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diff --git a/old/56306-8.txt b/old/56306-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6b60009..0000000 --- a/old/56306-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7547 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Living the Radiant Life, by George Wharton James - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Living the Radiant Life - A Personal Narrative - -Author: George Wharton James - -Release Date: January 4, 2018 [EBook #56306] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVING THE RADIANT LIFE *** - - - - -Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Christopher Wright and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - -LIVING THE RADIANT LIFE - - - - -LATEST BOOKS BY GEORGE WHARTON JAMES - - - CALIFORNIA, ROMANTIC AND BEAUTIFUL. Handsomely bound, gilt top, with - 8 full page illustrations in colors and 64 in duogravure. In silk - cloth, $3.50, postpaid $3.75; in half morocco $7.00, postpaid $7.50. - - INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS. With 32 pictures in color of rare - and unique blankets, and more than 200 other illustrations. - Handsomely bound in cloth, boxed $5.00, express paid $5.50. - - THE LAKE OF THE SKY, LAKE TAHOE. Handsomely illustrated. $2.00 net, - postpaid $2.25. - - OUR AMERICAN WONDERLANDS (See America First). Illustrated, $2.00 - net, $2.25 postpaid. - - QUIT YOUR WORRYING. $1.00 net, $1.10 postpaid. - - LIVING THE RADIANT LIFE. 300 pages; $1.00 net, $1.10 postpaid. - - -TO BE PUBLISHED IN 1916 OR LATER - - THE PREHISTORIC CLIFF DWELLINGS OF THE SOUTHWEST. Fully illustrated, - and with maps and diagrams. Price, possibly, about $4.00 net. - - ARIZONA, THE WONDERLAND OF THE SOUTHWEST. With 12 full-page - illustrations in color, and 48 duogravures; $3.50, cloth, net; $3.75 - postpaid; half Morocco, $7.00 net; $7.50 postpaid. - - RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST. The story of the work of the U. S. - Reclamation Service. Fully illustrated, $2.00 net, $2.25 postpaid. - - CALIFORNIA LITERATURE. A Text Book for High Schools and Colleges, - with copious illustrative quotations. - - * * * * * - -For further list of books see end of the book. Any of these books will -be autographed by the Author, on request, if the order be sent direct to -him, 1098 W. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, California. - - - - -LIVING THE RADIANT LIFE - - -A PERSONAL NARRATIVE - - -BY GEORGE WHARTON JAMES - -Author of "Quit from Worrying," "What the White Race May Learn From the -Indian," "The Story of Scroggles," "The Heroes of California," "The -Grand Canyon of Arizona," "Lake Tahoe," "The Wonders of the Colorado -Desert," etc., etc. - - - PASADENA, CALIF. - THE RADIANT LIFE PRESS - 1916 - - - - - Copyright, 1916 - BY EDITH E. FARNSWORTH - - - J. F. TAPLEY CO. - NEW YORK - - - - -TO ONE - - -who, in all the years I have known her, never once has failed to radiate -that which is sweet, pure, helpful, unselfish, humane, sincere, -beautiful and true, with thankfulness for the blessedness of my -association with her - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - FOREWORD ix - - CHAPTER - - I RADIANCIES OF NATURE 1 - - II THE RADIANT AURA 6 - - III A FEW WORDS IN PASSING 14 - - IV VARIED RADIANCIES 22 - - V RADIANCIES OF INDIVIDUALITY 38 - - VI CONFLICTING RADIANCIES 50 - - VII RADIANCIES OF FEAR 56 - - VIII THE RADIANCY OF REBUKE 78 - - IX WHAT I WOULD RADIATE TO THE WRONG DOER 81 - - X THE RADIANCIES OF TOLERATION 89 - - XI OUT OF DOOR RADIANCIES 96 - - XII RADIANCIES OF JOY, INSPIRATION, AND SERENITY 115 - - XIII RADIANCIES OF THE WILL 126 - - XIV RADIANCIES OF CHEERFULNESS 147 - - XV RADIANCIES OF MORAL COURAGE 166 - - XVI RADIANCIES OF CONTENT AND DISCONTENT 186 - - XVII RADIANCIES OF SINCERITY 217 - - XVIII RADIANCIES OF SERVICE 221 - - XIX RADIANCIES OF HUMOR 232 - - XX RADIANCIES OF THE "ETERNAL NOW" 241 - - XXI RADIANCIES OF EXTREMES 247 - - XXII ABSORPTION IN RELATION TO RADIATION 255 - - XXIII RADIANCIES OF DEATH 286 - - - - -FOREWORD - - -From the standpoint of religion the lives of "good" men and women may be -divided into two great classes, viz., those who do no active wrong, -whose conduct is based upon the "thou shalt nots" of the Bible, the law, -and society, and those whose every thought is to do some active good. - -I am far more interested in the latter than the former class. I am not -content simply to forego doing wrong. I want to _do_, to _be_. Hence -when the idea of _Living a Radiant Life_ took hold of me, it sank deep, -and is now part of my inner self. It was natural, therefore, that I -should seek to formulate my thoughts as to what I desired to radiate. -This seeking soon taught me that I already was a radiant being; every -thought, every act, every word written or spoken was a radiant act, -having its influence for good or evil upon my fellows, and that, -therefore, I must decide speedily what I wanted to avoid radiating, and -that which I would radiate. - -The following pages are some of the results of my earnest cogitations, -deliberations, reflections, and decisions. Consequently they partake -strongly of personal preachments applied to myself. They may be regarded -as a record of personal aspirations and longings, of spiritual hopes, of -living prayers, and desires. And they are purposely written in the -personal form in the sincere hope that they will help others to put into -similar form their own half-formed thoughts, desires, and aspirations. - -This book is not offered as a complete manual of life. It is merely a -suggestion to others of the larger, wider, better, nobler thing they may -do for themselves. It is my desire to arouse thought, to stimulate -ardent longings for something beyond the gratification of the senses, to -lead my readers to strive more earnestly for unselfish living, and to -encourage them in their endeavors to find, realize, and live those -spiritual truths which redeem human beings from their mortal inheritance -of imperfection. - -The main test of any system of religion or code of life is: Does it -work? If it is not practical; applicable to all the events of daily -life; enabling one to cope with problems as they arise; making one more -helpful to mankind, less selfish, less censorious, less vain, less -proud, less obstinate, less cruel, less thoughtless, less despondent; -and, on the other hand, exciting and stimulating one to be more humane, -more tender and compassionate with sinning humanity, more humble and -ready to learn, more amenable to the suggestions of the wise and good, -more kind, more considerate, more generous, more noble, more aspiring, -then, indeed, has it proven itself to be a broken reed, instead of a -tried staff upon which one may lean. - -No longer to me is religion a question of "Thou shalt not." The "don'ts" -of life are of far less importance than the "dos." He whose life is -occupied with doing good has little time or thought for doing harm. -Christ's method of living was positive and active, rather than negative -and passive. He _went about, doing good_. He said: "_Do_ unto others as -ye would have them do unto you." He taught love in action: Love your -enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and -pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. - -Hence I earnestly hope that every one of the following pages will -contain some helpful thought for all who are seeking the more perfect -life; and also for those who are sitting in the darkness of -discouragement, under the depressing temptation to regard life as a -"failure." There is no man living, no matter how low in body, mind, or -soul, but can be helped into happiness; no woman so utterly lost to all -good who may not live to feel the sprouting of angel wings because of -the birth within her soul of helpful, unselfish love. - -Goethe's cry was for "more light," and as life comes with light in the -material world, so light and life are inseparably connected in the -mental and spiritual world. There is no real darkness in life. There may -be a temporary withdrawal of solar light, but we know that as surely as -all the days of the past have dawned, so the sun will shine again -to-morrow. And through all the seeming mists of doubt, fear, and pain -the true spiritual light forever shines to give immortal life. Let us -take Life then as God's gift, and as we progress daily to a more perfect -expression of freedom from all that would wrongfully enthrall us, let us -seek diligently to "let our light shine" upon those around who seem to -live in the shadows. - -I would come, in these pages, as the glorious sun, bringing warmth, -healing, and purification. I would come as the stimulating breeze that -vivifies and refreshes--the breeze that has its birth on the vast -Pacific where all impurities are scrubbed out of it in a thousand miles -of storms, then floats gently over the orange and lemon groves, the rose -gardens and violet beds, the sweet scented blossoms of ten thousand -times ten thousand shrubs of California; then, laden with sweet odors -and charged with the bromine and ozone of the ocean, climbs over the -steep Sierran heights and becomes cool and filtered through the vast -pine and juniper forests, and adds the balsams of health and strength, -distilled from a million trees and shrubs, ere it falls to the desert -and is there rendered aseptic and antiseptic. Like such a health-laden -breeze would I come to weary men and women, tired and exhausted with the -battle of life, sick of its complexities and frivolities, longing for -spiritual as well as physical health, and seeking the happiness that -comes alone when we live for the happiness of others. - -My desire is to send forth a message that will bless body, mind, and -soul, just as a triple song, whose melodies blend in perfect harmony, -carries healing, strength, and inspiration. For he indeed is thrice -blessed who knows the joy of life in its threefold manifestation, who -has a body that is vigorous and healthy, a mind alert and active, quick -to observe and reflect, to discern and classify, and a soul whose -emotions and aspirations are ever to help, encourage, comfort, and -purify humanity. - -The conditions for such a life are in the "Everywhere" waiting to be -born into the "Here," and God's time is _now_. - -Many of these chapters originally appeared in the pages of _Physical -Culture Magazine_, and to my good friends, its editor and founder, -Bernarr Macfadden, and the present editor, John Brennan, I tender my -cordial thanks for the privilege of reprinting which they have -generously accorded. - -[Illustration: George Wharton James] - -Pasadena, Calif. - - - - -PRAYER - - -OH, ALMIGHTY GOD, Thou radiant source of all power, life and love, Thou -free giver of sun and earth, clouds and wind, flowers and trees, fruits -and birds, bees and butterflies, work and play, tenderness and -unselfishness, sympathy and love, so fill us with Thyself that we shall -become radiant beings like Thyself. Make us innocent as little children, -simple as the young animals of the hills and fields, beautiful in soul -as are the flowers, heaven-aspiring as are the trees, soothing as are -the gentle breezes of night, warming as is the sun, fluid to meet all -needs as water, restful as night, eager for work as the dawn, joyous in -all life as the birds, and thankful for labor as the busy bees. Give us -the needy to bless, the loveless to love, the sinful to stimulate and -encourage to goodness, purity, and truth, the orphan to father, the -degraded to uplift, and at the same time the wise to be our teachers and -the serene to lead us into peace. Be Thou our Constant Vision, longing -and aspiration--nay, be Thou our never-failing companion, counselor and -friend. So shall we become radiant, true children of Thine, possessed of -Thy likeness and radiating the glory and beauty of Thyself. - - --Amen. - - - - -LIVING THE RADIANT LIFE - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE RADIANCIES OF NATURE - - -Everything in Nature is radiant. Use the term in its broad sense and -there is nothing to which it does not apply. The sun radiates light and -heat, and without it life would be impossible. The moon radiates light, -but practically no heat. Its light is reflected and of an entirely -different character from that of the sun, so that no one ever mistakes -the one for the other. The stars have a light all their own which they, -though so many millions of miles away from us, radiate in varying -intensities. And many of these stars are so individualistic in their -radiancies that each one, though perfect, is different from each other -one, and may readily be detected by its own peculiarities. Every flower -that grows, from the night-blooming cereus on the desert to the most -perfect amaryllis developed by Burbank, radiates its own colors, odors, -and general appearance. One familiar with them may close his eyes and -detect in a moment, by the odor of each--the violet, rose, lily, cosmos, -verbena, and a thousand others, and there are those whose olfactory -nerves are highly sensitive who can discern, by smell alone, the -varieties of each flower. - -Every species of tree radiates its own qualities, so that, to the -student, they become growingly wonderful in what they give out. A -distinguished botanist whom I know is so familiar with the radiancies of -the various pines of the Pacific Slope that he can sketch and perfectly -describe the complete tree as soon as he sees the cone, or, blindfolded, -smells its odor. - -Every rock has its own radiancies of color, texture, weight, and -density. One of John Ruskin's most useful and beautiful books is his -_Ethics of the Dust_, and those who have not read it should do so to -understand how many things a wise and good man has felt radiated from -the rocks. - -Shakspere felt the potency of this truth or he would never have written -that he saw "tongues in trees; books in the running brooks; sermons in -stones, and good in everything." - -Every landscape radiates its own personality. Some are quietly pastoral, -as the valleys in Connecticut. The prairies of Illinois, Iowa, and -Nebraska are wide and impressive; the wastes of the Colorado Desert are -vast and appalling; the varied colorings of the Painted Desert are -weird and startling. The orange, lemon, and other orchards of Southern -California delight the senses, the forests of the north and the High -Sierras stir the soul by their expansiveness, and the groves of Big -Trees overpower by their height and size. The ocean is restless and -resistless; the stars pitiless at times, soothing at others. Each scene, -whether pastoral, picturesque, wild, rugged, grand, or weird, has its -peculiar radiancies, and some scenes possess many qualities, all of -which are felt or perceived by the sensitive onlooker. For instance, as -one stands on the rim of the Grand Canyon he feels the radiancies of -overwhelming vastness, profound depth, far-reaching length, expansive -width, vivid and extraordinary coloring, bizarre and strange carvings, -and, in the lower depths of the Inner Gorge, where flows the solemn and -sullen Colorado, a strangeness and mystery found nowhere else in the -known world. - -In his _Kreutzer Sonata_, Tolstoi contends that certain music radiates -damning influences, and though I do not agree with him (perhaps because -I have never felt or seen such evil), his attitude of mind serves as a -further illustration of my proposition. We all are aware of certain -radiancies of certain kinds of music, even though unaccompanied with -words. The _Dead March in Saul_; the _Threnody_ in Bach's Passion Music; -the _Death of the King_ in Grieg's _Peer Gynt_, and Chopin's _Funeral -March_, all radiate the solemnity and sadness of death, while Sousa's -various marches, Chopin's _March Militaire_, and a hundred other similar -compositions radiate the arousement either of active life or passionate -war. The _Glorias_ of Mozart and Pergolesi, and Handel's _Hallelujah -Chorus_ speak--even though the words are unheard--of the joy of the -world at the Savior's birth, and the _Requiems_ of Verdi, Bach, and -Gounod of the sadness of soul felt at His cruel death. - -Every picture radiates the spirit of its artist at the period of -creation, and every piece of music the influences that overpower the -soul of the composer; and even every piece of furniture radiates to some -extent the spirit of the age in which it was created, or the animating -spirit of its creator. - -It should not be overlooked that, although these radiant properties are -possessed for all persons alike, they are not discerned by all alike. -All people are not equally receptive, equally sensitive, equally -apperceptive. Human beings are like soil--some is stony ground and the -seed takes no root, other is thorny, and the seeds, springing up, are -choked, other still is good ground and bears fruit, some thirty, some -sixty, some an hundred fold. In other words the state of our own -responsiveness determines the effect upon us of the radiancy of the -objects with which we come in contact. - -The quartz picked up from a ledge may be full of valuable mineral, but -to the ignorant it is "a piece of rock and nothing more." - -The ordinary traveler on the desert sees a large black beetle. Knowing -nothing of beetles, it is to him "only a bug." But the scientific -entomologist, seeing the same beetle, is carried away with delight, for -he recognizes the rare _Dinapate Wrightii_, one of the least seen and -most rare of American beetles. - -Most travelers seeing the cactuses of the desert note but a few -varieties, but the trained observer revels in hundreds of differences in -_mammillaria_, _opuntias_, _echinocactuses_, and _agave_. - -Some see no beauty in them, some delight in their many and diverse -charms; to some their thorns are hideous and repulsive, to others both -interesting and beautiful in their arrangement and design. - -According to our receptivity do these objects of Nature affect us--some -in one way, some another. The more sensitive our minds and souls are to -what they perceive, the more we receive, absorb, gain, and, therefore, -the more we in turn radiate to others, but we must remember that the -character and quality of that which we receive will be reflected, -therefore it is necessary to be constantly in that attitude of mind -which is receptive to good only. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE RADIANT AURA - - -Swedenborg, who was one of the most eminent of scientists and engineers, -as well as the founder of the religious system that bears his name, -asserted that various "aura" surrounded all living beings, and that the -mental or spiritual state radiates, just as light and heat radiate from -the sun, and cold from the snow. When one was angry, he said, he gave -out the aura of anger which enveloped him as a cloud. Hatred had its -aura, as well as love, sympathy, purity, impurity, kindliness, charity, -jealousy, courage, justice, and the like. - -He also asserted that, to those who were simple, natural, and unspoiled -by false reasoning--those who were spiritually inclined--these varied -aura were clearly perceptible, and were as certainly felt or seen as -were heat, cold, whiteness, blackness by the senses. - -Rudyard Kipling bases his story, "They," which appeared some years ago -in _Scribner's Magazine_, upon this statement of Swedenborg's, and in -this light it becomes an extra fascinating story to read. - -A great modern French scientist has made many exhaustive studies of -these aura, and claims to have photographed them. - -In the Panama-Pacific Exposition, one of the exhibits contained a series -of interesting pictures, or diagrams, which purported to be exact -representations of the various aura of people under different mental -conditions. In an article on this subject, written by a well-known -authority, we are told that: - - It is not around the human body alone that an aura is to be seen; a - similar cloud of light surrounds or emanates from animals, trees, - and even minerals, though in all these cases it is less extended and - less complex than that of man. - -The occultists assert that the aura is extremely complex in its -character, in other words, that there are several aura superposed one -upon the other. The first appearance is of a luminous cloud, extending -some eighteen inches or two feet from the body, assuming a somewhat oval -shape. Careful study, however, reveals that this first appearance is -resolvable into several component parts, or separate aura, of different -degrees of tenuity, and, apparently, superposed. Five of these have been -defined. The first, or most material, is that pertaining to the physical -body. In a state of health this is composed of separate, orderly, and -nearly parallel lines, which radiate from the body in every direction. - -When one suffers from disease the lines in the neighborhood of the part -affected become erratic, and radiate less actively but in the wildest -confusion, or, if the whole body be affected, all the lines are -consequently erratic. - -For a long time it was not known what kept these lines straight and -approximately parallel in the case of the healthy person, until a second -radiating aura was discovered. This comes from a healthy body in -pulsating waves, with such vigor as to compel the rigidity of the health -lines. These waves may be compared to the pulsations of the heated air -which rise from the ground on a very hot day. Baron Reichenbach made -experiments with certain sensitives who declared they could see these -radiations, and he called them "the magnetic flame." - -When these "waves" come from a sickly or weakly body they not only lose -power, but seem to give a confused direction to the health lines. - -Many observations also have led to the conclusion that when the lines -are kept straight by the force of the pulsating waves from a healthy and -vigorous body, "it seems to be almost entirely protected from the attack -of evil physical influences, such as germs of disease--such germs being -repelled and carried away by the outrush of the life-force: but when -from any cause--through weakness, through wound or injury, through -over-fatigue, through extreme depression of spirits, or through the -excesses of an irregular life--an unusually large amount of vitality is -required to repair damage or waste, within the body, and there is -consequently a serious diminution in the quantity radiated, this system -of defense becomes dangerously weak, and it is comparatively easy for -the deadly germs to effect an entrance." - -The third aura is that which expresses one's desires--a kind of mirror -in which every feeling, every desire, every thought almost, of the -personality is reflected. This changes constantly, in some people, -accordingly as they are swayed by their impulses. Its colors, -brilliancy, rate of pulsations, alter from moment to moment, or minute -to minute. "An outburst of anger will charge the whole aura with -deep-red flashes on a black ground; a sudden fright in a moment will -change everything to a mass of ghastly livid gray." - -Connected with this, and yet, seemingly, of a separate character, are -the radiations of the aura that express the progress of the personality -into higher and better appreciation of the things of mind and spirit. -The more intellectual and spiritual one becomes the more steady and -beautiful are the colors and radiations of this aura, and the variations -and distressing manifestations of the evil desires of the third aura -become less apparent and distinct. - -The fifth aura is the highest at present discernible. It manifests the -spiritual development of the individual and is of almost inconceivable -delicacy and beauty. It seems to be a cloud of living light--the word -cloud being used for want of a better term. - -In the concrete examples of aura that were presented at the Exposition, -that which radiated from a wise mother showing her protective love for -her infant, was in the form of outspread wings of a beautiful rosy tint, -the wings held together at the articulations by a sheaf-like mass of -golden yellow. - -Selfish ambition, sudden fear, explosive anger, selfishness, grasping -animal affection, greed, jealousy, jealousy mixed with anger, gloom, -murderous hatred, were all displayed in peculiar, hideous, and repulsive -forms and colors. - -Pure, radiating affection, on the other hand, was represented in the -form and color of a round body exhaling rays as from a rosy sun. Strange -to say, though I had never read anything explicit upon this subject -before, I had always conceived of pure affection as giving forth -radiations of this exact appearance. - -Whether this "occult" explanation of the radiation of aura be a true one -or not, it serves to give one a beautiful conception, viz., that every -soul may strive so to live within that he sheds upon his fellows -glorious rays of light, serenity, warmth, comfort, blessing, joy, -happiness that help them to the attainment of like felicities. - -In the earlier part of this chapter Swedenborg's assertion will be -recalled that those who were unspoiled, real children of Nature, could -actually perceive these aura, and that their acts were guided or -influenced by them just as ours are by the perceptions of our five -senses. - -When I began to visit the Hopi Indians in Northern Arizona, who -celebrate that wonderfully thrilling religious ceremony known as the -Snake Dance, I found that their lives conformed exactly to this aura -assumption. They handle deadly rattlesnakes with fearlessness, putting -small ones into their mouths so that nothing but their heads protrude, -and larger ones, up to five feet in length, in their teeth, head on one -side of the mouth, the writhing, wriggling body on the other. Young -boys, from three to six and ten years of age--neophytes of the Antelope -Clan, which, with the Snake Clan, has charge of this ceremonial prayer -for rain--hold these snakes during a part of the ceremony with an -indifferent carelessness that is appalling to most onlookers. On the -other hand those who are alive to the dangers attending the handling of -snakes assert positively that the reptiles must have their fangs -removed, as otherwise they would bite, and either cause death or -dangerous sicknesses. - -Yet both classes of observers are in error. The snakes are not handled -carelessly, nor are their fangs removed. Apparent carelessness is often -the result of years of training, the ease and readiness that come with -much experience. Fearlessness is another result of experience and -knowledge. But, once in a while, a member of the Snake Clan is afraid, -and at such times he is not allowed to dance. In this exclusion is a -strong suggestion that the Hopis fully believe that not only do the aura -of our mental and spiritual states surround us, but that even to the -lower animals they are as perceptible as light, heat, and cold. It may -be true that the truly occult, or clairvoyant, by pure and simple -living, return to the clarity of spiritual perception of the child and -the lower animals, and they likewise see and understand. In the case of -the snakes, the Hopis believe that if a dancer is afraid it makes the -snake afraid. In other words, the reptile sees or discerns the "fear -aura," and, at once, its own fear is awakened. When afraid it assumes -the defensive, for that is its only mode of protection. It coils ready -to strike, and rattles in warning: Beware! - -On the other hand, when the dancer is unafraid and handles the reptile -in the true Hopi spirit, viz., as his _Elder Brother_--for, according -to Hopi mythology, the Snake Clan originates with the Snake Mother, and -therefore all members of it are younger brothers to all snakes--the aura -of friendliness and brotherly kindliness surrounds him, which, being -perceived by the snake, it is at once soothed and allows itself to be -handled with restfulness and assurance of safety. And in the thirteen -times that I have witnessed the Snake Dance (and several times been -privileged to see and take part in the secret ceremonials of the -underground chambers where the snakes are handled and washed), only -twice have I known any one to be bitten.[A] - -[A] For a full and complete description of the Snake Dance see the -writings of Dr. J. W. Fewkes in the Reports of the U. S. Bureau of -Ethnology and my own _Indians of the Painted Desert Region_, published -by Little, Brown & Co., Boston, Mass. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -A FEW WORDS IN PASSING - - -Perhaps the majority of human beings do not really _live_: they merely -_exist_ for a time in the flesh and for the flesh. And as all are -constantly reminded that such existence is temporary and fleeting it is -a very common belief that only in youth can one "have a good time." Old -age is dreaded because we have been taught to expect a greater or lesser -degree of decrepitude, pain, and physical disability when we shall pass -the so-called "Bible-limit" of three-score years and ten, and, -therefore, we anticipate losing our powers of enjoyment. Fathers and -mothers encourage their children to "make the most of their youth," and -to "get all out of life they can while they have the opportunity," thus -fostering and cultivating a high state of nervous tension in young -people that is demoralizing in every way. - -I believe this attitude is wrong, and yet I believe fully in "having a -good time." I believe God intended that all living beings should be -happy, and that it is possible to order our lives--our habits, actions, -thoughts, desires, and ambitions--so that every conscious hour of every -day will be full of real joy. I believe in the buoyancy, the happiness, -the radiancy, the perfection of life. Browning expresses my thought in -_Rabbi Ben Ezra_, and in _Saul_. In the latter he says: - - Oh, our manhood's prime vigor! No spirit feels waste, - Not a muscle is stopped in its playing nor sinew unbraced, - Oh, the wild joys of living!... - How good is man's life, the mere living, how fit to employ - All the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy! - -And in _Rabbi Ben Ezra_ he says: - - Grow old along with me! - The best [of life] is yet to be. - -And why should not old age be the best part of life? Does experience -count for nothing? Can we not learn as the years roll along? Do we grow -more foolish as we grow old? If so it might be advisable to let the -facetious suggestion of the celebrated Dr. Osier be carried out in order -that all men might be chloroformed at the age of fifty. If, however, -history and experience teach us that the intellectual faculties and -reasoning powers of a man in normal health do not decrease with age, let -us protest vigorously against the false and injurious statement that -youth is the best part of life, and let us advocate that we should all -possess greater mental and spiritual ability at ninety than at thirty, -with physical powers of endurance ample for every need. - -It is recorded in the Bible that many of the ancients lived to be -several hundred years old, and some of them were vigorously active at -great age. We are told that Cornaro lived many years more than a -century, and I have personally known Indians of great physical power and -keen mentality who were over one hundred years old. Doubtless all are -familiar with instances of great mental and physical ability at an -advanced age, and this is an encouragement for us to believe that health -and happiness and usefulness are not confined to the early decades of -human life. My words, therefore, are not addressed merely to the young, -but to those of all ages, for it is never too late to gain more of that -mental health which strengthens body, mind, and soul--the real life -which is manifested in love, joy, and all goodness, and constantly -radiates life-giving qualities. Radiancy is a condition of all life, as -I use the term in these pages. No person can rightly live and retain -within himself that which he possesses in abundance. We must give out in -order to live. Christ never spake a truer word than when He declared: -"He that loveth his life shall lose it." Those who are so careful to -keep all of their lives for themselves, who never give of themselves to -others, who know nothing of the joy of self-sacrifice, of service, of -helpfulness--these people defeat the very object of their selfishness by -losing that which they are so determined to retain. On the other hand, -"he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." -Or, as Joaquin Miller exquisitely and forcefully puts it in his -unequaled couplet: - - For all you can hold in your dead, cold hand, - Is what you have given away. - -So, then, radiation of the good of ourselves becomes an essential -condition in itself of real life. This law of radiation is apparent -everywhere in life. For, consciously or unconsciously, willingly or -unwillingly, each man and woman radiates what is within. The moment you -come into the presence of some men you feel their uprightness, their -integrity, their truth. Other men impress you in a moment as untruthful, -dishonorable, and unreliable. Some radiate confidence, so that the weak -and uncertain rely upon them; others the hesitancy and fear of -incertitude. Others are radiant centers of conceit and overweening -self-esteem, which is an entirely different radiancy from that of -self-confidence and true self-reliance combined with good sense and -modesty. Some people radiate gluttony, others drunkenness, others -impurity, others dishonesty. You have not been in the presence of some -persons five minutes before you feel that they radiate "Every man has -his price." It is a great temptation when I come into the presence of -such people to ask, "What is your price?" and then myself to give the -answer: "Thirty cents, and it is twenty-nine cents too dear." - -During a recent little outing trip I could not help witnessing the -varying radiancies of a friend and the thirty students that he invited -to accompany us. One young man was full of physical energy, good nature, -and helpfulness. With keen eye he was prompt to notice any failure to -keep up in the less strong of the girls, and, with jollity and jest, but -with real consideration and helpfulness, he aided the weaklings whenever -and wherever possible. One of the girls radiated an abundance of joyous -healthfulness that made it a pleasure to watch her. Another was a -thoughtless go-ahead young miss, who led a large part of the group a -mile or two out of the way. Two of the girls were fault-finders, three -were radiators of efficient initiative when time came for preparing -lunch, and half a dozen were "ready to help," but had no idea how to go -to work until directed by some one else. One was able to determine -somewhat the real character of the persons by that which they radiated. -Of course, that is not always a sure guide, for one may pretend, or -affect the possession of qualities that are not inherent. Yet if we -lived the true life and never dulled the keenness of our sense -perceptions, we should be like the animals and able to rely absolutely -upon what we felt of the radiancies of others. Who has not seen the keen -readiness of a horse to "sense" the mental condition of the man who was -driving him? Suppose two men sit in the buggy. One holds the lines, but -is unused to driving and especially nervous in a city. He radiates -nervousness and fear, uncertainty and hesitancy. The horse feels these -radiancies and himself is nervous, fretful, fearful, hesitant, and -uncertain. Seeing this, his friend takes the lines. Almost instantly, -though the horse has "blinders" on and cannot possibly know by any -ordinary sense perception that a change has taken place in his driver, -he calms and quiets down, and goes ahead without further fear, -hesitancy, or nervousness. - -With dogs, every one knows that to be afraid of a barking, yelping, -aggressive cur is to invite him to bite you. But if you advance upon him -boldly and without any fear he will retreat in snarling dismay, and if -you make a bold dash at him he turns tail like the veriest coward and -runs. In my many visits to Indian villages and camps I have tested this -again and again. I have had a dozen dogs run out as if they would tear -me to pieces. Had I turned and run there is no doubt that, unless their -owners had interfered, I should have been bitten. But, knowing the -nature of the ill-bred curs of the Indians, I advanced boldly upon -them, kicking to left and right, if the animals were more than usually -persistent, and invariably following into his own place of refuge the -animal that seemed to be the leader, and there giving him one or two -sharp blows or decisive kicks. The result was always the same. So long -as I stayed in that camp I was never bothered again. They readily and -quickly understood the radiancy of boldness and that of kindness when -they ceased their fierce aggressiveness, and never pestered me again. - -This same radiant power of others is often recognized by lawless men and -by criminals. A fearless woman can go into places of great danger with -absolute safety, and a fearless and honest officer can arrest the most -desperate and dangerous men far more easily than can a dozen fearful and -dishonest ones. - -Thus it will be apparent that: - -Every person, animal, and thing, consciously or unconsciously, willingly -or unwillingly, radiates good or evil. - -As human beings we radiate that which we possess, or that which -possesses us, and we influence those with whom we come in contact by our -radiancies. - -The questions, then, that every true-hearted man and woman must, and -will, ask are: "Am I radiating good or evil? If evil, why? If good, am -I radiating as much as I might and should?" - -For myself I want every man and woman I meet or shake hands with, to -feel that I am physically strong, healthy, and vigorous; that I have -vigor and health of mind; that I think for myself, rather than accept -the opinions of others, and that in character, in spirit, in soul, I am -healthy, vigorous, sincere, pure, true; that my emotions, my -aspirations, my ambitions are noble and upward. I want to radiate -spiritual health. Do you? - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -VARIED RADIANCIES - - -Man is a part of Nature, but he is more than that which we mean by the -words, "mere Nature." He is Nature plus. There is given to him more than -is possessed by sun or flower. He has within him that spirit which -renders him nearer the divine than sun or flower. Mind and _soul_ make -him a superior being. Hence it is the divine plan that he should radiate -in his enlarged sphere as the sun and flower do in theirs. - -Unfortunately, while we are in the body, our imperfect and evil -qualities are radiated as well as our good. This is our misfortune, and -should be our distress. For certainly every true man and woman would -desire to radiate only truth, purity, sincerity, courage, good judgment, -self-control, stamina, or perseverance in good endeavor, energy, love of -knowledge, mental capacity, justice, tact, ability, executive power, -regard for the rights of others, kindliness, individuality, -self-reliance, readiness to avail one's self of the wisdom of others, -self-dependence, attractiveness of person, companionable qualities, good -manners, good taste in dress, attractiveness of mind and soul (this as -differentiated from mere attractiveness of person), cheerfulness, -optimism, and altruism, readiness to see and have faith in the good of -others, and good humor.[B] - -[B] This list, with slight variations, is taken from the _Cosmopolitan_, -Vol. XXXVIII, No. 2. - -Who could ever resist the radiating influences of a Mark Tapley, such as -Dickens so vividly pictures? Such radiancies penetrate so deeply that -nothing can obliterate them. The greater the cause for wretchedness and -misery, the greater the opportunity to "come out strong" and show that -his spirit of cheerfulness was greater than any untoward circumstance. -Happy is that man or woman who gives out such radiancies, and blessed -are those who come in contact with them. - -Certain men and women radiate gloom and the abnormal recognition of -their physical ills. You greet them with a cheery "Good morning" and -they respond with an explicitly detailed wail of their ailments. Their -rheumatism is "so bad," and their liver is out of order. Their backache -is worse, and their headache is "simply frightful." - -Brooding over their pains and aches has magnified them so that they -overshadow all things else in the universe. An earthquake and fire that -destroy a great city are of less importance to them than the recital of -their own woes. - -How different the cheery radiancies of the happy man--like Dickens's -Cheeryble Brothers--who gives out breezy healthfulness on every hand. -The clasp of the hand radiates physical vigor that in itself is a tonic -to the body; their bright and cheerful words brace up the mind; and -their God-like optimism and altruism lift up the soul so that--above the -mists and fogs of mortal error--we see God and enjoy His smile. - -Some persons radiate selfishness. I was riding in the train the other -day. A woman had two whole seats, that is, her suit case took up one and -she sat on the other. The car was filled with people; every other seat -occupied. At the next station eight or ten people came aboard, and all -found places by the side of some one else, except one woman. Walking -down to where the whole seat was occupied by the suit case she asked the -owner if she might have the seat. "I suppose if there's no other you can -have it!" she replied in a surly and gruff tone. God save us from -radiating selfishness like this! - -It is an almost daily occurrence to see a tired man or woman get upon a -street car and no one makes a move to give a seat, when that is all it -needs--just a little sitting nearer. This may be thoughtlessness, but -all the same it is selfishness; a forgetfulness of the sweet privilege -of helping others, no matter who. - -The wife of Sir Bartle Frere once sent a servant to meet her husband, -who was just returning from Africa, an illness preventing her from -going. The man did not know Sir Bartle, and he asked for a description. -"The only description you will need," said his wife, "is this: Look out -for a fine-looking man who is helping some poor woman carry a baby, or a -basket, or a load." And, sure enough, when the train arrived he found -the distinguished diplomat, the great statesman, helping a poor laundry -woman carry her large basket of soiled linen. Ah, Sir Bartle, I greet -you a nobleman indeed, for you have radiated unselfishness, thoughtful -helpfulness, to me, and through me, to others, and thus out and on -forever. - -Some persons radiate cynical distrust of their fellows. "There are no -honest men!" "I wouldn't believe in the integrity of that man under -oath." "Believe every man dishonest until he has proven himself honest, -and even then, watch out. He'll be liable to catch you if you nap." "Do -others as they would do you, but do it first," said David Harum. "A -profession of religion is but a cloak for evil." "If your bank cashier -is a Sunday-school Superintendent, watch him!" "Look out for the man who -has no open vices." - -These are the catchwords of this class of persons. How pernicious and -evil are their radiancies. - -Commend the fearless bravery of a Roosevelt, the unpopular decisions of -an upright judge, the single-heartedness of a labor leader, the -integrity of a railroad official, and you are met with the sneer of the -lip, the cynical glance of the eye and the scornful words: "He's only -waiting for his price." - -Far rather would I meet the converse of this cynic in the optimist who -believes that every man is as good as he professes to be. For such an -abounding faith in mankind, freely radiated, has the effect of calling -forth faithfulness, and thus creating what it expects. - -I know a woman who, though abundant in good works and very kindly in -some ways, who seeks opportunities for helping the helpless and -distressed, yet, when others fail to measure up to her own standard, is -harsh, censorious, bitter, and fault-finding to a degree that many find -it impossible to listen to her without distress. Thus her kindly deeds -are overlooked and ignored and she radiates to a large degree -discomfort, unrest, and irritation. - -At our house we were once privileged to know a woman, recently widowed, -who had a crippled and almost helpless son of about a dozen years of -age. When her husband was alive she was the president of the leading -woman's club in her State and also the president of the State Federation -of Women's Clubs--a woman of executive ability and strong mentality, -though shy and unassuming. - -Her husband was a well-known Governmental specialist in plants, trees, -etc., and she had aided him, in some of his investigations, to such a -degree that she was almost as expert as he. Unfortunately she was -afflicted with deafness. When her husband died she was left with only a -few hundred dollars. Her deafness prevented her taking any of the -positions her mental qualifications so eminently fitted her to fill. Her -crippled son must be cared for. Bravely and fearlessly, yet cautiously -and studiously, she determined to make the living for herself and son. -She bought a small ranch, planted it out in vegetables and small fruit, -and, as the crops matured, personally drove to town and marketed them. -Yet with all this arduous work and care she found time and strength to -read to her boy (whose eyesight was poor), to help him in his studies -and sympathize with him in his boyish endeavors to accomplish something -as an electrician. There was no complaining, no weeping at her hard -fate--simply a brave recognition of her position and a cheerful facing -of the responsibilities thrust upon her. The sorrow and pain she felt -keenly, yet one saw no sign of suffering. One day she came to our home -and would have said nothing of her difficulties had we not pressed her -to tell us about her affairs. She made no claim for sympathy because of -the way Fate had tried her, but when we offered it, in our simple and -unpretentious fashion, she accepted it in as simple and unaffected a -way. Her uncomplaining courage, her fearless grappling with the hard -problems of life, radiated inspiration to all who came in close enough -contact to know her. We were all benefited and blessed by her presence -and the helpful radiancies she shed upon us. - -Here is another case. We are honored and blessed with the friendship of -the widow of an Episcopal clergyman. For over twenty-five years she and -her husband lived in marital oneness, and seven boys and girls crowned -their happiness. She awoke one morning to find him dead by her side. The -shock was crushing and few would have blamed her had she been -incapacitated for a while by its sudden awfulness. But in an instant she -leaped to meet her burdens and responsibilities. Religion was real to -her. Her husband was with God. He was safe. It was her duty now to be -both father and mother to her children. A struggle then began which is -as pathetic as it is heroic. I have watched every battle and known the -courage, the patience, the fidelity, the failures, the successes. A -house, partially built with funds contributed by friends, was eventually -lost to the mortgagees. The oldest daughter, after years of brave and -cheerful struggle with poverty and ill-health, passed away. A few years -later, within a week of each other, two of the noble sons, one about -twenty-seven years of age, the other nineteen, the former the most -Christ-like youth I have ever known, also died. Then the third daughter, -happily married, died after giving birth to her third child, and, in a -short time, owing to some strange perversion which it is hard to -understand, the son-in-law took it into his head to refuse the -grandmother the privilege of seeing the children. The one remaining son, -who had studied with honors at the California State University, went -East to complete his special studies at Yale, suddenly collapsed -mentally, and was cared for for a long time in an Eastern hospital. - -Think of the tragedies and sorrows thus crowded into one life in the -short space of twenty years! Yet during the whole of this time, though I -have been as close to the family as though I were an uncle or older -brother; though all their affairs have been regularly and fully unfolded -to me, there have been absolutely no wailings, no repinings, no -complaints, and only the few tears that it is a relief to let flow when -loving hearts sympathize. Instead, this brave woman, her heart fortified -by an abiding faith in and love for God, has been "abundant in good -works." She is the "right hand support of her clergyman," and every poor -and needy person in the parish has