with men who are in love with the human kind1 large men1 men whose lives are founded upon this great law of service1 and we will then have them filled with statesmen4 ,never let this glorious word be disgraced1 degraded1 by applying it to the little1 self-centred whelps who are unable to get beyond the politician stage4 ,then enter public life2 but enter it as a man1 not as a barnacle3 enter it as a statesman1 not as a politician4 99 99 99 99 99 ,is it your ambition to become a great preacher1 or better yet1 with the same meaning1 a great teacher8 ,then remember that the greatest of the world have been those who have given themselves in thorough self-devotion and service to their fellow-men1 who have given themselves so thoroughly to all they have come in contact with that there has been no room for self4 ,they have not been seekers after fame1 or men who have thought so much of their own particular dogmatic ways of thinking as to spend the greater part of their time in discussing dogma1 creed1 theology1 in order1 as is so generally true in cases of this kind1 to prove that the ego you see before you is right in his particular ways of thinking1 and that his chief ambition is to have this fact clearly understood1--an abomination1 ,i verily believe1 in the sight of ,god himself1 whose children in the mean time are starving1 are dying for the bread of life1 and an abomination ,i am sure1 in the sight of the great majority of mankind4 ,let us be thankful1 however1 for mankind is finding less use for such year by year1 and the time will soon come when they will scarcely be tolerated at all4 ,it is to a very great extent on account of men of this kind1 especially in the early history1 that the true spirit of religion1 of ,christianity1 has been lost sight of in the mere form4 ,the basket in which it has been deemed necessary to carry it has been held as of greater import than the rare and divinely beautiful fruit itself4 ,the true spirit1 that that quickeneth and giveth life and power1 has had its place taken by the mere letter1 that that alone blighteth and killeth4 ,instead of running after these finely spun1 man-made theories1 this stuff1--for stuff is the word1--this that we outgrow once every few years in our march onward and upward1 and then stand and laugh as we look back to think that such ideas have ever been held1 instead of this1 thinking that thus you will gain power1 act the part of the wise man1 and go each day into the silence1 there commune with the ,infinite1 there dwell for a season with the ,infinite ,spirit of all life1 of all power2 for you can get true power in no other way4 ,instead of running about here and there to have your cup filled at these little stagnant pools1 dried up as they generally are by the continual rays of a constantly shining egoistic sun1 go direct to the great fountain-head1 and there drink of the water of life that is poured out freely to every one if he will but go there for it4 ,one can't1 however1 send and have it brought by another4 ,go1 then1 into the silence1 even if it be but for a short period1--a period of not more than a quarter or a half-hour a day1--and there come into contact with the ,great ,source of all life1 of all power4 ,send out your earnest desires for whatsoever you will2 and whatsoever you will1 if continually watered by expectation1 will sooner or later come to you4 ,all knowledge1 all truth1 all power1 all wisdom1 all things whatsoever1 are yours1 if you will but go in this way for them4 ,it has been tried times without number1 and has never yet once failed where the motives have been high1 where the knowledge of the results beforehand has been sufficiently great4 ,within a fortnight you can know the truth of this for yourself if you will but go in the right way4 ,all the truly great teachers in the world's history have gotten their powers in this way4 ,you remember the great soul who left us not long ago1 he who ministered so faithfully at ,trinity1 the great preacher of such wonderful powers1 the one so truly inspired4 ,it was but an evening or two since1 when in conversation with a member of his congregation1 we were talking in regard to ,phillips ,brooks4 ,she was telling of his beautiful and powerful spirit and said that they were all continually conscious of the fact that he had a power they hadn't1 but that all longed for2 that he seemed to have a great secret of power they hadn't1 but that they often tried to find4 ,she continued1 and in the very next sentence went on to tell of a fact1--one that ,i knew full well1--the fact that during a certain period of each day he took himself alone into a little1 silent room1 he fastened the door behind him1 and during this period under no circumstances could he be seen by any one4 ,the dear lady knew these two things1 she knew and was influenced by his great soul power1 she also knew of his going thus into the silence each day2 but1 bless her heart1 it had never once occurred to her to put the two together4 ,it is in this way that great soul power is grown2 and the men of this great power are the men who move the world1 the men who do the great work in the world along all lines1 and against whom no man1 no power1 can stand4 ,call to mind a number of the world's greatest preachers1 or1 using again the better term1 teachers1 and bear in mind ,i do not mean creed1 dogma1 form1 but religious teachers1--and the one class differs from the other even as the night from the day1--and you will find two great facts in the life of each and all1--great soul power1 grown chiefly by much time spent in the silence1 and the fact that the life of each has been built upon this one great and all-powerful principle of love1 service1 and helpfulness for all mankind4 ,is it your ambition to become a great writer8 ,very good4 ,but remember that unless you have something to give to the world1 something you feel mankind must have1 something that will aid them in their march upward and onward1 unless you have some service of this kind to render1 then you had better be wise1 and not take up the pen2 for1 if your object in writing is merely fame or money1 the number of your readers may be exceedingly small1 possibly a few score or even a few dozen may be a large estimate4 ,what an author writes is1 after all1 the sum total of his life1 his habits1 his characteristics1 his experiences1 his purposes4 ,he never can write more than he himself is4 ,he can never pass beyond his limitations2 and unless he have a purpose higher than writing merely for fame or self-aggrandizement1 he thereby marks his own limitations1 and what he seeks will never come4 ,while he who writes for the world1 because he feels he has something that it needs and that will be a help to mankind1 if it is something it needs1 other things being equal1 that which the other man seeks for directly1 and so never finds1 will come to him in all its fulness4 ,this is the way it comes1 and this way only4 ,mankind cares nothing for you until you have shown that you care for mankind4 ,note this statement from the letter of a now well-known writer1 one whose very first book met with instant success1 and that has been followed by others all similarly received4 ,she says1 ,i never thought of writing until two years and a half ago1 when1 in order to disburden my mind of certain thoughts that clamored for utterance1 ,i produced1 etc4 ,in the light of this we cannot wonder at the remarkable success of her very first and all succeeding books4 ,she had something she felt the world needed and must have2 and1 with no thought of self1 of fame1 or of money1 she gave it4 ,the world agreed with her2 and1 as she was large enough to seek for neither1 it has given her both4 ,note this also3 ,i write for the love of writing1 not for money or reputation4 ,the former ,i have without exertion1 the latter is not worth a pin's point in the general economy of the vast universe4 ,work done for the love of working brings its own reward far more quickly and surely than work done for mere payment4 ,this is but the formulated statement of what all the world's greatest writers and authors have said or would say1--at least so far as ,i have come in contact with their opinions in regard to it4 ,so1 unless you are large enough to forget self for the good1 for the service of mankind1 thus putting yourself on the side of the universal and making it possible for you to give something that will in turn of itself bring fame1 you had better be wise1 and not lift the pen at all2 for what you write will not be taken up1 or1 if it is1 will soon be let fall again4 ,one of our most charming and most noted ,american authors says in regard to her writing1 ,i press my soul upon the white paper2 and let me tell you the reason it in turn makes its impression upon so many thousands of other souls is because hers is so large1 so tender1 so sympathetic1 so loving1 that others cannot resist the impression1 living as she does not for self1 but for the service of others1 her own life thus having a part in countless numbers of other lives4 ,it is only that that comes from the heart that can reach the heart4 ,take from their shelves the most noted1 the greatest works in any library1 and you will find that their authors have made them what they are not by a study of the rules and principles of rhetoric1 for this of itself never has made and never can make a great writer4 ,they are what they are because the author's very soul has been fired by some great truth or fact that the world has needed1 that has been a help to mankind4 ,large souls they have been1 souls in love with all the human kind4 99 99 99 99 99 ,is it your ambition to become a great actor8 ,then remember that if you make it the object of your life to play to influence the hearts1 the lives1 and so the destinies of men1 this same great law of nature that operates in the case of the orator will come to your assistance1 will aid you in your growth and development1 and will enable you to attain to heights you could never attain to or even dream of1 in case you play for the little ego you otherwise would stand for4 ,in the latter case you may succeed in making a third or a fourth rate actor1 possibly a second rate2 but you can never become one of the world's greatest1 and the chances are you may succeed in making not even a livelihood1 and thus have your wonderment satisfied why so many who try fail4 ,in the other case1 other things being equal1 the height you may attain to is unbounded1 depending upon the degree you are able to forget yourself in influencing the minds and the souls1 and thus the lives and the destinies of men4 99 99 99 99 99 ,is it your ambition to become a great singer8 ,then remember that if your thought is only of self1 you may never sing at all1 unless1 indeed1 you enjoy singing to yourself1--this1 or you will be continually anxious as to the size of your audience4 ,if1 on the other hand1 you choose this field of work because here you can be of the greatest service to mankind1 if your ambition is to sing to the hearts and the lives of men1 then this same great law of nature will come to assist you in your growth and development and efforts1 and other things being equal1 instead of singing to yourself or being anxious as to the size of your audience1 you will seldom find time for the first1 and your anxiety will be as to whether the place has an audience-chamber large enough to accommodate even a small portion of the people who will seek admittance4 ,you remember ,jenny ,lind4 99 99 99 99 99 ,is it your ambition to become a fashionable society woman1 this and nothing more1 intent only upon your own pleasure and satisfaction8 ,then stop and meditate1 if only for a moment2 for if this is the case1 you never will1 ay1 you never can find the true and the genuine1 for you fail to recognize the great law that there is no such thing as finding true happiness by searching for it directly1 and the farther on you go the more flimsy and shallow and unsatisfying that imitation you are willing to accept for the genuine will become4 ,you will thereby rob life of its chief charms1 defeat the very purpose you have in view4 ,and1 while you are at this moment meditating1 oh grasp the truth of the great law that you will find your own life only in losing it in the service of others1--that the more of your life you so give1 the fuller and the richer1 the greater and the grander1 the more beautiful and the more happy your own life will become4 ,and with your abundant means and opportunities build your life upon this great law of service1 and experience the pleasure of growing into that full1 rich1 ever increasing and satisfying life that will result1 and that will make you better known1 more honored and blessed1 than the life of any mere society woman can be1 or any life1 for that matter2 for you are thus living a life the highest this world can know4 ,and you will thus hasten the day when1 standing and looking back and seeing the emptiness and the littleness of the other life as compared with this1 you will bless the time that your better judgment prevailed and saved you from it4 ,or1 if you chance to be in it already1 delay not1 but commence now to build upon this true foundation4 ,instead of discharging your footman1 as did a woman of whom ,i chance to know1 because he finally refused to stand in the rain by the side of her carriage1 with his arms folded just so1 standing immovable like a mummy 7,i had almost said like a fool71 daring to look neither to one side nor the other1 but all the time in the direction of her so-called ladyship1 while she spent an hour or two in doing fifteen or twenty minutes' shopping in her desire to make it known that this is ,mrs4 ,q4's carriage1 and this is the footman that goes with it1--instead of doing this1 give him an umbrella if necessary1 and take him to aid you as you go on your errands of mercy and cheer and service and loving kindness to the innumerable ones all about you who so stand in need of them4 ,is there any comparison between the appellation ,lady ,bountiful and a proud1 selfish1 pleasure-seeking woman8 ,and1 much more1 do you think there is any comparison whatever between the real pleasure and happiness and satisfaction in the lives of the two8 99 99 99 99 99 ,is it the ambition of your life to accumulate great wealth1 and thus to acquire a great name1 and along with it happiness and satisfaction8 ,then remember that whether these will come to you will depend entirely upon the use and disposition you make of your wealth4 ,if you regard it as a private trust to be used for the highest good of mankind1 then well and good1 these will come to you4 ,if your object1 however1 is to pile it up1 to hoard it1 then neither will come2 and you will find it a life as unsatisfactory as one can live4 ,there is1 there can be1 no greatness in things1 in material things1 of themselves4 ,the greatness is determined entirely by the use and disposition made of them4 ,the greatest greatness and the only true greatness in the world is unselfish love and service and self-devotion to one's fellow-men4 ,look at the matter carefully1 and tell me candidly if there can be anything more foolish than a man's spending all the days of his life piling up and hoarding money1 too mean and too stingy to use any but what is absolutely necessary1 accumulating many times more than he can possibly ever use1 always eager for more1 growing still more eager and grasping the nearer he comes to life's end1 then lying down1 dying1 and leaving it4 ,it seems to me about as sensible for a man to have as the great aim and ambition of life the piling up of an immense pile of old iron in the middle of a large field1 and sitting on it day after day because he is so wedded to it that it has become a part of his life and lest a fragment disappear1 denying himself and those around him many of the things that go to make life valuable and pleasant1 and finally dying there1 himself1 the soul1 so dwarfed and so stunted that he has really a hard time to make his way out of the miserable old body4 ,there is not such a great difference1 if you will think of it carefully1--one a pile of old iron1 the other a pile of gold or silver1 but all belonging to the same general class4 ,it is a great law of our being that we become like those things we contemplate4 ,if we contemplate those that are true and noble and elevating1 we grow in the likeness of these4 ,if we contemplate merely material things1 as gold or silver or copper or iron1 our souls1 our natures1 and even our faces become like them1 hard and flinty1 robbed of their finer and better and grander qualities4 ,call to mind the person or picture of the miser1 and you will quickly see that this is true4 ,merely nature's great law4 ,he thought he was going to be a master3 he finds himself the slave4 ,instead of possessing his wealth1 his wealth possesses him4 ,how often have ,i seen persons of nearly or quite this kind6 ,some can be found almost anywhere4 ,you can call to mind a few1 perhaps many4 ,during the past two or three years two well-known millionaires in the ,united ,states1 millionaires many times over1 have died4 ,the one started into life with the idea of acquiring a great name by accumulating great wealth4 ,these two things he had in mind1--self and great wealth4 ,and1 as he went on1 he gradually became so that he could see nothing but these4 ,the greed for gain soon made him more and more the slave2 and he1 knowing nothing other than obedience to his master1 piled and accumulated and hoarded1 and after spending all his days thus1 he then lay down and died1 taking not so much as one poor little penny with him1 only a soul dwarfed compared to what it otherwise might have been4 ,for it might have been the soul of a royal master instead of that of an abject slave4 ,the papers noted his death with seldom even a single word of praise4 ,it was regretted by few1 and he was mourned by still fewer4 ,and even at his death he was spoken of by thousands in words far from complimentary1 all uniting in saying what he might have been and done1 what a tremendous power for good1 how he might have been loved and honored during his life1 and at death mourned and blessed by the entire nation1 the entire world4 ,a pitiable sight1 indeed1 to see a human mind1 a human soul1 thus voluntarily enslave itself for a few temporary pieces of metal4 ,the other started into life with the principle that a man's success is to be measured by his direct usefulness to his fellow-men1 to the world in which he lives1 and by this alone2 that private wealth is merely a private trust to be used for the highest good of mankind4 ,under the benign influences of this mighty principle of service1 we see him great1 influential1 wealthy2 his whole nature expanding1 himself growing large-hearted1 generous1 magnanimous1 serving his ,state1 his country1 his fellow-men1 writing his name on the hearts of all he comes in contact with1 so that his name is never thought of by them without feelings of gratitude and praise4 ,then as the chief service to his fellow-men1 next to his own personal influence and example1 he uses his vast fortune1 this vast private trust1 for the founding and endowing of a great institution of learning1 using his splendid business capacities in its organization1 having uppermost in mind in its building that young men and young women may there have every advantage at the least possible expense to fit themselves in turn for the greatest direct usefulness to their fellow-men while they live in the world4 ,in the midst of these activities the news comes of his death4 ,many hearts now are sad4 ,the true1 large-hearted1 sympathizing friend1 the servant of rich and poor alike1 has gone away4 ,countless numbers whom he has befriended1 encouraged1 helped1 and served1 bless his name1 and give thanks that such a life has been lived4 ,his own great ,state rises up as his pall-bearers1 while the entire nation acts as honorary pall-bearers4 ,who can estimate the influence of a life such as this8 ,but it cannot be estimated2 for it will flow from the ones personally influenced to others1 and through them to others throughout eternity4 ,he alone who in ,his righteous balance weighs each human act can estimate it4 ,and his final munificent gift to mankind will make his name remembered and honored and blessed long after the accumulations of mere plutocrats are scattered and mankind forgets that they have ever lived4 ,then have as your object the accumulation of great wealth if you choose2 but bear in mind that1 unless you are able to get beyond self1 it will make you not great1 but small1 and you will rob life of the finer and better things in it4 ,if1 on the other hand1 you are guided by the principle that private wealth is but a private trust1 and that direct usefulness or service to mankind is the only real measure of true greatness1 and bring your life into harmony with it1 then you will become and will be counted great2 and with it will come that rich joy and happiness and satisfaction that always accompanies a life of true service1 and therefore the best and truest life4 ,one can never afford to forget that personality1 life1 and character1 that there may be the greatest service1 are the chief things1 and wealth merely the incident4 ,nor can one afford to be among those who are too mean1 too small1 or too stingy to invest in anything that will grow and increase these4 ,,part ,,iii4 ,,the ,,unfoldment ,if you'd have a rare growth and unfoldment supreme1 ,and make life one long joy and contentment complete1 ,then with kindliness1 love1 and good will let it teem1 ,and with service for all make it fully replete4 ,if you'd have all the world and all heaven to love you1 ,and that love with its power would you fully convince1 ,then love all the world2 and men royal and true1 ,will make cry as you pass--,god bless him1 the prince6 ,one beautiful feature of this principle of love and service is that this phase of one's personality1 or nature1 can be grown4 ,i have heard it asked1 ,if one hasn't it to any marked degree naturally1 what is to be done8 ,in reply let it be said1 ,forget self1 get out of it for a little while1 and1 as it comes in your way1 do something for some one1 some kind service1 some loving favor1 it makes no difference how small it may appear4 ,but a kind look or word to one weary with care1 from whose life all worth living for seems to have gone out2 a helping hand or little lift to one almost discouraged1--it may be that this is just the critical moment1 a helping hand just now may change a life or a destiny4 ,show yourself a friend to one who thinks he or she is friendless4 ,oh1 there are a thousand opportunities each day right where you are1--not the great things far away1 but the little things right at hand4 ,with a heart full of love do something3 experience the rich returns that will come to you1 and it will be unnecessary to urge a repetition or a continuance4 ,the next time it will be easier and more natural1 and the next4 ,you know of that wonderful reflex-nerve system you have in your body1--that which says that whenever you do a certain thing in a certain way1 it is easier to do the same thing the next time1 and the next1 and the next1 until presently it is done with scarcely any effort on your part at all1 it has become your second nature4 ,and thus we have what8 ,habit4 ,this is the way that all habit is1 the way that all habit must be formed4 ,and have you ever fully realized that life is1 after all1 merely a series of habits1 and that it lies entirely within one's own power to determine just what that series shall be8 ,i have seen this great principle made the foundation principle in an institution of learning4 ,it is made not a theory merely as ,i have seen it here and there1 but a vital1 living truth4 ,and ,i wish ,i had time to tell of its wonderful and beautiful influences upon the life and work of that institution1 and upon the lives and the work of those who go out from it4 ,a joy indeed to be there4 ,one can't enter within its walls even for a few moments without feeling its benign influences4 ,one can't go out without taking them with him4 ,i have seen purposes and lives almost or quite transformed2 and life so rich1 so beautiful1 and so valuable opened up1 such as the persons never dreamed could be1 by being but a single year under these beautiful and life-giving influences4 ,i have also seen it made the foundation principle of a great summer congress1 one that has already done an unprecedented work1 one that has a far greater work yet before it1 and chiefly by reason of this all-powerful foundation upon which it is built1--conceived and put into operation as it was by a rare and highly illumined soul1 one thoroughly filled with the love of service for all the human kind4 ,there are no thoughts of money returns1 for everything it has to give is as free as the beautiful atmosphere that pervades it4 ,the result is that there is drawn together1 by way of its magnificent corps of lectures as well as those in attendance1 a company of people of the rarest type1 so that everywhere there is a manifestation of that spirit of love1 helpfulness1 and kindliness1 that permeates the entire atmosphere with a deep feeling of peace1 that makes every moment of life a joy4 ,so enchanting does this spirit make the place that very frequently the single day of some who have come for this length of time has lengthened itself into a week1 and the week in turn into a month2 and the single week of others has frequently lengthened itself1 first into a month1 then into the entire summer4 ,there is nothing at all