,hathi,trust ,digital ,library47 ,,life ,,and ,,destiny ,,by ,,felix ,,adler ,,author ,,of 8,,creed ,,and ,,deed10 8,,marriage ,,and ,,divorce10 ,,etc4 ,,london3 ,,watts ,,co41 #ag ,,johnson',s ,,court1 ,,fleet ,,street1 ,e4,c4 #aiac ,,contents s ,,page ,,the ,,meaning ,,of ,,life #c ,,religion #ag ,,immortality #ca ,,moral ,,ideals #cg ,,love ,,and ,,marriage #ec ,,higher ,,life #fe ,,spiritual ,,progress #ha ,,suffering ,,and ,,consolation #hi ,,ethical ,,outlook #aje ,,publishers' ,,preface ,dr4 ,felix ,adler1 from whose ,addresses the following gems of thought are extracted1 is widely known in the ,united ,states as an impassioned preacher1 a distinguished scholar1 and a leading citizen4 ,he founded in #ahgf1 in the ,city of ,new ,york1 the first ,ethical ,society1 of which he is still the much-beloved inspirer and guide4 ,since that date the ,ethical ,movement inaugurated by ,dr4 ,adler has taken root in many lands1 and an ,international ,union of ,ethical ,societies has been called into being1 of which he is ,president4 ,according to him1 the three fundamental tenets of the ,ethical ,movement are 8the supremacy of the moral end of life above all other ends1 the sufficiency of man for the pursuit of that end1 and the increase of moral truth to be expected from loyalty in this pursuit40 ,in this volume connected excerpts bearing on the more intimate side of life1 as apprehended by the author1 are offered to the reader4 ,here ,dr4 ,adler reveals himself not only as some one who has explored the deeper recesses of the human heart1 but his words prove him to be of the long line of poets and prophets who have contributed to purify and elevate humanity4 ,this small work appears destined by its form and content to be a religious and ethical classic1 to be placed on the book-shelf alongside of ,kempis's 8,imitation of ,christ10 ,pascal's 8,thoughts10 and ,emerson's 8,essays04 ,whoever craves for self-knowledge1 reveres his deeper self1 and seeks to be captain of his own soul1 will feel that these pages offer him precious and sympathetic counsel4 ,in conclusion1 the ,publishers desire to express their grateful thanks to ,dr4 ,adler for permission to issue this popular edition1 and to state that they are entirely responsible for the few omissions in the text4 ,,the ,,meaning ,,of ,,life ,there are two kinds of light1 the light on the hither side of the darkness and the light beyond the darkness4 ,we must press on through the darkness and the terror of it if we would reach the holier light beyond4 ,we are here--no matter who put us here1 or how we came here--to fulfil a task4 ,we cannot afford to go of our own volition until the last item of our duty is discharged4 ,we are here to make mind master of matter1 soul of sense4 ,we do so by overriding pain1 not by weakly capitulating to it4 ,when we are smitten by the rod of affliction do not let us sit still1 but rather get to work as fast as we can4 ,in action lies our salvation4 ,but it must be remembered that only a great aim1 one which remains valid1 irrespective of our private griefs1 is competent in the critical moments to put us into action and to sustain us in action4 ,the thought that extreme suffering is a key which unlocks life's deepest and truest meanings is the final rejoinder to the plea on behalf of suicide4 ,it is a thought which1 when fully apprehended1 is calculated to give peace to every troubled soul4 ,the fact that there is a spiritual power in us1 that is to say1 a power which testifies to the unity of our life with the life of others1 which impels us to regard others as other selves--this fact comes home to us even more forcibly in sorrow than in joy4 ,it is thrown into clearest relief on the background of pain4 ,in the glow of achievement we are apt to be full of a false self-importance4 ,but in moments of weakness we realise1 through contrast1 the infinitely superior strength of the power whose very humble organs and ministers we are4 ,it is then we come to understand that1 isolated from it1 we are nothing2 at one with it1 identified with it1 we participate in its eternal nature1 in its resistless course4 ,there are two terms of the series of progress which we should always keep before us4 ,the one is the starting-point1 and the other the final goal4 ,the former is the cave man2 the latter is the divine man4 ,we know in a measure what sort of being the cave man was4 ,instructed by anthropologists1 we know how poor and mean were the beginnings of humanity on earth4 ,but of that other term of progress--the goal of progress1 the divine man of whom the cave man was the germ1 the first rough draft--of the man who is to be1 our notions are vague4 ,he rises before us1 indeed1 in a vision of glory1 but his shape is nebulous4 ,and the result of progress is just this1 that it makes us more and more able to define the outlines of that shape1 to draw sharply and finely the noble lineaments of that face2 that it makes us more and more able to see the divine1 the perfect man1 the only begotten son of all the spirits of the myriads of the generations of men--the man that is to be1 the perfection of our imperfection4 ,the perfect man has never yet appeared on earth4 ,the perfect man is an apparition of light and beauty rising in the boundless infinite1 an ideal to be more and more clothed with particularity4 ,the purpose for which we exist is to help to create the perfect man1 to incarnate him more and more in ourselves and in others4 ,that the lofty form of man may be wholly disengaged from the encompassing clay1 that the traces of our bestial ancestry may be wholly purged from our nature1 that our spirits may stand erect as our bodies already do--this1 ,i think1 is the end for which we exist4 ,every man1 however humble1 is worthy of reverence because1 in his limited sphere1 he can be a beneficent1 forward-working agent1 he can help a little to create the perfect man4 ,every child is a possible avatar of the more perfect man4 ,on every child the whole past lays its burdens1 and of the outcome of its life the whole future is expectant4 ,the way to overcome dejection is to energise our nature vigorously4 ,an eminent physician is quoted as saying3 8,i firmly believe that one-half of the confirmed invalids could be cured of their maladies if they were compelled to live busy and active lives1 and had no time to fret over their miseries4 ,the will has a wonderfully strong and direct influence over the body4 ,good work is the safeguard of health4 ,the way to live well is to work well40 ,if this be true1 even when the cause of the dejection is corporeal1 how much more likely is it to be true where the cause is seated in the mind4 ,in cases of bereavement1 what is it that can enable a man to weather the hurricane of grief which is apt to descend upon the soul immediately after a great loss2 and what can enable him to live through the dead calm which is apt to succeed that first whirlwind of passionate desolation8 ,it is the thought that the fight must still go on1 because there are issues of infinite worth at stake2 and that1 though wounded and crippled1 he must still bear his part in the fight until the end4 ,for singleness of purpose1 ,i plead4 ,this alone can give strength to our will1 coherence to our life4 ,without it we drift2 with it we steer4 ,let us have before us1 whatever we do1 a sovereign aim1 but let us also make sure that it be a worthy aim1 one that will purge the clay from our eyes1 from our lips1 from our brains1 from our hearts4 ,a great man helps us by the standard which he erects4 ,he never really is level with his own standard1 and yet we do not therefore reject him4 ,he helps us by what he earnestly tries for1 and by what he suggests to us that we should try for2 he helps us1 not so much by what he achieves1 as by what he reveals1 by the insight which he gives us into the nature of good4 ,so far as the forward movement of the human race is concerned1 it is the effort that counts1 and not the attainment2 the realm of time and space can never be the scene of complete realisation4 ,the reward of the effort is the wider outlook upon the ultimate aim2 the truer estimate of its character as infinite1 and1 along with this1 the recognition of that infiniteness of our own nature which enables us to conceive of and aspire to such an aim4 ,joy is a light which those who possess are bound to keep burning brightly for the sake of others as well as for their own sake4 ,every pure joy in the world is so much pure gain4 ,cold and bare is youth without the glow of generous idealism4 ,contemptible is middle age without the sense of definite attachments and the willing acceptance of limitations4 ,and ungracious and unlovely is old age if it be not illumined by the light of contemplation1 if it be not fruitful in counsel4 ,every vocation1 even the lowliest1 which we pursue in a spirit of entire sincerity1 is a means of acquiring culture4 ,the artisan may be1 in his way1 as truly a cultivated man as the artist or the scholar1 for by culture ,i understand insight gained into all manner of activities through genuineness and thoroughness in one4 ,to be cultivated is to see things in their relations4 ,our daily avocation1 whatever it be1 if we cling to it closely enough1 is sure to engender in us a new respect for reality1 a new humility4 ,to put forth power in such a way as to be provocative of power in others is the ethical aim that should guide men in all vocations and in all their relations4 ,this fair earth1 with its fir-clad hills1 its snowy mountains1 its sparkling seas1 its azure vaults1 and the holy light of the stars1 is but a painted screen behind which lurks the true reality4 ,the beauty of this earth and all that is precious and great in this human life of ours is but a hint and a suggestion of an