experienced her practical interest, -help, and loving sympathy. Though unable personally to contribute of -material things, she has interested those who could, and has thus made -her sympathy practical and genuine. Her home for many years was the -rallying ground for homeless young men--mainly, of course, belonging to -her own church--who have been immeasurably blessed by her motherly -sympathy, loving counsel, and helpful advice. - -There radiates from her and her family a living belief in the goodness -of God, an assurance that "all things work together for good to them -that love God," and that faith in God produces a living courage, and -daily strength, a power to overcome affliction that is nigh to the -marvelous. To some it might appear almost like indifference; yet those -who know, as I do, can testify to the keenness of the inner feeling, the -longing for the companion whose dear presence was so awfully and -suddenly removed, the heart-crushing losses of children, the terrible -burden of the mental disturbance of the brilliant-minded and -noble-hearted son. To be brave, cheerful, helpful to others, and strong -to do under such burdens is to prove one's self possessed of the power -of the living God. It is the radiation of the truths of religion more -potent than all the arguments of all the theologians of all the ages. - -Still another case comes to mind while I write. It is of a woman who -braved disinheritance by a stern father in order that she might marry -the man she loved. She came to the United States with him, and on a -vineyard in California they struggled happily together, with a poverty -that was almost sordid in its piteousness. After two children were born -the husband died, leaving the wife with these little ones, together with -another child whom she had practically adopted, and a mortgage at heavy -rates of interest upon the home place. The house in which they had lived -for several years was poor and altogether devoid of comfort, but shortly -before the husband's death it had been made comfortable by the addition -of several good rooms. - -Without a word of complaint this delicately nurtured, refined woman, -who, in her English home, had been the organist and director of the -choir of a large church, took up the burden of running a California -fruit farm. Heavily in debt, interest imperatively demanded every three -months, knowing little of the practical working of such a place, she -personally took hold and learned. She milked cows night and morning, -took them back and forth to pasture, bred calves for the butcher, made -butter, raised chickens, drove weary miles summer and winter giving -music lessons, and yet kept home more comfortable for her growing brood -than does many a woman well provided with funds and help. In time the -mortgage was paid off, and a windmill and water tank added to the -equipment of the place. The children helped as they grew up, and yet -they were kept at school. - -When apricots and peaches were ripe I have seen her for days and weeks -at a time cutting and pitting them for drying, until a half score or -more of tons were lying in their drying trays on the alfalfa. For hours -at a time, in the hot sun, she sorted raisins and stacked them up in the -sweat-boxes, and did it happily, cheerfully, uncomplainingly, in memory -of the husband she so much loved. - -Can one come in contact with such a life without feeling its blessed -radiancies of courage, energy, triumph over unpleasant circumstances, -cheerful doing of disagreeable work, and the power of love to sweeten -all things? To know this woman is to be helped, strengthened, and -blessed. The bravery of such heroines far surpasses that of much lauded -military and naval heroes, and a few such women are worth more to the -race, in my judgment, than all the Napoleons, Pompeys, Cæsars, and -Nelsons that ever lived. - -Certain men impress you with their calm self-reliance. They are not -disturbed by precedents or adverse judgments. They do what they deem to -be right and refuse to be swerved from the path they have laid out for -themselves. Ruskin radiates this influence, so do Carlyle and Browning. -Every man who has dared to make innovations, deviate from the "ways of -the old," has had to be self-reliant. Every reformer of every age and in -every field has had no other staff to lean upon than the assurance of -his own soul. Galileo in his astronomical deductions; Savonarola in his -criticisms of the existing political conditions; Luther in his -fulminations against the evils of the church; Cromwell in his stand -against the doctrine of the "divine right of kings"; Jefferson, -Washington, and the whole of our fathers, who, according to English -_law_, were rebels and revolutionists, in the Declaration of -Independence; Lincoln in his war measures and Emancipation -Proclamation--all these and a thousand others radiated such -self-reliance upon the principles they enunciated and advocated as to -convince their followers. - -Every political party based upon real principles (rather than upon a -desire for spoils), is organized as the result of the radiation of those -principles held in the self-reliant hearts of a few men. Every school of -thought, in philosophy, theology, medicine, law, ethics, or political -economy, is based upon the radiation of ideas from self-reliant men. - -Yet there is a marked difference between this quality and that of -self-conceit. When Carlyle said of the grammarian who criticised his -grammar, "Why, mon, I'd have ye ken that I mak' language for such men as -ye to mak' their grammar books from," he stated a fact. He was -self-reliant, but not conceited. So with Ruskin, when, in response to my -question as to what literature I should read to cultivate a pure style -of English, after commenting on the worth of several masters, concluded -somewhat as follows: "And there are those who say you should read what I -have written, and I agree with them, for I believe I have written more -carefully than most men." That was critical self-judgment, not -self-conceit. Still we are all more or less familiar with the conceit of -ignorance, the assumption of men and women who do not know the mere -alphabet of the subjects they profess to be experts on. Recently, on our -sleeping car, when a few people got together to sing, one of the -passengers, with a self-conceit that was as ludicrous as it was -ignorant, spoke of the baritone voice of one of the women and discoursed -learnedly upon the bass of the man who was singing tenor. - -We have a writer in California who knows so well that he knows, that -some of us think he knows "by the grace of God," without study or -effort. His whole radiancy is one of cocksure self-conceit. - -Who has not felt the radiancy of the miserliness of some men and women! -Those who would "squeeze the eagle on a penny until the poor bird -screams." - -In his _Tom Brown at Rugby_, Hughes shows that Arnold always radiated -his full appreciation of all the good in all the boys under his care. -Maud Ballington Booth is a wonderful illustration of training to -perceive the good radiancies in men and women in whom most others can -see and feel only evil. - -Is not this a quality of soul to be highly desired? How beautiful, how -helpful, how comforting to others long used to feeling that only the -evil of them is radiated to others, to feel the sympathy of a -large-hearted, pure, beautiful soul which has responded to the weak -radiancies of the good that struggles for life within. - -For, just as I have shown elsewhere that we must be alert to receive the -radiancies of animate and inanimate nature, so must we be receptive to -that which our fellow beings radiate. We should train ourselves in -receptiveness to that which is good. All prejudice, narrowness, conceit, -over self-confidence, cocksureness, tend to ward off the good radiancies -of others. There are odors so subtle that the olfactory nerves of most -people are incapable of recognizing them. There are notes so refined -that ordinary ears cannot hear them, and we are all familiar with the -fact that there are infinite depths of space that the largest telescopes -fail to penetrate. The expert violinist cherishes his sense of touch -that he may not vitiate his playing, and the engraver, the watchmaker, -and the workers in a score and one other trades cultivate and preserve -high sensitiveness of touch in order that they may become more expert. -The piano tuner's ear recognizes variations in the vibrations of the -strings he is tuning that most of us fail to appreciate, and the ear of -a Theodore Thomas, Carl Muck, Charles Halle, or any other masterly -conductor, recognizes fine shades of expression, harmony, and -tastefulness in the playing of an orchestra that but few can appreciate. -Browning in _Rabbi Ben Ezra_ speaks of things that God takes note of in -measuring the man's account that men ignore: - - All instincts immature, - All purposes unsure; - Thoughts hardly to be packed - Into a narrow act. - All I could never be, - All men ignored in me, - This I was worth to God. - -We may not be able to discern these "instincts immature," these "facts -that break through language and escape," but we can assuredly discipline -our minds and souls to see, hear, feel, and touch many beautiful things -in our fellows which we too often ignore. - -Reader, what are you radiating? I cannot answer that question. Your -friends and your enemies may tell in part. You alone can tell all. Sit -down some day, many days, and study yourself. Weigh yourself. See how -much good you are doing, how much evil. Write out a balance sheet. It -will help you in your efforts to know what you most need to seek to -radiate in future, and what to avoid radiating. - -You surely do not _want_ to radiate evil. - -You surely _want_ to radiate only good. - -Is it not better consciously to radiate that which you wish than -unconsciously (or thoughtlessly) to radiate that which you do not wish? - -As, consciously or unconsciously, we radiate that which is within us, -whether good or evil, should we not aim consciously to radiate the best -of which we are capable, and thus evidence that we are striving to -overcome all the evil that may be within us? - - - - -CHAPTER V - -RADIANCIES OF INDIVIDUALITY - - -I want to radiate individuality. I want to be myself and none other. If -I see in others things to emulate, things that will more fully make me -what I want and ought to be, then emulation becomes a joyful duty--the -something in another becomes part of myself through my desire, my -emulation, my longing to attain. Hence in the right seeking to be myself -I seek also to be like all the good in others which appeals to me. -Herein is no destruction of my individuality. It is a perfecting of it. -I take what is my own, no matter where or how I find it. - -It is so well known as to be trite that men and women are mere sheep. We -follow our leaders. We are anything but individual. In religion, in -medicine, in law, in speech, in dress, in amusements, in architecture, -in literature, in food, in everything, custom and fashion dominate us. - -I would radiate a healthy resistance to the dictates of fashion. Why -should fashion ride rough-shod over the wisdom of men and women? The -hoop-skirt, the stove-pipe collar and hat, the camel's hump of fifteen -or twenty years ago that the ladies wore as an extra adornment, the -chignon, and a thousand and one other foolish things that once -domineeringly dared us to defy them have disappeared. Why should we ever -have yielded to them? What is fashion, anyhow? She is a fickle damsel, -generally proud of her money, whose good looks are often the result of -powder and paint and chalk and rouge instead of good health, vigor, and -love. She is a mere flirt, carried away for a few hours with anything as -a whim to pass away the time; without heart, feeling, sensibility, -brain, or knowledge. Her fads are more likely to be wrong than right, -and when right are generally the result of a lapse into sensibility by -relinquishing any pretense at thought into the hands of some one who can -think for her. Fashion, a heartless, conscienceless, soulless jade whose -friendship and favor are a curse, whose flatteries are hollow, -insincere, and corrupting, and whose only use for any one or anything -lasts merely so long as her own selfish pleasures are attained or desire -for novelty satisfied. - -Why let fashion dictate what we shall wear? Radiate your distrust of its -judgment. Radiate your refusal to submit to its dictates. Radiate your -full and calm determination, without argument, to live in your own way. -If a certain "style" of dress, which is structural, honest, neat, is -suited to you to-day, it is suited to you to-morrow and for all time. Be -yourself and _wear that style_ regardless of the fluctuations of -fashion. Why should fashion say that a man's overcoat this year shall -fit him tightly and keep him warm, and next year fit him loosely and -send him into the cold, through a storm, shivering and chilled? What -sense, what manliness, what dignity, is there in allowing a -"fashion-designer" to thus have the opportunity of ruining our health? -Let us radiate our positive repudiation of such insane follies, of such -sins against our bodies, and in our dress, our food, our social customs, -be ourselves in a kindly, unselfish, unobtrusive manner. - -Wherever fashion dictates in matters of dress, of personal custom, there -you find at once a restricted and "provincial" people. For fashion -compels adherence to her silly commands, hence picturesque individuality -disappears. A few years ago the clever editor of the New York _Journal_ -wrote an editorial against men's wearing whiskers. One part of his -argument was that the hairs were carriers of disease-germs, and that, -therefore, a man with whiskers was dangerous and to be shunned. -Thousands of the poor people of New York read and believed this man's -preposterous screed, and were thus made unhappy and miserable, and by -mental suggestion rendered more liable to the attacks of disease than -they would have been had these foolish words never been penned. - -It was fashion--not a care for health--that dictated those words. We -Americans so love the intellectual conversation and edifying monologues -of our barbers that we allow them to dictate to us whether we shall have -hair on our cheeks or not, whether we shall have our necks shaved, and -how much and whose "restorer" we shall put upon our hair. - -I use the barber here merely as a type. He by no means stands alone. - -I am determined to radiate a quiet but forceful protest against having -my life or that of my fellows dictated to, in purely personal matters, -by any one, whether he be priest, doctor, lawyer, barber, or editor. Let -each live his own life, within reasonable bounds, and let each _expect_ -every other to be himself. In nature there are no two things alike, yet -fashion would have us _all alike_; and, it might be added, therefore, -all foolish. - -In seeking for the expression of yourself do not for one moment think it -is necessary for you to think out something new, original, startling, or -strange. That is not the idea at all. Your life may be _yours_--purely -individualistic, and yet everything you do and say and think and feel be -as old as the hills. The idea is this. No matter where you get the -thoughts from that incite you to action, _make them your own_; _let -them become a part of yourself_, then your life will be yours indeed; an -expression of your own soul, and not that imitation of another that -Emerson so truthfully says is suicide. - -But in the radiating of my own individuality I must be so filled with -the true spirit of individuality that I shall in no way interfere with -that of others. Too often men and women in seeking to be "individual" -have seriously trespassed upon the rights, the joys, the comforts of -others. This is a fundamental error. The first law of individualism is -this: "What I claim for myself I _thereby freely accord_ to all others." -Note the word "thereby." In the very fact and act of claiming I -_thereby_ freely recognize _to the utmost_ the right of every one else -to claim the same right. There is no selfishness in individualism; there -are no "special" privileges in its exercise. It is the habit of a few to -believe that _they_ should have "special" privileges accorded them. True -individualism recognizes no such special rights. In _taking_ we _give_. -In claiming we avow the right of others to claim. - -The trouble with mankind is that it has not learned that souls are -individuals; that the diversities seen between plants, the differences -that exist even between blades of grass, so that there are no two blades -exactly alike, is but indicative of the individualism of the human -soul. There is a family likeness, for we are all created in God's image, -but God is so large, so great, so diverse, in Himself, that each soul is -a different image. Hence each soul must be itself and not another. Each -soul must develop in its own lines and not in those of others. - -The great errors have come in when men have said: "I have found the way -of life; it is the only way; all men, therefore, must walk herein." It -is a very human error, yet error it certainly is. That Roman Catholicism -is "the way" for many human souls no one can question, but that it is -"the only way for all human souls" many millions have questioned and -doubtless for ever will question. Every church, every creed, every -philosophy has those for whom it is "the way," for the time being at -least, and it is well that they walk therein. But in thought religion, -as in everything else, progress is the law of life, not standing still. -In religious thought, as in all life, let us say with our whole souls: - - So welcome each rebuff - That turns earth's smoothness rough, - Each sting that bids not sit, nor stand, but go. - -Onward, forward, is the cry. The law of evolution has demonstrated that -there must ever be the disturbance of the equilibrium on the lower plane -in order that there may be the readjustment upon the higher. Every soul -that sits still and rests content is retrogressing. There must ever be a -godly discontent--a reaching out, a following after, as Paul puts it, if -that we may apprehend--take hold of--the things for which Christ Jesus -has taken hold of us. - -Every soul-field must be plowed and harrowed after each harvest. Crops -do not volunteer very often, and a volunteer crop is never so good as -one that is carefully prepared for; ground thoroughly nourished, plowed, -drained, harrowed, rolled, seeded with the best of seed, watered, -weeded, and properly harvested. Is a soul's harvest to be left to -chance, while farmers take anxious thought for field-harvests, where -only a few dollars' worth of produce are the outcome? Let us be wise for -our own souls. - -I can only radiate individuality when I am individualistic. - -Is there no infallible, certain, sure way of doing things? Of learning -things? - -I know not what others have found, I only know for myself _that there is -but one way, and that is the way of personal test and experience_. - -Cardinal Newman, one of the greatest, simplest, purest, and sweetest -minds of the last century, had to put his life's guidance into the hands -of the church--the Mother Church, to him--the Roman Catholic Church. His -piteous cry has voiced the cry of millions of human souls since; souls -groping in the dark, seeking for light, desiring above all to _know_. - - Lead, kindly light, amid th' encircling gloom, - Lead Thou me on; - The night is dark, and I am far from home, - Lead Thou me on. - Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see - The distant scene; one step enough for me. - -It was his desire to know that led him to write the hymn. - -What a profound truth Emerson said when he wrote: "A man should learn to -detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from -within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he -dismisses without notice his thought, _because it is his_." - -The italics are mine. Why will men rely more upon written words than -upon the flashes of illuminated truth that come to their own souls? God -and His truth are as much for me as for any man. There is as much truth, -wisdom, knowledge in the universe for me as for all the wise and learned -of all the ages. It is outside of me, waiting to come in, anxious to -come in if I will allow it to do so, and yet I allow a Board of Bishops, -a College of Medicine, a Bench of Judges to dictate to me as to what of -God and His truth I shall receive. While it is my duty and privilege to -study reverently all which these people would present to me as the -truth, I want to radiate with all the power of my nature my belief that -every soul must find truth for itself. There is no patent truth -extractor that suits every human need. Conventional thought which -professes to express "the truth" is merely man's sign-board to point out -to you the way some one else has found truth. Too often, alas, it is -used as a restricting bond to tell you beyond which bounds you must not -go. Let no man bind you. God is over all and in all. His truth is -everywhere. _Seek in spirit and in truth_ and you will find,--_for -yourself_. But be careful, when you have found for yourself, that you do -not make the common mistake of most human beings, and endeavor to force -your truth, appropriate and suitable for you, down the mental and -spiritual throats of every one else as the appropriate and suitable -truth for them. Leave to every other soul the right, the privilege, the -joy, the necessity of finding truth for himself, herself. Tell what you -have found, if you like, but tell it reverently, as a gift to you, not -as a divine light for every one else. - -This, therefore, is the individuality I would radiate. I would have the -Hindoo, the Hottentot, the Hopi, the Roman Catholic, the Mormon, the -Chinaman, the Methodist all feel that I revere and respect their -individuality even as I revere and respect my own. But, further--and -here is the important thing--I would so radiate that they will respect -and revere mine as I respect theirs. When the Methodist says either in -words or acts, "I am a Methodist and therefore you should be one," he -violates the law of individuality as of moral freedom. So with the Hopi, -the Catholic, the Hindoo. - -I would have it clear, therefore, that individualism is not -"toleration." What is there in my exercise of a God-given right and duty -to be myself that should call for the assumption of my fellow being that -HE will "tolerate" these rights? Therefore, I do not want to be -"tolerant" to my fellows. I would radiate the individualism which goes -ahead and thinks and acts according to the dictates of personal -conscience. It is all very well to say that we should learn from the -combined wisdom of the ages. I am not so sure of much of it, after all! -I accept the astronomy of to-day, but by no means believe our -astronomers have said the last word, any more than I believe that the -great and humble Newton said the last word when he declared that man had -gained the summit in the art of telescope making. Just four years after -he made that foolish assertion John Dolland invented the achromatic -telescope which has revolutionized the astronomical science of the world -by adding infinitely to the astronomer's seeing power. - -_Nothing_ in human life is yet complete. There is _no_ absolute truth -carried out to its ultimate. When numbers were first discovered our -forefathers thought they had gone as far as it was possible, in -discovering that two and two make four. Then geometry was discovered and -Euclid changed the arithmetic of the world, and the teachers said we had -gone as far as it was possible. Then algebra was discovered and the -world found out the teachers were wrong in limiting the science of -arithmetic. Yet foolish people would not learn from the folly of the -past. They wisely and sagely declared that _now, at last_, the ultimate -had been reached. But Newton comes along and with his "Calculus" opens -up new worlds in arithmetical science. NOW we have got it all, declares -the teacher of _fixed_ truth. Yet in the year of Our Lord, one thousand -nineteen hundred and six, there comes a Japanese, and in his _Handbook -of Chess_ demonstrates as great an advance in arithmetical science as -Newton did in his Calculus. We are yet children. We shall ever be -learning so long as we are human. The knowledge we have so far gained is -vast, apparently, when compared with the knowledge held in the Dark -Ages, but, as compared _with what there is yet stored away for us to -know_, I verily believe it is so insignificant, so slight, so small, so -puny, so infinitesimal, as to excite the pity and the contempt of any -superior beings who look down upon us and see us strutting in our -doctor's mortar-boards and gowns in our assumed wisdom. - -God forbid that any arrogant pretension of mine should ever prevent one -truth from entering a human soul. I want to radiate my acceptance of all -there is, but my expectance for the large _more_ that is yet to come. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -CONFLICTING RADIANCIES - - -There are few, if any, human beings in the world who radiate only evil, -or, on the other hand, only good. Man is a _human_ being, not divine. -Humanity implies a lower stage than divinity, and whether what we call -evil be but manifestations of the imperfect and incomplete, or -deliberate wrong choice for which one is personally responsible, we are -all compelled to admit that there are few people with whom we meet who -radiate toward us and all others only that which is good. Sometimes -these "not good" radiancies have no immoral intent in them, though they -produce bad results. - -For instance, it is a well-known fact that many a man is driven to -drunkenness by an unhappy home life, yet probably no member of the -household has the deliberate intention of producing such a result. It -may be that he is equally to blame for the conditions in his home, for -all are imperfect, yet if the appetite for drink has been formed, or -environment supplies great temptation, the complaints, taunts, or anger -of his unhappy family do not increase his powers of resistance, but -rather weaken them. There are men, also, who frankly confess to a -reckless impulse to do wrong whenever they come under any very -depressing influence. It may be true that some peculiarity of -temperament renders them liable to be thrown out of mental balance. -There may be inherent weakness, or hereditary tendency, which renders -them unusually susceptible to depressing radiancies, but the results are -just as deplorable. - -Doubtless many a woman, too, warped and twisted out of normal conditions -by disappointment, ill-treatment, and mental suffering, becomes a -tongue-lasher, goes to the bad, or commits suicide, when different -influences and environment would have saved her from such consequences. -There may not seem to be any immorality in the nagging of a husband, or -a wife, or a parent, yet the persistent nagging of some person, whose -intent was only good, has produced direful effects in various ways. - -These and a thousand other tendencies of the human being point to our -present imperfection or subjugation to error, out of which we must rise. - -_I know a poet._ His words have thrilled millions to a nobler and better -life. His pen has never incited to a mean or ignoble thought or action; -it has always written high and noble truth--peace, good will to men, the -dignity of labor, the joy of helping, the blessing of purity, the -never-failing help of God--and yet in his personal life he sometimes -radiates the degradation of drunkenness and the awfulness of impurity. - -_I know a writer._ He is one of the most brilliant men of his State. His -knowledge is profound. He devotes more time, unselfishly, to the good of -his adopted city and State than any other man I know. His work is -untiring in its fervid zeal for the preservation of historic landmarks -that without his efforts would possibly have disappeared; and also for a -museum for the accumulation of evidences of past civilization. Yet he -radiates a vindictive jealousy and fierce hatred of those whom he does -not like that makes even his friends afraid of him and fearful lest they -incur his anger. - -Shelley, Byron, Poe, Bret Harte, Leigh Hunt, Landor--and thousands of -others, including the Psalmist David, the Hebrew king whom God -loved--radiated grand, sublime, divine truths, yet they also radiated -weakness and moral wrong. - -What should be our mental attitude toward those who give such -conflicting radiancies? Shall we ignore the evil and see only the good? -How _can_ we? How _dare_ we? - -Shall we ignore the good and see only the evil? - -Again I ask, How can we? How dare we? - -There are good people, I know, who do both of these, to me, impossible -things. I want to do neither. I will do neither if I can possibly help -it. I will not stultify _my own_ sense of right and wrong by ignoring -what I deem to be wrong in another. I will reprobate it, for myself, and -earnestly strive to be kept free from it, but, at the same time, I will -see the good in all its beauty and power and will glorify it and accept -it, and thank God that so much good does exist. - -The whole question thus resolves itself to me: Shall I refuse to accept -the good of certain men because they do many evil things? Shall I refuse -to accept good except from those who are perfect? If so, from whom shall -I gain good? From you, reader? Are you perfect? If you take that -position you had better drop this book, here and now, for you cannot -receive good from me, for too sadly do I know that neither the book nor -its writer is perfect. Joaquin Miller perfectly expresses this thought -in the introductory lines to his poem on Byron: - - In men whom men condemn as ill, - I find so much of goodness still, - In men whom men account divine, - I find so much of sin and blot, - I hesitate to draw the line between the two, - Where God has not! - -Let us be fearless, honest, just, frank. Too often we condemn people who -have as much good as evil in them--or more--because we are afraid if we -do not condemn the evil that they do, openly and loudly, people will -think we tolerate evil because we ourselves are evil. Hawthorne wrote -his _Scarlet Letter_ to teach us different. The harsh, stern, -vindictively pure and good people--in my humble judgment--have many and -grave sins to answer for as well as those whom they so mercilessly -condemn. I condemn all that which appears evil to me, and I seek to -avoid it, but I condemn no man, no woman. That is not my privilege, my -work. Judgment belongs to God who knows all circumstances and -understands all hearts. I know and understand very little, for I am very -short-sighted and ignorant. How can any of us look with so severe an eye -upon the sins of our brothers and sisters when we, too, are imperfect, -ignorant, prone to wrong. John Wesley taught the people of his -denomination very differently, though they haven't yet learned the -lesson. One of his hymns says: - - To hate sin with all my heart - And yet the sinner love. - -And the Lord of the whole Christian Church spoke in no uncertain terms -when He said, "Judge Not," and in His action to those who brought the -adulterous woman to Him clearly showed us what our attitude should be. -Joaquin Miller wrote a much-needed lesson for this age, this -civilization, this people (the puritanic American and Anglo-Saxon), when -he took this incident in Christ's life and made it the theme of his -poem, _Charity_. May its high and sympathetic truths sink deep, so that -henceforth you will be able to stand side by side with the Divine in -dealing with sinful men and women, and while condemning the sin be able -to say: "Go, and sin no more." And, remember, it is not for you to say -which sin is most sinful in God's sight. You may know which is of -greater horror to yourself, but it may be that the "darling sin" you -cherish in secret, or the "weakness" of your life may be regarded by the -Divine as of great culpability as well as the "horrible sin" you so much -deplore and feel you must condemn so bitterly in another. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -RADIANCIES OF FEAR - - -Fear is the greatest enemy of mankind. It is the creator of evil, for -many people sin through fear. It is the maker of cowards and moral -weaklings, the foe of all progress, the barrier to advancement, -physical, mental, spiritual. He who is afraid dares not, and he who -dares not, knows not, feels not, enjoys not. The fearful do not live; -they merely exist, in bondage to a terror that leaves them neither night -nor day. They know few of the delights of achievement, for they are -afraid to dare. Fear throttles endeavor, stifles hope, murders -aspiration. It is a hydra-headed monster of protean forms. It is a liar -and a coward, a beguiler and a thief, a sneak and a poltroon, a -slanderer and a cur. It comes in a thousand guises--sometimes as -caution, then as tact, again as consideration for others, but ever and -always as a deceiver and a destroyer. - -If there is one thing above another that I wish I had learned in -earliest youth, and I wish I had known enough to teach my children in -their earliest days, it is perfect fearlessness. The only thing I fear -to-day is fear. To go through life afraid of this and that and the -other, is to take away all joy, all spontaneity, all freedom, all -aspiration, all endeavor. - -I used to believe and teach that we should "fear God." But the word -"fear" as here used is not the abject, groveling, contemptible feeling -that so many people imagine it to be. God has made us in His own image. -He wishes us to stand upright, and greet Him as filial beings should, -proud and glad to come to Him as "Our Father." - -Fear makes us whine and whimper before God, and go to Him in the same -spirit of dread that leads the Indian to feel he must always be -propitiating the powers that be. If he does not pray and sing and dance -and smoke the good powers will be offended, and will injure him, and the -evil powers will be made more evil and do him more harm than they -otherwise would. Hence month in and month out, because of fear, he seeks -by his dances, and smokings, and songs, and prayers to protect himself -from evil by soothing their possible anger and quieting their fury -against him. - -There is much of this same spirit in our old-time theology, and our -present-day life. We are afraid of God. God doesn't want us to be -afraid. Every man should therefore stand upright, afraid of neither God, -man, nor devil. God is no tyrant to be turned from His purposes by -sycophantic worship, or by "much speaking" and importunity. He is a -reasonable God, a loving God, a just God, a merciful God, and abject -fear will never change His plans as to His treatment of any human being. - -As to being afraid of men, why should one man ever be afraid of another? -Let us stand upright as men--one man just as good as another--_if he is -as good_, and if he isn't as good, knowing that all the potentialities -of godhead are within his own soul. We are gods, says Browning, though -but as yet in the germ. Let us fearlessly develop the germ, or give it -opportunity for development. - -And as to being afraid of the devil, I have long since learned that the -proper way to deal with what I suppose to be the devil--or his -henchmen--is simply to straighten up my back, look him squarely in the -eye, and definitely and positively bid him "Go to hell!" Even the most -modest and refined of preachers, whether of the new or old type, will -agree that that is the only place for the devil and his myrmidons. - -I would have my children, myself, and the world afraid of nothing but of -evil--and by evil I mean those sins that I myself know are -evil--selfishness, pride, uncleanness, as well as the sins of the -decalogue. But even here I would not let it be a fear that dreads -falling into these sins. I would not anticipate or expect anything of -the kind. Hence, in one sense I would not have them afraid of evil. -Resist evil and it will flee from you. Harbor it not, do not dread it, -but resolve to slay it by its opposite good. The evil is null if you -live its opposite. There is no need for an unselfish man to fear -selfishness. A man who gives freely never need fear that he will become -a miser. - -Yet people go through life afraid, and teach their children to be -afraid, and thus lose nine-tenths of the love and joy and power and -blessing of life. - -Fear holds a large and powerful grip upon the human race. Scarce one -woman in a thousand of the so-called civilized portion but is afraid of -child-birth--a perfectly natural process that should be attended with -all the angels of Love and Joy and Welcome, instead of the horrible -demons of Fear. From the time of birth until its body falls into the -grave the mortal is taught fear. We pay preachers, teachers, lawyers, -and doctors, and much of their work consists of fostering our fears. I -have a picture before my mind's eye now of one of the noblest and best -women that ever lived. Her whole life was a self-sacrifice, an unselfish -devotion to others, yet, such was the theology that had been taught to -her that she was constantly in dread lest she had done wrong, she was -ever sitting on the stool of repentance, and life was a gloomy, somber, -awful thing to her, because of her "dread of an angry God." - -Thousands of people fear death because they have been taught that when -they die they may "go to hell" for sins done on earth. - -A mother was telling me only a few days ago of the perfect fearlessness -of her boy until (when about six years of age) he went to a Sunday -school, where they taught him their ideas of the devil and hell and -God's method of punishing sin. That night he dared not go to bed without -a light and woke up several times crying that he was afraid of sinking -into hell. - -Whatever preachers may feel it to be their duty to teach of hell and -God's anger to grown men and women, I deem it monstrously cruel to put -such fears into the plastic and trustful souls of the young. - -Teachers, lawyers, and doctors are as bad as the preachers. We must -avoid "night air," and draughts, and getting our feet wet, and not -eating enough, and eating too much. We must not eat this and that, and -must not do that or the other. Fear is instilled into our minds all -along the pathway of life until if we are not healthy enough to throw it -away and live our own fearless life, we are weighted down by the burden -of our needless and senseless fears. All quack doctors work on the -foolish and ignorant fears of the people, or their nostrums would never -sell enough to pay a thousandth part of what their advertising costs. -Fear is the club that scoundrels use to beat the ignorant into paying -tribute to them. - -I do not believe in these fears--to me they are all bad, and nothing but -bad. I would banish every one of them from the human heart. - -But, says an objector, you surely would not let your child go and handle -a deadly rattlesnake, or send your growing and innocent girl into the -company of expert _roués_, or willfully sleep in a miasmic atmosphere, -or inhale the poisonous gases of a badly cared-for plumbing system? Of -course not. But neither would I be afraid of them. There is all the -difference in the world between _knowledge of danger_, and _fear_ of -that danger. Let a child be taught definitely and positively the danger -of handling a rattlesnake, but do not fill his soul with fear of it; -impress forcefully and strongly the wisdom of avoiding evil company upon -your daughter, but teach her to be absolutely fearless in the presence -of the debauchee; seek to the full how to avoid all miasma and deadly -plumbing, but be fearless about them. Fear is the product of ignorance; -fearlessness of knowledge. If my child knows all the harm a rattlesnake -can do, and all the power it possesses, he can avoid it as easily as -not. Therefore why should he be afraid? The feminine fears of mice, -rats, spiders, and snakes are evidences either of ignorance, or of a -developed hereditary tendency to fear. In the former case the fearful -one should be trained so as to remove her fear, in the latter she should -resolutely set her will to work to overcome it, in which all her friends -should sympathetically aid her. - -Fear has ever been the foe of progress. Every advance step in all life -has been taken by him only who had throttled his fears. Fire was -conquered for the human race by the man who dared brave the strange and -weird flames that grew and then disappeared. Prometheus--the -fearless--is the type of all who have helped the race to progress. It is -the same in every field of endeavor, on every plane of thought. Galileo, -Newton, Savonarola, the barons of King John's time, Cromwell, Luther, -Bacon, Captain Cook, Washington, Lincoln are but a few of the thousands -of names of men who have dared, who have bid their fears depart, and in -so doing have advanced the human race. - -Joaquin Miller in his grand poem _Columbus_ clearly shows what would -have become of him and the discovery of the new world had he let the -fears of the mate and his sailors affect him. Read it carefully with -this thought in view. Indeed it is well worth memorizing as a standing -lesson against fear. - - -COLUMBUS - - Behind him lay the gray Azores, - Behind the Gates of Hercules; - Before him not the ghost of shores; - Before him only shoreless seas. - The good mate said: "Now must we pray, - For lo! the very stars are gone. - Brave Admir'l, speak; what shall I say?" - "Why, say: 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'" - - "My men grow mutinous day by day; - My men grow ghastly wan and weak." - The stout mate thought of home; a spray - Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. - "What shall I say, brave Admir'l, say, - If we sight naught but seas at dawn?" - "Why, you shall say at break of day: - 'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'" - - They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, - Until at last the blanched mate said: - "Why, now, not even God would know - Should I and all my men fall dead. - These very winds forget their way, - For God from these dread seas is gone. - Now speak, brave Admir'l; speak and say----" - He said: "Sail on! sail on! and on!" - - They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: - "This mad sea shows his teeth to-night. - He curls his lip, he lies in wait, - With lifted teeth, as if to bite! - Brave Admir'l, say but one good word: - What shall we do when hope is gone?" - The words leapt like a leaping sword: - "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!" - - Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck, - And peered through darkness. Ah, that night - Of all dark nights! and then a speck-- - A light! A light? A light! A light! - It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! - It grew to be Time's burst of dawn. - He gained a world; he gave that world - Its grandest lesson: "On! sail on!"