strange in this fact1 however2 for wherever one finds sweet humanity1 he there finds a spot where all people love to dwell4 ,making this the fundamental principle of one's life1 around which all others properly arrange and subordinate themselves1 is not1 as a casual observer might think1 and as he sometimes suggests1 an argument against one's own growth and development1 against the highest possible unfoldment of his entire personality and powers4 ,rather1 on the other hand1 is it one of the greatest reasons1 one of the greatest arguments1 in its favor2 for1 the stronger the personality and the greater the powers1 the greater the influence in the service of mankind4 ,if1 then1 life be thus founded1 can there possibly be any greater incentive to that self-development that brings one up to his highest possibilities8 ,a development merely for self alone can never have behind it an incentive1 a power so great2 and after all1 there is nothing in the world so great1 so effective in the service of mankind1 as a strong1 noble1 and beautiful manhood or womanhood4 ,it is this that in the ultimate determines the influence of every man upon his fellow-men4 ,life1 character1 is the greatest power in the world1 and character it is that gives the power2 for in all true power1 along whatever line it may be1 it is after all1 living the life that tells4 ,this is a great law that but few who would have great power and influence seem to recognize1 or1 at least1 that but few seem to act upon4 ,are you a writer8 ,you can never write more than you yourself are4 ,would you write more8 ,then broaden1 deepen1 enrich the life4 ,are you a minister8 ,you can never raise men higher than you have raised yourself4 ,your words will have exactly the sound of the life whence they come4 ,hollow the life8 ,hollow-sounding and empty will be the words1 weak1 ineffective1 false4 ,would you have them go with greater power1 and thus be more effective8 ,live the life1 the power will come4 ,are you an orator8 ,the power and effectiveness of your words in influencing and moving masses of men depends entirely upon the altitude from which they are spoken4 ,would you have them more effective1 each one filled with a living power8 ,then elevate the life1 the power will come4 ,are you in the walks of private life8 ,then1 wherever you move1 there goes from you1 even if there be no word spoken1 a silent but effective influence of an elevating or a degrading nature4 ,is the life high1 beautiful8 ,then the influences are inspiring1 life-giving4 ,is it low1 devoid of beauty8 ,the influences then1 are disease laden1 death-dealing4 ,the tones of your voice1 the attitude of your body1 the character of your face1 all are determined by the life you live1 all in turn influence for better or for worse all who come within your radius4 ,and if1 as one of earth's great souls has said1 the only way truly to help a man is to make him better1 then the tremendous power of merely the life itself4 ,why1 ,i know personally a young man of splendid qualities and gifts1 who was rapidly on the way of ruin1 as the term goes1 gradually losing control of himself day after day1 self-respect almost gone1--already the thought of taking his own life had entered his mind1--who was so inspired with the mere presence and bearing of a royal-hearted young man1 one who had complete mastery of himself1 and therefore a young man of power1 that the very sight of him as he went to and fro in his daily work was a power that called his better self to the front again1 awakened the ,god nature within him1 so that he again set his face in the direction of the right1 the true1 the manly2 and to-day there is no grander1 stronger1 more beautiful soul in all the wide country than he4 ,yes1 there is a powerful influence that resolves itself into a service for all in each individual strong1 pure1 and noble life4 ,and have the wonderful possibilities of what may be termed an inner or soul development ever come strongly to your notice8 ,perhaps not1 for as yet only a few have begun to recognize under this name a certain great power that has always existed1--a power that has never as yet been fully understood1 and so has been called by this term and by that4 ,it is possible so to develop this soul power that1 as we stand merely and talk with a person1 there goes out from us a silent influence that the person cannot see or hear1 but that he feels1 and the influences of which he cannot escape2 that1 as we merely go into a room in which several persons are sitting1 there goes out from us a power1 a silent influence that all will feel and will be influenced by1 even though not a word be spoken4 ,this has been the power of every man1 of every woman1 of great and lasting influence in the world's history4 ,it is just beginning to come to us through a few highly illumined souls that this power can be grown1 that it rests upon great natural law that the ,author of our being has instituted within us and about us4 ,it is during the next few years that we are to see many wonderful developments along this line2 for in this1 as in many others1 the light is just beginning to break4 ,a few1 who are far up on the heights of human development1 are just beginning to catch the first few faint flushes of the dawn4 ,then live to your highest4 ,this of itself will make you of great service to mankind1 but without this you never can be4 ,naught is the difference how hard you may try2 and know1 even so far as your own highest interests are concerned1 that the true joy of existence comes from living to one's highest4 ,this life1 and this alone1 will bring that which ,i believe to be one of the greatest characteristics of a truly great man1--humility2 and when one says humility1 he necessarily implies simplicity2 for the two always go hand in hand4 ,the one is born of the other4 ,the proud1 the vain1 the haughty1 those striving for effect1 are never counted among the world's greatest personages4 ,the very fact of one's striving for effect of itself indicates that there is not enough in him to make him really great2 while he who really is so needs never concern himself about it1 nor does he ever4 ,i can think of no better way for one to attain to humility and simplicity than for him to have his mind off of self in the service of others4 ,vanity1 that most dangerous quality1 and especially for young people1 is the outcome of one's always regarding self4 ,mrs4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher once said that1 when they lived in the part of ,brooklyn known as the ,heights1 they could always tell when ,mr4 ,beecher was coming in the evening from the voices and the joyous laughter of the children4 ,all the street urchins1 as well as the more well-to-do children in the vicinity1 knew him1 and would often wait for his coming4 ,when they saw him in the distance1 they would run and gather around him1 get hold of his hands1 into those large overcoat pockets for the nuts and the good things he so often filled them with before starting for home1 knowing as he did full well what was coming1 tug at him to keep him with them as long as they could1 he all the time laughing or running as if to get away1 never too great--ay1 rather let us say1 great enough--to join with them in their sports4 ,that mysterious dignity of a man less great1 therefore with less of humility and simplicity1 with mind always intent upon self and his own standing1 would have told him that possibly this might not be just the proper thing to do4 ,but even the children1 street urchins as well as those well-to-do1 found in this great loving soul a friend4 ,recall similar incidents in the almost daily life of ,lincoln and in the lives of all truly great men4 ,all have that beautiful and ever-powerful characteristic1 that simple1 childlike nature4 ,another most beautiful and valuable feature of this life is its effect upon one's own growth and development4 ,there is a law which says that one can't do a kind act or a loving service for another without its bringing rich returns to his own life and growth4 ,this is an invariable law4 ,can ,i then1 do a kind act or a loving service for a brother or a sister1--and all indeed are such because children of the same ,father1--why1 ,i should be glad--ay1 doubly glad of the opportunity4 ,if ,i do it thus out of love1 forgetful of self1 for aught ,i know it may do me more good than the one ,i do it for1 in its influence upon the growing of that rich1 beautiful1 and happy life it is mine to grow2 though the joy and satisfaction resulting from it1 the highest1 the sweetest1 the keenest this life can know1 are of themselves abundant rewards4 ,in addition to all this it scarcely ever fails that those who are thus aided by some loving service may be in a position somehow1 some-when1 somewhere1 either directly or indirectly1 and at a time when it may be most needed or most highly appreciated1 to do in turn a kind service for him who1 with never a thought of any possible return1 has dealt kindly with them4 ,so ,cast your bread upon the waters1 far and wide your treasures strew1 ,scatter it with willing fingers1 shout for joy to see it go6 ,you may think it lost forever2 but1 as sure as ,god is true1 ,in this life and in the other it will yet return to you4 ,have you sorrows or trials that seem very heavy to bear8 ,then let me tell you that one of the best ways in the world to lighten and sweeten them is to lose yourself in the service of others1 in helping to bear and lighten those of a fellow-being whose1 perchance1 are much more grievous than your own4 ,it is a great law of your being which says you can do this4 ,try it1 and experience the truth for yourself1 and know that1 when turned in this way1 sorrow is the most beautiful soul-refiner of which the world knows1 and hence not to be shunned1 but to be welcomed and rightly turned4 ,there comes to my mind a poor widow woman whose life would seem to have nothing in it to make it happy1 but1 on the other hand1 cheerless and tiresome1 and whose work would have been very hard1 had it not been for a little crippled child she dearly loved and cared for1 and who was all the more precious to her on account of its helplessness4 ,losing herself and forgetting her own hard lot in the care of the little cripple1 her whole life was made cheerful and happy1 and her work not hard1 but easy1 because lightened by love and service for another4 ,and this is but one of innumerable cases of this kind4 ,so you may turn your sorrows1 you may lighten your burdens1 by helping bear the burdens1 if not of a crippled child1 then of a brother or a sister who in another sense may be crippled1 or who may become so but for your timely service4 ,you can find them all about you3 never pass one by4 ,by building upon this principle1 the poor may thus live as grandly and as happily as the rich1 those in humble and lowly walks of life as grandly and as happily as those in what seem to be more exalted stations4 ,recognizing the truth1 as we certainly must by this time1 that one is truly great only in so far as this is made the fundamental principle of his life1 it becomes evident that that longing for greatness for its and for one's own sake falls away1 and none but a diseased mind cares for it2 for no sooner is it grasped than1 as a bubble1 it bursts1 because it is not the true1 the permanent1 but the false1 the transient4 ,on the other hand1 he who forgetting self and this kind of greatness1 falsely so called1 in the service of his fellow-men1 by this very fact puts himself on the right track1 the only track for the true1 the genuine2 and in what degree it will come to him depends entirely upon his adherence to the law4 ,and do you know the influence of this life in the moulding of the features1 that it gives the highest beauty that can dwell there1 the beauty that comes from within1--the soul beauty1 so often found in the paintings of the old masters4 ,true beauty must come1 must be grown1 from1 within4 ,that outward veneering1 which is so prevalent1 can never be even a poor imitation of this type of the true1 the genuine4 ,to appreciate fully the truth of this1 it is but necessary to look for a moment at that beautiful picture by ,sant1 the ,soul's ,awakening1 a face that grows more beautiful each time one looks at it1 and that one never tires of looking at1 and compare with it the fractional parts of apothecary shops we see now and then--or so often1 to speak more truly--on the streets4 ,a face of this higher type carries with it a benediction wherever it goes4 ,a beautiful little incident came to my notice not long ago4 ,it was a very hot and dusty day4 ,the passengers on the train were weary and tired4 ,the time seemed long and the journey cheerless4 ,a lady with a face that carries a benediction to all who see her entered the car with a little girl1 also of that type of beauty that comes from within1 and with a voice musical1 sweet1 and sparkling1 such as also comes from this source4 ,the child1 when they were seated1 had no sooner spoken a few words before she began to enlist the attention of her fellow-passengers4 ,she began playing peek-a-boo with a staid and dignified old gentleman in the seat behind her4 ,he at first looked at her over his spectacles1 then lowered his paper a little1 then a little more1 and a little more4 ,finally1 he dropped it altogether1 and1 apparently forgetting himself and his surroundings1 became oblivious to everything in the fascinating pleasure he was having with the little girl4 ,the other passengers soon found themselves following his example4 ,all papers and books were dropped4 ,the younger folks gave way to joyous laughter1 and all seemed to vie with each other in having the honor of receiving a word or a smile from the little one4 ,the dust1 the heat1 the tired1 cheerless feelings were all forgotten2 and when these two left the car1 the little girl waving them good-by1 instinctively1 as one person1 all the passengers waved it to her in return1 and two otherwise dignified gentlemen1 leaving their seats1 passed over to the other side1 and looked out of the window to see her as long as they could4 ,something as an electrical spark seemed to have passed through the car4 ,all were light-hearted and happy now2 and the conditions in the car1 compared to what they were before these two entered1 would rival the work of the stereopticon1 so far as completeness of change is concerned4 ,you have seen such faces and have heard such voices4 ,they result from a life the kind we are considering4 ,they are but its outward manifestations1 spontaneous as the water from the earth as it bursts forth a natural fountain4 ,we must not fail also to notice the effect of this life upon one's manners and bearing4 ,true politeness comes from a life founded upon this great principle1 and from this alone4 ,this gives the true gentleman1--gentle-man1--a man gentle1 kind1 loving1 courteous from nature4 ,such a one can't have anything but true politeness1 can't be anything but a gentle-man2 for one can't truly be anything but himself4 ,so the one always intent upon and thinking of self cannot be the true gentleman1 notwithstanding the artful contrivances and studied efforts to appear so1 but which so generally reveal his own shallowness and artificiality1 and disgust all with whom he comes in contact4 ,i sometimes meet a person who1 when introduced1 will go through a series of stiff1 cold1 and angular movements1 the knee at such a bend1 the foot at such an angle1 the back with such a bend or hump1--much less pleasant to see than that of a camel or a dromedary1 for with these it is natural1--so that ,i have found myself almost thinking1 ,poor fellow1 ,i wonder what the trouble is1 whether he will get over it all right4 ,it is so very evident that he all the time has his mind upon himself1 wondering whether or not he is getting everything just right4 ,what a relief to turn from such a one to one who1 instead of thinking always of self1 has continually in mind the ease and comfort and pleasure he can give to others1 who1 in other words1 is the true gentle-man1 and with whom true politeness is natural2 for one's every act is born of his thoughts4 ,it is said that there was no truer gentleman in all ,scotland than ,robert ,burns4 ,and yet he was a farmer all his life1 and had never been away from his native little rural village into a city until near the close of his life1 when1 taking the manuscripts that for some time had been accumulating in the drawer of his writing-table up to ,edinburgh1 he captivated the hearts of all in the capital4 ,without studied contrivances1 he was the true gentleman1 and true politeness was his1 because his life was founded upon the principle that continually brought from his pen lines such as3-- ,it's coming yet1 for a' that1 ,that man to man1 the warld o'er1 ,shall brothers be for a' that6 ,and under the influence of this principle1 he was a gentleman by nature1 and one of nature's noblemen1 without ever thinking whether he was or not1 as he who is truly such never needs to and never does4 ,and then recall the large-hearted ,ben ,franklin1 when sent to the ,french court4 ,in his plain gray clothes1 unassuming and entirely forgetful of himself1 how he captured the hearts of all1 of even the giddy society ladies1 and how he became and remained while there the centre of attraction in that gay capital6 ,his politeness1 his manners1 all the result of that great1 kind1 loving1 and helpful nature which made others feel that it was they he was devoting himself to and not himself4 ,this little extract from a letter written by ,franklin to ,george ,whitefield will show how he regarded the great principle we are considering3 ,as to the kindness you mention1 ,i wish it could have been of more service to you4 ,but1 if it had1 the only thanks ,i should desire is that you would always be equally ready to serve any other person that may need your assistance2 and so let good offices go around1 for mankind are all of a family4 ,for my own part1 when ,i am employed in serving others1 ,i do not look upon myself as conferring favors1 but as paying debts4 ,in my travels1 and since my settlement1 ,i have received much kindness from men to whom ,i shall never have any opportunity of making any direct return1 and numberless mercies from ,god1 who is infinitely above being benefited by our services4 ,these kindnesses from men ,i can1 therefore1 only return on their fellow-men2 and ,i can only show my gratitude for these mercies from ,god by a readiness to help his other children and my brethren4 ,no1 true gentlemanliness and politeness always comes from within1 and is born of a life of love1 kindliness1 and service4 ,this is the universal language1 known and understood everywhere1 even when our words are not4 ,there is1 you know1 a beautiful old proverb which says1 ,he who is kind and courteous to strangers thereby shows himself a citizen of the world4 ,and there is nothing so remembered1 and that so endears one to all mankind1 as this universal language4 ,even dumb animals understand it and are affected by it4 ,how quickly the dog1 for example1 knows and makes it known when he is spoken to and treated kindly or the reverse6 ,and here shall not a word be spoken in connection with that great body of our fellow-creatures whom1 because we do not understand their language1 we are accustomed to call dumb8 ,the attitude we have assumed toward these fellow-creatures1 and the treatment they have been subjected to in the past1 is something almost appalling4 ,there are a number of reasons why this has been true4 ,has not one been on account of a belief in a future life for man1 but not for the animal8 ,a few years ago a gentleman left by will some fifty thousand dollars for the work of ,henry ,bergh's ,new ,york ,society4 ,his relatives contested the will on the ground of insanity1--on the ground of insanity because he believed in a future life for animals4 ,the judge1 in giving his decision sustaining the will1 stated that after a very careful investigation1 he found that fully half the world shared the same belief4 ,agassiz thoroughly believed it4 ,an ,english writer has recently compiled a list of over one hundred and seventy ,english authors who have so thoroughly believed it as to write upon the subject4 ,the same belief has been shared by many of the greatest thinkers in all parts of the world1 and it is a belief that is constantly gaining ground4 ,another and perhaps the chief cause has been on account of a supposed inferior degree of intelligence on the part of animals1 which in another form would mean1 that they are less able to care for and protect themselves4 ,should this1 however1 be a reason why they should be neglected and cruelly treated8 ,nay1 on the other hand1 should this not be the greatest reason why we should all the more zealously care for1 protect1 and kindly treat them8 ,you or ,i may have a brother or a sister who is not normally endowed as to brain power1 who1 perchance1 may be idiotic or insane1 or who1 through sickness or mishap1 is weakminded2 but do we make this an excuse for neglecting1 cruelly treating1 or failing to love such a one8 ,on the contrary1 the very fact that he or she is not so able to plan for1 care for1 and protect him or her self1 is all the greater reason for all the more careful exercise of these functions on our part4 ,but1 certainly1 there are many animals around us with far more intelligence1 at least manifested intelligence1 than this brother or sister4 ,the parallel holds1 but the absurd falsity of the position we assume is most apparent4 ,no truer nobility of character can anywhere manifest itself than is shown in one's attitude toward and treatment of those weaker or the so-called inferior1 and so with less power to care for and protect themselves4 ,moreover1 ,i think we shall find that we are many times mistaken in regard to our beliefs in connection with the inferior intelligence of at least many animals4 ,if1 instead of using them simply to serve our own selfish ends without a just recompense1 without a thought further than as to what we can get out of them1 and then many times casting them off when broken or of no further service1 and many times looking down upon1 neglecting1 or even abusing them1--if1 instead of this1 we would deal equitably with them1 love them1 train and educate them the same as we do our children1 we would be somewhat surprised at the remarkable degree of intelligence the dumb brutes possess1 and also the remarkable degree of training they are capable of4 ,what1 however1 can be expected of them when we take the attitude we at present hold toward them8 ,page after page might readily be filled with most interesting as well as inspiring portrayals of their superior intelligence1 their remarkable capabilities under kind and judicious training1 their faithfulness and devotion4 ,the efforts of such noble and devoted workers as ,henry ,bergh in ,new ,york1 of ,george ,t4 ,angell in ,massachusetts1 and many others in various parts of the country1 have already brought about a great change in our attitude toward and relations with this great body of our fellow-creatures1 and have made all the world more thoughtful1 considerate1 and kind4 ,this1 however1 is just the beginning of a work that is assuming greater and ever greater proportions4 ,the work of the ,american ,humane ,education ,society,a is probably surpassed in its vitality and far-reaching results by the work of no other society in the world to-day4 ,its chief object is the humane education of the ,american people2 and through one phase of its work alone--its ,bands of ,mercy1 over twenty-five thousand of which have already been formed1 giving regular1 systematic humane training and instruction to between one and two million children1 and these continually increasing in numbers--a most vital work is being done1 such as no man can estimate4 ,the humane sentiment inculcated in one's relations with the animal world1 and its resultant feelings of sympathy1 tenderness1 love1 and care1 will inevitably manifest itself in one's relations with his fellows2 and ,i for one1 would rejoice to see this work carried into every school throughout the length and breadth of the land4 ,in many cases this one phase of the child's training would be of far more vital value and import as he grows to manhood than all the rest of the schooling combined1 and it would form a most vital entering wedge in the solution of our social situation4 ,and why should we not speak to and kindly greet an animal as we pass it1 as instinctively as we do a human fellow-being8 ,though it may not get our words1 it will invariably get the attitude and the motive that prompts them1 and will be affected accordingly4 ,this it will do every time4 ,animals in general are marvellously sensitive to the mental conditions1 the thought forces1 and emotions of people4 ,some are peculiarly sensitive1 and can detect them far more quickly and unerringly than many people can4 ,it ought to help us greatly in our relations with them ever fully to realize that they with us are parts of the one ,universal ,life1 simply different forms of the manifestation of the ,one ,life1 having their part to play in the economy of the great universe the same as we have ours1 having their destiny to work out the same as we have ours1 and just as important1 just as valuable1 in the sight of the ,all in ,all as we ourselves4 ,i saw deep in the eyes of the animals the human soul look out upon me4 ,i saw where it was born deep down under feathers and fur1 or condemned for a while to roam four-footed among the brambles4 ,i caught the