eternal fairness1 an eternal rightness4 ,we need something of the virility of stoicism to grapple with the difficulties of life2 we need to cultivate a large patience2 an humble spirit that teaches us to be prepared for every loss1 and to welcome every joy as an unlooked-for gain4 ,there are a thousand pleasures in little things which we1 with the petulance of children1 daily spurn1 because we cannot have all we ask for4 ,the question1 ,is life worth living8 implies a species of blasphemy4 ,the right question to ask is3 ,am ,i worthy of living8 ,if ,i am not1 ,i can make myself so4 ,that is always in my power4 ,at bottom1 the world is to be interpreted in terms of joy1 but of a joy that includes all the pain1 includes it and transforms it and transcends it4 ,the ,light of the ,world is a light that is saturated with the darkness which it has overcome and transfigured4 ,,religion ,religion is a wizard1 a sibyl4 ,she faces the wreck of worlds1 and prophesies restoration4 ,she faces a sky blood-red with sunset colours that deepen into darkness1 and prophesies dawn4 ,she faces death1 and prophesies life4 ,religion has been so eager to supply us with information concerning the universe outside of us1 its origin and its destiny1 because our life is linked with that of the universe1 and our destiny is dependent on the destiny of the universe4 ,the dependence of man on outside forces which he cannot control is the point of departure of religion4 ,it is the moral element contained in it that alone gives value and dignity to a religion1 and only in so far as its teachings serve to stimulate and purify our moral aspirations does it deserve to retain its ascendency over mankind4 8,there is a time to act for the ,lord by breaking his commandments0 was a saying current among the ancient ,hebrews4 ,this means there is a time to act for religion by protesting against what passes for religion2 there is a time to prepare the way for a larger morality by shattering the narrow forms of dogma whereby the progress of morality is hindered4 ,ethical religion can be real only to those who are engaged in ceaseless efforts at moral improvement4 ,by moving upward we acquire faith in an upward movement1 without limit4 ,the symbols of religion are ciphers of which the key is to be found in moral experience4 ,it is in vain we pore over the ciphers unless we possess the key4 ,to understand the meaning of a great religious teacher we must find in our own life experiences somewhat akin to his4 ,to selfish1 unprincipled persons whose heart is wholly set on worldly ends1 what meaning1 for instance1 can such utterances have as these8 8,you must become like little children if you would possess the kingdom of heaven20 8,you must be willing to lose your life in order to save it20 8,if you would be first you must consent to be last40 ,to the worldly-minded such words convey no sense whatever2 they are1 in fact1 rank absurdity4 ,of the origin of things we know nothing1 and can know nothing4 ,perfection does not reveal itself to us as existent in the beginning2 but as something that ought to be1 something new which we are to help create4 ,somehow the secret of the universe is hidden in our breast4 ,somehow the destinies of the universe depend upon our exertions4 ,the ,infinite1 from which comes the impulse that leads us to activity1 is not the highest ,reason1 but higher than reason2 not the highest ,goodness1 but higher than goodness4 ,there is a city to be built1 the plan of which we carry in our heads1 in our hearts4 ,countless generations have already toiled at the building of it4 ,the effort to aid in completing it takes1 with us1 the place of prayer4 ,in this sense we say1 8,laborare est orare40 ,the essential faith is the product of effort and is sustained and clarified by effort4 ,what is the way to get a religion8 ,we know1 at all events1 what cannot be the way4 ,it cannot be to prostrate our intellects before the throne of authority2 to bind the ,samson within us1 the human mind1 and deliver him into the hands of the ,philistines2 to abjure our reason4 ,whatever religion we adopt must be consistent with the truths with which we have been enriched at the hands of science4 ,it may be ultra-scientific--indeed1 it must be2 but it may not be anti-scientific4 ,but1 on the other hand1 we need to be equally warned against expecting too much from the intellect4 ,one cannot attain religion merely by trying1 in his closet1 to think out the problems of the universe4 ,it is a mistake to approach the subject of religion from the point of view of philosophy4 ,all really religious persons declare that religion is1 primarily1 a matter of experience4 ,we must get a certain kind of experience1 and then philosophic thinking will be of use to us in explicating what is implicated in that experience4 ,but we must get the experience first4 ,the undulatory theory would not help any one to know what light is who had never seen light1 and the chemical formula for water would not help any one to know what water is who had never tasted it4 ,to know light one must see it2 to know water one must taste it4 ,so1 too1 philosophy will not help any one to know what religion is4 ,the experience of religion is not reserved for the initiated and elect1 it is accessible to every one who chooses to have it4 ,the experience to which ,i refer is essentially moral experience4 ,it may be described as a sense of subjection to imperious impulses which urge our finite nature toward infinite issues2 a sense of propulsions which we can resist1 but not disown2 a sense of a power greater than ourselves1 with which1 nevertheless1 in essence we are one2 a sense1 in times of moral stress1 of channels opened by persistent effort1 which let in a flood of rejuvenating energy and put us in command of unsuspected moral resources2 a sense1 finally1 of the complicity of our life with the life of others1 of living in them in no merely metaphorical signification of the word2 of unity with all spiritual being whatsoever4 ,a religion which is to satisfy us must be a religion of progress4 ,but we must be progressive ourselves if we are to have faith in progress4 ,we must be constantly developing if we are to have faith in unbounded further development4 ,and especially we must be progressing in a moral direction4 ,we should acquire the habit of taking stock from time to time of our moral possessions1 of keeping faithful count of our net gains and losses4 ,do we1 for instance1 possess more fortitude1 or less1 in encountering unavoidable pain8 ,are we in better or worse control of our passions1 of our tempers8 ,alas1 that many of us1 as we grow older1 become more fretful and irascible1 a greater trial and burden to our surroundings4 ,are we more broadly charitable in our judgment of others2 more ready to make allowance for their faults1 to bear with their shortcomings8 ,are we more or are we less devoted to the public ends of humanity8 ,does our idealism turn out to have been a mere ebullition of optimistic youth1 a mere flash in the pan8 ,or does it grow wiser and warmer with the years8 ,does it burn with a steadier glow8 ,are we learning resignation1 renunciation8 ,it is by an honest answer given to such questions as these that we may decide whether we are progressing or retrograding4 ,when we have reached a certain stage of culture1 genuine gratitude and the verbal expression of it are inconsistent4 ,we can say thanks for the little gifts1 the lesser favours4 ,but when the gift is great1 and the debt exceeding heavy1 when we are full to overflowing with gratitude1 then the words die upon our lips1 and the only way to show our gratitude is by the use we make of the benefits we receive4 ,for this reason1 among others1 the verbal expression of thanks to the ,infinite ,being in the form of prayer has always seemed to me a kind of desecration4 ,because the ,hebrew view of life is essentially the ethical view1 therefore we still go back to the writings in which this view was first promulgated1 and delight in them1 as we do in no other scriptures in the world4 ,all of us are spiritually the heirs of the ,hebrew prophets1 including among them ,jesus1 the greatest of their number4 ,there are moral traits in all religions1 but1 as a rule1 they are subordinated4 ,morality is subordinated to beauty and harmony in the ,greek ideal4 ,it is the accompaniment and consequence of order in the ,confucian scheme4 ,it is but one form of the brightness of things1 as opposed to darkness and evil1 in ,zoroastrianism4 ,but to the ,hebrew thought1 moral excellence is the supreme excellence to which every other species of excellence is tributary4 ,the ,hebrew religion and its descendants are the only ethical religions1 strictly speaking1 because in the ,hebrew religion the moral element is constitutive and sovereign4 ,that the moral 8ought0 cannot be explained as the product of physical causation1 is the greatest contribution which the ,hebrew people have made to the religious and moral history of mankind4 ,a new ,easter ,day will come for mankind1 when a race of religious teachers shall arise1 who will be consecrated for their work by a more adequate training and a deeper moral enthusiasm1 whose word will again be mighty as of old to inform the conscience of nations1 and who shall carry the glad tidings of a higher life to the ends of the earth4 ,,immortality ,the dead are not dead if we have loved them truly4 ,in our own lives we can give them a kind of immortality4 ,let us arise and take up the work they have left unfinished1 and preserve intact the treasures they have won1 and round out1 if possible1 the circuit of their being to the fulness of an ampler orbit in our own4 ,they that have left us are not afar2 their presence is near and real1 a silent and august