,,unfinished ,,rainbows                 
,and ,other ,essays                     
by                           ,,george   
,,wood ,,anderson                       
,illustration3 ,abingdon ,press logo    
,,the ,,abingdon ,,press                
,,new ,,york                            
,,cincinnati                            
,copyright1 #aibb1 by                   
,,george ,,wood ,,anderson              
,printed in the ,united ,states of      
,america                                
,,contents                              
,,page                  ,i4 ,unfinished 
,rainbows                  #e           
,,ii4 ,gathering ,sunsets               
#ab                ,,iii4 ,beyond the   
,curtained ,clouds         #ai          
,,iv4 ,tilling the ,sky                 
#bf                  ,v4 ,unquarried    
,statues                  #cc           
,,vi4 ,the ,ages to ,come               
#dj                ,,vii4 ,the ,unlocked
 ,door of ,truth          #dg           
,,viii4 ,weaving ,sunbeams              

#ed                 ,,ix4 ,the ,pathway 
of a ,noble ,purpose      #fa           
,x4 ,swords for ,moral ,battles         
#fh                 ,,xi4 ,spiced ,wine 
#ge                ,,xii4 ,the ,fever of
 ,health                 #hb            
,,xiii4 ,the ,wisdom of the ,unlearned  
#hi                ,,xiv4 ,the ,strength
 of ,weakness            #if            
,,xv4 ,crumbling ,palaces               
#ajc                ,,xvi4 ,the ,echo of
 ,life's ,unsung ,songs    #aaj         
,,xvii4 ,modern ,judases                
#aag              ,,xviii4 ,the         
,adjustable ,universe            #abe   
,,xix4 ,seeing ,love                    
#acb                 ,,xx4 ,the ,dignity
 of ,labor               #aci           
,,xxi4 ,above the ,commonplace of ,sin  
#adf               ,,xxii4 ,the         
,investment of a ,life           #aed   
,,xxiii4 ,thought ,planting             
#afa               ,,xxiv4 ,the ,rosary 
of ,tears                #afh           
,,xxv4 ,the ,hearthstone of the ,heart  

#age               ,,xxvi4 ,the ,unoared
 ,sea                    #ahb           
,i                                      
,,unfinished ,,rainbows      ,the       
rainbow was only a fragment of an arch  
because the needed sunshine  was        
withheld4 ,had the sunlight been        
permitted to permeate all the           
atmosphere with its golden glow1 the    
arch would have spanned the entire      
heavens4    ,this is the reason why1 in 
hours of sorrow1 we do not grasp the    
fullness of ,god's promise2 we permit   
the denser clouds of doubt and          
faithlessness to keep the light of ,god 
from shining through our griefs2  or1   
with a little faith1 we get a gleam of  
light that gives us but a  tiny fragment
 of the bow4    ,while all the          
operations of this natural world are    
tokens of ,god's  unfailing             
thoughtfulness in keeping his covenant  
with man1 a great  event has made the   
rainbow peculiarly the embodiment of    
that thought4  ,looking from the narrow 

window of the wave-tossed ark1 upon the 
silent grandeur of a world slowly       
arising from the waters of an  universal
 flood1 ,noah beheld the rainbow and    
rejoiced in the blest  assurance1 that1 
while the things of man are subject to  
the ravages  of time and destruction of 
contending elements1 the things of ,god 
are always stable and secure4 ,the most 
permanent products of man's  hand and   
mind are soon swept away1 but the things
 of ,god endure1 and  continue faithful1
 in working out their appointed courses4
 ,through  storm or calm1 events march  
with steady1 unceasing tread1 knowing   
that ,god's roads are never worn1 and   
,god's bridges never tremble and  fall4 
,above the placid1 mysterious world1    
calmly emerging from the  muddy1        
wreck-strewn waters1 was the peaceful1  
radiant bow1 smiling  in confidence upon
 him and his companions4 ,the world had 
changed1  but the rainbow was just as it
 had always been1 stately1 serene1  and 
unaffrighted4 ,the crumbling1 flood-torn

 earth had not weakened  its            
foundations1 the drenching rains had not
 faded its colors1 the  hurrying1       
wind-swept clouds could not disturb it4 
,though it were made  out of hurrying   
light and drifting mist it would not be 
swayed or moved  even a little4 ,under  
its archway walked the guarding angels  
of ,god4  ,over the waters came the     
clear voice once heard in ,eden1        
uttering the  promise1 8,and it shall   
come to pass1 when ,i bring a cloud over
 the  earth1 that the bow shall be seen 
in the cloud3 and ,i will remember my   
covenant40    ,that is a sweeping       
promise that is literally fulfilled in  
nature4 ,all  clouds carry rainbows4    
,most of them are never seen by us      
because we  lack the necessary keenness 
of vision1 or the proper point of view  
to behold their woven colors2 many are  
only partially seen because  something  
intervenes and prevents a perfect       
intersection of heavenly  sunlight with 
our earth-born mists2 many are within   

the vision of  all observing men2 but1  
whether we see it or not1 for every     
cloud  there is a scarf of red and      
orange and yellow and green and blue and
  scarlet and purple4 ,so1 in spiritual 
matters1 we find that for every  sorrow 
there are beautiful assurances of ,god's
 presence and unwavering                
covenant-keeping power4 ,if we do not   
see them it is not ,god's fault1  for   
the light of his faithfulness transfixes
 every cloud that arises  above his     
earth-born children4    ,there are the  
clouds of bereavement4 ,the ,death      
,angel defied your  love-locked doors   
and bolted windows4 ,heeding neither    
your cry nor  your pleadings1 he entered
 your home and pushed aside the doctor  
and  attending nurses and friends1 and  
touching the heart of your loved  one1  
stilled it to sleep4 ,your grief was    
such that you did not see how  you could
 live4 ,the home seemed empty and       
strangely silent4 ,the entire  pathway  
seemed shrouded in the somber shadows of

 your grief4 ,life was  a desolation4   
,but you did not give up in despair4    
,there was a bow in  the cloud4 ,an arch
 of seven brilliant hues reached from   
one horizon  to another horizon1 and you
 knew that the ,one in whom you had     
placed  your trust had proven true4 ,he 
had not forgotten you4 ,looking at the  
rainbow1 the token of his covenant1 you 
read in its mingled colors the  words of
 the ,lord ,jesus1 8,i am the           
resurrection1 and the life3 he that     
believeth in me1 though he were dead1   
yet shall he live3 and whosoever  liveth
 and believeth in me shall never die40  
,in your sorrow you found  that the bow 
of ,god's promises never trembles4      
,you were facing financial disaster4    
,all your investments had proven  bad4  
,you had been misled by false counsel4  
,the savings of years had  been swept   
away by one fell swoop of disaster1 and 
with them had gone  all the fond plans  
for the future of your family and loved 
ones4 ,your  head reeled as you felt the

 earth giving way beneath you2 you were 
about to close your eyes in despair1    
when suddenly1 in the darkest  part of  
the overshadowing cloud1 you saw the    
rainbow4 ,god had not  forgotten you4   
,amid the whirl and destruction of      
things his promises  never trembled4    
,its gleaming colors told you that you  
were not alone1  and spelled such a     
message of hope and inspiration to your 
soul1 that  you smiled in the face of   
adversity4 ,here was the promise1       
8,there is no  want to them that fear   
,him40 ,you had never seen the beauty of
 those  words before4 ,you felt the     
thrill of a new life and the confidence 
that  you once placed in riches1 you now
 centered upon ,god4    ,there were the 
dark clouds of misplaced friendship4    
,you were confident  that the one in    
whom you were placing your trust was    
worthy1 but  through that friendship you
 were betrayed1 and misrepresented1 and 
made the object of scorn and criticism4 
,no cloud is darker than that1  no      

sorrow is harder to bear1 and yet you   
did not lose confidence in  man4 ,above 
the feathered edges of the cloud was the
 rainbow of ,god's  promise1 and you    
knew that if even father and mother     
forsook you1 the  ,lord would take you  
up4 ,the rainbow1 as the symbol of      
,god's promise1  said3 8,lo1 ,i am with 
you always1 even unto the end of the    
world40    ,but some one says1 8,i have 
never been able to grasp the fullness of
  these promises4 ,amid life's clouds ,i
 cannot see the presence of the         
,almighty40 ,that is not ,god's fault1  
but because one hinders the coming  of  
the light4 ,if you do not permit the    
,spirit of ,god to shine upon  your     
sorrow with its golden light1 the       
ministration of the rainbow  to your    
sorrow-smitten soul will never be       
complete4 ,the comforts  of ,god are    
known only by those who are willing to  
receive his holy  ministrations4 ,the   
rainbow is never finished for the one   
who refuses  to receive ,christ fully   

and completely into his life4 ,he is the
 ,light  of the world1 and his presence 
always brings the promises of the       
,father to their fullest possible       
earthly revelation and application4     
,his revelations are always complete and
 as comforting as they are  beautiful4  
,his clear light of goodness has always 
been making battle  against the darkness
 of sin's mists and fogs4 ,he is never  
satisfied  until his love has           
intercepted every overshadowing cloud so
 that when  you behold the streaming    
banners of the bow1 that always follows 
and  never precedes a storm1 you may    
know that you1 through him1 have        
already gotten the victory4 ,light      
triumphs4 ,the overshadowing cloud is   
pierced4 ,instead of somberness there is
 beauty4    ,the earthly rainbows will  
never be complete4 ,here we behold at   
best  only a segment of a perfect       
circle4 ,we have but a one-world view   
and  therefore can behold but half the  
rainbow4 ,in heaven we shall see the    

completed circle1 as ,john beheld it in 
his vision and exclaimed1 with          
rapturous delight1 8,there was a rainbow
 round about the throne40 ,so  glorious 
is the light of the great1 white throne1
 and the face1 and the  raiment of ,him 
that sat upon it1 that to angelic vision
 it is nestled  in the center of a      
perfectly rounded bow of brilliant hue4 
,the rainbow can never be destroyed1 for
 the light of ,christ can never  fade4  
,ever about the throne of ,god1 in      
perfect circle1 shall gleam the  steady1
 colored token of ,god's faithfulness   
through all time and all  eternity4 ,the
 multitude of white-robed ones that     
worship before the  throne are those who
 have come out 8of great tribulation10  
they are  those who have 8overcome      
through the blood of the ,lamb10        
therefore it  is fitting that the one   
choicest treasure saved from the natural
 world  in which they fought their      
battles1 and won their victories1 should
 be  the rainbow1 the richly colored    

symbol of ,god's faithfulness and mercy4
  ,what emotions thrill our souls in    
this world when we look upon the        
rainbow6 ,what memories shall sweep     
through our souls when we behold the    
rainbow that is ever round about the    
great white throne of ,god6             
,,ii                                    
,,gathering ,,sunsets      ,the sunset  
is the sheaf of the day's activities1   
wherein are bound all  the roses and    
poppies and fruits and grains of the    
passing hours1 for  the experiences of  
life are constantly coming to full      
harvest4 ,weary  with toil and worn with
 watching1 we do not see the riches of  
to-day2  or1 stirred by some new        
ambition1 our eyes become so fixed upon 
the  future1 that to-day's golden grain 
is trampled under foot and lost4        
,instead of facing the morrow's morn1   
rich with garnered treasures1  we greet 
it with empty hands4 ,we are not        
householders seeking  strong-walled     
dwellings and broad1 extending acres1   

but are careless1  nomadic folk1        
wandering aimlessly from day to day1 as 
gypsies wander  from town to town4      
,having all things within our grasp1 we 
possess  nothing4 ,when touched by the  
hand of ,death1 and taken out of life1  
the  world is no more disturbed than by 
the bursting of a bubble on the  ocean  
wave4    ,sunsets are sheaves1 and the  
brilliancy of their coloring is ,god's  
way of calling our attention to their   
value4 ,the waving of so many  golden   
and scarlet banners1 by a myriad of     
unseen hands1 should awaken  the most   
careless soul to the consciousness that 
something mighty is  transpiring4 ,such 
banners and pageantry passing through   
our streets  would awaken the entire    
city to wonderment and concern4 ,for    
what king  are the banners waving8 ,for 
what worthy cause are all these ensigns 
thrown upon the wind8 ,what victory is  
celebrated here8 ,yet the sunsets  pass 
unheeded1 and the golden sheaf of       
another day is trampled under  careless 

feet1 and left to mildew and decay4     
,the art of gathering sunsets1 the      
grasping of each day's experiences  with
 firm and constant hold1 is one to      
covet4 ,days are not something to  8pass
 through40 ,each day is like unto an    
acre of land1 through which  one may    
hurry1 as in a train1 without thought of
 right or ownership2 or  unto an acre of
 land which he holds in perpetual       
ownership1 adding that  much to his     
estate1 and increasing his income       
through all the days that  follow4      
,rather1 it is a sheaf of grain1        
supplying food and affording  strength  
for an ever-increasing work which he may
 throw away1 or keep  for future use4   
,sunset time is harvest time1 and the   
evening hour is  the one in which to    
fill full the granaries and treasure    
chests for  days unborn4 ,sunsets should
 be bound with the golden cords of      
memory  and kept forever4    ,the       
pathway of life grows brightest for     
those who have wasted fewest  of their  

yesterdays4 ,hours well spent and safely
 garnered never lose  the brightness of 
their sunshine4 ,it always glows in the 
sparkle of  the eye1 in the brightness  
of a winning smile1 in the warm         
atmosphere  of helpfulness with which   
they are surrounded4 ,hours spent in sin
 and  dissipation have no luster to cast
 upon the afterdays1 but goodness  is   
always luminous4 ,hours of right-living 
may be likened to blazing  suns that    
never cease to glow4 ,the ability to    
retain their brightness  means an       
ever-increasing splendor of life4 ,it is
 this that the inspired  writer must    
have had in mind when he wrote that the 
pathway of the just  is as a shining    
light1 that shineth more and more unto  
the perfect day4    ,the secret of      
perfection along any line of endeavor is
 the gathering  in and retaining the    
good1 at the same time sorting out and  
permanently eliminating that which is   
bad4 ,it is a work of patience  and     
progression4 ,it requires the fruitage  

of many days1 the garnered  glories of  
many sunsets1 to endow one with the     
riches of genius2 and  not one single   
day should be lost4 ,the lapidist1 whose
 magic touch  changes pebbles into      
glittering jewels to adorn the neck of  
beauty2 the  sculptor1 whose            
mallet-stroke is so accurate that rough1
 ill-shapen  stones become forms of     
grace to inspire the generations2 the   
artist1 whose brush quickens the common 
dust and clay into marvelous  paintings 
of unfading color and undying sentiment2
 the botanist1 whose  carefulness       
transforms barren waysides into gardens1
 and the desert  places into banqueting 
halls2 the metallurgist1 whose powerful 
hand  takes the knotted lumps of ore and
 fashions them into the bronze doors  of
 a great cathedral--all these represent 
that priceless frugality that  will not 
permit a sunset to escape4 ,their first 
crude efforts were  sheaves of rich     
experiences1 which they garnered and    
stored away in the  treasure chests of  

memory4 ,they had the bright light of   
their first  sunsets to add to the      
morning light of their second endeavors4
 ,they  continued to store the          
brightness of the passing experiences4  
,day by  day the light grew brighter1   
until at last there came the perfect    
day1  when the whole world stood amazed 
at the perfection of their handiwork4   
,the loss of one sunset would have faded
 the light and dimmed the glory  of     
their final achievement4 ,all perfect   
art is but gathered sunsets4    ,this   
law holds in the matter of spiritual    
perfection4 ,god does much for  us at   
conversion1 when1 through faith in him1 
we are changed by his  grace into new   
men and new women4 ,it is like a lost   
planet finding its  central sun1 and    
resuming its accustomed place1 and      
finding light1 and  warmth1 and life1   
and joy again4 ,wonderful indeed is the 
power of ,god  as manifested in the     
conversion of any individual1 but       
conversion is  not perfection4          

,perfection is something that the       
inspired writer urges  us 8to go unto40 
8,and beside this1 giving all diligence1
 add to your  faith virtue2 and to      
virtue knowledge2 and to knowledge      
temperance2 and  to temperance patience2
 and to patience godliness2 and to      
godliness  brotherly kindness2 and to   
brotherly kindness charity40    ,do not 
permit the colors of triumph to fade    
from your first day's sky4  ,hold on to 
that sunset4 ,each day will furnish its 
added beam of light4  ,faith1 hope1 and 
love1 and all the ,christian graces will
 become more  beautiful for you1 to you1
 and in you4 ,the pathway will become   
brighter  and brighter4 ,life will have 
fewer shadows because the light falls   
upon  you from so many angles and       
becomes more perfectly diffused4        
,to-morrow  can have no hindering       
uncertainties1 for the light of the past
  experiences illumines the future4     
,there is light for every darkened      
corner1 and one may rejoice that all    

things are working together for  good1  
because we do love ,god4 ,gathered      
sunsets make life's trail ablaze  with  
light4    ,let no to-day become         
yesterday1 except in the calendar1 as we
 reckon  time4 ,each day must become    
part of us as we live in an ever-present
  now4 ,the same alphabet we learned in 
childhood is ours to-day4 ,because  we  
did not forget it with the setting of   
the sun1 it served us to-day  as we     
spell out1 in polysyllables1 a newly    
discovered truth4 ,the  alphabet did not
 fade with the death of the day we      
learned it1 so that  it is now part of  
our lives4 ,as we cannot think apart    
from the words  we learned long ago2 and
 as we cannot calculate1 save as we use 
the  first-learned characters from one  
to ten2 so1 in the developing of the    
soul1 we must not lose one single hour  
of prayer or inspiration of a  noble    
purpose4    ,both building and growing  
are alike in this--they are processes of
  8adding to40 ,brick added to brick and

 timber added to timber means a  stately
 building4 ,cell added to cell means    
growth of body and increase  in stature4
 ,but handling brick is not enough1 they
 must be placed with  a purpose and kept
 firmly fixed in the place desired4 ,the
 brick of  yesterday must be where it   
can have added to it the brick of       
to-day4  ,physical growth depends upon  
the keeping the cells of yesterday for a
  foundation upon which to build the    
cells of to-day4 ,christian living is   
similar4 ,we build a character and grow 
a soul but the process is the  same1    
with both character and soul4 ,we gain  
by adding to4 ,therefore  we must not   
permit any of our sunsets to fade away4 
,all that we have  gained through prayer
 and ,christian service must be held to 
brighten  each new morn4 ,the spiritual 
victory over temptation1 the answer to  
our intercessory prayers1 the moment of 
spiritual illumination as we  read the  
,bible1 all these are priceless         
experiences upon which to add  the newer

 conquests of to-day4 ,we must not      
permit the disease of sin  to sap our   
vitality and destroy the growth of      
yesterday4 ,we must guard  our spiritual
 health that we may grow4 ,this is what 
,christ meant when  he said3 8,men ought
 always to pray40 ,the culture of the   
soul is an  eternal process4 ,days must 
not pass2 they must remain as part of   
our  own selves4                        
,,iii                          ,,beyond 
,,the ,,curtained ,,clouds      ,one of 
the rarest treasures of the ,may time is
 the richness and purity  of the sky4   
,the winter wraps the heavens in robes  
of somber hue as  though in mourning for
 the summer dead2 but at the coming of  
the first  white cloud1 and sound of    
first lark's song1 the sky seems to melt
 in  tenderness1 and assume the softest1
 richest hue of blue4 ,as far as the    
eye can reach there is nothing but      
blue--soft1 rich1 warm1 tender1         
melting1 soul-entrancing blue4 ,blue1 as
 clear as an unshadowed midland  lake4  

,blue as a translucent sapphire without 
a flaw to disturb its  gleaming surface4
 ,a great arch of caressing tenderness  
through which  the white-flecked clouds 
ride in state1 as they sail majestically
 from  one port of mystery to another   
port of mystery4 ,among the richest     
treasures of the spring must be         
mentioned the deepening of the blue and 
the hanging of the snow-white curtains  
of the clouds4    ,but life's horizon is
 ever draped with rich folds of white   
and blue1  that hang like silken        
curtains1 to hide1 with tantalizing     
secrecy1  the mysteries that lie beyond4
 ,day by day the curtains hide their    
treasure-chests of mystery1 tempting us 
to strike tents and journey  toward     
them4 ,with the eagerness with which    
little children watch the  unwrapping of
 a ,christmas package we watch the      
moving of these clouds1  trusting that  
each new shifting of the curtains will  
make the coveted  revelation1 but as we 
journey on they still evade us4         

,conservative people1 ones who never    
startle themselves or their friends  by 
doing anything new1 not that they are   
averse to doing anything new  but simply
 because they are not mentally capable  
of entertaining new  ideas1 say that the
 mysteries that lie behind the curtained
 clouds are  childish fancies and       
youth's illusions2 and that energy      
expended in  reaching the buried        
treasure at the rainbow's end were as   
fruitful an  enterprise4 ,those of us   
who have endeavored to solve these      
mysteries  know better1 for we have     
found that the curtained clouds that    
hide1 are  the ones that1 like banners1 
guide us to the things we really need4  
,man must not be unmindful of the       
ministry of mystery4 ,over against      
everything enigmatic ,god has given man 
an insatiable desire to find  out the   
hidden meaning4 ,yielding to that       
divinely implanted impulse  develops    
powers that otherwise would atrophy4    
,behold the benefits  of these endeavors

 as they lifted the human race out of   
stagnation  and taught it the way of    
progress4 ,tented in the low swamplands1
  eating roots and bark1 man saw these  
curtains that suggested to his          
hunger-pinched body the thought of a    
banqueting-hall where he might  feed4   
,his quest never brought him to the     
ladened tables of his desire1  but as he
 journeyed he found grain and fruits and
 nuts and berries1  substantial food for
 a full twelvemonth4 ,dwelling amid the 
sick and  dying1 man saw the moving of  
the curtains that ,god hangs along our  
sky-line1 and felt that1 somewhere1     
beyond their folds1 must exist  a       
spring1 whose living waters would not   
only heal the sick but give  the drinker
 perpetual youth4 ,the spring was never 
found1 but as man  journeyed westward in
 the quest he found a land whose        
liberties and  institutions crowd a     
century of blessings into every decade4 
,toiling  with small recompense1 like   
some dull beast of burden1 man saw the  

clouds that suggested a palace of ease  
and luxury4 ,he failed to find  the     
palace of his dreams1 but on the way he 
discovered labor-saving  machinery that 
has made his labor a delight1 and given 
to every laborer  a home surpassing in  
comforts the baron's stately castle4    
,because of the ministry of mystery he  
has been able to discover  the depth and
 values of his own soul4 ,in his effort 
to reach the  curtained clouds man has  
had to rally his forces1 and1 to meet   
arising exigencies1 he has been         
compelled to draw upon the resources  of
 his nature1 until he startled himself  
with his newly discovered  possibilities
 and powers4 ,he trained his body to    
wrestle against  physical odds2 he      
trained his mind to master the handicaps
 of  ignorance2 he found the glittering 
sword of courage with which to  destroy 
defeating fear2 he learned the value of 
faith and hope with  which to enrich the
 soul when disaster would impoverish4   
,without the  effort aroused by the     

cloudy curtains of mystery1 he could not
 have  found himself1 and perfected his 
work of invention1 art and letters4     
,the cloud curtains are also the temple 
curtains beyond which men are  ever     
seeking ,god4 ,as the pillared cloud led
 ,israel victoriously through  troubled 
waters and desert sands1 so the         
mysteries of life and death1  and the   
natural world in which we live1 have led
 the human mind to  religious           
contemplation4 ,man found himself       
entangled in the maze of  sin1          
helplessly confused amid the ways that  
wound about1 and crossed1  and led to   
still more hopeless entanglements4      
,despair pointed to the  narrow1 tangled
 ways and said1 8,there is nothing      
better40 ,looking  upward1 the distant  
clouds spoke of a larger world and      
greater freedom1  and beckoned man to   
try again4 ,by faith he was saved4 ,to a
 thoughtful1  reverent man1 all nature  
reveals and conceals the ,one who       
brought it  into existence4 ,an awakened

 soul will never be satisfied until he  
finds  ,god4 ,he longs to see the ,hand 
that parts the curtains and hurls the   
lightnings4 ,he yearns to see the ,face 
whose smile fills the sky with          
sunlight1 and transfigures the cloudy   
curtains1 until they become the  portals
 of the heavenly temple4 ,while mystery 
is not the mother of  religion1 it is1  
and ever has been1 an important part of 
the ,christian  faith4 8,it is the glory
 of ,god to conceal a thing10 says ,king
 ,solomon4  ,he might have added1 8,it  
is the glory of man to search until he  
find  it40    ,it was from behind the   
curtained clouds that ,god spoke1       
introducing  ,jesus as the world's      
,redeemer1 saying1 8,this is my beloved 
,son1 hear  ye him40 ,it was an         
overhanging canopy of cloud that        
curtained the  disciples on the ,mount  
of ,transfiguration1 and it was in this 
curtained  tabernacle that they beheld  
the glory of their ,lord4 ,to hide the  
shame  of those who crucified ,his ,son1

 ,god hung a curtain of cloud about the 
sun1 enveloping ,calvary in the shades  
of night4 ,it was a curtain of  cloud   
that hid the ascending ,lord from the   
sight of the wondering1  astonished1    
fear-filled disciples4 ,it was from amid
 their soft drapery  that the angels    
spoke of his coming again1 and it is    
upon the clouds  that the ,son of man   
shall come in his glory to judge the    
nations4 ,from  the glory of the ,patmos
 vision1 ,john exclaimed1 8,behold he   
cometh  with clouds2 and every eye shall
 see him60 ,to the very end ,christ is  
surrounded with the curtained clouds of 
mystery4 8,and ,i looked1 and  behold a 
white cloud1 and upon the cloud ,one sat
 like unto the ,son of  man1 having on  
his head a golden crown1 and in his hand
 a sharp sickle4  ,and he that sat on   
the cloud thrust in his sickle on the   
earth1 and the  earth was reaped40      
,mystery has a large part in the        
,christian faith1 not to discourage1 but
  to encourage the prayerful1 aspiring  

souls of men4 ,the drapery of cloud     
hangs all about1 not to defeat1 but to  
challenge4 ,it is no illusion  like a   
great desert distance filled with the   
blue of emptiness1 that  strews the     
sands with the bones of those whom it   
deceives1 but is as  real as the        
curtains of the ancient tabernacle that 
held the symbol of  ,jehovah's presence4
 ,life's mysteries are often most       
tantalizing2 its  problems artfully made
 difficult of solution2 but always      
within their  depths is ,god4           
,to-day1 for our development1 it is the 
glory of ,god to conceal a  matter1 but 
it is the promise that some day we shall
 see1 not through  the mists darkly1 but
 face to face with ,god4 ,some day we   
shall  pass beyond the cloudy portals1  
and the vision of ,god and our own      
immortality shall lie before our        
enraptured vision4 ,the puzzle of life  
shall there find perfect solution4 ,the 
equation in which life is now  the      
unknown quantity shall find its answer4 

,in that cloudless land we  shall know  
even as we are known4 ,the shadows of   
death are the last  shadow the soul of  
the righteous shall ever see4 ,until    
that glad day  comes1 let us fit        
ourselves1 through prayer and goodness1 
to receive  such revelations of the     
mystery of godliness as ,god may care to
 reveal  as he parts the curtains of our
 life's horizon1 knowing that we journey
  to a perfect1 unclouded day4          
,,iv                                    
,,tilling ,,the ,,sky      ,man1 that   
must till the soil for the building of  
his body1 must also  till the sky for   
the growing of his soul4 ,this was the  
thought of a  little woman among the    
,ozarks1 who had given a long and       
beautiful life  in training her people  
of the hills4 ,it was ,commencement ,day
 in the  college she had founded4       
,gathered about her were the young men  
and  young women from the humble homes  
of those rugged hills4 ,they were now   
leaving her sheltering care to          