clinging mute glance of the prisoner1 and swore ,i would be faithful4 ,thee my brother and sister ,i see1 and mistake not4 ,do not be afraid4 ,dwelling thus for a while1 fulfilling thy appointed time1 thou1 too1 shall come to thyself at last4 ,thy half-warm horns and long tongue lapping round my wrist do not conceal thy humanity any more than the learned talk of the pedant conceals his1--for all thou art dumb1 we have words and plenty between us4 ,come nigh1 little bird1 with your half-stretched quivering wings1--within you ,i behold choirs of angels1 and the ,lord himself in vista4,b ,but a small thing1 apparently1 is a kind look1 word1 or service of some kind2 but1 oh6 who can tell where it may end8 ,it costs the giver comparatively nothing2 but who can tell the priceless value to him who receives it8 ,the cup of loving service1 be it merely a cup of cold water1 may grow and swell into a boundless river1 refreshing and carrying life and hope in turn to numberless others1 and these to others1 and so have no end4 ,this may be just the critical moment in some life4 ,given now1 it may save or change a life or a destiny4 ,so don't withhold the bread that's in your keeping1 but ,scatter it with willing fingers1 shout for joy to see it go4 ,there is no greater thing in life that you can do1 and nothing that will bring you such rich and precious returns4 ,the question is sometimes asked1 ,how can one feel a deep and genuine love1 a love sufficient to manifest itself in service for all8--there are some so mean1 so small1 with so many peculiar1 objectionable1 or even obnoxious characteristics4 ,true1 very true1 apparently at least2 but another great law of life is that we find in men and women exactly those qualities1 those characteristics1 we look for1 or that are nearest akin to the predominant qualities or characteristics of our own natures4 ,if we look for the peculiar1 the little1 the objectionable1 these we shall find2 but back of all this1 all that is most apparent on the exterior1 in the depths of each and every human soul1 is the good1 the true1 the brave1 the loving1 the divine1 the ,god-like1 that that never changes1 the very ,god ,himself that at some time or another will show forth ,his full likeness4 ,and still another law of life is that others usually manifest to us that which our own natures1 or1 in other words1 our own thoughts and emotions1 call forth4 ,the same person1 for example1 will come to two different people in an entirely different way1 because the larger1 better1 purer1 and more universal nature of the one calls forth the best1 the noblest1 the truest in him2 while the smaller1 critical1 personal nature of the other calls forth the opposite4 ,the wise man is therefore careful in regard to what he has to say concerning this or that one2 for1 generally speaking1 it is a sad commentary upon one's self if he find only the disagreeable1 the objectionable4 ,one lives always in the atmosphere of his own creation4 ,again1 it is sometimes said1 ,but such a one has such and such habits or has done so and so1 has committed such and such an error or such and such a crime4 ,but who1 let it be asked1 constituted me a judge of my fellow-man8 ,do ,i not recognize the fact that the moment ,i judge my fellow-man1 by that very act ,i judge myself8 ,one of two things1 ,i either judge myself or hypocritically profess that never once in my entire life have ,i committed a sin1 an error of any kind1 never have ,i stumbled1 never fallen1 and by that very profession ,i pronounce myself at once either a fool or a knave1 or both4 ,again1 it is said1 ,but even for the sake of helping1 of doing some service1 ,i could not for my own sake1 for character's1 for reputation's sake1 ,i could not afford even to be seen with such a one4 ,what would people1 what would my friends1 think and say8 ,true1 apparently at least1 but1 if my life1 my character1 has such a foundation1 a foundation so weak1 so uncertain1 so tottering1 as to be affected by anything of this kind1 ,i had better then look well to it1 and quietly1 quickly1 but securely1 begin to rebuild it2 and1 when ,i am sure that it is upon the true1 deep1 substantial foundation1 the only additional thing then necessary is for me to reach that glorious stage of development which quickly gets one out of the personal into the universal1 or rather that indicates that he is already out of the one and into the other1 when he can say3 ,they think4 ,what do they think8 ,let them think4 ,they say4 ,what do they say8 ,let them say4 ,and1 then1 the supreme charity one should have1 when he realizes the fact that the great bulk of the sin and error in the world is committed not through choice1 but through ignorance4 ,not that the person does not know many times that this or that course of action is wrong1 that it is wrong to commit this error or sin or crime2 but the ignorance comes in his belief that in this course of conduct he is deriving pleasure and happiness1 and his ignorance of the fact that through a different course of conduct he would derive a pleasure1 a happiness1 much keener1 higher1 more satisfying and enduring4 ,never should we forget that we are all the same in motive1--pleasure and happiness3 we differ only in method2 and this difference in method is solely by reason of some souls being at any particular time more fully evolved1 and thus having a greater knowledge of the great1 immutable laws under which we live1 and by putting the life into more and ever more complete harmony with these higher laws and forces1 and in this way bringing about the highest1 the keenest1 the most abiding pleasure and happiness instead of seeking it on the lower planes4 ,while all are the same in essence1 all a part of the ,one ,infinite1 ,eternal1 all with the same latent possibilities1 all reaching ultimately the same place1 it nevertheless is true that at any particular time some are more fully awakened1 evolved1 unfolded4 ,one should also be careful1 if life is continuous1 eternal1 how he judges any particular life merely from these threescore years and ten2 for the very fact of life1 in whatever form1 means continual activity1 growth1 advancement1 unfoldment1 attainment1 and1 if there is the one1 there must of necessity be the other4 ,so in regard to this one or that one1 no fears need be entertained4 ,by the door of my woodland cabin stood during the summer a magnificent tube-rose stock4 ,the day was when it was just putting into bloom2 and then ,i counted buds--latent flowers--to the number of over a score4 ,some eight or ten one morning were in full bloom4 ,the ones nearer the top did not bloom forth until some two and three weeks later1 and for some it took quite a month to reach the fully perfected stage4 ,these certainly were not so beautiful1 so satisfying1 as those already in the perfect bloom1 those that had already reached their highest perfection4 ,but should they on this account be despised8 ,wait1 wait and give the element of time an opportunity of doing its work2 and you may find that by and by1 when these have reached their highest perfection1 they may even far transcend in beauty and in fragrance those at present so beautiful1 so fragrant1 so satisfying1 those that we so much admire4 ,here we recognize the element of time4 ,how foolish1 how childish1 how puerile1 to fail or even refuse to do the same when it comes to the human soul1 with all its ,god-like possibilities6 ,and1 again1 how foolish1 because some of the blooms on the rose stock had not reached their perfection as soon as others1 to have pronounced them of no value1 unworthy1 and to have refused them the dews1 the warm rains1 the life-giving sunshine1 the very agencies that hastened their perfected growth6 ,yet this puerile1 unbalanced attitude is that taken by untold numbers in the world to-day toward many human souls on account of their less mature unfoldment at any given time4 ,why1 the very fact that a fellow-man and a brother has this or that fault1 error1 undesirable or objectionable characteristic1 is of itself the very reason he needs all the more of charity1 of love1 of kindly help and aid1 than is needed by the one more fully developed1 and hence more free from these4 ,all the more reason is there why the best in him should be recognized and ever called to the front4 ,the wise man is he who1 when he desires to rid a room of darkness or gloom1 does not attempt to drive it out directly1 but who throws open the doors and the windows1 that the room may be flooded with the golden sunlight2 for in its presence darkness and gloom cannot remain4 ,so the way to help a fellow-man and a brother to the higher and better life is not by ever prating upon and holding up to view his errors1 his faults1 his shortcomings1 any more than in the case of children1 but by recognizing and ever calling forth the higher1 the nobler1 the divine1 the ,god-like1 by opening the doors and the windows of his own soul1 and thus bringing about a spiritual perception1 that he may the more carefully listen to the inner voice1 that he may the more carefully follow the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world4 ,for in the exact proportion that the interior perception comes will the outer life and conduct accord with it1--so far1 and no farther4 ,where in all the world's history is to be found a more beautiful or valuable incident than this8 ,a group of men1 self-centred1 self-assertive1 have found a poor woman who1 in her blindness and weakness1 has committed an error1 the same one that they1 in all probability1 have committed not once1 but many times2 for the rule is that they are first to condemn who are-most at fault themselves4 ,they bring her to the ,master1 they tell him that she has committed a sin1--ay1 more1 that she has been taken in the very act1--and ask what shall be done with her1 informing him that1 in accordance with the olden laws1 such a one should be stoned4 ,but1 quicker than thought1 that great incarnation of spiritual power and insight reads their motives2 and1 after allowing them to give full expression to their accusations1 he turns1 and calmly says1 ,he among you that is without sin1 let him cast the first stone4 ,so saying1 he stoops down1 as if he is writing in the sand4 ,the accusers1 feeling the keen and just rebuke1 in the mean time sneak out1 until not one remains4 ,the ,master1 after all have gone1 turns to the woman1 his sister1 and kindly and gently says1 ,and where are thine accusers8 doth no man condemn thee8 ,no man1 ,lord4 ,and neither do ,i condemn thee3 go thou1 and sin no more4 ,oh1 the beauty1 the soul pathos6 ,oh1 the royal-hearted brother6 ,oh1 the invaluable lesson to us all6 ,i have no doubt that this gentle1 loving admonition1 this calling of the higher and the better to the front1 set into operation in her interior nature forces that hastened her progress from the purely animal1 the unsatisfying1 the diminishing1 to the higher spiritual1 the satisfying1 the ever-increasing1 or1 even more1 that made it instantaneous1 but that in either case brought about the new birth1--the new birth that comes with the awakening of the soul out of its purely physical sense-life to the higher spiritual perception and knowledge of itself1 and thus the birth of the higher out of the lower1 as at some time or another comes to each and every human soul4 ,and still another fact that should make us most charitable toward and slow to judge1 or rather refuse to judge1 a fellow-man and a brother1--the fact that we cannot know the intense strugglings and fightings he or she may be subjected to1 though accompanied1 it is true1 by numerous stumblings and fallings1 though the latter we see1 while the former we fail to recognize4 ,did we1 however1 know the truth of the matter1 it may be that in the case of ourselves1 who are so quick to judge1 had we the same temptations and fightings1 the battle would not be half so nobly1 so manfully fought1 and our stumblings and fallings might be many times the number of his or of hers4 ,had we infinite knowledge and wisdom1 our judgments would be correct2 though1 had we infinite knowledge and wisdom1 we would be spared the task1 though perhaps pleasure would seem to be the truer word to use1 of our own self-imposed judgments4 ,even so1 then1 if ,i cannot give myself in thorough love and service and self-devotion to each and all of the ,father's other children1 to every brother1 no matter what the rank1 station1 or apparent condition1 it shows that at least one of several things is radically wrong with self2 and it also indicates that ,i shall never know the full and supreme joy of existence until ,i am able to and until ,i regard each case in the light of a rare and golden opportunity1 in which ,i take a supreme delight4 ,although what has just been said is true1 at the same time there are occasions when it must be taken with wise discretion2 and1 although there are things it may be right for me to do for the sake of helping another life1 at the same time there are things it may be unwise for me to do4 ,i have sympathy for a friend who is lying in the gutter2 but it would be very unwise for me to get myself into the same condition1 and go and lie with him1 thinking that only thus ,i could show my fullest sympathy1 and be of greatest help to him4 ,on the contrary1 it is only as ,i stand on the higher ground that ,i am able to reach forth the hand that will truly lift him up4 ,the moment ,i sink myself to the same level1 my power to help ceases4 ,just as unwise1 to use a familiar example1 far more unwise1 would it be for me1 were ,i a woman1 to think of marrying a man who is a drunkard or a libertine1 thinking that because ,i may love him ,i shall be able to reform him4 ,in the first place1 ,i should find that the desired results could not be accomplished in this way1 or rather1 no results that could not be accomplished1 and far more readily accomplished otherwise1 and at far less expense4 ,in the second place1 ,i could not afford to subject myself to the demands1 the influences1 of one such1 and so either sink myself to his level or1 if not1 then be compelled to use the greater part of my time1 thought1 and energy in demonstrating over existing conditions1 and keeping myself true to the higher life1 the same time that might be used in helping the lives of many others4 ,if ,i sink myself to his level1 ,i do not help1 but aid all the more in dragging him down1 or1 if ,i do not sink to his level1 then in the degree that ,i approach it do ,i lose my power over and influence with that life4 ,especially would it be unwise on my part if on his part there is no real desire for a different course1 and no manifest endeavor to attain to it4 ,many times it seems necessary for such a one to wallow in the deepest of the mire1 until1 to use a commonplace phrase1 he has his fill4 ,he will then be ready to come out1 will then be open to influence4 ,i in the mean time1 instead of entering into the mire with him1 instead of subjecting my life to his influences1 will stand up on the higher ground1 and will ever point him upward1 will ever reach forth a hand to help him upward1 and will thus subject him to the higher influences2 and1 by preserving myself in this attitude1 ,i can do the same for many other lives4 ,in it all there will be no bitterness1 no condemnation1 no casting off1 but the highest charity1 sympathy and love2 and it is only by this method that ,i can manifest the highest1 only by this method that ,i can the most truly aid1 for only as ,i am lifted up can ,i draw others unto me4 ,in this matter of service1 as in all other matters1 that supreme regulator of human life and conduct--good common sense--must always be used4 ,there are some natures1 for example1 whom the more we would do for1 the more we would have to do for1 who1 in other words1 would become dependent1 losing their sense of self-dependence4 ,for such the highest service one can render is as judiciously and as indirectly as possible to lead them to the sense of self-reliance4 ,then there are others whose natures are such that1 the more they are helped1 the more they expect1 the more they demand1 even as their right1 who1 in other words1 are parasites or vultures of the human kind4 ,in this case1 again1 the greatest service that can be rendered may be a refusal of service1 a refusal of aid in the ordinary or rather expected forms1 and a still greater service in the form of teaching them that great principle of justice1 of compensation1 that runs through all the universe1--that for every service there must be in some form or another an adequate service in return1 that the law of compensation in one form or another is absolute1 and1 in fact1 the greatest forms of service we can render any one are1 generally speaking1 along the lines of teaching him the great laws of his own being1 the great laws of his true possibilities and powers and so the great laws of self-help4 ,and1 again1 it is possible for one whose heart goes out in love and service for all1 and who1 by virtue of lacking that long range of vision or by virtue of not having a grasp of things in their entirety or wholeness1 may have his time1 his energies so dissipated in what seems to be the highest service that he is continually kept from his own highest unfoldment1 powers1 and possessions1 the very things that in their completeness would make him a thousand-fold more effective and powerful in his own life1 and hence in the life of real service and influence4 ,and1 in a case of this kind1 many times the mark of the most absolute unselfishness is a strong and marked selfishness1 which will prove however to be a selfishness only in the seeming4 ,the self should never be lost sight of4 ,it is the one thing of supreme importance1 the greatest factor even in the life of the greatest service4 ,being always and necessarily precedes doing3 having always and necessarily precedes giving4 ,but this law also holds3 that when there is the being1 it is all the more increased by the doing2 when there is the having1 it is all the more increased by the giving4 ,keeping to one's self dwarfs and stultifies4 ,hoarding brings loss3 using brings even greater gain4 ,in brief1 the more we are1 the more we can do2 the more we have1 the more we can give4 ,the most truly successful1 the most powerful and valuable life1 then1 is the life that is first founded upon this great1 immutable law of love and service1 and that then becomes supremely self-centred1--supremely self-centred that it may become all the more supremely unself-centred2 in other words1 the life that looks v_/ell to self1 that there may be the ever greater self1 in order that there may be the ever greater service4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote ,a3 ,headquarters at ,boston1 ,mass4 ,footnote ,b3 ,toward ,democracy4 ,,part ,,iv4 ,,the ,,awakening ,if you'd live a religion that's noble1 ,that's ,god-like and true1 ,a religion the grandest that men ,or that angels can1 ,then live1 live the truth ,of the brother who taught you1 ,it's love to ,god1 service and love ,to the fellow-man4 ,social problems are to be among the greatest problems of the generation just moving on to the stage of action4 ,they1 above all others1 will claim the attention of mankind1 as they are already claiming it across the waters even as at home4 ,the attitude of the two classes toward each other1 or the separation of the classes1 will be by far the chief problem of them all4 ,already it is imperatively demanding a solution4 ,gradually1 as the years have passed1 this separation has been going on1 but never so rapidly as of late4 ,each has come to regard the other as an enemy1 with no interests in common1 but rather that what is for the interests of the one must necessarily be to the detriment of the other4 ,the great masses of the people1 the working classes1 those who as much1 if not more than many others ought to be there1 are not in our churches to-day4 ,they already feel that they are not wanted there1 and that the ,church even is getting to be their enemy4 ,there must be a reason for this1 for it is impossible to have an effect without its preceding cause4 ,it is indeed time to waken up to these facts and conditions2 for they must be squarely met4 ,a solution is imperatively demanded1 and the sooner it comes1 the better2 for1 if allowed to continue thus1 all will come back to be paid for1 intensified a thousand-fold1--ay1 to be paid for even by many innocent ones4 ,let this great principle of service1 helpfulness1 love1 and self-devotion to the interests of one's fellow-men be made the fundamental principle of all lives1 and see how simplified these great and all-important questions will become4 ,indeed1 they will almost solve themselves4 ,it is the man all for self1 so small and so short sighted that he can't get beyond his own selfish interests1 that has done more to bring about this state of affairs than all other causes combined4 ,let the cause be removed1 and then note the results4 ,for many years it has been a teaching even of political economy that an employer buys his help just as he buys his raw material or any other commodity2 and this done1 he is in no way responsible for the welfare of those he employs4 ,in fact1 the time isn't so far distant when the employed were herded together as animals1 and were treated very much as such4 ,but1 thanks be to ,god1 a better and a brighter day is dawning4 ,even the employer is beginning to see that practical ethics1 or true ,christianity1 and business cannot and must not be divorced2 that the man he employs1 instead of being a mere animal whose services he buys1 is1 after all his fellow-man and his brother1 and demands a treatment as such1 and that when he fails to recognize this truth1 a righteous ,god steps in1 demanding a penalty for its violation4 ,he is recognizing the fact that whatsoever is for the well-being of the one he employs1 that whatever privileges he is enabled to enjoy that will tend to grow and develop his physical1 his mental1 and his moral life1 that will give him an agreeable home and pleasant family relations1 that whatever influences tend to elevate him and to make his life more happy1 are a direct gain1 even from a financial standpoint for himself1 by its increasing for him the efficiency of the man's labor4 ,it is already recognized as a fact that the employer who interests himself in these things1 other things being equal1 is the most successful4 ,thus the old and the false are breaking away before the right and the true1 as all inevitably must sooner or later2 and the divinity and the power of the workingman is being ever more fully recognized4 ,in the very remote history of the race there was one who1 violating a great law1 having wronged a brother1 asked1 ,am ,i my brother's keeper8 ,knowing that he was1 he nevertheless deceitfully put the question in this way in his desire1 if possible1 to avoid the responsibility4 ,many employers in their selfishness and greed for gain have asked this same question in this same way4 ,they have thought they could thus defeat the sure and eternal laws of a ,just ,ruler1 but have thereby deceived themselves the more4 ,these more than any others have to a great degree brought about the present state of affairs in the industrial and social world4 ,just as soon as the employer recognizes the falsity of these old teachings and practices1 and the fact that he cannot buy his employee's services the same as he buys his raw material1 with no further responsibility1 but that the two are on vastly different planes1 that his employee is his fellow-man and his brother1 and that he is his brother's keeper1 and will be held responsible as such1 that it is to his own highest interests1 as well as to the highest interests of those he employs and to society in general1 to recognize this2 and just as soon as he who is employed fully appreciates his opportunities and makes the highest use of all1 and in turn takes an active1 personal interest in all that pertains to his employer's welfare1--just that soon will a solution of this great question come forth1 and no sooner4 ,it is not so much a question of legislation as of education and right doing1 thus a dealing with the individual1 and so a prevention and a cure1 not merely a suppression and a regulation1 which is always sure to fail2 for1 in a case of right or wrong no question is ever settled finally until it is settled rightly4 ,the individual1 dealing with the individual is necessarily at the bottom of all true social progress4 ,there can't be anything worthy the name without it4 ,the truth will at once be recognized by all that the good of the whole defends upon the good of each1 and the good of each makes the good of the whole4 ,attend1 then1 to the individual1 and the whole will take care of itself4 ,let each individual work in harmony with every other1 and harmony will pervade the whole4 ,the old theory of competition--that in order to have great advancement1 great progress1 we must have great competition to induce it--is as false as it is savage and detrimental in its nature4 ,we are just reaching that point where the larger men and women are beginning to see its falsity4 ,they are recognizing the fact that1 not competition1 but co-operation1 reciprocity1 is the great1 the true power1--to climb1 not by attempting to drag1 to keep down one's fellows1 but by aiding them1 and being in turn aided by them1 thus combining1 and so multiplying the power of all instead of wasting a large part one against the other4 ,and grant that a portion do succeed in rising1 while the other portion remain in the lower condition1 it is of but little