companionship4 ,in still hours of meditation1 in the stress of action1 in the midst of trials and temptations1 we hear their voices whispering words of cheer or warning1 and our deeds are1 in a sense1 their deeds1 and our lives their lives4 ,so does the light of other days still shine in the bright-hued flowers that clothe our fields4 ,so do they who have long since been gathered into the silent city of the dead still live in the deeds we do for their sake1 in the earnest effort we put forth toward greater rectitude1 patience1 purity1 under the influence of their unforgettable memories4 ,the conservation of moral energy is in a certain sense as true as the conservation of mechanical energy4 ,we are not dust merely that returns to dust2 we are not summer flies that bask in the sunshine of a passing day2 we are not bounded in our influence by the narrow boundary of our years4 ,in aspiring to noble ends1 the soul takes on something of the greatness of that which it truly admires4 ,the evident disparity between virtue and happiness has led men to take refuge in the thought of compensation hereafter1 and the necessity of a future state in which the good shall be rewarded and the evil punished has been deduced from the very inequities and moral inconsistencies of our present experience4 ,the argument in this specific form is worthless1 but it is based1 nevertheless1 upon a capital truth--the truth1 namely1 that our moral ideal is destined to be realised1 though we may not know how it will be realised4 ,vast possibilities suggest themselves to us of an order of existence wholly different from all that we have ever known2 a gleam reaches the eye1 as it were1 from a far celestial land1 and the crimson dawn of a ,sun of ,truth appears1 to which the splendours of our earthly mornings are as obscurity4 ,,moral ,,ideals ,as the light of morning strikes now one peak and then another1 some being illuminated while others are in the shadow1 so the light of the essential moral principle shines now upon one duty and then upon another1 while others are in the shadow4 ,let us religiously set apart times and seasons in which to gather up the fruits of action and to experience the reactions which should follow on action4 ,the most valuable of these fruits is just the intensified appreciation of the disparity existing between our achievements and the goal1 the clearer vision of the goal1 the sublimer and truer conception of it4 ,in order to join vigorously in the moral work of the world ,i must believe that somehow the best ,i can accomplish will endure1 will leave its trace on things1 will aid the final consummation4 ,what is needed above all else1 is to find a more secure basis for morality1 now that the theological basis has slipped away2 to rekindle the belief in the ideal1 to bring into new prominence the unchanging truths1 and to discover the new truths which men need for their moral guidance4 ,it is said that we live in order to make the world better1 but this phrase is ambiguous4 ,often it is used as referring merely to an increase of the sum of human pleasure4 ,and this would be an aim by no means comparable in grandeur and sublimity to that which ,religion in the past has set up4 ,we live to unfold the unmanifested potentialities of the universe1 so far as they are latent in man1 who1 as far as we know1 is the highest product of the universe4 ,we live to enhance mentality and morality in the world4 ,a developed mentality and morality will of itself cure the evils of poverty1 and ignorance and sin4 ,it may bring pleasure in its train1 or may not bring it--it matters not4 ,not the fool's paradise of ease and enjoyment1 but the heightened mentality and morality is the aim4 ,the moral ideal in its simplicity is all-sufficient4 ,its native charm can derive no added splendour from the drapery of creeds4 ,its severe beauty needs no factitious embellishment of myth and legend4 ,the conviction that this is so has long been cherished by solitary thinkers4 ,we should endeavour to spread it among the people4 ,the hope of a perfect society is entertained vaguely4 ,we should seek to lift it into the clear light of consciousness as the one commanding end of human endeavour1 the supreme object of reverence and devotion4 ,day by day there are triumphs to be won over the passion that stirs in our breasts2 over the rising anger that sears our lips2 over the turpitudes that defile our hearts2 over the spirit of impatience and mutiny that threatens the authority of our reason4 ,by such triumphs we are raised above our baser selves1 and the fire which consumes our grosser natures1 like the flaming chariot of ,elijah1 bears us living into a higher world4 ,to those who take part with all their heart and all their might in the struggle1 there comes1 at last1 a great peace1 a purified gladness4 ,gladness1 in some instances1 springs from a natural buoyancy of temperament1 and is quite consistent with shallowness and superficiality of character4 ,in other cases it is coincident with the swift flow of the currents of the blood1 and ceases when the stream flows more slowly and begins to stagnate4 ,or it is due to gifts which an exceptional good fortune showers into the laps of favoured mortals4 ,gladness of this sort comes with happiness and departs with it4 ,but the purified gladness of which ,i speak is not dependent on these accidents4 ,it is the mark of the ripest wisdom1 and is based on the conviction1 gained through experience1 that life is worth living1 that the victory is assured1 and that the ends we pursue are of such excellence as to be incapable of ultimate defeat4 ,the moral ideal would embrace the whole of life4 ,in its sight nothing is petty or indifferent4 ,it touches the veriest trifles and turns them into shining gold4 ,we are royal by virtue of it1 and like the kings in the fairy tale1 we may never lay aside our crowns4 ,the moral order never is1 but is ever becoming4 ,it grows with our growth4 ,we call him a hero who maintains himself1 single-handed1 against superior numbers4 ,we call him a master-horseman who sits a fiery and vicious steed1 guiding him at will4 ,and in like manner1 we call him a moral hero who conquers the enemies within his own breast--and we admire and revere the soul which can ride its own passions and force them into obedience to the dictates of reason4 ,the legend of ,st4 ,christopher1 who undertook to carry the ,christ-child on his shoulders across a stream1 is applicable in a wider sense to us all4 ,the deeper he entered into the water the heavier became the burden which he had assumed so lightly in the beginning1 until it pressed upon him like a mountain1 and he threatened to succumb beneath its weight4 ,such likewise is the case of him who1 in the sanguine days of youth1 has assumed the moral task of reforming himself1 or others4 ,the deeper he enters into the stream of life the heavier becomes the burden1 and there is no salvation for him unless his strength increases in proportion as the load increases4 ,do not court temptation4 ,you cannot know whether you will be strong enough to resist it4 ,but prepare yourself to deal valiantly with those temptations that are sure to come to you unsought1 especially if you are a 8live0 man4 ,the marks of evil upon the soul are like the lines left by the glaciers of the ice-age on the ancient rocks4 ,the glaciers have retreated1 the ice-age has past1 a warmer climate has succeeded1 but the marks remain4 ,morality does not mope in corners1 is not sour or gloomy4 ,it loves to convert our meanest wants into golden occasions for fellowship and happy communion4 ,the moral ideal seeks to influence and interpenetrate the most ordinary affairs of private life4 ,the moral view of politics teaches us to hold the idea of country superior to the utilities of party1 to exact worthiness of public servants1 and to place the common good above the interests of particular classes4 ,the moral view of commerce bids the merchant put conscience into his wares and dealings and keep steadily in sight the larger purposes of human welfare4 ,the moral view of the professions leads their representatives to subordinate the claims of ambition and of material gain to the enduring interests of science1 of justice1 and to all the permanent social interests that are confided to their keeping4 ,the purpose of man's life is not happiness1 but worthiness4 ,happiness may come as an accessory2 we dare never make it the end4 ,we shall find men who are in the best sense successful in the miserable tenements of the poor4 ,an exalted type of morality is achieved by him who renounces in spirit the opportunities which he lacks1 who accepts his limitations1 and who1 under the most trying circumstances1 does not remit his efforts1 no matter how insignificant may be their result1 to promote the good4 ,an exalted type of morality is displayed by aged men who1 with weakened frames and energies impaired1 are yet resolved to die in harness4 ,an exalted type of morality is displayed by those who1 cut off from the opportunities of culture1 and from most of the pleasures and comforts of existence1 yet nourish1 under the ashes of disappointed hopes1 the feeblest remaining spark of the spiritual life1 because they believe it to be a spark from an imperishable fire1 even from that undying flame which burns at the heart of things1 and which is destined to grow brighter and brighter as time rolls on4 ,there was once a teacher who had many pupils4 ,some of these he placed in a garden and bade them cultivate flowers1 and said to them3 8,fail not to bring your fairest flowers to me40 ,but they became so much absorbed in the delights of the garden1 as to forget entirely the master who had placed them there4 ,others of his pupils he admitted to his library1 and gave them access