Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-03-30
HEROISM.
BY JENNIE W, COLUMBUS, MISS.

We fall into the abysSes, saying to the Al
But Notwithstanding our vain pretext, he
addresses our consciousness. saying, u have
made thee too weak TO rise from the pit. be-
cause made thee too strong TO fall therein"
-ROuSSedu.
To every living being a way is appoint
ed and duties given. Over each life there
reigns law, which it is the end of
being to fulfill. From the workings Of
this law there is no escape,-every ac-
ton has its antecedent and consequent,
and rigid logic follows US step by step.
We mourn the wreck of man, and soft
en- our sentence by saying, "An evil star
ruled his destiny" Fortune was ad-
verse to him. etc. Thus we wrong our
natures, and sscribe our failings, not TO
ourselves, but TO some unseen evil
power. Fortune, Fate, Destiny mere
subterfuges under which we would con-
ceal our eOwardly inactiOn, the appeal Of
all weak minds. Man is his own star,
and as is the strength of his soul, which
he augments or dissipates at viii, so can
he conquer the most adverse power
What a pretty thing we make of life .
We throw away our opportunities like
chatf, and then complain of the hardness
of our lot; we yield continually to temp
tatiOn until We lose all control over our
wills, and then complain of our weak
armed, and think to come off victorious.
Few of US, indeed, appreciate rightly
the deep significance Of life. On one
side we hear curses, on another prayers,
but rarely strong, heroic words from a
self-sufficing soul. The one universal
aim seems to be rest, content. We have
heard men, who having stifed all the
high aspirations Of their spiritual natures
and narrowed themselves down to mere
physical pleasures, say, "Thank Heav-
en-, no longer know care. have plenty
of food and raiment. At night 1 lie
down on my bed of ease, and with the
morrow l go on my way rejoicing. /
rest. 1 am content. Poor fellOw-mor-
tails, why struggle ye after what is be-
yond your grasp? Why diSquiet your
selves or be troubled that you have
souls ?-leave that to God and your
ehurch.-is it not enough that YOU have
bOdies?''
There is no greater sin than such con-
tentment; it is passivity, ignorance,
cOwarJiice, stagnatiOn, the tendency TO
nothing, death! All honor to the brave.
heroic soul that stands up fearlessly and
says, 81 know not whence I came, nor
whittier l am going; but this do know,
that live now, and so surely as do
live, Will l live truly. No pleasure shall
conquer me, and no pain subdue me. /
am superior to bOth,-prepared as we'll
for the prOfoundest depths as for the
sublimest heights. Fellow-men, I ask
but your love and good wishes; other
help l need not; other help is not in
your power to give"
Oh, friend, DO thus heroic. What Is
evil fortune? Know YOU not Won are
your own chief enemy? Do men tenpt
you? your fault the yielding. Do they
Oppress you? your fault the submission.
Look to it; the fault is in youi Thouph
the foul fiends beset you in legiOns, they
can do you no evil, so you will that thev
shall not; nor has any human being the
power to harm you. There never was a
human soul so weakly endowed by ma
lure that it could not do rOyal battle
with the ills of life. There never was an
aim too high for any mortal, ''nor aught
so sublime between heaven and him of
which he is not capable
five would but acknowledge it. we
are none Of US innocent. Day by day we
10 violence to our souls; we shun the
truth; we shirk our duties: we scOrn.
what lies before us; We fret away our
strength; and in the end we would fain
sink into the arms of mereiful God. and
yield up to him what we have made
utterly useless.
On, friend, life is not easy; it is no
-hAiuS pay Jul AIA6 II udEus ll Is one
continual battle for the true and right.
Nor does death mean rest,-it but make
abOr freer; it is but an enlargement of
ife's horizon. Shame on you, eowardly
DrOhigate, who waste it in idle dissipa-
iOni Shame on YOU who degrade its
noble aims and shun the workings of its
solemn problems! Say not, II eniov
ife; do no harm; I give half nv sub
stance to the poor; surely the Lord will
bless me hereafter
Oh, man, thy soul is so shrunken and
wasted that it will scarcely survive thy
BODY, and there is no heaven for thee!
Say not, 'I but endure life; its woes
weigh heavy upon me. Surely the Lord
will recompense me for my suffering
IN vain. Heaven is only to be won by
heroes. Suffering is good only so far as
strengthens; and want, so far as il
eads to labor. To each one is given a
oul. Let him make the most Of it!-
Gazette.