value so far as their own peace and welfare are concerned2 for they can never be what they would be1 were all up together4 ,each is but a part1 a member1 of the great civil body2 and no member1 let alone the entire body1 can be perfectly well1 perfectly at ease1 when any other part is in dis-ease4 ,no one part of the community1 no one part of the nation1 can stand alone3 all are dependent1 interdependent4 ,this is the uniform teaching of history from the remotest times in the past right through to the present4 ,a most admirable illustration of this fact--if indeed the word admirable can be used in connection with a matter so deplorable--was the unparalleled labor trouble we had in our great ,western city but a few summers ago4 ,the wise man is he who learns from experiences of this terrific nature4 ,no1 not until this all-powerful principle is fully recognized1 and is built upon so thoroughly that the brotherhood principle1 the principle of oneness can enter in1 and each one recognizes the fact that his own interests and welfare depend upon the interests1 the welfare of each1 and therefore of all1 that each is but a part of the one great whole1 and each one stands shoulder to shoulder in the advance forward1 can we hope for any true solution of the great social problems before us1 for any permanent elevation of the standard in our national social life and welfare4 ,this same principle is the solution1 and the only true solution1 of the charities question1 as indeed the whole world during the last few years or so1 and during this time only1 is beginning to realize4 ,and the splendid and efficient work of the organized charities in all our large cities1 as of the ,elberfeld system in ,germany1 is attesting the truth of this4 ,almost numberless methods have been tried during the past1 but all have most successfully failed2 and many have greatly increased the wretched condition of matters1 and of those it was designed to help4 ,during this length of time only have these all-important questions been dealt with in a true1 scientific1 ,christ-like1 common-sense way4 ,it has been found even here that nothing can take the place of the personal and friendly influences of a life built upon this principle of service4 ,the question of aiding the poor and needy has passed through three distinct phases of development in the world's history4 ,in early times it was1 ,each one for himself1 and the devil take the hindmost4 ,from the time of the ,christ1 and up to the last few years it has been1 ,help others4 ,now it is1 ,help others to help themselves4 ,the wealthy society lady going down ,fifth ,avenue in ,new ,york1 or ,michigan ,avenue in ,chicago1 or ,charles ,street in ,baltimore1 or ,commonwealth ,avenue in ,boston1 who flings a coin to one asking alms1 is not the one who is doing a true act of charity2 but1 on the other hand1 she may be doing the one she thus gives to and to society in general much more harm than good1 as is many times the case4 ,it is but a cheap1 a very cheap way of buying ease for her sympathetic nature or her sense of duty4 ,never let the word charity1 which always includes the elements of interested service1 true helpfulness1 kindliness1 and love1 be debased by making it a synonym of mere giving1 which may mean the flinging of a quarter in scorn or for show4 ,recognizing the great truth that the best and only way to help another is to help him to help himself1 and that the neglected classes need not so much alms as friends1 the ,organized ,charities with their several branches in different parts of the city have their staffs of friendly visitors1 almost all voluntary1 and from some of the best homes in the land4 ,then when a case of need comes to the notice of the society1 one of these goes to the person or family as a friend to investigate1 to find what circumstances have brought about these conditions1 and1 if found worthy of aid1 present needs are supplied1 an effort is made to secure work1 and every effort is made to put them on their feet again1 that self-respect may be regained1 that hope may enter in2 for there is scarcely anything that tends to make one lose his self-respect so quickly and so completely as to be compelled1 or of his own accord1 to ask for alms4 ,it is thus many times that a new life is entered upon1 brightness and hope taking the place of darkness and despair4 ,this is not the only call the friendly visitor makes2 but he or she becomes a true friend1 and makes regular visits as such4 ,if by this method the one seeking charity is found to be an impostor1 as is frequently the case1 proper means of exposure are resorted to1 that his or her progress in this course may be stopped4 ,the organizations are thus doing a most valuable work1 and one that will become more and more valuable as they are enabled to become better organized1 the greatest need to-day being more with the true spirit to act as visiting friends4 ,it is this same great principle that has given birth to our college and university settlements and our neighborhood guilds which are so rapidly increasing1 and which are destined to do a great and efficient work4 ,here a small colony of young women1 many from our best homes1 and the ablest graduates of our best colleges1 and young men1 many of them the ablest graduates of our best universities1 take up their abode in the poorest parts of our large cities1 to try by their personal influence and personal contact to raise the surrounding life to a higher plane4 ,it is in these ways that the poor and the unfortunate are dealt with directly4 ,thus the classes mingle4 ,thus that sentimentalism which may do and which has done harm to these great problems1 and by which the people it is designed to help may be hindered rather than helped1 is done away with4 ,thus true aid and service are rendered1 and the needy are really helped4 ,the one whose life is built upon this principle will not take up work of this kind as a fad1 or because it is fashionable1 but because it is right1 true1 ,christ-like4 ,the truly great and noble never fear thus to mingle with those poorer and less fortunate4 ,it is only those who would like to be counted as great1 but who are too small to be so recognized1 and who1 therefore1 always thinking of self1 put forth every effort to appear so4 ,there is no surer test than this4 ,very truly has it been said that the greatest thing a man can do for ,god is to be kind to some of ,his other children4 ,all children of the same ,father1 therefore all brothers1 sisters4 ,man is next to ,god4 ,man is ,god incarnate4 ,humanity1 therefore1 cannot be very far from being next to godliness4 ,many people there are who are greatly concerned about serving ,god1 as they term it4 ,their idea is to build great edifices with costly ornaments to ,him4 ,a great deal of their time is spent in singing songs and hallelujahs to ,him1 just as if ,he needed or wanted these for ,himself1 forgetting that ,he is far above being benefited by anything that we can say or do1 forgetting that ,he doesn't want these1 when for lack of them some of ,his children are starving for bread to eat or are dying for the bread of life4 ,can you conceive of a ,god who is worthy of love and service1--and ,i speak most reverently1--who under such conditions would take a satisfaction in these things8 ,i confess ,i am not able to4 ,i can conceive of no way in which ,i can serve ,god only as ,i serve ,him through my own life and through the lives of my fellow-men4 ,this1 certainly1 is the only kind of service ,he needs or wants1 or that is acceptable to ,him4 ,at one place we read1 ,he that says he loves ,god and loves not his fellow-men1 is a liar2 and the truth is not in him4 ,even in religion ,i think we shall find that there is nothing greater or more important than this great principle of service1 helpfulness1 kindliness1 and love4 ,is not ,christianity1 you ask1 greater or more important8 ,why1 bless you1 is this any other than ,christianity1 is ,christianity any other than this1--at least1 if we take what the ,master ,teacher himself has said8 ,for what1 let us ask1 is a ,christian1--the real1 not merely in name8 ,a follower of ,christ1 one who does as he did1 one who lives as he lived4 ,and1 again1 who was ,christ8 ,he that healed the sick1 clothed the naked1 bound up the broken-hearted1 sustained and encouraged the weak1 the faltering1 befriended and aided the poor1 the needy1 condemned the proud and the selfish1 taught the people to live nobly1 truly1 grandly1 to live in their higher1 diviner selves1 that the greatest among them should be their servant1 and that his followers were those who lived as he lived4 ,he spent all his time in the service of humanity4 ,he gave his whole life in this way4 ,he it was who went about doing good4 ,is it your desire then1 to be numbered among his followers1 to bear that blessed name1 the name ,christian8 ,then sit at his feet1 and learn of him1 love him1 do as he did1 as he taught you to do1 live as he lived1 as he taught you to live1 and you are a ,christian1 and not unless you do4 ,true ,christianity can be found in no other way4 ,naught is the difference what one may call himself2 for many call themselves by this name to whom ,christ says it will one day be said1 ,i never knew you3 depart from me1 ye cursed4 ,naught is the difference what creeds one may subscribe to1 what rites and ceremonies he may observe1 how loud and how numerous his professions may be4 ,all of these are but as a vain mockery1 unless he is a ,christian2 and to be a ,christian is1 as we have found1 to be a follower of ,christ1 to do as he did1 to live as he lived4 ,then live the ,christ life4 ,live so as to become at one with ,god1 and dwell continually in this blessed at-one-ment4 ,the trouble all along has been that so many have mistaken the mere person of the ,christ1 the mere physical ,jesus1 for his life1 his spirit1 his teachings1 and have succeeded in getting no farther than this as yet1 except in cases here and there4 ,now and then a rare soul rises up1 one with great power1 great inspiration1 and we wonder at his great power1 his great inspiration1 why it is4 ,when we look deeply enough1 however1 we will find that one great fact will answer the question every time4 ,it is living the life that brings the power4 ,he is living the ,christ life1 not merely standing afar off and looking at it1 admiring it1 and saying1 ,yes1 ,i believe1 ,i believe1 and ending it there4 ,in other words1 he has found the kingdom of heaven4 ,he has found that it is not a place1 but a condition2 and the song continually arising from his heart is1 ,there is joy1 only joy4 ,the ,master1 you remember1 said3 ,seek ye not for the kingdom of heaven in tabernacles or in houses made with hands4 ,know ye not that the kingdom of heaven is within you8 ,he told in plain words where and how to find it4 ,he then told how to find all other things1 when he said1 ,seek ye first the kingdom of heaven1 and all these other things shall be added unto you4 ,now1 do you wonder at his power1 his inspiration1 his abundance of all things8 ,the trouble with so many is that they act as if they do not believe what the ,master said4 ,they do not take him at his word4 ,they say one thing3 they do another4 ,their acts give the lie to their words4 ,instead of taking him at his word1 and living as if they had faith in him1 they prefer to follow a series of old1 outgrown1 man-made theories1 traditions1 forms1 ceremonies1 and seem to be satisfied with the results4 ,no1 to be a ,christian is to live the ,christ life1 the life of him who went about doing good1 the life of him who came not to be ministered unto1 but to minister4 ,we will find that this mighty principle of love and service is the greatest to live by in this life1 and also one of the gates whereby all who would must enter the kingdom of heaven4 ,again we have the ,master's words4 ,in his own and only description of the last judgment1 after speaking of the ,son of ,man coming in all his glory and all the holy angels with him1 of his sitting on the throne of his glory with all nations gathered before him1 of the separation of this gathered multitude into two parts1 the one on his right1 the other on his left1 he says3 ,then shall the ,king say unto them on his right hand1 ,come1 ye blessed of my ,father1 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world4 ,for ,i was an hungered1 and ye gave me meat2 ,i was thirsty1 and ye gave me drink2 ,i was a stranger1 and ye took me in2 naked1 and ye clothed me2 ,i was sick1 and ye visited me2 ,i was in prison1 and ye came unto me4 ,then shall the righteous answer him1 saying1 ,lord1 when saw we thee an hungered1 and fed thee8 or thirsty1 and gave thee drink8 ,when saw we thee a stranger1 and took thee in8 or naked1 and clothed thee8 ,or when saw we thee sick1 or in prison1 and came unto thee8 ,and the ,king shall answer1 and say unto them1 ,verily ,i say unto you1 ,inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren1 ye have done it unto me4 ,then shall he say unto them on the left hand1 ,depart from me1 ye cursed4 ,for ,i was an hungered1 and ye gave me no meat2 ,i was thirsty1 and ye gave me no drink2 ,i was a stranger1 and ye took me not in2 sick1 and in prison1 and ye visited me not4 ,then shall they answer him1 saying1 ,lord1 when saw we thee an hungered1 or athirst1 or a stranger1 or naked1 or sick1 or in prison1 and did not minister unto thee8 ,then shall he answer them1 saying1 ,verily ,i say unto you1 ,inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these1 ye did it not to me4 ,after spending the greater portion of his life in many distant climes in a fruitless endeavor to find the ,cup of the ,holy ,grail1,c thinking that thereby he was doing the greatest service he could for ,god1 ,sir ,launfal at last returns an old man1 gray-haired and bent4 ,he finds that his castle is occupied by others1 and that he himself is an outcast4 ,his cloak is torn2 and instead of the charger in gilded trappings he was mounted upon when as a young man1 he started out with great hopes and ambitions1 he is afoot and leaning on a staff4 ,while sitting there and meditating1 he is met by the same poor and needy leper he passed the morning he started1 the one who in his need asked for aid1 and to whom he had flung a coin in scorn1 as he hurried on in his eager desire to be in the ,master's service4 ,but matters are changed now1 and he is a wiser man4 ,again the poor leper says3-- ',for ,christ's sweet sake1 ,i beg an alms'2-- ,the happy camels may reach the spring1 ,but ,sir ,launfal sees only the grewsome thing1 ,the leper1 lank as the rain-blanched bone1 ,that cowers beside him1 a thing as lone ,and white as the ice-isles of ,northern seas ,in the desolate horror of his disease4 ,and ,sir ,launfal said3 ',i behold in thee ,an image of ,him who died on the tree2 ,thou also hast had thy crown of thorns1-- ,thou also hast had the world's buffets and scorns1-- ,and to thy life were not denied ,the wounds in the hands and feet and side3 ,mild ,mary's ,son1 acknowledge me2 ,behold1 through him1 ,i give to thee6' ,then the soul of the leper stood up in his eyes ,and looked at ,sir ,launfal1 and straightway be ,remembered in what a haughtier guise ,he had flung an alms to leprosie1 ,when he girt his young life up in gilded mail ,and set forth in search of the ,holy ,grail4 ,the heart within him was ashes and dust2 ,he parted in twain his single crust1 ,he broke the ice on the streamlet's brink1 ,and gave the leper to eat and drink1 ',twas a mouldy crust of coarse brown bread1 ',twas water out of a wooden bowl1-- ,yet with fine wheaten bread was the leper fed1 ,and 'twas red wine he drank with his thirsty soul4 ,as ,sir ,launfal mused with a downcast face1 ,a light shone round about the place2 ,the leper no longer crouched at his side1 ,but stood before him glorified1 ,shining and tall and fair and straight ,as the pillar that stood by the ,beautiful ,gate1-- ,himself the ,gate whereby men can ,enter the temple of ,god in ,man4 ,and the voice that was calmer than silence said1 ',lo1 it is ,i1 be not afraid6 ,in many climes1 without avail1 ,thou hast spent thy life for the ,holy ,grail2 ,behold1 it is here1--this cup which thou ,didst fill at the streamlet for me but now2 ,this crust is my body broken for thee1 ,this water ,his blood that died on the tree2 ,the ,holy ,supper is kept1 indeed1 ,in whatso we share with another's need2 ,not what we give1 but what we share1-- ,for the gift without the giver is bare2 ,who gives himself with his alms feeds three1-- ,himself1 his hungering neighbor1 and me4' ,the fear is sometimes entertained1 and the question is sometimes asked1 ,may not adherence to this principle of helpfulness and service become mere sentimentalism8 or still more1 may it not be the means of lessening another's sense of self-dependence1 and thus may it not at times do more harm than good8 ,in reply let it be said3 ,if the love which impels it be a selfish love1 or a weak sentimental ism1 or an effort at show1 or devoid of good common sense1 yes1 many times4 ,but if it be a strong1 genuine1 unselfish love1 then no1 never4 ,for1 if my love for my fellow-man be the true love1 ,i can never do anything that will be to his or any one's else detriment1--nothing that will not redound to his highest ultimate welfare4 ,should he1 for example come and ask of me a particular favor1 and were it clear to me that granting it would not be for his highest good ultimately1 then love at once resolves itself into duty1 and compels me to forbear4 ,a true1 genuine1 unselfish love for one's fellow-man will never prompt1 and much less permit1 anything that will not result in his highest ultimate good4 ,adherence1 therefore1 to this great principle in its truest sense1 instead of being a weak sentimentalism1 is1 we shall find1 of all practical things the most intensely practical4 ,and a word here in regard to the test of true love and service1 in distinction from its semblance for show or for vain glory4 ,the test of the true is this3 that it goes about and does its good work1 it never says anything about it1 but lets others do the saying4 ,it not only says nothing about it1 but more1 it has no desire to have it known2 and1 the truer it is1 the greater the desire to have it unknown save to ,god and its own true self4 ,in other words1 it is not sicklied o'er with a semi-insane desire for notoriety or vainglory1 and hence never weakens itself nor harasses any one else by lengthy recitals of its good deeds4 ,it is not the professional good-doing4 ,it is simply living its natural life1 open-minded1 open-hearted1 doing each day what its hands find to do1 and in this finding its own true life and joy4 ,and in this way it unintentionally but irresistibly draws to itself a praise the rarest and divinest ,i know of1--the praise ,i heard given but a day or two ago to one who is living simply his own natural life without any conscious effort at anything else1 the praise contained in the words3 ,and1 oh1 it is beautiful1 the great amount of good he does and of which the world never hears4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote ,c3 ,according to the mythology of the ,romancers1 the ,sangreal1 or ,holy ,grail1 was the cup out of which ,jesus partook of the ,last ,supper with his disciples4 ,it was brought into ,england by ,joseph of ,arimathea1 and remained there1 an object of pilgrimage and adoration1 for many years in the keeping of his lineal descendants4 ,it was incumbent upon those who had charge of it to be chaste in thought1 word1 and deed2 but1 one of the keepers having broken this condition1 the ,holy ,grail disappeared4 ,from that time it was a favorite enterprise of the ,knights of ,sir ,arthur's court to go in search of it4--,james ,russell ,lowell4 ,,part ,v4 ,,the ,,incoming ,o dull1 gray grub1 unsightly and noisome1 unable to roam1 ,days pass1 ,god's at work1 the slow chemistry's going on1 ,behold6 ,behold6 ,o brilliant1 buoyant life1 full winged1 all the heaven's thy home6 ,o poor1 mean man1 stumbling and falling1 e'en shamed by a clod4 ,years pass1 ,god's at work1 spiritual awakening has come1 ,behold6 ,behold6 ,o regal1 royal soul1 then image1 now the likeness of ,god4 ,the ,master ,teacher1 he who appeals most strongly and comes nearest to us of this western civilization1 has told us that the whole and the highest duty of man is comprised in two great1 two simple precepts--- love to ,god and love to the fellow-man4 ,the latter we have already fully considered4 ,we have found that in its real and true meaning it is not a mere indefinite or sentimental abstraction1 but that it is a vital1 living force2 and in its manifestation it is life1 it is action1 it is service4 ,let us now for a moment to the other1--love to ,god1 which in great measure however let it be said1 has been considered in dealing with love to the fellow-man4 ,let us see1 however1 what it in its true and full nature reveals4 ,the question naturally arising at the outset is1 ,who1 what is ,god8 ,i think no truer1 sublimer definition has ever been given in the world's history1 in any language1 in any clime1 than that given by the ,master himself when standing by the side of ,jacob's well1 to the ,samaritan woman he said1 ,god is ,spirit2 and they that worship ,him must worship ,him in spirit and in truth4 ,god is ,spirit1 the ,infinite ,spirit1 the ,infinite ,life back of all these physical manifestations we see in this changing world about us1 and of which all1 including we ourselves1 is the body or outer form2 the one ,infinite ,spirit which fills all the universe with ,himself1 so that all is ,he1 since ,he is all4 ,all is ,he in the sense of being a part of ,him2 for1 if ,he is all1 there can be nothing that is outside of1 that is not a part of ,him1 so that each one is a part of this ,eternal ,god who is not separate from us1 and1 if not separate from us1 then not afar off1 for in ,him we live and move and have our being1 ,he is the life of our life1 our very life itself4 ,the life of ,god is in us1 we are in the life of ,god2 but that life transcends us so that it includes all else1--every person1 every animal1 every grass-blade1 every flower1 every particle of earth1 every particle of everything1 animate and inanimate4 ,so that ,god is ,all2 and1 if all1 then each individual1 you and ,i1 must be a vital part of that all1 since there can be nothing separate from it2 and1 if a part1 then the same in nature1 in characteristics1--the same as a tumbler of water taken from the ocean is1 in nature1 in qualities1 in characteristics1 identical with that ocean1 its source4 ,god1 then1 is the ,infinite ,spirit of which each one is a part in the form of an individualized spirit4 ,god is ,spirit1 creating1 manifesting1 ruling through the agency of great spiritual laws and forces that surround us on every side1 that run through all the universe1 and that unite all2 for in one sense1 there is nothing in all this great universe but law4 ,and1 oh1 the stupendous grandeur of it all6 ,these same great spiritual laws and forces operate within us4 ,they are the laws of our being4 ,by them every act of each individual life is governed4 ,now one of the great facts borne ever more and more into the inner consciousness of man is that sublime and transcendent fact that we have just noticed1--that man is one with1 that he is part of1 the ,infinite ,god1 this ,infinite ,spirit that is the life of all1 this ,infinite ,whole2 that he is not a mere physical1 material being1--for the physical is but the material which the real inner self1 the real life or spirit uses to manifest through1--but that he is this spirit1 this spirit1 using1 living in this physical1 material house or body to get the contact1 the experience with the material world around him while in this form of life1 but spirit nevertheless1 and spirit now as much as he ever will or ever can be1 except so far of course1 as he recognizes more and more his true1 his higher self1 and so consciously evolves1 step by step1 into the higher and ever higher realization of the real nature1 the real self1 the ,god-self4 ,as ,i heard it said by one of the world's great thinkers and writers but a few days ago3 ,men talk of having a soul4 ,i have no soul4 ,i am a soul3 ,i have a body4 ,we are told moreover in the word1 that man is created in the image of ,god4 ,god is ,spirit4 ,what then must man be1 if that which tells us is true8 ,now one of the great errors all along in the past has been that we have mistaken the mere body1 the mere house in which we live while in this form of life for a period1--that which comes from the earth and which1 in a greater or less time1 returns to the earth1--this we have mistaken for the real self4 ,either we have lost sight of or we have failed to recognize the true identity4 ,the result is that we are at life from the wrong side1 from the side of the external1 while all true life is from within out4 ,we have taken our lives out of a conscious harmony with the higher laws of our being1 with the result that we are going against the great current of the ,divine ,order of things4 ,is it any wonder1 then1 that we find the strugglings1 the inharmonies1 the sufferings1 the fears1 the forebodings1 the fallings by the wayside1 the strange1 inscrutable dispensations of ,providence that we behold on every side8 ,the moment we bring our lives into harmony with the higher laws of our being1 and1 as a result1 into harmony with the current of the ,divine ,order of things1 we shall find that all these will have taken wings2 for the cause will have been removed4 ,and as we look down the long