to many volumes rich in learning1 and bade them ponder these stores of wisdom and bring the fruit of their reflections to him4 ,but they also became wholly engrossed in their occupations4 ,and1 again1 there was a third company of pupils1 whom he selected to be the dispensers of the hospitalities of his household4 ,he bade them preside over his feasts1 and entertain the guests as they arrive--8,only forget not10 he said1 8to bring the guests at last to me40 ,but these1 too1 became wholly interested in their pleasures1 and forgot the master and his charge4 ,but there were other pupils1 whom1 for an inscrutable reason1 the master appointed to the hardest sort of service4 ,he made them door-keepers to admit others into the festive halls1 while they themselves were compelled to remain without in the cold4 ,he commanded them to be hewers of wood and drawers of water1 and to carry heavy burdens all day long4 ,but1 behold6 these poor drudges constantly thought of him4 ,the very repulsiveness of their tasks made them think of him4 ,loyalty to their master alone kept them faithful to their tasks4 ,and so those who seemed at the greatest distance from him were really nearest to him in their thoughts4 ,they could bring him1 it is true1 neither flower nor book1 they could only tell him of the heavy loads they had borne1 of the hard labour they had performed in the service of his entire household1 and of their implicit obedience to his will4 ,in the great ,academies of the ,middle ,ages there were four faculties1 from at least one of which a student must graduate before he could claim the title of ,doctor1 or 8,learned ,one40 ,so likewise in the great university of life there are four faculties1 each having at its head a great professor4 ,the name of one professor is ,poverty2 of another1 ,sickness2 of another1 ,sorrow2 of the last1 ,sin4 ,in one of these faculties we must be inscribed2 the searching examination of one of these teachers we must pass before we can obtain our degree as ,learned in the ,art of ,life4 ,of most persons it may1 perhaps1 be said1 without exaggeration1 that they have a feeling of duty rather than a knowledge of it4 ,when a certain situation presents itself they tend to act in a certain way1 but they cannot clearly state the principle or rule which determines their action4 ,the business of the moral teacher is to clarify1 to classify1 and to enrich the content of the conscience4 ,we cannot demonstrate the existence of disinterested motives4 ,the sole fact that we demand unselfishness in action assures us that the standard of enlightened self-interest is false4 ,and1 indeed1 if we consult the opinions of men where they are least likely to be warped by sophistry1 we shall find that disinterestedness is the universal criterion by which moral worth is measured4 ,if we suspect the motive we condemn the act4 ,,love ,,and ,,marriage ,love is the expansion of two natures in such fashion that each includes the other1 each is enriched by the other4 ,love is an echo in the feelings of a unity subsisting between two persons which is founded both on likeness and on complementary differences4 ,without the likeness there would be no attraction2 without the challenge of the complementary differences there could not be the closer interweaving and the inextinguishable mutual interest which is the characteristic of all deeper relationships4 ,in the companionship of marriage our worth is tested4 ,in that close and intimate relationship faults are inexorably laid bare1 and virtues become doubly resplendent4 ,the fairest tribute that can be paid to a wife by a husband is that the love she inspires becomes stronger and deeper in the lapse of time2 that nearness serves to heighten respect1 and familiarity to enhance affection2 and that each year1 as it passes1 but adds another gem to her crown as a wife and mother4 ,the spiritual quality of love transfigures the passions1 transforms the fleeting fancy into a constant and growing attachment1 the passing romance into a story without end the interest of which never flags4 ,unity of life is the keynote of love2 the continuous blending of two into one lends to love its noble beauty1 its divine significance4 ,marriage is fundamentally holy because it is the foundation of homes4 ,all the humanities have their origin in the home4 ,all the virtues draw from it their nourishment4 ,the human race is distinguished from the rest of the creation by the possession of homes4 ,the home is not built of brick and stone4 ,it is a 8temple not raised with hands40 ,a man may live in a palace1 furnished with all that wealth can afford or luxury invent4 ,he may have at his command books1 servants1 troops of friends1 and yet there may be a void in his life which tells him that he is homeless4 ,and what is the home feeling--if we consider the partners of the wedded life for a moment1 apart from their offspring8 ,it is the blessed sense of safety that comes to him who feels that he is rooted in another's affection1 the sense of mutual protection1 of mutual care and kindness1 in sickness and in health1 in good and in evil fortune1 in life and close to the gates of death4 ,where the wife is1 there is the home2 and where the husband is1 on land or sea4 ,oh1 what a glad feeling it is to have one's own hearth6 ,as the hearth gives warmth to the house1 so marriage supplies an undiminishing inner warmth to those who partake of its blessings in the right spirit4 ,marriage is the fountain upon which the tree of humanity depends for its life4 ,if the fountain be pure1 the tree will flourish and bear wholesome fruit4 ,if the fountain be poisoned the tree must perish4 ,the god of ,love is a jealous god4 ,this does not mean that love should be wholly concentrated upon one person1 but rather that the god of ,love is jealous of anything in the heart that is not akin to love--jealous of hate1 jealous of meanness1 jealous of low and sordid aims4 ,the love of husband and wife is an epitome of every other kind of love4 ,there is included in it something of the same feeling that brothers and sisters entertain for each other4 ,there is a maternal element in the wife's feeling for the husband1 and something of the fatherly spirit in the attitude of the husband toward the wife4 ,and there is besides something more which is inexplicable and ineffable4 ,there are fundamental differences which distinguish the sexes in their mental and moral make-up1 and marriage is designed to bring about the correlation of these differences1 the mutual adaptation and reconciliation of them in a higher unity4 ,the present tendency to accentuate the qualities in which the sexes are alike is a temporary reaction against unjust discrimination in the past in favour of men4 ,the differences are more important than the similarities1 and ere long they will again receive the preponderant attention which is due to them4 ,one of the finest results of the further development of the human race will be the increasing differentiation of the sexes1 leading to ever new1 ever more complex1 ever more exquisite reciprocal adjustments in the organisation of the wedded life4 ,the modern advocates of the elevation of women seem to be fundamentally mistaken in so far as they rely on the use of force--political or economic--for the attainment of their ends4 ,woman has secured her elevation in the past1 and has immensely contributed toward moralising the human race1 by precisely the opposite method2 namely1 by teaching men that there are certain rights which they must respect1 though these rights cannot be enforced2 that there are certain rights which men must respect on penalty of losing their self-respect4 ,it is the voice of tradition1 the voice of humanity1 the conscience of mankind pregnant with implicit truths which it may be impossible ever to make wholly explicit1 that speaks from the lips of wives and mothers4 ,this ,i take to be the service which the wife can render the husband--she teaches him to submit to a law which is not sanctioned by force2 and1 in matters of the intellect1 as well as of the character1 she is his critic and his guide--not by a formulated code1 but by the things she approves of or disapproves of4 ,the wife is just the one woman in the world who best performs for her husband these high offices4 ,she helps him to decipher his soul1 to gain self-knowledge--the most difficult kind of knowledge1 to discover what qualities are latent in him2 she reads his defects in the light of his possible excellence2 she spurs him on to his best performance2 sustains him by her faith when he fails2 and when he succeeds and gains the world's applause helps him to rate it at its proper worth1 and to aspire toward aims that rise beyond the common approbation4 ,and the husband1 in turn1 renders a corresponding service to the wife4 ,only those who are linked together in the lifelong companionship of monogamic marriage can thus serve one another4 ,apart from the interests of offspring1 the spiritual interests of the wedded pair themselves demand that the union shall be a permanent one4 ,we are not married on our wedding-day2 on that day we do but begin to be married4 ,the true marriage is an endless process1 the perpetual interlinking of two souls while life lasts4 ,a woman should be a home-keeper1 but she should also go out from her home4 ,she should take part in the struggle of society to create new and better conditions in politics1 in social life1 in religion4 ,the real home-keeper should be in touch with the larger life of the world1 in order that she may bring the breath of larger interests into her life1 in order that she may open the windows of her house and let in the fresh breezes of the intellectual world around her4 ,the finest1 highest conception of a modern mother is that of one who trains