[C] - -[C] This poem has recently been set to music by Dr. Carlos Troyer, of -San Francisco, that is as thrilling and soul-stirring as are the words. -Copies may be had by sending sixty cents in postage stamps to Dr. -Troyer, 1236 19th Ave., Sunset District, San Francisco, Calif. - -Sydney Smith once well said: "A great deal of talent is lost to the -world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves men -who have remained obscure because of timidity. The fact is that, in -order to do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand -shivering on the brink and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in -and scramble through as well as we can. It will not do to be perpetually -calculating risks, and adjusting nice chances. It did very well before -the flood, when a man could consult his friends upon an intended -publication for a hundred and fifty years, and live to see its success -for six or seven centuries afterward. But at present a man waits, and -doubts, and hesitates, and consults his father, brother, cousin, -friends, till one fine day he finds he is sixty-five years of age. There -is so little time for our squeamishness that it is no bad rule to preach -up the necessity of a little violence done to the feelings and of -efforts made in defiance of strict and sober calculation." - -Too often elderly friends, with the best of intentions, inculcate this -fear into the hearts of the young. Never was there a greater mistake or -_real_ unkindness. It is nothing that the intent is good. One's intent -may palliate any judgment rendered against the offender, but, the -unfortunate result, the implanting of the fear, cannot so easily be -forgiven. Oh that I could prevail upon older people to refrain from this -terribly demoralizing habit of giving advice to the young that -inculcates fear. Let me illustrate: - -A young man is a clerk in an office. He sees an opening to which his -heart and brain strongly impel him, but there is a little, perhaps a -great deal, of risk connected with it. He goes for advice to his older -friends. They, with their life-work practically finished, valuing their -rest and content more than desiring to reënter the battle of life, -naturally are wary about an uncertainty. "Why not leave well enough -alone? Why run the risk? What will you do if this fails? You will have -given up a certainty for an uncertainty," and so on. - -Ah! worldly wise though it _seems_, it is the most injurious and harmful -advice that the young could possibly receive. Where would progress and -advancement be to-day if many had not totally disregarded such smug, -self-contented, unheroic advice! Thank God, youth is the time for -adventure, for striking out, for _making mistakes_, for learning, for -testing, for "proving _all_ things," and holding fast to that which is -good. Old age has had its day. It has made its mistakes and profited by -them. Let it keep its hands off the young. Let them have their -opportunity. - -Herbert Spencer tells of throwing up a good job as civil engineer in -order to experiment with a matter that a fortnight proved to be utterly -impossible. Yet fifty years later he thus reviewed this apparently -self-injurious act: "Had there not been this seemingly foolish act, I -should have passed a humdrum and not very prosperous life as a civil -engineer. That which has since been done would never have been done." - -In other words, the act that shook him out of the rut, the contented, -common, mediocre path, compelled him to find a new path for himself, and -this called upon all the resources of his great and, to him and others, -unknown nature, and he developed into the transcendent genius, the -profound philosopher, whose writings had greater influence, perhaps, -upon his century than those of any other man. - -Hence I want to radiate the spirit of complete fearlessness, not only -for myself, but for my young friends of both sexes, all the sons and -daughters of men. I would calmly watch them plunge overboard into the -ocean of life, trustful and confident, having first taught them the -first few strokes of swimming--the principles of true and godly -living--and then stand, fearlessly, and watch them strike out for -themselves. I swam,--why should not they? God is in His heaven to-day -watching the sparrows fly just as He was a score, a hundred, a thousand -years ago. - -In the mental world how fearful people often are of breaking away from -old ideas. Only the other day a friend wrote me that he had been to a -funeral, conducted by an orthodox clergyman. He said: "I imagine his is -a very orthodox denomination, if he is a fair sample of what they -believe. Glimmerings of a soul that hungers for larger things than its -creed allowed was evident in his talk, however. Is it not pitiful, and -more, is it not tragical, how people allow their soul-instincts and -natural outreachings to be killed, or hampered, or stilled by what their -befuddled brains or the brains of others have decided is proper, or -accepted as proper, to believe?" - -I can remember when good Methodists and Congregationalists were "kicked -out of the church" for daring to hope that all men would ultimately be -saved, and I have heard preachers and doctors fulminating against -Christian Science and everything else that did not conform exactly to -what they believed, and seeking to work upon the fears of their -congregations to prevent any investigation. This kind of fear is -unworthy the human soul. Be in a daring, a receptive, an investigative -state of mind. I would radiate a readiness and willingness to listen to -anything that has proven, or seems to have proven, a truth to another. I -want to welcome truth from wherever it comes, whether popular or -unpopular, wanted or unwanted. I would broaden my horizon, heighten my -aspirations and deepen my conceptions of truth and be glad to receive -from any source. I well remember John Ruskin saying to me: "Never read -that book or listen to that sermon which you know beforehand you will -agree with. By so doing you deepen the ruts of your own mentality." I -want no mental or spiritual ruts. Good roads are never "rutted." I wish -to be a broad, wide, well-paved, solid road, over which all truth may -run, welcome, free, untaxed, life-giving. - -In his _Memory and Rime_, Joaquin Miller in speaking of poets refers to -them as "these men who have room and strength and the divine audacity to -think for themselves." - -When a man strikes out for himself, in thought and action, he does have -to be audacious, in the higher sense of the word. He has to dare his -fellow men, dare their criticism, dare their disapproval, dare to shock -them, dare to grieve them, perhaps. He has to dare himself, throw down -the gauntlet to himself in his struggle to become completely what he -believes to be highest and best. It takes a great deal of courage to do -all that, a great deal of resolution--an initiative that may seem -impudence, a fearlessness that may seem recklessness. - -The strength that makes it possible to do this must be a strength like -to the divine strength. A strength ordained from the foundation of the -earth as a part of man's birthright, to become a part of himself, when -he begins to try for himself to conceive of higher good and to live it. -The man who thinks only as other men think, dares act only as other men -act, is as a babe in swaddling clothes, helpless, dependent. One can -never be strong until he learns to walk alone, independent of another's -hand to cling to or another's strength to steady himself by. One must -learn to stand on his own feet, learn to keep his own balance, learn to -step by his own volition. If he does not he becomes a cripple. Most -lives are as the lives of cripples, and we help to make them so by our -continued trying to force people to cling to us and our ideas, -frightening them into believing that they are in great danger if they -try to step alone. A little trembling of the legs as one first stands -alone is nothing to be alarmed at. A few falls and bumps as we first -step out never seriously injure us. - -It is only when a life has strength to stand out alone, independent of -its fellows, that its soul can take hold of God. - -And I fancy that it is only when a life thinks and acts for itself, and -allows its fellow men to think and act for themselves, that it is in a -condition to really give help and to receive help, really in a state of -mind to fulfill the commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as -thyself." - -It is one thing to be brave enough to do something which is hard to do -but which your fellow men will approve of your doing, and an entirely -different thing to do something hard but which your fellow men will not -approve of your doing. Therefore I want to radiate into actual, living -potentiality my belief that life consists in expression and not -repression. By many this is taken to be a plea for license and want of -self-control. Do not believe it! That is not what I mean. The expression -of evil is not the expression of myself, for I long to do only good. -Read what St. Paul says on the subject. And by "I," I mean my real self, -as Paul did--not my lower self, my evil heredity, or whatever it is that -seeks to drive away the good from me--I, the real I, the self which is, -and which may not appear to the world, want to express all that is in -that real self. That means that I must control, slay, kill, drive out -all the evil that comes to me and demands that I express it as part of -myself. It is not a part of my spiritual self, and if I express evil -then I am not myself in that sense. But I want to have such perfect, -such absolute control over all outward expressions that I shall ever -and at all times express nothing but that which is good; and that which -will be felt to be good by all people. - -And yet we must determine what we should express. The thinking man and -woman make their own standards. These standards, in certain great -principles of honor, truth, nobleness, purity, are practically alike, -yet most men and women are controlled by fashion, custom, society, -rather than by their own cool, deliberate judgment. I want to radiate my -protest against this state of affairs. I will be my own judge and not -place the responsibility for my own moral life upon the judgment of any -person, society, clique, class, or church. I must be saved by my own -belief and life, not by the belief and life of others. - -For years I endeavored to "avoid the appearance of evil." When at last, -however, I discovered that the "appearance of evil"--the determination -of what it was, rested upon the average quality of the minds of the -community by which I was surrounded, and not always upon right, or -truth, or justice, I made up my mind that for me, at least, God had a -higher mission. I resolved, therefore, in His strength fearlessly to -radiate a higher conception of things. An evil mind sees evil where none -is; a filthy mind sees filth where is only innocence and sweetness. Was -I to shape my life and conduct to meet the ideas of those who deem -innocence and trustfulness, natural simplicity, and true-heartedness as -"appearances of evil"? God forbid. Rather, by far, would I suffer in the -judgments of men and women, cruel and untrue though they would be, than -forego the life of natural trust, simple uprightness, that alone mean -_life_ to me. - -And this is what I desire to radiate,--a positive, powerful, healthful, -aseptic moral quality that will refuse to allow people to see evil where -none exists; that will lead them to prefer to see, to hope for, to -believe in, the good rather than the evil in men. Better trust and be -deceived, than live a life of horrible mistrust. I know men and women -are imperfect, and, like myself, composed of good and evil, therefore I -am determined to radiate my belief in the good in them rather than -radiate my belief in the bad of them. - -It is worth while to re-read George Eliot's _Mill on the Floss_, to see -how poor Maggie Tulliver was misjudged and cruelly treated purely on -what people _supposed_ was her wrong-doing. And I shall never forget the -influence the following words had on me when I first read them. I would -that the lesson they contain might be burned into the inmost -consciousness of every reader of this book. - - Even on the supposition that required the utmost stretch of - belief--namely, that none of the things said about Miss Tulliver - were true--still, since they _had_ been said about her, they had - cast an odor around her which must cause her to be shrunk from by - every woman who had to take care of her own reputation--and of - society. To have taken Maggie by the hand and said, 'I will not - believe unproved evil of you; my lips shall not utter it; my ears - shall be closed against it; I, too, am an erring mortal, liable to - stumble, apt to come short of my most earnest efforts, your lot has - been harder than mine, your temptation greater; let us help each - other to stand and walk without more falling;'--to have done this - would have demanded courage, deep pity, self-knowledge, generous - trust--would have demanded a mind that tasted no piquancy in evil - speaking, that felt no self-exaltation in condemning, that cheated - itself with no large words into the belief that life can have any - moral end, any high religion, which excludes the striving after - perfect truth, justice, and love towards the individual men and - women who come across our own path. - -It is my earnest desire that I may radiate this spirit of courage, deep -pity, self-knowledge, generous trust, and all that follows. And this, -not in an abstract or theoretical way, but in the real concrete cases -that one meets with in life. I am not too good to associate with the -found-out wrong-doer if he is striving against his wrong-doing, and -aiming to be better. I would not look down on any human being because of -any sin. Though I want to grow to hate sin more and more as the -manifestations of that which separates us from the Infinite, I want the -sinner to feel that I am one with him in all desire to be free from -evil, to be possessed only by the spirit of truth, purity, and love. - -All great victories whether of peace or war have been won by the -fearless, the unafraid. We honor the heroes of the past, of Thermopylæ, -and the fearless and brave of all nations and all time. Tennyson's -_Charge of the Light Brigade_ appeals to our love and respect for the -virile, the manly, the courageous, the fearless, and it is the same -spirit that thrills us when we read or hear _Curfew Shall not Ring -To-night_. To save her lover the shrinking maiden was filled with high -born courage and dared to hang on to the bell. Whether we agree with his -beliefs or not we admire the bravery of Luther that led him to exclaim: -"Were there as many devils in my way as tiles on the house tops yet -would I go to Worms." Whether we approve of his ascetic life or not we -thrill at the bravery, the simple-hearted daring of Francis of Assisi, -who resolutely cast aside his patrimony and dared his father's anger -that he might serve God in his own way. - -Every advanced thinker, whose life and action spell progress for the -race, has to be a daring pioneer. He must be an iconoclast; he must be -self-contained, self-assured, self-confident. He must stand aloof from -his fellows in the very spirit of the message he brings, for he -dares--imperfect, weak, even sinful though he be--to be a teacher, a -leader of others. And how natural, human, it is for those who live with -or near him, seeing and knowing as they do, all his foibles, -weaknesses, littlenesses, failures, sins, to magnify these things and by -them hide the beauty and grandeur of the lesson God has given him to -teach the world. - -Our poets have given us some wonderfully vivid pictures of the fearless. -Perhaps the greatest in all literature is Shelley's _Prometheus_. It is -worth reading a score of times in order that its spirit of fearlessness -might be absorbed. Joaquin Miller's _Columbus_, which I have already -quoted, gives a marvelously vivid picture of the great admiral when even -hope had gone from his own heart, when he could not pierce by faith the -darkness of his own soul. - - Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck, - And peered through darkness. Ah, that night - Of all dark nights! - -Yet though it was all darkness _to_ his own soul, and _in_ his own soul, -he kept on. His orders were "Sail on!" And his courage and bravery -brought him to the light of the new world. - -Browning in his _Prospice_ opens with the bold and daring interrogative: -"Fear death?" and, after showing what there is to fear, exclaims as in -an ecstasy of fearlessness: - - I would hate that death bandaged my eyes, and forebore - And bade me creep past. - No! let me fare like my peers, the heroes of old. - In a minute pay, glad, life's arrears - Of pain, darkness, and cold. - -I want to radiate the active consciousness even when I am storm-tossed, -beaten down by fierce winds, compelled to stay my journey by the -sand-laden, hot sirocco of the desert, dashed upon the cruel rocks by -tempestuous waves, frozen by the blizzards of the North, that I have -nothing to fear, that nothing can harm me save myself, that God is over -all and in all. As David called upon mountains, and all hills, fire, and -hail, snow and vapors, stormy wind, to praise Him, fulfilling His word, -so would I call. And in calling I would rest and be at peace. - -And I want to radiate to others my fearlessness for them. They need not -fear though the heavens fall. Many a man fails in the fierce conflict -raging in his own soul because he has been taught to fear the fierce -judgment of an angry God. I want with all the vehemence of my nature to -radiate a spirit that will kill and bury forever such fear in human -souls. Let no one daunt you by such teaching. Under all circumstances, -brother, keep your face up! - -Look ever to the stars! - -If, in the conflict, you lose heart, do not let your face down so as to -be covered by the mud into which you are sinking. Battle on, though you -are finally swallowed up--or fear you will be. Go down face up, and let -the last thing your expiring gaze rests upon, be the stars above. Though -the mud and mire cover your mouth so that you cannot cry out, - -Look up to the stars! - -Though it rise higher, and cover your nostrils so that you cease to -breath, - -_Look up to the stars!_ - -Though it flows into your very eyes, - -_Look up to the stars!_ - -My word for it, my soul for yours, the God of men will take that last -expiring glance of yours and make it the lever that shall pull you out -of the mire and set your feet upon the rock and establish your goings, -and - -PUT A NEW SONG INTO YOUR MOUTH. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE RADIANCY OF REBUKE - - -I want to radiate the ability to rebuke without offense, although this -may appear to be a singular desire. One night I sat with a friend -enjoying the exquisite music of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During -one of the most subtle and delicate passages a "lady" in the seat behind -me began to whisper to her escort. It was as the thrusting of a bottle -of sulphuretted hydrogen under my nose when I was enjoying the subtle -essence of a violet. - -Four times that evening did that "cultured" Boston savage outrage my -susceptibilities by her rudeness, by her theft of my power and right of -enjoyment. - -I wanted to rebuke her, and I did not know how, without giving her -offense. I used to offend such offenders and glory in my share of the -offense. I hope I have learned better,--yet, all the same, I do wish to -administer some rebuke, that will be effective. As I have said -elsewhere, I want to do this so that my own serenity is preserved. Thus -shall I radiate serenity and not offense. If I am disturbed, offended, -outraged, I radiate those vibrations of unrest and disturbance. I would -reprove kindly, but surely and effectively, and that is best done by -bringing the offender into sympathy with the best that I desire for him -as well as myself. - -I would that I could rebuke every boy who keeps a seat in a car when an -elderly or aged man or woman stands by unseated. - -I would that I could rebuke every parent who fails to teach his or her -child his duty in this regard. - -I would that I could rebuke every parent who fails to require absolute -and explicit obedience to authority--his own and all other proper -authorities--on the part of his or her child. - -I would that I could rebuke every irreverent person whether in Catholic -Cathedral, Episcopal Church, Methodist Chapel, Congregational -Meeting-house, Navaho Hogan, Hopi Kiva, or Chinese Joss House, who -laugh, sneer, talk aloud, or in other vulgar way show their irreverence. -All are sacred to some one--all should alike be reverenced. - -I would that I could rebuke every haughty purse-proud woman or man who -_demands_ service, not through love, but by power of money or fear. - -And my rebuke list would include the politician who uses his office for -graft, the senator who sells his vote, the legislator who hesitates to -give his interest and vote to all bills that seek the true welfare of -the common people. It would include every purveyor of adulterated foods -for the people, every user of child labor, every employer of sweated -labor, and every "bargain-counter" fiend who hunts for the product of -the sweat-shop. It would include every newspaper owner who allows -prejudice to control his columns rather than fairness, and makes himself -a party to the willful deception of the people; every lawyer who values -fees more than justice; every physician a case more than health; every -preacher a fat salary more than truth. - -And it might include you, reader, did I know you as well as I know -myself, whom I rebuke constantly. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -WHAT I WOULD RADIATE TO THE WRONG DOER - - -For two years I was the chaplain for two homes where women who had led -evil lives were sheltered and cared for. During part of this time I -helped organize and conduct a midnight mission in one of the most -degraded parts of a large eastern city. I have had a large and varied -acquaintance with criminals of both sexes, of all ages and conditions, -and have been the recipient of many strange and startling confidences of -men and women whose integrity has never been questioned, and yet who, if -their inner life were known, would have been execrated and ostracized. - -As a result of these varied experiences and the knowledge that has come -to me I am compelled to assert that I believe our present system of -treatment of wrong-doers is not only unchristian but unwise and foolish, -and that it fosters and cherishes some of the very wrongs we seek to -prevent. - -The attitude we take--that every evil doer loves his evil doing, sins -because he wants to sin, is a criminal for his own pleasure--is absurd -and foolish. And what wicked cruelties such an attitude leads us to -commit. Socrates saw clearer than that centuries ago when he said: "It -is strange that you should not be angry when you meet a man with an -ill-conditioned body, and yet be vexed when you encounter one with an -ill-conditioned soul!" - -Most of us have a lot of maxims or rules that we apply to those -wrong-doers who come under our ken, forgetful of the fact that the -strange thing about human nature is that it doesn't fit your, or my, or -any one's ideas or notions. It cannot be bounded, as you bound a sea or -an island. It cannot be plotted or catalogued as you plot a lawn or -catalogue a library. The only way you can read men and women is with -sympathy and love--sympathy for their failures to measure up to your -conceptions of manhood and womanhood; love for the undoubted good that -you perceive. - -All moral judgments must remain false and hollow that are not checked -and enlightened by a perpetual reference to the special circumstances -that mark the individual lot. - -Christ did not in the least abrogate the Seventh Commandment when he -said to the woman _taken in the act_ of adultery: "I do not condemn -thee. Go and sin no more." In my opinion He wished to teach the lesson -that the self-righteousness and hypocrisy of her accusers were also -crimes. - -All men that are drunkards are not equally culpable, deserving of -hell-fire and to be swept there by quoting the Hebrew scriptures: "No -drunkard shall inherit eternal life." The special circumstances must be -considered, and God only is competent to do this. Whenever I hear these -ready quotations, whenever I am tempted to use them in my dealings with -my erring fellow-men and women I recall what George Eliot wrote in _The -Mill on the Floss_. - - All people of broad, strong sense have an instinctive repugnance to - the men of maxims; because such people early discern that the - mysterious complexity of our life is not to be embraced by maxims, - and that to lace ourselves up in formulas of that sort is to repress - all the divine promptings and inspirations that spring from growing - insight and sympathy. And the man of maxims is the popular - representative of the minds that are guided in their moral judgment - safely by general rules, thinking that these will lead them to - justice by a ready-made patent method, without the trouble of - exerting patience, discrimination, impartiality,--without any care - to assure themselves whether they have the insight that comes from a - hardly earned estimate of temptation, or from a life vivid and - intense enough to have created a wide fellow-feeling with all that - is human. - -The true brotherhood of man is that which takes upon itself all the -weaknesses, all the burdens, all the woes, all the sins of the world of -men and women. This is what Christ did! Ah, that we might perceive and -realize it! This is what makes Walt Whitman so great a poet,--that he -tries to teach us this lesson. This is what gave to Ernest Crosby his -power, gave to Golden Rule Jones his influence. They felt the -brotherhood, truly, really, deeply, even though imperfectly. Christ felt -it perfectly. Can we not try to feel it? Whenever we behold sin in -others it behooves us to remember that Paul said, "_All_ have sinned and -come short of the glory of God," and that whenever we condemn sin in -another we condemn some sin in ourselves. We are all sinners in some way -or another. There are those who feel the oneness of human relationship -so keenly that they have declared that when another did a wrong they -felt it as if it were their own personal act. While I have not yet come -to so close a recognition of my brotherhood to all men and women as -that, I can deeply sympathize with the feeling. We all know how a -brother feels if one of his own family--sister or brother--"goes wrong." -He is grieved and disgraced. A burden is placed upon him. When we fully -recognize the brotherhood we owe to all men and women I doubt not we -shall then feel this personal sorrow and disgrace, which will lead us to -seek our brother's speedy reclamation, with helpful sympathy and loving -encouragement. - -Only those touched with the essential spirit of the love that belongs to -the Divine, or those who have sinned much, can know the great secret of -human tenderness and long suffering towards the wrong doer that alone, -_at times_, can help him. Oh for more of this human tenderness and -sympathy, this long suffering and patience, this active principle of -Divine Love that burns through all crusts and coatings of evil into the -most secret corners of the heart where the good is enshrined, though -forgotten. - -I have just been talking with a prominent editor about a man in his -office, competent, thorough, reliable, manly, a systematic worker and -able to get the best results out of those in his department, yet who, -once in a while, goes off on a terrible debauch. He will drink up all -the money at hand, then draw out whatever he has saved in the bank -(sometimes nearly a thousand dollars), engage an automobile, surround -himself with dissolute companions, squander his money on them, then -borrow from his friends, who, knowing that when sober he will pay back -every cent, cruelly lend it to him, and thus "go the pace" until either -money gives out, or physical endurance can no longer stand the strain. -Then his true friends come and pick him up out of the gutter, or care -for him in a hospital until he recovers. - -As soon as he is sane and sober again he is overwhelmed with remorse and -sorrow. He knows that he is ruining himself in every way and from every -possible standpoint, yet there is that in him that seems to render him -incapable of resisting these temptations to periodical sprees. He -listens with true penitence to the cautions of his employers, his -fellow workers, and to the heart-broken pleadings of his aged mother who -fairly idolizes him--still he drinks. - -What shall I radiate to such a man--to all such men? Can I ignore the -degradation of their debauchery? Certainly not! Can I ignore the fact -that, as a rule, when the downward path is once begun, the sober -intervals grow shorter after each debauch, and that by radiating -friendliness to such a man I am tying myself to one who will ultimately -disgrace himself and me? Shall I cease to be his friend, in order to -protect myself? - -God forbid! To radiate friendliness is not enough. Seek to possess more -than this, that you may radiate more. Greater than friendship is love. -Love your friend as yourself. He is having a desperate struggle. Give -him your love, your thoughtful, considerate, protective love. If -necessary treat him as you would an insane person, for the highest -medical experts now concede that "while alcoholic excess is a prolific -source of disease and mental instability, _disease and mental -instability are even more provocative of the alcoholic habit_." The -greatest possible kindness to such an one would be to lovingly, -tenderly, sympathetically _lock him up_. The insane man must be kept -from doing himself and others an injury. Society must protect itself -from the evil doer, regardless of his moral responsibility, but the -"how" of that protection is one of the most important things in the -development of the human race. As we now protect ourselves we show the -barbarity of the aborigine, the cruel vindictiveness of the savage. - -I am fully satisfied that the time will come when we shall so radiate -Christian love one to another, and especially to our weaker brothers and -sisters--whether their weaknesses manifest themselves in alcoholic -excess, sexual sins, gambling, theft, drug-manias, or any other form of -wrong-doing--that we shall prepare for them places where they may be -properly cared for, and especially whenever they fear they are in danger -of succumbing to their weaknesses. This method would not apply to those -who are so enthralled by sin that they think they find great pleasure in -the gross gratification of the senses, for such are doomed to suffer -until they are forced to see their errors and turn from them with -loathing, but there are others who are unwilling victims to appetite and -evil habits. The burdens which weak humanity carries are many and -complex, and sometimes even mysterious. It is known to the medical world -that many wrong deeds and even serious crimes are committed by men and -women under temporary abnormal mental conditions. In Scriptural times -doubtless it would have been said that they were possessed with demons, -but the modern expert calls such conditions _manias_ of various kinds. -Whatever the subtle cause of this species of insanity, it is generally -admitted that the attacks are of a periodical nature, and that during -the intervals the victims conduct themselves in accordance with ordinary -standards. Condemnation and ostracism cannot remedy such evils, but true -Christianity should prompt a method of treatment that will encourage and -sustain rather than induce despair. Even ordinary so-called "sinners" -are not reclaimed by avoiding them utterly. Those who go down into the -slums and plague-spots of our cities would never rescue any of the -"perishing" if they went grudgingly, and holding themselves daintily -aloof in self-righteous superiority. No, they brave the pestilential -radiation in perfect safety and carry hope to the fallen because they -possess the mind of Christ, which is purity and love. This does not -alter the fact that the pure and good naturally shrink from depravity -and degradation, nor that it is expedient to protect the ignorant and -innocent from association with those who radiate impurity, oftentimes, -but since it is well known that society contains many men and some women -whose private lives would not stand publicity, the only safeguard is to -be fortified within with that purity and goodness which involuntarily -resists evil and imparts good. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE RADIANCIES OF TOLERATION - - -I want to radiate my conception of what, in religion, is commonly termed -"toleration." To me the term is a misnomer. Its use is based upon a -gross and small-minded misunderstanding of the right, inherent to each -human being, to live according to the dictates of his own conscience in -all things that do not militate against what the majority conceive to be -the public good. - -What is religion? My own definition is that _it is the highest within -myself reaching out to the highest I can see or conceive outside of -myself_. In this "reaching out," this "following after," or -"apprehending," as St. Paul calls it, I alone must determine that which -I will seek for. Others may aid me in my search, others may point out to -me and for me that which they have reached, or are striving to reach, -and in that way they may aid and help me. But for another to say, -"_This_ is that alone for which you should strive," or "That is the -supreme end of all effort," and to refuse me any right of appeal to my -own judgment is to stultify my own God-given powers and to make a mere -puppet of me. Hence I stand, or fall, on the platform of individualism -in religion. I affirm that it is a purely personal matter, that there -can be no coercion, no forcing of any individual to adopt a _general_ -plan which another individual asserts that all must follow to their -eternal well-being, or disregard to their own damnation. - -The attitude I would radiate is this. For myself I know, or am learning, -what I must believe, what I must strive for, what I must seek to become. -So long as this belief, this striving, this aim, does not interfere with -the exercise of the belief, the striving, the aim of others, and is not -subversive of the public good, I demand my inherent right of individual -belief, individual striving, individual aim. When one who differs from -me offers me his "charity," or his "toleration," I regard his offer as -an insolence and small-minded impertinence. I want no charity, I refuse -all toleration, for I own as many inherent rights as the one who thus -presumes to offer me his charity and his tolerance. He needs my charity -and tolerance to cover his individualism as much as I need his. I have -as much right to offer mine to him as he to offer his to me. Hence, -boldly, fearlessly, restful in my God-given right, I believe, I strive, -I aim to reach God as best I may. But in the very self-assertiveness of -this right it is an essential condition of my perfect freedom that I -absolutely accord it to all others, no matter how diverse from mine -their beliefs, their strivings, their aims. There must be no mental -reservations, no subterfuges, no playing with one's own intellect or -conscience. The freedom to others must be as large and complete as the -freedom I demand for myself, for, wherein I limit, even in my most -secret mind and heart, the freedom of my neighbor, I am giving to him -the right to limit me. "With what measure ye mete it shall be measured -to you again." - -I resent any interference with my right to believe as I choose. My -friends, G---- and S----, are Catholics. In the exercise of their -God-given right they accept a different faith from mine. They are -equally earnest, equally intelligent, equally sincere in their -profession of faith as am I. Just as I resent any interference with my -own right to believe as I choose, so do I resent, with equal, and even -stronger fervor, any interference with G----'s and S----'s rights to -believe as they choose. - -I say with "even stronger fervor." You may ask, "Why with stronger -fervor?" The reason is this. I find, within my own soul, a greater -readiness to demand freedom for myself than I do to accord it to those -who differ from me. Hence honor demands that I watch with even closer -scrutiny the rights of my neighbors than I guard against encroachments -upon my own. Selfishness will care for my own. Indifference to my -neighbors _may_ lead me to be careless of theirs. - -Other neighbors, P---- and X----, are Christian Scientists; still -others, A---- and J----, are Unitarians; others, D---- and C----, are -Universalists; and I have friends, dear to my heart, whom I love with -true, pure fervor and who, I am assured, love me with an equal -sincerity, who are Jews, Hopis, Wallapais, Havasupais, Apaches, Greeks, -Mohammedans, Hindoos, Theosophists, Spiritualists, Atheists, Shakers, -Agnostics, Communists, and Mormons. Take these beliefs and non-beliefs -with the one I profess and the others I have referred to, and there is -as perfect a hodge-podge of diversities and differences as one can -possibly imagine. Do I attempt to reconcile them? No! Do I agree with -them all? No! Can I harmonize them all? No! It is neither my business to -reconcile them, agree with them, nor harmonize them. I am not sent to -earth to make all men's minds and souls alike, any more than Burbank is -sent to make all flowers and plants, shrubs and trees alike. My business -is to develop and live my own life, in harmony with my own beliefs, -aims, and strivings, to the utmost, and seek the utmost good for my -fellow. And in no way can I better do that than by aiding him to live -his highest beliefs to the utmost, helping him in his strivings, make -clearer to him the beauty of his own aims. Hence, even as I want all -good men and true to bid me a hearty, an earnest, a sincere "God-speed!" -in my own strivings, so do I, with all my heart, bid my many and -diverse-believing, diverse-aiming friends God-speed in their endeavors. - -If, for the public good, I should ever be called upon to pass judgment -upon any of the actions that are the result of the beliefs of my -neighbors and friends, and I, with my fellow jurors, deemed these -actions subversive of the public good, I could unite with my fellows in -suppressing these actions. But this would be done with a perfectly open -heart, without malice, without censure even, without any presumption, -without any interference with the _principle_ I have sought clearly to -state and exemplify. It would be done as the result of our united -judgment upon a matter of public policy--not a fixed, established -assurance of right or wrong, but as a matter wherein, for the benefit of -others, we regarded the restriction of an inherent and God-given freedom -a justifiable act. - -Herein, to my mind, lies the power of the argument of the political -prohibitionists. They seek to prohibit men from the exercise of their -undoubted right to manufacture and sell alcoholic stimulants--their -undoubted right provided it could be done without injury to the bodies -and souls of their fellow-beings. No one can claim an inherent right to -injure his neighbor willfully and deliberately. No one can claim a -God-given right to transgress God's own laws. Those who believe in God -believe He has ordained laws for the government of all that He has -created. The interpretation of the "moral law" as handed down to us in -the Scriptures is, in the main, similar in all creeds in Christendom, -and practically the same among all who, without so-called creeds, -believe in the brotherhood of man. - -Upon those points wherein men have conscientiously differed there have -been instances where the ruling majority has restricted or taken away -the rights of the minority to put their beliefs into practice, because -the consensus of opinion has decided such acts to be contrary to public -policy or public good, but it does not necessarily follow that the -interference was based upon incontrovertible ideas of right or wrong. - -My contention is that no man or body of men has the inherent right to -interfere with the beliefs and acts of their fellow-beings who are -sincerely and conscientiously seeking to love God with all the heart and -their neighbors as themselves, but in all countries where the majority -is supposed to rule it is expedient to submit to prevailing customs and -laws unless conscience imperatively demands otherwise. In any case, -however, it does not necessarily follow that the majority is always in -the right and the minority in the wrong, especially in religious -matters. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -OUT OF DOOR RADIANCIES - - -I want to radiate a constant, never-failing love for God's great out of -doors at all times, in all seasons, under all conditions, in all moods. -I want to understand Nature, to be one with her, to feel with her, -expand with her, be reserved with her, be exuberant with her. I want to -realize and radiate my kinship with everything that exists in Nature; I -am a part of this great whole, all of which is an expression of a great -thought of the great God. By making myself a part of Nature I am able to -make allies of all the forces of Nature, and this fact I want to radiate -with power and emphasis. I would teach both by word, influence, and -unconscious radiation that we are able to ally ourselves with all the -powers of God as manifested in the world around us. I have learned that, -no matter for whom else the sun may shine, it shines expressly for me. I -would have you learn that it shines expressly for you. Whatever its -power it belongs to you. Claim it! And so with all the forces. The winds -blow for you, the flowers bloom for you, the stars glisten for you, the -fruits grow for you, the trees clothe themselves in beauty for you, the -birds sing for you, the sunsets are glorious for you, and the sunrises -gild the mountain tops with reddish gold for you, the grass grows for -you, the creeks sing, the rivers flow, and the seas roar for you; the -forces of good are all yours, you are allies with them, and what they -are you are, what power they possess, you possess. - -What marvelous vivification comes into the body, mind, and soul of man -when he realizes this stupendous fact. He no longer stands alone on the -earth. God, to many men and women, is far away, unseen, unknowable, but -through His world in Nature we can touch Him, realize Him, learn to know -Him, and while we are learning this greatest of great facts we are -becoming stronger, more self-reliant, more full of power, more -optimistic, more sure of our own footing on earth. - -A man may not say of a palace, a house, a garden, a yacht, a fortune, -this, these, are mine, but we may each and all--the vilest drunkard, the -most wretched harlot, the near-suicide, and the nigh-insane, as well as -the poverty-stricken and the oppressed--say and know "the sun is mine, -the stars, the rain, the sweetness of the flowers, the blessedness of -God's great gift of life. Therefore, I am not poor, I am not forsaken, I -am not forgotten. I own much. I will take and utilize these for my -eternal blessing." - -And as you utilize what you have you become both capable and worthy of -larger things. Only those who use receive more. "To him that hath shall -be given," and these are the things that all may have and that bless -more abundantly than any other things mankind may possess. - -Most of us go through life missing what Nature has for us. - -In one of Sienkiewicz's books he makes one of his characters say of his -betrothed, - - I gaze on Nature, too, and feel it; but she shows me things which I - should not notice myself. A couple of days ago, we all went into the - forest, where she showed me ferns in the sun, for instance. They are - so delicate! She taught me also that the trunks of pine-trees, - especially in the evening light, have a violet tone. She opens my - eyes to colors which I have not seen hitherto, and, like a kind of - enchantress going through the forest, discloses new worlds to me. - -Reread these two sentences: "She shows me things which I should not -notice myself," and "She opens my eyes and discloses new worlds to me." -The world's beauty is so common to us that we forget it. Nothing is -commoner than the stars, yet nothing more mysterious, wonderful, and -attractive; the grass is so common that we trample it under foot, yet -its beauty, its varied features will repay long hours of study, and it -is a joy unspeakable to those who have learned to love it. It is in the -common things that we should look for beauty, for lessons in color, in -art, in criticism. One of the great students and teachers of art of our -country once wrote a book entitled _The Gate Beautiful_. It was the -result of a life of concentrated study upon true art. Whence comes true -art? What is it? How shall one know it when he sees it? The result of -all Dr. Stimson's study, placed in that wonderful book, summed up in -short is--study Nature, and you will there learn more than all the books -and teachers of art can tell you in a thousand years. The author shows -by remarkable illustrations spiral vibrations made by the voice, the -natural forms of mineralogy, mechanics, astronomy, seeds, fruit, -vegetables, fish, reptiles, insects, birds, beasts, flowers, and -humanity. He shows the exquisite beauty of snow crystals, and of the -minute forms of earliest life, found in the diatoms. He sets forth the -beauty of leaf and stem in the commonest trees, in shells, etc., until -one wonders where his eyes have been, where his appreciation of beauty, -in all the years that these things have not appealed to him. Nature is -so flooded with beauty that more than one lifetime will be necessary for -any one man to discover the half of it. So because of its beauty I want -the men and women who come in contact with me to feel in me a pulsing, -living, active, irresistible love for Nature which will draw them out -into it; arouse in them an insatiable longing to see and know, to feel -and comprehend more of the rich beauty so freely exposed out of doors. - -The out-of-doors, too, is full of beauty of color as well as beauty in -form. Oh, the sunrises and sunsets at sea, and on the desert, and in the -canyons, and on the mountain heights, and on the great plains of Arizona -and New Mexico and Utah. What colorist of earth can ever equal them? -Titian? Tintoretto? Velasquez? Turner? La Farge? Reid? Why waste words -asking the questions? How tame is Titian's greatest color-effects side -by side with a sunrise on the ocean, or a sunset on the desert! -Bostonians are proud of Reid's magnificent paintings in the State House. -I enjoy them myself and do not wonder that visitors are struck by the -powerful color-handling of the interesting historical subjects. But Mr. -Reid himself is not so foolish as to imagine that his greatest paintings -are more than futile attempts to put on canvas the colors his eyes have -seen, his soul has felt, out in the open. So, for color I would radiate -a love for out-of-doors. - -And I would radiate a love for all of out-of-doors at all times. Winter, -Summer, Spring, Autumn, in rain and sunshine, in storm and calm, there -is something in every condition, every mood for the men and women who -are receptive. When I see newly born infants shut out from the pure -air, their faces covered, "lest they take cold," I am filled with -amazement at people's fear of out-of-doors. My babies were put to sleep -out-of-doors half an hour after they were born. The latest and most -approved methods of treating tuberculosis is to make those afflicted -with it sleep out of doors. There are camps in Michigan and in the snowy -regions of New York, in the Adirondacks, where, throughout the Winter, -patients sleep out of doors with the best of results. Be not afraid. Go -out of doors as does the Indian. Learn of him and be wise. He is a -believer in the virtue of the outdoor life, not as an occasional thing, -but as his regular, uniform habit. He _lives_ out of doors; and not only -does his body remain in the open, but his mind, his soul, are ever also -there. Except in the very cold weather his house is free to every breeze -that blows. He laughs at "drafts." "Catching cold" is something of which -he knows absolutely nothing. When he learns of white people shutting -themselves up in houses into which the fresh, pure, free air of the -plains and deserts, often laden with the healthful odors of the pines, -firs, and balsams of the forest, cannot come, he shakes his head at the -folly, and feels as one would if he saw a man slamming his door in the -face of his best friend. Virtually he sleeps out of doors, eats out of -doors, works out of doors. When the women make their baskets and -pottery, it is always out of doors, and their best beadwork is always -done in the open. The men make their bows and arrows, dress their -buckskin, make their moccasins and buckskin clothes, and perform nearly -all their ceremonials out-of-doors. - -I wish I could radiate to every human soul what I mean by having one's -mind, one's soul, live in the open. Words fail to convey what I mean. -The sense of largeness, of expansion, of breadth, depth, width, and -height are as tangible in soul-results as in those of body. None can -live in the open all the time and become sordid money-grubbers. If they -are to become rich they do it in a large, expansive, virile way that -commands respect. It is only the shut-in man that can add to his -millions by cheese-paring methods, by grinding the face of the poor, by -counting up cents and nickels and dimes wrung from the labor of the -children of the poor. - -Read these lines from a wonderful poem of the out-of-doors by Edwin -Markham, and see how much you can make it mean to yourself: - - I ride on the mountain tops, I ride; - I have found my life and am satisfied. - - * * * * * - - I ride on the hills, I forgive, I forget - Life's hoard of regret-- - All the terror and pain - Of the chafing chain. - Grind on, O cities, grind; - I leave you a blur behind. - I am lifted elate--the skies expand; - Here the world's heaped gold is a pile of sand. - Let them weary and work in their narrow walls; - I ride with the voices of waterfalls! - - * * * * * - - I swing on as one in a dream--I swing - Down the airy hollows, I shout, I sing! - The world is gone like an empty word! - My body's a bough in the wind, my heart a bird! - -Never in a thousand years can one get such pure, sweet, pulsing, living -and stay-long-with-you delights as these, in a city. Granted there are -pleasures in the ballroom, and they are doubtless great, but can they -begin to compare with the delights of out-of-doors? Languor next day, -ennui, jealousies, heart-burnings, gossiping, cruel slandering, -ruination of health, too often come with these city pleasures. Then, -too, the ballroom in its desirable form is only for the rich, while the -poor may enjoy everything good of the great out-of-doors. The city has -its theaters, operas, concerts, lectures, and the like, but they are -generally at night, compelling people to be out when they should be in -bed, turning day into night, and reversing the natural order of things. -And the artificial is never equal to the real, the unnatural to the -natural. - -Then, too, the out-of-doors is such a teacher; and not a teacher of the -arid, formal, dry, embalmed knowledge, but the real living facts. As -Robert Louis, the well-beloved, says: - - There is certainly some chill and arid knowledge to be found upon - the summits of formal and laborious science, but it is all round - about you, and for the trouble of looking, that you will acquire the - warm and palpitating facts of life. - -Book knowledge can never equal living knowledge. He whose mind is stored -with what he has read too often only thinks he knows, while the one -whose facts are gained at first hand from the real objects themselves -knows that he knows. A man in a factory as a rule, in these days of -specialization, is only a cog in a wheel, a part of a great machine. Be -he a woodworker, he does not make any complete piece of furniture. He -saws on one part; another on another; a third on still another; a -fourth, who knows nothing of shaping the parts, assembles the whole, and -a fifth puts them together; a sixth sandpapers; a seventh stains or -varnishes; and an eighth polishes and finishes. So with watchmaking and -everything used by human hands. Nobody, nowadays, has the joy of "doing -it all." - -But in the country a man plows, harrows, sows the seed and cultivates, -and during it all he is in the open, seeing all the wonderful phenomena -of Nature pass before him in everchanging panorama each hour. That is, -of course, providing he has not been ground down by too many hours of -hard physical labor until he has become a mere "brother to the ox," and -the stolid and stunned creature so powerfully described by Edwin Markham -in his _Man with the Hoe_. - -Every man needs something both of the city and the country. Rubbing up -against his kind sharpens his wits; often makes him more selfish and -indifferent to the rights and needs of others; and again prepares him -more thoroughly to enjoy what the country offers. So, city man, with all -your senses sharpened by contact with mankind, go out into the country -to get your soul enlarged. For Nature is the great soul expander. - -Read John Muir's _Mountains of California_, and see how the -out-door-life enlarged him, made him bigger, grander, nobler than he -could ever have been had he stayed in the narrow confines of a city's -walls. In one chapter he tells of his experience in a storm in a Sierra -forest. Perched high on the mountains a great storm swept over the -range. Most men would have remained indoors, afraid of the fierceness of -the wind and the beating of the rain. Not so he! There were experiences -to be had out there that could come to him in no other way; so out he -went. After scrambling through underbrush, climbing hilly slopes, until -his blood was fairly a-tingle in response to the power of the storm, -watching the swaying of the trees, hearing