8commence0 life4 ,she was such a tiny   
bit of woman1 but through the lens of   
tears in those students' eyes1  she was 
greater and more stately than any queen4
 ,her eyes gleamed with  a love-lighted 
moisture1 her lips trembled with great  
emotions as she  rose to offer her last 
words of counsel4 ,she knew that very   
soon they  would be beyond the reach of 
her voice1 and her desire was to write  
just one more message upon the pages of 
their memories1 a message that  should  
never be erased4 ,breathlessly we       
awaited her words1 which were  these3   
8,my children1 whatever you do1 or      
wherever you go1 this one task  ,i place
 before you4 ,continue your study of    
astronomy1 for there is  nothing that so
 uplifts and widens one's life as a     
study of the sky40    ,these were not   
the words of a mere dreamer1 but of a   
very practical  woman1 and were words of
 wisdom uttered to young men and young  
women  who were practical students1     
yearning to make their lives count4     

,these  students were trained observers 
who would travel that they might see    
things as they are2 they were scholars  
who would study in order to make        
discoveries4 ,they were to enter the    
strain and struggle of competition4     
,they were to match their brawn and     
brain against honest rivalry and        
unscrupulous dishonesty4 ,they were not 
entering paradise1 yet1 amid  it all1   
the one who yearned most for their      
unmeasured success and  honor1 urged    
them to cast their plowshare deep into  
the wide expanse of  overarching blue1  
whose owner is ,god1 but whose harvests 
belong to the  reaper4    ,the little   
woman was very practical1 for a man must
 not permit the  narrowing influences of
 earthly endeavor to cramp and destroy  
the soul4  ,this is the tendency of most
 of our daily duties1 even those of the 
most fascinating and absorbing          
scientific character4 ,a man may follow 
the footsteps of ,luther ,burbank and   
devote his life to the study of  plants1

 and through his magic touch1 may bring 
beauty of form and  richness of flavor  
to bud and blossom1 vegetable and fruit1
 and yet  the very fascination of the   
work may bind him into a narrow world of
  just buds and blossoms1 vegetables and
 fruits4 ,he may1 like ,edison or       
,steinmetz1 choose the fairyland of     
electricity2 or1 like ,madame ,cur1     
enter the enchanted realm of            
radio-activity2 or1 like ,morse and     
,bell  and ,davenport1 become wizards in
 the world of invention1 and find a  joy
 that is as perilous as it is           
unutterable4 ,any realm of nature or    
invention1 absorbs and fascinates as    
clover blossoms claim the bee4  ,he who 
studies will find that a lifetime is too
 short to fathom the  unmeasured depths 
of an atom or explore the mysteries of  
one drop of  dew4    ,but the very      
fascination of these things is their    
peril1 for the  tendency of any line of 
endeavor is to narrow and to restrict   
one's  life4 ,one need not yield to this

 tendency1 but the chances are that  he 
will4 ,darwin reports spending several  
delightful years studying  fish-worms1  
but while engaged in this absorbing task
 he lost all  taste for music4 ,ericsson
 had a similar experience4 ,planning1   
with  steel armor1 to remake the navies 
of the world1 he refused his soul  all  
sound of blended tones1 endeavoring to  
feed his whole nature on  armor plate4  
,it was not until ,ole ,bull1 against   
,ericsson's desire1  entered his        
factory1 and began playing his violin1  
that the great  inventor became a       
weeping1 willing captive1 kneeling at   
the shrine of  music1 tearfully         
confessing that he had then found that  
which he had  lost1 and for which his   
soul had been craving4 ,when a man1     
through the  microscope1 begins a life  
study of the infinitesimal1 he is apt to
 get  his own ego into the field of     
vision and magnify himself4 ,on the     
other  hand1 considering only his own   
achievements in art or architecture1    

one is apt to exaggerate his own        
importance saying1 8,is not this great  
,babylon1 which ,i have builded80       
,however1 when he begins to study the   
stars and comprehend something of the   
vastness of the plan upon which  ,god   
has made the heaven and the earth1 he   
will see his own littleness  and exclaim
 with the psalmist1 8,when ,i consider  
thy heavens1 the work  of thy fingers1  
the moon and the stars1 which thou hast 
ordained2 what  is man80    ,no         
earth-made ceiling is high enough for a 
growing brain4 ,each  individual must   
have a ,god-made sky in which to lift   
his head and think  the thoughts of the 
,almighty4 ,the earthly thing upon which
 we set our  affection and which we     
think so essential may mean the wreck   
and ruin  of the soul4 ,it is easy to   
neglect the brain1 and direct all one's 
energies toward gaining earthly         
possessions1 not for the opportunities  
afforded for benevolence1 but that one  
may dress in style and enjoy a  social  

life1 not knowing that it is far better 
to be a great thinker  than to be the   
best dressed man in ,paris4 ,poverty may
 be infinitely  better than wealth when 
the individual has a familiar sky above 
his  head and a good book in his hand4  
,how insignificant are earth's  greatest
 obstacles compared with the immensities
 of stellar space6  ,nothing can hinder 
the man who is accustomed to measure the
 distances  between stars4 ,with his    
eyes on the distant suns1 poverty       
becomes a  mole-hill2 poor health1 but a
 breath of mist2 and success is within  
easy reach4 ,it is good for one to till 
the sky until he learns the  vastness of
 his ,creator's thoughts4    ,one of the
 richest harvests garnered from the sky 
is a revelation of  the accuracy with   
which ,god works4 ,the stars do not     
dwell in a land of  8,hit and ,miss10   
and eclipses are not accidental         
happenings4 ,no ship  cuts the waves of 
the sea with half the accuracy as star  
and planet  move in their appointed     

courses4 ,there are no swervings nor    
deviations  from the plan of ,god1 so   
that an astronomer can calculate the    
exact  second when a comet will return  
from its long journey through unseen    
realms2 as well as foretell the         
conjunction of planets a thousand years 
from now4 ,god has appointed an exact   
second for the rising of the sun1  and  
another exact second for its setting1   
and man knows what both of  them are a  
thousand years before the day arrives4  
,then let us till  the sky until we     
learn that ,he who planned the          
high-arched blue1 and  marked orbits for
 stars and planets1 is also the         
,designer of our own  lives1 and has set
 for us a divine purpose somewhat like  
the vastness  of the sky4 ,yielding     
ourselves to ,god as the heavenly       
constellations  yield themselves to     
their controlling powers1 each one has a
 greater  life to live1 and a more      
sublime destiny to attain1 than his     
fondest  dreams4 ,how foolish it is to  

till the soil for money1 and miss the   
very  essence of life1 by failing to    
utilize the sky that yields such tender 
ministries with so little effort6    ,it
 is well to look upward and learn a     
lesson of patience1 for the open  sky   
teaches that the plans of ,god are not  
worked out in a day4 ,the  journey from 
star-dust to harvest-ladened planet     
peopled by a happy  family of contented 
men1 requires many millions of years1   
yet1 from the  beginning it was in the  
mind of ,god4 ,he has never altered his 
plan1  but with divine accuracy the work
 has passed from stage to stage of      
development with perfect progression4   
,with such an example1 we must  learn   
patience and not become discouraged when
 we cannot see the end  from the        
beginning4 ,a child can make a shelf    
full of mud pies in one  summer's       
afternoon1 and they will last no longer 
than the first rain4  ,hasty work means 
wasted effort4 ,life that endures must  
be planned of  ,god1 fulfilled with     

astronomical accuracy1 and most         
patiently developed4    ,how wonderful  
the brain that is molded after something
 of the vastness  of the open sky1 and  
how thrilling to walk and till the      
fields of  heavenly blue6 ,we were meant
 for those heights4 ,it does not require
  a very great elevation in the pure    
atmosphere of a ,western ,state to  push
 back the horizon forty and fifty miles4
 ,this planet is not the  objective of  
life4 ,it is only the hilltop where ,god
 has placed us for a  little while that 
we may catch a vision as wide as the    
universe and as  high as his own ,white 
,throne4                                
,v                                      
,,unquarried ,,statues      ,michael    
,angelo1 with his statues of ,david and 
,moses1 proved that  ,phidias and       
,praxiteles had not exhausted the       
marvelous possibilities  of the art of  
sculpture4 ,rodin1 with his 8,thinker10 
has shown1  while ,phidias and          
,praxiteles demonstrated the possibility

 of giving  immortality to the          
unsurpassed beauty of ,grecian form1 and
 while  ,michael ,angelo revealed the   
power of expressing grace1 as in ,david1
  and commanding leadership1 as in      
,moses1 that the achievements of these  
two schools of art were the ,pillars of 
,hercules1 not marking the limit  of    
art1 but the open gateway to uncharted  
seas and undiscovered realms  in the art
 of reshaping marble4 ,there is not a   
lofty sentiment of the  soul1 a         
struggling aspiration toward goodness1  
or form of idealism  that cannot be made
 to live in marble1 and exert undying   
influence4  ,there is more than 8an     
angel in the block of marble40 ,there   
are all the  hopes and fears1 joys and  
sorrows1 laughter and tears1 longings   
and  aspirations1 desires and despairs2 
there is all that is manly1 noble1  and 
heroic1 lying in any block of marble    
awaiting the coming of the  liberating  
chisel4 ,what inspiration to the young  
artist of to-day1 and  what joy to all  

lovers of the beautiful6 ,the depths of 
earth are stored  with a wealth of      
unquarried statues4    ,the progress of 
civilization is ofttimes hindered       
because youth1 in  thinking of statues1 
consider the pedestals upon which they  
rest rather  than the depth from which  
they were quarried4 ,they very often do 
not  care to begin life at the right    
place4 ,because they covet praise1 and  
enjoy the warm1 congenial atmosphere of 
appreciation1 they shun the  depths1    
hours of loneliness1 the unrequited toil
 of preparation1 and  the laborious     
efforts of beginning4 ,modeling clay is 
an important part  of the achievement2  
but getting the proper marble is one of 
the first  essentials4    ,the          
experience of ,michael ,angelo is common
 to all men of real  achievement3 he    
found that the market place does not    
offer marble  blocks of sufficient size 
for him to work out his divine          
conception4  ,hucksters and makers of   
money in the market place seldom        

understand  ambitious youth that asks   
for larger blocks than they are capable 
of handling4 ,their idea of a great     
thought is an ornament for the          
mantelpiece4 ,but men of achievement    
will not be daunted4 ,locking  his      
studio1 ,angelo went to superintend the 
breaking of blocks in  the mountain of  
,carrara1 and when the sluggish-minded  
people of the  mountains refused to do  
his bidding1 he opened new quarries in  
,seravez4  ,before he could carve his   
statue he knew that he must quarry a    
block of  marble sufficiently large4 ,he
 knew also that the block of marble     
could  be had for the digging4 ,he found
 what he needed but did not exhaust the 
treasury4 ,the world still has the      
material1 richer than that which made   
,angelo and ,rodin famous1 awaiting the 
youth of ambition to undertake  great   
things1 and the willingness1 at any     
cost1 to superintend the  breaking of   
the marble blocks from the buried       
storehouses4    ,the pleasure of nature 

is to store her raw material in         
seemingly  inaccessible strongholds4    
,she does not willingly yield them to   
men  lacking vision and great           
conceptions4 ,if they were of easy      
access1  common men would crush them to 
make roads for donkeys to tramp over4   
,nature's treasures are too valuable for
 ignorance to destroy1 so she  locks    
them in secret depths or inaccessible   
heights1 awaiting the  coming of the man
 of genius4 ,if only a man yields       
himself to the divine  leadings1 and    
catches a vision of a statue like       
,moses1 or a faade  for the ,church of  
,san ,lorenzo1 or for a mausoleum for   
the ,medici1  no mountainside is too    
steep to chisel a roadway through the   
jagged  rocks1 no morass so yielding but
 that a solid highway may be erected1   
no water so troubled but that boats may 
safely transport the precious  marble4  
,he will not depend upon hirelings nor  
lean upon borrowed  strength4 ,the dream
 of beauty must be wrought in marble1   

the unquarried  statue must be lifted   
from obscurity and made to live in some 
public  place1 therefore he will        
personally attend to the breaking of the
  blocks4    ,it is not an easy matter  
to live out a divine idea and make it a 
thing  tangible and real for a critical 
world to examine and criticize and      
afterwards love and venerate4 ,sluggards
 and lovers of ease cannot do  it4 ,to  
them an unquarried statue is only a     
stone4 ,for centuries no one  has given 
it any attention2 why should they8 ,they
 would rather have  something to eat and
 drink4 ,a cushioned chair is far more  
comfortable  to sit on1 and a potato is 
much more substantial food4 ,what they  
want  is something to eat1 and a place  
in which to lounge1 and because they  do
 not see the value of great ideas they  
can never be forgotten when  dead1 for  
they were never known while living4     
,he lives who forgets to live and       
concentrates all his powers in  bringing
 to light the vision of his             

beauty-loving soul4 ,it may be  the     
beauty of art or the beauty of worthy   
living2 it may be the  beauty of perfect
 workmanship in shop or factory1 or the 
beauty of a  wholesome influence flowing
 from noble character2 it may be        
loveliness  of sympathetic serving1 or  
the beauty of aggressive battle for     
righteousness2 it may take any one of   
many forms of exalted thinking  and     
endeavor1 yet its realization comes only
 when one eats1 and drinks1  and bends  
every energy1 not for the sake of       
living1 but for the  realization of that
 which is more than living4    ,how     
lamentable for a human life to end and  
find at the final judgment  that all its
 days were of less value to the world   
than that of a coral  polyp6 ,how       
wonderful for one to be made out of     
dust1 and after a while  to crumble back
 into dust1 and yet1 refusing to grovel 
in the dust1  leave the world richer1   
and better1 and more beautiful1 so that 
people  of another age will breathe his 

name in reverence as they behold that   
which he hath wrought4 ,professor       
,finsen1 the inventor of the 8light     
cure10 was an invalid for many years1   
yet he labored like a slave1 in  the    
severest self-denial1 to bring his      
invention1 without compensation1  to the
 service of the world's sick and        
suffering4 ,he had but one dread  and   
that was the regret of dying1 and       
leaving his little five-year-old  boy   
without any memory of his father4 ,he   
desired to live long enough  to impress 
his face and life upon the memory of his
 son1 that1 in the  after years1 the    
growing man would never forget the one  
who toiled so  earnestly for him4 ,he   
did not want to be forgotten4 ,how      
little did he  dream of the immortality 
that was his6 ,he found an unquarried   
statue  in the sunbeam where others had 
overlooked it4 ,through ceaseless toil  
he brought it within the vision of the  
world and gained a name that  countless 
ages will not forget4    ,how wonderful 

to be the son of such a man6 ,and though
 the image of the  father's face be     
blotted from the memory1 the statue that
 he carved  will help and heal the      
generations4 ,how wonderful to be the   
son of such  a man1 but how much more   
wonderful it is to be the man himself6  
,to  fight with optimistic heart against
 the ravages of disease1 to overcome    
the natural yearnings of a father's     
heart1 to endure the most slavish  toil 
without thought or hope of compensation1
 to be a sick man fighting  for others  
who were sick2 a dying man making battle
 against disease  that others may not   
taste of death6    ,this is the joy     
unspeakable1 to know that life is not in
 vain1 but  everlastingly worth while4  
,the visions shall not fade as summer   
clouds  at twilight time1 but shall live
 in that which is as imperishable as    
marble4 ,each one can say with deep     
resolve3 8,men shall behold the  beauty 
of my soul by beholding the beauty of my
 daily life4 ,since  words are blossoms1

 ,i shall1 with gracious speech1 show my
 friends how  choice a garden ,i have   
planted in my heart4 ,since every       
blossom bears  a seed ,i shall take     
pleasure in planting them within the    
hearts of  others1 that the beauty of my
 life may live in them4 ,out of the     
marble  block that it has been mine to  
break from its hiding place1 ,i shall   
carve the image ,i have treasured so    
long within my heart40 ,to do this  is  
to find a joy unspeakable4 ,life is not 
useless1 but gloriously worth  while4   
,eating1 and drinking1 and toiling for  
that which is far more  than life1 one  
can never die4                          
,,vi                               ,,the
 ,,ages ,,to ,,come      ,no matter how 
earnestly we may love our life-calling1 
and rejoice in  our chosen field of     
activity1 there are hours when the      
easiest task  becomes irksome and its   
daily repetition seems unbearable4      
,however  healthy the soul and robust   
the moral nature1 a constant onslaught  

of  sorrow may wound like a poisoned    
dart1 filling the soul with painful     
forebodings4 ,beholding the             
transitoriness of life1 and the apparent
  frailty and uncertainty of those      
things upon which we place our  heaviest
 dependence1 we become depressed1 and   
feel that nothing is  permanent and that
 life's products are but empty shadows4 
,these are  common experiences1 and     
their frequent repetition does not      
lessen their  depressive power4 ,coming 
upon us to-day they are just as hurtful 
as  when they challenged us for the     
first time4    ,that we may overcome    
these disagreeable tendencies1 and live 
a life  victorious1 ,paul revealed the  
secret of his own achievements4 ,to him 
work never became drudgery1 sorrow never
 festered or left a feverish  wound1    
while even the most commonplace incident
 was of the deepest  significance       
because he had learned to acquire and   
maintain a deep  perspective that placed
 each moment of time in the white light 

of  eternity4 ,he believed that we are  
not created for the hour but for the    
centuries1 and that we must work not so 
much for the present hour as  for the   
years that are yet to be4 ,the one      
purpose of every word and  deed1 to     
,paul1 was to 8show the ages to come the
 exceeding riches of  ,god's grace40    
,as the prolific and luxuriant          
vegetation of the carboniferous age     
bordered the lakes with ferns1 the      
rivers with reeds1 and the hillsides    
and valleys with gigantic trees of      
grotesque form1 that1 in the ages to    
come1 man might have the exhaustless    
coalbeds to protect him from the  cold2 
as the coral polyps1 buried beneath the 
waves1 love and labor and  die1         
generation after generation1 until a    
coral island lifts its head  to receive 
the kisses of the passing waves and     
extend the arms of a  protecting harbor1
 that1 in the ages to come1 the         
storm-tossed mariners  may find safe    
shelter against the stormy wind and     

wave2 so you and ,i  are to love1 and   
labor1 and die1 not for ourselves1 but  
that the ages  to come1 through our     
goodness and fidelity1 may behold the   
riches of  ,god's grace4    ,this does  
not mean that we are to so bury the     
present in the future  that our lives   
shall consist of nothing save vague     
dreams and  idle contemplations4 ,it    
means the opposite4 ,we are to magnify  
the  present and give it increasing     
value by crowding it with an eternal    
significance4 ,we are not to drop to-day
 into the silent ocean of the  future   
and see it fade from sight1 but into    
to-day we are to crowd  to-morrow and   
all the other to-morrows that shall     
follow4 ,instead of  losing the drop of 
water in ,niagara we are to crowd all   
the dash and  splendor and power of     
,niagara into the single drop of water2 
instead  of losing the dew in the ocean1
 we crowd the ocean into the dewdrop2   
instead of burying the present into the 
future1 we gather all eternity  and     

crowd it into a single lifetime1 so that
 every second of time  becomes as       
precious as a thousand years of         
eternity1 and the smallest  task we have
 to perform becomes as sacred as the    
songs of the angels4    ,when one       
possesses this conception of life that  
crowds a vast eternity  within the      
compass of a single individual life1 no 
toil can ever become  drudgery4 ,every  
deed has divine significance4 ,the most 
ordinary task  will be performed        
carefully1 knowing that it must stand   
the scrutiny  and criticisms of the     
passing centuries4 ,we labor then with  
the various  elements of life1 as the   
artists of ,venice toil with their      
priceless  mosaics1 willing to spend a  
lifetime of painstaking endeavor in     
forming a single feature of a saint1    
knowing that long after they  themselves
 have ceased to toil the wisdom of      
untold centuries shall  review their    
efforts to either praise or blame4      
,hitherto we have  despised the         

commonplace things that fell to our     
hands1 while we  busied ourselves       
searching for some great thing worthy of
 our effort1  with the result that      
nothing has been accomplished2 now we   
find1 that  that only is truly great    
which is commonplace4 ,divine           
opportunities  are everywhere4 ,in the  
low-browed man upon the street we see   
the  possibility of an ennobled and     
redeemed humanity4 ,in the waif1 crying 
from hunger1 we see the center of       
world-wide and eternal destinies4       
,words are winged messengers1 so we     
learn to study them with care1 and      
speak them with the precision with which
 a musician strikes his chords4  ,divine
 destinies are depending upon the       
perfection with which we toil1  adding a
 charm to every endeavor that never     
fades with weariness4 ,there  can be no 
drudgery to him who has a perspective   
eternity long4    ,this conception of   
life which ,paul gives us will carry us 
unharmed  through all the misfortunes of

 life4 ,it is impossible for us to      
escape  sorrow4 ,by rigid economy we may
 save our money only to have it stolen  
by a deceitful friend2 we may build a   
home1 only to find it purchased  and    
occupied by another2 loved ones1 more   
precious than our own lives1  have been 
lured from our side by the hand of      
death4 ,these hours are  naturally dark 
and of tortuous length1 and if it were  
not for the fact  that we have learned  
to think in terms of eternity1 we would 
die of a  broken heart4 ,but we do not  
die2 we pass through them with          
triumphant  tread4 ,the soul sobs but   
does not bleed2 the heart hurts but does
  not break4 ,we are not living for this
 world alone2 our horizon has  been     
widened because we have been lifted to a
 higher level2 we can  now see two      
worlds2 our faith sweeps onward as far  
as ,god can think4  ,the earthly home   
for which we planned and toiled has     
passed into the  hands of another1 but  
we rejoice in the knowledge that we have

 a home1  not made with toiling1        
blistered hands of earth1 but one       
eternal in  the heavens4 ,our loved ones
 no longer greet us at the table or     
occupy  their accustomed places in the  
family circle1 but we have not lost them
  forever4 ,they have simply passed from
 time into eternity1 and because  we    
also are the children of eternity1 they 
are still our own1 and we  shall see    
them once again4 ,thank ,god for the    
transforming power that  comes into     
every human life when1 by divine aid1   
one crowds eternal  significance into   
his days1 and works1 not for himself1   
but for 8the  ages to come40    ,paul's 
view of life enables us to find perfect 
satisfaction in working  with the       
frailties of time in building that which
 is immortal in  character and service4 
,possessed with such a purpose1 the     
spider's  web becomes a cable1 dust     
becomes slabs of marble1 and seconds    
becomes decades4 ,there is nothing more 
fragile than a word1 spoken in          

stammering weakness1 but with a         
trembling desire to be of service1  yet 
out of one word fitly spoken may be     
created an influence that  sweeps heaven
 and earth4 ,a faltering word of        
,christian testimony was  spoken by a   
godly man made weak by an unconquerable 
embarrassment1  but his utterance proved
 mighty4 ,lodging in the heart of       
,charles  ,spurgeon1 it started him on  
his wonderful career that is yet shaking
  all ,christendom4 ,the smile of the   
face is far more delicate than  the     
frailest blossom that opens its soft    
petals in obedience to the  caressing   
influence of the sun1 for its existence 
is but for the  fraction of a second2   
yet one kindly1 love-illumined look has 
been the  force that has lifted         
multitudes of mortals out of despondency
 and  uselessness1 and made them the    
creators of mighty moral and religious  
forces4 ,it was a smile that saved ,john
 ,g4 ,wooley for the cause of           
temperance4 ,a smile1 and a word1 and   

the gift of a handkerchief were  all    
that ,frances ,e4 ,willard used to      
redeem one of the most notorious        
characters of ,chicago1 and make her one
 of ,god's ministers of light  among the
 fallen4    ,when one learns to live    
with the light of eternity flooding his 
pathway  there is not an event in life  
so small and insignificant that he      
cannot employ it to create1 and         
afterward use it1 to sustain eternal    
influences4 ,there is joy now in living 
for ,christ1 but let us live1  not for  
that joy alone1 but that1 in the ages to
 come1 we may show the  exceeding riches
 of ,god's grace4 ,let them1 through us1
 behold what the  grace of ,god can do  
to save1 to keep1 to empower1 and to    
make immortal  such sin-smitten ones as 
we have been4 ,this is the secret for   
making  toil pleasant1 sorrows helpless1
 and the humblest effort an enterprise  
of such character as crowds earth with  
richer meaning1 and fills the  heavens  
with new-found joys4 ,show them that the

 greatest of all known  forces is a     
,christ-filled life4                    
,,vii                          ,,the    
,,unlocked ,,door ,,of ,,truth          
,history has proven that the power of   
the 8,all ,highest0 ,war ,lord is  as   
weak as a baby's arm compared with the  
power of the humblest  individual who   
has entered into and taken possession of
 some great  truth4 ,a thousand lords   
and ladies were gathered within the     
,babylonian  palace which was ablaze    
with light and filled with music4 ,all  
hail to  ,king ,belshazzar6 ,his praises
 were upon every lip4 ,all honor to the 
royal family that had lifted the hanging
 gardens above the low-lying  plains1   
who had swung gates of bronze and       
planned the mightiest city  in the      
world4 ,every lip praised and every     
heart feared the power of  the daring   
king4 ,but when the finger of ,god wrote
 a message of fire  upon the palace     
walls it was no longer ,belshazzar who  
was ruler4 ,the  fate of king and lord  

and ladies was in the hand of ,daniel4  
,he alone  of that great throng had seen
 and entered into the truth of          
temperance  and self-control4 ,such was 
the sustaining power of that possessed  
truth that when the man-made king       
trembled1 and a nation crumbled into    
oblivion1 he alone stood unmoved and    
triumphant amid the wreck and  chaos4   
,before the throne of ecclesiastical    
autocracy the rulers of the nations     
bowed in weakness and everlasting shame4
 ,the autocracy of superstition  is the 
most merciless and deadly known1 but    
when the power of ,rome was  at the     
zenith of her unscrupulous reign1       
,martin ,luther1 a common man  with     
uncommon sense1 discovered and entered  
into the great truth that  8the just    
shall live by faith40 ,entering into    
that truth1 he found a  power before    
which the claims of the ,pope became    
insignificant1 and by  his boldness1    
brought religious liberty to the people1
 thus gaining  universal love and       

immortality4    ,mary was ,queen of     
,england1 and with that overzeal of     
religious bigotry1  was ruling with     
unquestioned power and severity4 ,hugh  
,latimer was only  a humble preacher1   
one of the least of the queen's         
subjects1 living  among the poor1 but   
beside him1 ,queen ,mary sinks into     
everlasting  contempt4 ,the robes of    
fire wrapped his body in their golden   
folds1  hiding him forever from the     
sight of man1 but the world has not     
forgotten him4 ,his dust knows no burial
 place1 but because he lived in  the    
sheltering tabernacle of a great truth  
he will live forever in the  hearts of  
those who love religious tolerance1     
while the dust of ,mary  crumbles in the
 gruesome vault at ,westminster ,abbey1 
with no lip to  sing her praises to the 
passing generations4 ,royal or          
ecclesiastical  power is nothing        
compared with the enduring authority of 
a common man  who has found1 and entered
 into1 and wholly and completely lives a

  great eternal truth of ,god4    ,truth
 incarnate in human life is almighty1   
but truth in the abstract is  as        
helpless as is the dust of the ,egyptian
 highways1 which witnessed  the world's 
mightiest pageants1 but which are unable
 to tell the  story of mighty armies1   
royal cavalcades1 and kingly processions
 that  once tramped upon them4 ,truth   
has always existed4 ,however conceited  
a religious leader may be1 no one ever  
dared to presume himself  the creator of
 a truth4 ,long before the world had    
settled upon its  foundations1 and the  
constellations of stars1 like           
chandeliers1 swayed  and swung their    
pendants of light1 all truth beat and   
throbbed within  the heart of the       
,almighty4 ,throughout the beauty of    
verdant slope1  crested wave1 and       
starlit sky1 these words of             
encouragement have ever  rung3 8,ye     
shall know the truth1 and the truth     
shall make you free40 ,the  truths of   
civilization have been in existence     