the growing generation to take their places in the new world which is at present in the making1 and how can she do this unless she herself carries the new world in her heart1 is receptive to the great ideas that are struggling to be1 and comprehends them8 ,marriage is an estate in which we seek to help each other to solve the total problem of our lives4 ,the attraction of the sexes1 seen in the light of this conception1 is glorified and transfigured4 ,marriage is an estate in which we charge ourselves1 not only with the comfort and the happiness of another1 but with the problem of the total spiritual destiny of another4 ,and because we live in our influence1 because our life is strongest and purest where our influence is most penetrating1 therefore in the estate of marriage it is possible for us to attain a depth of spiritual development such as can be achieved in no other human relationship whatsoever4 ,,higher ,,life ,let us earnestly strive to ascertain in what direction our strength lies1 in order that we may become still stronger1 and at what points we are weak1 in order that we may fortify them1 to the end that we may obey1 however partially1 the greatest of the commandments1 8,be ye therefore perfect40 ,in general1 the higher life may be characterised as the life which postpones the private to the public good1 which is swayed by principles rather than impulses1 and which bears testimony to the reality of the supreme ideals4 ,man is like a tree1 with the mighty trunk of intellect1 the spreading branches of imagination1 and the roots of the lower instincts that bind him to the earth4 ,the moral life1 however1 is the fruit he bears2 in it his true nature is revealed4 ,it is the prerogative of man that he need not blindly follow the law of his natural being1 but is himself the author of a higher moral law1 and creates it even in acting it out4 ,the higher life includes not only such virtues as personal purity1 truthfulness1 and a forgiving spirit toward enemies1 but also embraces our obligations toward the ,state4 ,no one can be1 in the full sense1 a good man who is not a good citizen4 ,there is a difficulty in the way of teaching the higher life1 due to the fact that only those who have begun to lead it can understand the meaning of it4 ,nevertheless1 all men can be induced to begin to lead it4 ,though they seem blind1 their eyes can be opened so as to see4 ,deep down in every human heart is the seed of a diviner life1 which only needs the quickening influence of right conditions to germinate4 ,it may be impossible for a man by merely willing it to add wings to his body1 but it is possible for any man1 by merely willing it1 to add wings to his soul4 ,this perennial miracle of the moral nature is capable of happening at any time4 ,an ideal is a port toward which we resolve to steer4 ,we may not reach it4 ,the mere fact that our goal is definitely located does not suffice to conduct us thither4 ,but surely we shall thus stand a better chance of making port in the end than if we drift about aimlessly1 the sport of winds and tides1 without having decided in our own minds in what direction we ought to bend our course4 ,the moral law is the expression of our inmost nature1 and when we live in consonance with it we feel that we are living out our true being4 ,the authority of conscience is founded on human nature itself4 ,the imperative1 which we cannot disown1 comes from within4 ,the distinction between right and wrong is as aboriginal as that between the true and the false4 ,but whence shall we derive the strength to do the right and shun the wrong8 ,what feelings are there which1 in default of the hope of happiness and the fear of punishment in another world1 and apart from the penalties of human legislation1 shall sustain us in the struggle against evil8 ,i believe that the fear of self-condemnation and the desire for self-respect can1 by appropriate training1 be so strengthened as to serve our purpose4 ,for what man is there among all our friends and acquaintances whose opinion we have reason so greatly to dread as the opinion of the man within the man--our own self1 namely1 sitting in judgment upon us8 ,among those who acknowledge the obligation of the moral law there are two classes--the class of moral bondmen and the class of moral freemen4 ,among the former belong those who recognise the particular moral commandments1 but fail to recognise the unifying principle from which they flow2 who see the satisfactions of which morality deprives them and the pains which it imposes1 but fail to see the superior satisfactions to which obedience opens the way1 and the ineffable peace that comes after the pain4 ,duty is a burden and a bondage to those who fix their attention only upon the negative aspect of it4 ,it is a source of exaltation1 despite the sufferings with which it is complicated1 to those who firmly keep in view the positive aspect of it4 ,the 8great occasions10 morally speaking1 are those that add to our strength by the very magnitude of the calls they make upon us1 and that flatter our self-esteem by the dramatic incidents which are apt1 at such critical moments1 to attend the struggle against evil2 but it cannot be too forcibly stated that the higher life1 as a rule1 must be led on the level of everyday existence1 where the temptations to be resisted are commonplace and the petty details of duty seem to deprive the effort we put forth of all dignity and grandeur4 ,whether1 under such circumstances1 we shall be able to save our souls alive depends entirely on our point of view1 on our bearing in mind that no detail of conduct is petty if it serves to exemplify a great principle4 ,in seeking for the highest good ,i cannot separate my quest so far as it concerns myself from the same quest so far as it concerns others4 ,on the way to the highest goal ,i must take my fellow-beings with me4 ,for the higher life--the germ of which exists in every man--is adequately represented by no man4 ,the one represents more adequately some particular aspect of it1 another a different aspect of it4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that no one can love the higher life unless he seeks to promote it in others as well as in himself4 ,all the so-called duties flow from the principle of the unity and interdependence of humanity in their effort toward the attainment of their goal4 ,the supreme ethical rule may be stated as follows3 ,so act as to elicit the latent spiritual possibilities in others1 and thereby in thyself4 ,the aim definitely in view should be to influence others4 ,not one's own interests1 not even one's own spiritual interests1 should be in the foreground of consciousness4 ,yet we can in no wise draw out what is best in others without constantly renewing ourselves1 making ourselves better fitted to exercise regenerative influence1 and thus attaining the highest mental and moral growth of which we are capable4 ,this1 it seems to me1 is the true harmonising of opposites1 this the point of view that reconciles the ever-conflicting claims of individualism and altruism4 ,not the good of self as a thing apart is the aim1 nor the good of others as a thing apart1 but a higher1 overarching good1 to promote which is alike the highest good of self and others4 ,as light is light when it strikes on objects1 so life is life when it smites on other life4 ,we live truly in our radiations4 ,we grow and develop in proportion as we help others to grow and develop4 ,the question of paramount importance1 therefore1 to be kept ever before the mind1 is this3 ,how1 as a matter of fact1 am ,i influencing the persons with whom ,i am in contact8 ,how1 as an employer1 am ,i influencing my employs8 ,how1 as a citizen1 am ,i influencing my fellow-citizens8 ,how does the effect of my personality tell on wife and children and friends8 ,am ,i supremely interested in getting the best results out of the people with whom ,i am in touch8 ,am ,i helping them to make the most of themselves8 ,there are certain obvious marks of the higher life4 ,one is ,purity4 ,this does not mean that the senses shall be suppressed1 but that the inferior part of our nature shall be taken up into the superior1 the senses wedded to the soul4 ,a second mark of the higher life is ,serenity1 and there is perhaps no surer sign by which exalted natures can be known4 ,to be serene under all circumstances whatsoever1 even in moments of imminent peril1 in times of sudden reversal of fortune1 of grievous personal loss or of public calamity1 is the unmistakable badge of moral ripeness4 ,but is it possible to preserve one's serenity in the supreme trials of life8 ,it is possible1 ,i should answer1 if we have formed the habit of asking on every occasion4 ,what is it right to do now8 ,the habit of fixing our attention on how we are to conduct ourselves1 on what1 in a given situation and quite apart from our feelings1 it is right to do1 steadies the pulse1 clears the eye and preserves the tranquillity of the soul4 ,and there is always something which it is right to do1 even in the most desperate circumstances1 if it be only to maintain our dignity as human beings1 to keep up the drooping spirits of those around us1 and to assist our weaker brethren to the last4 ,another token of the higher life1 which indeed is implied in the former1 is the habit of taking what is called an objective or ,impersonal ,view of our personal relations4 ,this is especially important as helpful to self-control4 ,we are at best but tyros in the art of living1 so long as we continue to give effect in our dealings with others to our mere personal antipathies and sympathies4 ,as soon as we learn to speak and act medicinally1 not from personal resentment or under the impulse of personal attraction1 but with a view to promoting just