vista of such a life1 we shall find that each thing fits into all others with a wonderful1 a sublime1 a perfect1 a divine harmony4 ,this1 it will seem to some1--and to many1 no doubt1--is claiming a great deal4 ,no more1 however1 than the ,master ,teacher warranted us in claiming when he said1 and repeated it so often1 ,seek ye first the kingdom of heaven1 and all these other things shall be added unto you2 and he left us not in the dark as to exactly what he meant by the kingdom of heaven1 for again he said3 ,say not1 ,lo here1 nor lo there4 ,know ye not that the kingdom of heaven is within you8 ,within you4 ,the interior spiritual kingdom1 the kingdom of the higher self1 which is the kingdom of ,god2 the kingdom of harmony1--harmony with the higher laws of your being4 ,the ,master said what he said not for the sake merely of using a phrase of rhetoric1 nor even to hear himself talk2 for this he never did4 ,but that great incarnation of spiritual insight and power knew of the great spiritual laws and forces under which we live1 and also that supreme fact of the universe1 that man is a spiritual being1 born to have dominion1 and that1 by recognizing the true self and by bringing it into complete and perfect harmony with the higher spiritual laws and forces under which he lives1 he can touch these laws and forces so that they will respond at every call and bring him whatsoever he wills1--one of the most stupendous scientific facts of the universe4 ,when he has found and entered into the kingdom1 then applies to him the truth of the great precept1 ,take ye no thought for the morrow2 for the things of the morrow will take care of themselves4 ,yes1 we are at life from the wrong side4 ,we have been giving all time and attention to the mere physical1 the material1 the external1 the mere outward means of expression and the things that pertain thereto1 thus missing the real life2 and this we have called living1 and seem1 indeed1 to be satisfied with the results4 ,no wonder the cry has gone out again and again from many a human soul1 ,is life worth the living8 ,but from one who has once commenced to live1 this cry never has1 nor can it ever come2 for1 when the kingdom is once found1 life then ceases to be a plodding1 and becomes an exultation1 an ecstasy1 a joy4 ,yes1 you will find that all the evil1 all the error1 all the disease1 all the suffering1 all the fears1 all the forebodings of life1 are on the side of the physical1 the material1 the transient2 while all the peace1 all the joy1 all the happiness1 all the growth1 all the life1 all the rich1 exulting1 abounding life1 is on the side of the spiritual1 the ever-increasing1 the eternal1--that that never changes1 that has no end4 ,instead of crying out against the destiny of fate1 let us cry out against the destiny of self1 or rather against the destiny of the mistaken self2 for everything that comes to us comes through causes which we ourselves or those before us have set into operation4 ,nothing comes by chance1 for in all the wide universe there is absolutely no such thing as chance4 ,we bring whatever comes4 ,are we not satisfied with the effects1 the results8 ,the thing then to do1 is to change the causes2 for we have everything in our own hands the moment we awake to a recognition of the true self4 ,we make our own heaven or our own hell1 and the only heaven or hell that will ever be ours is that of our own making4 ,the order of the universe is one thing3 we take our lives out of harmony with and so pervert the laws under which we live1 and make it another4 ,the order is the all good4 ,we pervert the laws1 and what we call evil is the result1--simply the result of the violation of law2 and we then wonder that a just and loving ,god could permit such and such things4 ,we wonder at what we term the strange1 inscrutable dispensations of ,providence1 when all is of our own making4 ,we can be our own best friends or we can be our own worst enemies2 and the only real enemy one can ever have is the self1 the very self4 ,it is a well-known fact in the scientific world that the great work in the process of evolution is the gradual advancing from the lower to the higher1 from the coarser to the finer1 or1 in other words1 from the coarser material to the finer spiritual2 and this higher spiritualization of life is the great work before us all4 ,all pass ultimately over the same road in general1 some more rapidly1 some more slowly4 ,the ultimate destiny of all is the higher life1 the finding of the higher self2 and to this we are either led or we are pushed1--led1 by recognizing and coming into harmony with the higher laws of our being1 or pushed1 through their violation1 and hence through experience1 through suffering1 and at times through bitter suffering1 until through this very agency we learn the laws and come into harmony with them1 so that we thus see the economy1 the blessedness of even error1 shame1 and suffering itself1 in that1 if we are not wise enough to go voluntarily and of our own accord1 it all the more quickly brings us to our true1 our higher selves4 ,moreover1 whatever is evolved must as surely first be involved4 ,we cannot conceive even of an evolution without first an involution2 and1 if this is true1 we cannot conclude otherwise than that all that will ever be brought forth through the process of evolution is already within1 all the ,god possibilities of the human soul are now1 at this very moment1 latent within4 ,this being true1 the process of evolution need not1 as is many times supposed1 take aeons or even ages for its accomplishment2 for the process is wonderfully accelerated when we have grasped and when we have commenced to actualize the reality of that mighty precept1 ,know thyself4 ,it is possible1 through an intelligent understanding of the laws of the higher life1 to advance in the spiritual awakening and unfoldment even in a single year more than one otherwise would through a whole lifetime1 or more in a single day or even hour than in an entire year or series of years otherwise4 ,this higher spiritualization of life is certainly what the ,master had in mind when he said1 ,it is as hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle4 ,for1 if a man give all his days and his nights merely to the accumulation of outer material possessions1 what time has he for the growing1 the unfolding1 of the interior1 the spiritual1 what time for finding that wonderful kingdom1 the kingdom of heaven1 the ,christ within8 ,this certainly is also the significance of the temptation in the wilderness4 ,the temptations were all1 you will recall1 in connection with the material1 the physical1 and the things that pertain thereto4 ,do so and so1 said the physical3 follow after me1 and ,i will give you bread in abundance1 ,i will give you great fame and notoriety1 ,i will give you vast material possessions4 ,all1 you see1 a calling away from the real1 the interior1 the spiritual1 the eternal4 ,dominion over all the kingdoms of the world was promised4 ,but what1 what is dominion overall the world1 with heaven left out8 ,all1 however1 was triumphed over4 ,the physical was put into subjection by the spiritual1 the victory was gained once for all and forever2 and he became the supreme and royal ,master1 and by this complete and glorious mastery of self he gained the mastery over all else besides1 even to material things and conditions4 ,and by this higher spiritual chemicalization of life thus set into operation the very thought forces of his mind became charged with a living1 mighty1 and omnipotent power1 so as to effect a mastery over all exterior conditions3 hence the numerous things called miracles by those who witnessed and who had not entered into a knowledge of the higher laws that can triumph over and master the lower1 but which are just as real and as natural on their plane as the lower1 and even more real and more natural1 because higher and therefore more enduring4 ,but this complete mastery over self during this period of temptation was just the beginning of the path that led from glory unto glory1 the path that for you and for me will lead from glory unto glory the same as for him4 ,it was this new divine and spiritual chemistry of life thus set into operation that transformed the man ,jesus1 that royal-hearted elder brother1 into the ,christ ,jesus1 and forever blessed be his name2 for he thus became our ,saviour1--he became our ,saviour by virtue of pointing out to us the way4 ,this overcoming by the calling of the higher spiritual forces into operation is certainly what he meant when he said1 ,i have overcome the world1 and what he would have us understand when he says1 ,overcome the world1 even as ,i have overcome it4 ,and in the same sense we are all the saviors one of another1 or may become so4 ,a sudden emergency arises1 and ,i stand faltering and weak with fear4 ,my friend beside me is strong and fearless4 ,he sees the emergency4 ,he summons up all the latent powers within him1 and springs forth to meet it4 ,this sublime example arouses me1 calls my latent powers into activity1 when but for him ,i might not have known them there4 ,i follow his example4 ,i now know my powers1 and know them forever after4 ,thus1 in this1 my friend has become my savior4 ,i am weak in some point of character1--vacillating1 yielding1 stumbling1 falling1 continually eating the bitter fruit of it all4 ,my friend is strong1 he has gained thorough self-mastery4 ,the majesty and beauty of power are upon his brow4 ,i see his example1 ,i love his life1 ,i am influenced by his power4 ,my soul longs and cries out for the same4 ,a supreme effort of will--that imperial master that will take one anywhere when rightly directed--arises within me1 it is born at last1 and it calls all the soul's latent powers into activity2 and instead of stumbling ,i stand firm1 instead of giving over in weakness ,i stand firm and master1 ,i enter into the joys of full self-mastery1 and through this into the mastery of all things besides4 ,and thus my friend has again become my savior4 ,with the new power ,i have acquired through the example and influence of my savior-friend1 ,i1 in turn1 stand before a friend who is struggling1 who is stumbling and in despair4 ,he sees1 he feels1 the power of my strength4 ,he longs for1 his soul cries out for the same4 ,his interior forces are called into activity1 he now knows his powers2 and instead of the slave1 he becomes the master1 and thus ,i1 in turn1 have become his savior4 ,oh1 the wonderful sense of sublimity1 the mighty feelings of responsibility1 the deep sense of power and peace the recognition of this fact should bring to each and all4 ,god works through the instrumentality of human agency4 ,then forever away with that old1 shrivelling1 weakening1 dying1 and devilish idea that we are poor worms of the dust6 ,we may or we may not be3 it all depends upon the self4 ,the moment we believe we are we become such2 and as long as we hold to the belief we will be held to this identity1 and will act and live as such4 ,the moment1 however1 we recognize our divinity1 our higher1 our ,god-selves1 and the fact that we are the saviors of our fellow-men1 we become saviors1 and stand and move in the midst of a majesty and beauty and power that of itself proclaims us as such4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is a prevalent idea to the effect that overcoming in this sense necessarily implies more or less of a giving up1--that it means something possibly on the order of asceticism4 ,on the contrary1 the highest1 truest1 keenest pleasures the human soul can know1 it finds only after the higher is entered upon and has commenced its work of mastery2 and1 instead of there being a giving up of any kind1 there is a great law which says that the lower always and of its own accord falls away before the higher4 ,and the time soon comes when1 as one stands and looks back1 he wonders that this or that that he at one time called pleasure ever satisfied him2 for what then satisfied him1 compared to what now is his hourly peace1 satisfaction1 and joy1 was but as poor brass compared to the finest1 purest1 and rarest of gold4 ,from what has been said let it not be inferred that the body1 the physical1 material life is to be despised or looked down upon4 ,this1 rather let it be said1 is one of the crying errors of the times1 and prolific of a vast amount of error1 suffering1 and shame4 ,on the contrary1 it should be thought all the more highly of3 it should be loved and developed to its highest perfections1 beauties1 and powers4 ,god gave us the body not in vain4 ,it is just as holy and beautiful as the spirit itself4 ,it is merely the outward material manifestation of the individualized spirit2 and we by our hourly thoughts and emotions are building it1 are determining its conditions1 its structure1 and appearance4 ,and1 if there are any conditions we are not satisfied with1 we by an understanding of the laws1 have it in our power to make it over and change these conditions4 ,flamarion1 the eminent ,french scientist1 member of the ,royal ,academy of ,science1 and recognized as one of the most eminent scientists living1 tells us that the entire human structure can be made over within a period of less than one year1 some eleven months being the length of time required for the more compact and more set portions to respond2 while some portions respond much more readily within a period of from two to three months1 and some even within a month4 ,every part1 every organ1 every function of the body is just as clean1 just as beautiful1 just as sweet1 and just as holy as every other part2 and it is only by virtue of man's perverted ways of looking at some that they become otherwise1 and the moment they so become1 abuses1 ill uses1 suffering1 and shame creep in4 ,not repression1 but elevation4 ,would that this could be repeated a thousand times over6 ,not repression1 but elevation4 ,every part1 every organ1 every function of the body is given for use1 but not for misuse or abuse2 and the moment the latter takes place in connection with any function it loses its higher powers of use1 and there goes with this the higher powers of true enjoyment4 ,it is thus that we get that large class known as abnormals1 resorting to the methods they resort to for enjoyment1 but which1 in its true sense1 they always fail in finding1 because law will admit of no violations2 and1 if violated1 it takes away the very powers of enjoyment1 it takes away the very things that through its violation they thought they had secured1 or it turns them into ashes in their very hands4 ,god1 nature1 law1 the higher self1 is not mocked4 ,not repression1 but elevation1--repression only in the sense of mastery2 but this means--nay1 this is--elevation4 ,in other words1 we should be the master1 and not the body4 ,we should dictate to the body1 and should never1 even for an instant1 allow it to dictate to us4 ,oh1 the thousands1 the hundreds of thousands of men and women who are everywhere being driven hither and thither1 led into this and into that which their own better selves would not enter into1 simply because they have allowed the body to assume the mastery2 while they have taken the place of the weakling1 the slave1 and all on account of their own weakness1--weakness through ignorance1 ignorance of the tremendous forces and powers within1 the forces and powers of the mind and spirit4 ,it would be a right royal plan for those who are thus enslaved by the body1--and we all are more or less1 each in his own particular way1 and not one is absolutely free1--it would be a good plan to hold immediately1 at this very hour1 a conversation with the body somewhat after this fashion3 ,body1 we have for some time been dwelling together4 ,life for neither has been in the highest degree satisfactory4 ,the cause is now apparent to me4 ,the mastery ,i have voluntarily handed over to you4 ,you have not assumed it of your own accord2 but ,i have given it over to you little by little1 and just in the degree that you have appropriated it4 ,neither one is to blame4 ,it has been by virtue of ignorance4 ,but henceforth we will reverse positions4 ,you shall become the servant1 and ,i the master4 ,from this time forth you shall no longer dictate to me1 but ,i will dictate to you4 ,i1 one with ,infinite intelligence1 wisdom1 and power1 longing for a fuller and ever fuller realization of this oneness1 will assume control1 and will call upon you to help in the fuller and ever fuller external manifestation of this realization4 ,we will thus regain the ground both of us have lost4 ,we will thus be truly married instead of farcically so4 ,and thus we will help each the other to a realization of the highest1 most satisfying and most enduring pleasures and joys1 possibilities and powers1 loves and realizations1 that human life can know2 and so1 hand in hand1 we will help each the other to the higher and ever-increasing life instead of degrading each the other to the lower and ever-decreasing4 ,i will become the imperial master1 and you the royal companion2 and thus we will go forth to an ever larger life of love and service1 and so of true enjoyment4 ,this conversation1 if entered into in the spirit1 accompanied by an earnest1 sincere desire for its fulfilment1 re-enforced by the thought forces1 and continually attended by that absolute magnet of power1 firm expectation1 will1 if all are firmly and persistently held to1 bring the full realization of one's fondest desires with a certainty as absolute as that effect follows cause4 ,the higher self will invariably master when it truly and firmly asserts itself4 ,much the same attitude can be assumed in connection with the body in disease or in suffering with the same results4 ,forces can be set into operation which will literally change and make over the diseased1 the abnormal portions1 and in time transform them into the healthy1 the strong1 the normal1--this when we once understand and vitally grasp the laws of these mighty forces1 and are brought to the full recognition of the absolute control of mind1 of spirit1 over matter1 and all1 again let it be said1 in accordance with natural spiritual law4 ,no1 a knowledge of the spiritual realities of life prohibits asceticism1 repression1 the same as it prohibits license and perverted use4 ,to err on the one side is just as contrary to the ideal life as to err on the other4 ,all things are for a purpose1 all should be used and enjoyed2 but all should be rightly used1 that they may be fully enjoyed4 ,it is the threefold life and development that is wanted1--physical1 mental1 spiritual4 ,this gives the rounded life1 and he or she who fails in any one comes short of the perfect whole4 ,the physical has its uses just the same and is just as important as the others4 ,the great secret of the highly successful life is1 however1 to infuse the mental and the physical with the spiritual2 in other words1 to spiritualize all1 and so raise all to the highest possibilities and powers4 ,it is the all-round1 fully developed we want1--not the ethereal1 pale-blooded man and woman1 but the man and woman of flesh and blood1 for action and service here and now1--the man and woman strong and powerful1 with all the faculties and functions fully unfolded and used1 all in a royal and bounding condition1 but all rightly subordinated4 ,the man and the woman of this kind1 with the imperial hand of mastery upon all1--standing1 moving thus like a king1 nay1 like a very ,god1--such is the man and such is the woman of power4 ,such is the ideal life3 anything else is one-sided1 and falls short of it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the most powerful agent in character-building is this awakening to the true self1 to the fact that man is a spiritual being1--nay1 more1 that ,i1 this very eternal ,i1 am a spiritual being1 right here and now1 at this very moment1 with the ,god-powers which can be quickly called forth4 ,with this awakening1 life in all its manifold relations becomes wonderfully simplified4 ,and as to the powers1 the full realization of the fact that man is a spiritual being and a living as such brings1 they are absolutely without limit1 increasing in direct proportion as the higher self1 the ,god-self1 assumes the mastery1 and so as this higher spiritualization of life goes on4 ,with this awakening and realization one is brought at once en rapport with the universe4 ,he feels the power and the thrill of the life universal4 ,he goes out from his own little garden spot1 and mingles with the great universe2 and the little perplexities1 trials1 and difficulties of life that to-day so vex and annoy him1 fall away of their own accord by reason of their very insignificance4 ,the intuitions become keener and ever more keen and unerring in their guidance4 ,there comes more and more the power of reading men1 so that no harm can come from this source4 ,there comes more and more the power of seeing into the future1 so that more and more true becomes the old adage1--that coming events cast their shadows before4 ,health in time takes the place of disease2 for all disease and its consequent suffering is merely the result of the violation of law1 either consciously or unconsciously1 either intentionally or unintentionally4 ,there comes also a spiritual power which1 as it is sent out1 is adequate for the healing of others the same as in the days of old4 ,the body becomes less gross and heavy1 finer in its texture and form1 so that it serves far better and responds far more readily to the higher impulses of the soul4 ,matter itself in time responds to the action of these higher forces2 and many things that we are accustomed by reason of our limited vision to call miraculous or supernatural become the normal1 the natural1 the every-day4 ,for what1 let us ask1 is a miracle8 ,nothing more nor less than this3 a highly illumined soul1 one who has brought his life into thorough harmony with the higher spiritual laws and forces of his being1 and therefore with those of the universe1 thus making it possible for the highest things to come to him1 has brought to him a law a little higher than the ordinary mind knows of as yet4 ,this he touches1 he operates4 ,it responds4 ,the people see the result1 and cry out1 ,miracle6 miracle6 when it is just as natural1 just as fully in accordance with the law on this higher plane1 as is the common1 the every-day on the ordinary4 ,and let it be remembered that the miraculous1 the supernatural of to-day becomes1 as in the process of evolution we leave the lower for the higher1 the commonplace1 the natural1 the every-day of to-morrow2 and1 truly1 miracles are being performed in the world to-day just as much as they ever have been4 ,and why should we not to-day have the powers of the foremost in the days of old8 ,the great universe in which we live is just the same1 the great laws under which we live are identically the same1 ,god the same and working in ,his world now just as then4 ,the only difference we shall find is in ourselves1 in that we have taken our lives out of harmony with the higher laws of our being1 and consequently have lost the higher powers through not using them4 ,mighty men we are told they were1 mighty men who walked with ,god1--and in the last clause lies the secret of the first1--- men who lived in the spirit1 men who followed after the real life instead of giving all time and attention to the mere external1 men who lived in the higher stories of their being1 and not continually in the basements4 ,with here and there an exception we reverse the process4 ,we live in the valleys1 so to speak1 often disease-infected valleys1 when we might mount up to the mountain-tops1 and there dwell continually in the warm and mellow sunlight of ,god's1 or if you please1 of nature's great1 unchangeable laws1 and find ourselves rising ever higher and higher1 and revelations coming new every day4 ,the ,master never claimed for himself anything that he did not claim for all mankind2 but1 quite to the contrary1 he said and continually repeated1 ,not only shall ye do these things1 but greater than these shall ye do2 for ,i have pointed out to you the way1--meaning1 though strange as it evidently seems to many1 exactly what he said4 ,of the vital power of thought and the interior forces in moulding conditions1 and more1 of the supremacy of thought over all conditions1 the world has scarcely the faintest grasp1 not to say even idea1 as yet4 ,the fact that thoughts are forces1 and that through them we have creative power1 is one of the most vital facts of the universe1 the most vital fact of man's being4 ,and through this instrumentality we have in our grasp and as our rightful heritage1 the power of making life and all its manifold conditions exactly what we will4 ,through our thought-forces we have creative power1 not in a figurative sense1 but in reality4 ,everything in the material universe about us had its origin first in spirit1 in thought1 and from this it took its form4 ,the very world in which we live1 with all its manifold wonders and sublime manifestations1 is the result of the energies of the divine intelligence or mind1--,god1 or whatever term it comes convenient for each one to use4 ,and ,god said1 ,let there be1 and there was1--the material world1 at least the material manifestation of it1 literally spoken into existence1 the spoken word1 however1 but the outward manifestation of the interior forces of the ,supreme ,intelligence4 ,every castle the world has ever seen was first an ideal in the architect's mind4 ,every statue was first an ideal in the sculptor's mind4 ,every piece of