since creation1 yet in  every century   
heathenism has flourished4 ,the truth   
about human freedom  has always been1   
yet ,rameses sat upon a throne and drove
 the ,hebrews  to their task1 beating   
their backs with knotted thongs and     
murdering  their children2 the barons   
lived in palatial palaces fed in luxury1
  while serfs toiled for harvests which 
they could never gather1 and  starving1 
dared not plead for a morsel of the food
 their toil provided2  the ,sultan of   
,turkey reveled in orgies1 flagrant and 
disgusting1 while  humble ,armenians    
were torn asunder1 their bleeding bodies
 fed to swine1  their wives and children
 tortured beyond belief1 while no       
civilized  nation dared lift its hand in
 protest4 ,truth1 in itself1 is not     
omnipotent4 ,to be of value1 truth must 
be entered into and possessed4    ,every
 truth has a door4 ,to ignorance the    
door is barred and bolted4  ,to         
thoughtlessness1 the door remains       
unseen4 ,only to the eye trained  with  

prayer1 faith in ,god1 and love for man1
 is given the vision of  these bright   
portals1 and the possession of the key  
by which he can  unlock the door and    
enter into and enjoy the truth1 which   
the world  has long known by heart1 but 
which had never enveloped1 sheltered1   
and controlled their lives4 ,if he has  
the courage to use the key and  open the
 door and enter in1 he shall not only   
feel the saving power of  ,god1 but he  
shall leave an open way through which   
all men may pass to  greater power4 ,if 
he refuses to unlock the door1 and1 like
 the learned  ones of whom ,christ      
spoke1 carries away the key1 entering   
not in  themselves and hindering those  
who would enter1 he becomes an exile1   
without home through time and eternity4 
,that we may more clearly comprehend    
this truth let us consider a  chapter of
 ,american history4 ,hayne had finished 
his classic and  convincing speech4     
,with gracious charm he had proclaimed  
the doctrine  of union without liberty1 

a nation of free people1 half slave4    
,the rapt  attention and tribute of     
silent applause from the audience told  
how  critical the situation had become4 
,opposed to him was ,daniel ,webster1   
,america's favorite child of genius1    
whose face was as classic as a  ,greek  
god's1 and whose commanding bearing won 
battles like a general4  ,he was a      
scholar of the strong ,new ,england     
type1 searching for the  key to unlock  
the truth that the nation needed1 and   
make it of easy  access to the people4  
,he saw that there could be no union    
without  universal freedom4 ,hour after 
hour he proclaimed the truth1 making the
  mightiest speech the nation had ever  
heard1 swaying his audience back  to the
 realm of clear thinking4 ,finally1 with
 one sentence1 8,union  and liberty1 now
 and forever1 one and inseparable10 he  
revealed to an  awakened nation that he 
had found the key that would unlock the 
door of  truth that the hour needed4    
,but in his hour of triumph1 dazzled by 

the  possibility of becoming ,president1
 he refused to use the key4 ,to gain    
the solid ,south he uttered his fateful 
speech for compromise4 ,the ,north  held
 its breath in expectancy while ,new    
,england sobbed like one bereft  of his 
favorite child4 ,he who had the key     
refused to enter in himself  and        
hindered those who would have entered4  
,but ,new ,england had another son of   
genius who1 on the eventful night  that 
,webster1 with trembling fingers1 tried1
 and failed1 to pick up the  key that he
 had thrown away1 left ,faneuil ,hall   
with blazing1 burning  thoughts4 ,he too
 had found the way1 but was unknown and 
untried4 ,again  he was in ,faneuil     
,hall sitting beside ,james ,russell    
,lowell1 listening  to the mad mouthings
 of men1 who1 for the money involved1   
were  endeavoring to rechristen ,wrong  
and call it ,right4 ,he had waited weary
  weeks1 but now he was unable to keep  
back his flaming indignation4  ,rising1 
he began to speak4 ,on the very platform

 where ,webster had  fallen he began to 
plead the right of human liberty4 ,new  
,england was  thrilled with hope4 ,here 
at last was a man who not only saw the  
truth  but was determined to enter into 
it4 ,with the confidence of a prophet   
he used the key1 unlocked the door and  
showed a nation the way it ought  to go4
    ,truth must become incarnate in man 
and man must be incarnate in truth4     
,every ,christian man will testify to   
this4 ,in childhood you committed       
scripture which had little meaning to   
your childish mind4 ,it was not  until  
in the after years when sorrow came1 and
 grief blinded the eye1  and pain       
wounded the heart1 that the clear1 sweet
 voice of memory began  to repeat these 
verses1 and what had been meaningless in
 childhood  became great1 wholesome1    
sheltering1 protecting truths1 in which 
you  found all the consolations of ,god4
    ,it is a wonderful hour when the    
soul enters into and takes possession   
of ,god's great truth1 becomes the      

master of all its stored up power1  and 
begins to use it in the service of love4
 ,it is a wonderful  experience and need
 never be delayed1 for the door is easy 
to find4  ,years ago earth was blessed  
by the coming of ,one who worked hard at
  the carpenter trade1 and in the school
 of toil and prayer1 found the  way that
 scholars had overlooked4 ,standing     
before kings and earthly  potentates he 
said3 8,i am the way1 the truth1 and the
 life40 ,his spirit  is the way for men 
to live1 the door through which they    
pass into all  truth1 the life of       
fullest spiritual development4 ,christ  
is the open  way to every truth4        
,through him men attain the proper point
 of view1  and1 learning to obey the    
,father as did he1 begin to live the    
life  triumphant4                       
,,viii                                  
,,weaving ,,sunbeams      ,nature is    
always busy weaving sunbeams1 and not   
one of them1 like a  knotted thread1 is 
cast from her loom4 ,the waves cast     

their crystal  spray upon the sands to  
waste away1 but not so with the sun as  
he  lavishly casts his beams broadcast  
o'er the earth4 ,not one of them  goes  
upon a fruitless errand1 and not one of 
them fails to reach its  intended goal4 
,it is not that the sun is wise in      
directing its energy1  but because the  
earth is ready to utilize1 with untiring
 fidelity1 the  gift of sunlight4       
,how abundantly the sunbeams come6 ,the 
arched sky is an upturned basket1  out  
of which ,god is pouring his wealth of  
sunlight upon a thirsty1  needy planet4 
,these rays of light fall everywhere1   
because they are  needed everywhere4    
,upon arctic snow and desert sand and   
undiscovered  ocean waves they fall as  
readily as upon the forests of ,brittany
 or  the vineyards of ,france4 ,they    
place their gleaming coronets upon the  
crystal brows of the ,alps4 ,they dance 
and flash their jewels1 as they  hold   
carnival in the ,northern ,lights4 ,even
 after the sun is set they  peer at us  

through the parted clouds and leap at us
 from their hiding  places in the moon4 
,they fall in the most inaccessible     
places1 yet  none of them are ever      
wasted4 ,as the parched earth drinks    
raindrops1  so the old world absorbs    
sunbeams4 ,swifter and more powerful    
than  the leaping waters of a cataract  
are they poured upon the earth--a       
,niagara1 world-wide and sun-high1 with 
never-ceasing floods of light  that     
bathe each portion of the globe4 ,they  
are not piled in heaps2 they  do not    
swish and whirl1 cutting a gorge through
 solid rock1 or form a  whirlpool to    
menace humanity1 but the earth absorbs  
them all1 however  rapidly they come1   
and places them in her mysterious loom4 
,here1 in  the depths1 beyond our sight1
 the sunbeams are woven into invisible  
cords that hold the needles of all the  
compasses to the north that  no traveler
 need be lost in the forest1 and no ship
 perish in the  sea4 ,here1 in the      
depths1 the sunbeams are woven into     

mighty cables  of electric power that   
man picks up with the fingers of the    
dynamo  and compels to lift his burdens1
 pull his trains1 propel his ships1  and
 serve him in a thousand ways4 ,here1 in
 the depths1 is woven that  mysterious  
power that carries the wireless message 
through the rocks of  the mountains and 
the channels of the sea1 and wraps the  
earth in a  diaphanous garb that makes  
the wireless telephone a possibility4   
,the world we see is but woven sunbeams4
 ,the forests of oak are the  sunbeams  
of yesterday1 wrought into gnarled and  
knotted fingers to  grasp the sunbeams  
of to-day and wind them on a myriad     
unseen shuttles4  ,soon they shall      
appear woven in the texture of notched  
leaf and carved  chalice of the acorn's 
cup4 ,the sunbeams falling upon the     
tangled  branches of the hillside       
vineyard1 are woven into buds1 and      
leaves1  and clinging tendrils1 and     
afterward into the rich cluster of      
luscious  grapes4 ,the sunbeams fall    

upon the buried seed and are woven into 
an  emerald lever with which the clod is
 lifted1 into sturdy leaves that  are   
chemical laboratories where crude sap is
 changed into milk1 into  heads of      
golden wheat with which to feed a       
thoughtless1 hungry world4  ,sunbeams   
are woven into corn and oats1 into      
apples and peaches1 into  nuts and      
berries4 ,falling along the railroad    
grade1 they are woven into  violets2    
falling in the swamps1 they are woven   
into buttercups2 falling  in the        
thicket1 they are woven into the silken 
folds of the wild-rose  petal4    ,as   
nature weaves the sunbeam and not the   
shadow so man ought to develop  his     
power of utilizing happiness and joy4   
,the sunshine of life ought  not to be  
thrown away like confetti and ribbon    
papers on a gala day4  ,thoughtlessly   
our youths and maidens dance and sing in
 giddy1 senseless  manner1 throwing away
 sunbeams as though their lives were    
only bits of  colored glass through     

which the light of joy and happiness    
should pass4  ,having no looms with     
which to weave their sunbeams into that 
which  would adorn their souls with     
garments of ever-growing life1 they soon
  become old and haggard1 lifeless and  
dead1 a burned-out planet like  the     
moon1 unable to appreciate the sunlight 
that never fails to fall4  ,much of the 
difference between men is due to the    
ability of one and  the inability of the
 other to make the passing joys of life 
become a  permanent1 abiding element of 
his life4    ,there is no life without  
sufficient sunlight to weave a gracious 
personality4 ,wholesomeness of character
 is not the result of partiality  on    
,god's part1 neither is hideous         
irritability of disposition  occasioned 
by ,god's neglect of one of his         
children4 ,the difference  between      
wholesomeness and unwholesomeness of    
character is that of the  right and     
wrong use of the blessings which ,god   
bestows upon all alike4  ,he who casts  

his sunbeams away will find old age     
desert and lifeless1  while he who      
weaves them all into a pleasing         
personality1 will always  experience the
 joy of a more abundant life4 ,a smile  
is softer than a  silken fiber and wears
 far longer4 ,its colors never fade1 nor
 pass out  of style4 ,woven into a robe 
of genuine cheerfulness the soul        
possesses  rich adornment4 ,these are   
the individuals whom children love1 men 
seek  to honor1 and all the world       
respects4 ,a king's robe is commonplace 
compared with the attractive vesture of 
a healthy1 cheerful disposition  which  
anyone may weave out of sunbeams1 with  
which ,god crowds even the  most        
secluded1 humble lives4    ,this        
occupation is also the secret of sound  
and vigorous influence4  ,all men       
possess the power of influence1 but even
 when one has the best  intentions he   
may wield a harmful1 baleful influence  
because of an  irritable and complaining
 disposition4 ,a petulant temper and    

irascible  disposition are the thunder  
that curds much of the milk of human    
kindness1 and an application of alum    
will not tend to sweeten the curd4      
,with a sharp tongue one may be driven  
to hard labor1 but the wounds  he       
carries in his heart will prevent him   
from performing a perfect  task4        
,scolding and fault-finding have driven 
multitudes into iniquity4  ,it is       
difficult to drive bees1 but one can    
lure them any distance  with a field of 
blooming clover4 ,by forgetting to weave
 sunbeams into  wholesome character one 
not only loses the joy of being cheerful
 but  fails in one of the supreme       
objectives of life--that of wielding    
intelligently a helpful1 healthy1 and   
enduring influence4    ,the secret of   
achievement may also be described as    
weaving sunbeams4  ,in a victorious life
 the blessings of ,god take permanent   
place in the  work of hand and brain4   
,such a life is a loom which receives   
only  that he may produce1 the quality  

of the production depending upon  the   
care and patience with which he works1  
indifference producing  mediocrity1     
carefulness leading to perfection4 ,what
 the world calls  genius is simply the  
mastery of the gracious art of weaving  
sunbeams  into polished sentences1      
enduring thoughts1 embroidered tapestry1
  living poem1 inspiring painting1 and  
graceful statue4 ,the way out  of       
mediocrity is to weave one's personal   
blessings into world-wide  benefits4    
,here also is found the way to overcome 
life's obstacles4 ,a frown  never wins a
 battle4 ,it was a singing army that    
crossed the sea and  helped win the     
,world ,war4 ,amid the dangers1         
hardships1 and privations  our soldiers 
gathered sunbeams1 and with a           
cheerfulness never before  witnessed    
upon a field of battle did their full   
part4 ,trenches1  barbed-wire           
entanglement1 and treacherous pitfall   
are nothing to one  who weaves his      
sunbeams into song4 ,thus all           

difficulties fade away and  vanish4     
,these statements are only another way  
of saying that one should weave  ,god   
into every fiber of life4 ,the sun is   
always emblematic of the  ,father1 and  
he who weaves sunbeams will know and    
love ,god4 ,this is no  idle saying1 nor
 a bit of rhetoric1 but a soul-saving   
truth4 ,it is the  sun that banishes the
 shadows2 it is ,god who enables us to  
overcome  our temptations1 pain and     
sorrow4 ,the more we utilize his        
revelations  the brighter the pathway1  
until at last we shall stand in his     
presence  and have no more need of the  
sun1 for we have him4 8,they shall      
hunger  no more1 neither thirst any     
more2 neither shall the sun light on    
them1  nor any heat4 ,for the ,lamb     
which is in the midst of the throne     
shall  feed them1 and shall lead them   
into living fountains of waters3 and    
,god  shall wipe all tears from their   
eyes40 ,weaving sunbeams in a world of  
shadows1 we prepare ourselves for the   

unshadowed land where ,god is the       
everlasting ,light4 ,there1 without sin 
or suffering1 we shall know ,god4       
,,ix                        ,,the       
,,pathway ,,of ,a ,,noble ,,purpose     
,as the sleepless eye thirsts for the   
dawn1 and the troubled child  hungers   
for the sound of its mother's voice1 so 
each growing soul  seeks a coveted goal 
the attaining of which1 to him1 means   
success4  ,as boys1 to be boys1 must    
dream their dreams of strife and        
conflict  upon a battle's front1 and    
girls1 to be girls1 must dream their    
milder  dreams of love1 so coming       
maturity demands of each aspiring soul  
that  he linger long upon the visions of
 strife that lead to success4 ,it is    
well to seek for great things1 for each 
success that enters the golden  portals 
of our lives brings many chariots filled
 with golden gifts4  ,returning to his  
home1 the ,roman victor was honored with
 a triumph in  which1 on golden plate   
and velvet spread1 the trophies and     

spoils of  conquest were displayed4 ,in 
this way the ambitious ,roman youth     
learned  that success is always attended
 by a great procession of rich rewards4 
,the one who conquers feels more than   
the soul-thrill of victory4 ,like       
,samson1 he finds the unexpected reward 
of a carcass filled with honey  awaiting
 his hungry lips4    ,while success is  
worthy of one's best efforts1 and all   
men hunger for  it1 very few1 indeed1   
have ever reached that happy goal4 ,they
 failed  because they refused to follow 
the pathway of a noble purpose4 ,they   
believed that success was altogether a  
matter of outward form4 ,seeing  the    
conqueror riding in triumphant          
procession1 they thought that the       
applause arose1 not because he had      
conquered1 but because he wore  a helmet
 and a shield4 ,hurrying to an emporium1
 they too purchased  helmets and shields
 and strutted forth to win a world's    
applause4  ,foolish souls6 ,the public  
eye is keen and penetrating and always  

apprehends the truth4 ,if the people    
greet a king with shouts1 it is not     
because they see a gleaming crown1 but  
because they recognize a royal  soul    
beneath the crown4 ,if the multitude    
cheer a warrior1 it is not  because he  
bears a standard1 but because1 in       
courageous conflict1 he  won a battle   
for the people4 ,spain greeted the      
discoverer of ,america1  not because of 
the grain and fruit he brought1 but     
because he had  braved the dangers of a 
dark unknown1 and blazed a pathway      
through  untracked wastes4    ,history  
repeats the story of a weird ,scythian  
custom4 ,when the head  of a house died 
his family would adorn his corpse in    
finest raiment1  place it in a chariot1 
and1 amid shouts and hosannas1 draw it  
to the  homes of former friends4 ,coming
 to each dwelling place1 the corpse     
would be greeted with pomp and splendor4
 ,for the final home-coming the  steps  
would be carpeted with silken shawl and 
choice embroidery1 while  lighted       

chandeliers flashed welcome to the dead 
and sunken eyes4 ,within  the doorway   
the crowned corpse was placed at the    
head of a banqueting  table at which his
 gay companions sat and made merry1     
eating and  drinking in his honor4 ,thus
 many days were spent in honoring the   
dead  before the body was laid away in  
the tomb4 ,to us it was a most gruesome 
custom1 but each ,scythian youth        
struggled to possess a home of his own1 
that some day he might be carried as a  
crowned corpse through the city         
streets1 and finally1 be seated in honor
 at his own banqueting board4    ,this  
ancient custom was the outgrowth of a   
mistaken view of life still  prevailing 
in many quarters1 for the crowned corpse
 is seen to-day in  many public         
gatherings4 ,what else is the man who   
seeks office for the  selfish purpose   
and pleasure of holding office8 ,in     
youth he saw the  governor's chair or   
,senate seat1 and found that every chord
 of his  nature was awakened and longed 

to reach that goal4 ,he determined that 
this vision of his soul should be       
transcribed from the pages of his       
imagination to the pages of his nation's
 history4 ,two pathways opened4  ,the   
one of a noble purpose1 saying1 8,seek  
office1 that you may render  needed     
service to your fellow countrymen40 ,the
 pathway of selfishness  opened its     
portals saying1 8,seek office for the   
sake of gain40 ,seeing  that trickery   
and deceit promised the easier way to   
gain his end1  he started with leaps and
 bounds4 ,he cast lots with dishonesty  
and  dissipation4 ,he became a perjurer1
 a liar1 and a thief4 ,he sold himself  
to an unworthy cause1 at last the       
coveted crown was his4 ,to-day he sits  
at the head of the table1 not a great   
ruler1 but a crowned corpse4 ,in  his   
struggle for power he lost all that     
constitutes real living4    ,what else  
is the man who seeks wealth for the sole
 sake of having  money8 ,for years he   
has lived the life of a slave1 denying  

himself  beauty1 music1 books1          
devotions1 and benevolence1 until1 at   
last1  his name appears in ,bradstreet  
marked 8,,aa10 and the world greets him 
as a king4 ,who is he8 ,a crowned       
corpse4 ,when he began his career two   
pathways opened4 ,the one of a noble    
purpose saying1 8,make money for the    
sake of doing good40 ,the other way1 the
 way of selfishness1 saying1  8,make    
money to satisfy your own desires40 ,he 
chose the latter way4 ,he  has his robe 
and crown1 and is seated amid light and 
applause1 but he  is not capable of     
appreciating its meaning4 ,long ago he  
died to honor1  and truth1 and love1 and
 generous impulse4 ,he knows not the    
meaning of  life4    ,among the crowned 
corpses should also be mentioned those  
who follow  society for society's sake4 
,through imitation they have destroyed  
personality4 ,they have smothered their 
souls under the weight of their         
self-adornment4 ,in their wild search   
for physical pleasure all the  radiant1 

sparkling glory of a cultured           
spirituality has faded into the  pallor 
of death4 ,they are richly robed1 they  
ride in state1 receive the  plaudits of 
their followers1 sit at table spread    
with gold and silver  plate1 but they   
are now dead to all the higher things of
 life and are  unable to appreciate the 
empty honors they receive4    ,the      
secret of successful living is to follow
 the pathway of a noble  purpose4 ,at   
first the path may seem a long and      
arduous one1 but it  is the only way    
that has booths in which to rest the    
weary feet and  crowns for living souls 
to wear4 ,it is in this pathway that one
  learns the secret of the ,christ life1
 for as he journeys on the way  to      
nobility a voice is ever whispering in  
his ears3 8,life consists in  living    
unselfishly4 ,seek power only that you  
may have strength to serve  those who   
are weak4 ,gain wealth only that you may
 be able to multiply  your usefulness40 
,the road of a noble purpose leads to a 

throne1 not  one for the dead body1 but 
a throne for the living soul4 ,here too 
is applause1 not such as the ,scythian  
dead received but such as was  accorded 
the ,roman conqueror4 ,what a thrill    
follows noble endeavor6  ,what a joy to 
come to old age having fought battles   
for those who were  too weak to fight   
for themselves1 and brought victory     
where otherwise  his people would have  
suffered defeat and death6    ,the world
 honors those who honor it4 ,the ruler  
who has followed the  pathway of a noble
 purpose is always honored by his       
people4 ,before him  is spread the      
banquet of a nation's reverence and     
homage4 ,the man who1  in getting money1
 has kept his hands clean from          
dishonesty1 made just  returns for all  
labor he required1 and has kept his     
heart tender toward  his fellow man1 is 
honored by everyone4 ,men delight to    
fill his days  with happiness1 as       
honeysuckle loves to fill the air with  
sweetness4  ,when the world discovers a 

woman whose desire for society is not to
  satisfy her vanity1 or fill a shallow 
soul with selfish pleasures1 but  her   
desire is to scatter jewels of love and 
gems of inspiration to make  rich and   
beautiful the lives of the common folk1 
it crowns her in the  temple of its     
heart and calls her an angel sent of    
,god4    ,the days of autocratic power  
are ended1 but the hands of the people  
are busy building thrones and weaving   
crowns of gold4 ,so long as there  is a 
love for nobility in the human heart men
 and women of nobility  will be placed  
in power4 ,life consisteth not in the   
abundance of the  things which a man    
possesseth but in following the pathway 
of a noble  purpose4                    
,x                           ,,swords   
,,for ,,moral ,,battles      ,the best  
weapons with which to fight moral       
battles have already been  forged1      
sharpened1 and polished1 waiting to be  
unsheathed for conflict4  ,there are    
some things that the ingenuity of man   

cannot improve4 ,man's  genius may      
perfect the locomotive to give swiftness
 to his feet2 it may  magnify his voice 
until his whispers are heard a thousand 
miles away2  it may perfect machinery   
giving speed and accuracy to his busy   
fingers2  it may print his speech and   
multiply his audience a millionfold2 it 
may open new fields of endeavor1 thus   
increasing the circle of his  influence2
 it may do many things to break down    
barriers1 and increase  usefulness2 but 
all the genius and skill of man can     
never devise nor  contribute to any life
 a better or keener weapon with which to
 fight  moral battles than belonged to  
us the eventful morning we left the old 
homeplace and mother's presence1 to     
begin1 among strangers1 our first       
conquest with the world4    ,as a royal 
exile ,david was facing a grave crisis4 
,the relentless enemy  was pressing     
hard1 and he possessed no means of      
defense4 ,leaving his  hiding place1 he 
hurried into the presence of ,ahimelech 

and asked for  a spear or a sword4 ,as  
,ahimelech was a priest1 and not a      
warrior1 he  was about to dismiss the   
young man empty-handed when1 suddenly1  
he  remembered4 ,wrapped in cloth1      
hanging behind the high priest's robe1  
was an old sword1 the very one that this
 young man had one time taken  from the 
stiffening fingers of a dying giant1    
whom he had slain on the  eventful      
morning of his first great conflict4    
,slowly and carefully the  old man took 
the gleaming blade from its resting     
place1 unwrapped it  with reverent      
touch1 explaining that it was all that  
he had to offer4  ,david was instantly  
filled with delight4 ,his eyes gleamed  
with fire1  his heart and soul were     
thrilled with memories of that bright   
morning1  when1 filled with the ardor of
 youth1 he had run down the mountainside
  to make conquest with the giant4 ,this
 was that giant's sword6 ,the very  one 
that he had wrenched from the stiffening
 fingers of the vanquished  foe4        

,reaching forward he grasped it in his  
strong right hand saying3  8,there is   
none like that2 give it me40 ,there may 
have been and probably  were better and 
more beautiful swords in the world2     
keener steel may  have been forged into 
swords for the generals and kings of    
other lands1  but for ,david there was  
none other quite so efficient as the one
 with  which he had gained his first    
victory4    ,there are no newly         
discovered weapons with which to fight  
the moral  battles of to-day4 ,as ,david
 was aroused from the shrinking spirit  
of a  fugitive to become a conquering   
king1 by being given the weapon of his  
former battle1 so each man must make    
requisition upon the past4 ,behold  the 
weapons which hang in the sacred temple 
of our souls awaiting the  grasp of a   
courageous hand4    ,there is the sword 
of our childhood dreams4 ,let memory    
make you a  little child again with     
brother and sister about the hearthstone
 on  a winter's evening1 and let your   

heart glow with good cheer4 ,or let  the
 sunshine of summer fall across your way
 until you are a child  once more1      
running with bare feet through the      
winding ways of the  meadow1 chasing    
moths and butterflies1 or wading the    
stream back of  the old schoolhouse1    
your heart as carefree as the rippling  
waters4  ,let the dull monotonous hum   
and soothing influences of those happy  
days of wonderment come back to your    
heart until your eyes half close  and   
you begin redreaming your youthful      
dreams4 ,blessed dreams1 that  cause the
 muscles of your face to relax1 while   
laughter comes to the  lips1 and compels
 you to forget the blistering ways you  
have trodden  since those sun-bright    
days4 ,dream your dreams of tenderness  
and  confidence1 for the tendency of the
 city is to harden the heart and  dull  
the sympathies4 ,then will you have a   
worthy weapon with which to  make       
battle4 ,you need your old-time faith in
 ,god and confidence in  man1 your      

former optimistic view of life that gave
 brightness to every  future fancy2 your
 trustfulness in mother's love and      
father's counsel2  the belief that      
divine power was working for your       
success because your  heart was pure2   
let these memories and fond dreams come 
to you once  again4 ,you need them4     
,without the dreams of life the arm has 
little  strength and the will but little
 power4 ,let them come back1 bringing   
smiles for your face1 and wreaths for   
your brow1 and heaps of gold  for your  
coffers4 ,youthful dreams must never    
fade from the gallery of  memory if men 
would achieve4 ,lay hold upon them with 
all your power1  knowing that while     
manhood's wisdom is valuable1 it is not 
half so  effectual in fighting life's   
battles as are the warm dreams of youth4
  ,with the sword of a worthy dream a   
man can defeat any adversary1 scale  any
 rampart1 take any stronghold4 ,youth's 
dreams were never intended to  be lost4 
,they are stored away in the most sacred

 part of your nature4  ,plead for their 
return1 and finding them1 exclaim with  
,david1 8,there is  none like that2 give
 it me40    ,there is the sword of your 
old-time enthusiasm and resolution4     
,there  was a time when you believed    
yourself the possessor of a divine      
quality  that would compel your         
brightest dream to come true4 ,with age 
you are  becoming more prosaic4 ,you are
 not so confident and self-assertive4   
,you excuse your shortcomings by        
asserting that you are becoming  8more  
conservative10 forgetful that           
conservatism is very often only  a      
refined name for dry rot or             
petrification4 ,no man can win a fight  
with merely the weapons of conservatism4
 ,what you need is the old-time         
enthusiasm with which you announced your
 determination to leave home1  the      
enthusiasm with which you packed the old
 trunk1 and that fired your  soul as you
 drove away from the old homestead1 and 
made you determined  to win fame and    

fortune at any cost4 ,time instead of   
deadening should  kindle the fires of   
enthusiasm4 ,you are living in the      
greatest hour  of history4 ,you are     
better equipped and environed and       
protected than  the people of any       
generation4 ,the quest was never so     
valuable2 the  rewards for noble        
endeavor never more abounding4 ,there is
 no reason for  any man giving up to    
indifference or despair4 ,take up your  
old-time  enthusiasm until your heart   
burns with power that quickens the step 
and  strengthens the arm4 ,lay hold of  
this conquering sword with which you    
have slain many a giant and cry with the
 spirit of a true conqueror1  8,there is
 none like that2 give it me40    ,there 
is the sword of your childhood faith in 
,god4 ,as you have grown  older you have
 acquainted yourself with many theories 
and tried many  dogmas strange and      
fanciful1 but none of them have had     
sufficient  strength and keenness to win
 your battle4 ,you have been compelled  

to  throw them aside1 and now1 in the   
crisis1 you are compelled to face the   
enemy of your soul without means of     
defense4 ,then take up the sword of     
your childhood faith in ,god that filled
 your younger years with beauty1  that  
warmed your enthusiasm1 and made you    
fight single-handed while an  army      
trembled4 ,kneel once more as you knelt 
at your mother's knee2 look  up with an 
open face toward your ,father in heaven2
 cherish his words  and keep his        
commandments2 and from this hour no man 
can defeat you4  ,in the outstretched   
hand of your ,christian mother is the   
sword of your  old-time faith in ,god4  
,may you have the wisdom of ,david when 
he saw the  sword in the hands of the   
priest and exclaim with all the         
earnestness  of your repentant soul1    
8,there is none like that2 give it me40 
,there is no modern improvement in      
making swords for moral battles4  ,man's
 progress in the sciences is not because
 he has improved but  because he has    

employed the laws of nature1 laws that  
have coexisted  with the world4 ,the    
telephone1 telegraph1 and incandescent  
are not the  result of man inventing    
electricity4 ,science wins all her      
conquests by  using old swords but      
perfect ones1 because they come from the
 hand of  ,god4 ,we need no new         
religions1 cults1 or creeds4 ,being     
man-made they  have no excellence of    
steel or temper4 ,the emphasis must be  
placed1 not  upon the theory1 but upon  
the moral laws which are just as vital  
to  the spiritual life as natural laws  
are to the development of science4      
,these laws are perfect4 ,the ,ten      
,commandments are incomparable4 ,not one
  of them is unnecessary but each one   
vital to triumphant living4 ,add to     
these the new commandment of ,christ    
that we are to love the ,lord our  ,god 
with all our mind and heart and soul and
 strength and our neighbors  as         
ourselves1 and we have an arsenal with  
which to conquer all the  powers of     

earth and hell4    ,the world is weary  
following the ways of men4              
,righteousness alone  exalteth a nation4
 8,back to ,god60 is the war-cry4       
8,there is none like  that2 give it me40
                                        