the good in others1 the whole atmosphere in which we breathe changes2 a kind of perpetual sunshine illuminates our inner world1 the clouds of hate and the mists of passionate feeling dissolve and peace reigns within the borders of the soul4 ,a fourth token of the higher life is ,wisdom4 ,wisdom is situated at the junction of the intellectual and the moral faculties4 ,it consists in the highest use of the intellect for the discernment of the largest moral interests of humanity4 ,it is the most perfect willingness to do the right combined with the utmost attainable knowledge of what is right1 and with the clearest perception of what1 in a given situation1 is feasible4 ,wisdom is the attribute of one who works toward the most sublime ends imaginable1 but who at the same time realises the limitations due to existing conditions and who1 free from impatience at the unavoidable imperfections of man's estate1 seeks to achieve the better as a step leading in the direction of the best4 ,wisdom consists in working for the better from the love of the best4 ,the world is full of reformers who thunder at the gates of the ,impossible1 seeking to force an entrance1 and who injure their causes1 as well as themselves1 by the inevitable reaction which ensues when their schemes are found to be impracticable4 ,wisdom teaches that it is possible to lead the higher life1 even now4 ,but the crowning grace of all is ,humility1 in the sense in which it implies and presupposes dignity4 ,dignity is based upon the consciousness of a divine element in human nature1 of an infinite aim1 a boundless destiny4 ,humbleness is due to a sense of the incalculable distance which still separates us from the goal4 ,these two1 inseparably combined1 are the invariable accompaniment of moral greatness wherever met with4 ,self-righteousness and a cynical contempt of human nature on the other hand are the two chief enemies of moral progress4 ,these monsters must be slain if we would hope to continue in the upward path4 ,the higher life cannot be attained without rigorous self-discipline1 and self-discipline always involves pain1 but the end in view is worthy of the sufferings we are called upon to endure1 the prize is worthy of the price exacted of us4 ,,spiritual ,,progress ,by what sort of experience are we led to the conviction that spirit exists8 ,on the whole1 by searching1 painful experience4 ,the rose ,religion grows on a thorn-bush1 and we must not be afraid to have our fingers lacerated by the thorns if we would pluck the rose4 ,for instance1 a person who endures great bodily suffering with fortitude will discover that there is something in him which physical agony cannot overcome1 something not of the senses1 which all the assaults of the senses are powerless to affect4 ,why in this world of ours there should be so much suffering no one knows4 ,but this we know2 that1 evil existing1 the world being such as it is1 we can win from evil1 if we choose1 an inestimable good1 namely--the conviction that there is in us a power not of the senses1 the conviction that spirit exists1 and exists in us4 ,a sceptic may say that in a world ideally conceivable we might have secured this precious conviction without the necessity of undergoing the ordeal of pain4 ,to which the reply is3 that in a world ideally conceivable what he says may be true2 but in the world as it is1 with which alone we are concerned1 we have ample cause for gratitude that we can turn suffering to such far-reaching account1 that we can distil from the bitter root this divine elixir2 that by manfully bearing the pains of the senses1 inexplicable though they be1 we are able to gain the certainty that a power not born of the senses exists in us1 operates in us4 ,it is this effect of pain that accounts for the serenity and peace of many patient sufferers1 a peace and a serenity which surround their bed of misery with a kind of halo4 ,the same is true of moral pain4 ,the experience of ,guilt1 for instance1 if it leads us to pitilessly honest self-scrutiny and self-judgment1 will at the last disclose the marvellous fact that even in the most desperate cases there remains a part of our nature unspoiled by the guilt4 ,we become aware of a power within us1 to slough off the guilt as the serpent sloughs off its skin2 to triumph over the evil we have done as well as over the evils we suffer4 ,we realise that there is in us a fount of inexhaustible moral rejuvenation4 ,what1 then1 are the compensations of ,sin8 ,in the first place1 a truer insight into the moral order of the universe1 a more adequate realisation of the authority of those holy ordinances against which we have offended2 and then the conviction that the soul can ever rise again by its own efforts4 ,the tree may fall1 but the root remains indestructible2 the spring of moral endeavour may appear to be dried up1 but there are hidden subterranean streams from which it can ever be fed anew4 ,the stages of the progress of mankind may be compared to a series of mountain ranges4 ,first the foothills1 then the higher hills1 then mountain range on mountain range beyond them4 ,as we gain the loftier eminences we see the snowy summits before us1 touched by the light of the moral ideal1 transforming themselves before our eyes into what appear to be the ramparts and the spires of the ,golden ,city4 ,we climb still higher1 and the vision travels with us1 lighting on the next succeeding range4 ,and so1 on and on1 as we ascend4 ,we live in our activities1 in our influence4 ,the success or failure of life is determined1 not by our conditions1 but by the effort we put forth despite our conditions4 ,a man who1 though himself poor1 labours to keep alive the higher life in his fellows1 to inspire them with the courage to strive for the better1 and with patience to bear the evils which are for the time being unavoidable1 is a spiritual hero and a nobler benefactor than many of the so-called benefactors who invade the slums4 ,when human nature fights in the last ditch1 when it is pressed against the wall1 when the clutch of circumstances is about its throat and threatens to choke it1 then human nature1 by way of reaction1 exhibits a power which we call spiritual4 ,this is rarely displayed in prosperous circumstances4 ,it is the compensation of adversity that it elicits in manifold ways this spiritual power and makes man's life in a spiritual sense a success4 ,,suffering ,,and ,,consolation ,let the ,stoics say what they will1 so long as we remain human we shall always open our breasts to those warm loves that make the sweetness of existence1 if also they make its bitterest pain4 ,it is written that the last enemy to be vanquished is death4 ,we should begin early in life to vanquish this enemy by obliterating every trace of the fear of death from our minds4 ,then can we turn to life and fill the whole horizon of our souls with it1 turn with added zest to all the serious tasks which it imposes and to the pure delights which here and there it affords4 ,there are hours of great loneliness1 when the frost of desolation penetrates into the very soul1 when the burden seems too heavy to bear1 and the draught of life too bitter to swallow4 ,but the very keenness of the ordeal begets the strength to bear it1 and patience and unselfish resignation will come as with the rustling of angel's wings to dry our scalding tears4 ,when the light of the sun shines through a prism it is broken into beautiful colours1 and when the prism is shattered1 still the light remains4 ,so does the light of life shine resplendent in the forms of our friends1 and so1 when their forms are broken1 still their life remains2 and in that life we are united with them2 for the life of their life is also our life1 and we are one with them by ties indissoluble4 ,they say that it is a blessed relief in times of grief to shed tears4 ,but a more blessed relief than to shed tears is to wipe away the tears from others' eyes4 ,in hours of great sorrow we turn in vain to ,nature for an inspiring thought4 ,we question the sleepless stars2 they are cold and distant4 ,the winds blow1 the rivers run their course1 the seasons change2 they are careless of man4 ,only in the human world do we find an answering echo to our needs4 ,the body is incapable of supporting for longer than a few brief years the weight of the life that dwells within it4 ,the vehicle cannot sustain the content4 ,the instrument falls short of the demands upon it1 and crumbles into ruins4 ,but in its ruin it sets off1 in tragic contrast1 the grandeur of the power which1 for a time1 employed it for its uses1 a power greater than itself1 greater than any instrument1 whose glory rises above the ruins and gilds them with unearthly splendour in departing4 ,we are soldiers fighting a good fight4 ,the call that awakens us out of despair in times of affliction is the trumpet-call of duty1 summoning us back to the battle4 ,the experience of progress in the past1 the hope of progress toward perfection in the future1 is the redeeming feature of life2 it is the one and only solace that never fails4 ,it is the nature of the noble and the good and the wise that they impart to us of their nobility and their goodness and their wisdom while they live1 making it natural for us to breathe the air they breathe and giving us confidence in our own untested powers4 ,and the same influence in more ethereal fashion they continue to exert after they are gone4 ,the condition of all progress is experience4 ,we go wrong a thousand times before we find the right path4 ,we struggle1 and grope1 and hurt ourselves until we learn the use of things1 and this is true of things spiritual as well as of material things4 ,pain is unavoidable1 but it acquires a new and higher meaning when we perceive that it is the price humanity