mechanism the world has ever known was first formed in the mind of the inventor4 ,here it was given birth to4 ,these same mind-forces then dictated to and sent the energy into the hand that drew the model1 and then again dictated to and sent the energy into the hands whereby the first instrument was clothed in the material form of metal or of wood4 ,the lower negative always gives way to the higher when made positive4 ,mind is positive3 matter is negative4 ,each individual life is a part of1 and hence is one with1 the ,infinite ,life2 and the highest intelligence and power belongs to each in just the degree that he recognizes his oneness and lays claim to and uses it4 ,the power of the word is not merely an idle phrase or form of expression4 ,it is a real mental1 spiritual1 scientific fact1 and can become vital and powerful in your hands and in mine in just the degree that we understand the omnipotence of the thought forces and raise all to the higher planes4 ,the blind1 the lame1 the diseased1 stood before the ,christ1 who said1 ,receive thy sight1 rise up and walk1 or1 be thou healed2 and o6 it was so4 ,the spoken word1 however1 was but the outward expression and manifestation of his interior thought-forces1 the power and potency of which he so thoroughly knew4 ,but the laws governing them are the same to-day as they were then1 and it lies in our power to use them the same as it lay in his4 ,each individual life1 after it has reached a certain age or degree of intelligence1 lives in the midst of the surroundings or environments of its own creation2 and this by reason of that wonderful power1 the drawing power of mind1 which is continually operating in every life1 whether it is conscious of it or not4 ,we are all living1 so to speak1 in a vast ocean of thought4 ,the very atmosphere about us is charged with the thought-forces that are being continually sent out4 ,when the thought-forces leave the brain1 they go out upon the atmosphere1 the subtle conducting ether1 much the same as sound-waves go out4 ,it is by virtue of this law that thought transference is possible1 and has become an established scientific fact1 by virtue of which a person can so direct his thought-forces that a person at a distance1 and in a receptive attitude1 can get the thought much the same as sound1 for example1 is conducted through the agency of a connecting medium4 ,even though the thoughts as they leave a particular person1 are not consciously directed1 they go out2 and all may be influenced by them in a greater or less degree1 each one in proportion as he or she is more or less sensitively organized1 or in proportion as he or she is negative1 and so open to forces and influences from without4 ,the law operating here is one with that great law of the universe1--that like attracts like1 so that one continually attracts to himself forces and influences most akin to those of his own life4 ,and his own life is determined by the thoughts and emotions he habitually entertains1 for each is building his world from within4 ,as within1 so without2 cause1 effect4 ,a stalk of wheat and a stock of corn are growing side by side1 within an inch of each other4 ,the soil is the same for both2 but the wheat converts the food it takes from the soil into wheat1 the likeness of itself1 while the corn converts the food it takes from the same soil into corn1 the likeness of itself4 ,what that which each has taken from the soil is converted into is determined by the soul1 the interior life1 the interior forces of each4 ,this same grain taken as food by two persons will be converted into the body of a criminal in the one case1 and into the body of a saint in the other1 each after its kind2 and its kind is determined by the inner life of each4 ,and what again determines the inner life of each8 ,the thoughts and emotions that are habitually entertained and that inevitably1 sooner or later1 manifest themselves in outer material form4 ,thought is the great builder in human life3 it is the determining factor4 ,continually think thoughts that are good1 and your life will show forth in goodness1 and your body in health and beauty4 ,continually think evil thoughts1 and your life will show forth in evil1 and your body in weakness and repulsiveness4 ,think thoughts of love1 and you will love and will be loved4 ,think thoughts of hatred1 and you will hate and will be hated4 ,each follows its kind4 ,it is by virtue of this law that each person creates his own atmosphere2 and this atmosphere is determined by the character of the thoughts he habitually entertains4 ,it is1 in fact1 simply his thought atmosphere--the atmosphere which other people detect and are influenced by4 ,in this way each person creates the atmosphere of his own room2 a family1 the atmosphere of the house in which they live1 so that the moment you enter the door you feel influences kindred to the thoughts and hence to the lives of those who dwell there4 ,you get a feeling of peace and harmony or a feeling of disquietude and inharmony4 ,you get a welcome1 want-to-stay feeling or a cold1 want-to-get-away feeling1 according to their thought attitude toward you1 even though but few words be spoken4 ,so the characteristic mental states of a congregation of people who assemble there determine the atmosphere of any given assembly-place1 church1 or cathedral4 ,its inhabitants so make1 so determine the atmosphere of a particular village or city4 ,the sympathetic thoughts sent out by a vast amphitheatre of people1 as they cheer a contestant1 carry him to goals he never could reach by his own efforts alone4 ,the same is true in regard to an orator and his audience4 ,napoleon's army is in the ,east4 ,the plague is beginning to make inroads into its ranks4 ,long lines of men are lying on cots and on the ground in an open space adjoining the army4 ,fear has taken a vital hold of all1 and the men are continually being stricken4 ,look yonder1 contrary to the earnest entreaties of his officers1 who tell him that such exposure will mean sure death1 ,napoleon with a calm and dauntless look upon his face1 with a firm and defiant step1 is coming through these plague-stricken ranks4 ,he is going up to1 talking with1 touching the men2 and1 as they see him1 there goes up a mighty shout1--,the ,emperor6 the ,emperor6 and from that hour the plague in its inroads is stopped4 ,a marvellous example of the power of a man who1 by his own dauntless courage1 absolute fearlessness1 and power of mind1 could send out such forces that they in turn awakened kindred forces in the minds of thousands of others1 which in turn dominate their very bodies1 so that the plague1 and even death itself1 is driven from the field4 ,one of the grandest examples of a man of the most mighty and tremendous mind and will power1 and at the same time an example of one of the grandest failures1 taking life in its totality1 the world has ever seen4 ,again1 as has been said1 the great law operating in connection with the thought-forces is one with that great law of the universe1--that like attracts like4 ,we can1 by virtue of our ignorance of the powers of the mind forces and the prevailing mental states1--we can take the passive1 the negative1 fearing1 drifting attitude1 and thus continually attract to us like influences and conditions from both the seen and the unseen side of life4 ,or1 by a knowledge of the power and potency of these forces1 we can take the positive1 the active attitude1 that of mastery1 and so attract the higher and more valuable influences1 exactly as we will to4 ,we are all much more influenced by the thought-forces and mental states of those around us and of the world at large than we have even the slightest conception of4 ,if not self-hypnotized into certain beliefs and practices1 we are1 so to speak1 semi-hypnotized through the influence of the thoughts of others1 even though unconsciously both on their part and on ours4 ,we are so influenced and enslaved in just the degree that we fail to recognize the power and omnipotence of our own forces1 and so become slaves to custom1 conventionality1 the opinions of others1 and so in like proportion lose our own individuality and powers4 ,he who in his own mind takes the attitude of the slave1 by the power of his own thoughts and the forces he thus attracts to him1 becomes the slave4 ,he who in his own mind takes the attitude of the master1 by the same power of his own thoughts and the forces he thus attracts to him1 becomes the master4 ,each is building his world from within1 and1 if outside forces play1 it is because he allows them to play2 and he has it in his own power to determine whether these shall be positive1 uplifting1 ennobling1 strengthening1 success-giving1 or negative1 degrading1 weakening1 failure-bringing4 ,nothing is more subtle than thought1 nothing more powerful1 nothing more irresistible in its operations1 when rightly applied and held to with a faith and fidelity that is unswerving1--a faith and fidelity that never knows the neutralizing effects of doubt and fear4 ,if one have aspirations and a sincere desire for a higher and better condition1 so far as advantages1 facilities1 associates1 or any surroundings or environments are concerned1 and if he continually send out his highest thought-forces for the realization of these desires1 and continually water these forces with firm expectation as to their fulfilment1 he will sooner or later find himself in the realization of these desires1 and all in accordance with natural laws and forces4 ,fear brings its own fulfilment the same as hope4 ,the same law operates1 and if1 as our good and valued friend1 ,job1 said when the darkest days were setting in upon him1--that which ,i feared has come upon me1--was true1 how much more surely could he have brought about the opposite conditions1 those he would have desired1 had he have had even the slightest realization of his own powers1 and had he acted the part of the master instead of that of the servant1 had he have dictated terms instead of being dictated to1 and thus suffering the consequences4 ,if one finds himself in any particular condition1 in the midst of any surroundings or environments that are not desirable1 that have nothing--at least for any length of time--that is of value to him1 for his highest life and unfoldment1 he has the remedy entirely within his own grasp the moment he realizes the power and supremacy of the forces of the mind and spirit2 and1 unless he intelligently use these forces1 he drifts4 ,unless through them he becomes master and dictates1 he becomes the slave and is dictated to1 and so is driven hither and thither4 ,earnest1 sincere desire1 sincere aspiration for higher and better conditions or means to realize them1 the thought-forces actively sent out for their realization1 these continually watered by firm expectation without allowing the contrary1 neutralizing force of fear ever to enter in1--this1 accompanied by rightly directed work and activity1 will bring about the fullest realization of one's highest desires and aspirations with a certainty as absolute as that effect follows cause4 ,each and every one of us can thus make for himself ever higher and higher conditions1 can attract ever and ever higher influences1 can realize an ever higher and higher ideal in life4 ,these are the forces that are within us1 simply waiting to be recognized and used1--the forces that we should infuse into and mould every-day life with4 ,the moment we vitally recognize them1 they become our servants and wait upon our bidding4 ,are you1 for example1 a young man or a young woman desiring a college1 a university education1 or have you certain literary or artistic instincts your soul longs the more fully to realize and actualize1 and seems there no way open for you to realize the fulfilment of your desires8 ,but the power is in your hands the moment you recognize it there4 ,begin at once to set the right forces into operation4 ,put forth your ideal1 which will begin to clothe itself in material form1 send out your thought-forces for its realization1 continually hold and add to them1 always strongly but always calmly1 never allow the element of fear1 which will keep the realization just so much farther away1 to enter in2 but1 on the contrary1 continually water with firm expectation all the forces thus set into operation4 ,do not then sit and idly fold the hands1 expecting to see all things drop into the lap1--,god feeds the sparrow1 but he does not throw the food into its nest1--but take hold of the first thing that offers itself for you to do1--work in the fields1 at the desk1 saw wood1 wash dishes1 tend behind the counter1 or whatever it may be1--be faithful to the thing in hand1 always expecting something better1 and know that this in hand is the thing that will open to you the next higher1 and this the next and the next2 and so realize that each thing thus taken hold of is but the agency that takes you each time a step nearer the realization of your fondest ideals4 ,you then hold the key2 and bolts that otherwise would remain immovable1 by this mighty force1 will be thrown before you4 ,we are born to be neither slaves nor beggars1 but to dominion and to plenty4 ,this is our rightful heritage1 if we will but recognize and lay claim to it4 ,many a man and many a woman is to-day longing for conditions better and higher than he or she is in1 who might be using the same time now spent in vain1 indefinite1 spasmodic longings1 in putting into operation forces which1 accompanied by the right personal activity1 would speedily bring the fullest realization of his or her fondest dreams4 ,the great universe is filled with an abundance of all things1 filled to overflowing4 ,all there is1 is in her1 waiting only for the touch of the right forces to cast them forth4 ,she is no respecter of persons outside of the fact that she always responds to the demands of the man or the woman who knows and uses the forces and powers he or she is endowed with4 ,and to the demands of such she always opens her treasure-house1 for the supply is always equal to the demand4 ,all things are in the hands of him who knows they are there4 ,of all known forms of energy1 thought is the most subtle1 the most irresistible force4 ,it has always been operating2 but1 so far as the great masses of the people are concerned1 it has been operating blindly1 or1 rather1 they have been blind to its mighty power1 except in the cases of a few here and there4 ,and these1 as a consequence1 have been our prophets1 our seers1 our sages1 our saviors1 our men of great and mighty power4 ,we are just beginning to grasp the tremendous truth that there is a science of thought1 and that the laws governing it can be known and scientifically applied4 ,the man who understands and who appropriates this fact has literally all things under his control4 ,heredity and its attendant circumstances and influences8 you ask4 ,most surely4 ,the barriers which heredity builds1 the same as those environment erects1 when the awakened interior forces are considered1 are as mud walls standing within the range of a ,krupp gun3 shattered and crumbled they are when the tremendous force is applied4 ,thought needs direction to be effective1 and upon this effective results depend as much as upon the force itself4 ,this brings us to the will4 ,will is not as is so often thought1 a force in itself2 will is the directing power4 ,thought is the force4 ,will gives direction4 ,thought scattered gives the weak1 the uncertain1 the vacillating1 the aspiring1 but the never-doing1 the ,i-would-like-to1 but the get-no-where1 the attain-to-nothing man or woman4 ,thought steadily directed by the will1 gives the strong1 the firm1 the never-yielding1 the never-know-defeat man or woman1 the man or woman who uses the very difficulties and hindrances that would dishearten the ordinary person1 as stones with which he paves a way over which he triumphantly walks1 who1 by the very force he carries with him1 so neutralizes and transmutes the very obstacles that would bar his way that they fall before him1 and in turn aid him on his way2 the man or woman who1 like the eagle1 uses the very contrary wind that would thwart his flight1 that would turn him and carry him in the opposite direction1 as the very agency upon which he mounts and mounts and mounts1 until actually lost to the human eye1 and which1 in addition to thus aiding him1 brings to him an ever fuller realization of his own powers1 or in other words1 an ever greater power4 ,it is this that gives the man or the woman who in storm or in sunny weather1 rides over every obstacle1 throws before him every barrier1 and1 as ,browning has said1 finally arrives4 ,take1 for example1 the successful business man1--for it is all one1 the law is the same in all cases1--the man who started with nothing except his own interior equipments4 ,he has made up his mind to one thing1--success4 ,this is his ideal4 ,he thinks success1 he sees success4 ,he refuses to see anything else4 ,he expects success3 he thus attracts it to him1 his thought-forces continually attract to him every agency that makes for success4 ,he has set up the current1 so that every wind that blows brings him success4 ,he doesn't expect failure1 and so he doesn't invite it4 ,he has no time1 no energies1 to waste in fears or forebodings4 ,he is dauntless1 untiring1 in his efforts4 ,let disaster come to-day1 and to-morrow--ay1 even yet to-day--he is getting his bearings1 he is setting forces anew into operation2 and these very forces are of more value to him than the half million dollars of his neighbor who has suffered from the same disaster4 ,we speak of a man's failing in business1 little thinking that the real failure came long before1 and that the final crash is but the culmination1 the outward visible manifestation1 of the real failure that occurred within possibly long ago4 ,a man carries his success or his failure with him3 it is not dependent upon outside conditions4 ,will is the steady directing power3 it is concentration4 ,it is the pilot which1 after the vessel is started by the mighty force within1 puts it on its right course and keeps it true to that course1 the pilot under whose control the rudder is which brings the great ocean liner1 even through storms and gales1 to an exact spot in the ,liverpool port within a few minutes of its scheduled time1 and at times even upon the very minute4 ,will is the sun-glass which so concentrates and so focuses the sun's rays that they quickly burn a hole through the paper that is held before it4 ,the same rays1 not thus concentrated1 not thus focused1 would fall upon the paper for days without any effect whatever4 ,will is the means for the directing1 the concentrating1 the focusing1 of the thought-forces4 ,thought under wise direction1--this it is that does the work1 that brings results1 that makes the successful career4 ,one object in mind which we never lose sight of2 an ideal steadily held before the mind1 never lost sight of1 never lowered1 never swerved from1--this1 with persistence1 determines all4 ,nothing can resist the power of thought1 when thus directed by will4 ,may not this power1 then1 be used for base as well as for good purposes1 for selfish as well as for unselfish ends8 ,the same with this modification1--the more highly thought is spiritualized1 the more subtle and powerful it becomes2 and the more highly spiritualized the life1 the farther is it removed from base1 ignoble1 selfish ends4 ,but1 even if it can be thus used1 let him who would so use it be careful1 let him never forget that that mighty1 searching1 omnipotent law of the right1 of truth1 of justice1 that runs through all the universe and that can never be annulled or even for a moment set aside1 will drive him to the wall1 will crush him with a terrific force if he so use it4 ,let him never forget that whatever he may get for self at the expense of some one else1 through deception1 through misrepresentation1 through the exercise of the lower functions and powers1 will by a law equally subtle1 equally powerful1 be turned into ashes in his very hands4 ,the honey he thinks he has secured will be turned into bitterness as he attempts to eat it2 the beautiful fruit he thinks is his will be as wormwood as he tries to enjoy it2 the rose he has plucked will vanish1 and he will find himself clutching a handful of thorns1 which will penetrate to the very quick and which will flow the very life-blood from his hands4 ,for through the violation of a higher1 an immutable law1 though he may get this or that1 the power of true enjoyment will be taken away1 and what he gets will become as a thorn in his side3 either this or it will sooner or later escape from his hands4 ,god's triumphal-car moves in a direction and at a rate that is certain and absolute1 and he who would oppose it or go contrary to it must fall and be crushed beneath its wheels2 and for him this crushing is necessary1 in order that it may bring him the more quickly to a knowledge of the higher laws1 to a realization of the higher self4 ,this brings to our notice two orders of will1 which we may term1 for convenience' sake1 the human and the divine4 ,the human will is the one just noticed1 the sense will1 the will of the lower self1 that which seeks its own ends regardless of its connection with the greater whole4 ,the divine will is the will of the higher self1 the god-self1 that that never makes an error1 that never leads into difficulties4 ,how attain to its realization8 ,how call it into a dominating activity8 ,through an awakening to and a living in the higher1 the god-self1 thus making it one with ,god's will1 one with the will of infinite intelligence1 infinite love1 infinite wisdom1 infinite power2 and when this is done1 no mistakes can be made1 any more than limits can be set4 ,it is thus that the ,infinite ,power works through and for us--true inspiration--while our part is simply to see that our connection with this power is consciously and perfectly kept4 ,and1 when we come to a knowledge of the true nature1 a knowledge of the true self1 when we come to a conscious realization of the fact that we are one with1 a part of1 this spirit of infinite life1 infinite love1 infinite wisdom1 infinite power1 and infinite plenty1 do we not see that we lack for nothing1 that all things are ours8 ,it is then ours to speak the word3 desire induces and gives place to realization4 ,if you are intelligence1 if you are power1 if you are that all-seeing1 all-knowing1 all-doing1 all-loving1 all-having1 that eternal self1 that eternal one without beginning and without end1 the same yesterday1 to-day1 and forever1 then all things are yours1 and you lack for nothing2 and1 when you come consciously to know and to live this truth1 then the whole of life for you is summed up in the one word realization4 ,the striving1 the pulling1 the running hither and thither to accomplish this or that1 that takes place on all planes of life below this highest plane1 gives place to this realization2 and you and your desire become one4 ,and what does this mean8 ,simply this3 that you have found and have literally entered into the kingdom of heaven1 and heaven means harmony1 so that you have entered into the kingdom of harmony1--harmony or oneness with the ,infinite ,life1 the ,infinite ,god4 ,and do we not1 then1 clearly see the rational and scientific basis for the injunction--seek ye first the kingdom of heaven1 and all these other things shall be added unto you8 ,than this there is nothing in all the wide universe more scientific1 nothing more practical2 and in the light of this can we not also see how readily follows the injunction--,take ye no thought for the things of the morrow1 for the things of the morrow will take care of themselves8 ,this realization gives you that care-less attitude1 free from care4 ,the ,infinite ,power does the work for you1 and you are relieved of the responsibility4 ,your responsibility lies in keeping yourself in a faithful and a never-failing connection with this ,infinite ,source4 ,why1 ,i know a few lives that have come into such a conscious oneness with the ,infinite ,life1 and who so continually live in its realization1 that all things that have just been said are absolutely true in their cases4 ,the solution of all things they thus put into the law1 so that1 when the time comes1 the difficulty is solved1 the course is clear1 the way is opened1 or the means are at hand4 ,when one knows whereof he speaks1 of this he can speak with authority4 ,when this realization comes1 fear goes1 hope attends1 faith dominates1--the faith of to-day which gives place to the realization of to-morrow4 ,we then have nothing to do with the past1 nothing to do with the future2 for the whole of life is determined by the ever-present to-day4 ,as my life to-day has been determined by the way ,i lived my yesterday1 so my to-morrow is being determined by the way ,i live my to-day4 ,let me then live in this eternal now1 and realize that ,i am at this very moment living the eternal life as much as ,i ever shall or can live it4 ,i will then waste no time with the past1 except perhaps occasionally to give thanks that its then seeming trials1 sorrows1 errors1 and stumblings have brought me all the sooner into harmony with the laws of the higher life4 ,let me waste no time with the future1 no time in idle dreaming1 neither in fears nor forebodings1 thus inviting and opening the door for the entrance of their actualizations2 but rather let me1 by the thoughts and so by the deeds of to-day1 make the future exactly what ,i will4 ,every act is preceded and given birth to by a thought1 the