,,xi                                    
,,spiced ,,wine      ,in his ,songs     
,solomon referred to a beautiful        
,oriental custom4 ,the  bride and       
bridegroom drank from the same cup1 that
 they might show the  assembled guests  
their willingness to henceforth share   
all the cups of  life1 whether sweet or 
bitter4 ,to add to the joy of the       
wedding banquet  the cup from which the 
wedded ones were to drink would be      
passed first  to the others who were    
seated with them4 ,as it passed from    
hand to hand  each guest would drop into
 the ruby wine a gift of fragrant spice1
  expressing thus the earnest wish that 
every bitter cup of life might  be      
brightened and sweetened with the spices
 of good friendship4 ,from  the first   

moment of wedded life their loved ones  
wished that they taste  of nothing save 
joy and happiness4 ,in his great poem   
,solomon somewhat  alters the ancient   
custom and represents the bride         
performing this  service of spicing the 
wine for the husband1 as much as to say1
 8,i  would render unto thee only the   
sweetest1 the purest1 and the best that 
earth can hold40    ,one of the greatest
 needs of to-day is a spirit of         
willingness to  spice the sour wines    
which others are daily compelled to     
drink4 ,there  are few greater services 
to render both ,god and man than to     
proffer the  cup of spiced wine4    ,the
 church as the ,bride of ,christ should 
offer to him no service that  is not    
sweet and aromatic with the spices of   
sincerity and love4 ,this  is the only  
way the world will ever be taken for    
,jesus ,christ4 ,the  church must offer 
something better1 more pleasing1 and    
more wholesome  than the wines that this
 world has to offer4 ,it is the tendency

 to give  to ,god the drainings from    
life's vintage4 ,we often spend the week
 in  pursuit of selfish pleasures1      
drinking the sweetest wines and giving  
them freely to our chosen companions1   
and then1 in hours of worship1  give to 
,god the cheaper1 sourer wines1 making  
religious worship  unwholesome1 acrid1  
bitter1 and nauseous4    ,unless we do  
away with our acrimonious methods and   
make our services to  ,god more aromatic
 and pleasant1 the church is going to   
lose all hold  upon her boys and girls4 
,as a child's growing body requires     
sugar1 so  his awakened spiritual powers
 need that which is sweetened with the  
spices of gladness and                  
whole-heartedness4    ,this is the only 
way by which the church shall get and   
retain its grip  on men of affairs4 ,all
 week long these individuals have been  
tasting  the acid and the bitterness of 
earthly struggle and competitive        
ambition4 ,sunday morning comes and they
 are tired1 and nervous1 and  all worn  

out4 ,what they need is a cup of spices1
 each bit of spice  a gift of love4     
,they need to have their minds taken    
away from the  bitterness and acidity of
 life and given something that is       
fragrant  and stimulating1 something    
that will revive and strengthen them for
  future activity4 ,this is the purpose 
of the church4 ,it is to gather  from   
all quarters of the earth all things    
that are good1 wholesome1 and           
attractive1 and press them1 as a gift of
 love1 to the lips of every  worshiper4 
,it is to crowd each service with       
inspiring song1 short  helpful prayers1 
warm-worded greetings1 and enthusiastic 
handshaking1  until the silver chalice  
brims with gladness4 ,bring all your    
spices  into the house of ,god and offer
 to ,christ a pleasing gift4 ,there is  
no  telling how much good you can do4   
,look into the face of your ,creator    
whenever you enter his temple and pray  
with an earnest heart3 8,o ,lord1  ,i   
would this day cause thee to drink      

spiced wine40    ,this should not only  
be the attitude of the church toward its
 ,lord1 but  it should certainly be the 
spirit with which it daily faces the    
world4  ,as we confront each individual 
we should be able to say3 8,i would     
cause thee1 my brother1 my sister1 to   
drink spiced wine40 ,we should  go      
through life so prepared with the spices
 of good cheer that the  moment we found
 one with a cup of bitterness we could  
remove all its  disagreeableness before 
it is pressed to their parched lips4 ,we
 should  carry spices for their cups1   
and not pepper for the eyes1 or salt    
with  which to rub the sores of our     
enemies4 ,spices so sweeten the cup that
  men forget their hatred and find      
themselves glad that we are here4       
,give them the spices of a good         
disposition4 ,our dispositions are not  
unalterable gifts thrust upon us at     
birth1 but are largely a matter of      
cultivation4 ,if we associate with that 
which is sour and crabbed1 our          

dispositions will1 of necessity1 assume 
the same nature4 ,if we live  a life of 
goodness1 we will most naturally have a 
sweet disposition4  ,the difference     
between peaches and pickles is far more 
than a matter  of spelling4 ,peaches are
 not pickles1 because they absorb the   
sunlight  and the sweetness of the soil1
 until even their tartness is delicious 
to the taste4 ,pickles are not peaches  
because they absorb only those  things  
which suggest and harmonize with salt   
and vinegar4 ,we never  think of pickles
 without thinking about vinegar4 ,their 
difference is  in the choice of elements
 used in building tissues4 ,the same    
thing is  true with us4 ,we make our    
dispositions1 and because we do1 we     
should be  lovers of the aromatic spices
 with which ,god has crowded the world4 
,o that those who profess to love ,god  
would cease shaking pepper into  others'
 lives1 and begin to put sweet spices of
 a good disposition into  cups already  
too bitter with the gall of sorrow and  

disappointment4    ,give them the spices
 of a cheerful conversation4 ,no good   
comes  from burning the mind of the     
world with the acid of criticism1 or    
distressing their lacerated hearts with 
the story of our personal  discomforts4 
,give spices4 ,instead of telling how   
the rheumatism made  the joints creak on
 their hinges1 tell the story of how    
once you  were able to leap over the    
fences and how you swung from the       
topmost  branch of the old apple tree4  
,instead of telling about the horrors of
  insomnia1 and how little you slept    
that past week1 and how miserably  the  
morning hours wore away1 tell about the 
red bird that sang under  your window   
and awakened a thousand memories of your
 childhood1 tell  how you noticed the   
fresh air of the morning awakened       
symphonies among  the dew-laden leaves4 
,it is so much nicer to be a candle that
 gives  light than a smoky chimney that 
belches soot and cinders4 ,the world    
always appreciates its bearers of good  

news4 ,happy conversation is  within the
 reach of every one4 ,no matter how     
blind we may be to the  blessings of    
to-day1 memory holds a box of spices    
within easy reach1  and we can fill our 
words with a sweetness that will cast an
 undying  fragrance4    ,it is not      
difficult to be cheerful when we        
remember that we meet only  two classes 
of people1 no matter how far we travel1 
or how long we  live4 ,the one class    
consists of those who are making failure
 of life4  ,each word we speak brings to
 them either the bitterness of wormwood 
or  the good cheer of wild honey4 ,the  
opportunity to give encouragement  to   
the downcast comes every day4 ,tired1   
worn1 and jaded1 they meet us  upon     
every street corner and press against us
 at every assembly4 ,o that  they might 
rejoice as they taste the spices we are 
placing in their  wine6 ,the other class
 of people whom we are meeting are those
 who are  making success of life1 and   
who are very often the most neglected4  

,because they receive worldly honor we  
think them extremely happy1 not         
recognizing their loneliness4 ,the world
 never hesitates to press its  sponge of
 vinegar and gall to the lips of those  
who are serving it4    ,several years   
ago there was a large gathering in      
,calvary ,church1  ,new ,york ,city1 to 
pay tribute to ,dr4 ,edward ,washburn4  
,phillips  ,brooks1 ,bishop ,potter1 and
 many other men of distinction met in   
that  magnificent service and offered   
words of praise to the goodness1        
courage1 clear thinking1 untainted love 
and unselfish devotion of that  mighty  
man4 ,after all had ended their words of
 praise a little woman1  dressed in     
black1 who had been the companion of    
,dr4 ,washburn for so  many years of    
married life1 slowly arose to address   
the audience4 ,amid  an intense silence 
she repeated over and over again these  
words3 8,o1 if  you men loved ,edward   
so1 why did you never tell him80 ,what a
 revelation  of heart-hunger6 ,long     

years of bitterness when all might have 
been  relieved with just a little spice1
 that is readily found and easily       
bestowed4    ,bring on the spices6 ,let 
us be more affectionate one toward      
another4  ,the eldest son of a large    
family was kneeling at his mother's     
deathbed  saying1 8,you have been such a
 good mother40 ,the dying woman opened  
her  eyes and faintly whispered1 8,you  
never said so before1 ,john1 you never  
said that before40 ,let this be our     
motto as we meet all men3 8,i would     
cause you to drink spiced wine40        
,,xii                              ,,the
 ,,fever ,,of ,,health      ,one of     
man's richest possessions is the feeling
 of restlessness and  discontent that   
ever pushes onward seeking something    
new4 ,it is the  secret of discovery4   
,beholding the sunset1 like a thousand  
camp fires  flashing their beams upon   
the crimson and purple curtained tents  
of  ever-encamping angels1 man          
determined to enter into and share their

  quiet place of rest and luxury4       
,hastening forward1 he easily found the 
hills that yester-night formed the      
mystic camping ground1 but nowhere      
would a torn leaf or trampled           
grass-blade betray a single footprint2  
while1 looking farther westward than he 
had traveled1 he saw the  same          
crimson-and-purple tents stretched upon 
other hilltops bathed  with sunset's    
golden light4 ,month followed month     
while man continued  journeying westward
 in fruitless quest for peace1 but in   
his effort to  reach the cherished goal 
he discovered new lakes and rivers1     
hills and  valleys1 plains and forests1 
until a mighty continent lay ready for  
his  children's children to build cities
 rivaling in power and splendor the     
mystic camps of sunset's unseen hosts4  
,restlessness and dissatisfaction are   
the secret of invention4 ,satisfied     
with their condition1 ,china1 ,india1   
and ,africa yield no inventions4  ,their
 people carry water in flasks of skin1  

travel upon weary-footed  beasts of     
burden1 and bequeath their children     
nothing but tradition4  ,such once was  
all the world until some individuals of 
courage and  determination caught the   
fever of health4 ,dissatisfied and      
restless1  man became weary of carrying 
water and would not rest until he had   
perfected the ,holly ,engine that       
presses a cup of cool water to every    
thirsty lip within the city4 ,tired of  
slow travel1 he compelled the           
locomotive to give fleetness to his     
feet1 and the telephone to give  rapid  
transit to his voice4 ,restless because 
the singer's voice must  fade in        
silence1 man built the phonograph to    
give the human voice1 the  frailest of  
all man's possessions1 everlasting life4
 ,dissatisfaction  with things as they  
are gives invention her rich            
achievements4    ,art follows only in   
the footsteps of restlessness4 ,every   
painting  and tapestry hanging on palace
 wall1 every anthem that thrills the    

templed throngs1 and every melody that  
wafts its sweet cadence upon the        
trembling1 vibrant air1 exists because  
some sensitive soul refused to  know    
contentment until he had given perfect  
expression to the beauty  that dwelt    
within his soul4    ,only through the   
contagion of the divine fever can there 
be any reform4  ,it was only when the   
restless soul of ,john ,howard began to 
express its  contempt for the foul      
floors and vitiated air of ,england's   
jails and  aroused the slumbering       
conscience of an indifferent people that
 the  cruel prison systems of the world 
were changed4 ,reform in ,england's     
colonial policy that made possible the  
unity of ,canada and the founding  of   
our own government came only when men   
began to chafe and grow  restless under 
unjust treatment1 and finally found     
expression in the  burning1 blazing1    
nervous eloquence of ,patrick ,henry1   
8,give me liberty1  or give me death60  
,because men were satisfied with things 

as they were1 the city slums  became    
deeper1 fouler depths of misery         
entombing thousands of human  beings in 
inexcusable death-traps1 robbing parents
 of hope and  childhood of its lawful   
inheritance of health and goodness4     
,these  things continued until one poor 
lad grew divinely restless4 ,a little   
immigrant boy of poetic temperament and 
lofty aspirations1 by the name  of      
,jacob ,riis1 cried out in protest      
against the injustice of foul  air and  
darkened homes4 ,restless himself1 he   
made the city restless1  until ,new     
,york transformed her tenements1        
purified her slums1 and  reformed her   
government until she became one of the  
cleanest cities  of the world--in many  
ways a worthy example for the cities of 
the ,old  ,world to follow4 ,the        
restlessness of ,livingstone redeemed   
,africa4  ,the restlessness of ,morris  
saved ,china4 ,the restlessness of      
,thoburn  is working miracles in ,india4
 ,when men found it impossible to sit at

  ease while their brothers were in     
chains slavery disappeared4 ,because    
men became weary with drunkenness and   
tired listening to the pathetic         
pleading of drunkards' wives and        
children1 an aroused nation closed the  
open saloons and placed a ban upon the  
sale of alcoholic drink4 ,men are  now  
becoming tired of war4 ,they believe    
that the world has drunk its  fill of   
human blood4 ,the hour for world-wide   
disarmament has come1 and  rulers must  
be made to think before sacrificing     
their people's lives4    ,here also we  
find the secret of mental development4  
,so long as the  human mind is satisfied
 with tradition it cannot grow2 but let 
it  once become uneasy under the        
deadening power of superstition1 its    
very restlessness will make the         
mountains unlock their secrets1 the     
plants yield tribute of health-creating 
medicines1 the clouds unbosom  their    
mystery1 and even the starlight becomes 
a pencil of gold to  write upon the     

tablet of the sky the marvelous story of
 man's growing  intellectual power4     
,no one of ,god's gifts is to be valued 
more than this feeling of  unrest that  
he inspires within the heart1 making us 
dissatisfied with  ourselves and our    
surroundings1 and forcing us forward to 
become  skillful in discovery1 art1     
invention1 reform1 and intellectuality4 
,but the beneficent influence of        
health's fever does not end here1 for   
it is also the secret of spiritual      
development4 ,we have all experienced   
these seasons of holy manifestation4    
,our friends said that we had the       
fidgets2 the physician diagnosed our    
case as one of nervousness2 we  insisted
 that we had the blues2 but all were    
wrong4 ,the restlessness  was a sign of 
health4 ,we were not satisfied with     
ourselves but longed  for nobility4 ,the
 dust-made body was refusing to grovel  
in the dust4  ,the spiritual life was   
beginning to assert itself through these
 tissues  of flesh4 ,the chrysalis had  

lost its desire to crawl along the      
ground1  for new life within claimed its
 right to rise upon joyous wing and     
cleave the sunlit air4 ,it was not a    
thing to be despised1 to mar and  gnaw  
the budding leaf1 but something to be   
admired and loved of man1  something    
sylphlike to sip from chalices of gold  
and silver1 porphyry  and lapis-lazuli4 
,the old man of sin was dying1 and      
through the power  of ,christ a new man 
was coming into life2 from now on he can
 never be  satisfied with things as they
 were4    ,one of the hopes of the      
world's salvation is the fact that sin  
never  satisfies the soul4 ,its promises
 are never fulfilled4 ,its obligations  
are never met at maturity4 ,men become  
restless in their sin1 and  through     
their restlessness are being led to     
,god4 ,here alone can  satisfaction be  
found1 for only ,christ supplies the    
soul with what  it needs for the journey
 set before it4 ,he offers guidance1    
saying1  8,i am the way40 ,following him

 no soul has ever been lost amid the    
bewildering maze of sin4 ,he offers     
sustaining power saying1 8,i am the     
bread of life0 and 8,i am the water of  
life40 ,the dusty ashes of sin no       
longer choke1 but for the hunger there  
is life-giving bread1 and for  the      
parched lip there is water4 ,he gives   
illumination1 saying1 8,i am  the       
light10 and the terrors of darkness and 
the dangers of the night  flee away4 ,he
 offers an open way1 saying1 8,i am the 
door10 and through  him one passes out  
of the cramped prison house of past sins
 into  untrammeled1 unmeasured freedom4 
,he offers immortality1 saying1 8,i am  
the resurrection and the life3 he that  
believeth in me1 though he were  dead1  
yet shall he live40 ,the deadening power
 of sin loses its hold1  and one tastes 
the unspeakable joy of living a life    
that is life indeed4    ,then be not    
confounded by the feeling of            
restlessness that ever creeps  upon the 
healthy soul4 ,what a tragedy our lives 

would be had we been  satisfied with our
 first achievements6 ,how terribly      
pathetic it is to  become satisfied with
 ourselves now1 while we are so far     
short of what  we might be1 and so      
lamentably short of what ,god meant our 
lives to be6  ,curb not the spirit of   
restlessness as though it were a fever  
of death4  ,it is health's fever4 ,it is
 the call of the soul for its ,creator  
who  longs to lead us into better       
things4    ,to-morrow will be a         
beautiful day because to-day is so      
restless4                               
,,xiii                          ,,the   
,,wisdom ,,of ,,the ,,unlearned         
,the pathway of true brotherly love is  
bordered with deformed social           
conditions which must be faced and      
remedied4 ,entering the temple at the   
hour of prayer1 ,peter and ,john had    
their pious meditations interrupted  by 
the appealing cry of a crippled beggar1 
who was crouching helplessly  at the    
temple door4 ,his haggard face1 his     

wistful eye1 his bony1  outstretched    
hand1 pleaded so passionately that the  
singing of the  ,levites was drowned and
 the temple call to prayer unheeded4    
,the eyes  of ,peter and the beggar met1
 and ,christlike spirituality stood face
  to face with the practical aspect of  
the world's need4 ,instantly  the       
great-hearted1 impetuous ,peter took    
notice of the helpless man1  whose wan  
face began to brighten with hope4       
,taking him by the right  hand1 ,peter  
said3 8,silver and gold have ,i none4 ,i
 cannot meet the  requirements that you 
ask1 knowing that it is not money that  
you need1  so much as health and        
strength1 with which to earn a          
livelihood for  yourself and for your   
loved ones4 ,silver and gold have ,i    
none2 but  such as ,i have1 give ,i     
thee4 ,in the name of ,jesus ,christ of 
,nazareth  rise up and walk40 ,the      
cripple did not have time to waver1 nor 
to  debate1 for the warm handclasp and  
the strong arm of the enthusiastic      

servant of ,christ was lifting him to   
his feet and teaching him how to  leap1 
and run1 and sing the praises of ,god4  
,peter and ,john felt that  they could  
not enter the temple to pray until they 
had proven their  right to worship by   
practically meeting whatever part of the
 world-wide  social needs chanced1 at   
that moment1 to confront them4    ,but  
their benevolence was misinterpreted by 
those who should have been  the most    
appreciative4 ,overzealous religionists1
 who usually mistake  the form for the  
spirit of worship1 had the two          
benefactors arrested1  accused of       
violating their law concerning the      
observance of the ,sabbath  day4 ,after 
a night spent upon the cold1 damp stones
 of the inner  prison1 the two disciples
 were brought before the learned        
magistrate to  explain their conduct4   
,there is nothing more interesting than 
these unfriendly scholarly              
investigations of religious phenomena1  
conducted for the purpose of  securing a

 rational psychological explanation4    
,the high priests1 the  scribes1 the    
rulers of city and province were seated 
in state1 when  the two humble followers
 of the ,social ,christ1 with common    
garb1 and  net-calloused hands1 stood at
 the judgment bar and heard the         
question3  8,by what power have ye done 
this80 ,a more modern phraseology of the
  question would be1 8,state to the     
,court what is the psychological        
explanation of this purported miracle80 
,it was a critical moment to these      
judges1 for scholarship1 with much  ado1
 was studying and analyzing ignorance4  
,but the ,peter of ,pentecost  was not  
to be dismayed4 ,he knew that the       
service of ,christ is not  formal but   
practical1 and that his conduct in      
curing a lame beggar was  more important
 to ,god than the observing of a        
thousand man-made forms  and ceremonies4
 ,he knew from his former experience    
that ignorance need  have no fear of the
 scoffer's sneer1 or the scholar's      

questioning1 when  once the heart has   
been fully consecrated to the service of
 ,god4 ,with  confidence they faced the 
inquirers saying1 frankly3 8,the power  
is not  ours4 ,this miracle was         
performed through the power of ,christ1 
which  you1 in your learning1 threw     
aside1 and which we1 in the simplicity  
of  our untutored hearts1 have accepted 
as the gift of ,god40 ,the power of     
,pentecost was with the preacher again1 
and the judges were filled with  fear   
and wonderment4 ,against their most     
earnest desires they liberated  the men1
 wondering why they1 as learned men1    
should be influenced by  men of such    
untrained intellects4    ,while         
,christianity has always waged warfare  
against ignorance in all  forms1 and has
 been the leader in founding schools and
 colleges1 the  fact remains that many  
of our greatest achievements have been  
wrought  by untrained men4 ,god often   
takes the weak things of this world to  
confound the mighty4    ,when an        

unorganized and badly scattered people  
needed a wise ruler1 ,god  passed by the
 palace doors and over the seats of     
learning that1 in the  open fields1 he  
might crown ,david1 a shepherd lad4     
,when ,jerusalem was  a ruined city1    
overgrown with weed and briar1 ,god     
ignored commanding  generals and ruling 
monarchs1 to honor ,nehemiah1 whose     
conquering  courage rebuilt the city4   
,when mad with power and wild excesses  
of sin1  a mighty nation needed         
restraint1 ,god stepped over the royal  
houses as  though they were playthings  
upon the nursery floor1 and lifted      
,daniel1  an exile1 to become the       
condemning conscience for them who had  
slain  their consciences1 and to become 
a radiant hope for those who were       
enslaved and had lost all courage4 ,when
 the time had fully come for  the       
kingdom of ,christ to be preached to the
 cultured and aristocratic1  he chose   
these two men of the fisher-craft1 who1 
though ignorant  and unlearned1 made the

 scholars and statesmen dumb with       
wonderment1  while the crowned power of 
the age was humiliated1 unable to cope  
successfully against the growing faith4 
,christianity1 while not encouraging    
ignorance1 recognizes what  the world   
often overlooks1 that learning1 in      
itself1 has woeful  limitations4 ,when  
rightly employed1 mental training       
multiplies one's  powers and talents1 as
 the circling moon gives strength and   
swiftness  to the rising tides2 but     
misapplied book-learning has little     
value4  ,in the crises of life the      
general information gleaned from books  
counts for but very little4 ,the        
knowledge that water1 when reduced in   
temperature to thirty degrees or less1  
freezes1 so that a dangerous  river is  
changed into a solid highway over which 
one can walk in  safety1 is of small    
value to a man who is drowning in the   
summer time1  and very few drowning men 
would call for a thermometer to take the
  temperature of the water in which they

 were sinking4 ,standing beneath  a     
falling wall1 no man is going to begin  
to calculate the specific  gravity of   
the falling elements or estimate the    
force of impact upon  his head4 ,all    
learning is good1 and nothing in the    
line of information  should be ignored1 
for1 along the more or less narrow line 
of its own  application1 each truth is  
of inestimable value4 ,each added truth 
that  one learns pulls up the tent      
stakes of the horizon and widens the    
world just so much1 but no man can save 
himself with learning alone4  ,success  
depends1 not upon scholarship1 but upon 
a spotless love for ,god  and a         
boundless love for man4 ,herein is the  
wisdom of life1 and the  weakest man or 
woman may possess it4 ,all men may not  
become learned1  but all men may become 
great and enthusiastic lovers of their  
fellow  man4 ,the little child that     
bends its arms in fervent hugs to show  
the  measure of its affection2 the      
struggling youth that stops to help a   

wounded companion2 the widow1 fighting  
against poverty in the tenement2  the   
old man1 patiently looking for the      
coming day--all these may  possess the  
secret of royal living4    ,the world   
will be saved1 not by the scholar1 as a 
scholar1 but by the  loving heart2 not  
by platitude1 but by kindly deeds4      
,goodness is such  an easy thing to     
acquire1 that it is within the reach of 
all4 ,a little  ,london newsboy was seen
 to daily follow an unknown man for many
 blocks4  ,when asked by an observer why
 he did so he responded1 8,when he buys 
a  paper from me1 he always smiles1 and 
calls me his boy4 ,he is the only  one  
who ever called me that1 and ,i just    
love to see him40 ,here was  a life     
brightened and perhaps redeemed because 
a busy man of wealth  took time to say  
what any one of us is able to say each  
day4 ,when  ,king ,humbert would have   
lost his nation he saved it1 not by     
scholarly  exhortations or startling    
state papers1 but by visiting the       

hospitals  of ,naples and ministering   
with genuine affection a plague-smitten 
people4 ,it was a task of love that the 
weakest person might be able to         
perform1 but it saved a nation for a    
king4    ,the world will be saved4      
,righteousness shall ultimately prevail4
 ,the  kingdoms of this world shall     
become the kingdom of our ,christ4      
,there  are no failures in ,god's mighty
 plans4 ,we may vary in our beliefs1    
and differ greatly as to the process by 
which he shall accomplish his  wise     
designs1 but this is true3 when this    
world is brought ultimately  to the feet
 of ,christ1 it will have been          
accomplished not by prayer  alone but by
 work and prayer1 not by the scholar as 
a scholar but by  the men1 learned or   
unlearned1 who have discovered the      
compelling and  transforming power of a 
boundless1 undying love4                
,,xiv                           ,,the   
,,strength ,,of ,,weakness      ,an old 
man was once opening the treasury of his