must pay for an invaluable good4 ,the consolations of the moral ideal are vigorous4 ,they do not encourage idle sentiment4 ,they recommend to the sufferer action4 ,our loss1 indeed1 will always remain loss1 and no preaching or teaching can ever make it otherwise4 ,but the question is whether it shall weaken and embitter1 or strengthen and purify us1 and lead us to raise to the dead we mourn a monument in our lives that shall be better than any pillared chapel or storied marble tomb4 ,the criterion of all right relations whatsoever is that we are helped by them4 ,and so1 too1 the criterion of right relations to the dead is that we are helped1 not weakened and disabled1 by them4 ,does the remembrance of our departed beloved ones have this effect upon us8 ,does it make us better and purer men and women than we should otherwise have been1 stronger if not happier8 ,do they come to us as gentle monitors in silent hours of thought8 ,does their approving smile stimulate us to greater bravery for the right1 to more earnest self-conquest8 ,does the pressure of their invisible hands guide us in the better way8 ,if so1 then truly blessed is their memory4 ,then will the pain which is associated with the thought of them gradually be diminished2 the wild regrets1 the unappeasable longings which1 at times1 assert themselves gradually be pacified4 ,then will the bitter sense of the loss we have sustained be overborne by the consciousness of the treasure of their influence which still remains to us1 and which can never be taken from us4 ,activity is our great resource4 ,to be active is to live4 ,the glow that comes with activity supplies the heat that supports our mental and moral energies4 ,activity is the antidote to the depressions that lower our vitality1 whether they come from physical or psychical causes4 ,those whom we love are not given to us merely for our joy or our happiness4 ,their truest ministry consists in being to us revealers of the divine4 ,they quicken in us the seed of better thoughts1 help us to estimate rightly the things that are worth trying for and the things that are not worth trying for2 help us to become more equal to the standard of our own best insight1 and grow into our truer selves4 ,and this influence abides when they are gone4 ,let us learn from the lips of death the lessons of life4 ,let us live truly while we live1 live for what is true and good and lasting4 ,and let the memory of our dead help us to do this4 ,for they are not wholly separated from us1 if we remain loyal to them4 ,in spirit they are with us4 ,and we may think of them as silent1 invisible1 but real presences in our households4 ,in a storm at sea when the peril is extreme1 the captain lashes himself to the mast in order that he may bring the vessel safely through the raging seas4 ,so1 in times of great affliction1 we should lash ourselves to the mast of the ship of life1 by the cord of duty4 ,the bitter1 yet merciful1 lesson which death teaches us is to distinguish the gold from the tinsel1 the true values from the worthless chaff4 ,the terrible events of life are great eye-openers4 ,they force us to learn that which it is wholesome for us to know1 but which habitually we try to ignore--namely1 that really we have no claim on a long life2 that we are each of us liable to be called off at any moment1 and that the main point is not how long we live1 but with what meaning we fill the short allotted span--for short it is at best4 ,the wine of pleasure which once we quaffed so passionately1 where is it now8 ,the cup is empty and only the lees remain1 and they are as wormwood to the taste4 ,the flowers which we wove into chaplets at our feasts to wreathe ourselves withal1 they are withered and noxious4 ,but the good deeds we have done1 the nobler traits of character we have developed--these are imperishable4 ,as in every battle1 so in the great battle of ,humanity1 the fallen and wounded1 too1 have a share in the victory2 by their sufferings they have helped1 and the greenest wreaths belong to them4 ,we conceive of ourselves as somehow identical in being with those who are to come after us2 for it is in the nature of spirit that its separate members1 dispersed though they be in space and time1 are still1 in essence1 one4 ,so that we may say concerning those who come after us1 and who will reap the benefit of our labours1 that we ourselves shall attain to increasing perfection in them4 ,all of us have felt after some great bereavement the beneficent influence of mere work4 ,even the mechanical part of our daily tasks affords us some relief4 ,the knowledge that something must be done prevents us from brooding over our griefs1 and forces us back into the active currents of life4 ,the resources of the intellect1 too1 stand us in good stead in times of trouble4 ,the pursuit of knowledge is directed toward large impersonal ends3 into the calm and silent realm of thought the feelings can gain no entrance4 ,there1 after the first spasms of emotion have subsided1 we may find at least a temporary relief--there for hours we drink in a welcome oblivion4 ,but mere plodding toil and mere intellectual preoccupation do not suffice1 the discharge of the moral duties in the light of the moral perfection to which they point alone can really sustain and console us4 ,in alleviating the misery of others our own misery will be alleviated2 in healing there is cure4 ,when we endure some heavy affliction we are apt to say1 8,oh1 there is no suffering like my suffering4 ,there is no one who bears such a load as mine40 ,this is a mistake--the guilty suffer more than the afflicted4 ,better a thousand times death than shame4 ,there are depths below depths1 abysses below abysses4 ,poverty1 ,sickness1 ,sorrow1 and the experience of ,sin are the great instrumentalities for moralising our natures4 ,they are dark gateways through which we pass into a temple of light--into the innermost sanctuary of a truer life4 ,yes1 for the guilty also there is consolation and redemption4 8,come ye that are heavy laden unto me1 no matter how heavily laden with sin10 says every religion1 8and ,i will give you rest40 ,for those who have transgressed the moral law realise more fully than others do the sublime majesty of the power which they have affronted4 ,and in a sense greater than words can convey1 those who have had the profoundest experience of guilt are more capable than others of a divine transfiguration of their natures4 ,we are not free to stand aside in idle woe1 but should make for the departed a memorial in our lives and complete their half-completed tasks4 ,the widowed wife shall be both mother and father to her children2 the afflicted husband both father and mother to his children4 ,faith in the sublime ideal of humanity is the saving faith that will work miracles to-day1 as of old at ,cana1 that will change the waters of earth's grief and misery into the wondrous wine of life and joy4 ,death and the dead should be associated with what is brightest and purest in ,nature1 with glorious sunsets1 with the dawn of summer mornings1 with the fragrance of ,spring4 ,,ethical ,,outlook ,the right for the right's sake is the motto which every one should take for his own life4 ,with that as a standard of value we can descend into our hearts1 appraise ourselves1 and determine in how far we already are moral beings1 in how far not yet4 ,the supremacy of the moral end of life above all other ends1 the sufficiency of man for the pursuit of that end1 the increase of moral truth to be expected from loyalty in this pursuit--these are the three tenets1 if we may call them so1 of an ethical creed4 ,the question what to believe is perhaps the most momentous that any one can put to himself4 ,our beliefs are not to be classed among the luxuries1 but among the necessaries of existence4 ,they become particularly important in times of trouble4 ,they are like the life-boats carried by ocean ships4 ,as long as the sea is smooth and there is every appearance of a prosperous voyage1 the passengers seldom take note of the boats or inquire into their sea-worthiness4 ,but when the storm breaks and danger approaches1 then the capacity of the boats and their soundness become matters of the first importance4 ,ethical religion affirms the continuity of progress toward moral perfection4 ,it affirms that the spiritual development of the human race cannot be prematurely cut off1 either gradually or suddenly2 that every stone of offence against which we stumble is a stepping-stone to some greater good2 that1 at the end of days1 if we choose to put it so1 all the rays of progress will be summed and centred in a transcendent focus4 ,religion is concerned with the foreign relations of mankind1 that is to say1 with our relations to the whole of outside nature4 ,the mission of religion is to convince us that the foreign power is friendly4 ,the non-ethical religions have represented the eternal outside power as manifesting its friendliness by warding off unhappiness and ministering to the temporal well-being of man4 ,ethical religion restricts itself to affirming that the eternal power assures the fulfilment of our moral aims4 ,the non-ethical religions have based the belief that there is a higher power on the testimony of supernatural revelations4 ,ethical religion bases its belief solely upon the testimony of conscience1 which declares that progress ought to be achieved1 hence inferring that it will be4 ,that the moral obligation remains in force is the capital fact to which we must hold fast1 no matter what may be our theories of life and the ,universe4 ,the recognition of this obligation1 the hearty avowal of the supremacy of the moral end above all other ends of life1 is the first article of a practical ethical creed4 ,there may be1 and there ought