Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1873-11-08
REPOsE OF MANNER.

Once in awhile in this nervous, excit-
able country of ours, We meet person
so calm and composed, so moderate and
so self-balanced, from whom there radi-
ates such a tranquilizing influence, that
all who come in contact with him, feel
refreshed and strengthened.
What is.the secret of this repose OF
manner? Manner, like body, is moth
ing without soul TO animate it. What
elements of character contribute to call
into existence repose which is not
caused bv indolence-has no communion
with indifference, and is on terms of in
timacy with energy?
There is no grace in hurry; there is
nothing to commend nervousness
Restlessness is as bad as a plague; but
who does not desire to be resualg To
possess energy, and yet work calmly; to
never add to the friction that is fast
wearing out the lives of so many of our
friends! Repose of manner must be
largely due to proper cultivation of all
the faculties. God breathed upon man
the breath of Iires-a life animal, q life
spiritual, and life intellectual. When
these are not properly harmonized, there
is discord in character which mani
tests itself in conduct. ,4...,
There are people so given up to world
ly affairs, so completely absorbed in
their own exclusive work, that thew are
a trial to the larger soul who has subor-
dinated life's chores to something high
er. Then there are men so intensely in
tellectual, that it exhausts mind and
body to be long in their society, espe-
cially, as is often the case, when their
intellects have been fed at the expense
of their emotional natures. But occa-
sionally we meet the sanity ones, whose
smiles are benedictions, whose words
soothe and uplift, whose manners re-
fresh and elevate. When in their pres
ence you feel at once these are they who
have ATTAINED, and you remember the
maxim of Goethe, "On every height
there lies repose."
1t is the little soul that worries; 1t is
the man with conquered enemies with
in who is reckless, and so disturbs the
nervous equilibrium of mis- friends, that
they feel like flying to the fields and
woods, and seeking the tt anquilizfng in
fiuence of the quiet cattle as an antidote
to his society. .-s,
The want Of repose in manner ia due
to mental and spiritual poverty within,
and, to what GENES as result of such
destitution. namely. lack of any noble
objects for which souls are primarily
living.
If to. gain place in society. or any
form of material wealth be solely that
for which man lives, how is this soul
encompassed with disturbing powers
In all the toll and fret of life, how little
| there is to compose and sustain him.
| How necessarily does he exhibit in hi;
manner the lack Of any abiding, inward
| rest! He has no time to watch how
| calmly Nature works out her great eff
fects. If he pauses to remember that i
is for him the sun ariseth in splendor
| for him the streams of earth move on.
| ward, and the subtitle influences of al
creation join in working for him, liz
| will fail of political nomination, ol
| lose rare speculation in bank or rail
read stocks, and so he hurlies OH alb
sorbed in efforts of self-aggrandizement
falling utterly 10 comprehend of how
much greater things lie is the possible
heir i'm Gods great universet
Is it anv wonder that from a nation o
such men our artists seek some repose
full society, where the clash of TIN
WHIP" urging onward to material goal
be not forever Oh the back?
There are persons who, having at
tanned to some measure of harmoniou
development, and having good aims ant
aspirations for the highest things, ar
yet in great haste to get rich rapidly il
things spiritual. They are always striv
Ing and are impatient of what appea
to them as hindrances.
Nothing would be more helpful t.
such souls than to get rid of the idea o
time as far as possible, and cultivate tn
idea of eternity. 10 feel .thatone is al
ready in the midst of the eternities, an
that. the opportunities.for soul-growt
stretch onward endlessly, is to feel
little of tine calm of the eternal ente
the soul, and flowing thence in action
its expression would necessarily be OF
derby and reposeful. --.-- ri.