 experience to enrich  the young people 
of ,corinth4 ,youth ever needs such a   
benefactor1 for  life's most difficult  
problem is to definitely determine upon 
which  element or elements of life the  
emphasis should be placed4 ,like a      
river1 life has so many contributing    
streams of large volume that it is      
difficult to decide unto which one we   
are most indebted for our power4  ,there
 is only one way to ascertain this fact1
 and that is to trace the  current of   
life-power to its source and stand1 with
 reverent feet1 at  its utmost gurgling 
spring4 ,but this task is hard and is   
fraught with  danger4 ,what youth1      
standing at the joining of the currents1
 can tell  to a certainty which is the  
real current and which the contributing 
stream of influence8 ,among the most    
pathetic incidents of history are  those
 portraying some of our richest and most
 favored sons of genius  mistaking a    
contributing element of life for life   
itself and spending  their days within  

the narrow winding ways of mediocrity4  
,youth needs  the open treasury of the  
past1 therefore it is a rare privilege  
to  have ,paul thus open the treasure   
chest of his varied and triumphant      
experiences and tell us what is the     
secret source of life's richest         
endowment4 ,looking over a life of many 
years1 covering an intense and          
diversified experience1 enriched with   
mental and spiritual training1  he      
declared to the young people of ,corinth
 that the source of personal  power is  
weakness4    ,that is the last place in 
the world that we would naturally look  
for  strength1 for we have always been  
taught that weakness is the absence  of 
strength4 ,to be enduring we believed   
that we should possess the  rigidity and
 firmness of the rocks1 forgetful that  
long after the  red stone walls of      
,kenilworth have tottered into complete 
ruin the  fragile ivy1 planted by       
unknown hands1 will still live to cover 
the  rough1 broken heap of              

weather-beaten stones with the graceful 
folds of  its swaying branches4 ,we have
 believed that stability depended upon  
rigid strength1 not realizing that1 in  
nature1 the strong are the most         
fragile1 while the weak are the most    
enduring4    ,the source of triumphant  
living is not the adamantine will that  
refuses  to bend or budge1 but is the   
will that yields itself to higher power4
  ,only when one finds that a feeling of
 weakness is creeping over him1  and    
realizes that1 in his own strength      
alone1 he is inadequate for the  task1  
does he possess true conquering power4  
,one of the best hours  of a man's life 
is when1 through sickness1 toil1 or     
persecution1 he  feels his physical     
powers giving way1 and his soul rises to
 claim  the occasion for ,god and his   
humanity4 ,knowing that while he himself
  is weak1 the needed power is within   
easy reach1 a man is strong4 ,in  such a
 crisis1 to become self-confident is to 
be like the hunted  partridge which1    

seeking escape1 confidently enters the  
trap set for  his destruction4 ,strength
 comes when1 overwhelmed with a sense of
  unutterable weakness1 one flings      
himself at the feet of ,christ1 and     
prays as did the sinking disciple1      
8,lord1 save me40    ,how very true this
 is in the hours of our severe          
temptation6 ,no man  ever sought refuge 
from temptation in self-confidence who1 
in the  strain of battle1 did not find  
his fortress crumbling into dust1 while 
he himself suffered humiliating defeat4 
,simon ,peter learned this truth4       
,strong and boastful in his             
self-assertiveness1 he stood amid the   
gathering shadows of the world's darkest
 and most tragic night1 and  smiled as  
one who gladly greets the dawning of his
 wedding day4 ,he was  confident1 beyond
 question1 that he was equal to any     
emergency that  might arise4 ,it was    
easy for him to boast and proclaim      
loudly what he  would do4 ,beholding the
 same fast-deepening shadows1 ,christ   

fell to  his knees in prayer1 and with  
broken voice and heavy1 blood-stained   
sweat1 pleaded for his ,father to remove
 this cup of suffering4 ,christ1  the   
everlasting ,conqueror1 prays for escape
 from trial1 while ,peter1  filled with 
self-assurance1 bids the coming of the  
worst with defiant  spirit1 saying1     
8,though all men should forsake the     
,master1 yet will not  ,i40 ,he boasted 
bravely that he was ready to die for    
,christ4 ,there was a  marked contrast  
between the ways these two met the same 
struggle1 but  the whole world knows the
 outcome4 ,in the presence of trial     
,peter's  strength was scattered like   
heaps of withered autumn leaves4 ,when  
he  was strong then was he weak4        
,without the passing of the cup ,christ 
walked forth strong enough to win a     
world from sin1 while ,peter sank  in   
shame4 ,but when1 a few hours later1 we 
find the defeated disciple1  all alone1 
in midnight darkness1 weeping like a    
little child over his  weakness1 we     

rejoice1 for we know now that ,pentecost
 has found its  preacher1 and the world 
has found a mighty champion for ,god4   
,temptation is a terrible thing4 ,it is 
a band of armed brigands1  storming the 
citadel of the soul to carry away       
everything that is of  value4 ,to yield 
is to have the soul ransacked and burned
 as though by  fire4 ,to face it        
confidently in one's own strength is    
gravest folly4  ,there is only one      
possibility of victory4 ,in that hour of
 peril1 when  eternal destinies are at  
stake1 let one feel his own weakness1   
and fall  helplessly at the feet of     
,christ1 and call with all the          
earnestness and  pathos of his          
frightened soul1 8,lord1 save1 or ,i    
perish60 and victory  shall fill his    
heart with joy and crown his brow with  
the light of  heaven4    ,this truth is 
applicable to all our sorrows4 ,there   
have been hours when  we thought best to
 meet our sorrows and disappointments   
with the spirit  of a stoic4 ,with      

clinched fists1 tight-pressed lips1 and 
dry eyes1 we  stood1 proud of our       
strength1 defying sorrow by bidding it  
to do its  worst4 ,we insisted that we  
were not weak like others1 and that we  
would  boldly bear our own burdens4 ,but
 the end was defeat and uncontrollable  
grief4 ,the burden was so much heavier  
and the grief was so much more  bitter  
than we had ever expected1 that we were 
crushed and overcome4  ,meanwhile at our
 side stood one frail and weak1 whose   
bloodshot eyes  spoke of countless      
nights of grief and anxiety1 but whose  
calm face and  steady voice assured us  
that she had gained a wonderful victory1
 and1  in spite of tempest1 had inner   
calm and rest4 ,how came the victory to 
the frail8 ,because she was frail and   
knew that she was frail4 ,as headed     
wheat saves its life by bowing passively
 to the stroking of the violent  winds1 
so she bowed low at the touch of sorrow4
 ,she yielded herself  to the will of   
,god4 ,as ,mary and ,martha1 in their   

hour of sorrow and  puzzling questions1 
forgot everything and fell weeping at   
the feet of  their ,lord1 so this woman 
poured out her prayer of utter          
helplessness  to ,god1 saying1 8,save1  
,lord1 or ,i perish10 and in her        
weakness she  became strong4 ,the       
strength that is needed to meet sorrow  
comes1 not  from self-control1 but      
abandonment to ,god2 not from dry eyes1 
but from  tears4    ,how true this is of
 our ministries to our brother man6 ,it 
is not an  easy matter for one to enter 
the ,holy of holies of another's grief  
and sorrow1 and minister unto them as a 
true high priest4 ,before  the growing  
work of the church1 as it is beginning  
to live up to  its conceptions of       
,christian social service1 many of our  
strongest  ,christians are becoming     
faint of heart2 in its growing work of  
evangelism they become paralyzed with   
fright2 because they cannot see  how    
they can approach and minister to those 
whom they do not know4  ,they tremble1  

not knowing that their very weakness is 
their source of  strength4 ,rash        
boldness and overconfidence are not part
 of the true  ,christian's equipment4   
,with such a spirit no one should dare  
to enter  the sacred inclosure of       
another's grief4 ,it is only when one   
refuses  to trust in human strength or  
wisdom1 and1 possessed of a spirit  of  
humility1 goes forward in the name of   
,christ1 that he can work  successfully 
for ,god4 ,you may feel called upon to  
do works of charity4  ,if so1 go forth  
in weakness4 ,instead of polished speech
 upon the lip1  let there be a teardrop 
in the eye4 ,the hungry soul will       
understand and  rejoice that you have   
come4 ,in the hour of some one's sorrow1
 you may  be able to give only a tender1
 silent handclasp2 but be not dismayed4 
,the mourning one will fully understand 
and thank ,god that he sent  you unto   
him4 ,you may be sent to lead some      
sinful soul to ,christ4 ,in  weakness   
your words may fail1 leaving you nothing

 to offer save a look  of love4 ,that is
 enough4 ,each sinful one will          
understand1 and through  the light of   
your loving look will find a pathway    
back to ,god4 ,only  when we are weak   
are we strong in the service of ,christ4
                                        
,,xv                                    
,,crumbling ,,palaces      ,the         
crumbling of our palaces does not       
necessarily mean loss1 especially  if   
they be the grotesque ones built in     
untutored childhood1 or  those planned  
in moments of unguarded enthusiasm1 or  
given form by  impractical impulse1 or  
intended for selfish or sinful pleasure4
 ,we  have never tried to live in the   
blockhouses built upon the nursery      
floor1 neither do we mold our lives     
according to childhood fancies4  ,there 
can be no progress without the          
compelling power of a well-guided       
enthusiasm1 but overwrought enthusiasm  
is an uncontrollable power  bringing    
moral1 physical1 and financial disaster4

 ,the ability to yield  promptly to     
righteous impulse is akin to genius1 but
 the impulses of  an untrained soul are 
the frenzied switchmen who ditch and    
wreck the  train that should have the   
right of way4 ,when self-interest means 
the  developing of brain and talents to 
establish a worthy character and        
beneficent influence1 making one a      
constructive force in the community1  it
 is not to be despised2 but when        
self-interest becomes selfishness1  the 
building of a fortified castle in which 
one lives at the expense  of others1    
then is the soul smitten with leprosy1  
and the home becomes  a pest-house1 not 
a palace4 ,a place of sin is never a    
shelter1 but a  death-trap1 its elegance
 of architecture and furnishings making 
it all  the more dangerous4 ,there are  
many palaces unfit for habitation4 ,to  
permit them to decay and crumble into   
nothingness is greatest gain1 for  to   
live unworthily is not to live at all4  
,on the other hand there is a neglect   

that means a helpless1 hopeless  poverty
 from which no influence or friendship  
can bring deliverance4  ,when once these
 palaces are permitted to crumble we    
become homeless  outcasts1 begging from 
a world that begrudges us its crumbs4   
,therefore  one must consider1 not only 
the beginning1 but the upkeep of life4  
,there is the palace of ,character that 
needs guarding4 ,the beginning  of the  
,christian life is only 8the beginning40
 ,here is the peril of  our present and 
very popular conception of church       
membership4 ,a man  often feels that all
 that is necessary for his soul's       
salvation is  to go through the soulless
 process of uniting with some religious 
organization1 and it matters not which  
one he may chance to choose4  8,joining 
the church0 is looked upon as taking out
 a spiritual life  insurance1 without   
any thought of paying premiums through  
the passing  years4 ,having his name    
duly inscribed upon the records of some 
church gives a man confidence with which

 to face death1 and the  coming         
judgment1 not realizing that the ,church
 ,record will perish  in the flames of  
the last day2 and that men are judged by
 comparing  the records which ,god has  
kept with the record that each man      
writes  upon the pages of his own body1 
mind1 and soul4 ,preachers have bigger  
business at the ,judgment than carrying 
their ,church ,records and  appearing as
 counsel for the members of their       
flocks4 ,they must appear  at the       
,judgment and answer for themselves4    
,christian living is righteous living1  
being right with ,god and  right with   
man1 in all the dealings of daily life4 
,it is not1 like  vaccination1 completed
 in one short operation1 but1 like      
breathing1 an  activity that includes   
every second of one's earthly existence4
 ,it is  not moving into a furnished    
apartment which you can secure by making
  certain payments1 but the building of 
the palace of ,character4 ,stone  by    
stone1 the great structure is erected1  

its foundation resting upon  the solid  
rock1 its walls built with ,god's plumb 
line1 its turrets and  battlements      
lifted high to receive the blessings of 
the sky4 ,it is not  built in a day1 but
 requires the unceasing toil of all our 
days1 else  it will crumble into        
hopeless ruin4    ,character is not     
firmly established this side the grave4 
,there are  no character insurance      
societies4 ,right living on the part of 
youth  may soon give one a reputation of
 worth1 but after many years of         
faithful living have resulted in a      
palace1 admired of men1 one misdeed  may
 become a conflagration that will reduce
 it to ashes2 one single  misspent day  
may cause the strongest palace to       
crumble and decay4 ,the  ruins of       
,kenilworth are beautiful because       
covered with ,english ivy2 for  the     
ruined walls of ,character there is no  
ivy of sympathy to beautify1  but the   
bleak and barren wreckage stands in     
ghastly hideousness to  proclaim to all 

the world the story of the misspent day4
 ,both youth and  age alike must guard  
the palace of ,character against decay4 
,there is the palace of ,benevolence    
that needs guarding4 ,in childhood  we  
learned the difference between the cold 
hovel of ,selfishness and  the great    
palace of ,benevolence1 with its windows
 ablaze with light  to guide our        
footsteps1 and its hearthstone aglow    
with welcoming  warmth4 ,how we feared  
and shunned the selfish soul1 not for   
the lack  of gifts1 but because1 with   
the clear vision of childhood1 we beheld
  the deformity of his crabbed soul6    
,how we loved the dweller of the        
palace1 not for his gifts1 but for the  
beauty of his smile1 the soft  light of 
friendship in his eyes1 the joy-creating
 atmosphere in which  he moved4 ,then   
and there we decided to mold our lives  
after the plans  of that good man1 and  
be benevolent individuals2 not          
spendthrifts1  but possessed of rich1   
red blood1 and sympathetic hearts ever  

open to  the beauties and needs of life4
 ,but we soon learn that the palace of  
,benevolence cannot be built with one   
deed of benevolence1 no matter  how     
large and generous it may be4 ,the gift 
of some great public  institution1      
however worthy and serviceable to the   
people1 is not  enough to mark a man as 
one who dwells in the palace of         
,benevolence4  ,that coveted abode is   
built1 not by gift or gifts1 but by the 
generous  spirit with which we daily and
 hourly meet the world4 ,benevolence  is
 not a gift1 nor series of gifts1 but   
the wholesome1 generous  spirit which we
 manifest toward men4 ,with such a      
spirit one builds a  beautiful palace in
 which to dwell1 but one that is very   
easily marred  and destroyed4 ,one      
selfish desire1 once hardening the heart
 against  another's need1 one greedy1   
grasping longing or desire1 and the     
palace  beautiful crumbles into dust2   
and they who once rejoiced at our coming
  will turn away with the contempt with 

which all men greet unworthiness4       
,there also is the palace of ,prayer4   
,no earthly dwelling is so beautiful  as
 that which one builds for his soul     
through communion with ,god4  ,always   
situated upon the lofty heights1 above  
the lowlands of sin and  dusty ways of  
worldliness1 it lifts its towers and    
pinnacles into a  cloudless sky4 ,the   
view is clear and unobstructed1 so that 
one sees the  affairs of life in their  
true relations to the great world of    
which  they are a part4 ,the struggles  
of their fellow men are in clear sight  
and therefore observed with sympathetic1
 understanding heart4 ,the sky  is      
close1 and when the sun is set the stars
 peer through the shadowy  canopy1 and  
smile4 ,the atmosphere is fresh and     
pure1 made fragrant with  the breath of 
heaven1 and he who breathes it feels a  
power divine4  ,nothing is more         
beautiful than the palace of ,prayer4   
,nevertheless1 the palace may crumble   
and become a hopeless heap of  dust4    

,where once stood a vision of           
spirituality one can see nothing but    
that which is of the earth earthy4 ,a   
hidden sin within the heart1 that  slyly
 steals away one's love for ,god2 a     
subtle spirit of worldliness1  that     
deadens the soul until it ceases to     
respond to things divine2 a  gnawing    
doubt that1 like the white ants of      
,india1 honeycomb the timbers  of the   
bravest1 strongest souls--all these     
cause the crumbling of the  palace4     
,the palaces of the soul1 however well  
established1 require a watchful  eye and
 careful guarding4 ,the powers of evil  
are destroying elements  that beat and  
pound upon the shelters of the soul with
 destructive  fury4 ,but even then1 a   
well-built palace need not crumble4 ,he 
who  has the ,carpenter of ,nazareth as 
his daily ,companion may build for      
eternity4 ,keeping the sayings of the   
,master means that the house is  firmly 
fixed upon a strong foundation and that 
all its timbers are  strongly knit      

together2 so that when the floods come  
and the winds blow  and beat upon it2   
when a legion of devils encamp about and
 lay siege  upon the soul2 when fires   
sweep1 and earthquakes work their       
devastation  to this planet1 these      
palaces1 not made with hands1 and not   
constructed  from earthly material1 the 
palaces of ,character1 ,benevolence1 and
  ,communion with ,god1 shall not be    
moved4 ,they shall shelter us here and  
be eternal in the heavens4              
,,xvi                        ,,the      
,,echo ,,of ,,life',s ,,unsung ,,songs  
,we are familiar with the echo of life's
 unfinished songs4 ,the  unfinished     
songs of confidence1 sung by the martyrs
 as they stood upon  the yellow sands of
 the ,coliseum1 looking upward beyond   
the soft blue  of the ,italian sky to   
heights hitherto unseen1 have never     
ceased to  vibrate through the          
centuries4 ,the unfinished songs of     
sacrifice and  patriotism which were    
sung by our soldiers and sailors who    

perished in  the world-wide war are     
still echoing in the music of every wave
 that  laves the shores of every sea4   
,we are all familiar with the lingering 
music of life's unfinished songs1 but it
 is well for us to consider  also the   
echo of the songs that have never found 
expression in word or  tune4    ,each   
soul is a minstrel whether he wills it  
or no1 for ,god has  fashioned a harp   
for every heart4 ,there is a tradition  
that above the  head of ,david's couch  
there hung his favorite harp4 ,the      
mountain winds  coming through the      
midnight silence would stir its strings1
 awaken the  sleeping lover of song1 and
 bid him weave words of love to fit the 
wind-wrought music4 ,thus were the      
,psalms created4 ,to each individual    
,god has intrusted a priceless harp1    
tight drawn with silver chords of  love1
 and sensitive to every touch of passing
 wind and falling sunbeam4  ,so delicate
 are these heart-strings that every     
event of life awakens  the dormant music

 and fills the soul with harmonies      
divine4 ,behold how  sensitive they are4
    ,the day has been dull and gloomy   
and you have not cared to go abroad4    
,after a while you become reminiscent4  
,as though led by an unseen  hand you   
enter a quiet1 unused room and lift the 
lid of a quaint1  old-fashioned chest4  
,you know not why your followed impulses
 led you  there1 but you are glad that  
you obeyed the leading1 for there1      
resting  quietly amid fragrant lavender1
 is a treasured gift that came from a   
mother's hand4 ,it has been lying there 
for many years1 untouched and  unseen1  
but how beautiful its faded colors1 how 
lovely its wrinkled  folds placed there 
by the hands so long since turned to    
dust6 and how1  out of the dim mists of 
the past1 it brings the soft colors and 
clear  outlines of a dear1 sweet face6  
,there are tears in your eyes1 but more 
and better than that1 there is music in 
your soul4 ,every string of your  heart 
is vibrant with melody4    ,one morning 

you were ill and did not care to go to  
the office4 ,you were  indisposed just  
enough to enjoy the rich luxury of being
 waited upon1  when1 suddenly and       
unexpectedly1 your eyes rested upon an  
old-fashioned  picture that strangely   
and wondrously stirred your heart4 ,for 
years it  had been hanging there with   
its treasured memories1 but you had been
  too busy to notice it4 ,how charming  
its exquisite beauty as it greeted  you 
from out its odd1 old-styled frame4 ,its
 colors1 mellowed with the  passing     
years1 carried you back triumphantly to 
the sun-bright days of  the long ago1   
and the soul was stirred with music that
 charmed1 and  soothed1 and inspired4   
,the harp-strings of the heart are very 
sensitive4 ,a finger-print or           
tear-stain upon the leaves of the old   
family ,bible1 the frail petals  of a   
faded blossom1 the sight of a tiny      
yellow garment or baby shoe1 a  package 
of letters tied with ribbon1 or a scrap 
of paper scrawled by  unskilled childish

 fingers1 just little things that no one
 else admires  or notices1 is all that  
is required to start the music ringing  
in our  hearts4    ,to this music the   
soul always responds with a song4 ,this 
is true even  when one's musical        
education has been neglected4 ,the ear  
may not be  able to distinguish one note
 from another1 or discern the difference
  between 8,old ,hundred0 and 8,the     
,star-,spangled ,banner02 the individual
  may know nothing about harmony1 time1 
or measure1 when listening to  the music
 that others have given to the world1   
but his own soul can  always sing its   
own melodies4 ,there is no note so high 
in the scale  that the soul cannot reach
 it4 ,i have heard the ,english lark    
lift  its silver notes until they melted
 into sunshine and fell in great        
billows of joy upon the listening earth4
 ,every soul can sing like that4  ,as   
above the couch of ,david hung the harp 
awaiting the touch of the  passing      
winds1 so each heart is a stringed harp 

awaiting the touch  of some common event
 to awaken music and set the soul to    
singing its  minstrelsies4    ,however  
beautiful these songs1 they never pass  
the threshold of the  lips4 ,their      
sweetness surpasses the power of        
expression4 ,that must  have been the   
reason why ,mendelssohn wept so bitterly
 at times4 ,with  all his marvelous     
power in weaving tones he could not give
 expression  to the rapturous melodies  
which were surging through his soul4    
,this  also explains why ,michael       
,angelo so often gave way to the        
dreariest  despondency4 ,though he try  
never so hard1 he could not express upon
  canvas or in marble form the heavenly 
symphonies that were thrilling  his     
soul4 ,the reason that ,lord ,tennyson  
stood for such long periods  upon the   
cliffs1 overlooking the sea1 not hearing
 the call of an  approaching friend1 was
 that his soul was searching through    
earth and  sea and sky1 for words with  
which to express the songs his soul was 

ever singing4    ,the deepest and most  
valuable emotions of life are always    
inexpressible4 ,how useless is human    
speech in the presence of the  deep     
feelings of awe and reverence6 ,i stood 
with a friend upon one of  the great    
heights of the ,catskills4 ,he was a    
genial man1 and the day  had been filled
 with merriment4 ,rounding a curve1 we  
came suddenly to  the edge of a great   
cliff overlooking the ,hudson valley4   
,at our feet  were many miles of forest 
trees mantling the hills and valleys    
with  the brilliant coloring of ,autumn 
foliage4 ,we could count a score of     
villages nestled peacefully among the   
meadows and fields of ripened  grain4   
,the ,hudson ,river rolled its silver   
length in the distance1  while1 far1 far
 beyond us1 draped in blue1 we saw the  
hills and  mountains of another ,state4 
,beholding what1 in many respects1 was  
the  most soul-entrancing revelation of 
nature's glory ,i had ever witnessed1   
neither of us spoke4 ,the moments       

slipped by with slippered feet and the  
mid-afternoon became evening1 before    
either of us broke the silence4  ,it is 
sacrilegious for one to undertake to    
express the holy sentiments  of awe and 
reverence in the clumsy garb of human   
speech4 ,this is true  of all deep      
feeling4 ,standing in the presence of a 
bereaved friend1  shallow souls can     
chatter idle phrases1 but deep1 healing1
 tender  sympathy is expressed in the   
silence of a handclasp and unspoken     
word4  ,looking into the deep1          
expressive eyes of one whom we love1 our
 lips  are silent and only the          
tear-filled eye tells of the song the   
soul is  singing4 ,have you ever been   
able to tell your mother how much you   
loved  her8 ,the real songs of the soul 
are of necessity the unsung songs4      
,these songs are the real songs1 for the
 soul life is the real life4  ,they may 
never be heard by others1 but you hear  
them1 and their words  never die4 ,they 
echo through the years4 ,there is never 

a moment of  thoughtful meditation1     
never a season of seclusion2 never a    
period of  sickness when the things of  
the world are shut out and one is left  
alone with the things of the soul2 never
 a season of disappointment1 or  sorrow1
 or bereavement1 or heartache1 but that 
the hour is made blessed  and hallowed  
with the memory of these songs1 and lo1 
while one listens1  all earth and heaven
 become vibrant with music and one is   
charmed and  soothed with the echo of   
life's unsung songs4 ,while exiled upon 
the  lonely heights of ,patmos ,john    
heard a song that thrilled the heaven of
  heavens1 but none save the multitude  
before the throne could learn the  song4
 ,that is easily understood4 ,it was not
 a song blending the varied  experiences
 of earth together into one mighty      
outburst of love2 it was  the soul      
weaving all the unsung songs which no   
one on earth had ever  heard or could   
ever understand into one great symphony 
with which to  praise the ,god of its   

salvation4 ,life's unsung songs shall   
never cease  to live in earth and       
heaven4 ,their echoes are our comfort   
here1 our joy  forever4                 
,,xvii                                  
,,modern ,,judases      ,the story of   
,judas casts a dark shadow through the  
sunlight of twenty  centuries4 ,his deed
 was more than a betrayal of friendship4
 ,lady  ,macbeth1 coming from the       
chamber of death into the candlelight   
and  beholding her lily-white hands     
stained ruby red with the blood of      
murdered friendship1 and fearing to wash
 them1 lest the ocean's flood  should   
tell to every rock-bound coast the      
blushing secret of her guilt1  was not  
half so bad as ,judas4 ,this deed was   
more than the betrayal of  friendship2  
it was the dark hand of villainy1       
reaching from behind  the dark curtains 
of selfishness1 that with the keen blade
 of greed  he might pierce the          
unprotected breast of innocence4 ,it was
 a tragedy  that1 with each decade's    

growth in love1 becomes more atrocious  
in the  eyes of men4    ,named after    
,judas ,maccabus1 one of the most       
illustrious characters  of ,jewish      
history1 good enough and gifted enough  
to be chosen as a  disciple1 and        
possessing such integrity of character  
that he was chosen  treasurer of the    
group1 ,judas began his public career   
auspiciously4  ,for three years he had  
been associated with ,christ in the most
  intimate manner4 ,he had entered      
cities and passed through country       
places1 preaching and performing        
miracles1 until returning with radiant  
face he said with the other disciples1  
8,even the devils are subject  unto us40
 ,having been lifted out of his old     
self1 he rejoiced in the  delights of   
noble living4 ,within a few weeks he    
would have been able  to stand with     
,peter at ,pentecost and take his place 
among the world's  beloved immortals4   
,then came the awakening4 ,he had       
followed ,christ  through the fragrant  

fields of the ,beatitudes and under the 
clear  sky of the ,sermon on the ,mount2
 he had seen ,christ1 at the sacrifice  
of rest and comfort1 change barren lives
 into beauty1 as the sun  adorns barren 
branches with clustered fruit2 and now1 
as his life was  approaching the crisis1
 ,judas could see where the road was    
leading1  and he became frightened4 ,he 
saw that the end of the ,christ-journey 
was not toward worldly triumph1 but     
toward sorrow1 not to a palace1  but a  
bleak mountainside1 not toward a throne1
 but a cross2 and he  began to think of 
himself4 8,what shall ,i do80 ,like one 
facing a panic  he stood petrified with 
terror4 ,seeing the investment of three 
long  years trembling in the balance1 he
 did not think it businesslike to       
follow ,christ any further4 ,his love   
for money so blinded his eyes  that he  
could not see the moral grandeur of     
,christ's program4 ,angered  and        
disappointed1 he deserted his post1     
sought the seclusion of the  night-time 