the crash, every few -moments, of a falling tree, he finally decided to see the whole thing -from the top of a tree. So selecting a suitable tree he climbed to its -topmost branches, and there, swaying to and fro like "a bobolink on a -reed," he watched the wind playing with the gigantic trees and the tiny -leaves, and listened to such an æolian concert as few men have ever -dreamed of. - -John Muir's experiences and development are not peculiar to him. Most -men who live the larger out-of-door life, who engage in out-of-door -occupations have a largeness and expansion about them that is -stimulating and inspiring. Read the life of the fishermen--the -Gloucester Folk, and the Folk of all the shores of the sea, who gain -their livelihood by battling with storms and circumventing them. What -brawny arms and shoulders and backs; what tremendous power; what deep -breaths in powerful lungs! See the pilots who come out to meet the -transoceanic steamers; what brave, powerful, massive men they are! -Ordinary men are dwarfed in their presence--not merely physically, but -mentally and spiritually. See the captains of these same great steamers, -and all sea-going vessels, and the very sailors; there is a strength of -body and a largeness, an openness of disposition, that is good to come -in contact with. Who that has climbed the Swiss mountains with an -Alpine guide but has felt the strength and power developed by ages of -conflict with snowstorms, avalanches, and other great Nature forces. -Even the loggers in the forest swing their axes or handle the huge logs -with an ease and power that stagger the ordinary city man. Think how the -old time stage-drivers used to handle their six- and eight-horse teams -with ease and elegance, guiding and directing their movements as -gracefully as a _grande dame_ promenades in her ballroom. Who has not -been thrilled with the doings of the live-saving service, and the -lighthouse keepers? What city girl could have dared do as did Grace -Darling, the lighthouse keeper's daughter, who insisted upon her father -rowing with her to rescue a shipwrecked crew in the face of a howling -storm? What delights I myself have enjoyed out on the plains, prairies, -and foot-hills, riding with the cowboys. Well do I remember several -_rodeos_ I united with in Nevada, where we rode madly after the wild -cattle and horses, over and through the sagebrush at break-neck speed, -now dodging to the right, now to the left, now jumping a piece of brush -that could not be dodged. We went up hill like the wind, and then -started down hill at equal or greater speed, and once, getting into a -grove of trees, I had to learn to bend down flat on the horse's back to -avoid being swept off. "Let your horse go where he will. He understands -his business, and you don't," were the instructions I had received, and -well it was that I was not required to guide my animal. I had enough to -do to keep my seat. Talk about rough-riders! I was soon a rough-rider, -indeed. And how tired out and weary I was that night, but how I slept! I -had been dyspeptic, sleepless, and anæmic. Three weeks of this shook me -up so that my liver worked as it had never worked in my history before. -I got until I could eat and digest anything, and my sleep was sweet, -sound, dreamless, and refreshing. Would that I had had sense enough then -and there to resign the pastorate of my church; quit being an -indifferent and unhealthy parson; become a cowboy and gain health, vim, -vigor, strength, life. - -I suppose I had to come to it slowly, but come I did to the most -important facts, viz.: that I could never be healthy indoors, and that I -must live in the open. And as I got out more my intellect and spirit -expanded as my body grew healthier, and I began to learn more from the -objects around me than I had from all my schooling, all my books, and -all my theological training and study. - -Nowadays there is no out-of-door occupation that does not appeal to me; -a ditch-digger, a navvy on a railroad, a roustabout on a dock, a -deck-hand on a steamer, a brakeman, a road mender, a plowman, a carter, -a teamster--even these, the lowliest of the out-of-door callings, show -to me men of rugged strength that delight and appeal to me. - -How one's very soul thrills in sympathy as he thinks of the marvelous -achievements of the great explorers--all of them men of the -out-of-doors; Columbus, Magellan, Capt. Cook, Kane, Sir John Franklin, -Peary, Sven Hedin, Capt. Burnaby, Burton, Livingstone, Stanley, Major -Powell, and a host of others. How the mere thought of them and their -lives radiates the very spirit of energy, strength, courage, daring, -independence, self-reliance! In their physical or spiritual presence you -feel you are in contact with an entirely different set of earth's -mortals than ordinary men, for they radiate unconsciously the largeness, -the expansiveness, the majesty and strength of the vast out-of-doors. - -Rudyard Kipling in his _Captains Courageous_ fully explains what I mean -about this largeness and nobleness of soul that come from the -out-of-door life, in telling of the fishermen of the New England coast. -In his vivid English he pictures their daily life, what their work is, -how they have to brave the perils of the deep, the dangerous fogs, the -uncertain storms, the sudden death that comes when a great vessel looms -through the fog and cuts them down. Yet they go ahead as a matter of -course. Their life enlarges their faith and trust; either it is that or -they become used to looking in the face of danger and death and then -calmly continue in their work. No man does this without deepening and -broadening his life. - -When it comes to gardeners I fairly envy them. Think of the wondrous -life that is theirs. To learn and know the life-habits of plants and -flowers, and to see them growing from tiny seeds, or slips, or cuttings -into all their rich and perfect beauty. I never knew a despondent -gardener. His profession forbids it; his experience rebukes it. So of -late years, in my crude way, I have been trying to become a gardener, -when I am at home and have time. - -What an unspeakable joy there is in all this work. How it occupies one's -brain and body, and drives away all despondency, care, blue-devils, and -worry. Out in the garden I am a king, a proud monarch, robed in blue -flannel shirt and overalls, my scepter a spade, and my right to rule -demonstrable by my strong muscles, steady nerves, strong lungs, healthy -skin, and clear eyes. Who would not reign in such a realm? - -More than all else I feel when living this life that I am lifted above -all the petty meannesses of men and women. I am dealing with creative -forces--things direct from the hands of God--sunshine, air, water, soil, -growth, development, life. And how such feelings expand the soul! - -Then I begin to think of the wonderful work in flowers, fruits, and -plants performed by Hugo de Vries and our own Luther Burbank, and as I -recall their achievements I feel the opening up of a new realm before -me. Never can I forget the joy of a couple of days with Burbank at his -home at Santa Rosa, and his "proving grounds," at Sebastopol. I there -saw his winter rhubarb, and as we walked along we came to his cactus -patch. The first section was of the rude, prickly leaves I was so -familiar with on the desert; the next section less prickly and so on, -until at last, with a frolic, Mr. Burbank "dived" into the cactus, -rubbed his face and ears against the great leaves and demonstrated them -free from every vestige of a thorn. - -Then we saw flowers that he had completely changed, in size, color, -form, and odor, and when you ask how it was all done he declares that -any man or woman with the necessary patience and skill (and skill comes -with patience) can produce results as apparently marvelous as his own. -For the marvel is apparent and not real; it is nothing but the -understanding and application of natural laws; laws that Darwin and -others have well understood and enunciated. - -At Sebastopol I had the joy of seeing him work in the selection of plum -trees. Row after row of young bearing plum trees stood before us. With -two men following him, one with black strings, and the other with white, -he began. Picking a plum from the first tree, he bit into it. I did -likewise. To me it seemed a good plum. He rapidly commented upon: 1, its -appearance, shape, etc.; 2, color; 3, firmness of texture; 4, flavor; 5, -sweetness. Then he did the same with the tree: its extent of foliage, -shapeliness, etc. All these things had to be considered. The first few -trees he took very slowly and deliberately in order that I might clearly -comprehend what he was after. Then, almost as quickly as his eye fell -upon a tree, he had put his teeth into the fruit, his trained intellect -had decided whether the tree was worth keeping or killing, and as he -said "keep" or "kill," the attendants tied on the corresponding white or -black strings. To produce the plum he wanted he assured me he has -destroyed over a million trees. - -His apple trees are perfect marvels. Some of them bear upwards of two -hundred different kinds of apples, and he says it is comparatively easy -to produce an apple of any color, texture, size, flavor, and sweetness -desired. - -Think what Nature has taught to such a man. He is not what you would -call a supereducated man in books; but he has read Nature as few men in -the history of the world have done, and she has revealed many of her -most intimate secrets to him. And as you talk with him you find in this -quiet, unassuming, sweet-spirited, gentle-hearted man a breadth, a -largeness, a sweep of soul that are rare. - -And Nature gives this same largeness to a woman as well as a man. Women -who get into the bigness of the out-of-doors get away from feminine -pettinesses just as surely as men do from their narrownesses and -prejudices. I have two women friends in California (or had, until one -passed on), both of them expert and scientific florists. One lived at -San Buena Ventura, and the other at San Diego. The names of Mrs. -Theodosia Shepard and Miss Kate Sessions are known throughout the world. -Both women determined to devote their lives to a scientific study, _out -in the garden_, of plant life, and each has therefore done things, -achieved results that have made her world-famed. How much better this, -than to live the narrow, contracted life of most women. - -Another woman friend, Mrs. Sarah Plummer Lemmon, wife of the well-known -botanist, and herself a botanist known to the whole scientific world, -for years accompanied her husband in his expeditions throughout the -wildest parts of Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Mexico. I doubt -whether there is a person living who has so real and intimate a -knowledge of all this country as has this brave and intrepid woman, who, -when Apaches were on the warpath, calmly and steadfastly sustained her -husband in his scientific work. In storms and perils, in danger from -wild animals and wilder men, away from all luxuries and comforts and -often deprived of what most people call necessities, this woman communed -with Nature and has thereby grown into a large, commanding, powerful, -all-embracing soul, as much above the average woman in intellect as an -athlete is above a baby. - -I am no technical botanist, yet I have had pleasure untold when -wandering in canyon, mountain, plain, forest, seaside, and desert in -seeking to learn all I could of the flora of the region. When botanists -said that the _cereus giganteus_--the giant suahuaro--was not to be -found in California and I knew I had seen it growing on the California -side of the Colorado River, there was great pleasure in photographing -the few specimens I knew in this habitat and then in hunting for more. -How well I remember one day climbing up hill and down, over rocky ridges -and dangerous trails and places where there were no trails at all, every -now and again seeing fresh specimens, _in California_, of this cactus -"that did not grow in California." And when, at last, I stood on a -ridge, looking down into a secluded canyon, where there were a dozen or -more (which I photographed), I felt as if, humbly though it was, I were -being used as an instrument for increasing the botanical knowledge of -the world. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -RADIANCIES OF JOY, INSPIRATION, AND SERENITY - - -I want to radiate the healthfulness of joy. Joy is the sunshine of the -soul. Let it shine. If there is so much of it that it fills the soul, it -makes of it a luminous body that must radiate light and warmth and -health to others. The joyous man is the healthy man, and he that has -health should joy to give it to others, whenever and wherever he can. My -friend, Marshall P. Wilder, was a radiating center of joy as well as -fun. He was funny, but he was more--he was joyous. There was no enmity, -no malice, no unkindness, no cruelty in his fun; it was all healthful, -kind, sane, and joyous. - -A little girl once said of a certain man: "I like that man because he -always _shines_ at me." Don't you want to shine and make glad the -innocent heart of a child, the striving heart of the young, the -sorrowful and vexed heart of the middle-aged, and the weary heart of the -old? Well did Robert Louis Stevenson say: - - A happy man or woman is a better thing to find than a five-pound - note. He or she is a radiating focus of good will; and their - entrance into a room is as though another candle had been lighted. - - There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By - being happy, we sow anonymous benefits upon the world, which remain - unknown even to ourselves, or when they are disclosed, surprise - nobody so much as the benefactor. - -Make the most of your happiness, and the least of your sorrows. Use the -telescope at the enlarging end for the former and at the reducing end -for the latter, until you have learned what most of us have to -_learn_--how foolish and wrong it is to make our joys mere _incidents_ -while we make our sorrows _events_. - -I want to radiate a joy in the little things of to-day. Most people live -in anticipation. The things of to-day are not enough. It is, "Oh, -tomorrow--next week--next year--will surely bring me my heart's desire!" -Let us learn that _to-day_ is the fulfillment of the heart's desire. -Take to-day _all_ it brings, and it will make _to-day_ so full that you -will have no care for the joys of anticipation. Live _now_, so -intensely, so fully, that life _to-day_ will be compelled to deliver up -all its treasures _to-day_. Hence every day becomes a perfect joy. - -I want to radiate _inspiration_. I do not believe the idea that the -saints of old who wrote "the Bible," are the only examples of -inspiration. God inspires every good man and good woman, and all good -in all people comes from Him, for He is the original source. - -A self-centered life is a selfish life; a life that gives of itself -freely and fully to all with whom it comes in contact is a life of -inspiration--it is a radiating center of inspiration. It inspires to -courage, to higher endeavor, to larger achievement. I need all this for -myself, but I also long and desire to inspire it in others. Many a life -seems to have inspiration for the carrying out of its own dreams, -ambitions, desires, but none to give away. Yet the lives we touch may -need just the impetus, the propelling force--light or vigorous--that we -can give to enable the fulfillment in them of half dormant ambitions for -good, the attainment of noble endeavor. - -What would become of the chick in the egg if the mother hen did not -brood over it? She forgets her own desires to move about in the stronger -desire to bring into active being the hidden lives within the eggs. Let -us "brood" over the souls of men and women, young men and maidens, boys -and girls, and quicken to life the dormant powers of the weak, the -tender. Aspirations may have begun in them that can only be quickened by -warmth and love from outside. Oh, for wisdom, as well as love, to -"brood" aright. - -This implies a reaching out to others. It means an ability to feel even -the hidden or only half-felt thoughts of others, and love and sympathy -alone are delicate enough instruments to thus feel. The seismograph, -that registers the oscillations of the earth's crust, is one of the most -delicate of man-made instruments, yet the human heart that would respond -unerringly to every beginning of aspiration and longing for good in -every other human soul must be ten thousand times more sensitive than -the seismograph. Such a sensitive instrument let each seek to become. We -should hear the faintest beat of the human hearts near us and try to -inspire those faint beats until they are strong, regular, powerful, -certain. - -Lives often possess, unknown to themselves, the germ cells of great -powers and lofty ambitions that will never be developed unless some -outside influence impregnates and vivifies them into existence. With -thousands of people the seeds of good in their souls need to be -quickened from the outside, and the help, the food, the desire to feed, -must also be given from the outside, until they are born and nurtured -into active, self-reliant existence. To be this outside quickening power -is to be a radiant source of inspiration. - -In this connection I have found that every life that is growing, -expanding, enlarging, is a stimulation to every other life to grow, -expand, enlarge. I seek, therefore, to radiate growth by my own growth. -By _being_ something, _doing_ something, I want to help others _be_ and -_do_. Growth is the most natural thing in the world, but unfortunately, -men and women are far from being natural. How then can I best radiate -the inspiration for growth in them? By being natural myself--throwing -off the artificialities, the restricting and restraining bands that -prevent the best of myself from coming forth--by being real. This -demands that I think for myself, that I decide for myself, that I act -for myself. Once get into this habit and growth is certain and sure. The -storms may beat upon such a life but, like the sturdy oak, it is -thrusting its roots deeper into the soil in every direction--it is -living for itself--and storms and tempests only make it the more sturdy -and strong. This, in its turn, quickens other lives to growth, to -self-thought, self-decision, self-action. Too long the leaders have -tried to lull the power of thought in the masses. The church has said: -"We will think for you on matters of religion. Accept what we teach or -your immortal souls will be imperiled." The bar and bench have said: "In -matters of law we will decide what you must think and do. If you differ -from us your acts will be illegal." The colleges of physicians and -surgeons have said: "We will think for you in matters of health. If you -differ from us your bodies will become diseased and die." The schools -and universities have said about everything: "Think as we teach you, -for we have all knowledge and wisdom, and knowledge will die with us," -and the result is that to find a being who _dares_ to think and decide -and act upon his own thoughts is as rare almost as to find a dodo. -Thought is for you; growth is for you as well as for all the universe of -God. Teach yourself to think for yourself as naturally and unconsciously -as you breathe for yourself. Once and forever rise up in your manhood, -or your womanhood, and say: "Henceforth I will think, and decide, and -act for myself without reference to what other people think or say or -do." And then you will begin to grow as you never grew before. - -Doubtless at first you will grow "scraggly," and somewhat wild. But time -and experience will prune you. Better do that than never grow at all. It -is perfectly true that the way to learn to grow is by growing. We learn -to do by doing. Do not be afraid to reach out for growth because you -don't know how. If you reach out, and grow, you will soon learn the best -way how. - -There is another view-point to this question of growth. We have within -ourselves the power to quicken or retard our own growth. Too many of us -are lazy, physically, mentally, spiritually--yes, and cowardly. We don't -want the trouble of thinking for ourselves. It requires energy and -courage. It is so much easier for some of us to accept, to drift, to -cast off all responsibility. But growth cannot so come. We must row -against the tide to develop our muscles. If we accept what others say -and do let it be because our best judgment, after due consideration and -personal thought, has decided that it is the wisest and best thing for -us to do. - -Then, too, many of us do not grow because we are content with what we -have. The hindrance to life of smug and ignorant contentment, the -dwarfing power of self-complacent assurance, who can tell? This must be -shaken out of every mortal before he can grow, and this spirit is by no -means found in the ignorant and uneducated alone. Boston and New York, -Chicago and Minneapolis, are as full of it as Podunk and Milpitas, Four -Corners and Snigginsville. Indeed I do not know but that there is more -of it per capita in the great centers than in the country villages. And -how it retards growth. The complacent, correctly worded and phrased -Bostonian, the haughty and self-assertive, successful New Yorker, is -each assured that he has all there is of good to have, and that no good -thing can come out of any other place than his. Yet God made other -places and speaks to other people, and all should be humble and learn, -reverent and grow. - -Some do not grow because, having something, they are either too -indifferent, too lazy, too cowardly, or too fearful to make extra -exertion, to reach out after, to strive for more than they already have. -The man who hid his talent in a napkin is a type of this class. Let us -arouse from our indifference, our cowardice, our fearfulness, and seek -to become something larger, better, more useful than hitherto we have -been. To such there is no growing old. Gray hairs may come, wrinkles may -seam the face, yet the heart is ever nourished from the fountain of -perpetual youth. The life is ever fresh and full of exuberance, and -therefore is a radiating center of youth and energy. - -The older one becomes in years, the greater should become the growth of -the mind and the soul. - - Grow old along with me, - The best is yet to be; - -said Rabbi Ben Ezra, and he spoke the truth. What radiating centers of -spiritual growth in others are old men and old women, who have learned -the simple secret of constant growth in themselves, which is the secret -of perpetual youth. - -Growth means fruitage, growth brings flowers. The fruit and flowers of -life that nourish, refresh, and delight others come only to those who -grow. Roses always come on the new growth; fruit buds best on the new -branches; the best grapes are always on the new stems. And the older the -bush, the tree, the vine, the more beautiful, the more rare, the more -delicate the fruit and flowers. - -The life that is growing is constantly searching for nourishment. The -leaves of the tree absorb from the sun and the atmosphere, the roots -from the soil. If the sun does not shine directly upon the leaf it -reaches out, turns around, struggles until it puts itself in proper -relation to receive all that the sun has to give. If the root cannot -reach the nutriment, the moisture, it stretches and grows up, down, -around, over, under, _through_ obstacles until it gains that which it -needs for life and growth. - -Human lives are like trees. They must turn leaves to the sun, send out -rootlets and tendrils in every direction, for moisture and nourishment, -searching until they find, and demanding until they get all they desire. -And the glory of this searching and demanding by the human soul is that -there is a whole infinity of space and power, living, palpitant, -energized for it to search in. If it search it cannot search in vain. If -it demand it must receive, and receive abundantly. - -Above _all_ things, and in all things, at all times and under all -circumstances I would radiate a calm serenity. There is a rich fullness -to me that is wonderfully significant in that first line of John -Burroughs' _Waiting_. Look at it and let it sink in: - - Serene, I fold my hands and wait. - -Few are serene, fewer still can wait. We are all in a hurry, we are all -impatient, we are easily ruffled. How rare the man or woman of -self-poise--the being who has full command of his soul, mind, and body. -Anger, jealousy, misunderstanding, backbiting, lying, slander, hate, -praise, blame--all alike have no effect in disturbing the beautiful -calmness of the serene of soul, who are affable alike to friend and foe, -helpful alike to each, sympathetic alike to each. There is no -haughtiness in serenity, as some suppose, though there is much pride. -Yet it is not the pride of conceit, the pride of power, of possession, -of superiority, but the wholesome, joyous, happy sense of a full-flowing -life, every good channel of which is healthily full--healthily flowing -to healthy ends. _That_, to me, is serenity. The self-consciousness that -"all things are working together for good," and working to the full. -There is no walking delegate to dictate the length of the hours such a -life shall work, or live. It lives for the very joy of mere living, and -living means working, giving, doing for others, more than for self. - -I can see, dream of, long for, anticipate the possession of, some such -serenity, and my ideal of what it is and my reaching after it is what I -would radiate, though as yet I am but as one who seeks after rather than -as one who has already attained. - -Personally I am naturally the very opposite of serene. Physically I used -to be easily disturbed. A whisper in an audience of two thousand people -would distress me greatly, and render me intensely nervous. I have many -a time "called people down," in my own audiences and by sheer force of -will compelled silence, and when at concerts, have asked people (not -always either gently or kindly) to cease their rude whisperings, yet, at -the same time, I never once lost my calmness, the possession of myself, -without intense annoyance. I longed to be able to suppress the whispers -without a ripple in my own mind or soul, by the sheer force of right, -kindliness, courtesy, serenity. The more I possess serenity the more I -shall radiate it. It is a priceless boon, to be desired more than great -wealth, and, when possessed, to be prized and treasured more than all -the jewels of the world. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -RADIANCIES OF THE WILL - - -There are three things I wish to radiate as to my own will. We speak of -men being self-willed, strong-willed, weak-willed, and the like, but at -the outset I wish to radiate my desire to be "Divine-willed." By this I -mean I wish to recognize the world-wide--nay, the -universe-wide--difference between the great, all-powerful, all-wise, -all-beneficent, all-harmonious _will_ of the Great Creator, and the -oftentimes foolish, weak, wavering, irresponsible, ignorant, mistaken -will of the human being. Every real man and woman wishes his, her, life -to be a useful life, a life that accomplishes something, and that -something must be "worth while." It is essential, however, if one would -accomplish this that he start right. Now, here is the crucial -question--How can you know that you are right? The answer to this -question is what I would put into every young man's and young woman's -heart--into every boy's and girl's heart--so that, at the start, he, -she, may be sure a right start is being made. _The only sure way is to -drop your own will and become "Divine-willed."_ This by no means -signifies that you become a nobody, a cipher, an insignificant ant in -the world. It is just the reverse. It is allying yourself with the -right, the only right, the perfect right, the unchangeable right. -Suppose the case that a man starts out in life with the determination to -be self-willed about the multiplication table. He insists upon his -freedom, his individuality, his self-will, and refuses to be tied to any -table made by any one else, be that one God, angel, or man. Who cannot -see that such a man is a fool? It is impossible to reject, to "buck -against" the multiplication table. Every man, sooner or later, has to -swallow it, accept it wholly, completely, unreservedly, live by it, -swear by it, die by it, and more than that he has to do it gladly, -willingly, or it can never be a real part of himself. If he is all the -time protesting against it, and declaring that it ought to be changed or -abolished, or not quite so dogmatic in its assertions, he will all the -time be worried, distressed, irritated, because it pays no attention to -his wishes. Two times two make four, no matter who kicks, or is -irritated, or wishes it to be changed, and so with every other statement -of the whole table. - -What I am getting at is this, that, though we may not always see it at -first, or even at second or third sight, the moral world is governed by -a multiplication table as sure and certain, as unchangeable and fixed -as is the mathematical world. And it is the acceptance of the moral -multiplication table that I call being "Divine-Willed." A man may live -for years swindling his neighbors and giving them fourteen ounces for a -pound, and think he has fooled the multiplication table as easily as he -has fooled his customers, but the rate never changed; it was sixteen -ounces all the time. A man may fool his neighbors and himself in regard -to the _moral_ multiplication table, but sooner or later, here or -hereafter, in this incarnation or some other, he will have to learn to -accept, love, and live by it in every act, thought, and word. It cannot -be any other--there is no other door--this is the only salvation. _This_ -is accepting Christ--the Truth, the Way, the Life, living the Life He -lived, filled with the Divine-Will, the Divine Spirit, that filled him. -Whether you are a gambler, a sport, a liar, a cheat, a Sunday-school -superintendent, a fool, a drunkard, a senator, a professor of religion, -an agnostic, a wise man or a mere child in knowledge, you can never -enter the Kingdom of Joy, Peace, Blessedness, that we call Heaven, -unless you conform to the Divine Moral Multiplication Table. This is -what I am endeavoring to radiate--that I am trying to set aside my -imperfect human will, which sometimes kicks against the unchangeable and -immovable, and accept the perfect, complete, and unchangeable. - -But you ask: How am I to know this moral multiplication table? Easy -enough. Don't try to take it all in at once. Begin at the beginning. -Learn the "twos" first. Twice one are two, twice two are four, twice -three are six, and so on. Start on the Ten Commandments. Master and -_live_ them. Then absorb the Golden Rule. Then try the Sermon on the -Mount. - -There's enough to keep you busy for a few days, anyhow. But I suppose -some of you will say you can't do it. Nonsense! You've got to do it, and -you won't _really_ live until you do. You can't dodge the multiplication -table; nor can you dodge these. There is no escape. Divinity never made -any man or any woman who could get away from them. Creeds, church -dogmas, men's ideas about religion or what they call religion may be -true, or may not be true, but the fundamental principles of the life of -the Spirit always have existed, always will exist, and every man, sooner -or later, must come into perfect harmony with them. This is what I want -to radiate--my desire that I should become Divine-willed and that every -one else should be the same--quick, soon, now. - -Then, having _started_ right, one may have more confidence and assurance -in taking the next step, which is the second thing connected with the -will that I would radiate, viz.: I will to be good for something. What -is the purpose, the object of life? What are we here for? To eat and -drink, sleep and satisfy our appetites and then die like other mere -animals who do the same thing? I don't believe it. I never did. As -Browning puts it, a spark has disturbed my clod, and now I am -discontented to remain a clod--a mere brute beast, living, as does the -hog, merely for the satisfaction of my physical senses. I feel higher, -nobler, worthier aspirations within me. John Muir, the great California -Nature-lover, scientist, and poet, wrote when he was twenty-seven years -old a letter in which he said: - - A lifetime is so little a time that we die ere we get ready to live. - I would like to go to college, but then I have to say to myself "you - will die ere you can do anything else." I should like to invent - useful machinery, but it comes "you do not wish to spend your - lifetime among machines and you will die ere you can do anything - else." I should like to study medicine that I might do my part in - lessening human misery, but again it comes "you will die ere you are - ready, or able to do so." How intensely I desire to be a Humboldt, - but again the chilling answer is reiterated. But could we live a - million years then how delightful to spend in perfect contentment so - many thousand years in quiet study in college, so many amid the - grateful din of machines, so many among human pain, so many - thousands in the sweet study of Nature among the dingles and dells - of Scotland, and all the other less important parts of our world. - -Here were four noble and beautiful aspirations. 1. To go to college and -learn more. 2. To invent useful machinery. 3. To study medicine that he -might lessen human misery. 4. To be a Humboldt and explore the world for -the enlightenment of mankind. - -What do _you_ want to be? - -To go to college to have a good time (!)--save the mark--as some -students do? I was once riding on a railway train going to Boston, and -at New Haven twenty-seven young students got on board and every one -drunk. Do you think Muir had anything of that kind in mind when he said -he wanted to go to college? At one of the great universities of the West -I was present when the students made a great uproar because the faculty -had prohibited beer-wagons from coming upon the campus to deliver their -wares at the "frat" houses. I have seen university "men" celebrating -some baseball or other victory when the celebration has taken the form -of a drunken and sensual orgy. Can you imagine a man like Muir ever -having wanted to engage in such a disgraceful and degrading scene? - -Muir started out right. He began by seeking to be "Divine-willed," and -then by willing to be "good for something." - -A friend of mine, who radiates love and helpfulness to every human -being no matter how low and degraded, once helped a poor, ugly, besotted -son of the gutter, who had sunk about as low as he possibly could sink. -One day as he sat on his piazza enjoying the beautiful calm of a -glorious spring afternoon he saw his protégé approaching. Giving him a -glad welcome the two were soon in conversation and the gutter-waif -finally expressed his thanks for the help and encouragement he had -received, and, as is natural with every really awakened soul, wanted to -_do something_ in return for what he felt my friend had done for him. In -vain the helper of men protested there was nothing he wished to have -done, but the one who had been helped kept on insisting that he must do -something. He said, "I not only want to be good, but I want to be _good -for something_. Now, what can I do?" - -"Well," at last said my friend, "since you must do something, go out and -find somebody worse off, lower down, more needy than you were when you -first came to me, and help him." - -As he went away my friend settled down to an afternoon's study and -enjoyment of his books, and of Nature, but within an hour his protégé -returned wearing a smile that reached almost from ear to ear. As he -entered the gate he called out: "I've got him! I've got him!" - -"Got who?" - -"Why, the man you sent me for!" - -"What man?" - -"The man you told me to go and find and help. I've found him, and I -thought I couldn't help him better than by bringing him to you." - -"Where is he?" - -"He's waiting out here by the barn, for I couldn't persuade him to come -up until I had first seen and told you." - -"Bring him along!" - -As the two derelicts returned, the one towing the other up the walk, my -friend said the sight of the second vagabond and outcast was almost too -much for him. He was not only ragged and filthy, but thin to emaciation, -with that horrible look of long continued debauching degradation. The -principal feature about him was his nose--the large, red, pimply nose of -the habitual drunkard. Almost instinctively the _lower_ human in my -friend asserted itself. It rebelled against having anything to do with -so vile-looking and disgusting a wretch. "What's the use?" he exclaimed, -almost aloud. - -Then, suddenly, these thoughts came: "Inasmuch as ye did it unto the -least of these my brethren ye did it unto me." "This man is as much a -child of God as I am. The _real_ man in him is as Godlike as I. He is my -brother. We are both sons of God." "And," said he, "I instantly arose -and went to meet him, with outstretched hand of cordial welcome." - -To shorten the story I can only relate how, after he had had a hearty -meal and a long conversation, the outcast finally poured out his soul to -the man who had met him as a brother. - -"I was not always what you now see me. I was in a good position, -honored, respected. Had a beautiful family, a good home, was the -superintendent of a Sunday School, the leader of a church choir, and -happy in my home, my church, my friends. But I was tempted and fell. I -ran away from home and all my responsibilities, and went on falling -lower and lower, until this very morning I vowed that the next fall -would be into the river or a suicide's grave. But God must have meant me -for something or He would not have taken the trouble to get me here this -morning. I'm going to try to rise." - -With cheering words he was heartily and sincerely encouraged, with -neither rebukes nor cant. As he rose to go, he said, "What can I do for -you to show my gratitude for what you have done for me?" and he would -not take "No" for an answer. He was finally told he might mow the lawn -if he chose, and in telling the story, my friend said, with tears in his -eyes: "He was so sincere that he went over it four times. He really -seemed to have shaved, instead of mowed it." He was then allowed to -take a bath, and my friend fitted him out as well as he could with an -old suit of clothing. In the meantime a couple of hundred friends who -had been invited for an evening open-air social chat and singing began -to arrive. The organ was brought out from the parlor, one of the number -began to play, and then my friend called for a volunteer choir to come -and surround the organ to lead the singing. To his great surprise the -bathed and reclothed outcast gently sidled up with the rest. Some of the -elegantly dressed ladies looked upon him with suspicion and some fear, -which, however, dropped away in great measure, as he began to sing. For, -strange to say, though he afterwards declared he had not sung a note for -several years, the assertion of the purpose to live a new and clean -life, seemed not only to bring back the desire to sing, but actually -gave him back his voice. His rich clear tenor soared sweetly and without -effort over the voices of the others and then blended perfectly with -them in glorious harmony. - -A week later, when the friends came, he was there again, and the short -seven days of new resolve and high endeavor had so changed him in -appearance that no one knew him again. A job had been found for him, and -this was done in a remarkable way. Without seeing him, a gentleman, -filled with the helpful spirit, and desirous of being good "for -something," at my friend's request interested himself in finding him -occupation. His capacity was so quickly proven that he was put into a -responsible position where a two-thousand-dollar bond was required, -which he supplied. He worked so thoroughly and efficiently that he was -soon promoted, and ere many months had gone by his family, so long -separated from him, was with him in happiness and content. Before a year -of service he gained the special reward of $1,000 given each year by the -firm that employed him for the highest general efficiency shown in any -department, and is to-day honored, respected, back again in the high -estate from which he had fallen, but a far wiser, nobler, and better -man. - -Through tribulation and sorrow, pain and woe, wretchedness and despair, -sin and its consequences he had learned the lesson, that you cannot -shirk the moral multiplication table--that there is no short cut to -goodness, except to accept at once, instead of later, the will of the -Divine. - -Go back for a few moments to the first outcast, who brought this second -one to my friend. Had he gone away with the thought that now he must -make some money, he must take care of himself _first_, the second man -might have filled a suicide's grave. He started out right--to be -Divine-willed--to be unselfish, to be helpful to the rest of the world, -and those worse off than himself. Muir didn't want to study medicine to -become a great physician for the purpose of making money, but to relieve -the pain of unfortunate sufferers. He willed to be good "for something." -This is the spirit, the life, I would radiate on every hand, every day. -I do not mean that all endeavor for self-improvement, self-culture, -self-benefit is undesirable. By no means. But the nearer it approximates -to the unselfish ideal, the better it will be. When Walt Whitman was a -young man, he was a house-builder. He happened to strike a "building -boom," and made money so fast that, said he, "I was in danger of -becoming rich." And he decided to go and be an unpaid nurse in the Union -Army, rather than spoil himself by becoming rich. To gain riches is good -as far as it goes--but it goes a very short way in the road to manhood, -character, nobleness of life. So whatever you will to do and be, put a -high ideal before you, something immeasurably better than mere -money-getting. Make your profession a means of grace, of -character-building, of enabling you to benefit and bless the world. Mere -financial success can easily be attained, but you will surely not be -content with that. Hitch your wagon to a star, and soar upwards. Aim at -the high things. Will to do great, noble, beneficent things and that -will be willing to be good "for something." - -The third thing in connection with the human will that I wish to -radiate is what I might term "the insistence of the human will." After I -have willed to be "Divine-willed," and to "will to achieve a high and -noble purpose," I want to compel my will to keep on willing that which I -have already willed. It is comparatively easy to will to do, or be, -something, but alas! how far short some of us come from attaining that -which we have willed to be. When Jesus sent out His disciples He gave -them many warnings, much encouragement, informed them of the -difficulties they would encounter, and then incited them to persistence -of endeavor by assuring them that "He that endureth to the end shall be -saved." It is this thought of "endurance," or "persistence" that I would -ever radiate. I have set before me an aim, an object, worthy to be -achieved. Though it may be difficult to attain, I will to keep on -willing until it is attained. - -A short time ago I watched the students at the Physical Culture Training -School, in Chicago. It gives me a good illustration of what I would ever -radiate. - -I saw the leader of one of the classes do a particular act, and then the -students, one after another, tried to follow the leader in doing that -thing. Some of the men who tried, willed to do it all right, but they -did not succeed. Many times a man wills to do a thing when he does not -seem competent, but the real man keeps on until he makes himself -competent. So with some of these. They went back and tried again--and -went back and tried again, and the men who willed and then kept at it -until they became competent were the ones that achieved. - -One of the great lessons of all life is, not merely to learn to -will--that is easy enough--but to insist upon the will keeping at it -until we accomplish what we have determined to do. We "will" every day -to do things, and yet we do not do them. We say, "I am going to do this; -I am going to do that; or the other." We start out in life and we have -all kinds of ambitions and aspirations before us, and we say, "This is -going to be my achievement; I intend to accomplish this thing." But we -get to be twenty-five--thirty years of age, and we have not -achieved--that is, the great mass of people have not. - -Why? - -Because we have not learned this lesson of the Insistence of the Human -Will. We have determined to do a thing and then we have not had the -power or the courage or the determination or the endurance to keep on -willing until the thing desired was achieved. - -Let us suppose a case: A man starts in a race; he is on the ground ready -to spring forward at the firing of the pistol. The moment the pistol is -fired he makes his forward bound and goes ahead as hard as he can. Is a -good start all that is needed? I picked up a picture recently of a -runner who was coming to the end of his race. His face revealed clearly -what a struggle he was having. His mouth was wide open, and he was -laboring to the very extremity of his strength and power; he was -"enduring to the end." He made a good start, but now at the latter part -of the journey the race was more difficult; it was almost dangerous -because he was panting so hard he could scarcely get his breath. The -whole face, the whole body, seemed in pain and distress; but he was -_enduring_; he was going on. It is the man who not only makes the start, -but _he who endures_ that wins the race. - -It is not those who start in with the greatest hope, and faith, and -energy, and courage, but "He that shall endure to the _end_ shall be -saved." It is the enduring to the end. Hence let me urge upon you the -speedy learning of this important lesson of life. After you have willed -to do a good thing put your purpose before you; keep it clearly, -positively in sight all the time; then, every day and every hour, -resolve to _do_ that which you have _determined_ to do; in other words, -insist that you do what you have willed to do. - -I was once very much interested in watching Bernarr Macfadden, the -editor of _Physical Culture_ magazine. I was favored with opportunities -for coming in close touch with him. The way he insists that his will -shall endure; the way he takes himself by the throat, as it were, and -insists, is most interesting to me. One day I started out with him for a -walk. He was quietly and easily getting himself in training so that he -could walk fifty miles and be fresh and vigorous enough at the end of -the walk so that he could give a lecture. Certainly it is a delightful -and a profitable thing to be able to walk fifty miles without exhausting -fatigue. We started out together, but after walking twelve miles I felt -weary, and returned. But he went on, and when he returned that night I -found he had walked thirty-seven miles. Though he was doing all his -regular and arduous work, he was quietly insisting on these long walks, -and in a very short time he would accomplish his fifty miles daily with -comparative ease. He has mastered the idea--"The Insistence of the Human -Will." - -Take an inventor. No man ever invents anything unless he insists day -after day, in spite of discouragements, in spite of failures, in spite -of opposition, sometimes in spite of the stealings of people who would -rob him of what he has already accomplished. The man who has the real -desire to be an inventor keeps on and on, compelling his will to rewill -what he has already willed, and I could fill these pages with the life -stories of men who have determined, and of women who have determined, -and who have achieved because they have learned this lesson of the -insistence of the will. - -I once had the pleasure of talking with Thomas A. Edison, in his -laboratory, in Orange, N. J. I said, pointing to a mass of interesting -looking materials: "What is this, Mr. Edison?" He said, "Oh, I have been -working for thirty years on that thing." - -"How are you getting along with it?" - -He replied, "Well, sometimes I think we are making progress, and then -again I think we are not, but the only way we can achieve is by keeping -everlastingly at it, and when I can't work, I set my men to work on it, -and we are slowly getting results." - -And so Mr. Edison every once in awhile astounds the world with some -marvelous achievement. People suppose he stumbles on it--that he -discovers it in a moment, and perhaps he does, but that moment was made -possible by the thousands upon thousands of moments that were as steps -he had taken leading up to the place where the vision burst upon him. Do -you see the thought? It is the Insistence of the Human Will that compels -achievement. It is the man that never lets up that gains the reward. - -Fifty years ago a man named Judah set out to survey a railroad across -the great Sierra Nevada range of mountains, that vast barrier that -seems to separate California from the rest of the world. The people -practically said, "You are a fool to think of such a thing," but he -calmly replied: "I know I can put a road through; I am going to try it -anyhow." So he began to climb those mountain heights. He threaded the -passes one by one. He took his men and they worked day after day, week -after week, month after month, upon what seemed to be an impossibility. - -What was the result? He kept at it until he achieved. He made his plans -and made them so well that he ultimately succeeded in convincing the -House of Representatives and the United States Senate that such a -railroad was possible. - -Then four men, Huntington, Crocker, Stanford, and Hopkins, determined to -build the road that he had surveyed. Again the pessimists said: "It is -impossible; you will never raise the money to build a railroad over the -Sierra Nevadas." But the four men worked away, and little by little got -the money. As they built they were harassed on every hand. Labor -troubles in those days were terrible. The President of the company said, -"I don't know what we are going to do." Crocker, the man who had -undertaken to see after the actual building of the road, said: "I know -what I am going to do; I am going to get help to build that railroad -somewhere." And so he sent a man to China to secure a lot of Chinese -laborers. These were brought to this country, and the result was that -with those Chinamen, in defiance of the President of his company, who -had said that Chinamen should not be employed, Crocker built the -railroad. And now you can cross the Sierra Nevada range without a -thought of care because of the dominant, insistent will of that man and -his associates. - -The fact of the matter is, if you are going to achieve anything in life -you will have to be "drivers"--you will have to keep at it until you -succeed. You will have to be a slave driver, and you yourself will be -the slave, willingly, gladly, joyously, of your own purpose. Do you want -to be a slave to your own purpose? Do you want to _do_ the things that -you have willed to do? Some of us get the idea that bondage--to be bound -to anything--is always an unpleasant thing. Not at all! Bind yourself to -a high and noble purpose. Make yourself a slave to it in the sense of -conscientiously sticking to it. Now drive yourself, and compel yourself -to go ahead and do that which you have determined to do. - -When I think of the old pioneers who walked and rode across this country -to reach California; when I think of the many dangers, difficulties, and -hardships that faced those men; when I see that they were living -illustrations of this thought I am trying to bring out--I wish I had -only time and space to give a definite account, instead of a mere -synopsis of the kind of things they had to endure. They were surrounded -by hostile Indians; again and again their lives were in jeopardy. Now -and then they came to great sloughs and marshes, and their wagons and -animals were bogged. They had to find their way across the dangerous -quicksands; hard storms came and they had whirlwinds and floods to -contend with. Now and again they found themselves in the heart of -canyons, where there was no apparent way out; yet they went on, and on, -until they either died or reached the land for which they had started! - -A party of eighty set out to cross the great Sierra Nevada range, and -the difficulties they encountered can best be imagined when I tell you -that forty of them died on the way. The difficulties that beset the -forty that were left made it all but impossible for them to get out. One -of them told me about the terrible hardships they suffered. She said, "I -remember, distinctly, when the time came for us to get away, my dear -mother taking up the baby, and leaving me behind with the other baby. -She said, 'Now, Virginia, you stay right here!' She then went on with -the baby, and, after struggling step by step, in such a way that it -would break your heart to think of it, for about twenty paces, she put -down the baby and came back for the other baby and myself." And so, step -by step, step by step, that woman with her three little children, -started on that awful journey of scores of miles through deep snow. -Fortunately help came to her assistance and she finally achieved. She -reached California, though one would have thought it absolutely -impossible. There was the tremendous insistence of the human will. - -Let us say "I will!" and then insist upon doing the things we have said -we will do. - -I remember when I was a boy hearing some one recite something that I -thought was very foolish. A little piece of "poetry" it was called. It -was as follows: - - Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on! - Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on! - Go on, go on, go on! - -I have since learned that there is a great deal in that "poem." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -RADIANCIES OF CHEERFULNESS - - -I want to be cheerful and to radiate cheerfulness at all times, under -all circumstances, in all conditions and places. I want to do this -because I want to do it. Not because it is my duty, or because I shall -make some one else unhappy if I do not, but merely and simply because -there is a great joy in the fact of cheerfulness itself. - -I have a friend into whose presence I never come without feeling the -radiant cheerfulness of his nature. His face lights up with a beautiful -smile, his hand is immediately stretched out and my hand grasped with a -cordial clasp; kind words come to his lips with a sincerity that one can -never question, and in the most unaffected, genuine, and simple manner -he radiates the cheerfulness and gladness of his own soul. - -Did you never meet with such people who were always bright and sunny, -who always gave forth a cheery word, always radiated optimism? -Everything they say or do makes you feel with Browning: - - God's in His heaven; - All's right with the world. - -And all this is done without any flattery or conscious effort on their -part to make you feel good. Some of the severest rebukes I have ever -received were from this man of whom I have spoken, and yet they were -given in such a sweet, gentle manner and with such perfect sincerity -that not only was there no irritation aroused, but a sense of gratitude -implanted that I had such a real, sincere friend. - -I do not wonder that men demand cheerfulness in others. It seems -somewhat heartless to put up a notice in your office, as I have seen in -many offices, "I have troubles enough of my own. Tell yours to the -janitor," or as another version has it, "Don't tell your troubles to me, -I have enough of my own," yet it speaks of a fact that is all too -universal, namely, that each person does have his own large share of -burdens which sometimes seem as if they would swamp him. - -As Dr. Gulick once wrote: - - There is probably not one person in the world but has tragedy enough - and pain enough straight along to warrant--yes, absolutely to - warrant--pretty complete discouragement. And I imagine that there is - no person who is so perfectly adjusted by nature, so entirely - balanced in health, that there are not times when it is necessary to - hold himself by deliberate will power--to forget how he has been - hurt, to turn aside from some ugly thing in a friend's character, to - turn aside from the bad in his own character, for every one of us - has that which is bad in his character. Our characters are ugly - enough in part so that, if we were to dwell constantly on that part, - the prospect would seem pretty disheartening and justifiably so. - -All this has to be remembered in our association with men and women. And -when we remember, why should we not wish, instead of adding to their -burdens, to lighten or help remove them? - -That cheerfulness is possible in this world of woe and trial, there can -be no question, because every now and again, each of us has met with -some person who radiated this quality at all times. And we know that in -our own experience, when we have willed to be cheerful and to radiate -cheerfulness to others, we have accomplished far more in that line than -we otherwise should have done. - -Only the other day I picked up a trade journal and in it was a short -letter from one business man about another business man who had recently -passed away. Let me quote a part of it: - - Away back in the '80's I met him under the following circumstances. - I was then in Chicago and although an invalid was well enough to - assist my brother a little in his office work. - - One day a stranger came in who received an especially cordial - greeting from both my brother and his partner. It proved to be Harry - W. Sommers. - - He was, for a short time, a daily visitor and when he came in there - seemed to come with him a glow of sunshine. - - It made the same impression upon me as it does sometimes, after a - long period of rain and cloudiness, when the sun, in all its - brightness, suddenly bursts forth. - - One day he came to bid my brother good-by, and although it is - twenty-one years ago, the wave of his hand, the cheery smile and the - hearty good-by, as he looked toward me, still linger in my memory. - - Many a time since has he come into my mind, although I never saw him - afterward, accompanied with the thought that were there more Harry - Sommerses in this world, it would be a brighter and far happier - place to dwell. - -I would far rather leave a legacy like that behind me than to leave an -immense fortune over which my heirs would quarrel and go to law and -engender ill feelings and then possibly spend in an injurious manner. - -It is said of Sister Dora, the noble-hearted woman who gave her life to -the iron workers of the "Black Country" in England, that as she went to -and fro in the wards of the hospitals, her presence was like a glad -burst of sunshine to the poor sick men and women to whom she ministered. -Though they were rough, uncouth, even profane and wicked, she never -failed in her courtesy and bright cheerfulness, and the result was that -patients under her control regained their health far more rapidly than -those who were subjected to the depressing influences of moody, -cheerless, censorious persons. - -The same thing is said of Walt Whitman. When he was in the Government's -employ at Washington, with a salary of one hundred and twenty dollars a -month, he took forty dollars of this for his own use and spent the -other eighty dollars to provide comforts and luxuries for the poor -soldier boys in the hospitals. I have heard old soldiers tell of the way -they used to feel when he appeared. "It was like the coming of a young -Santa Claus." He carried a pack on his back which he would drop by the -side of a bed and reaching out his friendly hand, with a radiant smile -would say: "Well, how is it with you to-day?" and then, if the soldier -were a stranger, he would ask: "Do you use tobacco?" If the man said, -"No," he would reply, "That's good." If on the other hand he said, -"Yes," Walt's reply would be the same, and he would dive down into his -pack and bring out a little tobacco, which he would give with a few kind -and cheery words to the poor bed-ridden soldier. If the invalid didn't -use tobacco there was a book, a game, or something else that would bring -cheer and forgetfulness. Thus he would pass up and down the wards, -radiating brightness and good cheer on every hand. There is no wonder -that as he passed outside every eye followed him, every heart felt an -instinctive "God bless you," and every voice called out, "Come again, -soon." - -There surely are enough conditions in Nature to help the soul that wants -to be cheerful and radiate cheerfulness. Every morning the sun arises -with radiating light, brightness and beauty, illuminating and glorifying -even the darkest and dullest of the things of earth. The stars shine -nightly in all their sincere and calm beauty, radiating the assurance of -Infinite power and perpetual care. - -In radiant Nature, the butterfly skims the air in its light and -fascinating flight, attracting the eye and charming with its exquisite -coloring. The dew of morning, receiving the golden rays of the sun, -makes the grass and trees appear as if blossoming in millions of -diamonds, each a globe of radiating, scintillating brightness and -beauty. The birds sing day and night, rain or shine, in sunshine or -storm, radiating their cheerfulness and constant optimism. The trees -awaken to the caressing touch of the sun and rustle to and fro, speaking -in unmistakable language their joy of mere living, and glistening back -and forth their appreciation of the gift of warmth and brightness. The -flowers grow as freely in the wilds as in the cultivated gardens of -man--blossoming evidences of Nature's power to produce gorgeous and -resplendent color, perfection in beauty of form and exquisite -deliciousness in odor. Even the snail crawls along expressive of delight -in the morning, and the worm comes forth from the clod to express its -appreciation. - -I have watched the mountains with their snow-crowned, virgin-pure peaks -soaring into the blue of the heavens and the massive rocks of the mighty -canyons of the West basking restfully in the glorious light of day, and -even these majestic rock-giants spoke the unmistakable language of joy, -and called upon men to be cheerful. - -We find exactly the same spirit and influence, if we will but look for -it, in mankind. Too often we see but the sordidness, the greed, the -selfishness, the cruelty, the rapacity of men, yet we all know that this -is but one side, and it is not the reality, it is only the shadow of the -real man, that the _real_ man is kind, sympathetic, helpful, generous, -true-hearted, and pure. If we fix our eyes upon one tiny spot the size -of a dollar that is speckled or black, we can soon shut out all the -brightness, beauty, and sweetness outside. I well remember one of the -sentimental songs that was current in my boyhood days. It probably had -as much of the mock sentiment as any other of these songs, but two lines -of the refrain I have never forgotten, and whenever I hear one speaking -of the unkindness of humanity, I feel like quoting them: - - But speak not so untruly, - There are kind hearts everywhere. - -In spite of the strenuousness of our modern life, as we look around upon -the social settlements, the orphan asylums, and the thousands of men and -women who adopt helpless orphans, the prisoners' aid societies, where -business men actually make a point of finding their help, where -possible, from those who have served a term in prison or the -penitentiary, and the thousand and one other institutions which show -that the Golden Rule is actively in operation in the hearts of men and -women--I say these things make me happy and cheerful, and I feel like -singing for joy, that innate beauty is as much in evidence, and more, in -the hearts and minds of men as it is in Nature. - -So I want cheerfulness to be the constant habit of my mind and soul. I -do not wish to be cheerful occasionally or semi-occasionally. I would -prefer to be a man of one mood and that mood, with its variations, to be -a mood of habitual cheerfulness. I regard a cheerful disposition as one -of the most precious possessions. It is like a pair of spectacles that -have the power of luminosity within themselves. It sees clearly enough -but lightens up the darkest and most dreary spots of earth. Cheerfulness -is not only a duty, but a philosophy, a religion, a wisdom. The cheerful -man is the perpetually wise optimist. A cheerless or gloomy man is the -perpetually unwise pessimist. And years ago I learned to test all -philosophies and religions by practical life. No philosophy, no religion -was good that could not satisfy every-day life. Optimism never fails at -any time, but pessimism is worse than a broken reed to lean upon. - -Take the pessimists you know, and I can pretty nearly stake my life -upon it you will find nearly all of them dyspeptics, with poor -circulation, shivering on a cold morning with their hands in their -pockets, complaining that they were not awakened early enough, finding -fault because the breakfast was not served just right, railing at the -car service, ranting about the rottenness of men in public life. They -seem to take a pride in believing, as did Dickens' Mantalini in -_Nicholas Nickleby_, that "We are all going to the demnition bow-wows." -What a contrast there is between this man and the Cheeryble Brothers of -the same book, those great and simple-hearted human reservoirs of -cheerfulness and optimism, radiating sweetness, happiness, content, -wherever they went, blessing and benefiting every heart willing to -accept the sweetness and purity of theirs. - -Pessimism is not a working theory of life. It is the substitution of -gloomy, deep-blue spectacles for the beautiful luminous ones. As Dr. -Gulick says: - - Pessimism is negative, denial, believing that the evil is more than - the good, that life is not worth while; it is a dampening down of - life. Pessimism tends to its own annihilation, because it takes away - life's motives, life's vigor, life's power. - -On the other hand, optimism cheers, encourages, brightens, beautifies, -glorifies, blesses, helps. And I long ago learned that that man, that -woman, who succeeds in helping and benefiting and blessing mankind is -essentially an optimist. - -The other day I saw the act of an optimist. He and a friend were seated -in a street car. It was Saturday night, the car was crowded, and by and -by two well-dressed men got in, one of them with an unmistakable look of -refinement, the other somewhat coarse looking. Both had evidently been -drinking heavily. The more refined and elder of the two could barely -stand upright, as the car whirled around the curves. The optimist looked -up, saw the state of affairs, and in the sweetest, gentlest manner arose -and extended his hand and bade the elderly gentleman take his seat. -There was no look of reproach or disgust, and yet I know that he was a -rigid abstainer and strong temperance worker and one who hated every -form of indulgence in alcoholic liquors. The companion of the man who -had taken the seat, began to talk in the ordinary mumbling, rambling, -effusive style of the drunkard, and the other without either impatience -or any sign of disapproval, quietly entered into the conversation, and I -speak only the fact when I state that without any preaching or -fault-finding, his few earnest, sincere, optimistic words so won the -heart of that large, coarse-looking, drunken man that he seemed -absolutely sobered and responded to the higher call of the soul. - -This is what optimism and cheerfulness do for mankind, hence I want to -radiate it more and more. - -Mark Twain was full of this spirit of radiating cheerfulness. In one of -his darkest hours in San Francisco, before he had gained name or fame, -things had gone wrong and a lady friend passing along a street saw him -standing beside a lamp-post with a cigar-box under his arm. "Cigars?" -she asked. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" "I'm m-o-o-v-i-n-g," -drawled Mark, at the same time displaying the contents of the box which -consisted of a pair of socks, a pipe, and two paper collars. Even in his -darkest hours he was able to look out upon the bright side, and out from -those hours of gloom came some of the brightest pieces of wit and -cheerful philosophy to irradiate and bless the entire world. - -If I were an employer of labor and could get the right men and women to -do the work, I would employ a half dozen for my factory or workshop to -teach my employees to be cheerful, to laugh and sing at their work. It -would be a good paying investment. I would get a great deal more work -out of my employees and of a great deal better quality. A hearty laugh -is better than a bottle of medicine; a volume of Mark Twain or Marshall -Wilder, better than a library of pessimistic philosophy of high sounding -phrases. - -Cheerfulness takes the jolts out of the rutty road of life. It is an -extra pair of springs to the wagon. It is an automobile shock-absorber. -It resists the encroachments of the grouch and bids the blue devils -avaunt! - -The old-fashioned methods of kings having a clown to keep them and their -court laughing during meal time was a profound piece of philosophy and -wisdom, for the stomach's sake, if for no other reason. The folly of the -clown caused laughter, promoted genial humor which increased the flow of -all the digestive juices and thus contributed to good digestion and -perfect assimilation. The uncheerful father or mother who sits down to -the table like a thundercloud and suppresses the bright, happy -exuberance of childhood ought to be taken down to the dentist and pumped -full of laughing-gas until he or she would laugh for a week. I would -make such people laugh until their sides ached and they had to go to bed -to get over it, and every time a frown or gloomy look came over the face -I would have somebody lift a warning finger (but also a laughing face) -and threaten them with another week's dose of laughing-gas. - -"But," says the gloomy one, "life has gone wrong with me. How can I be -cheerful when I am out of work and sick and have no friends?" Your case -is hard, my friend. I recognize it with sympathy, but let me tell you -this, that every grouchy look and word will make it harder for you to -get work, and will put friendship further away from you. Even as a -business proposition, it does not pay. _Make yourself laugh_ and be -cheerful, whether you can be or not, for very few men are willing to -surround themselves with those who appear to be gloomy, depressed and -grouchy. Learn the lesson that it does no good to indulge in self-pity. -Whatever the adverse circumstances of life may be, face them like a man. - -Years ago I had learned this lesson of refusal to pity myself, and I -then wrote: - -"I want to radiate a spirit that refuses to pity itself for any of its -woes, its afflictions, its misfortunes, its sorrows. There is no -weakness so weak as the weakness of self-pity; there is nothing so -spiritually debilitating as to brood over one's own sorrows. It is a -kind of melancholy selfishness; it neither helps one's self nor others; -it is depressing to all concerned. I happened to read to-day in a -popular novel a sentence that most truthfully expresses what I believe -upon this subject: 'The most absolutely selfish thing in the world is to -give way to depression, to think of one's troubles at all, except of how -to overcome them. I spend many delightful hours thinking of the pleasant -and beautiful things of life. I decline to waste a single second even in -considering the ugly ones.' - -"It is just as easy to form a habit of dwelling upon the sweet and good -and beautiful and happy things of life as upon the bitter and evil and -ugly and unhappy things. Brooding enlarges whatever it exercises itself -upon, whether it be good or evil, joy or woe. So brood on the good -things, cast out the others, and so live that you radiate this joy and -determination not to recognize the evil and unpleasant things. - -"Self-pity takes the backbone out of one. It robs one of his manhood, -his courage, his daring to go on and face all the difficulties before -him. It is self-pity that makes the suicide. He looks at his woes, his -difficulties, until he cannot bear them, and so goes and takes the big -plunge into the dark. - -"Brother, sister, quit your self-pitying. There is another side to the -darkness. Look up, not down. Remember that, in the words of Robert -Browning, 'God's in His heaven, all's right with the world.' So I have -long resolved to radiate cheerfulness as much when I am _down_, as when -I am _up_--when misfortune glowers upon me, as when fortune smiles. It -is so easy to interpret our material good as a proof of God's favor, and -our material ill as a sign that He is displeased with us. Those who went -to Jesus and asked, when the tower of Siloam fell and killed eighteen: -'Were they not sinners above all others because this thing happened to -them?' are not without their myriads of counterparts in the world -to-day. When a man strikes a new gusher in an oil region, or a good -flow of water in a desert country, or his grainfield gives him seventy -bushels to the acre, it is easy enough to believe that Providence is -smiling upon him, and, therefore, his faith is strong and unquenchable. -I have enough of that kind of faith. I can radiate that without an -effort or thought. But I desire above all things to radiate a like sure -and definite faith when my neighbor strikes a gusher and I do not; when -my _enemy_ finds a fine flow of water and _my_ crops are being -parched--I want as strong a sense of contentment when Fortune _smiles -upon the other fellow_, as when it smiles upon me." - -This leads to another practical radiance. It is that of absolute -certainty that things do not _happen_. There is no such thing as a -"happenstance" in the world. - -"Nothing happens," is a word often on my inner lips. There is no evil, -no wrong, no misfortune to the man who consciously lives with power ever -surrounding him. In our short-sightedness, we dream, we think of evil, -or ill, or wrong, or misfortune, but if our faith's eyes were always -open, we should see nothing but good--and that all circumstances are -good in their ultimate results upon us. - -Some years ago I met a lady who possessed this spirit of radiant -cheerfulness, and yet she was in a sanitarium and had undergone several -severe surgical operations. - -In conversation with her, I learned that some years before she had found -herself afflicted with a tumor in her breast. The surgeon said that -nothing but the knife would remove it. This seemed almost like a -sentence to death, and my friend and her husband, children, and friends -were deeply saddened by the necessity. They all went through a period of -deep gloom, of darkness, of despondency. Then there came to her the idea -that it was contrary to Nature that she and her loved ones should waste -their time, energy, and strength in such repining and sorrow. She -remembered the words, "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by -prayer and supplication make your requests known unto God," and then -there came to her the joy of the promise that followed: "And the peace -of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds" -in what is sure to be the spirit of peace and love. - -So she began to look upon the duty of cheerfulness. She soon saw that it -was the only path for her to walk in. The operation was performed. It -was serious, and for three years she and her loved ones had to struggle -hard to be cheerful and optimistic. But the results more than repaid for -the efforts expended, for, when at the end of the three years, the -tumor again appeared, even more serious in character, and she had to go -to the hospital again, she found that, after the first few dark hours, a -great peace stole over her whole being, and as a result of her cheerful -radiancy, her husband and children were "adorably cheerful and loving." -She has since said: - -"I went to the hospital feeling sure that I could find peace in -suffering, pleasure in pain, contentment through it all. When I was put -upon the operating table this sense of peace and content and lack of -fear enabled me to take the anesthetic easily, and after the operation -was over, when the pain was terrible, to fight my battle with a happy -heart. I faltered a little once or twice when the pain seemed to pile -mountains high during the first few days, but when my nurse found that I -meant to make the best of everything, she took hold in the right way -with a spirit of determination to help me, so it was not long before I -really seemed to rise, by means of the very mountains of pain that at -first appeared as if they would overwhelm me, to summits of joy, content -and satisfaction I could not have known without them. - -"As I looked out of the windows, the trees seemed to be putting forth -their leaves in richest beauty all _for me_. The birds--the robins and -bluebirds--seemed to come and sing _for me_. The air grew daily more -balmy and sweet, and as I contemplated these things, I found even the -tremendous noises of switching cars and the disagreeable sounds of the -engine, combined with the racket of the wagons that came rattling over -the cobble-stones, came to be quite bearable. Peace and joy were in my -heart. I was content, full, satisfied." - -And she certainly looked it. She was a radiating reservoir of these -glorious and uplifting qualities. How could she be otherwise? So, with -this woman's experience in mind I again urge you to be cheerful. Be -happy. Acquire _the habit of the effort_. It soon grows easy. Believe -implicitly in the power of Good--and that the apparently bad is contrary -to Nature's laws and wishes (being a result of some transgression or -ignorance), and that whatever happens is good, for it works out for the -best in the end. - -And now, to conclude, or as our preacher friends say, "one more word." -In my radiancy or cheerfulness, I want to remember to radiate all the -time and to all people. It is easy enough to be cheerful in the presence -of our superiors and with our companions and equals. But I notice that -it is a very different matter with many people to be cheerful with those -whom society and the world call their inferiors--the elevator boy, the -bell boy, the valet, the chambermaid, the clerk, the stenographer, the -laborer, the coachman, in other words, all those whom we call -"servants." Many people feel that they are not under any obligation to -be cheerful to them, but, oh, what a joy they miss, what a privilege -they throw away. Why not especially radiate cheerfulness to the fullest -possible extent to those who have less of this world's goods than -ourselves? Why not help them bear the burdens of life by your radiant -optimism? Let your cheerfulness be real, sincere, honest, manly. Try to -concern yourself in their interests and understand somewhat of the -battles they have to fight. It does not take up much time or require -much effort. It is the _spirit_ of the thing that is felt and that -counts. So, be cheerful at all times and radiate your cheerfulness to -all sorts and conditions of men. Thus you will go through the world -leaving a blessed path of sweetness, brightness, and sunshine behind you -which will illuminate, cheer, and bless all who walk therein. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -RADIANCIES OF MORAL COURAGE - - -I want to radiate moral courage. Who that has read the life of Emerson -cannot appreciate the moral courage that controlled him at all times. He -was incapable of cowardice. Timid, sensitive as the most delicate plant, -shrinking from notoriety, he yet did and said things that brought down -upon him the censure and concentrated fury and hatred of thousands. He, -so gentle and kind, spoke words that hit and smashed and crashed through -the entrenched ideas of the world like red-hot cannon-balls. Though -never a politician, he spoke words on the principles involved in the -slavery question that surpassed in fervid eloquence and effective power -anything ever said by Wendell Phillips or William Lloyd Garrison. On one -occasion he faced a mob of fiery sympathizers with the other side and -declared the highest, purest truths of the brotherhood of man, and when -remonstrated with for daring such an assemblage he calmly and quietly -replied: "Had I been dumb, I would have gone and muttered and made -signs." - -When men worshiped certain ideas and believed that they were religion, -and that it was needful to believe them in order to live aright on earth -and win the favor of a heavenly hereafter, Emerson arose and smote them -into the dust by the calm, relentless, passionless logic of one who sees -and knows--the divinely ordained prophet--and one result of his daring -was that he was cast out from his pulpit and from the sweet and hallowed -communion he and his grandfathers for eight past generations had enjoyed -in the church. What a wrenching of heart strings, what a tearing away of -old ties, what an isolation of oneself, what a bringing down of the -avalanche of abuse, of slander, of harsh words and unkind deeds! Yet he -never hesitated. The oversoul called to the sacrifice, and at the same -time pointed to the recompense of the spirit, and he never saw, never -knew, never felt the contumely, the scorn, the ostracism, the abuse. - -Is it not glorious to live in such a realm of high spiritual courage? To -do unconsciously? To _be_ unconsciously? Not to have to work your -courage up to the daring point; to nerve yourself for the plunge, but to -plunge anyhow, trusting, knowing that in doing the highest, the noblest, -the best thing conceivable to you, you can never fail? What does -starvation of the body mean to the man whose soul is uplifted into the -presence of the Most High? Such an one can live for forty days or forty -years, if necessary, without more food than would feed a sparrow. What -does isolation from his fellows--preachers, doctors, lawyers, every-day -men and women--mean to a man who communes daily with angels, archangels, -and with God Himself? Does he feel slighted, hurt, neglected? Such a -courage as this I myself desire, so that I may live it, radiate it every -moment. - -It was this courage that made John Brown march on that most quixotic of -all marches--with a handful of men to free the slave. It was rebellion, -anarchy, unlawful invasion, the breaking of man's law--of course it was. -But he saw a higher vision than man's outlook, he felt a higher call -than man's demand, and he knew no law of man in the obedience of his -soul, body, life, _his all_, to the call of the Spirit. And though a -rude Kansas pioneer and farmer, he had the soul-courage to obey. -Forward! March! He marched to his death! - -Did he? No! He marched to the death of his body, but he began a -triumphant march in the heavens forever brilliantly illuminating the -minds and souls of men, and lifting them up into a higher state of life, -making them less sordid, less afraid of position, life, honor, less -easily influenced by the keen censure and scorn of the blind world. - -Talk about battlefields and batteries, forts and forlorn hopes and the -courages of the Charge of the Light Brigade, or of the Stand of the Old -Guards at Waterloo, or of Dewey sailing into Manila Harbor; what were -those acts of physical courage compared with the moral heroism that -leads a man to dare the stake, the cross, or the tortures of the bigot? -Read Mark Twain's _Life of Joan of Arc_, and feel your heart throb to -the high-souled, divinely inspired courage of that girl of eighteen; not -only physical courage, as when she led, in person, the charges of the -French army against the English, who had been victorious in France for -almost a hundred years, but when she dared the great ecclesiastical -courts that badgered and baited her, as she sat unaided, alone, -unbefriended, undefended, unadvised by man, for weeks at a time, when -the cowardly hounds were determined to send her to the stake. Where did -her heroism and courage come from that she, a mere country peasant -child, who had never even ridden a horse, or seen a battlefield, who -never had read a book, or knew the first thing of guiding and -controlling soldiers, or setting an army in battle array; I say, where -did her courage come from, that she could dare to go into the proud -presence of nobles and warriors and demand that they give her a guard to -take her to the King of France, where she assured him that she would -soon drive out the English and have him duly crowned king of his -reconquered provinces? Here was the radiant life in actual, potent -exercise. She radiated courage and faith, just as the sun radiates -heat--in such abundance that men sweated with it, men were fired to the -intense heat and fervor of new life and courage with it. So that, from a -cowed, disheartened pack of whipped men, who fled from the mere sound of -approach of a small body of English soldiers, raw recruits, as well as -seasoned veterans, shouted to be led against the foe, and when once in -the conflict hammered away regardless of wounds, even of death, until -victory was theirs. - -Whence came this radiant courage and power? It was simply because she -dared to listen to the voices speaking to her soul, and _nothing else -counted_. That's the life I want to get hold of. That is the courage and -the life I wish to radiate. Afraid of men, of starvation, of opposition, -of censure, of hatred, of ostracism? No! Why should we be afraid to lose -a few cents, when our hands are filled with diamonds, and rubies, and -pearls, and nuggets of gold? Why should we fear men, when we have the -courage of our convictions? - -Let us look not down, but up, and seek to draw from the heavens above -the inspiration, the courage, the bravery, the heroism of the soul. - -There has recently passed away in despotic Russia a man whose life for -years has radiated moral courage throughout the world. Tolstoi had the -courage of his convictions. He felt that social distinctions were -wrong. Immediately he did the practical thing--put himself on the plane -of every common laboring man by personally becoming a tiller of his own -soil. "What a fool!" exclaimed the aristocratic world to which, by -birth, he belonged. "Does he think he can change our opinions by that -silly act?" they cried. No! He knew it would have little or no effect on -them, but he was compelled to clear his own soul. So he braved their -laughter and scorn, their contumely and contempt, that the world might -know for certain what he really did think and feel. - -He came to the conclusion that the Government of Russia, and the conduct -of the ministers of the Greek Church--the established church of -Russia--were neither in conformity with true religion nor true -brotherhood. Though the former was despotic, and the latter as -"hide-bound and dogmatic as rigid adherence to dead forms and creeds -ever makes men," he fearlessly expressed his inmost convictions against -both and called upon them to change, reform, amend their ways and -actually become what they professed to be. The state threatened him with -Siberian banishment unless he kept silence, but never till death -silenced him did he heed the threatening command; the church cast him -out, and then he wrote a book, _My Religion_, that gave newer and more -exalted conceptions of religion to the world, even though possibly it -would be hard to find a single man who accepts everything just as -Tolstoi set it forth in that book. - -He came to the decision that the fine clothes and luxurious surroundings -of the rich and noble were neither Christian nor humane. They caused -envy and bitterness in the hearts of those whose lives were one long -struggle with poverty. So at once he cast off his gorgeous apparel, -denuded his own rooms of all unnecessary and elaborate furnishings, and -thus, again and further, placed himself where men could feel the truth -and power of his utterances about human brotherhood. - -When Russia declared war against Japan, Tolstoi wrote a letter to the -Emperor, the state officials, and the Russian people that was a loud -trumpet blast heard throughout the world calling upon them in the name -of their Creator and down-trodden humanity to stop! and declare peace. -Many a man had been sent to Siberia for life--nay, sent to be speedily -tortured to death--for far less than this, but this fearless old man let -his voice ring out with a power that convinced thousands as never before -that war at its best was but a relic of barbarism and a disgrace to -every professedly progressive nation. - -Oh, for a courage like Tolstoi's--true-hearted, brave, simple-minded, -pure, that never failed when called upon. Granted he was "queer," -"quixotic," "unbalanced," "impracticable," was not his queerness and -impracticability at least on the side of the moral forces of the world? -Everybody knew where and how he stood; where his sympathies were; and -his life has strengthened the backbone and put new vigor into the weak -knees of hundreds of thousands, for moral courage radiates with power -that increases according to the square of the distance. It does not grow -less; it enlarges; for each man who feels it becomes a new generator and -transformer and thus enlarges and increases its radiating power four-, -eight-, twelve-fold. - -Henry Bergh was another of these heroic moral-courage radiators. His -tender heart was cut to the quick day by day by seeing the cruelties -perpetrated upon the poor dumb brutes of the city of New York. He -determined to do what he could to stop these barbarous practices. He -agitated and wrote, spoke and interviewed until he succeeded in getting -ordinances and acts passed which gave him power to prevent whatever -cruelties he saw. How he was jeered; how he was cursed, when he sought -to interfere with a brutal driver who would cruelly whip his horses to -compel them to drag loads beyond their strength! The newspapers said he -stood in the way of business, and they sarcastically called him "the -knight of the doleful countenance," not realizing that it was the -cruelties perpetrated by so-called men upon their younger brothers--the -dumb animals--that had so frozen the pain and anguish of his heart upon -his face. But his heart never failed, his courage never wavered. -Threatened, mobbed, his life often in peril, he fearlessly waged -constant warfare against cruelty, and to-day the very city that hated -and scorned him is building monuments to his honor in every -street-watering trough they erect. And his radiant influence has reached -every civilized city _in the world_, such is the penetrating radiancy of -a loving and true heart. - -Before I proceed to a further consideration of this radiancy of a -large-hearted, moral heroism, I want to answer the objection raised to -what I have already written by a young man to whom I read it. He said: -"But I am not an Emerson, or a Wendell Phillips, or a John Brown, or -Tolstoi. What chance do I have of exercising moral courage?" - -A very pertinent question, and one I am glad to try to answer. I do not -believe there was ever a man, a time, or a place which did not, -sometime, somehow, call for the exercise of moral heroism. And -especially in these days of lax principle, breaking down of old -standards, political graft, and worship of material success. What -minister is there in no matter what church who is not called upon, now -and again, nay, often, to speak fearlessly upon some practical subject -upon which people are looking for light? Is he a moral hero who taboos -such subjects, who refrains from discussing them in the pulpit because -they are not "gospel" subjects? What gospel subject can surpass in -interest and in human and divine appeal to the soul of man the -"white-slave" question, and a host of other subjects upon which ordinary -well-to-do men and women need enlightenment? That minister is endowed -with the radiant power of moral courage who, even though he offend some -of the smug, comfortably righteous members of his congregation, dares to -denounce the church people who rent their houses and lands for immoral -purposes, for breweries, for saloons, for any and all things that -destroy men's bodies and souls and bring suffering to innocent women and -children. Take the child-labor question, especially in the communities -where men live who have become rich by using child labor, whether in -cotton factories, glass factories, tobacco, or any other factories. -Should not such men hear the gospel plainly and without equivocation? -Who is to give it? The minister of the Christ who came to seek and save -the down-trodden, the injured, the forsaken, the lost. Then all honor to -the man who dares to speak out, dares to be true to the inward voice, -though he lose caste, position, salary. - -The same courage is required of the politician. How often the public -clamor for, or against, the very opposite of that which is right. In -California a few years ago there was a great fight for the exclusion of -the Japanese and Chinese. How about the doctrine of the brotherhood of -man? Can we play fast and loose with eternal principles? No! Let the -true politician stand by the truth and let the poltroon sacrifice his -principles for temporary advancement and gain. - -There is not an employee who at some time or another is not called upon -to exercise moral courage. Some are asked to do dishonest, mean, -disreputable, contemptible things--for their employers. Some have one -temptation, some another. Stand firm for the highest truth. Be morally -brave and courageous. Dare to refuse. Dare to risk losing your job -rather than your character. Dare to be poor rather than mean. - -One of the great temptations of men and women to-day is to appear better -off than they are. We are all as good as everybody else--so we say--and, -therefore, we must dress as well, dine as well, live as well, and show -off as much. What is the result in many cases? Financial worry or -disaster at best; criminality at worst. For many a man to-day is in the -penitentiary because he and his wife did not have the moral courage to -dare to live within their income; she did not dare to wear her -last-year's hat, or a made-over gown, and he did not dare say No! when -she insisted upon having new and expensive things, or would not deny -himself when his "set" indulged in an expensive pastime which he could -not afford. Oh, the pity of it! Let your courage have a chance to grow. -Plant the seeds of moral heroism early, so that when the testing time -comes you will find the tree already grown to which you can cling. - -Every boy and every girl--no matter how young--has times when -temptations come which it requires moral courage to resist. Better teach -your boy the duty, pleasure, and benefit of this resistance than have -him win every other prize of excellent scholarship. Are you radiating -such courage so that your children feel it? That they are influenced by -it? Happy you, if you are, for it will return to you in the beauty, -strength, nobility, and grandeur of your boy's, your girl's, life in -after days to your benediction and joy. - -The world is cold for want of moral courage. Turn on the radiator. Call -on the great source for a full supply and help make the world warm with -the heroism, the bravery, the moral courage it needs. - -Possessed in any degree, however small, of this heroism of the soul, I, -myself, want to radiate the consciousness that my _natural and proper -place is in the forefront of every movement that makes for human -progress_. Most men are laggards in human progress. Of comparatively -only a few is it said in such things: "He is abreast of his times." Of -only the less than few--the solitary, the individual soldiers--is it -said: "He is ahead of his times." Here I want to find my place. These -are the men and women with whom I would stand. And I would so radiate -the spirit of advancement and progress that every awake and alert soul -and also every quiescent and sleeping soul will feel and know it when we -come in contact. - -In November, 1910, there was held in the city of Chicago an anniversary -celebration of the life and work of Theodore Parker, a New England -Congregational clergyman who lived from 1810 to 1860. When professional -philosophers, reformers, and preachers were discussing, in an academic -fashion, the question of human freedom, while under our banner of -professed "human rights for all," the shackles were on the hands of four -millions of slaves, while professional statesmen were temporizing with -this iniquitous system and proposing compromises, all of which affected -slave owners, and none of them made the slave free, Theodore Parker, in -season and out of season at times appropriate and inappropriate, was a -flaming firebrand of passionate utterance against the hideous hypocrisy -of our national pretense while the rattle of these shackles was in our -ears. It was nothing to him that the solid South was against him; it was -of no weight to him that many of the "respectable moneyed men" of New -England were engaged in the slave trade, and that "practical men of -affairs" counseled moderation, toleration, and caution in dealing with -so "delicate" a subject. He saw only the horrible facts of human -slavery, and that this slavery existed in a land on whose national -banner were inscribed the words: "We believe it to be a self-evident -truth that _all men_ are created free and equal," and the only delicacy -he felt was that the national conscience should be aroused to its -hypocrisy, self-deceit, inconsistency, and dishonor, and that the -slave-holding and slave-trading business should cease in this "land of -the free and home of the brave." We, to whom the Emancipation -Proclamation has been familiar ever since its promulgation, cannot -conceive the terrible stir, the bitter antagonism, the fierce hostility -Parker's clear and ringing words caused at the time of their utterance. -In vain his fellow-preachers begged him to be more cautious, to adopt a -more conciliatory tone. Like Campanello, who took a bell for his crest, -and for his motto the words, "I will not keep silent," he quietly but -firmly, calmly but resolutely, refused, and rang out all the louder and -more insistently his call to the drugged conscience, sleeping honor, and -deadened humanities of his fellow citizens. It was he who inspired in -Lincoln that memorable phrase made forever world-famed by his glorious -Gettysburg speech: "Government of the people, by the people, for the -people." Lincoln spoke November 19, 1863. Parker had written in -November, 1846, these words: - - Let the world have peace for five hundred years, the aristocracy of - blood will have gone, the aristocracy of gold will have come and - gone, that of talent will also have come and gone, and the - aristocracy of goodness, which is the democracy of man, the - government _of_ all, _for_ all, _by_ all, will be the power that is. - Democracy is direct self-government over all the people, by all the - people, for all the people. - -By way of parenthesis, it is interesting here to add that in _The -Christian_ (a London, England, weekly paper), for September 17, 1910, -there was a letter giving an even earlier use of the phrase, as follows: - - SIR: In your report of Principal Carpenter's striking speech at - Budapest, you cite his reference to the well-known fact that "It was - from Parker that Abraham Lincoln borrowed his famous phrase, - 'Government of the people, for the people and by the people.'" But - the further fact should be remembered that Parker himself borrowed - it--doubtless through his perusal of the current _Monthly - Repository_--from Rev. Robert Aspland, our once-famous Hackney - minister. It occurs in Mr. Aspland's speech at the great Whig - banquet of 1828, which celebrated the repeal of the Test and - Corporation Acts, and at which, amongst many distinguished speakers, - Mr. Aspland, by common consent, bore away the palm of eloquence.