to be1 progress in the moral sphere4 ,the moral truths which we have inherited from the past need to be expanded and re-stated4 ,in times of misfortune we require for our support something of which the truth is beyond all question1 in which we can put an implicit trust1 8though the heavens should fall40 ,a merely borrowed belief is1 at such time1 like a rotten plank across a raging torrent4 ,the moment we step upon it1 it gives way beneath our feet4 ,good deeds remain good1 no matter whether we know how the world was made or not4 ,vile deeds are vile1 no matter whether we know or do not know what1 after death1 will be the fate of the doer4 ,we know1 at least1 what his fate is now1 namely1 to be wedded to the vileness4 ,the question for any one to decide1 who hesitates between good and evil1 is whether he aspires to be a full-weight man1 or merely the fragment1 nay1 the counterfeit of a man4 ,only he who ceaselessly aims at moral completeness is1 in the true sense1 a human being4 ,there is a universal element in man which he can assert by so acting as if the purpose of the ,universe were also his purpose4 ,it is the function of the supreme ordeals of life to develop in men this power1 to give to their life this distinction1 this height of dignity1 these vast horizons4 ,life has ever seemed to me a task4 ,it has its interludes of joy4 ,but1 on the whole1 it is an arduous1 often a desperately arduous task4 ,i think of the dead as of those who have finished their task1 who have graduated from this exacting school1 who have taken their degree--and some of them1 surely1 with honour4 ,we need to feel that no effort is ever wasted1 that no honest reaching out toward the good is vain1 that the great ,all is pressing forward toward a transcendent goal4 ,and there is but a single way to obtain this conviction4 ,it is not possible to enter into the nature of the ,good by standing aloof from it--by merely speculating upon it4 ,act the ,good1 and you will believe in it4 ,throw yourself into the stream of the world's good tendency and you will feel the force of the current and the direction in which it is setting4 ,the conviction that the world is moving toward great ends of progress will come surely to him who is himself engaged in the work of progress4 ,by ceaseless efforts to live the good life we maintain our moral sanity4 ,not from without1 but from within1 flow the divine waters that renew the soul4 ,the ethical element of religion has ever been its truly vital and quickening force4 ,it is this which lends such majesty to the speeches of the ,prophets1 which gives such ineffable power and sweetness to the words of ,jesus4 ,has this ethical element become less important in our age8 ,has the need of accentuating it become less imperative8 ,to-day1 in the estimation of many1 science and art are taking the place of religion4 ,but science and art alike are inadequate to build up character and to furnish binding rules of conduct4 ,we need also a clearer understanding of applied ethics1 a better insight into the specific duties of life1 a finer and a surer moral tact4 ,it is the business of the preacher1 not only to state moral truths1 but to inspire his hearers with a realising sense of their value1 and to awaken in them the desire to act accordingly4 ,he can do this only by putting his own purpose as a yeast into their hearts4 ,the influence of the right sort of preachers cannot be spared4 ,the human race is not yet so far advanced that it can dispense with the impulses that come from men of more than average intensity of moral energy4 ,let us produce1 through the efficacy of a better moral life and of a deeper moral experience1 a surer faith in the ultimate victory of the good4 ,let us found religion upon a basis of perfect intellectual honesty4 ,religion1 if it is to mean anything at all1 must stand for the highest truth4 ,how then can the cause of truth be served by the sacrifice1 more or less disguised1 of one's intellectual convictions8 ,to those who are longing for a higher life1 who deeply feel the need of religious satisfactions1 we suggest that there is a way in which the demands of the head and the heart may be reconciled4 ,religion is not necessarily allied with dogma1 a new kind of faith is possible1 based not upon legend and tradition1 not upon the authority of any book1 but upon the moral nature of man4 ,theologians often say that faith must come first1 and that morality must be deduced from faith4 ,we say that morality must come first1 and faith1 to those whose nature fits them to entertain it1 will come out of the experience of a deepened moral life as its richest1 choicest fruit4 ,precisely because moral culture is the aim1 we cannot be content merely to lift the mass of mankind above the grosser forms of evil4 ,we must try to advance the cause of humanity by developing in ourselves1 as well as in others1 a higher type of manhood and womanhood than the past has known4 ,to aid in the evolution of a new conscience1 to inject living streams of moral force into the dry veins of materialistic communities is our aim4 ,we seek to come into touch with the ultimate power in things1 the ultimate peace in things1 which yet1 in any literal sense1 we know well that we cannot know4 ,we seek to become morally certain--that is1 certain for moral purposes--of what is beyond the reach of demonstration4 ,but our moral optimism must include the darkest facts that pessimism can point to1 include them and transcend them4 ,to give to actual life the formal poise and finish of a work of art is the tendency of those who see in learning and beauty the highest end of human endeavour4 ,it is a tendency the value of which as an element of wisdom cannot be denied2 but it cannot1 on the other hand1 be said that it is 8the religious teaching which is proper to our time40 ,the watchword 8culture0 we may indeed adopt4 ,but there is needed the qualifying prefix 8ethical0 to give it a practical direction and a higher than the merely sthetic connotation4 ,we should teach our children nothing which they shall ever need to unlearn2 we should strive to transmit to them the best possessions1 the truest thought1 the noblest sentiments of the age in which we live4 ,the moral ferment that has worked from the beginning in human nature is active still4 ,to-day it is manifest in the great social problems that agitate our age1 demanding a higher justice1 if they are to be solved1 threatening social disruption if they are met in the hard spirit of selfish greed1 while promising a fairer future than the world has yet seen if dealt with in wisdom and forbearance4 ,the frontier of the higher life is everywhere contiguous to the common life1 and we can cross the border at any moment4 ,the higher life is as real as the grosser things in which we put our trust4 ,but our eyes must be anointed so that we may see it4 ,the office of the religious teacher is to be a seer1 and to make others see1 and thus to win them into the upward way4 ,they have not grasped the whole truth who see in the sympathetic side of human nature1 in the tender and amiable impulses of the heart1 the well-spring of our moral judgments4 ,these gentle qualities--pity1 tenderness1 sympathy--are the sweet1 younger sisters of ,virtue2 but ,virtue herself is greater than they4 ,we should seek to free the moral life from the embarrassments and entanglements in which it has been involved by the quibbles of the schools and the mutual antagonisms of the sects2 to introduce into it an element of downrightness and practical earnestness2 above all1 to secure to the modern world1 in its struggle with manifold evil1 the boon of moral unity1 despite intellectual diversity4 ,in order to improve ethics as a science it is necessary to fix attention on the moral facts1 to collect them1 to bring them into view1 especially the more recondite facts4 ,many of us stumble1 not because we lack the desire to do what is right1 but because we fail to discern what the right is4 ,i believe in the supreme excellence of righteousness2 ,i believe that the law of righteousness will triumph in the universe over all evil2 ,i believe that in the attempt to fulfil the law of righteousness1 however imperfect it must remain1 are to be found the inspiration1 the consolation1 and the sanctification of human existence4 ,we live in order to finish an1 as yet1 unfinished universe1 unfinished so far as the human1 that is1 the highest part of it1 is concerned4 ,we live in order to develop the superior qualities of man which are1 as yet1 for the most part latent4 ,the test of genuine moral culture is to be found in the attention we pay to the oft-neglected details of conduct2 in the extent to which we have formed the habit of asking1 ,what is it right to do in those little things which yet are not little8 ,the thought of the brevity of life is the prod that spurs us on to the achievement of our task2 it is like the blast of a bugle from the walls of a fortress that warns us to make haste lest the gates be closed against us4 ,we are to go out as teachers among the people1 discarding the limitations imposed by the theologies of the past1 and holding up the moral ideal1 pure and simple1 as the human ideal1 as the ideal for all men1 embracing all men1 binding on all men--the ideal of a perfect society1 of a society in which no men or class of men shall be mere hewers of wood and drawers of water for others2 in which no man or woman1 or class of men or class of women shall be used as tools for the lusts of others1 or for the ambitions of others1 or for the greed of others2 in which every human life1 the life of every man and woman and child1 shall be esteemed a sacred utterance of the ,infinite4 ,,the ,,end ,,watts ,,and ,,co41 ,,printers1 ,,johnson',s ,,court1 ,,fleet ,,street1 ,e4,c4