shadows to complete his plans4 ,well    
does the inspired writer  add1 8,and it 
was night40 ,of course it was night2    
dark1 starless1  moonless night1 for he 
had allowed his love for money to       
eclipse the  ,light of ,life4    ,from  
then on there was only one light        
attractive to ,judas1 and that  was the 
luring light of avarice and greed4      
,seeking for it1 he found  it4 ,like the
 red fires of hell it burst into flaming
 stream from  the high priest's windows1
 where ,arrogance and ,lust for ,power  
were  plotting against the innocent4    
,rushing toward it1 out of breath1 his  
hands clutching his garments1 his brow  
wet with perspiration1 his eyes  staring
 madly with greed for gold1 he demanded3
 8,what will you give  me80 ,shrewd and 
crafty1 these unscrupulous leaders of   
men knew that the  language of love and 
friendship could not be understood by   
this grasper  of gain2 so they used the 
only language he could now understand   
and  wanted to hear--the language of the

 market place2 and 8they promised  him  
money40    ,this is one of the darkest  
pictures in history1 its black shadow   
reaching through the centuries1 but it  
does not hang alone in the  galleries of
 death4 ,there are others still making  
the awful bargain of  ,judas1 and gladly
 sacrificing the innocent for the sake  
of financial  gain4    ,behold the      
unscrupulous real-estate dealers who    
force houses of immoral  character into 
clean1 residential sections of cities1  
betraying the  cause of righteousness1  
injuring homes1 and damning the souls of
  hundreds4 ,because immorality promises
 a more handsome and immediate  return  
for the investment they become partners 
in the exploiting of  sin and crime4 ,as
 ,judas went into the quietude of the   
,mount of ,olives  and brought wreck and
 ruin1 so these men insidiously lead    
marauding  bands of immoral workers into
 the best communities1 well knowing that
  their deed means the betrayal of youth
 and maiden1 but refusing to give  it a 

thought1 their attention fixed only on  
the increasing volume of  business4 ,the
 good name of a city or community1 the  
value of innocence1  and the sanctity of
 the home are nothing to these modern   
,judases4    ,behold the employers of   
child labor1 who1 under the disguise of 
charitably giving employment to the     
poor1 are reaping revenues that  provide
 them with luxuries at the cost of      
blasted lives4 ,many of our  shops1     
stores1 and factories are but presses   
where the life1 hope1  vigor1 and vision
 of childhood are crushed out in order  
to fill to the  brim the intoxicating   
cup of extravagance for people whose own
 lives  are too foul and unfit to be    
used as grapes in their own presses4    
,daily  the bright-faced boys and girls1
 the hope of the nation1 are crowded    
out of the public school into the vats4 
,hour by hour their lives are  pressed  
out until1 broken in body1 dwarfed in   
intellect1 incapacitated  for works of  
social service1 falling far short of the

 requirements made  upon their later    
years1 they are thrown aside as useless 
pomace4 ,the  uncontrollable spirit of  
greed that places money above the value 
of  life and happiness and goodness is  
the spirit of ,judas4    ,behold the    
owners of tenement houses1 those        
breeding places of filth  and sin1 where
 little children are compelled to live  
and die1 or live  and curse the world4  
,their only memories of childhood will  
be those of  the crowded alley1 foul    
hallways1 and darkened corners in which 
they  hide in fear4 ,the memory of a    
mother's face will be vague1 ever hidden
  in the darkness and gloom in which she
 spent her days4 ,why do they  not have 
fresh air8 ,greed4 ,why do they not have
 fresh water to drink8  ,greed4 ,why do 
their buildings not have good           
sanitation8 ,greed4 ,modern  ,judases   
are they all4    ,behold the men who are
 commercializing amusements4 ,men and   
women need  recreation1 and children    
must have places to play4 ,the human    

body  is not made of harder material    
than the locomotive1 that requires  rest
 between its trips1 or1 growing tired1  
refuses to carry its load4  ,therefore  
it is necessary to have places of       
recreation and exercise4  ,but where    
shall the children go8 ,the best bathing
 beaches of ocean1  lake1 and river bank
 are owned by money-making syndicates1  
and the  people are compelled to pay for
 privileges which are their own by the  
right of birth and citizenship4 ,more   
than this1 since money is the           
objective1 and the people must patronize
 their places1 having no other  places  
to go1 they offend decency by catering  
to the coarse and vulgar  element of the
 community1 thus becoming places of     
moral contamination  instead of places  
of recreation4 ,this is also true of our
 theaters1  moving picture houses1 and  
amusement parks4 ,that which is         
presented is  very often so uncouth that
 modesty must hide her face4    ,the    
deadening influence of the modern       

movies1 their teachings of sex  and     
treatment of marriage1 is clearly shown 
in their effect upon the  actors and    
actresses themselves4 ,they have enacted
 these parts so  often1 and lived in the
 atmosphere where these things are      
discussed as  the predominating tastes  
of the people1 that the unnatural       
teachings  have become their conceptions
 of real life until the story of their  
divorces and remarriages has scandalized
 all decent society4 ,beside  the       
colonies of moving picture celebrities1 
,salt ,lake ,city and other  ,mormon    
strongholds seem quite tame4 ,if the    
moving picture has such a  demoralizing 
influence over the actors and actresses1
 who are matured  men and women1 what   
will be the effect upon the growing     
generations8  ,already the atmosphere of
 school and playground is vitiated4 ,the
 evil  effects are already manifest to  
every conscientious ,christian social   
worker4 ,to silence the protests of a   
righteous guarding of the morals  of the

 young1 the moving picture corporations 
have set aside large  amounts to prevent
 the needed legislation regulating      
censorship4    ,the work of these modern
 ,judases does not end here1 but they   
insist  upon the prostitution of the    
,sabbath day for their ungodly          
enterprises4  ,for the sake of making   
money they are endeavoring to lead      
,america in  the same direction ,europe 
has been traveling1 and to the same     
tragic  fate4 ,childhood and the        
,christian ,sabbath are being desecrated
 every  hour by these ,judases whose one
 question in life is1 8,what will you   
give me80    ,it is time for an aroused 
citizenship to enter protest against    
these  evils4 ,we cannot prevent ,judas 
from having base desires1 nor giving    
his traitorous kiss1 but we can compel  
,pilate1 the officer1 to render         
righteous judgment4 ,jesus was          
crucified1 not because ,judas kissed    
him1 but because ,pilate was a moral    
coward4 ,pilate washed his hands1       

declaring himself 8innocent10 but every 
man in the mob knew that he was  guilty4
 ,we cannot prevent ,judas betraying1   
but we can create public  sentiment     
which will compel officers to reach     
protecting hand against  the greed of   
our modern ,judases4                    
,,xviii                            ,,the
 ,,adjustable ,,universe      ,that ,god
 should adjust a universe so that all of
 its forces and  energies should be at  
the instant disposal of those who1      
through  obedience to his laws1 lay     
claim to them1 should not seem strange  
when we realize how perfectly we are now
 adjusting our mechanical and  social   
conditions to meet the hourly needs of  
the body4 ,the water  supply of many of 
our large cities is pumped and propelled
 by what  is known as the ,holly        
,engine4 ,its regulation is perfectly   
automatic4  ,without any apparent cause1
 there is a constant change in the      
amount  of steam produced4 ,the engineer
 busies himself by oiling the bearings  

and polishing the shafts1 but seems     
utterly indifferent to the pressure  of 
the steam as it relates itself to the   
varying demands of the great  city4 ,the
 fact is that the engineer does not need
 to concern himself  with the regulating
 of the engine1 for the people of the   
city regulate  it for themselves4       
,whenever a faucet is opened the draft  
in the engine is correspondingly        
opened1 the fires burn brighter1 the    
steam is increased1 and the action  of  
the pumps instantly accelerated4 ,the   
larger the quantity of water  needed1   
the wider the drafts1 the stronger the  
fires1 the greater the  pressure of     
steam1 the more active the huge pumps   
that labor to meet  the increased       
demand4 ,quickly close the faucets1 stop
 the outlet of  water entirely1 and the 
pumps will become inactive4 ,so perfect 
is this  adjustment that the smallest   
child1 many miles away1 may change the  
speed of the engine at will4 ,it is     
designed to meet the needs of every     

person in the city1 whether it be but a 
cup of water to moisten the  fevered    
lips of a little child or great streams 
with which to fight the  mighty         
conflagrations that threaten the life of
 the city4    ,if man1 out of common ore
 which he digs from the hills1 can build
  machinery to meet the varying need of 
his fellow man1 should it seem  such an 
incredible thing that ,god1 who made the
 human soul1 could1 out  of his         
unlimited1 unmeasured spiritual forces1 
arrange to instantly  meet the need of  
every human soul8 ,god can and ,god     
does4 ,the fact is  that the whole      
universe is so arranged4 ,there is not a
 need of the soul  of man that cannot be
 immediately satisfied1 if one puts     
himself in  obedient touch with the     
fixed spiritual laws that control the   
required  forces1 as1 for the thirsty   
lips1 we intelligently reach out1 turn  
the  faucet1 and draw the cup of water4 
,it is at this point that the learned   
individual who loudly praises  himself  

upon being a practical observer of life1
 takes most positive  exceptions and    
insists that the weakness of the ,church
 is this very  insistence upon what1 to 
him1 seems the miraculous4 ,he has not  
been  able to observe that the strength 
of the ,church is her belief in the     
laws governing prayer1 compliance with  
which instantly brings all the          
,infinite resources of the sky to meet  
and fully satisfy the needs of  the     
soul4 ,the fault is not in ,god's method
 of procedure1 but in the  narrow       
prejudices which the critic mistakes for
 the laws of logic4  ,let us consider   
the laws governing prayer as revealed in
 an old-time  incident4    ,her eyes red
 with weeping1 and her face deeply drawn
 with sorrow1 a  lonely woman was       
pleading with ,elisha for help4 ,out    
from dark shadows1  she was journeying  
toward deeper gloom4 ,she had just      
buried her  husband1 on the morrow she  
must journey to the auction block where 
her  two sons1 her only means of        

support1 were to be sold into slavery1  
to  meet the debts of her dead husband4 
,she was helpless and heart-broken  in  
her poverty4 8,what shall ,i do for     
thee8 ,what hast thou in the  house80   
asked the solicitous prophet4 8,thy     
handmaiden hath not anything  in the    
house save0--and she faltered--8save a  
pot of ointment40 ,all  her furniture   
and cooking utensils had been sold to   
help meet her  financial obligations4   
,there was only one thing left1 and that
 was the  jar of ointment which every   
,jewish person kept for the anointing of
 the  dead4 ,this was never disposed of4
 ,then came the command1 8,borrow empty 
vessels1 and borrow not a few40    ,the 
two boys were set to work4 ,the novelty 
of the situation whetted  their         
curiosity and ambition and it was not   
long until the mother  announced that   
there were enough vessels and that the  
doors and windows  should be tightly    
closed4 ,then1 with trembling fingers1  
she opened the  little jar and began to 

empty its contents into the larger      
vessels4  ,three smiling faces bent over
 the open mouths of the jars1 when1 to  
their wonderment1 the little jar had    
filled every one of the larger  ones4   
,now there was no need of worry4 ,the   
prayer had been answered4 ,the  sale of 
the oil would more than meet all the    
demands of the creditors4  ,it was      
wonderful1 but natural4    ,prayer is   
answered only according to the law of   
continuity4 ,there were  more than a    
thousand ways in which ,god could have  
come to the relief of  the widow4 ,the  
prophet's touch could have filled the   
empty vessels to  overflowing1 as once a
 prophet's touch melted granite rock    
into crystal  streams of water2 his     
touch could have filled the hut with    
abounding  wealth2 common dust might    
have gleamed as jewels2 unexpected gifts
  might have been poured forth as rain2 
but they did not4 ,god meets the        
emergencies of life through the law of  
continuity4 ,the way of increase  is    

always yielding what we have to the     
workings of higher laws4 ,the  small    
cruse held the secret of the overflowing
 jars4 ,hunger comes and  ,god asks1    
8,what hast thou80 and the husbandman   
answers1 8,thy servant  hath not        
anything save a handful of grain40 ,then
 comes the command1  8,take it to the   
well-plowed field1 and pour it out40 ,he
 does so1 and  the field overflows with 
harvest4 ,for the vine that man plants  
,god  gives the purple clusters2 for the
 seed he sows ,god gives a loaf of      
bread4 ,like always produces like1 and  
in prayer is followed the law  of       
increase4 ,what you have saved from what
 you have already owned1  determines the
 nature of ,god's answer to your        
petitions4 ,if your heart  hungers for  
sympathy1 take the cruse of sympathy and
 pour it into the  empty vessel of      
another's life4 ,the world yields no    
sympathy to the  unsympathetic1 but     
never fails to return with increase each
 expression  of tender solicitude4 ,if  

you pray for comforting power to heal an
  old wound1 take whatever power of     
comfort you possess1 and begin to       
minister to hearts that break4 ,you will
 find increase that will fill  every    
empty vessel of your heart1 and gladness
 shall take the place  of sorrow4 ,if   
you are praying for financial aid1      
consecrate whatever  strength of brain  
and muscle you possess to hard1 clean   
work1 and the  return will richly       
recompense you4 ,if you are asking ,god 
to make you  of service to the world1   
pour out your life into the empty ones  
about  you1 and your petition will be   
granted4 ,this is the law of spiritual  
adjustment4 ,along the lines of your own
 individuality will ,god prepare  you   
for the larger task to-morrow4    ,we   
must also remember that the increase is 
determined1 not by divine  limitations1 
but by our own capacity4 ,the command to
 the widow  was1 8,borrow empty vessels1
 and borrow not a few40 ,god placed no  
limitations1 but1 rather1 gave urgent   

command to plan for large things4  ,she 
could have borrowed a thousand empty    
vessels and a thousand vessels  would   
have been filled4 ,her blessing was     
determined the moment she said  to the  
boys who were securing the jars from the
 excited neighbors1  8,that is enough1  
you need not borrow more40 ,that moment 
she determined  the amount of answer her
 prayers would receive4 ,the oil ceased 
to flow  when she had reached the limit 
of her preparation4 ,what a tremendous  
truth6 ,our growth and spiritual        
attainments are unlimited so far as     
,god is concerned4 ,the possibility of  
development is unlimited so far  as this
 world is concerned1 for empty vessels  
and empty hearts are  everywhere4 ,our  
growth is limited only by the breadth of
 our sympathies  and the scope of our   
interests4    ,borrow empty vessels1 and
 borrow not a few4 ,what a challenge to 
the  church of the living ,god6 ,begin  
to think and plan in big terms4 8,not  a
 few40 ,these are the words of ,one who 

thinks in numbers large enough  to      
include all the grains of sand in all   
the oceans and all the stars  of the    
universe4 ,count the forest leaves and  
the grass-blades and  raindrops1 and    
then ask yourself what ,god means when  
he says 8not a  few40 ,may the ,christ  
of social service show the church of    
to-day that  her power is limited only  
by her vision of her opportunity4       
,,xix                                   
,,seeing ,,love      ,the value of life 
is measured by the power of vision4 ,the
 savage1  tramping the diamond beneath  
his feet1 and clinging to tooth and claw
  of the wild animals he has slain1     
represents a very narrow1 restricted    
life1 for he possessed a narrow vision4 
,beholding fruit-bearing trees1  he saw 
only the crab and wild cherry of bitter 
taste4 ,looking across  the open fields1
 he saw only the wind-tossed1 tangled   
grass whose  matted meshes made slow his
 travel4 ,along the wayside he saw only 
the  daisy1 and the thorn-mass of the   

wild rose bush forming a convenient     
place in which to hide while making     
observations4 ,because in the crab  he  
could not see the possibilities of the  
,northern ,spy1 and because  in the wild
 cherry he could not see the luscious   
,oxheart1 his travel  lacked refreshing 
fruit4 ,because in the tangled grass he 
could not see  the gleaming gold of     
ripened grain1 he had no food in time of
 famine4  ,because the weedlike daisy   
did not suggest the chrysanthemum1 and  
the  wild rose foretell the ,american   
,beauty1 his pathway was commonplace4   
,following the savage came those of     
wider vision1 and soon the fields       
assumed the golden vesture of the       
ripened harvests1 the hillsides  became 
rich with luscious fruit1 and life's    
pathway was fringed with  beauty4       
,each individual makes his own universe1
 using only1 out of the vastness  of    
,god's provision1 such things as he has 
eyes to see4 ,in the broad1  open1      
western plains1 with far-extending      

horizon and translucent sky  bedecked   
with bits of light to lure the seeing   
soul to heights heroic1  lives one whose
 universe is no wider than his daily    
task1 and whose  zenith has never       
ascended above his hat-crown4 ,careless 
in observation1  his universe is        
scarcely larger than the dug-out in     
which he crawls  at night to sleep4     
,dwelling in a dark room of the crowded 
tenement1  bound by the cords of        
sickness to a sufferer's bed of pain1   
lies one  who knows nothing of the      
majesty of wind-swept fields1 or        
vastness of  the star-lit sky1 but whose
 careful observations have made a zenith
  high enough to overarch the throne of 
,god1 and a horizon wide enough to      
include every need of the human soul4   
,the richness of life depends largely   
upon how many of the things of  life    
which ordinary people call commonplace  
can be crowded into the  range of       
vision4 ,the man possessing most of     
earth is not necessarily  a landowner1  

but he who1 whether rich or poor1 learns
 to observe and  appreciate the things  
about him4 ,christ never owned a foot of
 land4  ,standing in the dusty highway1 
worn and weary by countless deeds of    
sacrificial love1 he exclaimed3 8,the   
foxes have holes1 and the birds  of the 
air have nests2 but the ,son of man has 
not where to lay his  head40 ,he was    
poverty-stricken1 yet1 in all the       
history of the world1  never was one so 
rich as he4 ,for him every lily held a  
golden casket  filled with an unmeasured
 wealth of inspiration4 ,for him the    
birds  winged their way from heights    
celestial to sing their songs of divine 
forethought4 ,each color of the sky was 
a prophet proclaiming the things  of    
,god4 ,speaking to his disciples1 men   
who would necessarily remain  poor and  
homeless1 he said3 8,blessed are the    
meek those who are not  looking for     
thrones of authority and power1 but who1
 in humble state1  learn to see the     
divine vision1 for they own the earth40 

,i know such an one4 ,a laborer in the  
field1 he spends his life toiling  for  
the one he loves1 living in a rented    
cottage1 faring on common  food1        
dressing in coarse-woven garments1 and  
yet possessing untold  wealth4 ,with    
blistered feet and sweat-washed brow1 ,i
 have seen him  coming home1 smiling    
with beaming tenderness1 as he carefully
 held in  his calloused hand the frail1 
pink petals of the first spring beauty  
he  had found blooming by his way4 ,he  
never owned anything in particular1  yet
 there was nothing in the universe that 
he did not possess and enjoy  with      
rapturous heart4 ,he knows that the     
voice of ,god is heard1 not  only in the
 roar of turbulent cataract1 or         
reverberating peal of the  majestic     
thunder1 but also in the bog and        
quagmire4        8,for in the mud and   
scum of things1      ,there's always    
something1 something sings40    ,he     
possesses a wealth that is              
indestructible4 ,when one gazes so      

intently upon a flower that he beholds  
it as it really is1 he has  blessed the 
flower with immortality and his soul    
with an unfading  beauty4 ,the moment he
 truly beholds it1 ,god transplants it  
to his soul1  where it can never die1   
but live and bloom forever and forever4 
,christ came to enrich man's experience 
by the process of extending his  range  
of vision1 teaching him that what       
meekness does for magnifying  his       
conception of the natural world1 piety  
does for the soul's  conception of the  
spiritual world4 8,blessed are the pure 
in heart3 for  they shall see ,god10 and
 afterwards adding1 8,god is love40 ,as 
humility  gives one possession of the   
earth1 purity gives one vision to behold
  the divine mystery of love4    ,one of
 the secrets of ,christ's triumphant    
place in history was this  vision of    
purity that enabled him to see the      
redeeming goodness in  the hearts of the
 world's outcasts4 ,christ could see    
love1 therefore1  when the pious priests

 were sitting with folded hands waiting 
for  something to transpire that was    
worthy of their attention1 he was busy  
in city street and country lane seeking 
to save that which was lost4 ,he  could 
see love1 therefore when the            
self-righteous churchman1 through       
prejudice1 was blind to his neighbor's  
need1 he was toiling in the  service of 
the loving heart4 ,busy men and women   
could see nothing in  childhood1 while  
,christ1 with purity of heart1 could    
look down upon  these little ones1 and1 
seeing the love that bubbles up in baby 
hearts  to overflow in kisses1 smiles1  
and laughter1 lifted them to that high  
throne where value is measured only in  
terms of love4 ,the pious ones  saw the 
raving demoniac standing amid the       
desolations of the tombs1 and  felt that
 he was too far gone to help4 ,looking  
deep within this poor  man's heart1     
,christ saw his innate love for home1   
and never stopped  until he had brought 
him into subjection to his words of     

power1 and  sent him1 well and happy1 to
 his home and family4    ,the zealous   
religionists saw only evil in the poor  
woman who1 escaping  the rough grasp of 
her captors1 was crouching at the feet  
of ,christ1  fearful and ashamed to look
 upward4 ,looking into her heart he saw 
less  sin than love--love that was deep1
 and pure1 and changeless1 as only a    
woman's love can be2 therefore1 instead 
of killing her because of sin1  he      
forgave her because she loved1 and then 
bade her go and live the  life          
triumphant4    ,men accustomed to the   
scenes of crucifixion were not stirred  
when  one of the crucified uttered a    
prayer for pardon4 ,it was a common     
occurrence and put down as one of the   
strange expressions of  loneliness2 but 
to ,jesus it was all important4 ,looking
 into the heart  of the dying thief1    
,christ saw a worth-while love for that 
which was  good and of finer quality1   
therefore he astonished even those who  
knew  him best by lifting him out of sin

 and taking him with him to paradise4   
,living triumphantly necessitates one   
possessing the vision of purity1        
without which one cannot see ,god4      
,mother holds the preeminent place in   
every life1 because her true living has 
kept her vision clear1 and she  sees the
 good that lies deep within the hearts  
of her children4 ,her son  may become an
 outcast in the sight of others4 ,filled
 with iniquity1  and helpless in the    
terrible grasp of passion1 he may have  
lost faith  in himself and says3 8,there
 is no hope for me40 ,the world hears1  
and  readily agrees1 and says that the  
young man is hopeless4 ,but not the     
mother4 ,to mother there is always hope4
 ,her boy must not be thrown  away1 for 
he is of infinite value4 ,she never     
notices his sin2 she sees  only the soul
 that lies hidden like a jewel beneath  
the rubbish of his  transgressions4     
,seeing the love within his soul which  
others could not  see1 because they     
lacked the necessary love to see1 her   

vision became  the power that not only  
defies but completely changes public    
opinion4  ,because she loves much1 she  
redeems and saves him1 and compels the  
community to accept him as one who has  
wandered away1 but has come back  to the
 ,father's house4 ,blessed are the pure 
in heart1 for unto them  is given vision
 to see good in every one1 and to behold
 their ,lord in  every event of life4   
,,xx                             ,,the  
,,dignity ,,of ,,labor      ,there is no
 liberty without toil4 ,to enjoy the    
freedom of the sunshine1  the           
germinating seed must lift and throw    
aside the clod which outweighs  it a    
thousandfold4 ,before the blossom can   
unwrap its tinted petals in  the        
sunlight it must1 with the warmth of its
 own healthy growth1 melt  the wax that 
seals it in its winter sepulcher1 and   
with its increasing  strength tear away 
the rough bud-scales and hurl them to   
the ground4  ,the oriole wings its way  
and fills the afternoon with song1 only1

 after  earnest effort1 it has liberated
 itself from the imprisoning shell4     
,toil is the golden key which ,god gave 
the human race1 that it might  find     
escape from the self-inflicted slavery  
of sin4 8,in the sweat  of thy face     
shalt thou eat bread0 was not a curse   
pronounced by an  offended ,deity1 but  
,love's whispered secret of escape from 
harm4  ,standing amid the wreck of a    
sin-torn paradise1 man looked through   
the  open archway of these six          
words--8,in the sweat of thy face0--and 
saw  the possibilities of a world-wide  
,eden4 ,beholding the fruit begin to    
fail1 and the greensward become tangled 
with brush and bramble1 ,fear  said3    
8,you shall die of hunger40 8,in the    
sweat of thy face0 revealed  broad acres
 filled with health-giving ripening     
grain and orchards laden  with luscious 
fruit4 ,beholding the lakes become      
stagnant1 and the river  beds becoming  
dry and parched1 ,fear said3 8,you shall
 perish of thirst40  8,in the sweat of  

thy face0 revealed vineyards adrip with 
purple wine1  and desert lands abloom   
with beauty because man would learn to  
train  the mountain streams to follow   
where he led4 ,yea1 more1 8,in the sweat
  of thy face0 opened a pathway through 
which ,hope ran to find salvation  from 
the deadly power of sin4 ,coming back1  
with face aglow1 that bright  clad      
,angel bade man first to give his       
strength in building an altar on  which 
to offer heartfelt thanks to ,god1 who  
had made the human hand  with which to  
toil and rebuild paradise4    ,happy and
 fortunate is the man who learns to do  
his daily stint of work  with a cheerful
 heart4 ,to him shall be the joy of     
understanding that  the ordinary duties 
of life are not burdens sent to crush   
him to earth1  but blessings through    
which he is to work out his own         
salvation4    ,behold how man's labors  
have redeemed the world from barrenness4
 ,soft1  yielding swamps have become    
hard-paved streets of famous cities1    

over which the unappreciative multitudes
 walk or ride in perfect  comfort4      
,where once the heated winds blew the   
drifting sands to-day the  gentle       
zephyrs fan the rich1 green meadows4    
,where once the untrained1  tangled     
vines broke down the struggling tree    
upon which they clung1  the vineyards   
yield their purple clusters1 and the    
orchards give  forth their wealth of    
sweet and luscious fruit4 ,where once   
the wild  weeds threw their choking     
pollen to the wind1 the aster1 rose1 and
  proud chrysanthemum wave upon graceful
 stems and toss their pretty  petals to 
and fro4 ,where once the savage         
stretched his tents of skins1           
brown-stone mansions lift their open    
portals in invitation to the  weary sons
 of toil4 ,by the sweat of man's brow1  
by the toiling of the  multitudes1 we   
are saved from desolation and made to   
dwell securely  among the gardens4      
,toil saves from sickness4 ,without the 
putting forth of physical effort  all   

men are weaklings4 ,to be a producer1 to
 change the strength of  brain and      
muscle into that which is of value to   
his fellow man1 is  not only necessary  
if he would play his part in the great  
social  institution of which he finds   
himself a part1 but it is necessary  for
 his own mental1 physical1 and spiritual
 salvation4 ,grinding out  his days in  
unceasing industry1 many a man curses   
his lot and wishes  earnestly for       
idleness1 not knowing that toil is the  
making of a  man with strong muscles1   
firm flesh1 large lung capacity1 and    
good  digestion1 for toil forces the    
blood in rapid circulation4 ,honest toil
  is the best tonic4 ,when asked what   
was the secret of his good health1  a   
great statesman responded1 8,hard work40
 ,overfed1 full of gout1 and  ill       
humored1 a certain man of ease requested
 a celebrated physician to  prescribe   
for him4 8,live upon sixpence a day1 and
 earn it10 was the  advice4 ,over one   
half of the invalids of the world could 