--AN - EX-M. P. - -These facts in the history of a great phrase I am glad to present, but -the most important fact is not the name of the originator, but the names -of the men who made the phrase live in the hearts of their fellows as -biting, stinging, awakening truths. Parker was one of these. Lloyd -Garrison, Wendell Phillips, John G. Whittier, Lowell, John Brown, -Lovejoy, Lincoln, were others. And you and I, friendly reader, are -to-day basking in the fuller and larger sunlight of freedom let into the -house of our common humanity by the fearless, uncompromising, daring -courage of these men. - -Let us not be laggards in the army of human progress; nor content even -to be abreast with the times. Let us be athirst for deeper waters, -clearer streams. Let us get nearer the mountain top than either of these -two crowds. Let us drink of the fountain spring itself and know nothing -else but the fundamental principles of human relationship, and, drinking -of them to the full, go forth and radiate them in their original purity, -sweetness, and power, diluted only by our imperfect human expression. -Let us, in this and all similar matters, make the words of Browning -ours, that we may ringingly declare to the world as well as quietly -radiate them: - - What had I on Earth to do - With the slothful, with the mawkish, the unmanly? - Like the aimless, helpless, hopeless, did I drivel--Being--who? - One who never turned his back but marched breast forward, - Never doubted clouds would break, - Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph, - Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake. - -Let us not merely come in for the rewards of life's conflicts in which -the few battle for the rights of the many. Let us be in the forefront of -the battle array; even if only as standard-bearers, or buglers, or -drummer boys in the forefront of the advance army, and though our hearts -are often shaken by human cowardice, let our souls triumph and keep our -faces towards the foe, courage at fighting pitch, resolution -indomitable, purpose invincible, so that, if fall we must, we shall fall -with eyes heavenward, and breast fearlessly exposed to the fire of the -enemy. - -I know of no conflict now as severe as the fight for the abolition of -the slave, yet I am in the fight to help women gain the suffrage, and in -the temperance reform. I have been abused by my scientific friends as an -anti-vaccinator and anti-vivisectionist; have been threatened with a -thrashing several times for interfering with brutal teamsters and others -who were cruel to animals and children; have lost caste and position -(with a few people) because I would rebuke corporate injustice, greed, -and tyranny; I have cast behind me much money because it was offered me -in exchange for my independence and freedom. These are small things as -compared with the heroic acts of the giants of past days, but they are -the deeds my soul has been called to face. And I mention them not in -boasting, but as another "declaration of principles," principles I wish -to radiate on every hand, under all circumstances, to all people. - -For I am anxious and determined that, according to the best of my -ability, I will do my share of the work of my time for the benefit of -the future. What would we be to-day without the advantages of Magna -Charta, of the Bill of Rights, of the Declaration of Independence, of -the Emancipation Proclamation? Who won these charters of our liberty? -The heroes of the past. Then the questions I constantly ask myself are: -"What are you doing to add to these liberties to hand on to future ages? -You have received freely; how are you giving? I want to help make the -future more glad and blessed, just as my present has been made glad by -the actions of the heroes of old. I have been inspired to high resolves, -heroic endeavors, blessed ambitions by what they achieved. Am I doing -anything to pass on these high inspirations to endeavor and ambition? -These men met obloquy, hatred, shame, contumely, contempt, danger, -financial loss, physical peril, and in John Brown's, Lovejoy's, and -other cases, death, because of their daring advocacy of unpopular -movements. Shall I be any the less a man than they? Shall I have -received so much, and then be craven and pass on so little?" - -I believe that each generation must pay interest _in kind_ on all their -heritage of the past, or they mark the period of a nation's decline. -Unless we are better, nobler, truer, more advanced, more free, more -progressive, more generous, more philanthropic, more daring, courageous, -lion-hearted than our forefathers, we have defaulted in our interest. -And defaulters are always cowards if nothing worse. Let us not be -cowards. - -In California there are strong movements against the Japanese and the -Chinese. It is easy to join the popular side, but it takes strength of -heart and courage of mind and body sometimes to stand on the other side. -I want to radiate my firm and unshakable conviction of the truth of -human brotherhood, regardless of color, nationality, prejudice, or -selfish and personal interest. Though the Japanese and Chinese, in open -and honest business competition, take away my work, even then I want to -radiate my firm belief in the _universal_ brotherhood of man. And I want -to do it without hesitation, as well as without fear. Hesitation too -often means temporizing, evasion, shuffling, and I do not want to place -myself open to any temptation to these things. Hence I would be prompt -and outspoken in my adherence and advocacy of the fundamental principles -of human brotherhood regardless of personal consequences and indifferent -alike to praise or blame. - -I believe in human democracy, in human freedom, in the equality of men -and women; in morality, government, and household control; in resisting -all tyrannies, whether of law, medicine, theology, or society; in the -uplift of all the criminal and downtrodden; in the fair division of the -profits of all labor; in the jealous preservation of the independence of -every man and every woman; in the right of every child to be well born -and welcomed, and of every woman to determine, without dictation from -any one, whether she shall bear a child or not; in the abolition of all -war; in the disarmament of all nations; in the abolition of land -monopoly; in submitting every question to the test--the greatest -possible good to the greatest number. These, as I now recall them, are -the cardinal principles of my belief, my adherence to which I would -fearlessly, without hesitation or equivocation, ever and always -radiate. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -RADIANCIES OF CONTENT AND DISCONTENT - - -I want to radiate a spirit of content. The dictionary says that to be -content is to be "held full." If one is full, that is enough. He is -satisfied. He has peace of mind. All this is implied in the word -content. I want to radiate this sense of fullness, of satisfaction. I -want people to feel that I am full of physical health, full of mental -vigor, full of spiritual power, and, with the exceptions that I shall -note later on in this chapter, that I am satisfied. - -I want to radiate a large-hearted contentment with things as they are. I -am content with the world as it is. Its glories, its beauties, its -charms, its allurements, its variety, satisfy me. There is nothing in -scenery that the mind can conceive that I cannot find; every sort of -climate is offered to me. I can surround myself with people or I can -dwell in the virgin solitudes. I can live under the gray skies of the -East or under the cerulean blue of the West. The snow-covered heights of -the Himalayas are mine or the wastes of the Sahara. I can toss on the -stormy ocean or bask in the sun-kissed gardens of the South. It is a -glorious, beautiful, blessed world. - -Yet I hear people complaining on every hand. It is too hot, or they wish -it hadn't rained. Why does the wind blow so fiercely? The snow has just -come at the wrong time. Then, too, they find fault with the every-day -occurrences of life. They are angry because they missed a train, have -failed to carry through a business transaction, were delayed and lost an -important appointment. The other day I met a young man holding his -wrist, and with a look of severe pain on his face. In doing some work in -the gymnasium he hurt his hand and wrist. It is hard to radiate -contentment under the annoyance and pain of such things as this and the -circumstances I have mentioned. Yet in these, as in all other things in -life, I believe with Shakspeare: - - There is a Divinity that shapes our ends, - Rough hew them as we may. - -Many a time it is the best thing in the world to have lost an -appointment, to have missed a train, to have sprained one's wrist. The -wet weather is as good as the sunshine, and the storm equally beneficent -with the calm. Hence I want to be content and to radiate my content with -things as they are. Discontent is a burning acid. It eats away the -happy, blessed things of life. It destroys the beauty of an otherwise -perfect life. It takes away the smile and substitutes a frown. It -injects bitterness into words that would otherwise be sweet. It changes -the kind word into an angry curse. And it burns and corrodes far deeper -than one imagines. - -I once had a surgical operation in which a severe corroding substance -was injected into a certain part of my body. My physicians, men of -wisdom and men who loved me, thought they knew how much that corrosive -substance would burn. But it burned far more severely and destroyed much -more tissue than they conceived, and my life came near to paying the -penalty. Discontent works in exactly the same way, only worse. Its -burnings are of the mind, and, therefore, more seriously injurious. Its -burns are deep and uncertain. To put it in another way--it sours the -milk of human kindness. It turns the butter rancid. It pulls down the -shades and shuts out the sunlight. It turns the steam off from the -radiator. It shuts out the fresh air. It banishes the fairies of -jollity, healthfulness, happiness, and content. - -Do not radiate discontent, therefore, but radiate a glorious, buoyant, -exuberant contentment. Think of the books we have to-day, as compared -with those possessed by people who lived a few hundred years ago--the -poems, the dramas, the essays, the histories, the novels, the accounts -of adventure and travel, the revelations of science. Think how cheap -they are, how easy to obtain. Think of the public libraries established -in almost every city, town, and village of the civilized world. In many -states they have now established a method by means of which the library -systems may become county-wide in their influences instead of confined -to the cities and towns. Books are being sent to the remotest farmhouse, -to the shack of the lumberman, the moving home of the sheep-herder, the -log hut of the miner, anywhere, everywhere that a human hand is seen -stretched forth for a book, the new library system seeks to reach. - -Think of the music of to-day! The great bands, the marvelous orchestras, -the soul-inspiring choruses, the wonderfully equipped opera companies, -the cheapness of the organ and piano, the universality of the -graphophone, with its records of music of every character that can be -heard in the humblest home. - -Think of the multiplication of the opportunities for hearing the drama, -some good, some indifferent, some bad, but all more or less revealing -artistic power and calling forth the satisfaction of the onlookers. - -Think of the spread of educational opportunities, the public schools, -the colleges, the universities, the correspondence schools, the women's -clubs and leagues. I went through a high school the other day that was -ten times better equipped for the higher education, as far as it went, -than the universities were a hundred years ago. - -Think of the ease with which we travel--electric cars, railway trains, -automobiles, flying machines. - -Think of the annihilation of distance in conversing with our friends, -the telephone, the telegraph, the telepost, the wireless. - -Think of the opportunities of enjoyment and education offered to the -poor in our large cities by means of the parks, the children's -playgrounds, the free museums, and the art galleries. - -Think of the improvements during late years in the conditions of home -life--the application of gas and electricity for lighting, heating, -cooking, ironing, and, now, even for sweeping and cleaning up. - -Think of the improvements of the condition of lives of our farmers and -their laborers in the remote districts. Little by little the conditions -of life are being made easier for them. Labor is being lightened and the -hours shortened, uncertainties are being eliminated, results made more -sure. - -Think of the growing spirit of freedom and true democracy, of -brotherhood and comradeship that are welding the world together in the -bonds of humanitarian brotherhood; treaties between nations, -federations of nations, world's fairs, the Red Cross movement, The Hague -Peace Tribunal, arbitration instead of war, and agitation for the -reduction of armies and navies.[D] - -[D] This was written prior to the breaking out of the war of 1914-15, -when "hell was let loose in Europe." Yet I do not feel inclined to -change one single line of what I then wrote. During 1915, I was engaged -speaking daily to large audiences at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in -San Francisco--I estimate that I addressed not less than 300,000 people -during that time. In many of these addresses I expressed my thoughts -about the hideousness, the needlessness, the waste, the devilishness of -war, with open frankness, and without a single exception my -denunciations of the system of war were received with hearty applause. I -refer to this merely as an index as to what I believe is the general -thought of all intelligent people on the subject. All except war-mad and -war-hypnotized people hate war and desire to see it abolished, and the -higher standards of brotherly and amicable conference and equitable -adjustment of difficulties take its place. That nations were urged into -the European conflict is no proof that they love war. It is rather a -proof that they hate war enough to die to make future wars impossible. -This, I sincerely hope and confidently expect, will be the tendency of -the result, if not an actually accomplished result. - -One has but to study the changes that have taken place in our -civilization since Dickens began to write, for instance, to see how -wonderfully the world has progressed. He wrote _Nicholas Nickleby_ to -call attention to the horrible abuses existent in boys' boarding -schools, where boys, who for any reason were desired out of the way at -home, were put in charge of human fiends in the guise of -"schoolmasters." Step-children, heirs who were in the way, natural -children, and those whose parents had no natural affection for them, -were put into these dens, and so cruelly abused that they often died; -and at the best they dragged out their miserable existence afraid of -what each hour of the day might bring forth and finding only in their -troubled sleep the relief from the active cruelties they were made to -bear. - -_Little Dorrit_ graphically pictured the horrors of the "prison for -debt" system, and in the wonderfully painted character of Little -Dorrit's father, Dickens showed how every human trait and feeling, every -noble passion and emotion was dwarfed, twisted, distorted, and perverted -by the action of this unnatural, cruel, and monstrous law. - -_Barnaby Rudge_ called equally vivid attention to the laws which placed -political disabilities upon Jews and Roman Catholics, rendering them -incapable of voting and holding office throughout the British dominions, -and sought to remove the hatred, prejudice, and dissensions which -unnatural acts of Parliament always caused. - -In _A Tale of Two Cities_ the curse of caste is revealed; the inevitable -results of giving special privileges to a so-called aristocratic class, -and while its teachings were veiled as being connected with incidents in -the French Revolution they were a wonderful help to the forwarding of -true ideas of pure democracy and genuine recognition of the doctrine of -the brotherhood of man. - -In _Martin Chuzzlewit_ the theme is the horrors of the "Circumlocution -Office"--that vast, hideous, monstrous juggernaut that rode rough-shod -over all justice, truth, honor, right, decency, and sincerity, by its -evasions, quibblings, dodgings, twinings, twistings, and deliberate -perversions of the truth. - -Other writers made their novels the themes of similar crying abuses that -needed reform. Henry Cockton wrote his _Valentine Vox the Ventriloquist_ -to expose the hideous dealings of private mad-houses, where helpless men -and women were confined by law, who were perfectly sane, yet who were in -the way of dishonest lawyers, judges, administrators, heirs, or -relations. I can never forget the powerful and terrible impression this -story made upon me, though it is nearly forty years since I read it, -especially where the author described what it is said he himself had had -to pass through, when he was driven into temporary insanity by being -strapped to his cot while fiends in human form mocked and taunted him -and at the same time "tickled his feet" until he was a raging maniac. - -To the people of to-day the term "Chartist" means nothing. Nine-tenths -of the population of the United States possibly never heard the term. -Yet it is only a few generations since men were sentenced to "Botany -Bay" and other penal settlements for twenty, thirty, and more years, -and sometimes "for life," for joining in this reform which demanded -certain rights that _we_ have enjoyed without a thought ever since we -were born. One of these grand old warriors for man's greater freedom -used to visit at my father's house when I was a lad. He was an -intellectual giant who had won the honor and fame the world freely -accords to those who do not take it by the throat too severely, and once -in a while he could be induced to tell of the days of his earlier -conflict;--how that he and his compeers fought for a repeal of the corn -laws--laws which made it almost impossible for a poor man to get -bread--and for the right of a man to sell the products of his own labor -from door to door to save himself from starvation. He was imprisoned and -sentenced for a long term of years and while in prison wrote a poem of -tremendous power and influence. How my heart burned to the old warrior, -and I then and there declared that - - I live to learn their story - Who've suffered for my sake, - To emulate their glory, - And to follow in their wake: - - * * * * * - - For the cause that lacks assistance, - For the wrong that needs resistance. - -Then, too, how I recall the fight for religious freedom in England--some -of it before my time, but some of it under my own eyes, and in which I -had the joy of bearing a small part. The Lord George Gordon riots, -described by Dickens in _Barnaby Rudge_, were provoked by religious -hostility. When I was a boy, no Jew or Catholic could hold office in -England--I think I am correct. This act, passed in the reign of Charles -II--I write from memory--was thus in operation for two hundred years; -two hundred years of injustice, prejudice, fostering of religious hatred -and separations. Yet Benjamin Disraeli made a great premier, and was one -of the most brilliant statesmen of Europe, and the Howard family, -Cardinal Manning, and Cardinal Newman, all of whom were Roman Catholics, -were loved and revered on every hand for their enlightened patriotism -and the help they gave to everything that had the welfare of England at -heart. It was a glad day for England that saw the removal of the -disabilities from such good citizens as these, merely because they chose -to exercise their perfect God-given right of freedom of choice in -religious belief. And still, even as late as the ascension to the throne -of George V, son of King Edward, and grandson of that progressive and -liberal-minded Queen, Victoria, there remained in the oath a hateful -spirit of narrowness and intolerance against Catholic beliefs. Thirty to -forty years previously Charles Bradlaugh was refused his seat in the -House of Commons because he desired to "affirm" instead of "taking the -oath." He was an "unbeliever," and claimed his right to be such, and yet -to take his seat as a representative of the people without being -compelled to swear to an oath in which he did not believe. He was fought -an every hand, and with physical violence; yet he kept resolutely on -with the conflict, until I saw him myself, with joy, take his place -before the speaker of the House, victorious. Yet I am not an unbeliever, -nor do I accept Bradlaugh's conclusions as to God and the making of the -universe. Nor is it necessary. Equally so it is not necessary that I -should attempt to force my ideas down his throat and if he refuse to say -that he swallows them should seek to keep him from exercising his -political rights. - -To us, living to-day, it seems impossible that a great civil war was -necessary ere the shackles were shaken from the limbs of four millions -of slaves; it seems incredible that New Englanders as well as -Southerners were engaged in fostering the iniquitous slave trade--the -murderous trade in human flesh and blood. Grant everything the South -claims to-day as to the difficulty of handling the negro problem, that -does not alter the fundamental principle of the Declaration of -Independence that "all men are created equal; that they are endowed by -their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are -life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." To us it seems incredible -that honest and honorable men, clear-sighted, clear-brained religious -men who knew the value of words and their meaning, could have so -befuddled their intellects, let alone their moral nature, as to dare to -read these words and at the same time own slaves. Yet it was so, and not -until the heroes whose work led ultimately to the Declaration of -Independence for the slave, called the Emancipation Proclamation, set -their faces against this great iniquity, was anything done to mitigate -its evils. - -How well do I recall the endeavors of many Englishmen to induce the -Government to interfere with the Turks and prevent further infliction of -horrible and murderous atrocities upon the Bulgarians and other subject -people, because of religious differences. But "politics stood in the -way." And yet I heard the words of Cleveland ring around the world when -he bade England: "Hands off," from Venezuela. Again was I thrilled when -McKinley justified the prophecy of Joaquin Miller, uttered nearly thirty -years previously, in his _Cuba Libre_, where he declared: - - She shall rise, by all that's holy! - She shall live and she shall last; - - * * * * * - - She shall rise as rose Columbus, - From his chains, from shame and wrong-- - Rise as Morning, matchless, wondrous-- - Rise as some rich morning song-- - Rise a ringing song, and story, - Valor, Love personified. - Stars and stripes espouse her glory, - Love and Liberty allied. - -The time came when we "flashed her lights of freedom," as we had done -before, but this time there was an admixture of personal feeling in -which the cry, "Remember the _Maine_," bore a large part. Yet the main -issue was raised, viz., the intervention of a strong power to prevent -another strong power from too seriously oppressing a confessedly weak -power. This is a step in the right direction. The bully, whether in -school, in the street, in business, or among nations, should be taught -that his bullying is unsafe, and that if he must fight he must choose a -"fellow of his own size." - -While I do not close my eyes to the facts that nations are human and -liable to err, I hail this as a great forward step, and was filled with -rejoicing when the United States Government refused to accept any -indemnity from China for its share of the expense of putting down the -last great Boxer Rebellion. - -In our National and State governments there is a growing spirit of -righteous intervention. In his last presidential message, President Taft -voiced this spirit in his recommendation of an enlarged measure of -protection for railroad employees, and states and cities are moving -more rapidly than ever before in the enactment of laws and ordinances -for the protection of those least able to protect themselves. - -Reforms in law procedure are progressing. In his 1910 message, President -Taft thus spoke: - - One great crying need in the United States is cheapening the cost of - litigation by simplifying judicial procedure and expediting final - judgment. Under present conditions the poor man is at a woeful - disadvantage in a legal contest with a corporation or a rich - opponent. The necessity for this reform exists both in United States - courts and in all state courts. In order to bring it about, however, - it naturally falls to the general government by its example to - furnish a model to all States. - -This is a great step in the right direction. The honest and manly -recognition of a crying evil is often the beginning of its removal, and -I sincerely hope to live to see the day when our laws, and legislative -procedure, will truthfully be equally for the poor and the rich. - -The activity of the Federal Government in pursuing the nefarious -malefactors who are conducting the "white slave traffic," is also a sign -of marked improvement in affording protection to those who are helpless -and often unable and incompetent to know what to do for their own -welfare. - -And how I hail with joy the movement so energetically furthered by Mr. -Bok, of the _Ladies' Home Journal_, the Bishop of London, the _Physical -Culture_ magazine, _Collier's_, and others, for the education of the -young of both sexes as to the sacred relations of sex and all they -imply. The W. C. T. U. has done a little, the magazines and physical -culture movement more, and now the better schools--such as the -Polytechnic High School of Los Angeles, and the High School in Pasadena, -California--are giving definite and specific instruction upon these -matters to boys and girls whose parents have been remiss in neglecting -this all-important part of their _home_ education and training. - -The pure food bill is another step forward in our national progress; the -great conservation movement and the work of the United States -Reclamation Service, which is providing means for irrigating the soil -and thus rendering possible the establishment of thousands of homes on -lands that otherwise would be arid and useless--these are gigantic -strides of advancement. The postal-savings bank and parcels post are -already facts, thus demonstrating that, little by little, the powers -that have controlled our Government, for the benefit of the few, instead -of for all the people, and especially those who need such benefit the -most, are gradually losing their hold. Soon, let us hope, we shall have -the "penny postage"--one cent for a letter instead of two, as now. The -extension of the eight-hour day law; the honest endeavors now being -made to give labor a fair opportunity to state its needs and -requirements and thus help bring oppressive employers to time, are also -forward steps. Granted that labor often makes unreasonable and unjust -demands, let it not be forgotten that it is only within the last few -decades that they have been allowed to have a voice at all. For -centuries they have been "chained to the wheel of labor," - - The emptiness of ages in their face, - And on their back the burden of the world. - -What if, now that "whirlwinds of rebellion" are shaking the world and -these hitherto "dumb terrors" have found, or are finding, a voice, they -speak a little too loudly, or too harshly, or ask more than they ought? -Whose fault is it? Who has kept them in bondage so long? They will -learn, by and by, to speak more rationally, but this will come only by -speaking, so I hail with delight the fact that "the rulers and lords of -all lands" are recognizing their right to be heard, and are more or less -respectfully listening to what they have to say. - -It is another grand sign of universal progress that the owners and -landlords of vile tenement houses, of the horrible kennels in which -human beings in the past used to be penned as in pigsties, are no longer -allowed to reap monetary rewards from such abominable and cursed holes. -Boards of health, civic improvement bodies, tenement reform associations -are taking upon themselves the work of protecting the poor, helpless, -and often unfortunate dwellers in these plague spots and compelling that -they be made decent, healthful, and sanitary--often seeing that they are -razed and entirely removed. What though oftentimes the people who dwell -in these places are brought thither by their own misconduct? Are men, -women, and innocent children to be "damned" on this earth--as well as in -the future--because morally they have been weak and unfortunate? The -greater the weakness and the lower the fall, the greater the cry and -need for help. Jacob Riis was a brave and heroic leader in New York, -William Booth and his gallant army in London and the thousand and one -other cities of the world, and the day is dawning when there will be no -"slums" in any decent, self-respecting city, when such books as _How the -Other Half Lives_, _The Submerged Tenth_, _If Christ Came to Chicago_, -and _The People of the Abyss_ can no longer be written, for the -true-hearted, loving, brotherly, and sisterly, will have been aroused to -do their plain, simple, and manifest duty and "slums," "abysses," and -"plague spots" will cease to exist. - -There are many other excellent things I might comment upon that help -bring content to the soul. They betoken a glorious and blessed -improvement upon the "days of things as they were" and they should lead -every man to get into line, to find the step and keep it, marching on -with this vanguard of human progress, which seeks the best possible -condition of body, mind, and soul for all men. - -Yet, in spite of this large-hearted contentment with things as they are, -and with the way the world generally is progressing, which I would -radiate, I would equally radiate a great discontent with many things as -they are. When I look at my own faults and failings, my inadequacies and -incompetencies, my blindness and stupidity, my ignorance and -willfulness, I find much of my content disappear like the airy visions -of a dream. I certainly do not want to be content with these things and -so I call up as often as I can a mighty discontent which is a constant -urge to the higher, nobler, truer, better life. I am as self-willed as -other men, and yet I well know that human will is both ignorant and -blind, and that only when it is made subject to the Great Controlling -Will of the Universe will it lead me aright and in the paths of -ultimate, permanent success. And by success, I do not mean the paltry -thing most men regard as success. I certainly wish to radiate discontent -with what men generally regard as success. Mere money, fame, honor, -social distinction, count for little unless character, divine sympathy -with one's needy fellows, and an enlarged conception of the brotherhood -of men accompany them. - -And how can I do other than radiate a large and tremendous discontent at -the suffering and woe of the unfortunates of life? It is little or -nothing to me what causes their misfortune. I have learned that the -judgment of sociologists, theologists, and reformers generally is of -little account in interpreting the causes of things. As a rule, they -look only on the surface and see nothing of the hidden springs of action -and therefore know little of the movement of hearts of men and women -whose condition they so complacently and conceitedly imagine they can -change. - -Some years ago, Jack London wrote a book entitled, _The People of the -Abyss_. It was severely censured and criticised and some critics went so -far as to assert that it was full of untruths. It told of the dismal -lives of London's poor, who daily find themselves with nothing but one -meal, two meals, three meals between themselves and starvation--poor -wretches to whom the "wolf at the door" is an ever present reality, and -who tremble every time their employers look towards them with a frown or -speak with a voice that threatens dismissal. What a frightful, -pitiable, pathetic position for men and women--my brothers and -sisters--to be in. I certainly do not wish to radiate contentment at the -fact of their unfortunate condition. I want somehow to take some of -their burdens upon my life. I want to realize something of the spirit -that led Walt Whitman to exclaim, "I will take nothing for myself that -cannot be given upon equal terms to all men." - -When I read the stories of child labor and learn of the many cruelties -practiced upon helpless little ones, in the name of business; when I see -those boys and girls of tender age in the cotton mills of the South, -owned by wealthy men of the North, plodding back and forth, hour by -hour, behind the whirling spindles; when I see them, as I have often -done, so utterly weary that when the noon hour came, they would stretch -out on the bare floor and try to gain a little snatch of forgetfulness -of their weariness in sleep, rather than eat their inadequate lunch, I -have certainly felt, as I now feel, that I wish to radiate a tremendous -amount of discontent that such inhuman facts can exist. When I see the -private palace car owned by the many-times millionaire, and catch -glimpses of the extravagant and wasteful luxury in which he and his -family live, and realize that this prodigal wastefulness is made -possible by the life-destroying labor of poor, anæmic children in the -glass-blowing factories of New Jersey, I wish I had the power to send a -great wail of discontent through the country that would thrill the -hearts, awaken the senses, and arouse the consciences of every man and -woman in the nation. - -When I realize the inadequacies of our legal system to do justice alike -to all men and women, the poor as well as the rich, the innocent and -confiding as well as the crafty and cunning, I feel nothing but -discontent and long for the time to come when justice and mercy shall be -of higher value in the courts of our land than precedent and legal -procedure. - -It often takes moral courage to radiate real living discontent with -these injustices and crimes against our needy and defenseless fellows. I -long to possess this moral courage in fullest measure, and to radiate it -on every hand. In view of the need for strong protest against the smug, -contented betrayers of the poor and needy, I would radiate a spirit that -has not inaptly been termed that of _contemporaneous protest and -rebellion_. By this I mean that present spirit of protest and rebellion -against wrongs that exist _now_, so that my protest will be -contemporaneous with the evil. - -It is easy enough to line up with the winning side and shout Hurrah! -with the victors in any conflict. Even the English of to-day agree that -the American Revolution was a good thing and that the acts of George III -were indefensible tyranny. But it required considerable courage to join -one's forces with those of Washington when money was scarce and men few, -when the day seemed dark and gloomy, and the prospects of success were -doubtful. - -It is easy enough to-day to Hurrah! for the principles of Lincoln, but -many a great statesman like Henry Clay felt it was better to compromise -than face the fierce antagonism of such men as Calhoun, Jefferson Davis, -and others who believed in the opposing ideas. - -What I desire with all my heart is to radiate not only my _readiness_ -and _willingness_ to line up with the unpopular cause, _but the fact -that I am already lined up_. That, without being asked, people will know -what my position is sure to be; that I naturally belong on the side of -the "under dog," and that in any conflict against entrenched power and -wrong, where the weak and oppressed are fighting for rights which are -inherently theirs, that as soon as I hear the battle-cry my "HERE!" will -ring out immediate, bold and clear. - -Nor do I always want to wait to be called upon. I may not have either -the wisdom and discretion or the ability to be a leader and I have no -desire to thrust myself forward as such. At the same time, I do not want -to be cowardly and hang back when I see that which I feel is inherently -wrong. Even though I stand alone, I want to stand in protest and -contemporaneous rebellion against the wrong that I see. - -Nay, further, I want to radiate as _my habitual attitude of mind_ that I -am ever on the alert to _seek out opportunities for rebellion_ against -any and all systems of wrong, no matter how powerful, that I may gladly -take upon my shoulders some part of the burden of helping forward the -real progress of the entire human race. - -James Russell Lowell expressed the passionate desire of my heart in his -_Present Crisis_. In that majestic poem he shows the need for this -contemporaneous rebellion: - - Backward look across the ages, and the beacon-movements see, - That, like peaks of some sunk continent, jut through Oblivion's Sea; - Not an ear in court or market for the low foreboding cry - Of those Crises, God's stern winnowers, from whose feet Earth's chaff -must fly; - Never shows the choice momentous till the judgment hath passed by. - Careless seems the great Avenger; history's pages but record - One death-grapple in the darkness 'twixt old systems and the Word; - Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne,-- - Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown - Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own. - -The whole poem is full of this passionate great-hearted, manly, God-like -sympathy, _now_ and _here_, with the needy, the oppressed, the helpless -of today. The crises are here now, those stern winnowers that test and -try men's souls, that discover whether they are wheat or chaff, ashes or -gold. Oh, for men who have made already the "choice momentous"--while -the battle is raging, when there is danger, risk, peril, possible death -in the conflict. Is he a true man who waits, pauses, hesitates, wavers -in such conflicts, "till the judgment hath passed by"? - -I would radiate, again let me say it, my readiness to march at the sound -of the drum, to advance with the front ranks, to fight at the first -word. - -History affords us many noble examples and "beacon lights" of those who -have lived in accordance with the principles herein laid down. - -Stephen Langton and the barons of England protested against the -tyrannical power of King John. They did so at the peril of their heads. -Yet they were possessed of this spirit of contemporaneous rebellion, and -they fought against John and won from him that great charter of the -liberties of men, that has been the basis of all proclamations of -freedom ever since. - -Cromwell, Hampden, Pym, Milton, and the other great commoners and -democrats of England were in a state of contemporaneous protest and -rebellion against the undue pretensions of King Charles I. Their -protests might have cost them their lives--yet they protested. And they -won a victory that has made republics possible throughout all time. - -So with the leaders of the French Revolution. There were many awful and -bloody events connected with that great act of contemporaneous protest, -but that the ultimate outcome upon mankind has been good most -true-hearted thinkers agree. Yet the protests were made by the earlier -agitators under great danger. - -When Patrick Henry, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Washington, and the -other American revolutionists protested against King George's tyranny, -and when the noble band met at Philadelphia and signed the Declaration -of Independence, they knew they did it at the peril of their lives--yet -they protested and won for mankind the victory that Joaquin Miller calls -"Time's burst of Dawn." - -Had Langton, Cromwell, the French Revolutionists, Washington, and the -signers of the Declaration of Independence failed, they would all have -forfeited their lives for their temerity. It was an act of great moral -courage to rebel. - -When Galileo rebelled against the dictum of the ecclesiastic authorities -in regard to the movement of the earth, it meant his imprisonment, yet -he rebelled and thus ushered in a new day of advancement in astronomical -knowledge. Darwin did the same. Both men required daring and courage, -yet they did not hesitate or falter. - -There are evils to-day that should be fought; fashions, customs, -entrenched wrongs in existence _now_ against which manly men are called -to be in contemporaneous rebellion. Those of us who live to-day are -reaping great and blessed privileges, freedom, liberties, won for us as -the result of the protests, rebellions, warfares of the moral heroes of -the past; so should we further the progress of the world by protesting -and fighting the existing wrongs, in order that future generations may -be freer than we are, and may push on still further the glorious chariot -of human progress. - -Henry George was a recent heroic example of contemporaneous protest -against current evils. Garibaldi, Mazzini, Victor Hugo, Kossuth, were -all noble and inspiring examples of the like spirit. Ruskin's life was a -perpetual protest against the sacrificing of beauty, peace, harmony, and -brotherhood for the rush and show of material prosperity. William -Morris's life, work, voice, and pen were ever in active, open, -contemporaneous hostility and opposition to the damnable spirit of -modern competition, and demoralizing commercialism which destroyed -artistic labor, banished fellowship, and substituted therefor the rule -of the jungle where the strong devour the weak. Thank God! the ranks of -the morally courageous have always found glad and willing recruits; men -willing to spend and be spent for the benefit of humanity; willing to be -rebels and accounted and treated as such that they might help gain -larger victories of freedom for their fellow-men. - -We sometimes think that there was more moral heroism in the days gone by -than there is to-day. I do not believe it! In this matter of moral -heroism and contemporaneous rebellion against entrenched wrong, we have -many fine and noble living examples on every hand. I could mention a -hundred of them in as many minutes. A few must suffice. - -When Edwin Markham wrote _The Man with the Hoe_, he showed his spirit of -contemporaneous protest and rebellion. Here was no reflection upon labor -or its dignity, as some thoughtless critics have affirmed, but it was a -tremendous and powerful onslaught upon the "Kings and Rulers of All -Lands" who permit employers to chain the laborer to the "wheel of -labor." Markham's poem is a direct challenge and throwing down of the -gauntlet to those who contend that they have a right to purchase labor -in the open market at any price, however demoralizing to mankind. It is -a contention that manhood is more than money; that the laborer is more -than the labor; and that the employers who value the labor done more -than the men who do the labor are unworthy the honor and respect of -decent men; are unworthy to be called real men because of their -tyrannical abuse of their helpless brothers. - -William Booth, president of the Salvation Army, Jack London, the -socialist novelist, Jacob Riis, the New York newspaper idealist, Maud -Ballington Booth, the leader of the Volunteers of America, Charles -Montgomery, of San Francisco, the prisoner's friend, and Dana Bartlett, -of Los Angeles, the brother of poor "Dagoes," Portuguese and Mexicans, -are all more or less widely diverse examples of contemporaneous -rebellion and protest against existing social conditions. Each works in -his own way to ameliorate these conditions, but the work of each is a -protest against those laws of supply and demand, of competition, of -worship of material things, that allow it to be possible that some men -can gain more wealth than they can ever utilize, even if they lived to -be ten thousand years old, and never earn another cent, whilst others -can earn barely enough to keep body and soul together and who live every -day in dread of the future because they are capable of earning no more -than enough to keep them one, two, or three meals away from starvation. - -In a copy of his book, _The People of the Abyss_, which Jack London sent -to me, which truthfully portrays the life of the submerged tenth of -London, he wrote something like this on the title page: "Dear -James--With the facts of these pages before me, I may agree with you in -your favorite quotation from Browning, that 'God's in his heaven,' but I -cannot agree with you that 'All's right with the world.'" - -It is the fashion with certain people to decry Jack London's socialism, -but I happen to know that he has personally sacrificed thousands of -dollars to his principles in this matter, has lost the friendship of -many wealthy people who would have showered their gifts upon him had he -been complacent towards what he calls "predatory wealth," hence I hail -his acts of contemporaneous rebellion and his taking upon himself of the -battle for these, his weaker brothers and sisters, as heroic, and fully -worthy of the highest esteem of all good men, whatever they may think of -the methods by which he would bring about the desired changes. - -All through his life there has been a strong current of contemporaneous -rebellion and belligerent sincerity in the work of the poet of the -Sierras, Joaquin Miller. He was brought up as a Quaker and taught to -believe in non-resistance, hence he preached peace at the beginning of -the Civil War until his printing office was wrecked and his life -threatened. When the world at large was condemning the Indian, he went -and stood by his side, and when he believed him to be in the right, -fought battles on his behalf. All through his life he has boldly stood -for man's larger freedom, and against entrenched tyranny. When England -made war upon the Boers, he denounced the warlike and jingo politicians -with a power and strength seldom surpassed in poetry, in spite of the -fact that the English had always been his best friends and the largest -purchasers of his poems. - -While he lived in California, not far from San Francisco, and California -was a hotbed of the sentiment that demands the exclusion of the Chinese -and Japanese, he ever fearlessly and in unmistakable terms denounced -this action as opposed to the fundamental principles of the fatherhood -of God and the brotherhood of man, and demanded of his fellow citizens -that they adhere strictly to these never-failing and abiding truths. - -These men are but few of the many I might mention, but they will serve -as types. They have been and are willing to suffer for the general good -of mankind. Therefore, in the presence of their moral heroism and -courage, let us cry with George Linnæus Banks: - - I live to learn their story - Who've suffered for my sake, - To emulate their glory, - And to follow in their wake; - Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages, - The noble of all ages, - Whose deeds crowd history's pages - And Time's great volume make. - - I live... - For the cause that lacks assistance, - For the wrong that needs resistance, - For the future in the distance, - And the good that I can do. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -RADIANCIES OF SINCERITY - - -We need more of the virtue of belligerent sincerity. What the world -needs to-day is bold, outspokenness for principle. It is not enough that -we hold principles in the quietude of our own homes and discuss them in -the sanctity of our bedrooms. We need a belligerent sincerity of -fundamental principles in the mart, the store, in the counting house, in -the bank, on the board of trade, and the stock exchange. The tendency of -men in office and men in employment is to be subservient for the purpose -of their own advancement. It is so easy to yield a principle to gain an -increase in salary or to win the support of a swaying party vote. In -this age of great aggregations of capital, when corporations are -conducting gigantic enterprises, it is so easy for subordinates to place -all the responsibility of conscience upon their chiefs and to refuse to -accept responsibility for acts of which they themselves are the -instruments on the plea, "I am but a servant and carry out the will of -my superior." Relentless crushing out of competitors, secretly securing -rebates, unjust discrimination in discounts, the utilization of -official information for personal advantage or that of one's friends, -the writing of editorials contrary to one's principles because the -policies of the paper require it, in other words, the whole realm of -truckling subserviency, yielding, cowardice, obsequiousness, surrender, -fawning, servility, sycophancy, toad-eating, pliancy, should be weeded -out of the garden of the soul and belligerent sincerity planted in their -stead. - -At the same time, I want to radiate my abhorrence of all the truckling -subserviency that seeks to gain its ends and make secure its own -position by cringing, fawning, and flattery upon those whose favor it -seeks. - -Most men have their pet vanities. Few are free from weaknesses and -frailties. It is so easy to flatter, so natural to "kow-tow," so -profitable to pander. The reason that the world so laughs at the -delineations of the open, bold, corrupt, parasitical, pandering Falstaff -is that they find the echo in their own meannesses of soul. Like Henry -VII, many men have their Falstaffs, who seek to eat, drink, and be merry -at their expense. - -By this I do not mean to decry and impeach the integrity and sincerity -of those who express sympathy and appreciation of those who are engaged -in large enterprises. It is natural for those conducting such to seek -and require such sympathy in their lieutenants, but to such lieutenants -I would cry mightily and constantly, "Sympathize and commend by all -means, but when you do, be sure your purest virtue is on guard over your -heart and your lips. Say nothing that you do not absolutely mean." Be -"belligerently sincere" with your own soul and speak no words to your -employer because he enjoys them that you would not _as freely and gladly -say if he had dismissed you from his employ_. - -I would also radiate my appreciation of those who, occupying what we -call a subordinate position, speak out with frank, plain, direct -simplicity the thoughts of their hearts. I have sometimes found in -business, employers who sought by undue flattery, scheming, plotting, -chicanery, and fraud, all stealthily exercised, to "work" their -employees and secure from them a meed of service for which they were not -willing to pay a full and just price. In dealing with such employers a -frank, open, simple-hearted, and honest employee is often at a great -disadvantage. Being used to tortuous, underground, secret, plotting -methods himself, such an employer regards with suspicion the simple -actions of his employee. He sees in his frank openness nothing but -deeply laid plots. He finds in his candid sincerity craftily planned -schemes. The more open the one, the more certain the other is that -there is something hidden, deep, far-reaching, cunning, and deceitful -underneath his acts. - -To these open-hearted souls I would radiate a tonic that is -stimulating--quickening to their moral fiber and stiffening and -strengthening to their moral spines. To such I would come as a cold -shower bath to stimulate the nerves and muscles to greater tension. -Stand by your truthfulness, stand by your frankness, stand by your -openness until you teach these burrowing, crafty, stealthy, sly, -evasive, sneaking creatures that openness is better than secrecy, light -better than darkness, truth better than falsity, candor better than -craft, and an open enemy better than a secret, fawning, sycophantic -foe. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -RADIANCIES OF SERVICE - - -I want to radiate by thought, word, and act the joy and blessedness of -service. What a privilege it is to be able to do something for your -fellows! How great and constant is the joy of ministering! How ready we -are to run with willing feet to do some little or big thing for those we -love! The lover will climb dangerous Alpine heights to get the rare and -richly treasured edelweiss for his beloved. Leander gladly and joyously -braved the dangers of the Hellespont that he might cheer and encourage -his Hero. The lover has always cried, in all ages, to his loved one, -asking her to send him on some difficult errand. He would gladly go -anywhere, to any service, however arduous and dangerous, to prove his -love. The records of chivalry are full of daring deeds accomplished by -men in order to please the women they loved. - -Against this kind of service I have nothing to say. At the same time, -this is not the kind of service of which I now write. I would radiate -the thought that in our service we should treat all men and women with -the same willing gladness of ministry that the lover has for the -mistress of his heart. I desire to be ready and willing to fly on the -wings of helpfulness to do service for the meanest and most despicable -of human kind, if thereby he, or she, may be benefited. I would radiate -the belief that our willing service belongs to humanity, all men, all -women, not to a select few, not to the small and chosen circle whom we -call our loved ones and friends. I would radiate the spirit of service -that possessed and animated the strong, pure soul of William Morris, -that led him to place his precious time and service at the disposal of a -committee of men, not one of whom knew enough to appreciate his -exquisite and beautiful devotion, and under whose control he was ready -to go and speak words of cheer, fellowship, and brotherhood in the -lowest and most degraded parts of London. He was imbued with this -passion for service and it was service to the whole of mankind--not the -chosen few. - -I once picked up some socialistic newspaper with which I was not -familiar, but in it was an account of the life of a man who had recently -died. According to the story of his biographer, this man was carried -away with this passion for human service to the lowest and most -degraded, and he had spent his active and busy life in ministering to -those who, as a rule, are ignored by their more fortunate brothers and -sisters. It was a story that thrilled me to a higher and nobler -endeavor. - -Many a time I have bowed my soul in reverence and humility before a -group of Salvation Army lasses who, with sweet, gentle ministrations, -have cheered the dwellers in the wretched hovels of London, New York, -and other cities. I know one maiden, delicately constituted, and reared -in a home full of wealth and luxury, who felt this passionate call of -service so strongly, that, in spite of the protests of her relatives and -friends, she went to London, united with the Salvation Army, and with -her own beautiful and gentle hands, down upon her knees, has scrubbed -into cleanliness the floor of a drunken wife and drunken husband whose -children had never known a clean floor in the whole of their dirty and -wretched lives. I have helped her clean out the accumulated filth, of -what seemed to be months, in similar wretched places, and all this, as -well as the more refined ministrations of the mind and soul, were -offered with a sweet and gentle insistence that no one could take -offense at, and without an air of conscious self-approbation that one so -often finds in those who are seeking to minister to others. - -But it is not only in this larger and devoted sense that I would radiate -my desire to serve and minister to my fellows. It is in the small and -every-day things of life, no matter what my work or surroundings may -be, that I would radiate this ministering spirit. What a pleasure it is -to do things for others. What a joy to realize that your friends love -you enough to want you to do something for them. - -I find, however, that in the mind of many is the idea that certain -service is menial, and that they would not serve if they were not -obliged to do so for the money it brings. I have a deep and profound -pity in my soul for those who look upon life with this perverted vision. -If I were a waiter in a cheap restaurant, it seems to me it would be my -joy to serve the cheap meals as quickly and as cheerfully as I possibly -could. Surely ministering to the bodily wants of men and women is a -service which ought to be blessed. If I were a housemaid I feel that I -should find joy in making and keeping everything as orderly and tidy as -possible. - -I have several times stayed in a semi-public institution where a great -number of nurses were employed, and I have watched both men and women -engaged in this beautiful service. In this particular place they all -seemed full of this passion for service. There was no impatience at the -often exacting calls and demands of the querulous and unreasonable -invalids. Their very lives were a dedication. - -Sometimes we meet with those who will refuse to do certain things -because they regard them as more menial than those they were engaged to -perform, as, for instance, the case of a bell boy who refused to take -away a coal-scuttle when asked to do so because that was not in the list -of his duties, and a man "lower down in the scale" was supposed to -attend to work of that kind. Now, while I recognize that there must be -for convenience's sake, a division of labor, I want to radiate the -feeling and belief that there is no higher, no lower, in this call of -personal service. It is just as honorable to be a street sweeper or a -scavenger of the meanest kind (so-called), to be a farm laborer, to be a -kitchen drudge, to be a factory hand, as it is to be a minister of a -church that pays a salary of $20,000 a year. The real blessedness of -life of all grades of service from the scavenger to the expensive pastor -is determined by the _spirit_ behind the service, and the kitchen drudge -who does her work with the consciousness in her own soul that she is -gladly, merrily, cheerfully undertaking her work and doing it well for -the comfort, benefit, cheer, and blessing of her employers is of more -benefit to mankind than the services of the expensive pastor of the -exclusive church who regards his ministry as a proof of his own -intellectual worth, and as a means of asserting his high social -position. - -Who can ever forget the wonderful picture of that sturdy Scotch Doctor -depicted by Ian Maclaren in his _Bonnie Brier Bush_, whose passion of -devotion and ministry was so pure that it reached every soul in the -whole region. - -Frances Hodgson Burnett, in her _Dawn of a To-morrow_, tells of a -degraded street waif who yet had this passion of ministry in her soul, -and I have come to the conclusion that wherever it is found, it is -divine, and therefore blessed. Hence I would radiate it at all times, -under all conditions, and under all circumstances to all classes and -conditions of men. - -Where would have been the work of Judge Lindsay of Denver, Golden Rule -Jones of Toledo, McClaughery of Elmira Penitentiary, Chief Kohler of -Cleveland, Governor Hunt and Warden Sims of Arizona, if they had worked -only for the worthy? It was the very openness of the unworthiness of -those for whom they strove, that made the appeal to these large-hearted -men. - -It is so easy to criticise men of this stamp because they have dared to -break away from the conventional rendering of service only to the -worthy. It is so easy to cry that they are doing more harm than good. -But those who know the work and know the hearts that are constantly -being touched and molded into betterment by it are better able to judge -of its higher results. - -Shall I hesitate to render service because I myself am not perfect? -Shall I refuse to give the shivering and hungry beggar on the street a -twenty-five cent meal ticket because I myself am not free from debt? -Shall I refuse to guide the lost wayfarer because I myself do not know -all the winding pathways of life? - -By no means! Let me do the best I may while I may, and seize every -opportunity that arises. It was a Christian minister that dared to -rebuke Father Damien by claiming that he was not immaculate in his -service to the repulsive and loathsome lepers of Molokai. And it was -Robert Louis Stevenson who showed that Christian minister what true -Christianity would have led him to say instead of what he did say. -Father Damien's ministry was self-sacrificing, noble, and divine, even -though,--granting for the moment the truth of the minister's -slander,--his service was touched of the earth, earthy. Yet the -beneficence and blessedness of it was so supremely above the smug, -self-satisfied, standing-aloofness of the "immaculate" ministerial -critic that Stevenson's colossal rebuke to the latter found perfect echo -in the heart of every decent man and woman throughout the world. Joaquin -Miller expresses the same thought in his beautiful and strong poem on -Father Damien when he says: - - Why do ye not as he has done? - -If we can do so much better than those we criticise, why, in the name of -heaven and suffering humanity, do we not go ahead and do it? Let us do -our best regardless of our own infirmities and weakness and the -consequent criticisms of others. - -So I want to radiate to the needy and unworthy my readiness, nay, my -anxiety to serve them whenever and wherever I possibly can. And though -my service be not unmixed gold, though there be in it some of the dross -of imperfection, I would not withhold my hand on that account, but I -would serve the more readily and gladly in the hope and assurance that -by suffering with the needy and unworthy in their need and unworthiness -the fire of their pain and sorrow may help refine away the dross in me -and leave only that of pure gold. - -"Give to the needy! _worthy_ or _unworthy_!" should be the battle cry of -him who wishes to be a blessing to his fellows, and the more unworthy -the needy are, the more loving and wise the service should be. When Walt -Whitman was shedding blessing, benediction, comfort, and joy on every -hand throughout the hospitals of Washington, he had little or no money -to give. He asked no questions when he went to the bedside of the sick -and dying soldier boys as to whether they were worthy or not. They were -needy and that was enough for him. He stayed and soothed their weary -hours by telling them stories, reading to them, writing letters home -for them, and in a thousand and one little and big ways seeking to make -their sick beds more tolerable during the long hours of enforced -confinement. - -One of his rules for the making of a true poet was that he should "give -alms to all who ask," and that he should "stand up for the stupid and -crazy." I have a friend in Chicago who seeks absolutely to live these -two rules in his daily life. Even though he may often give to the -unworthy, he feels he can better afford to do that than to miss once -giving to a really needy person lest he might be giving to some one who -was neither needy nor worthy. - -A poet, whom I am very fond of quoting, once wrote: - - In men whom men condemn as ill, - I find so much of goodness still; - In men whom men account divine, - I find so much of sin and blot; - I hesitate to draw the line between the two; - Where God has not. - -It is impossible properly and wisely to differentiate, and because a man -is unworthy is all the more reason that his fellows should seek to help -him into a state of worthiness. - -How I wish I could imbue all with the spirit that moves Charles -Montgomery, the prisoner's friend of San Francisco. He goes to the state -penitentiaries at San Quentin and Folsom, and arranges to give help to -the prisoners as soon as they are released. Nay, he provides places for -them and then goes before the board of parole and secures their release. -He takes a true brother's interest in the men and seeks to win them to a -nobler life. Doubtless he is often deceived, but in scores of cases he -starts the men on the up-grade. What is one failure or ten, to one -success or ten? If it were _my_ son that was saved I should be most -grateful even though he saved but one. It would make his work glorious -and blessed to me. Then try to feel what it must be for some other -father or mother to learn that his, or her, son is saved from the life -of hell, to the life of heaven, here and now, and do as much for that -son as you would for your own. - -I doubt not that some of the boys Judge Lindsay seeks to save in Denver, -are not all they ought to be, and that sometimes he is disappointed in -the results. But does this make him lose heart, or cease to work for the -new cases that come? By no means! It makes him more determined than ever -to reach their hearts. He is more tender, more long-suffering, more -patient, more sympathetic, more loving. The greater the need the greater -the endeavor. - -The other day I sat down to the dinner table with a friend who outlined -to me a project in which himself and four others are interested. It is -to buy a farm, on the shores of a small but beautiful lake, a few miles -out from one of our great cities, and there establish a home and a -school for needy children. These five devoted young people are now -working hard and each one is saving every cent he can out of his own -earnings that, without calling upon any one else, they may be able to -buy the farm. I had asked my friend why he did not go to hear the great -actress Bernhardt. The reason was that he preferred to put the three -dollars that a ticket to hear Bernhardt would have cost into his "child -farm fund." Here was self-denial with joy, for the privilege of service. -And whom will he serve? There will be no question asked as to the -worthiness or unworthiness of the children that will be received into -this home when established.[E] - -[E] Since these pages were written this farm-school has become an -established fact, and is doing excellent and beautiful work for needy -children. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -RADIANCIES OF HUMOR - - -I want to radiate humor and my appreciation of it. But it must be -natural, genuine, kind-hearted, sweet, and pure. The humor that has a -sting for some one else, that is unkind, unjust, malicious, cruel, or -unclean is not for me. And, furthermore, I do not want that any one -should ever feel that I can or would enjoy such humor. I want to radiate -such a spirit, give forth such an "aura" that no one will ever come to -me with unkind or unclean humor, or expect me to want to hear it. - -No, true humor is gentle, kind, humane, and human. I think little of any -man or woman who cannot enjoy a good hearty laugh. I believe in -laughter; in joking, in fun, in wit, in humor--in the things that -provoke laughter. Laugh heartily, laugh loud, laugh long, and you will -oftentimes laugh away dyspepsia, the blues, and worries. Laugh at your -own misfortunes, your own mishaps. My dear friend, Burdette, used to -clap me on the back and exclaim in his bright, cheery voice: "Be your -own funny man." He once illustrated it by saying, in effect: "You've -laughed many a time watching a man chase his hat when a windstorm ran -away with it, but how do you feel when it's your own hat? Take a look at -yourself. See the spectacle you make--the bewhiskered, the dignified, -the long-legged--as you rush frantically after the fleeing tile. Can't -you see the fun in bending down, making a dive for the hat, just at the -moment an extra gust comes and--flip, flop--the hat scoots on and you -grasp the empty space. Laugh at yourself, my boy, and you'll get hold of -the world by the tail and conquer it!" - -How true it is! - -The greatest humoristic after-dinner speaker in America to-day is Simeon -Ford. How often have I laughed at and with him. Study his humor. Half of -it is making fun at himself, his "bizarre, gothic style of -architecture," and that kind of thing. He pokes fun, slyly, at himself, -and watches the effect on other people. Instead of "guying" other, and -sensitive, people--(notice, I say sensitive, _not_ sensible),--he guys -himself, and the more absurd the picture he can draw of himself the more -he seems to enjoy it. He is original, quaint, individualistic, truly -funny, not a mere retailer of old chestnuts, warmed over at the brazier -of his wit, but a creator, a real _maker_ of humor, and the result is -people sit and laugh and laugh, and then laugh some more, and when it -is all over go away wondering what it was all about. But there is no -sarcasm, no sting, no malice in the fun, no one is hurt, everything is -as harmless as the frolics of a young lamb. - -So it was with dear little Marshall Wilder. Dear Marsh! how I loved him! -Handicapped with a distorted body, his mind was as quick as lightning. -How well I remember running in upon him in his bedroom in a hotel in -Buffalo one morning and asking him to come down to a breakfast table of -friends who had assembled to give me a "Good-by." Though he was not -well, he hastily threw on his clothes, came down, and for an hour -brightened our circle, with some of the most flashing, bright, and -spontaneous wit I ever heard. Everybody was charmed, delighted, -thrilled, for he sprang from gay to grave, laughter to tears, jollity to -pathos so startlingly quick as to keep us with one hand to our eyes, -wiping away the tears, when we had originally raised them to hide our -wide-open, laughing mouths. He loved to make others happy; he was ever -ready to plunge deep into the pool of simple-hearted pure fun. Who will -ever forget that day when he, Elbert Hubbard, Von Liebich, with half a -dozen or more of the brightest minds of the Continent, who were visiting -at Roycroft together, planned to go to the Pan-American Exposition at -Buffalo. I was privileged to be of the number. We planned to go as a -lot of country joskins, real "Hicks," with hayseed in our hair, and -carrying our carpet-bags with us. As I was the only bewhiskered man of -the "bunch," I was made the victim. I was to dress in country style, go -down the "Midway"--or whatever the street of shows was called--and -attract the attention of the "barkers" and draw their fire. Then the -others were to saunter up and we, in turn, would open up our fire upon -the barker. Can you imagine the results? We carried out the plan exactly -as contemplated. I ate liquorice and let the juice flow down from the -corners of my mouth, so that it looked like tobacco juice, I gaped at -everything, and listened with wide-eyed wonder, I felt like a -countryman, so now I looked like one, and I became, immediately, the -butt of the jokes and jests of the "spieler" of the show before which I -stood. I think I can fairly hold my own in such a combat, and the -audience that was assembled, generally seemed to think so, but imagine -the way the fur began to fly when Hubbard arrived and chipped in, and -Marshall and Von, and Bert II, and each of the others. Talk about a -stranger dog set on by a dozen home dogs--it was nothing, compared with -the fun we had badgering and baiting that over-confident spieler. Then I -moved on to the next stand, far enough away, however, so that no one -was aware of our plot. The crowd soon "tumbled" and followed, and we -repeated the game to the infinite amazement of the discomfited -"barkers." It was the wildest revelry of good-natured, good-humored, -spontaneous fun I have ever engaged in, and a thousand years can never -efface its memory. - -Dignity! What had we to do with dignity? We were fun-makers, -delight-makers, like the old-time Indians of the cliff-dwelling days, -and we went into the game with vim, energy, earnestness, abandon, and -enthusiasm. - -And I learned a wonderful lesson, once, from Marshall Wilder, that was -worth many a long-winded sermon for practical usefulness in meeting the -hardships, the woes, the pains of life. I was on the stage of a theater -with him, just preparatory to his "act." He was suffering excruciating -agony--as he often did, from his frail and deformed body--and sweat was -pouring down his brow and cheeks. "Put your arms around me, and love me -tight, George!" he gasped, "hold me tight," and I held him, clasping his -hands also in mine. He gripped me with fierce intensity, clearly -indicating the pain he was in, and thus we stood, until the call came -for him. Then, wiping his brow and face, with a smile that was at once -ghastly and sweet in its pathos, he rushed before his audience, and had -them laughing at his merry quips and quirks, his jests and jokes, -before I could recover from the sympathy I felt for his deep suffering. -Brave, courageous, plucky Marsh. Ready to make fun for others in spite -of his own pain. How often when men come to me with long drawn-out tales -of their woes, _their_ pains, _their_ sufferings, _their_ trials, -_their_ hardships, do I feel like saying to them: "Cut it out! Go and do -as did Marsh Wilder. Make some one else laugh. Make some one else happy, -and you'll forget your own troubles!" For it is true. The very effort of -concentration upon making others laugh, or add to their happiness, -largely, if not completely, leads to a forgetfulness of one's own woes. - -Then, too, the man who can laugh at himself wins a hearing from the -world that nothing else can gain for him. There is an appeal, somehow, -in this fact, that is irresistible. Bishop Peck, of the M. E. Church, -was a Falstaffian build of man. Indeed, it is said that he weighed a -full pound for every day in the year. A man with three hundred and -sixty-five pounds of corporeal presence naturally possessed an -aldermanic "front" of compelling proportions. On one occasion the Bishop -was called upon at the General Conference (which, I believe, that year -met in Baltimore), to represent the church upon the Pacific Coast. The -good bishop had a habit of always stroking, or smoothing down his vest, -when beginning his address, and at this time, as he arose, and began his -deliberate strokings of his vast and protuberant rotundity, he -accompanied it with the words: "Brethren, the Pacific Slope greets you!" - -His amazement, as a perfect roar of laughter greeted him and shook the -building, can well be imagined, yet he did not lose his _sang-froid_. In -another moment he had grasped the fun of the situation, and laughing -with the vast audience, seized upon that as a theme upon which he played -with eloquence, fervor, and power in an extemporized speech which, as -many who heard it say, he never surpassed in his life. - -Suppose his "dignity" had prevented his joining in the laugh at himself! -What an opportunity he would have lost. - -I saw a similar event once in the Free Trade Hall, in Manchester, -England. That great assembly hall was crowded, awaiting the coming upon -the platform of the Conference of all the Baptist Ministers of Great -Britain. We had been waiting some time and I, for one, was young enough -to be impatient as the time announced drew near. It was in the days of -Moody and Sankey's great revivals in England, and Sankey's hymn, "Hold -the Fort!" had captured the church-going ear. To pass away the time I -started the song. The audience caught on. We sang the first verse and -the chorus with vim and fervor. Then, just as we began the second verse, -the body of ministers began to march on to the platform, led by their -gray-haired president. Recall the lines and imagine the result as the -words of the marching ministers were united in our thoughts! - - See the mighty host advancing - Satan leading on! - -Some of us shrieked with laughter. One man near me nearly had a fit of -hysterics. They say Englishmen can't see a joke. I never saw an American -audience "catch on" any quicker than did that Manchester one. In a -moment the singing stopped and the place was in an uproar of wildest -laughter. The good president at first seemed nonplused and confused, but -some one must have explained it to him, for before the ministers had -scarce taken their seats, he advanced to the edge of the platform, -secured silence, and began to the effect: "Beloved friends! If we seem -like the hosts of evil, marching with Satan at their head, we belie our -looks. The Evil One has blinded your eyes. We are the army of the other -side. We are Christian soldiers, engaged in a never-to-cease conflict -with that army of evil that we shall assuredly conquer," and so on, -giving one of the most pertinent, direct, spontaneous, and truly -eloquent of addresses. - -He rose to the occasion--joined in the laugh upon himself, won his -audience, and then used the sympathy he had gained, to strike home some -deep and important truths. - -This is what I want to live, to radiate: love of humor, readiness to -laugh at it even though it be laughing at myself, ready to make it when -I can for others, ready to join in other people's appreciation of it. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -RADIANCIES OF THE "ETERNAL NOW" - - -Is there any past, any future, in our lives? If I look back upon the -past, or anticipate the future, whether with joy or pleasure, do I not -do it in the _now_? To-morrow never comes, for when it arrives it is no -longer to-morrow,--it is _now_. Life is one _eternal now_. The great -trouble, however, with most people, is that they have not learned that -fact. They do not live in the _now_, they sit down and lament over the -past; weep that its joys are gone, its glories faded, altogether -oblivious of the resplendent beauties that now surround them, the -radiant joyousnesses that environ them, NOW. Or, they sit in fond -anticipation, in expectation, with impatient waiting for to-morrow, for -next week, for next year, ignoring the immediate and present sweet -singing of the birds, the exquisite daintiness of the flowers, their -delicate fragrance, the majesty and sublimity of the snowy mountain -peaks, the upright stateliness of the trees, the supernal clarity of the -sky, the pellucidness of the atmosphere, the champagne-like quality of -the air, NOW. - -What time we lose, waste, pervert, by forgetting the duty, the joy, the -delight of living in the Eternal Now. Take your joys as they come along. -It is the Divine plan that every moment shall be filled with His -joy--the joy of living, of being. - -Eyes are given to see with _now_! Are you using them now? Do you gaze -upon the grass, the trees, the flitting butterflies, the busy insects, -the bees, the beautiful birds, the clouds, the sky, the sea, the -rippling cascades, the _everything_ of Nature, NOW, and enjoy their -many-formed, many-hued, many-graced splendors. - -Ears are given for hearing _now_! - -Are yours alert for all the sweet, the pleasant, the comforting, the -joyous, the sublime sounds that might come to them now? Or are you like -the "fools and blind" who will sit at a Boston Symphony concert and -gabble gossip or retail slander? - -Palates are given to taste with _now_! - -Are you tasting the apples, the rare lusciousness of grapes, peaches, -oranges, plums, and the thousand and one delicate fruits _now_, or are -you regretting the lost truffles, the sauces, the spices, the wines, the -stimulating things of yesterday, or longing for the Lucullus repasts of -to-morrow? - -Oh, the content and happiness of taking joys as they come, in their -simpleness and naturalness, in their every-day, common, normal order; of -looking for them, expecting them, anticipating them, going out, as it -were, to meet them. - -Is it only a walk of ten blocks (or five) to the store, or office, or -school? Are you ready as you step out of your door to inhale the -fragrance of the morning air, or enjoy its own peculiar delight if the -morning is wet, misty, foggy, rainy? Do you see the moving and sun-lit -clouds; the clear sky, the rustling leaves of the trees; the hopping of -the happy birds; the joyousness of the children walking to school? - -Be alert, receptive, ready. Seize the _small joy of the now_, and you -will find it far more delightful than all the anticipations, and even -the realizations of what seem to be the _large joys of the to-morrow_. - -One of the saddest pictures on canvas to me is one called "The Pursuit -of Pleasure." It represents a female figure as _Pleasure_, floating -through the air, and followed by an eager crowd of men and women, of all -ages and conditions in life. Reaching, grasping, breathless, regardless -of their tramplings upon each other, indifferent that some of their -whilom companions are fallen and cannot arise, and that hopeless despair -is depicted in their eyes and faces, each and all of the remaining -strugglers fix their eyes upon the phantom though alluring figure. And -thus the pursuit goes on continuously; there is no reaching her; she is -ever illusive and evasive, a delusion and a snare, ever beckoning yet -ever retreating. - -In her sculptured fountain at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, Mrs. Harry -Payne Whitney expresses the same idea, but even more forcefully than -does the picture. Here are thirty-seven figures nearly all intent upon -reaching their goal of happiness. They cannot even see what it is. Yet -the eagerness depicted upon the faces, in the straining attitudes, the -strenuous striving in that one direction, all typify the desire, the -intentness, the resolute pursuit of happiness. Then, alas, when the -doors are reached, they are both found closed, guarded by Assyrian and -Egyptian figures, that suggest the occult mystery of the beyond, and -that look down sternly and unyieldingly upon the two figures at their -feet, long strivers, evidently pleading for the admission that is denied -them. There are two definite, distinct, and different ways in which -these two allegories can be interpreted. One is that mankind ever lives -in the world of the senses, pursuing the gratifications of the now, the -feastings, the drinkings, the carousings, the pleasuring, the wantonings -of the sense-life, the sensual life, and that such a pursuit is ever -doomed to failure, for man--the spiritual, created in God's own -image--can never be satisfied with the temporary things of earth and -sense. - -The other interpretation is that man is ever seeking for some _far-off_, -great, _extraordinary_ pleasure, joy, or satisfaction, something in the -future, rather than living in the smaller joys of the _now_. The child -longs to be the youth or maiden, enjoying "sitting up at nights," "going -to parties," "eating candies," "going out with the boys," "smoking like -a man"; the youth eagerly works for the time when he shall be his own -master, control his own business; the maiden, have her lover, marry -successfully, become the mistress of her own house; the grown man looks -forward to and works desperately for the time when he shall have "made -his pile," and the woman to "an assured place in society." These, and a -thousand and one "_pursuits_" engage men and women. - -In my own life I am eagerly desirous to radiate the opposite of both of -these conceptions. I certainly do not wish to belong to the class -pictured in Christ's parable of the rich man; he who thought only of the -so-called good things of this life which he would enjoy now--he who -said: "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die." The -slightest observation of life, of the men and women one meets daily, -soon convinces one of the hollowness, the dissatisfaction, the -incompleteness of all earthly things. The subject is too trite to need -any amplification. Yet, the wonder of it is, that, in spite of this -fact, the great majority of people still thus strive for wealth, place, -power, honor, social success, possessions, attainments. Why is it that -this _ignis fatuus_ has such power of allurement? Why is it that men -and women are so foolish, so slow to rule their actions by their own -inner spiritual awakenings, rather than the habits and fashions followed -by others? - -I have no desire or ambition for fame, for honor, for success, for -place, for power, _as such_. They are useless to me save as I may use -them for the benefit, the happiness, the pleasure of my fellows. I am -slowly awakening to the realization of what I believe now to be a primal -fact, viz., that all a man can really hold and enjoy in his living hand, -in his soul, in his life, is that which he gives away, shares, -distributes among his fellows. - -Elsewhere I have quoted Joaquin Miller's lines from _Peter Cooper_: - - For all you can hold in your dead, cold hand, - Is what you have given away. - -I now wish to radiate my belief in the enlargement of that idea as -stated above. Even knowledge can give no real satisfaction unless -shared, given to others; the joy of a picture owned is lost unless -others can enjoy with you. In other words, the possession of anything -_for self alone_ is destructive of happiness. One learns slowly but -surely that even in these things of the mind and the soul: - - That man who lives for self alone - Lives for the meanest mortal known. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -RADIANCIES OF EXTREMES - - -Life is made up of extremes and everything that comes between them. -There is the North Pole and there is the South Pole. There is the heat -of the fiery furnace and the cold of the Arctic Zone. There is the -height of heaven and the depth of hell; the voice of the thunder and the -whisper of the gentle zephyr. - -Man is a singular being. He is as diverse as is the manifold face of -Nature upon which he gazes. His likes and dislikes are many and varied. -Men of equal intelligence and equal powers differ in their ways of -looking at the same thing. The poet Browning effectively states this -when he says: - - Ten men love what I hate, - Shun what I follow, slight what I receive; - Ten, who in ears and eyes - Match mine. - -In the face of such facts one is compelled to the conclusion that -personal idiosyncrasy or individual preference alone can decide what it -wants, needs, and must have, in this large diversity that is offered -it. - -The fact that ten men who have equal powers of observation and -reflection as myself love the things that I hate, and reject the things -that I receive, has absolutely no influence in deciding me in regard to -the things that I hate and receive, any more than the fact that I hate -and receive things to which they have the antagonistic feeling -influences them; hence it is useless for me to attempt to enforce my -likings and antipathies upon others, even as it is useless for them to -attempt to force theirs upon me. - -So I have been led to accept the philosophy, which I wish to radiate to -all men, that it appears to me the Divine Wisdom has provided for these -personal idiosyncrasies of human nature by giving to us the extremes of -things with everything that lies between. So, regardless of my own -preference, I believe that the strong wind is as much a beneficent force -of Nature as is the zephyr; the thundering cataract of Yosemite as the -placid Mirror Lake; the avalanche as the snowflake; the thunder as the -violet; the earthquake as the rippling rill; the blazing meteor as the -Milky Way; the flaming sun-spots as the sparkling dewdrop; the fiery -volcano as the quiet glowworm; the giant sequoia as the tiny -forget-me-not; the thundering breakers of ocean as the gentle pattering -raindrop; the fiery boiling geyser as the silently flowing fountain; the -dazzling comet as the serene fixed star; the rugged Grand Canyon as the -flower-besprinkled sward; the monster whale as the tiny gold-fish; the -giant elephant as the timid mouse; the blaring trumpet as the soothing -guitar; the startling kettle-drum as the smoothly flowing 'cello; the -clanging cymbals as the seductive oboe. - -I firmly believe and wish to radiate my belief that God has as much use -for the man of the farm as for the man of the drawing-room; the rudeness -of "The man with the hoe" as the smoothness of the man with the higher -education. He needs the arid desert as well as the fertile plain; the -wild ruggedness of the ravine as well as the cultivated garden; the -colorless abysses of the glacier as well as the flower-besprinkled -foothills. He has use for the snowy plains of the north as well as the -rice fields of the south; the cactus as well as the orchid; the giant -suaharo as well as the shrinking gilia; the prickly pear, as the velvety -peach; the sword-fish, as the nautilus; the shark as the flying-fish; -the flaming sunrises and sunsets, as the tender tints of the lily, and -the night-blooming cereus; the deep purples, as well as the blush rose; -the glowing yellows as the softer blues; the piercing greens as the -quieter violets. The bluffs and promontories that thrust their heads out -into the ocean are as much a part of God's great out-of-doors and of as -much use as are the placid landscapes; the mountain heights as much -needed as are the flower-bespangled levels; the vast reaches of prairie -as the secluded and confined valley. The piercing cold of the Arctic has -as much a place in Nature as the alluring mildness of Southern -California or the Riviera; the monster tides of the Bay of Fundy as the -ripples of the placid pool. - -The sturdy and warlike Viking has as much a place in history as the -diplomatic and artistic Italian; the Negro as the Caucasian; the -Chinaman as the French; the Oriental as the English; the Japanese as the -American. - -El Capitan and Gibraltar are not exquisitely carved statues by Canova or -Thorwaldsen, but they have just as much a place in the history of the -world's development. - -The wilds of the high Sierras, in all their rude and majestic splendor, -rugged and tremendous vastness, where clear-eyed, horny-handed, -strong-oathed, and rudely clad men wander and labor, are very different -from the city drawing-rooms,--those places of pink teas and white -kid-gloved men and women; those breeding places of superficial -conventionality and effete conceptions of people and life, but I doubt -not that the high Sierras have produced more of benefit to mankind than -all the drawing-rooms of all the civilizations. - -I love the pastoral and quiet landscapes of the Connecticut River -Valley, of placid Killarney, of the quiet vale of Avoca, of picturesque -Normandy, but the passion, power, majesty, sublimity, solitude, -dreariness and desolation of the far-reaching Colorado Desert, deep -descending Grand Canyon, bold escarpments of the Red Rock country, and -other tremendous and solitary places of Nature command me, allure me, -appeal to me, and dominate me quicker than the quiet places of beauty. - -What, in Nature, to some men is the end of things to others is the -beginning. The sacred writer says that God even "maketh the wrath of men -to praise him," as well as their love and tenderness. - -Life is not all comprised about a slender figure and transparent -profile; faultless coils of hair; soft, rich, clinging garments; laces -falling over taper fingers; graceful and dignified demeanor; low and -sweetly modulated voice, and the perfection of faultless manners. There -may be a place for the rude, uncouth clodhopper with disfigured -features; tousled hair; clad in homespun or cheap denim; rags taking the -place of lace; boorish and clumsy demeanor; a voice like a steamer -foghorn; and the apotheosis of all that is blundering and awkward in -manner. - -I do not, for one moment, defend any unnecessary boorishness or -uncouthness of manner, and must not be understood as doing so, but at -the same time, in spite of these things, I am impelled to state my -conviction that the latter class is more needful to the real progress -of the world than the former. I notice that several times in the history -of the world, canal-drivers, shepherd-boys, wood-choppers, and -rail-splitters have made wonderful pilots for the Ship of State. - -God has use in His world for the rough as well as the polished; the roar -of the thunder as well as the coo of the dove; the stentorian -trumpet-tone as well as the still, small voice. John the Baptist came -from the desert robed in skins and camel's hair; his voice, doubtless, -was not soft and well-modulated as were those of Herodias and Salome. He -was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness." His call contained the -thunder tones of the storm and wild cry of the lonely eagle seeking its -solitary aerie; the strength and the roar of the lion. It was neither -refined, pleasing, nor cultured, but it possessed life and power and it -was chosen to herald the coming of the Messiah. - -Nowhere have we been told that Elijah, Jeremiah and Daniel were noted -for the soft and dulcet tones of their voices, yet they were the chosen -instruments of the Divine in overthrowing dynasties and changing the -history of nations. Peter the Hermit was not a sweet-voiced singer in -Israel, but he started a movement that led to the civilization of -Europe. I doubt not that the charges of the British against Joan of Arc -that she cried in a coarse military voice when she led the armored -hosts of France were true, but she drove the foreign invader from the -soil of her beloved France where they had held footing for nigh upon a -hundred years and no one else had been able to win a victory from them. - -I doubt not there were times when Grant's voice did not possess the -mellow and refined quality of the drawing-room exquisite, but he won -victories and made a united people possible. John Brown was rude, rough, -uncouth, boorish, when compared with the refined and polished cavaliers -of the South. They called him a bandit, an invader, a revolutionist, an -anarchist, and they captured and hanged him, but to thousands of men his -crazy dream of the invasion of the South to forcibly compel the freedom -of the slave is being more and more seen by hundreds of thousands of -wise men to have been one of the most practical and effective means of -calling the attention of men to the moral principle involved in the -question of slavery, as to whether men of one color of blood or skin had -the right to hold in bondage men of a different color. - -When Theodore Parker was denouncing the iniquities of any and all -slavery, his voice was not as soft and gentle and sweetly modulated as -that of Longfellow, yet it played as important a part in the history of -the development of mankind and stirred men to higher endeavor on the -part of their suffering and down-trodden fellows. - -What, then, is the upshot of the whole matter? It seems to me it is -this: Listen to the voice that appeals to your own soul; that lifts you -from the lower to the higher; that thrills you to deeds of heroism, that -stimulates you to acts of nobleness, that calls you to a life of helpful -self-sacrifice; and while doing this, cease to criticise, to find fault, -to censure the kind of voice to which you do not care to listen. The -strong, vigorous, robust, red-blooded man of the out-of-doors generally -will not speak nor act with the perfect restraint and conventionality of -the man born in the atmosphere of the drawing-room, but his message may -be just as helpful to the world, and as divinely inspired as that of his -more refined and dignified prototype. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -ABSORPTION IN RELATION TO RADIATION - - -Most important factors in Living the Radiant Life are Living the Life of -_Possession_ and Living the Absorptive Life. To radiate one must -possess, and to possess one must absorb. To give largely and well, one -must receive largely and well. The Absorptive Life is as essential as -the Radiant Life. Out in the great silences are the eloquent voices of -God ready to speak to the attentive soul; out in Nature a million voices -are ready to impart knowledge to the ignorant. All one has to do to -receive is to "ask"; not with the voice but with the whole being. As a -sponge absorbs water up to the limit of its capacity, so should man -absorb, and then, unlike the sponge, which must be squeezed from without -ere it will give off that which it has received, man should radiate from -within all that he has received. - -There are few people in the world who are true absorbers. We are so full -of prejudices, conceits, notions, that we refuse to receive from this, -that, or the other source, because, forsooth, we in our pride deem the -source unworthy. The true life receives from every source. Call nothing -unclean. All things are yours. God is over and in all. Prove all things. -Open your heart to all good from whatever source. Stand humbly before -God ready to receive. Keep your hands open; your eyes, your ears, your -nostrils, your whole nature in a state of active receptivity. Be afraid -of nothing. Some one comes and tells you that in this or that he has -found spiritual life and help. You, however, have been taught to regard -that as a dangerous thing, so you are afraid of it. Arise and be above -such fears. Are you a man, a woman, a human soul, made in the image of -God and given powers of thought, of discernment, of decision? Or are you -a mere puppet to be worked by the string of other men's thoughts, other -men's ideas, other men's opinions? Listen for yourself; think for -yourself; decide for yourself; act for yourself. If a thing seems right -to your own soul do it though the heavens fall and you suffer the -condemnation of all mankind. True and rapid progress will never come to -the race until individual men learn that they alone are the arbiters of -their own destiny. - -Go out into Nature, into the silences, into the workshops and the marts -of trade _and absorb_. Listen to every good voice that speaks, and if -you are not sure whether the voice is good or not, listen anyhow and -"prove" it by the infallible tests of purity, unselfishness, and uplift. - -Every human soul may be a wireless telegraph receiver. God is flashing -out messages every moment from His million and one instruments all over -the universe. They are all kinds of messages--but all from the one -spirit, and therefore all spiritual. They appeal to the bodies, the -minds, the souls of men, and all you have to do to receive them is to -have your receiving apparatus of body, mind, and soul attuned to the -sending apparatus of the Loving Sender. Get in tune. Cry out to God: I -want all there is. I cast aside all prejudgments, all conceits, all -ideas. Let me hear direct from Thee. Go out into the fields and receive -from the spirit that is in, over, and about Nature. Every tree, flower, -grass, bird, insect, animal, cloud, storm, rock, stream has a message -for you if you will but hear it. Love alone can open your heart to -receive; it is the key with which the soul and mind and body are set in -tune. Get yourself into _relationship_ with Nature. Feel your kinship. -God is the Father of every tree as much as he is your Father. Go and -claim your family. And claim all the good they possess as your own, for -it is yours and merely awaits your taking. As a child you did this with -your mother. The nourishment of her breasts, the gentle hush of her -voice, the soothing touch of her fingers, the brooding yearning of her -love; all these were yours the moment you cried out for them. Mother -Nature is as full of the spirit of Love as your physical mother. Indeed -the latter is one in spirit with the former. Call out then. Demand, with -the simple expectancy of the child, all that you need. Call for it -confident that it will come. Expect it, and according to your expectancy -it will be given unto you. - -But to do this you must be a true child of your Nature Mother. You must -confidently lean on her breast, you must confidently blend yourself with -her, you must let her touch you as your mother used to touch you when, a -helpless babe, you lay in your cradle. Her hand went all over your body, -from head to foot, with loving, soothing caress. Let the sun and the -breezes touch your body in like fashion. Their fingers will soothe with -mesmeric power and at the same time bring health and strength and vigor, -and withal, peace. Go and lie down on the bosom of the Earth Mother; -feel her pulsating heart, and in time, when you have forgotten your -artificiality and pretension, your so-called civilization and culture, -and found anew your kinship with the Earth, you will feel the whole -power of Nature pulsing through your veins; the fever of your unhealthy -blood will be soothed and it will flow naturally and coolly as the sweet -sap that ascends to the nourishment of the topmost branch and leaf. - -And when life has wounded you, cut you, torn you almost limb from limb, -and you feel and see yourself only an almost dismembered trunk, Nature -will soothe and heal you. Your wounds will soon be scarred over and the -trees, the ferns, the birds, the grasses, the squirrels, the bees, the -buds, the blossoms, and the butterflies,--all--will associate with you -on equal terms. They will neither laugh at you nor repel you, but as -loving friends come and associate with you in sweet and dear kinship. -You will walk through the aisled forest temples of God repentant and -forgiven for sins of the past, and shame and sorrow will flee away, -replaced by the calm joy of the peace that flows into the receiving -heart like a river. You will undress and bathe in the sunshine and the -pools, the creeks and the rivers, fearless and unabashed, for you will -have exposed your soul to the soul of things; real shame has nothing to -do with externals. - -But, you ask, how am I to begin to observe and thus absorb the good -gifts of God into my very life in order that I may live and radiate them -to others? Let me help you to begin! - -To be satisfied is to stagnate and petrify. In his _Rabbi Ben Ezra_, -Robert Browning has three pregnant lines: - - What I aspired to be, - And was not, comforts me: - A brute I might have been, but would not sink i' the scale. - -The aspiring soul is the one reaching out to absorb. One might be a -satisfied brute by closing all the avenues of aspiration and high -ambition, but it is immeasurably better to be an unsatisfied, aspiring -man rather than the satisfied low-minded brute. - -Aspiration is the hunger of the soul. Hunger implies need. So -foster--cultivate--your hunger. The hungry seek for food, and food gives -new life, new growth, new strength, new power. The Universe of God is -full of food for man's mind and soul. And it is of infinite variety, -capable of nourishing myriads of soul-powers that now lie dormant in -your nature. Awaken to your needs. Be on the lookout every moment for -the free gifts of God that hang from the trees of life that grow in -every back yard as well as on high mountains and in every fertile -orchard. - -There is a great deal more in this expression, "cultivate a hunger," -than at first sight appears. People who satisfy their lower appetites -know nothing of the true hunger of the soul. And consequently when they -see the food designed by the Almighty Love and Wisdom to satisfy to the -full all the demands of true hunger, these grossly contented minds pass -them by, their eyes are closed so that they see not; their senses are -dulled so that they smell not, hear not, feel not, taste not. I have -seen people fast from every kind of food, solid or liquid, for ten, -twenty, thirty or forty, and in one case even for eighty days. At the -end of these fasts, the fasters related with delight their keen pleasure -and satisfaction at realizing what real hunger was as differentiated -from the mere appetite for food that they had felt prior to their fasts. -As a rule we eat too much. We satiate ourselves upon foods that are not -always good for us, and thus destroy the true normal appetite for pure, -good, healthful, simple foods. - -Among these people who fasted were several who were thin and poorly -nourished, and yet who had abnormal appetites and ate far more food than -those who were robust, hearty, vigorous, and strong. The physician said, -what was self-evident, that the more food they ate, the less nourished -they became, because they overloaded themselves with food and much of it -was the wrong kind. It was hard work for these people to fast, but at -the close of the fast, their abnormal and unnatural appetite had -disappeared and in its stead had come a true, normal hunger which -revealed to them the right kind of food that they should eat to satisfy -the demands of the body and which, when they did eat, was immediately -assimilated. The result was that within a month or two, after having -learned what real hunger was as differentiated from perverted appetite, -they were fat and rosy, plump and vigorous, beautiful and energetic. - -It is exactly the same in our mental and spiritual life. We feed upon -the grosser foods to satiation and repletion and the result is that we -suffer from mental and spiritual dyspepsia and are pale, thin, anæmic -and weak, where we should be beautiful, vigorous, energetic, and strong. -Quit stuffing and craving the lower foods. Stay away from the theater, -the vaudeville, the cheap show. Quit reading the sensational novel, the -trashy story of excitement. Give your brain, your mind, your soul, a -rest. Fast a while. Do as Elijah did, as Jesus, as Mahomet. Go into the -desert, the solitude, and for forty days and nights rest, body, mind, -and soul, until real hunger takes possession of you. Then come forth and -begin to absorb from all the great wealth of God that surrounds you. - -There are three chief sources of purest mind and soul supply and I wish -briefly to consider each one of these. They are: 1. Observation. 2. -Reading. 3. Intuition. - -This may not be a scientific classification, but it suffices for my -purpose. I have not put the most important first, but observation is the -one man most relies upon. - -1. Observation is God's method of filling up the inner supply of man's -knowledge through the senses. He sees, feels, hears, smells, tastes, and -through these avenues receives mental impressions. One can observe the -lower things or the higher. Every day as I ride on the train or street -cars, I observe men reading their newspapers. As a rule I can tell in a -few minutes what a man's mental hunger is by watching him read. He -chooses the pink sheet and devours with avidity the stories of prize -fights. He turns to the pages devoted to courts and reads the accounts -of murder trials or of scenes where lawyers quarrel or jangle and where -witnesses testify to disgusting and loathsome things. Another man is -interested in clean athletics and reads with interest of college -football, Marathon games, and the like. Still another is absorbed in the -news of a higher nature, a meeting of the Hague Peace Conference, the -endeavors of statesmen to bring about a better understanding between the -North and the South, between nations. In other words, a man takes what -his appetite craves out of the newspaper. Just so it is with all life. -Men take whatever their appetites crave. If the appetite is false, -unnatural, abnormal, they take injurious food. Only when the depraved -appetite becomes changed into natural, normal hunger, is the right kind -of food sought and found. Yet there is immeasurably more of the pure, -good food to satisfy the perfect, normal hunger, than there is of the -carrion which the vulture instincts in us crave. - -2. Reading. While I have put this under a separate head, it really -belongs under the head of observation, for the reading of books is but -observation of the observations of other men. Yet, as I shall show -later, this is a special field which one should endeavor to glean with -care. - -3. Intuition. To the really normally hungry soul, this is the chief, -indeed, the only source of spiritual food. It is what Emerson called the -"Oversoul," and what Doctor Buck meant when, in speaking of Walt -Whitman, he said he possessed the "cosmic conscience." It is -receptiveness to universal truth, Divine truth, that truth which knows -no time, no place, no boundaries of nationality, no difference in creed, -in sect, in sex, in color, but that, like the sun, shines alike upon -all, whether bond or free, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, black, -white, brown, or red, savage or civilized. It is the spirit that -possessed--in varying degrees--Gautama, Buddha, Confucius, Mahomet, -Jesus, Joan of Arc, Emerson, Browning, Whitman, all great souls who have -seen the truth universal and recorded it for the uplift and ennobling of -mankind. - -May I here suggest a few ideas as to how you should begin to absorb the -good things of God in order to get the fullest benefit from them, and -then let us go out together and absorb some of the things that will make -one a newer, fuller, more vigorous and truly radiant being. - -Get into the habit of looking out of your bedroom window at the skies -each night before you retire to rest. Is it clear? Study that brilliant -scheme of stars and planets. What grander sight could you ask for? Yet -every common man and woman may see it from the smallest attic or -hall-bedroom window. Is the moon in the heavens dimming the stars but -flooding the earth with dream-light? Can you see the great wonderful -clouds floating about in the night's silences away up under the light of -the moon or against the sparkling of the far off stars? Or is the sky -dark and lowering with black clouds so that you can see nothing as yet? -What a wonderful thing that cloud screen is; that soft, moist vapor -piled in great billows above us, shutting out the heavens and their -wonders from our gaze. How dark it seems on the earth beneath. How shut -away from the brightness and serenity of the stars. Yet we know that the -clouds are but temporary, that they will soon pass over, and that we are -perfectly safe nestling here on the quiet bosom of mother earth. - -Look up to the heavens _every night_ for some intellectual and spiritual -food, just as you go to the dining-room, _only more so_. Form the habit! - -Study the stars as David did. They are as free to you as they were to -him. The poorest beggar and the most degraded sot have as much claim to -the stars as the king on his throne or the most divine man that ever -lived. What a wonderful drama is being nightly played in the skies. How -much more interesting and attractive to the seeing and understanding eye -than the puppet shows of the theater, where there is so much of the -glare, the tinsel, the sham, the shoddy. - -The Passion Play of Oberammergau is well worth seeing. To witness and -hear the dramas of Wagner is worth while, especially soul-stirring -_Parsifal_, but here in the heavens is the great mystery of the Creator, -watched over, guarded, protected by these bright armored knights,--the -stars and the planets, the comets, the nebulæ, the milky way,--with a -vigilance which is as keen as it is eternal. - -A thoughtful girl once wrote me to the effect that after she first began -to realize the glories of the stars, she prayed to a different God from -the God she had always associated with formality, churches, prayer -books, creeds, and the communion service. She said, in effect, that her -prayer became less glib, less wordy, less ready, for the stars inspired -her with the sense of majesty and awe of the Great Creator, so that she -came before Him with words that meant more even though they came with -less smoothness of utterance. Awe will take the place of smug -self-satisfaction; the obeisance of the soul to mere bending of the -knees; an all-sweeping passion for uplift rather than vain repetitions -and selfish cries for more of the baubles of life to play with. There is -no doubt whatever that Tennyson had some such thoughts in mind when he -wrote in _Locksley Hall_: - - Many a night from yonder ivied casement, ere I went to rest, - Did I look on great Orion sloping slowly to the West. - Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising through the mellow shade, - Glitter like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid. - -Longfellow, too, has an exquisite poem on _The Light of the Stars_: - - The night has come, but not too soon; - And sinking silently, - All silently, the little moon - Drops down behind the sky. - - There is no light in earth or heaven - But the cold light of stars; - And the first watch of night is given - the red planet Mars. - - Is it the tender star of love? - The star of love and dreams? - O no! from that blue tent above, - A hero's armor gleams. - - And earnest thoughts within me rise, - When I behold afar, - Suspended in the evening skies, - The shield of that red star. - - O star of strength! I see thee stand - And smile upon my brain; - Thou beckonest with thy mailed hand, - And I am strong again. - - Within my heart there is no light - But the cold light of stars; - I give the first watch of the night - To the red planet Mars. - - The star of the unconquered will - He rises in my heart - Serene, and resolute, and still, - And calm, and self-possessed. - - And thou, too, whosoe'er thou art, - That readest this brief psalm, - As one by one thy hopes depart, - Be resolute and calm. - - O fear not in a world like this, - And thou shalt know ere long, - Know how sublime a thing it is - To suffer and be strong. - -So study the stars, get from them all you can. Let their serenity sink -into your soul, and their calm peace speak peace to your troubled and -restless spirit. Yield to your imagination as to whatever they bring -you, and be thankful for every suggestion of largeness, bigness, power, -and love. - -In his _Saul_, Browning has David tell how the stars suggested to him -the life of the people far away, who dwelt far beyond the possibility of -his ever seeking them. How could he, the poor and humble shepherd lad, -ever hope to see and know these people? Yet he could picture them. So -can you. Let your imagination grow! Let it roam! Enjoy all it gives to -you of good and inspiration. Think of the life you might live if you had -the power some of these people have, and then seek to live worthy of -that larger life even in the restricted sphere in which you are placed. - -But there are other things in the heavens, almost as common as the -stars, that may become a great and glorious inspiration to you. - -I once saw a display of lightning that came to me as a revelation from -God. It was so vivid and intense that the friends who were with me, old -Arizona pioneers who had braved hundreds of storms, were afraid, and -like myself hid their faces in their blankets. But by and by the -absurdity of this act struck me;--as if we were safer with our heads -covered than if we were taking in the sight in all its sublimity and -terrible splendor. So I resolutely cast my blanket aside, and although I -had not yet gotten over the shaking of my knees, I stepped to the cabin -door and enjoyed the splendid scene to the full. - -Who could hope to describe this display so that others can see it, or to -be believed if he even attempts to picture the intense and vivid -brilliancy of that evening's marvelous fire-works? For a few moments we -were enveloped in a "darkness that could be felt," and then, in a -moment, what seemed to be hundreds of millions of darting, zig-zag forks -of lightning struck downwards through the heavens in every direction. We -were encircled in these myriad flashes of vivid violet light that almost -blinded us with their brilliancy. For an hour or more this display -continued. But it was a sight that I can never forget, and it gave me a -new insight, and new thoughts about the glory of God. - -I have sat in the grass on a summer night or have walked many a mile -both in the South and in the West watching the scintillating, yet soft -and delicate, light of the fireflies as they sparkled and twinkled at my -feet and in the air all about me. With a sort of irregular yet rhythmic -movement they opened and closed their tiny lanterns, and interested, -fascinated, and thrilled me by the perfection of their simple beauty. - -With equal fascination I have watched the phosphorescent glow on the -ocean beach, as the great foam-crested breakers curved over and dashed -shoreward, gleaming with that peculiarly weird brilliancy, altogether -different from any other light known to man. It is even more fascinating -when seen in the amethystine waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as the -steamer plows its way through the yielding waters and casts the -gleaming and phosphorescent spray from side to side in the otherwise -dark and silent night. - -Talk about the beauties of Nature! Once begin on such a theme and there -seems to be no end. A thousand and one things crowd upon the mind -begging, clamoring for utterance in this record, but space forbids. Do -not say you cannot see, do not say there is nothing in your immediate -surroundings for you. You cannot take a step without glimpsing beauty of -some kind if your eyes are awake to observe and your heart to absorb. -Only this morning the maid in "doing up my room" in the city of Chicago -pointed out the beauty of the black trunks and branches of the trees in -the avenue contrasted against the pure white of the snow which had just -fallen. Then she remarked that even the smoky buildings were changed -into something beautiful and harmonious when the snow came, and she -commented upon the fact that she found beauty here that charmed, -thrilled, and stimulated her soul, just as much as she did amid the -much-described and certainly more glowing and picturesque scenery of -California. - -Here is the true spirit! Do not repine for the things that are away off -and that you cannot have. Take from what you can get, or go resolutely -to work to get the more desirable surroundings. But _wherever you are_ -absorb that which is _now_ and _here_ presented to you, and thus you -will learn to know and appreciate greater and grander things when -opportunity places them before you. - -2. _Absorption through Reading._ - -It must not be understood that because I am constantly urging my readers -to rely upon their own observations of Nature that I do not fully -appreciate the benefit books may be to them. Books form a large place in -my own life, and I would regret to be separated from them. They bring -into my life the inner life of all the observers, thinkers, orators, -seers, poets, and prophets of the ages, and yet what are books but the -records of men's observations and their thoughts upon those -observations? All books are not good. There are books and books. And -just as some associates are injurious, so are many books. Do not waste -your time on the cheap, the trashy, the useless, and injurious. Select -only those books from which you are sure you can absorb those things -that will be helpful and beneficial. - -Some people say they read simply for entertainment. There are times when -it is well to read with this object in view. If one is weary in mind or -body, the brain has been overtaxed, trouble distresses one, then it is -well to seek entertainment. For entertainment and the forgetting of -one's cares, troubles, and weariness will mean rest and recuperation. -It is well to be able to absorb such from a book that takes away -thoughts from one's self. But even at such times, choose the best books -from which you may absorb those things that will enable you the better -to take up the battle of life with renewed energy and courage. - -Do you try to keep up with all the latest books? Why? Do you read simply -to say that you have read, to be able to give expression to the usual -fashionable gabble on so-called "current literature"? It is not the -amount you read, but the amount of good, ennobling, and uplifting -influences that you gain from your reading that makes reading worth -while. No person that lives can read book after book in rapid succession -and absorb therefrom anything worth while. As well sit down and eat from -six o'clock in the morning until twelve o'clock at night and expect the -body to be healthful as to read continually and expect the mind to be -healthful. It is not eating but assimilation that builds up the body. -Just so, it is not reading but mental absorption that informs the mind -and strengthens the soul. One book a year, thoroughly mastered, out of -which you have absorbed helpful, stimulating, invigorating, -health-giving, power-producing thought and action is worth more than a -thousand books swallowed whole without thought or digestion. - -Joaquin Miller says that "Books are for people who do not think." Very -often this is a correct statement. While it is a good thing to desire -the knowledge we can gain from books, it becomes an evil thing when we -gain all of our knowledge of the world around us in this fashion. If the -only thoughts we have are the thoughts we get from books, books are an -injury instead of a blessing; a crutch instead of an invigoration. - -In his early life, Edwin Markham, the poet, had but three books, the -Bible, Shakspere, and Bunyan. Yet from these three books and the -contemporaneous study of the mountains, valleys, canyons, plains, -orchards, gardens, ocean, sea-beach, and valleys by which he was -surrounded, he absorbed thoughts and saw things that enabled him to -write poems that have thrilled and benefited the world. - -Sir John Lubbock a few years ago chose from all the millions of books -that have been published one hundred which he claims comprises all the -best literature of all the ages, and more recently still, President -Eliot of Harvard compressed upon a five-foot shelf all the books that he -deems necessary for the really thoughtful man to possess. - -I am not prepared to accept these or any other limitations as to the -books I shall possess and read, and yet I do want to urge the principle -involved in them upon my readers. Learn to do your own thinking rather -than take your thoughts at second hand from what some one else has -written. At the same time I would urge upon you the reading of the -writings of our great poets that you may absorb from them their love of -Nature. In this way it may be that you will be won to the love and -appreciation of that which you have never before known or enjoyed. Just -as the artist on his canvas sets forth for us a beautiful scene out of -the great world that surrounds us and thus focalizes our attention upon -it, and teaches us to see the beauty which hitherto we had passed -unobserved, so does the poet focalize our attention upon that which -hitherto we had passed by and neglected. - -Let us read, therefore, by all means, but not as an end in itself. Let -us read that thereby we may be stimulated to go out into Nature to see, -feel, and absorb for ourselves. Many of the books that are "worth while" -were written by men and women who have been close observers of Nature. - -It is by observation that we absorb the facts and lessons of Nature. -Some of the most helpful and beautiful books have been written as the -result of the exercise of this faculty combined with the reflection that -always comes to the truly thoughtful. The sciences are based upon -observation, and as soon as one becomes interested in any particular -line of study it is amazing how many fascinating things begin to crowd -upon his attention. The great scientist, Agassiz, said that he could -find enough to thoroughly and completely fill the whole of a life of -eighty years in as much as he could cover with his one hand. I have -spent night after night with astronomers whose whole vocation was to -study the heavens and learn the wonderful lessons revealed thereby. One -of the happiest epochs of my life was to spend two months in the High -Sierras of California with Joseph Le Conte, the great geologist, and his -keen and trained eyes revealed to me things in Nature that I had never -seen before, and life has ever since been richer and fuller because of -the experience. - -Darwin studied the facts of development of plant and animal life until -he wrote a book which has completely revolutionized the thought of the -world. He spent years in studying the movements and influences upon the -ground of the common earth-worm and showed us how great a friend to -humanity is this apparently insignificant and useless creature. - -Sir John Lubbock, the eminent statesman and philosopher, busy with the -affairs of city and nation, spent years in studying the actions and life -of the tiny ant and has given us most fascinating accounts of what he -saw with philosophical deductions therefrom. - -The Audubons spent their lives in studying the animals and birds of -North America and their books have been a source of intense delight and -instruction to all those that have been privileged to read them and see -their marvelous illustrations. - -Michelet, the great French scholar, studied the bee and then wrote a -book about this busy insect that is as fascinating as a romance and as -thrilling and interesting as a drama. - -John Ward Stimson studied the various forms of snow crystals, salts, of -rock substances; the natural forms of leaves, their systems of veins; -the spines of the various cactuses; the marking on the furs of animals -and the backs of reptiles, snakes, lizards, toads, etc.; indeed, all the -multi-form shapes, spirals, curves, angles, lines, etc., of Nature, and -wrote a book on them entitled _The Gate Beautiful_ which one great -critic and poet affirms is the greatest book, outside of the Bible and -Shakspere, the world has ever known. And thus might I go on page after -page, merely suggesting what men with the seeing eye and understanding -heart have given to the world as the result of their observations of -Nature. - -Who would not observe in this fashion? Who would not like thus to fill -up the mind and the soul with such wonderful facts and beautiful truths -deduced therefrom? - -Henry D. Thoreau, John Burroughs, Philip Gilbert Hamerton, John Muir, -John C. Van Dyke, and W. C. Bartlett have studied Nature in the trees, -grasses, the birds, the animals, and the sunrises and sunsets until they -have been able to thrill the world with the record of those things that -they have seen and felt. - -Ernest Thompson Seton, W. J. Long, and C. G. D. Roberts have studied the -wild life of animals until they have written books that have charmed -perhaps millions of readers by revealing to them phases of animal life -that they had never believed existed. - -Jack London goes up into Alaska and with trained eye observes the wild -wastes of snow and winter desolation and comes back and writes books -that win him fame and wealth, because of his power to see and tell what -his seeing makes him feel. - -This world is full of beauty, of knowledge, of joy, to the hungry mind -and soul, and its treasures are all free, are all to be had merely for -the asking, for the seeing, for the reaching out. - -Nothing repays every effort more abundantly than does Nature. She -preaches more eloquently, because more simply, purely, and directly than -any divine that ever occupied pulpit. She is the direct voice of God to -mankind, ordained by the Infinite himself. Few men in sacerdotal robes -ever come to us with this divine song upon their lips. Joaquin Miller -never wrote truer words than: - - The woods keep repeating - The old sacred sermons whatever you ask. - -It may be that as you read over what I have said of the observations and -achievements of the scientists and others that you will say that you -have no such opportunity for wide observation as this. It is not -necessary that you should have. Let me suggest to you how to begin the -development of your powers of observation in order that you may in your -way reap as beautiful a harvest as those men have in theirs. - -David was only a poor shepherd boy, but while out tending his flocks by -day and night he learned the wonderful lessons that he afterwards -incorporated into the Psalms. It was his observations, without -scientific knowledge, without observatories, without telescopes, or -other scientific instruments, that gave him such clear knowledge of the -stars that he was able to sing those wonderful words that have thrilled -all mankind ever since they were uttered, "The heavens declare the glory -of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork." While a shepherd boy -without training, without education, he so observed the things about him -that when, later in life, the power of expression came, he was able to -sing messages that will live so long as man lives. - -So, like David, begin to study the common things about you. Observe the -flowers. Observe their loveliness. Study the infinite variety of their -form, color, fragrance; compare them one with another; ask yourself why -one appeals to you more than another; wherein the special beauty and -attractiveness lies of one flower over another for you. No one can study -the flowers and not realize that the Divine Creator loves beauty, for -the infinitude of varieties that are presented, from the delicate -orchids and cactuses of the tropical forests and barren deserts down to -the plainest sunflower and dandelion, are all rich in a beauty and -attractiveness all their own. - -Ina Coolbrith, the California poet, in one of her sweetest songs, says: - - I will out in the gold of the blossoming mould - And sit at the Master's feet, - And the love my heart would speak, - I will fold in the lily's rim, - That the lips of the blossom more pure and meet - May offer it up to Him. - -See what a beautiful conception! Her heart was full of desire to lift -her prayer of thankfulness, praise, and supplication up to God, but -feeling her own inadequacy and incompleteness, and realizing the perfect -purity of the delicate lily, she felt that she might wrap her prayer up -in the rim of the flower and thus make it acceptable to the God of -purity and immaculate whiteness. - -There never was a flower yet that was not a miracle to the observing eye -and thinking mind. How does it shape all that beauty? From whence does -it gain those delicate tints, tones, and colors? From what laboratory -does it extract those exquisitely delicate and delicious odors? - -Oh, wake up to the beauty of the common grass, the common flowers, the -common trees. Open your eyes to see, open your hearts to feel, cultivate -your hunger for these common things and then absorb and assimilate them. - -But the flowers and trees are but merely a part of the great world of -Nature from which one may absorb things beautiful and grand. - -People who live by the sea or by an inland lake have wonderful -opportunities for the observation of grandeur, sublimity, and beauty. -Joaquin Miller once stood by the seashore and wrote these words of -poetry: - - The sun lay molten in the sea - Of sand, and all the sea was rolled - In one broad, bright intensity - Of gold and gold and gold and gold. - -He saw the gold of beauty which in this materialistic age few men deem -of value. But when all the gold of commerce has disappeared, the gold of -beauty is a treasure stored up in one's soul that will accompany him -through all the ages of eternity. The one is ephemeral and useful only -to provide the food, clothing, and shelter we need for the body, the -other, permanent, enduring, lasting, that clothes the mind with -brilliant images and the soul with helpful and stimulating aspirations. - -It is one of the mistakes of life to overlook the apparently small, -trifling and near-by things, in the vain desire to see some great, -large, important thing. The things about us are the essential things of -our life. Too often we deem them unimportant. We are so accustomed to -seeing them that we pay no attention to them, yet these things were -worth the thought of the Almighty Creator. Every blade of grass, every -leaf of every tree is a revelation of some thought of God, hence can -never be beneath the notice of mankind. This careless and unobservant -attitude of mind shows our ignorance and our unwisdom. God's mysteries -are before us and we refuse to read them. As Walt Whitman says: "Our -streets are strewn with leaves from the book of God and we see them -not." We pass them by. Let us learn to pick up these divine mysteries -and in their sweet, beautiful simplicity read their sublime lessons to -our own hearts. - -Who would think of learning anything from the mists? Yet Joaquin Miller -once wrote these words: - - Behold the silvered mists that rise - From all-night toiling in the corn, - - The mists have duties up the skies, - The skies have duties with the morn; - While all the world is full of earnest care - To make the fair world still more wondrous fair. - -In one of his poems, one of our great poets tells the story of a number -of poor people who came to see their king who was to approach with his -gayly dressed bands of music and all the pomp and ceremony attendant -upon kingship. The story goes, however, that the Captain of the Province -drove the poor people away and refused to allow them to be present when -the king passed through. - -Let the poet now tell his own story: - - Lo, then a soft-voiced stranger said: - "Come ye with me a little space. - I know where torches gold and red - Gleam down a peaceful, ample place; - Where song and perfume fill the restful air, - And men speak scarce at all. The King is there." - - They passed; they sat a grass-set hill-- - What king hath carpets like to this? - What king hath music like the thrill - Of crickets 'mid these silences-- - These perfumed silences, that rest upon - The soul like sunlight on a hill at dawn? - - Behold what blessings in the air! - What benedictions in the dew! - These olives lift their arms in prayer; - They turn their leaves, God reads them through; - Yon lilies where the falling water sings - Are fairer-robed than choristers of kings. - - - Lift now your heads! yon golden bars - That build the porch of heaven, seas - Of silver-sailing golden stars-- - Yea, these are yours, and all of these! - For yonder king hath never yet been told - Of silver seas that sail these ships of gold. - - They turned, they raised their heads on high; - They saw, the first time saw and knew, - The awful glories of the sky, - The benedictions of the dew; - And from that day His poor were richer far - Than all such kings as keep where follies are. - -Have you experienced these blessings in the air? Have you felt these -benedictions in the dew? Have you seen the exquisite robes of the -lilies? Have you seen the ships of gold sailing through the silver seas? -And the bars of gold that build the porch of heaven? - -You have rushed to see the pomp of kings. You have rushed to see the -glitter and tinsel of the circus procession. You have struggled with -desperation that you and your wife might mingle with the gayly dressed -throng at some fanciful revel. Why be so eager for these vain shows and -yet not see the true beauty, real gorgeousness, undying splendor of -these other outward manifestations of the thoughts of God? - -Eager desire for the vain pomp and circumstance of things reveals the -abnormal and depraved appetite just the same as the glutton's and -drunkard's cravings do. The more they are fed the more fiercely their -fires rage and the less satisfied one becomes. It is only real things -that will satisfy the hunger of the immortal soul, and then one of the -remarkable things is how the trivial and small things will produce -satisfaction. - -As George Macdonald says in his fascinating story, _Sir Gibbie_: - - It is wonderful upon how little those rare natures capable of making - the most of things will live and thrive. There is a great deal more - to be got out of things than is generally got out of them, whether - the thing be a chapter of the Bible or a yellow turnip, and the - marvel is that those who use the most material should so often be - those that show the least result in strength or character. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -RADIANCIES OF DEATH - - -For centuries the human mind has been afraid, disturbed, distressed, at -the thought of death; the uncertainty of the beyond; "shall we know each -other there?" and the thousand and one questions that have arisen as to -what life, if any, there is beyond the grave. Years ago, in my own -innerness, all sense of fear, of disturbance, of distress at the thought -of death vanished, never again to appear. I have no resentment at the -thought of death, either for myself, or those I love. I expect it for us -all, and am neither surprised nor hurt when it comes. There may be the -sense of physical loss, but that is all. There is no sense of _real_ -loss of anything except the temporal, the physical, that which, in the -very course of Nature, must pass through the change we call Death. - -Hence I feel I have definite and positive radiancies upon this subject, -which I am assured will bring comfort and peace to those who can enter -into the spirit of them, and accept the same assurances that have come -to me. - -The first of these that I would radiate with clearness and fullness is -that _man is a spiritual being and not physical_. Much of the fear, -dread, distress, pain of death has come from the mistaken belief that -man is physical. Death has come and robbed us of the life of the -physical. The flesh has become cold, inanimate, lifeless, therefore dead -and lost to us. The mother has grieved herself into sickness and a -ruined life because of the death of her babe. Husbands have wept long -for the wives they thought they had lost. Sorrow, grief, sadness, -woe--these seem the natural accompaniments of death. Our customs, our -language, our literature, our poetry, our art, are full of the -expressions of this thought--the trappings of woe, the solemn -countenance, the hushed voice, the somber garments, the widow's weeds, -the black band of bereavement, the hearse, the funeral marches, the -watch of the dead, the lighted candles, the solemn funeral addresses, -the tears, the grief that will not be comforted, all speak of the -sadness attributed to death. Tennyson's _In Memoriam_, Browning's _La -Saziaz_, and hundreds, thousands, of lesser poems have been written on -the woe, the grief, the cruelty of death. - -While I long for the physical presence of my beloved ones as much as do -other men, I would radiate my belief, my restful assurance, in the love -that exists, _persists_, _lives_, after what we call the death of the -body, and that, therefore, to me, save for the loss of the physical -presence, there is absolutely no death, no need for sorrow, grief, pain, -or woe. - -As birth itself is a death of the embryonic life, so is death a birth -into the life beyond--the life of the spirit, the life, free, -unhampered, unhindered by the flesh. Browning expresses it perfectly in -his wonderful _Pisgah Sight_, where he stands and looks "over Jordan" -into the Promised Land: - - Good to forgive, - Best to forget; - Living we fret, - Dying we live. - Fretless and free, soul, - Clap thy pinion, - Earth have dominion, - Body, o'er thee. - -The Indians' attitude towards death is very beautiful to me. They regard -it as a natural change; a something to be expected, to be looked for, -and therefore to be met with bravery, courage, and fearlessness. While I -know they grieve deeply at unexpected deaths by accidents, sudden -disease, in war, etc., and make a loud show of their grief, that is -merely the child part of their nature asserting itself. When a man, a -woman, has lived out the natural term of years and he, she, feels death -approaching, retirement is made to some quiet and solitary place, where -Death is awaited with calmness, serenity, and fearlessness. This is -what I would radiate, both for myself and those whom I love. I believe -with all my heart in the great goodness of God; in the progressiveness -of the human soul towards the godhead possible for us. - -I look forward with confidence and eager anticipation to the adventures -new and brave that are to meet me when I go beyond. I have had a grand -and glorious time here. In spite of hardships, sorrows, griefs, pains, -sickness, bereavement, poverties, and the pains that come from a -recognition of my own mental and spiritual imperfections, I have had a -wonderfully rich, joyous, and blessed life. I am thankful for it all. As -I look back upon it I regret only those things wherein I have brought -pain and sorrow to others. As for myself, all the pains and distresses -are gone and forgotten; the joys and delights, the pleasures and -happinesses, only, remain, and for these I am thankful beyond all power -of expression. - -Shall I, then, be afraid that the Supreme Power who has so blessed me in -this life will be unable, or unwilling, to equally bless me in the one -to come? Fearless and unafraid I await the issue, nay, with glad -confidence I will welcome it when it comes. - -Hence, again to quote Browning, whom I love and revere for his great -helpfulness: - - I would hate that Death bandaged my eyes, and forbore, - And bade me creep past. - - No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers - The heroes of old; - Bear the brunt, in a minute pay, glad, life's arrears - Of pain, darkness and cold. - -I want to meet death in just that spirit; open-eyed, in full possession -of my senses, if that be possible, that I may have full cognizance of -the experience as I pass through it. But let it come as it may, I want -to be ready to meet and greet it. - -In many of his poems Walt Whitman fully expresses my conceptions, and -Joaquin Miller's many sweet poems reëcho the thoughts that come to me, -again and again, as I contemplate the sleep that has no earthly -awakening. Take his beautiful _River of Rest_: - - A beautiful stream is the River of Rest; - The still, wide waters sweep clear and cold, - A tall mast crosses a star in the west, - A white sail gleams in the west world's gold: - It leans to the shore of the River of Rest-- - The lily-lined shore of the River of Rest. - - The boatman rises, he reaches a hand, - He knows you well, he will steer you true, - And far, so far, from all ills upon land, - From hates, from fates that pursue and pursue; - Far over the lily-lined River of Rest-- - Dear mystical, magical River of Rest. - - A storied, sweet stream is this River of Rest; - The souls of all time keep its ultimate shore; - And journey you east or journey you west, - - Unwilling, or willing, sure-footed or sore, - You surely will come to this River of Rest-- - This beautiful, beautiful River of Rest. - -And elsewhere he says: - - I go, I know not where, but know I will not die, - And know I will be gainer going to that somewhere; - For in that hereafter, afar beyond the bended sky, - Bread and butter will not figure in the bill of fare, - Nor will the soul be judged by what the flesh may wear. - -Here is the spirit in which he describes and meets death: - - Come forward here to me, ye who have a fear of death, - Come down, far down, even to the dark waves' rim, - And take my hand, and feel my calm, low breath; - How peaceful all! How still and sweet! The sight is dim, - And dreamy as a distant sea. And melodies do swim - Around us here as afar-off vesper's holy hymn. - This is death! With folded hands I wait and welcome him. - -Thus, in very deed, and very truth, would I await and welcome him. And -so I would radiate, now and ever, being sorry for my failings and -failures, but thankful beyond measure for any small degree of -helpfulness, joy, happiness, blessing I may have brought to others, and -with only one great desire towards the earth and its inhabitants, viz., -to be remembered as one who loved and sought to bless his fellow men. - - - - -BOOKS BY GEORGE WHARTON JAMES - - - PALOU'S LIFE AND APOSTOLIC LABORS OF PADRE FR. 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