act repeated forms the habit1 the habit determines the character1 and character determines the life1 the destiny1--a most significant1 a most tremendous truth3 thought on the one hand1 life1 destiny1 on the other4 ,and how simplified1 when we realize that it is merely the thought of the present hour1 and the next when it comes1 and the next1 and the next6 so life1 destiny1 on the one hand1 the thoughts of the present hour1 on the other4 ,this is the secret of character-building4 ,how wonderfully simple1 though what vigilance it demands6 ,what1 shall we ask1 is the place1 what the value1 of prayer8 ,prayer1 as every act of devotion1 brings us into an ever greater conscious harmony with the ,infinite1 the one pearl of great price2 for it is this harmony which brings all other things4 ,prayer is the soul's sincere desire1 and thus is its own answer1 as the sincere desire made active and accompanied by faith sooner or later gives place to realization2 for faith is an invisible and invincible magnet1 and attracts to itself whatever it fervently desires and calmly and persistently expects4 ,this is absolute1 and the results will be absolute in exact proportion as this operation of the thought forces1 as this faith is absolute1 and relative in exact proportion as it is relative4 ,the ,master said1 ,what things soever ye desire1 when ye pray1 believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them4 ,can any law be more clearly enunciated1 can anything be more definite and more absolute than this8 ,according to thy faith be it unto thee4 ,do we at times fail in obtaining the results we desire8 ,the fault1 the failure1 lies not in the law but in ourselves4 ,regarded in its right and true light1 than prayer there is nothing more scientific1 nothing more valuable1 nothing more effective4 ,this conscious realization of oneness with the ,infinite ,life is of all things the one thing to be desired2 for1 when this oneness is realized and lived in1 all other things follow in its train1 there are no desires that shall not be realized1 for ,god has planted in the human breast no desire without its corresponding means of realization4 ,no harm can come nigh1 nothing can touch us1 there will be nothing to fear2 for we shall thus attract only the good4 ,and whatever changes time may bring1 understanding the law1 we shall always expect something better1 and thus set into operation the forces that will attract that something1 realizing that many times angels go out that arch-angels may enter in2 and this is always true in the case of the life of this higher realization4 ,and why should we have any fear whatever1--fear even for the nation1 as is many times expressed8 ,god is behind ,his world1 in love and with infinite care and watchfulness working out his great and almighty plans2 and whatever plans men may devise1 ,he will when the time is ripe either frustrate and shatter1 or aid and push through to their most perfect culmination1--frustrate and shatter if contrary to1 aid and actualize if in harmony with ,his4 ,it will readily be seen what a power the life that is fully awake1 that fully grasps and uses the great forces of its own interior self1 can be in the service of mankind4 ,one with these forces highly spiritualized will not have to go here and there to do the greatest service for mankind4 ,such a one can sit in his cabin1 in his tent1 in his own home1 or1 as he goes here and there1 he can continually send out influences of the most potent and powerful nature1--influences that will have their effect1 that will do their work1 and that will reach to the uttermost parts of the world4 ,than this there can be no more valuable1 more vital service1 nor one of a higher nature4 ,these facts1 the facts relating to the powers that come with the higher awakening1 have been dealt with somewhat fully1 to show that the matters along the lines of man's interior1 intuitive1 spiritual1 thought1 soul life1 instead of being1 as they are so many times regarded1 merely indefinite1 sentimental1 or impractical1 are1 on the contrary1 powerfully1 omnipotently real1 and are of all practical things in the world the most practical1 and1 in the truest and deepest sense1 the only truly practical things there are4 ,and pre-eminently is this true when we look with a long range of vision1 past the mere to-day1 to the final outcome1 to the time when that transition we are accustomed to call death takes place1 and all accumulations and possessions material are left behind1 and the soul takes with it only the unfoldment and growth of the real life2 and unless it has this1 when all else must be left behind1 it goes out poor indeed4 ,and a most wonderful and beautiful fact of it all is this3 that all growth1 all advancement1 all attainment made along the lines of the spiritual1 the soul1 the real life1 is so much made forever1 and can never be lost4 ,hence the great fact in the admonition1 ,lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth1 where moth doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal2 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven1--the interior1 spiritual kingdom1--where neither moth doth corrupt nor where thieves break through and steal4 ,what then1 again let us ask1 is love to ,god8 ,it is far more1 we have found1 than a mere sentimental abstraction4 ,it is this awakening to the higher1 the god-self1 a coming into the conscious realization of the fact that your life is one with1 is a part of1 the ,infinite ,life1 the full realization of the fact that you are a spiritual being here and now1 at this very moment1 and a living as such4 ,it is being true to the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world1 and so a finding of the ,christ within2 a realization of the fact that ,god is the life of your life1 and so not afar off2 a realization of a oneness so perfect that you are able to say1 as did ,his other son1 ,i and my ,father are one--the ultimate destiny of each human soul1 each of the ,father's children1 for all1 no matter what differences man may see1 are equal in ,his sight2 and ,he created not one in vain4 ,so love to ,god in its true expression is not a mere sentimentality1 a mere abstraction3 it is life1 it is growth1 it is spiritual awakening and unfoldment1 it is realization4 ,again1 it is life3 it is the more abundant life4 ,then recognize this fact1 and so fill your life with an intense1 a passionate love for ,god4 ,then take this life1 so rich1 so abundant1 and so powerful1 and lose it in the love and service of your fellow-men1 the ,father's other children4 ,fill it with an intense1 a passionate love for service2 and when this shall have been done1 your life is in complete harmony with all the law and the prophets1 in complete harmony with the two great and determining facts of human life and destiny1--love to ,god and love to one's fellow-men1--the two eternal principles upon which the great universal religion1 which is slowly and gradually evolving out an almost endless variety and form1 is to rest4 ,do this1 and feel once for all the power and the thrill of the life universal4 ,do this1 and find yourself coming into the full realization of such splendors and beauties as all the royal courts of this world combined have never been able even to dream of4 ,when the step from the personal to the impersonal1 from the personal1 the individual1 to the universal1 is once made1 the great solution of life has come2 and by this same step one enters at once into the realm of all power4 ,when this is done1 and one fully realizes the fact that the greatest life is the life spent in the service of all mankind1 and then when he vitally grasps that great eternal principle of right1 of truth1 of justice1 that runs through all the universe1 and which1 though temporarily it may seem to be perverted1 always and with never an exception eventually prevails1 and that with an omnipotent power1--he then holds the key to all situations4 ,a king of this nature goes about his work absolutely regardless of what men may say or hear or think or do2 for he himself has absolutely nothing to gain or nothing to lose1 and nothing of this nature can come near him or touch him1 for he is standing not in the personal1 but in the universal4 ,he is then in ,god's work1 and the very ,god-powers are his1 and it seems as if the very angels of heaven come to minister unto him and to move things his way2 and this is true1 very true1 for he himself is simply moving ,god's way1 and when this is so1 the certainty of the outcome is absolute4 ,how often did the ,master say1 ,i seek not to do mine own will1 but the will of the ,father who sent me6 ,here is the world's great example of the life out of the personal and in the universal1 hence his great power4 ,the same has been true of all the saviors1 the prophets1 the seers1 the sages1 and the leaders in the world's history1 of all of truly great and lasting power4 ,he who would then come into the secret of power must come from the personal into the universal1 and with this comes not only great power1 but also freedom from the vexations and perplexities that rise from the misconstruing of motives1 the opinions of others2 for such a one cares nothing as to what men may say1 or hear1 or think1 or do1 so long as he is true to the great principles of right and truth before him4 ,and1 if we will search carefully1 we shall find that practically all the perplexities and difficulties of life have their origin on the side of the personal4 ,much is said to young men to-day about success in life1--success generally though1 as the world calls success4 ,it is well1 however1 always to bear in mind the fact that there is a success which is a miserable1 a deplorable failure2 while1 on the other hand1 there is a failure which is a grand1 a noble1 a ,god-like success4 ,and one crying need of the age is that young men be taught the true dignity1 nobility1 and power of such a failure1--such a failure in the eyes of the world to-day1 but such a success in the eyes of ,god and the coming ages4 ,when this is done1 there will be among us more prophets1 more saviors1 more men of grand and noble stature1 who with a firm and steady hand will hold the lighted torch of true advancement high up among the people2 and they will be those whom the people will gladly follow1 for they will be those who will speak and move with authority1 true sons of ,god1 true brothers of men4 ,a man may make his millions and his life be a failure still4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the promise was given that our conversation should not be extended2 and unless we conclude it now1 the promise will not be kept4 ,our aim at the outset1 you will remember1 was to find answer to the question--,how can ,i make life yield its fullest and best8 how can ,i know the true secret of power8 how can ,i attain to true greatness8 how can ,i fill the whole of life with a happiness1 a peace1 a joy1 a satisfaction1 that is ever rich and abiding1 that ever increases1 never diminishes8 ,two great laws come forward3 the one1 that we find our own lives in losing them in the service of others1--love to the fellow-man2 the other1 that all life is one with1 is part of1 the ,infinite ,life1 that we are not material1 but spiritual beings1--spiritual beings here and now1 and a living as such1 which brings us in turn to a realization of the higher1 the god-self1 thus bringing us into the realm of all peace1 all power1 and all plenty1--this is love to ,god4 ,and ,i wonder now if we have found the answer true and satisfactory4 ,we have sat at the feet of the ,master ,teacher1 and he has told us that we have4 ,we have found that through them1 and through them alone1 true greatness1 power1 and success can come2 that through them comes the richest joy1 the greatest peace and satisfaction this world can know4 ,we have also found that1 if one's desire is to make life narrow1 pinched1 and of little value1 to rob it of its chief charms1 the only requirement necessary is to become self-centred1 to live continually with the little1 stunted self1 which will inevitably grow more and more diminutive and shrivelled as time passes1 instead of reaching out and having a part in the great life of humanity1 thus illimitably intensifying and multiplying his own4 ,for each act of humble service is that divine touching of the ground which enables one to get the spring whereby he leaps to ever greater heights4 ,we have found that a recognition of these two laws enables one to grow and develop the fullest and richest life here1 and that they are the two gates whereby all who would must enter the kingdom of heaven4 ,around this great and sweet-incensed altar of love1 service1 and self-devotion to ,god and the fellow-man1 can and do all mankind bow and worship4 ,to it can all religions and creeds subscribe3 it is the universal religion4 ,then become at one with ,god1 as did ,his other son1 through the awakening to the real self and by living continually in this the higher1 the god-self4 ,become at one with humanity1 as did ,his other son1 by bringing your life into harmony with this great1 immutable law of love and service and self-devotion1 and so feel once for all the power and the thrill of the life universal4 ,yours will then be a life the greatest1 the grandest1 the most joyous this world can know2 for you will indeed be living the ,christ-life1 the life that is beyond compare1 the life to which all the world stretches out its eager palms1 and innumerable companies will rise up and call you blessed1 and give thanks that such a life is the rich heritage of the world4 ,the song continually arising from your lips will then be1 ,there is joy1 only joy2 for we are all one with the ,infinite ,life1 all parts of the one great whole1 and the ,spirit of ,infinite ,goodness and ,love is ever ruling over all4 ,,part ,,vi4 ,,character-,,building ,,thought ,,power ,a thought1--good or evil1--an act1 in time a habit1--so runs life's law3 what you live in your thought-world1 that1 sooner or later1 you will find objectified in your life4 ,unconsciously we are forming habits every moment of our lives4 ,some are habits of a desirable nature2 some are those of a most undesirable nature4 ,some1 though not so bad in themselves1 are exceedingly bad in their cumulative effects1 and cause us at times much loss1 much pain and anguish1 while their opposites would1 on the contrary1 bring us much peace and joy1 as well as a continually increasing power4 ,have we it within our power to determine at all times what types of habits shall take form in our lives8 ,in other words1 is habit-forming1 character-building1 a matter of mere chance1 or have we it within our own control8 ,we have1 entirely and absolutely4 ,i will be what ,i will to be1 can be said and should be said by every human soul4 ,after this has been bravely and determinedly said1 and not only said1 but fully inwardly realized1 something yet remains4 ,something remains to be said regarding the great law underlying habit-forming1 character-building2 for there is a simple1 natural1 and thoroughly scientific method that all should know4 ,a method whereby old1 undesirable1 earth-binding habits can be broken1 and new1 desirable1 heaven-lifting habits can be acquired1--a method whereby life in part or in its totality can be changed1 provided one is sufficiently in earnest to know1 and1 knowing it1 to apply the law4 ,thought is the force underlying all4 ,and what do we mean by this8 ,simply this3 ,your every act--every conscious act--is preceded by a thought4 ,your dominating thoughts determine your dominating actions4 ,the acts repeated crystallize themselves into the habit4 ,the aggregate of your habits is your character4 ,whatever1 then1 you would have your acts1 you must look well to the character of the thought you entertain4 ,whatever act you would not do1--habit you would not acquire1--you must look well to it that you do not entertain the type of thought that will give birth to this act1 this habit4 ,it is a simple psychological law that any type of thought1 if entertained for a sufficient length of time1 will1 by and by1 reach the motor tracks of the brain1 and finally burst forth into action4 ,murder can be and many times is committed in this way1 the same as all undesirable things are done4 ,on the other hand1 the greatest powers are grown1 the most ,god-like characteristics are engendered1 the most heroic acts are performed in the same way4 ,the thing clearly to understand is this3 ,that the thought is always parent to the act4 ,now1 we have it entirely in our own hands to determine exactly what thoughts we entertain4 ,in the realm of our own minds we have absolute control1 or we should have1 and if at any time we have not1 then there is a method by which we can gain control1 and in the realm of the mind become thorough masters4 ,in order to get to the very foundation of the matter1 let us look to this for a moment4 ,for if thought is always parent to our acts1 habits1 character1 life1 then it is first necessary that we know fully how to control our thoughts4 ,here let us refer to that law of the mind which is the same as is the law in connection with the reflex nerve system of the body1 the law which says that whenever one does a certain thing in a certain way it is easier to do the same thing in the same way the next time1 and still easier the next1 and the next1 and the next1 until in time it comes to pass that no effort is required1 or no effort worth speaking of2 but on the contrary1 to do the opposite would require the effort4 ,the mind carries with it the power that perpetuates its own type of thought1 the same as the body carries with it through the reflex nerve system the power which perpetuates and makes continually easier its own particular acts4 ,thus a simple effort to control one's thoughts1 a simple setting about it1 even if at first failure is the result1 and even if for a time failure seems to be about the only result1 will in time1 sooner or later1 bring him to the point of easy1 full1 and complete control4 ,each one1 then1 can grow the power of determining1 controlling his thought1 the power of determining what types of thought he shall and what types he shall not entertain4 ,for let us never part in mind with this fact1 that every earnest effort along any line makes the end aimed at just a little easier for each succeeding effort1 even if1 as has been said1 apparent failure is the result of the earlier efforts4 ,this is a case where even failure is success1 for the failure is not in the effort1 and every earnest effort adds an increment of power that will eventually accomplish the end aimed at4 ,we can1 then1 gain the full and complete power of determining what character1 what type of thoughts we entertain4 ,shall we now give attention to some two or three concrete cases8 ,here is a man1 the cashier of a large mercantile establishment1 or cashier of a bank4 ,in his morning paper he reads of a man who has become suddenly rich1 has made a fortune of half a million or a million dollars in a few hours through speculation on the stock market4 ,perhaps he has seen an account of another man who has done practically the same thing lately4 ,he is not quite wise enough1 however1 to comprehend the fact that when he reads of one or two cases of this kind he could find1 were he to look into the matter carefully1 one or two hundred cases of men who have lost all they had in the same way4 ,he thinks1 however1 that he will be one of the fortunate ones4 ,he does not fully realize that there are no short cuts to wealth honestly made4 ,he takes a part of his savings1 and as is true in practically all cases of this kind1 he loses all that he has put in4 ,thinking now that he sees why he lost1 and that had he more money he would be able to get back what he has lost1 and perhaps make a handsome sum in addition1 and make it quickly1 the thought comes to him to use some of the funds he has charge of4 ,in nine cases out of ten1 if not in ten cases in every ten1 the results that inevitably follow this are known sufficiently well to make it unnecessary to follow him farther4 ,where is the man's safety in the light of what we have been considering8 ,simply this3 the moment the thought of using for his own purpose funds belonging to others enters his mind1 if he is wise he will instantly put the thought from his mind4 ,if he is a fool he will entertain it4 ,in the degree in which he entertains it1 it will grow upon him2 it will become the absorbing thought in his mind2 it will finally become master of his will power1 and through rapidly succeeding steps1 dishonor1 shame1 degradation1 penitentiary1 remorse will be his4 ,it is easy for him to put the thought from his mind when it first enters2 but as he entertains it1 it grows into such proportions that it becomes more and more difficult for him to put it from his mind2 and by and by it becomes practically impossible for him to do it4 ,the light of the match1 which but a little effort of the breath would have extinguished at first1 has imparted a flame that is raging through the entire building1 and now it is almost1 if not quite impossible to conquer it4 ,shall we notice another concrete case8 a trite case1 perhaps1 but one in which we can see how habit is formed1 and also how the same habit can be unformed4 ,here is a young man1 he may be the son of poor parents1 or he may be the son of rich parents2 one in the ordinary ranks of life1 or one of high social standing1 whatever that means4 ,he is good-hearted1 one of good impulses1 generally speaking1--a good fellow4 ,he is out with some companions1 companions of the same general type4 ,they are out for a pleasant evening1 out for a good time4 ,they are apt at times to be thoughtless1 even careless4 ,the suggestion is made by one of the company1 not that they get drunk1 no1 not at all2 but merely that they go and have something to drink together4 ,the young man whom we first mentioned1 wanting to be genial1 scarcely listens to the suggestion that comes to his inner consciousness--that it will be better for him not to fall in with the others in this4 ,he does not stop long enough to realize the fact that the greatest strength and nobility of character lies always in taking a firm stand on the side of the right1 and allow himself to be influenced by nothing that will weaken this stand4 ,he goes1 therefore1 with his companions to the drinking place4 ,with the same or with other companions this is repeated now and then2 and each time it is repeated his power of saying ,no is gradually decreasing4 ,in this way he has grown a little liking for intoxicants1 and takes them perhaps now and then by himself4 ,he does not dream1 or in the slightest degree realize1 what way he is tending1 until there comes a day when he wakens to the consciousness of the fact that he hasn't the power nor even the impulse to resist the taste which has gradually grown into a minor form of craving for intoxicants4 ,thinking1 however1 that he will be able to stop when he is really in danger of getting into the drink habit1 he goes thoughtlessly and carelessly on4 ,we will pass over the various intervening steps and come to the time when we find him a confirmed drunkard4 ,it is simply the same old story told a thousand or even a million times over4 ,he finally awakens to his true condition2 and through the shame1 the anguish1 the degradation1 and the want that comes upon him he longs for a return of the days when he was a free man4 ,but hope has almost gone from his life4 ,it would have been easier for him never to have begun1 and easier for him to have stopped before he reached his present condition1 but even in his present condition1 be it the lowest and the most helpless and hopeless that can be imagined1 he has the power to get out of it and be a free man once again4 ,let us see4 ,the desire for drink comes upon him again4 ,if he entertain the thought1 the desire1 he is lost again4 ,his only hope1 his only means of escape is this3 the moment1 aye1 the very instant the thought comes to him1 if he will put it out of his mind he will thereby put out the little flame of the match4 ,if he entertain the thought the little flame will communicate itself until almost before he is aware of it a consuming fire is raging1 and then effort is almost useless4 ,the thought must be banished from the mind the instant it enters2 dalliance with it means failure and defeat1 or a fight that will be indescribably fiercer than it would be if the thought is ejected at the beginning4 ,and here we must say a word regarding a certain great law that we may call the law of indirectness4 ,a thought can be put out of the mind easier and more successfully1 not by dwelling upon it1 not by attempting to put it out directly1 but by throwing the mind on to some other object1 by putting some other object of thought into the mind4 ,this may be1 for example1 the ideal of full and perfect self-mastery1 or it may be something of a nature entirely distinct from the thought which presents itself1 something to which the mind goes easily and naturally4 ,this will in time become the absorbing thought in the mind1 and the danger is past4 ,this same course of action repeated1 will gradually grow the power of putting more readily out of mind the thought of drink as it presents itself1 and will gradually grow the power of putting into the mind those objects of thought one most desires4 ,the result will be that as time passes the thought of drink will present itself less and less1 and when it does present itself it can be put out of the mind more easily each succeeding time1 until