be almost  instantly cured1 if they     
would concentrate their attention1 and  
direct  all their strength1 in carrying 
forward some worthy enterprise4  ,caring
 for a garden is a good preventive for  
consumption4 ,labor means  exercise1    
exercise means health4 ,common toil is  
,god's prescription by  which we are to 
work out our salvation from many days of
 sickness and  depression4    ,labor    
preserves us from needless sorrow4      
,imagine the condition of ,adam  leaving
 ,eden with all his faculties save that 
which would enable him to  concentrate  
his energies upon some worth-while      
task--with the power to  think and      
ponder over the hardships of his fallen 
situation2 with the  marvelous power of 
memory to recall his faded days of      
gladness2 with  the power of a good     
imagination1 to paint fairer1 brighter  
pictures  for the future1 and yet       
without the power to organize these     
faculties  for action1 thus having no   
force of character with which to        

achieve4  ,such life would be worse than
 death1 no matter what evils death might
  bring4 ,but through the gracious      
promise of the sweat-washed brow man    
found surcease for sorrow in attempting 
to build a better garden for  himself   
and little ones4 ,there is no happiness 
save that which results  in using one's 
strength and talents in honest endeavor4
 ,idleness breeds  discontent1 worry1   
and fear4 ,it adds a thousand pangs to  
every grief  and sorrow4 ,the most      
unhappy and therefore the most          
unfortunate people  in the world are    
those who have the financial resources  
to sit in  idleness and nurse their     
grief4 ,better by far be the poor woman 
who  leaves her dead1 and goes to scrub 
the floors of a public building1 for  in
 her honest toil she finds a healing1   
comforting touch4 ,toil makes  one      
forget his grief1 soothes him with a    
gentle hand1 and permits the  grace of  
,god to heal the wounded soul and broken
 heart4    ,labor is a strong tower that

 shields one from the onslaughts of     
temptation4 ,it is the idle hand that   
,satan seeks4 ,one half of our          
incarcerated criminals owe their        
position to the fact that they  refused 
to accept the protecting power of toil  
to keep them in the  way of             
righteousness4 ,having nothing to do1   
they fell in with evil  companions4     
,having nothing to do1 they partook of  
questionable  amusements4 ,having       
nothing to do1 they followed the evil   
leading of  their passions4 ,having     
nothing to do1 sin and disgrace made    
them easy  captives4 ,one way of        
salvation is to escape from temptation1 
and one  of the best ways to escape     
temptation is to be so busily occupied  
with  clean1 honest1 manly endeavor1    
that the devil has no access to the mind
  with either spoken word or secret     
thought4 ,work out your salvation from  
temptation4    ,labor may also          
contribute largely to the developing of 
,christian  character4 ,there would be  

no backsliding in our churches if those 
who  profess the name of ,christ would  
engage in his great enterprise of       
saving and redeeming the world4 ,the    
growing spirit of indifference1  that is
 paralyzing so many of our religious    
activities1 could not be1  had men not  
become idlers in the ,kingdom4 ,business
 men look upon the  church and say that 
it is weak because it has no program4   
,this is  true4 ,we lacked a program1   
not because we had no program1 but      
because  we refused to follow the one   
that ,god gave us4 ,the church is far   
from  being dead4 ,those who have kept  
true to their ,divine ,lord1 and have   
humbly1 but earnestly worked his works1 
have been saved from all these          
temptations to sin and worldliness1 and 
their ardor to-day is brighter  than on 
the day they first gave their hearts to 
,christ4    ,then let us get to work4   
,labor cannot save us from the penalty  
of sin4  ,nothing save the grace of ,god
 can do that for us1 but it can save us 

from barren surroundings1 from much of  
our sickness1 from the deadening        
influences of sorrow1 from the power of 
many of our most dangerous  temptations1
 and aid us in spiritual development4   
,work with a good  will4 ,let no man    
laugh you out of its benefits4 ,say to  
the world1  8,yes1 ,i am a laboring     
man40 ,let no blush come to your cheek1 
unless it  be because you are not a     
better and more earnest workman4 ,labor 
with  the knowledge that while you are  
at your task you are ranked with the    
mightiest and most illustrious          
characters of the world4 ,labor adds to 
dignity4 ,hard1 honest work gives       
self-respect4 ,toil saves one from the  
life of a parasite1 enabling him to pay 
his own way1 at the same time  leaving  
the world brighter and richer because of
 his toil4 ,the richest  jewel that ever
 adorned the brow of man is not in the  
,king's crown4 ,it  is the beaded sweat 
that stands upon the tanned forehead of 
an honest  laborer4 ,wear it with the   

dignity with which a king wears his     
crown  of gold4 ,in the light of ,god's 
approving smile it will pale and make   
insignificant the crown jewels of all   
the nations4                            
,,xxi                         ,,above   
,,the ,,commonplace ,,of ,,sin          
,individuality is one of ,god's ways of 
expressing his greatness4 ,his  voice   
penetrates the centuries like the sound 
of silver bells1 but  there is never an 
echo4 ,no duplicates are ever found     
among the works of  ,god's creative     
power4 ,he gives his gifts unto the     
world with boundless  generosity1 but   
through the centuries no single gift has
 ever found  its counterpart4           
,everything coming from the hand of ,god
 is original1  unique1 entirely         
dissimilar to anything else in the realm
 of nature4  ,no two oak leaves are     
alike4 ,they may be cut from the same   
pattern1  so that1 no matter where you  
find them drifting in the winds1 you    
instantly recognize them1 saying1       

8,these are oak leaves02 yet1 of all    
the millions of leaves that have        
unfolded upon branches of the oaks of   
countless ages1 no two have been        
identical in size or form or in the     
delicate tracery of the tiny veins which
 are as delicate as hoarfrost1  yet     
strong as leaden pipes4    ,god never   
duplicates4 ,the wild rose is a simple  
flower1 possessing  but five petals1    
held securely in the golden chalice of  
pollen-laden  stamens4 ,nothing could   
possibly be more liable of duplication  
than this  quaint flower of simple garb1
 yet of all the wild-rose blooms        
gathered  by lovers' hands and pressed  
to maidens' lips1 of all the wild-rose  
blooms that grace the old-fashioned     
gardens and trellis the fences  of the  
country roads with their picturesque1   
sublime simplicity1 no  two are alike4  
,god so respects the pretty things about
 which human  sentiment revolves that no
 two are cast from the same mold4       
,consider  the blossom that you once    

kissed1 and pressing1 stored away4 ,it  
is  hidden in a secret place1 intended  
for no eyes save your own1 and  viewed  
only through the clear tears that memory
 revives4 ,guard it with  the tenderest 
care1 for ,god will never make another  
blossom just like  it4 ,he respects the 
tender affections of your heart that    
chose this  blossom from a lover's hand 
to be the sweetest1 fairest blossom of  
your  life4    ,when a mother stoops and
 plucks a blossom from her baby's grave1
 covers  it with mingled tears and      
kisses1 and puts it away between the    
leaves  of the family ,bible1 thus      
binding in one cover the sweetest       
sentiments  of this world and the best  
hopes and aspirations of a better world1
 she  does a beautiful thing1 and our   
heavenly ,father so honors her love and 
reverence for her precious dead that1   
though a thousand centuries come  and   
go1 he will never make another blossom  
just like that4    ,we love all         
mountains because of their rugged       

strength and majesty1  yet no two       
mountains are alike1 for to the         
mountains ,god has given  personality4  
,the ,rockies stand like naked giants   
with knotted muscles  ever ready to     
grapple with storms that smite their    
rugged sides1  rejoicing1 like strong   
men1 at the ease with which they break  
the  strength of their adversary1 and   
hurl the whirlwind1 like a helpless     
zephyr1 into the mighty chasms at their 
feet4 ,the ,alps are like a  procession 
of kings1 bejeweled and berobed for     
coronation day4 ,to  see the ,alps is to
 have a holiday and have one's soul     
thrilled with  boyhood's wonderment and 
praise4 ,the ,catskills are a languid   
group of  charming country folk with    
whom you can sit and chat1 and feel the 
magic wonderment of childhood creeping  
through the soul1 as you listen  to     
quaint voices repeat their myths and    
legends4 ,no two mountains are  alike1  
for ,god likes versatility in heaped-up 
piles of rock as much as  in fluttering 

leaves and blooming flowers4    ,no two 
sunsets are alike4 ,the hanging         
tapestries of the west may be  woven in 
the same looms of mist1 and dyed in the 
same vats of scarlet1  purple1 red1 and 
orange2 they may be laced with the same 
golden  strands of unraveled sunbeams2  
and their drapery may reveal the        
self-same angel touch1 yet no two       
sunsets are alike1 each having its  own 
individuality1 and living forever as a  
master painting to beautify  the walls  
of memory4 ,well do youth and maiden    
stand with clasped hands  as they face  
the sunset4 ,let them feast upon its    
gorgeous beauty until  their hearts are 
filled with light and love1 for they    
shall never see  another sunset just    
like that4 ,returning to the valley's   
old familiar  paths1 where they shall   
walk together amid their mingled lights 
and  shades1 they shall rejoice through 
many years because of the brilliancy  of
 that one sunset which ,god made for    
them1 and for them alone4    ,this love 

for originality is seen in the play of  
the wild waves' crest  whose molten     
silver falls into beads and necklaces   
and pendants of  unequaled workmanship  
to fill the unseen jewel caskets of the 
deep4    ,what is true of the natural   
world is also true of man4 ,consider the
  variations of the human face4         
,reflecting upon the limited number of  
features1 one is amazed to think that   
such an infinite combination  of facial 
forms and expressions can be created4   
,there are only two  eyes1 two ears1 one
 nose and one mouth1 and yet out of that
 small  combination1 behold what ,god   
hath wrought6 ,from the soft1 pink      
rosebud  of a baby's smiling face1      
looking with wistful wonderment at a    
newly  found world2 through all the     
charming sweetness of maiden's cheek    
and love-laden eyes2 through all the    
grandeur of the hero's chiseled         
features2 through the glory of          
motherhood smiling affectionately  upon 
her little brood2 through manhood making

 battle for home and                    
righteousness--through all these until1 
at last1 you behold the  unequaled      
beauty1 majesty1 grandeur1 and dignity  
of old age1 no two  countenances are    
alike4    ,the glory of ,god is revealed
 through individuality4 ,no two persons 
are alike in form or feature1 gift or   
grace4 ,no two minds have  exactly the  
same characteristics4 ,no two souls look
 upon life from  identical viewpoint1 so
 that each one varies in his conception 
of  events and expression of art and    
letters4 ,a king wears the crown of  his
 predecessor1 but for each brow ,god has
 fashioned the fairer crown  of         
individuality4 ,men1 as ,god made them1 
are not pegs to be placed  in holes1 but
 kings1 to sit upon thrones and rule    
kingdoms all their  own4 8,before ,i    
formed thee in the belly ,i knew thee10 
are the words of  ,jehovah when he      
wished to impress ,jeremiah with the    
infinite care with  which he had been   
prepared for a noble work4    ,to       

endeavor to reshape this divinely       
appointed life and mold it after  an    
earthly1 man-made pattern is the height 
of folly1 yet this is  the demand of    
very much of our modern social life4    
,society employs  a system of           
repression1 the subduing and crushing of
 deep emotions1  and substituting a     
shallow artificiality4 ,it curbs all    
naturalness  in development and demands 
a conformity to certain rigid molds in  
which every word1 gesture1 thought1 and 
impulse must be cast4 ,instead  of      
employing the art of expression1        
permitting the deep feelings to  find   
normal outlet1 and allowing the salutary
 unfolding of individual  strength and  
grace1 they check and curb and repress  
until the beauty  and normalcy of life  
is gone4 ,our present system of society 
custom and  usages cannot produce great 
character4    ,failing to recognize     
individuality as the universal plan1    
many  educators mistake their function1 
endeavoring to mold men according  to   

their conceptions rather than           
instructing men4 ,instead of leading    
the mind away from the narrow cloister  
of tradition1 form1 and  ceremonialism1 
into the open air where it can function 
normally1  and unfold its strength and  
beauty in perfect individualism1 many   
intellectual leaders continue the       
practice of pitilessly dwarfing minds   
and stunting souls4    ,sin also leads  
to the commonplace4 ,realizing that     
man's strength lies  in developing those
 characteristics that mark personality1 
the arch  enemy of the soul is ever     
endeavoring to destroy them4 ,he tempts 
to sin1 knowing well that there is no   
other agency so powerful in  destroying 
individuality4 ,sin never lifts men     
upward toward lofty  heights but always 
levels downward4 ,it knows no royalty of
 character1  so it tears down thrones1  
casts man's crown aside1 blurs the eye1 
palsies the nerve1 blotches the         
countenance1 deadens the brain1 hardens 
the heart1 and makes its victim a member

 of the common herd4 ,sin is not  error2
 it is poison that stunts the growing   
aspirations1 dwarfs the  spiritual      
nature1 lowers spiritual vitality1 and  
completely destroys  all the royal gifts
 of ,god that would distinguish one in  
character and  achievement4             
,therefore righteousness must be        
preached as never before4 ,only through 
virtue can one lift himself above the   
commonplace and his individuality  reach
 its maximum power4 ,wrongdoing destroys
 while right living makes  possible the 
complete development of all the noble   
faculties of the  soul1 permitting one  
to experience the fullest possible      
realization  of life4 ,men must not be  
repressed by the foolish processes of a 
misguided social1 educational1 or evil  
custom4 ,righteousness must be  preached
 that youth may know the freedom of     
goodness and the joy of  righteousness4 
,as birds greet the dawn1 by rising on  
rapturous wing  and filling the blue    
with exultant song1 let youth and maiden

 greet the  coming day with gladness as 
they rise above the commonplace of sin4 
,the  ,divine plan for their lives must 
not be marred by sin or foolishness4    
,the uniqueness and originality of      
,god's plan are the secrets of  success4
 ,the joys of righteousness are too     
valuable to exchange for the  misery and
 heartache of a wasted life4            
,,xxii                           ,,the  
,,investment ,,of ,a ,,life      ,the   
problem of investment provides much of  
the romance as well as  the tragedy of  
life4 ,the fascination of expending     
one's energies or  possessions in       
legitimate undertakings holds all men   
spellbound1  whether it be the peasant  
investing in seed for the coming        
harvest1  the newsboy buying his bundle 
of papers for the evening trade1 or  the
 merchant purchasing wares against the  
changing styles and fitful  customs4    
,the investment proving good furnishes  
the joy and romance  of existence4 ,the 
investment proving bad causes the       

tragedy that  shatters the brain1 breaks
 the heart1 smolders the homefires1 and 
sends  multitudes reeling and cursing   
into the darkness4    ,all men are      
investors4 ,some of them invest their   
brain4 ,finding that  ,god has honored  
them with an intellect capable of       
development1 they  have closely applied 
themselves to study and research1 until 
the  meanest flower enlarges itself into
 an ,eden where each petal vein  becomes
 a winding pathway leading to fountains 
of nectar that ever  sport and play amid
 the golden pillars and tapestry of     
stamen and  pollen4 ,they study until   
oak trees become mighty ships1 iron     
fashions  itself into sky-scrapers1     
forked lightning becomes a servant of   
the  humblest child1 sunbeams become    
physicians1 stars become pilots1 and    
the sky a playground in which the mind  
leaps from world to world and  wheeling 
constellation to wheeling constellation4
 ,very rich indeed are  the dividends   
coming to him who invests his brain     

against the world's  ignorance and      
mysteries4    ,all men are investors4   
,some men invest their bodies4 ,they    
bend their  back to the burden until the
 blood vessels stand out upon their     
temples  like silken nets4 ,they give   
the strength of their arms to the hammer
  and drill until the flinty cliff      
becomes broad highways beneath their    
feet4 ,they toil until mountains become 
winding corridors leading to  chests of 
silver2 valleys bloom with harvests1 and
 frail cocoons become  silken robes4    
,they toil1 earning dividends of daily  
bread1 a happy  home1 and the           
consciousness that the world is better  
for their toil4    ,all men are         
investors4 sthetic in temperament1 some 
invest a love for  the beautiful4 ,they 
find rhythm in swaying tree branch1     
harmony in the  moving of winds1 music  
in chirp of crickets1 symphonies in the 
carol of  birds1 poetry in gleaming     
lights upon the water1 visions of glory 
in  the morning and evening sky4 ,they  

adorn our cities with temples1 fill  our
 homes with immortal songs1 transform   
white marble into immortal  shapes1 and 
fill our galleries with visions of      
sunsets that never fade1  trees whose   
leaves are never driven by the ,november
 winds1 children  who never grow up1 and
 family circles unbroken by death4      
,dividends  surpassing belief belong to 
these true and faithful lovers of the   
beautiful4    ,all men are investors4   
,some men invest their gift for         
business4 ,they  concentrate their      
energies on the art of trade until      
gigantic ships cut  the ocean waves1    
steel rails join nations and continents1
 wire threads  bind home to home1       
keeping each ear within instant reach of
 loved one's  voice1 refrigerator cars  
that bring the fruit of the tropics to  
the  ,christmas table1 and means of     
transportation that finds a world-wide  
sale for the handiwork of the humblest  
toiler4 ,all honor to such men6         
,nations do not coin currency for       

business4 ,business is the mint whose   
products fill the coffers of the        
nations4    ,all men are investors4     
,some invest their heart's affections   
upon things  divine4 ,their ears are    
closed to evil and they know not        
concerning  things that blight and      
blast1 scorch and consume the soul4     
,their eyes  are closed to the          
suggestive1 therefore evil finds no     
lighted pathway  to their imagination4  
,their hands are held firmly and will   
not touch  that which contaminates4     
,their lives are like unto that of the  
,lord  ,jesus1 and therefore they are   
the children of freedom4 ,their words   
drop  like the dew1 each crystal drop   
reflecting the heavens toward which     
they journey4 ,their smiles are like    
unto sunbeams upon harvest fields1      
making the grain sweeter of kernel and  
more golden of husk4 ,their  voices melt
 with tenderness as ripe grapes drip    
wine4 ,their opinions  are permeated    
with charity as ripe fruit is filled    

with fragrance4  ,their coming is like  
that of a messenger from a friendly     
king4    ,each man is an investor1      
whether he invests his intellect for    
education1 his body for physical        
betterment1 his sthetic nature for  art1
 his business sagacity for prosperity1  
his heart for the fellowship  of ,god1  
receiving benefits and meeting his      
honest obligations to the  world4       
,honesty demands that each individual   
should be such an investor1  investing  
himself and all that he possesses1 for  
he who refuses to do  so robs his fellow
 man4 ,for such hell is a moral         
necessity4 ,he who  refuses to yield    
himself to the plan of ,god must not be 
disappointed  when he finds himself     
outside of ,god's plan for his happiness
 and  welfare4    ,there are no safety  
deposit vaults for ,god's gifts to man4 
,when times  of financial panic come1   
frightened and panic-smitten men        
withdraw  their currency from           
circulation1 store it away in a vault1  

thus  hastening the national disaster4  
,panics come when men refuse to invest4 
,in an hour like the present1 when moral
 forces are facing a panic1 when        
organized forces for evil are using     
every possible unprincipled means  and  
method to press righteousness to the    
wall1 no man has any right  whatever to 
withdraw and hide his talent4 ,every    
lover of truth1 every  believer in      
immortality1 should give the best he    
has1 every faculty and  talent1 the     
widest possible circulation4 ,invest1   
and invest heavily1 is  the order from  
on high4 ,invest in order to restore    
confidence to the  people of ,god4 ,let 
them feel encouragement by seeing that  
the very best  you have is at the       
disposal of all mankind4 ,refusing to do
 so makes one  a miser deserving of     
nothing save the curse of man4 ,upon the
 wholeness  of the investment depends   
one's destiny on the ,day of ,judgment4 
,to the  one who1 by investment1 has    
increased his talent1 ,god says3 8,well 

done1  good and faithful servant1 enter 
into joy40 ,to the one who refuses to   
make investment of his life1 he says3   
8,take away that which he hath40  ,the  
,judgment hinges on the problem of      
investment4    ,that we make not fatal  
mistake let us remember that no talent  
is  properly invested unless done so    
with a reverent purpose4 ,talents may   
be invested aimlessly and without       
results4 ,to bring paying dividends  the
 investment must be backed by a life    
having a noble purpose4 ,to  illustrate1
 if you were compelled to sum up your   
entire life in  one sentence1 what would
 you be able to say of yourself8 ,what  
one  predominant characteristic do you  
recognize as being the index of your    
life8 ,you reply1 8,i am a student40 ,is
 that all you can say8 ,you have        
invested brains1 are an educated man1   
but is that all8    ,unless you have    
applied your intellect to successfully  
solving some  problem for those who1    
denied your blessings1 are ignorant and 

superstitious1 your knowledge is        
valueless and will be buried with  you4 
,you may be a toiler1 but unless you    
have tugged away and lifted1  with all  
your might1 at the world's burdens1 your
 strength will go  with you to the      
grave4 ,if your investment of the       
sthetic does not  make the world more   
beautiful1 it is valueless4 ,are you    
successful in  business8 ,is that all   
that can be said8 ,you may be worth many
 millions  of dollars1 but if your gold 
has never gleamed in true philanthropy  
it  will crumble into dust with your    
body4 ,you may be good1 but unless your 
goodness expresses itself in sacrificial
 service1 it is worthless4    ,that     
which is enduring demands1 not the      
investment of talents  alone1 but the   
investment of the whole life4 ,to give  
your talents  indifferently marks you1  
not as an investor1 but as a spender1   
and  anyone can spend money1 especially 
inherited money4 ,to make an  investment
 demands a whole life centered upon one 

holy and noble  purpose1 for which one  
spares neither toil nor sacrifice1      
energy nor  time1 until the united      
efforts become permanent in the world   
and  forever identify your name with    
that noble purpose4 ,to invest wisely   
is to endow one's name until it stands  
out the rich embodiment of  some worthy 
purpose1 as the name 8,dante0 stands for
 poetry1 the name  8,abraham ,lincoln0  
stands for the emancipation of the      
slaves1 the name  8,garibaldi0 stands   
for liberty1 the names of ,peabody and  
,shaftesbury  stand for benevolence1 and
 the names of ,wesley and ,moody stand  
for the  redemption of a world4         
,,xxiii                                 
,,thought ,,planting      ,there is     
nothing more common1 and seemingly      
insignificant1 than the  planting of a  
garden4 ,there are the simple upturning 
of the sod1 the  mellowing of the soil1 
and the burial of a hard-shelled seed4  
,let a  chemist analyze the soil1 and a 
scientist examine the seed1 and they    

will be unable to find anything         
signifying relationship between the     
two4 ,there is nothing1 so far as the   
human eye can see1 to suggest that  the 
combination of seed and soil would be   
other than the combination of  stone and
 stubble4 ,but when once planted all the
 universe knows about  the little brown 
seed4 ,the earth and the seed were made 
for each other1  and no sooner do they  
come in proper contact than the whole   
universe  is set in motion about and for
 the development of that buried germ4   
,there is not a cloud floating afar nor 
a star gleaming mildly in the  distant  
blue that does not exist for that tiny  
seed until1 through the  ministration of
 sunbeam and moonlight1 shower and      
baptismal dew1 the  seed arises1 clothed
 in the glory of a resurrection1 to lift
 itself in  right royal grandeur above  
the clod4    ,no one can explain how the
 inanimate can thus become living       
tissue1 but  the sun keeps warming its  
leaves with caresses1 and the kindly    

winds  bring tribute from distant lands2
 and the guarding stars keep sending    
their benign forces1 and the cool hand  
of the darkness offers its  chalice of  
dew1 so that the seed becomes a tree1   
whose nectar attracts  the bees and     
butterflies1 and whose wide-extending   
branches become the  home and playground
 of the birds4    ,there is nothing     
seemingly more insignificant than the   
planting of  a garden unless it be the  
beginning of a good and useful life4 ,it
  is simply planting a thought in an    
ordinary human brain4 ,the wise         
philosopher may examine the thought and 
pronounce it quite commonplace2  the    
grammarian may test it and say that it  
could be constructed in a  more exact   
and polished manner2 the physiologist   
may examine the brain  and pronounce the
 texture of its convolutions as being   
most ordinary4  ,there is nothing       
anywhere to indicate that the           
combination of that  particular thought 
and that particular brain could result  

in anything  particularly extraordinary4
 ,the possessor of the brain may feel no
  different after the planting of the   
thought and have no presentiment  of    
what it shall mean to him in the years  
that follow4 ,but the whole  universe   
knows about the thought planting4 ,as   
the stars remember the  buried seed1 so 
all the divine forces of earth and      
heaven are set to  work about the       
planted thought4 ,days and weeks may    
pass without the  world observing any   
appreciable results1 and it may even    
forget the  planting4 ,but ,god has not 
forgotten4 ,he is remembering it1       
guarding it  with divine care1 and the  
results will appear sooner than we      
think4    ,that is the reason1 ,i       
believe1 that ,christ took the mustard  
seed for  the foundation of a parable4  
,the seed is not only one of the        
smallest1  being so little that it can  
slip unnoticed from your grasp1 and hide
  within the crevice of a clod1 mocking 
your solicitous search1 but it  is of   

most rapid growth4 ,within a fortnight  
it will overshadow the  garden1 and     
before the season is ended will tower   
twelve to fifteen  feet in height1 its  
sturdy branches affording shelter1 and  
protected  nests1 for many birds4       
,divine thoughts within the brain are   
capable of  this marvelous development4 
,the planting may be an unattractive    
thing  to do2 the mind itself may be as 
unresponsive as the soil at the first   
planting of the seed1 but ,god has not  
forgotten his truth1 and all the        
universe is working for its fullest     
development4 ,soon1 very soon1 will  it 
manifest its marvelous nature by rapid  
growth and bloom4    ,here is a little  
lass1 living among the forests of       
,domremy4 ,day by day  she watches the  
soldiers of hostile powers tramping     
along the dusty  highways to devastate  
the land she loves so dearly4 ,her heart
 aches  as she sees her people          
languishing helplessly under the heavy  
yoke of  oppression4 ,standing with     

tear-filled eyes one day she hears an   
old man  say3 8,god will one day raise a
 deliverer for the ,french40 ,amid the  
dust  arising from the tramping of an   
invading army a thought was planted in  
the mind of a child4    ,here is a      
little girl at ,ledbury1 near the       
,malvern ,hills1 sitting in  her        
father's dooryard1 looking at the       
mysterious letters of a ,greek  book1   
whose secrets refuse to yield themselves
 to her inquisitive  brain4             
,disappointed1 she buries her face in   
her book and weeps1 only  to be found by
 a kind friend who picks her up and     
whispers in her ear3  8,there1 do not   
cry4 ,a little girl can learn ,greek if 
she tries40 ,the  world goes along as   
usual1 not knowing that a new thought   
has been  planted1 and that girls may   
learn ,greek as readily as do the boys4 
,here is a little boy1 standing by a    
harpsichord1 watching his father's      
fingers find the notes upon the ivory   
keyboard4 ,his soul is filled with      

delight as he listens to the melodies   
that arise4 ,beholding the nervous      
twitch of the tiny fingers longing to   
earnestly and reverently touch  the     
music-making keys1 the father bends low1
 and says3 8,be patient1  son1 and keep 
loving your music1 for some day you will
 be a great  musician40    ,here is a   
little boy drawing with charcoal upon   
the white walls of his  mother's        
kitchen1 while a precious old           
grandmother sits watching the  young    
artist4 ,taking him in her arms1 she    
said1 8,do not paint to rub  out1 paint 
for eternity40 ,commonplace words       
uttered in a commonplace  home by a very
 commonplace old lady4    ,here is a    
bright-eyed little boy kneeling at his  
mother's side to say  his prayers4      
,having finished his petitions1 the     
,christian mother says1  encouragingly1 
as she strokes his head1 8,only be good1
 my precious boy1  and ,god will use you
 to help the thousands40    ,we have    
seen these five persons putting ordinary

