Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1884-08-02
True Love---What is 1t ?

The following is an extract from one
of Robert G, Ingersolps lectures on the
Liberty of Man, Woman, and Child"
which is well worth reading and pre-.
serving.
"Some people tell me your doctrine
about loving, and wives, and all that,
is splendid for the rich, but it won't
do for the poor. | tell you tonight
there is more love in the homes of the
poor than in the palaces Of the rich.
"The meanest hut with love in it is
a palace for the gods, and palace
without love Is den only fiji for wild
beasts. That is my doctrine You
cannot be so poor that you cannot help
somebody. Good nature is the cheap
est commodity in the world; and love
is the only thing that will pay ten per
cent, to borrower and lender both. Do
not tell me that you have to be rich
We have false standard of greatness
in the United States. We think here
that he must be great that he must be
notorious, that he must be extremely
wealthy, or that his name must be up,
on the putrid lips of rumor 1t is not
necessary to be rich or to be great; or
to be powerful, to be happy. Happi-
ness is the legal tender of the soul,
Joy is wealth.
"a little while ago stood by the
grave of the old Napoleon-a mag.
nifcent tomb of gilt and gold, fit al,
most for dead deity-and gazed up.
on the sarcophagus of black Egyptian
marble, where rests at last the ashes OF
that restless man. Ileaned over the
balustrade and thought about the Gu
reer OF the greatest soldiers of the
modern world. | saw him walking
upon the banks of the Seine, contem'
plating suicide: | saw him at Toulon.
saw him putting down the mob III
the streets of Paris. | saw him at the
head of the army of Italy. I8aw him
crossing the bridge of Lodi with The
tricolor in his hand-I saw him in
Egypt in the shadow of the pyramids
i saw him conquer the Alps and
mingle the eagle of France with the
eagle of the crags. | saw him at Ma
rengo--at Ulm and Austerlitz. | saw
him in Russia, where the infantry o.
the snow and the cavalry of the wild
blast scattered his legions like winter;
withered leaves. | saw him at Leip
sic in defeat and disater, driven by a
million bayonets back upon Paris
clutched like wild beast, banished tC
Eliza: | saw him escape and retakC
an empire by the force. of his genius
| saw him upon the frighttul field o.
Waterloo, where chance and fate com
bined to wreck the fortune of theil
former king, and l saw him at St
Helena, with his hands crossed behinC
him, gazing out upon the sad anC
solemn sea.
81 thought of the orphans anC
widows he had made, of the tears
that had been shed for his glory, and
of the only woman who ever loved
him, pushed from his heart by the colo
hand of ambition, and l said | would
rather have been French peasant anC
worn wooden shoes; | would rathe
have lived in a hut with vine grow
ing over the door and the grapes grow
ing purple in the kisses of the autumn
sun; l would rather have been tina
poor peasant, with my loving wife b,
my side, knitting as the day died on
of the sky-with my children upol
my knees and their arms about me
I would rather have been that man
and gone down to the tongueless 81
lence of the dreamless dust, than t
have been that imperial impersonatiol
of force and murder,
at is not necessary to be great to b
happy. it is Lot necessary to be rich t