the time comes when it can be put out without difficulty1 and eventually the time will come when the thought will enter the mind no more at all4 ,still another case4 ,you may be more or less of an irritable nature--naturally1 perhaps1 provoked easily to anger4 ,some one says something or does something that you dislike1 and your first impulse is to show resentment and possibly to give way to anger4 ,in the degree that you allow this resentment to display itself1 that you allow yourself to give way to anger1 in that degree will it become easier to do the same thing when any cause1 even a very slight cause1 presents itself4 ,it will1 moreover1 become continually harder for you to refrain from it1 until resentment1 anger1 and possibly even hatred and revenge become characteristics of your nature1 robbing it of its sunniness1 its charm1 and its brightness for all with whom you come in contact4 ,if1 however1 the instant the impulse to resentment and anger arises1 you check it then and there1 and throw the mind on to some other object of thought1 the power will gradually grow itself of doing this same thing more readily1 more easily1 as succeeding like causes present themselves1 until by and by the time will come when there will be scarcely anything that can irritate you1 and nothing that can impel you to anger2 until by and by a matchless brightness and charm of nature and disposition will become habitually yours1 a brightness and charm you would scarcely think possible to-day4 ,and so we might take up case after case1 characteristic after characteristic1 habit after habit4 ,the habit of fault-finding and its opposite are grown in identically the same way2 the characteristic of jealousy and its opposite2 the characteristic of fear and its opposite4 ,in this same way we grow either love or hatred2 in this way we come to take a gloomy1 pessimistic view of life1 which objectifies itself in a nature1 a disposition of this type1 or we grow that sunny1 hopeful1 cheerful1 buoyant nature that brings with it so much joy and beauty and power for ourselves1 as well as so much hope and inspiration and joy for all the world4 ,there is nothing more true in connection with human life than that we grow into the likeness of those things we contemplate4 ,literally and scientifically and necessarily true is it that1 as a man thinketh in his heart1 so is he4 ,the is part is his character4 ,his character is the sum total of his habits4 ,his habits have been formed by his conscious acts2 but every conscious act is1 as we have found1 preceded by a thought4 ,and so we have it--thought on the one hand1 character1 life1 destiny on the other4 ,and simple it becomes when we bear in mind that it is simply the thought of the present moment1 and the next moment when it is upon us1 and then the next1 and so on through all time4 ,one can in this way attain to whatever ideals he would attain to4 ,two steps are necessary3 first1 as the days pass1 to form one's ideals2 and second1 to follow them continually whatever may arise1 wherever they may lead him4 ,always remember that the great and strong character is the one who is ever ready to sacrifice the present pleasure for the future good4 ,he who will thus follow his highest ideals as they present themselves to him day after day1 year after year1 will find that as ,dante1 following his beloved from world to world1 finally found her at the gates of ,paradise1 so he will find himself eventually at the same gates4 ,life is not1 we may say1 for mere passing pleasure1 but for the highest unfoldment that one can attain to1 the noblest character that one can grow1 and for the greatest service that one can render to all mankind4 ,in this1 however1 we will find the highest pleasure1 for in this the only real pleasure lies4 ,he who would find it by any short cuts1 or by entering upon any other paths1 will inevitably find that his last state is always worse than his first2 and if he proceed upon paths other than these he will find that he will never find real and lasting pleasure at all4 ,the question is not1 ,what are the conditions in our lives8 but1 ,how do we meet the conditions that we find there8 ,and whatever the conditions are1 it is unwise and profitless to look upon them1 even if they are conditions that we would have otherwise1 in the attitude of complaint1 for complaint will bring depression1 and depression will weaken and possibly even kill the spirit that would engender the power that would enable us to bring into our lives an entirely new set of conditions4 ,in order to be concrete1 even at the risk of being personal1 ,i will say that in my own experience there have come at various times into my life circumstances and conditions that ,i gladly would have run from at the time--conditions that caused at the time humiliation and shame and anguish of spirit4 ,but invariably1 as sufficient time has passed1 ,i have been able to look back and see clearly the part which every experience of the type just mentioned had to play in my life4 ,i have seen the lessons it was essential for me to learn2 and the result is that now ,i would not drop a single one of these experiences from my life1 humiliating and hard to bear as they were at the time2 no1 not for the world4 ,and here is also a lesson ,i have learned3 whatever conditions are in my life to-day that are not the easiest and most agreeable1 and whatever conditions of this type all coming time may bring1 ,i will take them just as they come1 without complaint1 without depression1 and meet them in the wisest possible way2 knowing that they are the best possible conditions that could be in my life at the time1 or otherwise they would not be there2 realizing the fact that1 although ,i may not at the time see why they are in my life1 although ,i may not see just what part they have to play1 the time will come1 and when it comes ,i will see it all1 and thank ,god for every condition just as it came4 ,each one is so apt to think that his own conditions1 his own trials or troubles or sorrows1 or his own struggles1 as the case may be1 are greater than those of the great mass of mankind1 or possibly greater than those of anyone else in the world4 ,he forgets that each one has his own peculiar trials or troubles or borrows to bear1 or struggles in habits to overcome1 and that his is but the common lot of all the human race4 ,we are apt to make the mistake in this--in that we see and feel keenly our own trials1 or adverse conditions1 or characteristics to be overcome1 while those of others we do not see so clearly1 and hence we are apt to think that they are not at all equal to our own4 ,each has his own problems to work out4 ,each must work out his own problems4 ,each must grow the insight that will enable him to see what the causes are that have brought the unfavorable conditions into his life2 each must grow the strength that will enable him to face these conditions1 and to set into operation forces that will bring about a different set of conditions4 ,we may be of aid to one another by way of suggestion1 by way of bringing to one another a knowledge of certain higher laws and forces1--laws and forces that will make it easier to do that which we would do4 ,the doing1 however1 must be done by each one for himself4 ,and so the way to get out of any conditions we have gotten into1 either knowingly or inadvertently1 either intentionally or unintentionally1 is to take time to look the conditions squarely in the face1 and to find the law whereby they have come about4 ,and when we have discovered the law1 the thing to do is not to rebel against it1 not to resist it1 but to go with it by working in harmony with it4 ,if we work in harmony with it1 it will work for our highest good1 and will take us wheresoever we desire4 ,if we oppose it1 if we resist it1 if we fail to work in harmony with it1 it will eventually break us to pieces4 ,the law is immutable in its workings4 ,go with it1 and it brings all things our way2 resist it1 and it brings suffering1 pain1 loss1 and desolation4 ,but a few days ago ,i was talking with a lady1 a most estimable lady living on a little ,new ,england farm of some five or six acres4 ,her husband died a few years ago1 a good-hearted1 industrious man1 but one who spent practically all of his earnings in drink4 ,when he died the little farm was unpaid for1 and the wife found herself without any visible means of support1 with a family of several to care for4 ,instead of being discouraged with what many would have called her hard lot1 instead of rebelling against the circumstances in which she found herself1 she faced the matter bravely1 firmly believing that there were ways by which she could manage1 though she could not see them clearly at the time4 ,she took up her burden where she found it1 and went bravely forward4 ,for several years she has been taking care of summer boarders who come to that part of the country1 getting up regularly1 she told me1 at from half-past three to four o'clock in the morning1 and working until ten o'clock each night4 ,in the winter-time1 when this means of revenue is cut off1 she has gone out to do nursing in the country round about4 ,in this way the little farm is now almost paid for2 her children have been kept in school1 and they are now able to aid her to a greater or less extent4 ,through it all she has entertained no fears nor forebodings2 she has shown no rebellion of any kind4 ,she has not kicked against the circumstances which brought about the conditions in which she found herself1 but she has put herself into harmony with the law that would bring her into another set of conditions4 ,and through it all1 she told me1 she had been continually grateful that she has been able to work1 and that whatever her own circumstances have been1 she has never yet failed to find some one whose circumstances were still a little worse than hers1 and for whom it was not possible for her to render some little service4 ,most heartily she appreciates the fact1 and most grateful is she for it1 that the little home is now almost paid for1 and soon no more of her earnings will have to go out in that channel4 ,the dear little home1 she said1 would be all the more precious to her by virtue of the fact that it was finally hers through her own efforts4 ,the strength and nobility of character that have come to her during these years1 the sweetness of disposition1 the sympathy and care for others1 her faith in the final triumph of all that is honest and true and pure and good1 are qualities that thousands and hundreds of thousands of women1 yes1 of both men and women1 who are apparently in better circumstances in life can justly envy4 ,and should the little farm home be taken away to-morrow1 she has gained something that a farm of a thousand acres could not buy4 ,by going about her work in the way she has gone about it the burden of it all has been lightened1 and her work has been made truly enjoyable4 ,let us take a moment to see how these same conditions would have been met by a person of less wisdom1 one not so far-sighted as this dear1 good woman has been4 ,for a time possibly her spirit would have been crushed4 ,fears and forebodings of all kinds would probably have taken hold of her1 and she would have felt that nothing that she could do would be of any avail4 ,or1 she might have rebelled against the agencies1 against the law which brought about the conditions in which she found herself1 and she might have become embittered against the world1 and gradually also against the various people with whom she came in contact4 ,or again1 she might have thought that her efforts would be unable to meet the circumstances1 and that it was the duty of some one to lift her out of her difficulties4 ,in this way no progress at all would have been made towards the accomplishment of the desired results1 and continually she would have felt more keenly the circumstances in which she found herself1 because there was nothing else to occupy her mind4 ,in this way the little farm would not have become hers1 she would not have been able to do anything for others1 and her nature would have become embittered against everything and everybody4 ,true it is1 then1 not1 ,what are the conditions in one's life8 but1 ,how does he meet the conditions that he finds there8 ,this will determine all4 ,and if at any time we are apt to think that our own lot is about the hardest there is1 and if we are able at any time to persuade ourselves that we can find no one whose lot is just a little harder than ours1 let us then study for a little while the character ,pompilia1 in ,browning's poem1,d and after studying it1 thank ,god that the conditions in our life are so favorable2 and then set about with a trusting and intrepid spirit to actualize the conditions that we most desire4 99 99 99 99 99 ,thought is at the bottom of all progress or retrogression1 of all success or failure1 of all that is desirable or undesirable in human life4 ,the type of thought we entertain both creates and draws conditions that crystallize about it1 conditions exactly the same in nature as is the thought that gives them form4 ,thoughts are forces1 and each creates of its kind1 whether we realize it or not4 ,the great law of the drawing power of the mind1 which says that like creates like1 and that like attracts like1 is continually working in every human life1 for it is one of the great immutable laws of the universe4 ,for one to take time to see clearly the things he would attain to1 and then to hold that ideal steadily and continually before his mind1 never allowing faith--his positive thought-forces--to give way to or to be neutralized by doubts and fears1 and then to set about doing each day what his hands find to do1 never complaining1 but spending the time that he would otherwise spend in complaint in focusing his thought-forces upon the ideal that his mind has built1 will sooner or later bring about the full materialization of that for which he sets out4 ,there are those who1 when they begin to grasp the fact that there is what we may term a science of thought1 who1 when they begin to realize that through the instrumentality of our interior1 spiritual thought-forces we have the power of gradually moulding the every-day conditions of life as we would have them1 in their early enthusiasm are not able to see results as quickly as they expect1 and are apt to think1 therefore1 that after all there is not very much in that which has but newly come to their knowledge4 ,they must remember1 however1 that in endeavoring to overcome an old or to grow a new habit1 everything cannot be done all at once4 ,in the degree that we attempt to use the thought-forces do we continually become able to use them more effectively4 ,progress is slow at first1 more rapid as we proceed4 ,power grows by using1 or1 in other words1 using brings a continually increasing power4 ,this is governed by law the same as are all things in our lives1 and all things in the universe about us4 ,every act and advancement made by the musician is in full accordance with law4 ,no one commencing the study of music can1 for example1 sit down to the piano and play the piece of a master at the first effort4 ,he must not conclude1 however1 nor does he conclude1 that the piece of the master cannot be played by him1 or1 for that matter1 by any one4 ,he begins to practise the piece4 ,the law of the mind that we have already noticed comes to his aid1 whereby his mind follows the music more readily1 more rapidly1 and more surely each succeeding time1 and there also comes into operation and to his aid the law underlying the action of the reflex nerve system of the body1 which we have also noticed1 whereby his fingers coordinate their movements with the movements of his mind1 more readily1 more rapidly1 and more accurately each succeeding time2 until by and by the time comes when that which he stumbles through at first1 that in which there is no harmony1 nothing but discord1 finally reveals itself as the music of the master1 the music that thrills and moves masses of men and women4 ,so it is in the use of the thought-forces4 ,it is the reiteration1 the constant reiteration of the thought that grows the power of continually stronger thought-focusing1 and that finally brings manifestation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,all life is from within out4 ,this is something that cannot be reiterated too often4 ,the springs of life are all from within4 ,this being true1 it would be well for us to give more time to the inner life than we are accustomed to give to it1 especially in this ,western world4 ,there is nothing that will bring us such abundant returns as to take a little time in the quiet each day of our lives4 ,we need this to get the kinks out of our minds and hence out of our lives4 ,we need this to form better the higher ideals of life4 ,we need this in order to see clearly in mind the things upon which we would concentrate and focus the thought-forces4 ,we need this in order to make continually anew and to keep our conscious connection with the ,infinite4 ,we need this in order that the rush and hurry of our every-day life does not keep us away from the conscious realization of the fact that the spirit of ,infinite life and power that is back of all1 working in and through all1 the life of all1 is the life of our life1 and the source of our power2 and that outside of this we have no life and we have no power4 ,to realize this fact fully1 and to live in it consciously at all times1 is to find the kingdom of ,god1 which is essentially an inner kingdom1 and can never be anything else4 ,the kingdom of heaven is to be found only within1 and this is done once for all1 and in a manner in which it cannot otherwise be done1 when we come into the conscious1 living realization of the fact that in our real selves we are essentially one with the ,divine life1 and open ourselves continually so that this ,divine life can speak to and manifest through us4 ,in this way we come into the condition where we are continually walking with ,god4 ,in this way the consciousness of ,god becomes a living reality in our lives2 and in the degree in which it becomes a reality does it bring us into the realization of continually increasing wisdom1 insight1 and power4 ,this consciousness of ,god in the soul of man is the essence1 indeed the sum and substance of all religion4 ,this identifies religion with every act and every moment of every-day life4 ,that which does not identify itself with every moment of every day and with every act of life is religion in name only and not in reality4 ,this consciousness of ,god in the soul of man is the one thing uniformly taught by all the prophets1 by all the inspired ones1 by all the seers and mystics in the world's history1 whatever the time1 wherever the country1 whatever the religion1 whatever minor differences we may find in their lives and teachings4 ,in regard to this they all agree2 indeed1 this is the essence of their teaching1 as it has also been the secret of their power and the secret of their lasting influence4 ,it is the attitude of the child that is necessary before we can enter into the kingdom of heaven4 ,as it was said1 ,except ye become as little children1 ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven4 ,for we then realize that of ourselves we can do nothing1 but that it is only as we realize that it is the ,divine life and power working within us1 and it is only as we open ourselves that it may work through us1 that we are or can do anything4 ,it is thus that the simple life1 which is essentially the life of the greatest enjoyment and the greatest attainment1 is entered upon4 ,in the ,orient the people as a class take far more time in the quiet1 in the silence1 than we take4 ,some of them carry this possibly to as great an extreme as we carry the opposite1 with the result that they do not actualize and objectify in the outer life the things they dream in the inner life4 ,we give so much time to the activities of the outer life that we do not take sufficient time in the quiet to form in the inner1 spiritual thought-life the ideals and the conditions that we would have actualized and manifested in the outer life4 ,the result is that we take life in a kind of haphazard way1 taking it as it comes1 thinking not very much about it until1 perhaps1 pushed by some bitter experiences1 instead of moulding it1 through the agency of the inner forces1 exactly as we would have it4 ,we need to strike the happy balance between the custom in this respect of the ,eastern and ,western worlds1 and go to the extreme of neither the one nor the other4 ,this alone will give the ideal life2 and it is the ideal life only that is the thoroughly satisfactory life4 ,in the ,orient there are many who are day after day sitting in the quiet1 meditating1 contemplating1 idealizing1 with their eyes focused on their stomach in spiritual revery1 while through lack of outer activities1 in their stomachs they are actually starving4 ,in this ,western world1 men and women1 in the rush and activity of our accustomed life1 are running hither and thither1 with no centre1 no foundation upon which to stand1 nothing to which they can anchor their lives1 because they do not take sufficient time to come into the realization of what the centre1 of what the reality of their lives is4 ,if the ,oriental would do his contemplating1 and then get up and do his work1 he would be in a better condition2 he would be living a more normal and satisfactory life4 ,if we in the ,occident would take more time from the rush and activity of life for contemplation1 for meditation1 for idealization1 for becoming acquainted with our real selves1 and then go about our work manifesting the powers of our real selves1 we would be far better off1 because we would be living a more natural1 a more normal life4 ,to find one's centre1 to become centred in the ,infinite1 is the first great essential of every satisfactory life2 and then to go out1 thinking1 speaking1 working1 loving1 living1 from this centre4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the highest character-building1 such as we have been considering1 there are those who feel they are handicapped by what we term heredity4 ,in a sense they are right2 in another sense they are totally wrong4 ,it is along the same lines as the thought which many before us had inculcated in them through the couplet in the ,new ,england ,primer3 ,in ,adam's fall1 we sinned all4 ,now1 in the first place1 it is rather hard to understand the justice of this if it is true4 ,in the second place1 it is rather hard to understand why it is true4 ,and in the third place there is no truth in it at all4 ,we are now dealing with the real1 essential self1 and1 however old ,adam is1 ,god is eternal4 ,this means you2 it means me2 it means every human soul4 ,when we fully realize this fact we see that heredity is a reed that is easily broken4 ,the life of every one is in his own hands and he can make it in character1 in attainment1 in power1 in divine self-realization1 and hence in influence1 exactly what he wills to make it4 ,all things that he most fondly dreams of are his1 or may become so if he is truly in earnest2 and as he rises more and more to his ideal1 and grows in the strength and influence of his character1 he becomes an example and an inspiration to all with whom he comes in contact2 so that through him the weak and faltering are encouraged and strengthened2 so that those of low ideals and of a low type of life instinctively and inevitably have their ideals raised1 and the ideals of no one can be raised without its showing forth in his outer life4 ,as he advances in his grasp upon and understanding of the power and potency of the thought-forces1 he finds that many times through the process of mental suggestion he can be of tremendous aid to one who is weak and struggling1 by sending to him now and then1 and by continually holding him in the highest thought1 in the thought of the highest strength1 wisdom1 and love4 ,the one who takes sufficient time in the quiet mentally to form his ideals1 sufficient time to make and to keep continually his conscious connection with the ,infinite1 with the ,divine life and forces1 is the one who is best adapted to the strenuous life4 ,he it is who can go out and deal with sagacity and power with whatever issues may arise in the affairs of every-day life4 ,he it is who is building not for the years1 but for the centuries2 not for time1 but for the eternities4 ,and he can go out knowing not whither he goes1 knowing that the ,divine life within him will never fail him1 but will lead him on until he beholds the ,father face to face4 ,he is building for the centuries because only that which is the highest1 the truest1 the noblest1 and best will abide the test of the centuries4 ,he is building for eternity because when the transition we call death takes place1 life1 character1 self-mastery1 divine self-realization1--the only things that the soul when stripped of everything else takes with it1--he has in abundance4 ,in life1 or when the time of the transition to another form of life comes1 he is never afraid1 never fearful1 because he knows and realizes that behind him1 within him1 beyond him1 is the ,infinite wisdom and love2 and in this he is eternally centred1 and from it he can never be separated4 ,with ,whittier he sings3 ,i know not where ,his islands lift ,their fronded palms in air2 ,i only know ,i cannot drift ,beyond ,his love and care4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote ,d3 ,the ,ring and the ,book1 by ,robert ,browning4