The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1878-05-16

Of marble, but it needs not only the !
quick thought of the artists brain, but
the long labor of the sculptors hand, to
break down the walls that hold her in
thrall, ere the fairy kiss of Genius can
awaken her to life
The impatience of our natures prevents
us, too often, from attaining the perfec-
ton of our ideas and enterprises. The
grandeur of their completion is lost be-
cause of our anxiety to grasp it too soon
Weary Of waiting we pluck the unripe
fruit and murmur at its bitterness, for
getting, that
Time makes the bitter, sweet.
While slow hours of toll
Make work complete,
And cast at victor's feet
The fruit of golden spoil"
The works of man are but limitations of
the works of Nature.
God did not speak the world at once
into the beautiful creation that it now is,
but through the gradations of thousands
of years. through the ages of the growth
and decay of luxuriant and stately forms
of vegetation and of huge forms of ami
NAL life, the earth was fitted for the abode
of man.
The works of Nature are perfect and
are only done by degrees. The. seed
does not spring at once into a tree, but
passes through the successive stages of
germ, plant and shrub, ere it attains its
stately height
Great things are not Of mushroom
growth. More than two centuries ago
little band of Pilgrims landed, in the
midst of winter. upon the wild New
England shore Coming from land of
balmy breezes and delicious comforts
what a change was this. Could they
expect to make of this desolate place
through danger of its savage possessors,
through privations and hardships, home
such as they had left? Their hope was
scarcely so high as this, yet it was brave
one, and one which did not prove false,
and there is not now grander nation or
lovelier than this of which that little
band was the beginning. Centuries ago,
hiding in the noun tains of Switzerland,
were few noble men and women who
professed the faith of the meek and
lowly Nazarine. Through the persecu-
tions and fires of Rome, they cherished
and kept alive the true belief, and now
the greatest nations of the earth are
those who profess it, and the followers of
the religion of the Waldenses are legion.
Napoleon did not step at once upon the
throne, but, by indomitable will and un-
swerving ambition the poor boy became
General, the General, Consul, and the
Consul, Emperor of France and the
greatest man Of his time.
The Pyramids, which have withs TODD
the storms of ages, are the monuments of
generations.
1t is the slow and patient work of years
that accomplishes the grand and endur-
ing.
One roams through life with song on
his lips. The skies are bright above him
the air around him is soft and sweet
fragrant flowers spring up beneath his
feet, he sees all this beauty but does not
feel it, for he is dreaming of great things
to do, by and by, and neglects the grand
opportunities that are afforded him every
day of his life. But there comes time
when he must do, or die. The sky is
overcast with clouds, his way grows dark
and gloomy. He mas treasured none oi
the light that was about him for the
present need. He is not prepared to
meet the storms of life. His eye accus
toned to the brilliance Of light, fails him
in the deep darkness. His hand unus ed
to labor, falls nerveless before the oh
structions that block his way. His hear
quails before the hidden terrors around
him. Powerless, he is carried away by
the torrent that sw eeps along before him
and, buffeted about by the angry tide,
he is cast ashore, wrecked, useless crea
ture, and why? Because he did not pre-
pare himself for future action by imme
diate acting; because he expected, with
one touch of an unskilled hand, to carve
his name highest and best upon the rock
of fame; because he neglected the work
that stood every day with pleading eyes
by his side.
The seven hills of Rome were only
seven hills. Climbing their height
alone would never have built that glo
rious city. One days work, however
great it might have been, would be but as
drop in the time spent ere the city
shone forth like beautiful crown in its
completion.
Whatever we attempt we should not
expect to obtain at once the success at
which we aim; we should not expect to
spring from mediocrity to perfection
Little by little, stone upon stone, slowly
but surely the true life is built, and
when our patience, long tried, wearies
and the slowness and incompleteness o
our work almost overwhelms us, wher
we fear that working and waiting will
fail in their reward, we should remember
that Rome was not built in a day.