 thoughts in what  seem to be ordinary  
brains4 ,these five children felt no    
enraptured  thrill1 the ones who sowed  
the thoughts did not remember the day4  
,but all the universe of spiritual power
 knew about the planting1 and           
consequently the seeds grew4 ,watch the 
little girl among the forests of        
,domremy1 leaning against the trees1    
buried in thought1 and listening  to the
 voices that ever speak of redeeming    
,france4 ,watch the little  girl bending
 over her ,greek book1 day after day1   
finding the key  that unlocks the beauty
 of ,homer and ,thucydides4 ,watch the  
little  lad sitting past the midnight   
hour1 his long curls falling in rich    
folds about his face as he bends over   
the harpsichord awakening the           
slumbering strings4 ,watch the little   
lad gathering clays of various  colors  
and grinding them into paint1 which     
shall1 at the touch of his  brush1      
awaken angels upon the canvas4 ,watch   
the little lad who learned  to pray at  

his mother's knee1 gathering the        
students of ,oxford about  him to spend 
the evening hour in prayer4 ,god has not
 forgotten the  good thoughts sown in   
the days gone by1 and all the spiritual 
forces  of the heavens are working for  
their most complete development4 ,soon  
the little lass of ,domremy1 obedient to
 the call of the voices1 mounts  her    
charger and compels ,king ,charles1 the 
invader1 to flee and give  back the     
government of ,france to her people4    
,soon the little girl  who studied so   
diligently to learn ,greek will become  
,mrs4 ,elizabeth  ,browning1 to make the
 centuries happy with the music of her  
poems4 ,soon  the little lad at the     
harpsichord will become the mighty      
,mozart1 whose  music lingers like the  
sweet fragrance of dew-wet flowers4     
,soon will  the little boy1 drawing with
 charcoal1 begin to paint for eternity1 
and  the 8,angelus0 and 8,the ,man with 
a ,hoe0 begin their deathless career1   
as a tribute to toil1 and an eternal    

protest against oppression4 ,soon  the  
boy of ,epworth and the youth of ,oxford
 will become ,john ,wesley1 the  leader 
of the great revival which swept        
,england at a critical period  and      
directed her on the right track4    ,no 
one can understand the mystery of the   
growing seed1 or the greater  mystery of
 the growing thought1 but each          
individual can have such a  love for    
childhood and its future that he will   
guard with jealous care  each word that 
leaves his lip1 determined that in the  
sowing nothing  but good seed shall find
 lodgment in any heart4 ,an evil thought
 planted  in a child's mind grows into a
 ruined life and blasted character4 ,let
  not even the idle word be an evil one 
for fear of the harvest4 ,what an       
incentive to become good husbandmen     
planting righteous thoughts in the      
minds of childhood1 looking forward to  
harvests that shall never end6          
,,xxiv                                  
,,the ,,rosary ,,of ,,tears      ,god   

meant man to be happy4 ,the sweetest    
music of this world is clear1  ringing  
laughter4 ,beside its resonance the     
majestic voice of the  cataract1 the    
rolling melody of dashing billows1 the  
gurgling ripple of  the sun-kissed      
streams1 the thrilling throb of the wild
 bird's song1  the merry chirp of the   
cheerful cricket1 the lyric of the      
wind-tossed  leaves are as nothing4     
,better one sudden1 spontaneous outburst
 of  childish laughter than all the     
symphonies and oratorios of the long    
centuries4 ,nothing can equal it4 ,it   
comes with the spontaneity of a  geyser1
 rolls out upon the atmosphere like a   
volley of salutes1 thrills  like martial
 music1 its quick vibrations making the 
sunbeams tinkle  like silver bells4 ,it 
is contagious1 causing the facial       
muscles of our  friends to relax and    
begin to run and leap into the radiant  
smiles1  their vocal cords to burst into
 song1 and the whole world becomes a    
better and happier place for all        

mankind4    ,as the sunshine makes      
battle with shadows1 so men and women   
should  wage warfare with everything    
that depresses4 ,children have a right  
to laugh1 and youth has a right to      
rejoice in the morning light of  life   
that floods the pathway with the bright 
and brilliant colorings  of hope4 ,we   
must not be too exacting with others1   
neither must we  endeavor to abnormally 
repress our own feelings4 ,there is a   
restraint  that is not culture and a    
self-control that is not temperance4    
,some  people would be far more honest  
in their dealings1 and have better      
rating in their own community1 if they  
did not exercise such an  exacting      
self-control over their deep feelings of
 honesty1 justice1 and  brotherly love4 
,there is a boundless strength in       
emotion1 therefore  laughter and        
happiness are absolutely essential4 ,let
 happy hours be  golden beads1 which1   
strung upon the silken cord of memory1  
will become  a rosary with which to     

count our prayers4    ,laughter is      
essential1 because of its relationship  
to tears4 ,in the  truest sense pure    
tears and pure laughter are one4 ,it    
requires a  raindrop to reveal the      
hidden beauties of the sunbeam4         
,beholding the  rainbow spreading its   
many-colored folds over the dark        
shoulders of  the storm cloud1 we utter 
exclamations of gladsome surprise4 ,how 
marvelously beautiful it is6 ,but every 
sunbeam would be a rainbow if  only it  
had its raindrop through which to pass4 
,it requires vapor  to reveal the hidden
 depths and treasures of the sunbeam4   
,tears are  to laughter what raindrops  
are to sunshine4 ,they reveal the deeper
  meaning of our joys4 ,without them we 
should never appreciate or  understand  
the brighter moments4 ,when we count    
each hour of happiness  as a golden     
bead1 we must consider each teardrop as 
a crystal or  polished diamond1 to gleam
 upon the rosary of the heart4          
,sincerely pity the man who has lost the

 art of shedding tears1 for he  has1    
through self-control1 restricted his    
emotions1 so as to exclude  life's best 
experiences4 ,without a tear-moistened  
eye one cannot  clearly comprehend the  
brightness of the sky1 the majesty of   
the  sea1 the commanding splendor of the
 mountains1 or the wealth of gold  that 
lies buried in every human heart4       
,without tears one can never  experience
 the rapturous joy of truest love or    
holiest patriotism4 ,the  greatness of  
the soul is measured by the depth of its
 emotions1 and  the extent of influence 
is determined by the readiness with     
which one  permits the deep emotions to 
shed their glory4    ,herein is hidden a
 secret of triumphant power4 ,the       
greatest victories  are won1 not by gun 
and cannon1 but by deep emotions        
expressed in  tear-dimmed eyes4 ,great  
achievements are wrought by men who can 
feel  keenly and deeply4 ,behold        
,garibaldi conquering a great ,italian  
city4  ,a thousand soldiers1 armed with 

rifles1 and supported with heavy        
artillery1 stood ready to oppose him4   
,commanding generals1 with drawn        
swords1 stood ready to give command to  
fire the moment he made his  appearance4
 ,this was the day that he had announced
 that he would take  the city4 ,hours   
passed and neither he nor his army came 
in sight4  ,finally1 in the afternoon1  
amid a cloud of dust1 a carriage is seen
  rapidly nearing the city4 ,every eye  
is strained to see its passenger1  when 
lo1 above the dust1 rises the stalwart  
form of the great ,italian4  ,without   
gun1 sword1 or protecting soldier1 the  
great general who has  come to take the 
city1 is standing erect in an open      
carriage1 his arms  folded in peace4    
,each defending soldier is ready to obey
 command1 but  no command is given4 ,in 
the presence of such remarkable courage 
each  officer is motionless and         
speechless4 ,no moment of ,italian      
history was  more tense4 ,suddenly some 
sympathizer shouted1 8,viva la          

,garibaldi60 and  in an instant every   
weapon is dropped and ,garibaldi takes  
the city and  holds it as his own4 ,the 
power to advance in the face of great   
odds1  with no weapon save a burning    
heart and tear-filled eyes1 has wrought 
more victories than we know4    ,to cry 
is not weakness1 for tears are evidences
 of strong character4  ,we have always  
loved ,mark ,twain1 enjoying his travels
 as much as he1  and laughing away      
dreary hours with his bubbling humor4   
,but humor never  revealed the true man 
he really was4 ,it was not until his    
daughter  died1 and he sat all alone at 
home on ,christmas day1 amid the        
unopened  gifts1 and broken hopes of    
life1 and wrote the matchless story of  
her  death1 that the world caught       
glimpse of the real ,mark ,twain4       
,beholding  her lying there so quietly1 
he said3 8,would ,i call her back to    
life  if ,i could do it8 ,i would not4  
,if a word would do1 ,i would beg for   
strength to withhold the word4 ,and ,i  

would have the strength2 ,i am sure  of 
it4 ,in her loss ,i am almost bankrupt1 
and my life is a bitterness1  but ,i am 
content2 for she has been enriched with 
the most precious of  all gifts--that   
gift which makes all other gifts mean   
and poor--death40  ,it required the     
teardrop to reveal the real character of
 ,mark ,twain4    ,while for our friends
 we would have nothing but golden hours1
 for  ourselves the rosary of tears is  
the most precious treasure we possess4  
,none other creates such a spirit of    
devotion1 none other so thoroughly      
prepares us for conquest2 none other    
opens the heart to those diviner        
emotions which should thrill the inner  
life of all4 ,the golden beads  will    
become tiresome1 but the crystal rosary 
of tears will always be  attractive4    
,count over its beads4 ,there are the   
large1 fast-falling  tears of childhood4
 ,tell them one by one1 and behold how  
they bring  back the holy memories and  
yearnings for childhood purity and      

childhood  faith4 ,hold fast those      
blessed beads that were once kissed away
 by a  mother's lips1 but still sparkle 
in the light of her precious love4      
,there too are the glittering tears of  
youthful ambitions1 when the  heart     
burned with passion1 the brain whirled  
with plans for conquest1  and the eyes  
were moist with tears of hope4 ,how     
precious those tears  that have long    
since ceased to flow6 ,but they are not 
lost4 ,we still  have them on our rosary
 when we offer prayer1 and the touching 
of them  revives our old-time hopes4    
,there also are the tears of love4 ,the 
busy1 all-consuming fires of worldly    
ambition cannot dry them away4  ,they   
gleam in the eye every time memory      
presents the portrait of that  precious 
face4 ,how wonderful to love until the  
eyes blind with tears of  ecstasy6      
,there too are the priceless tears of   
sympathy4 ,the sight of another's  wrong
 or sorrow unloosed the fountains of the
 deep1 and your heart  responded4 ,in   

order to right the wrong you gave       
yourself to work of  reform1 and made   
your influence a powerful factor in the 
remaking of  the world4 ,there1 gleaming
 more beautiful than all1 are the tears 
of  sorrow4 ,they were shed at the side 
of the grave2 they came into the eye  at
 the sight of an empty chair4 ,how      
unbearable the world until relief  came 
in a flood of tears6 ,only through tears
 do we find the sweetest  comfort4      
,thus1 our devotions become more helpful
 when we hold this rosary of  priceless 
treasure4 ,these beads can be purchased 
of no merchant2 they  cannot be blessed 
by any priest4 ,they were wrought in the
 fires of our  suffering1 and1 because  
we trusted him1 they were blessed of    
,god4 ,they  cannot heal the soul--only 
,god can do that2 but they help heal the
 soul  by quickening our memories and   
reviving our past experiences4 ,let no  
one rob you of the beneficent influences
 of deep feelings1 whether of  joy or   
sorrow1 for we are never so much in the 

spirit of prayer as when  we hold in our
 hands the rosary of tears4             
,,xxv                         ,,the     
,,hearthstone ,,of ,,the ,,heart        
,speaking to a young man who was about  
to assume the more weighty              
responsibilities of religious work and  
living1 ,paul bade him stir up  the     
coals of genius1 and build a fire of    
enthusiasm that would warm and  set     
aglow with holy zeal his every endeavor4
 8,i put thee in remembrance  that thou 
stir up the gift of ,god1 which is in   
thee40 ,as the housewife  stirs the     
living coals out of the dead ashes of   
the old fireplace1  and fans them until 
they glow with sparkling fervor1 setting
 aflame  the newly placed faggots1      
making the room radiant with good cheer 
as  shadows dance along the walls and   
ice melts from the frost-screened       
windowpanes1 so out of the dead ashes of
 past enthusiasm he was to stir  up the 
living coals of his best gifts until    
they snapped1 and sparkled1  and burst  

aflame1 filling the heart with          
brightness1 and creating an  atmosphere 
that would melt the ices of indifference
 from the windows of  his soul1 and give
 him a clear vision of a great wide     
world4 ,yea1 as  in the days of ,paul1  
one would take a dying torch1 and       
placing it to  his lips1 pour out his   
breath upon it until it burst in flame1 
that he  might have a torch of burning  
fire to guide his footsteps through the 
darkness of the starless midnight or to 
flash a message to the people  living   
upon the distant hilltop1 or to kindle  
the fireplace wood until  the cold      
corners of the house breathed a hearty  
welcome to the tired  and frozen        
travelers1 so the young man was to take 
the divine elements  of the soul1       
breathe upon them the breath of prayer  
and devotion1 until  they blazed and    
burned and cast abroad their helpful    
influence4    ,within each human heart1 
however covered with the smothering     
ashes of  sin1 are ,god-made sparks of  

celestial fire that long to rise on     
wings  of flame and make heroic battle  
with oppressive darkness4 ,there are too
  many lives which1 through             
carelessness1 never burn bright1 but1   
like  smoldering flax1 slowly eat       
themselves away1 darkening and          
corrupting  the very air they should    
illumine4 ,when they began the          
,christian life  they were radiant with 
hope1 beaming with enthusiasm1 and      
flashing  with chivalric courage2 but   
the spirit of worldliness choked and    
smothered them1 until now1 like the dead
 hearthstone of some shell-torn  house  
upon the battle line1 they offer to a   
worn-out world no hope of  hospitality4 
,to guard against this choking of the   
soul1 this smoldering  of genius1 this  
reckless burning out of the priceless   
gifts of ,god1  ,paul urges all young   
men to stir up these coals and fan them 
into  radiant and glowing character4    
,it is not the will of ,god that any    
life be formal and indifferent4  ,how   

much all forms of life1 plant1 and      
animal owe to the hidden fires  within  
the bosom of the planet1 no scientist   
has been bold enough to  state2 but this
 we know about mankind1 without the     
inner fires of  burning thought and     
all-consuming zeal there is no          
productivity4 ,and  no life need be     
cold-hearted4 ,for the hearthstone of   
every heart there  are three divine     
qualities that should burn with all the 
intensity and  fervor as in the hearts  
of ancient seer and prophet4    ,there  
is the quality of ,faith that makes ,god
 real4 ,to many people ,god  seems so   
far away that it is an impossibility for
 him to be a very  important factor in  
their daily lives4 ,he is a sort of     
good-natured  ,generality1 to whom they 
may address petitions of greater or less
  degree of piety1 without fear of being
 embarrassed by an answer4 ,should  it  
be announced with certainty that at a   
given time the accumulated  prayers of a
 twelvemonth would be answered1 fifty   

per cent of the  people would be afraid 
to face the hour4 ,some have prayed for 
purity  of heart1 but if there is       
anything in the world that they do not  
want1 it is purity of heart4 ,nothing   
would be more embarrassing to  carry    
into their haunts of enjoyment and more 
difficult to explain to  their          
companions4 ,others have prayed for ,god
 to accept them as living  sacrifices1  
yet sainthood1 to them1 is as shocking  
as yellow fever4 ,i  once knew a man who
 prayed 8,let justice rule supreme40 ,it
 is a pleasing  phrase and a            
consummation to be devoutly wished for1 
but had it been  answered in this       
particular case1 the man who uttered the
 prayer would  have gone to the         
penitentiary4 ,few people deny the      
existence of a ,god1  but many live as  
though there were no ,god4 ,but these   
are not the real  lives4 ,the men who   
really live and give a homelike feeling 
to the world  are those who have stirred
 up the embers of their faith until they

  burn with an all-consuming warmth that
 makes ,god a guest of honor4 ,to  such 
souls ,god is marvelously real1 and they
 rejoice to have him dwell  within4     
,when faith once lays hold on the       
,almighty no other experience  is half  
so real4 ,one needs read about it in no 
book1 consult no priest  or preacher1   
nor plead with friend to lend the       
information1 for he  knows it for       
himself4 ,sitting beside the hearthstone
 of a living1  flaming faith1 our hands 
feeling the pressure of that mighty     
,hand that  never harms but always      
serves1 our souls rejoice with          
unmeasured joy to  realize that we are  
in the presence of ,god who knows and   
understands1  and who not only walks the
 weary ways with us1 but gladly dwells  
within4    ,there is the quality of hope
 that makes heaven real4 ,so long as    
hope  burns within the heart there is no
 fear of winter winds1 but when hope    
dies the soul dies4 ,how gladly may old 
age look over the world in which  it    

spent the four-seasoned life of toil6   
,here is the spring of life  where the  
daisies grew and the cowslips scattered 
gold about the feet4  ,yonder the       
harvest fields of manhood's power in    
which a bared arm of  strength gathered 
the treasures of the soil while right   
merry thoughts  centered upon a nearby  
cottage toward which he knelt each time 
he tied  a band of gold about the       
garnered sheaf4 ,yonder the carefully   
planted  violets grow upon a tiny mound1
 bright children of the sun making      
battle with the cold shadows of a marble
 slab4 ,now the autumn time of  life    
fades into wintry quiet4 ,the song of   
the brook is hushed beneath             
ever-thickening ice1 the trees are      
robbed of color1 the fields are         
trackless wastes of snow4 ,the four     
seasons of life are growing to a  close1
 the last afternoon is coming to its    
twilight1 and yet one is not  sad4 ,the 
fires of hope still burn upon the       
hearthstone of the heart1  and fill the 

soul with the light of its immortal     
home4 ,heaven is not a  far-away land1  
vague with mystery1 and dim with        
distance1 but a place  that is real and 
very close4 ,we breathe its scented air1
 and bathe  in its golden light while   
hope is burning divinely bright within  
our  hearts4    ,the hope of heaven does
 more than offer us compensation for the
  wrongs of life2 it gives man an       
intelligent interpretation of the       
things of time4 ,until one believes his 
citizenship is in heaven he  cannot     
intelligently perform his daily task4   
,the painting that lacks  perspective is
 a daub2 the hopeless life is dismal    
failure4 ,therefore1  as one prizes the 
best1 he should stir up the gift of hope
 until heaven  is as real as home4      
,there is the quality of love that makes
 the world seem real4 ,at the  fireside 
of a loving heart1 one readily learns   
the true secrets of the  world in which 
he dwells4 ,there is nothing so potent  
as love to give  vision to the soul1    

clearness to the eye1 effective service 
to the  hand4 ,then stir up the gifts of
 love4 ,build in your heart the fires of
  a quenchless affection that refuses to
 believe the worst1 that will  never    
give consent that anyone has gone too   
far in sin for reclamation1  but ever   
believes that one more touch of kindness
 will bring the person  back to ,god2 a 
love that gladly sacrifices everything  
of value in his  effort to redeem that  
which has no value2 a love that knows no
 selfish  interest and daily seeks the  
welfare of another4 ,then will the world
  cease to be hazy and fantastic1 but   
will be as real as the ones of your  own
 household1 who gather each evening hour
 about your fireside4    ,let not your  
love for one single individual die2 it  
robs you of too  great a joy4 ,warm up  
your hearts by allowing the fires of    
faith in  ,god1 hope of heaven1 and love
 for all men to blaze and burn in high1 
exultant flames that know not how to    
die4 ,without it your life will be  as  

barren as the deserted house through    
which the winter winds pass             
undisturbed4 ,make your life homelike by
 keeping bright the hearthstone  of the 
heart4                                  
,,xxvi                                  
,,the ,,unoared ,,sea      ,each one    
spends his childhood playing upon the   
golden sands of an  unoared sea1 over   
which in the after years he must find   
his way to  shipwreck or safe harbor4   
,how little does childhood in its       
helplessness know of life6 ,pleased     
with simple things1 it greets the world 
with gladness1 and shouts for  very joy 
when finding a tinted shell or bit of   
seaweed4 ,with spades of  tin it        
undertakes to dig a hole 8clear through 
the earth10 and smiles  in contemplation
 of a vision of the ,chinese sky4 ,with 
chains of sand it  undertakes to bind   
the rushing waters of the tide which    
granite cliff  and flinty rock cannot   
subdue4 ,the child undertakes great     
things while  he himself is not strong  

enough to withstand the smallest wave1  
but1  leaving his unfinished task1 runs 
homeward at the coming of the tide4     
,the waves roar with laughter and the   
spray sparkles with merriment as  they  
destroy the feeble efforts of his puny  
hands4 ,childhood knows  little of the  
unoared sea of life whose marvelous     
power of wave and  tide threatens to    
destroy all the childish and manly      
efforts of his  life4    ,the desires of
 the sea may be fulfilled4 ,with        
youthful enthusiasm and  unguarded      
courage he may make fatal venture and be
 lost4 ,there are  many such of         
wholesome soul and worthy purpose whose 
most cherished  hopes and plans came to 
shipwreck and disaster4 ,the seas of    
life are  strewn with wreckage4 ,yet one
 must not be pessimistic and forget that
  the raging sea is not omnipotent4     
,with all its wild dashing waves and    
boisterous winds it is not as strong as 
that little lad may become4 ,the        
weakest child may yet be able to dig a  

pit large and deep enough to  bury all  
the swollen waves2 and build a cable of 
sand strong enough to  bind securely the
 rising and the falling tides4 ,some    
day1 over the calm  and quiet waters of 
a perfectly conquered sea1 this tiny lad
 may pass  into the harbor of safety and
 success4    ,man was not made for the  
sea1 but the sea was made for man4 ,man 
was  created with the gift of complete  
dominion over all the world in which  he
 finds himself4 ,standing like a        
discoverer upon the shores of his  own  
unoared sea of life1 it is his to       
conquer1 for each individual  faces a   
sea newly created1 whose waves have     
never been cut by the prow  of any boat4
 ,no two people sail the same sea4 ,each
 person faces a  life as original as it 
is unknown1 but one that is singularly  
suited  to himself4 ,age may be enriched
 with much dearly bought and valuable   
experiences1 and be most helpful in     
counseling youth1 but age can never     
fully understand the child1 or youth1   

who stands upon the sun-kissed  sands of
 the unoared sea of his own individual  
life4 ,the beauty and  pathos of life is
 that each one must solve the problem   
for himself4    ,this does not mean that
 the training and counseling of youth   
should be neglected4 ,the ennobling     
influences of a godly home with         
,christian parents2 the steady1 guiding 
hand of school and college2  the        
inspiration of good books and imperial  
thinking1 as well as  the               
soul-strengthening forces of the church1
 are all of most vital  importance4     
,they should never be omitted from any  
life4 ,these are  things to which each  
child has an unquestioned right4 ,all   
the forces  for good1 of earth and sea  
and sky1 must be centered upon the      
ambitious  but ofttimes thoughtless     
youth1 that he may recognize and        
faithfully  employ the agencies created 
for his service and success4    ,the    
best that education can do is to help   
the individual to help  himself4        

,education is not a compass by which to 
steer his craft2 it is  not the rudder  
that determines the course2 neither is  
it the propelling  power that drives it 
through the waves against an adverse    
wind4 ,god  has made especial provision 
for these equipments4 ,the chart is the 
inspired ,word2 the compass1 a divinely 
guided conscience2 the rudder1 a  will  
surrendered fully to the will of ,god2  
while the power that propels  lies in   
the skillful using of two plain oars    
that ,god has placed within  his easy   
reach4 ,education is the intellectual   
training that enables him  to use these 
agencies in the most efficient manner4  
,many centuries of experience and       
experiment have produced no             
labor-saving machinery for reaching the 
harbor of success4 ,if one would  make  
successful voyage1 he must be willing to
 grasp the oars with his  own hands1    
bend his back to heavy strain1 employing
 all his mental1  physical1 and         
spiritual power to the task of making   

good4 ,it is not a  joy ride or a       
pleasure trip4 ,there is a joy          
unspeakable in the task1  but it comes  
not from without but from the           
consciousness within that  one is       
winning in a moral strife4 ,this        
consciousness will be found  to be the  
chiefest of life's joys4 ,none shall    
excel it this side the  welcome we shall
 receive when safely anchored in the    
presence of our  ,god1 and even then    
this consciousness will be the          
inspiration of the  heavenly song4 ,life
 must be considered not so much a       
pleasure as a  struggle1 but a worthy   
struggle1 that sends the blood tingling 
through  the veins1 and builds the      
tissues of a noble character4    ,after 
the training in life's fundamentals the 
choosing of the oars is  the most       
important thing4 ,the craft in which one
 sails is character1  built to weather  
any storm on any wind-swept sea4 ,the   
haven is ,god's  homeland of the soul4  
,the oars are varied1 and the success or

 failure  of the voyage1 the safety or  
shipwreck of character1 a victorious    
landing or sinking beneath the waves of 
obscurity1 depend entirely upon  the    
choosing of these oars by means of which
 his life energies are to  be directed4 
,to this end all the educational        
influences of home and school and       
college must be directed4 ,youth must be
 taught the value of an  intelligent    
choice of the instruments through which 
his powers shall  flow4 ,he must not be 
led by fancy or prejudice or by the     
words of  dishonest men who have oars to
 sell4 ,he must not choose by the color 
of the paint or beauty of their         
decorations4 ,he must not listen to the 
honeyed words of an evil one whose sole 
purpose is his destruction4  ,leaving   
the sands of childhood and starting     
voyage upon the unoared sea  of life is 
a moment in which all earth and heaven  
are concerned1 and  therefore the choice
 of oar must not be left to chance or   
fortune4 ,he  must know that all the    

proffered oars are not alike1 and that  
false  teachers profit from the wreckage
 of the boats they set adrift4 ,he must 
know that a broken oar means a drifting 
boat1 and that no drifting boat  can    
ride a storm-tossed sea4 ,all the       
difference between heaven and hell  is  
in that moment of decision when he picks
 up his chosen oars and  begins to use  
them as his own4    ,there are two oars 
that never fail when once grasped by a  
hand that  is firm and true4 ,the first 
oar is called ,virtue4 ,with this oar of
  moral excellency1 of pure heart and   
clean hands1 with this oar of real      
integrity of character and purity of    
soul1 man's energies are never  wasted  
as he makes battle against opposing     
powers4 ,the real sinfulness  of        
impurity is its resultant waste of      
strength4 ,behold the wan faces1  sunken
 eyes1 wasted energies1 emaciated forms1
 staggering steps of  weakness1 and the 
uncertainty and indecision of character1
 and one sees  the consequences of      

abusing the laws of purity4 ,but virtue 
means more  than purity of body1 it     
means absolute cleanliness of heart and 
mind  and purpose4    ,the second oar is
 ,righteousness4 ,unrighteousness is the
 abuse and waste  of power4 ,the ,new   
,testament word for sin is 8missing the 
mark10 energy  that is wasted by not    
being carefully and accurately directed4
 ,to be  upright in life1 free from     
wrong and injustice1 to yield to        
everyone  his just dues1 is to have a   
means for directing strength and vital  
energy that never fails to bring the    
desired result4    ,two oars--8,virtue10
 rightness with ,god2 8,righteousness10 
rightness with  man--two oars that have 
never been known to break no matter how 
much a  great soul bends them in his    
battle with the waves4 ,two oars that   
have  never yet failed to bring the ship
 to harbor4    ,this1 then1 is the      
opportunity of the church1 not to       
manufacture oars1  but to aid youth and 
maiden to choose the ones that ,god hath

 made4 ,they  are not new inventions1   
but as old as ,god and rugged as the    
,hand that  made them4 ,firmly grasped  
and resolutely employed1 the harbor is  
made  in safety1 although the voyage be 
upon a hitherto unoared sea4            
,transcriber's ,notes      ,underscores 
added around text that was italicized in
 the original4    ,page #aeg1 8robs his 
fellowman0 changed to 8robs his fellow  
man40    ,page #agc1 8cannot dry them   
alway0 changed to 8cannot dry them      
away40    ,page #ahj1 8does more tnan   
offer0 changed to 8does more than       
offer40    ,other oddities have been    
retained from the original printing1 as 
it  isn't obvious what the author       
intended4