New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-12-04
HIGE COW-IRDICE.

WISE COUARDICE.
Most of the sermons which will be preached
| in all the pulpits of the country this morning
will be intended to teach men the glory of some
| kind of moral courage how to meet tempta-
! tions, how to bear trouble like Il man, how 10
submit TO the inevitable. Why should not one
| be preached to show the wisdom of cOwardice
Dodge all these foes if you can do not meet
temptations, let them 90 by on the other side
don't fight against trouble, push it out Of your
! life don't submit in grand heroic fashion to
the inevitable. Ignore it; forget it; snub it.
BE not too bold =; take that as your motto If
you mean to accomplish any real work in the
world.
In other ages men lived longer; the world
was more leisurely they had time for the per-
Torrance of long, morbid melodramaS i'll their
hearts, in which they were at once actors and
spectators. If they were men of the world,
they could give themselves up to slow seasons
of Byronc despair; if they were Christians, to
fights with some Apollyon that lasted from
the sunrise TO the sunset, and even to the sun
rise again" People read carefully the his
tories of Wcrther and Manfred, and deliberately
initiated their intcrminablc gloomy struggles
in their own lives. Life is too full and too busy
now for such long plays with the devil.
man cannot afford to use up all of his lite in
saving his own soul all his kinsfOlk in the
house, in Japan, and III Cham Tartary are
waiting for HIM to help them in some fashion or
other Neither can he waste time on his emo
tions. If a young fellow is Tilted by pretty
girl, there is no need for him TO shut himself up
with his despair until he writes dozen cantOs
like Byron, or cuts his throat. Let him put
the girl out of his sight, and 80 to civil engi-
necring or selling sugar or playing polo until
hc is healthy again and ready to find another
maid as fair. We do not mean to preach any
selfish doctrine. Never Shirk the pain of an
other il you can help him to bear it; never
shrink from IN open hand-to hand fight with
the devil If you can lessen his power over
yourself or other men. But there is nowadays
an enormous amount of morbid sentiment an
amorous coquctting with misery, especially on
the part of young people, which is simply a
waste of power, and for which little hard
work would be the surcst aEtidOte. Neither is
it wise to parley unnecessarily with that in
tangible Force whose face Luther blaCkened
with the nkstand You cannot get u fair blow
like that at him he does not grin or gibber in
at the windows now, or show actual tail, or blue
whiskey bottle, for another in pack of cards,
for still another in speculation; and prudence
dictates that they should quietly go by gin
shop, brokers' Office or gambling hell; leave
them on the other side. Neither does true
yalor require the Christian to engage in labOred
argument With every sc0ller or inGdel that
comes before the public. We doubt after all
whether any man ever convinced any man (cx-
Cept HIMSELF by argument on any subject what
ever. At all events, do not go to fight an enemy
whose weapons are filth and the slOp pail. No
matter how good your cause you will assuredly
be worsted. Turn to one side; give him the
go-by.
tits astonishing, when one looks at it fairly,
to note how careless men are about saving their
strength of mind and soul for their real work in
life. They take very different care of their
bodies and clothes. If they come to u muddy
ditch they are not ashamed to climb around it
and get out of sight of it as soon as possible.
But no matter what troubles come in their way,
in they go knee deep. Save your strength for
better uses; save your good-humor, your ner
vOus force, even your wit and fun, by keeping
yourself free from unnecessary yeXati0n.
Suppose that u man and his wife, with IA
little family of children, for whom they
are ambitious, find themselves unable to sup
port, dress, place IN the social rank they cOvet
for them. What are they to dOq What most
families in this position do, is to make that one
unattainable thing the leading aim and topic
Of their useless, thin, miserable lives. They
strain after paltry imitation of the actual
thing which they cannot attain. What a
common sensed man does, on the contrary is
to put the whole matter as far ont of sight as
possible; and to strive to attain something
which can be comprised and which may be
better. His girls cannot be invited into GER
tain set OF dress like its leaders, No matter;