The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-07-19
What We 0ntlive.


There is little French phrase which
sums up in six words ones whole ex-
perience of life: "1om pasSe; tout cGSSe;
tout lasse"-everything passes, breaks,
fatigues-in time. Ii is question
of time only. We outlive everything
in turn-from the fresh delights of
childhood, through the deeper joys of
adolescence and the grave satisfaction
of successful maturity down to the very
peace of old age.
First of the links which fall from the
golden chain is that phantasamagoric
and unreal state we call childhood -
that state which makes its own world
apart from the real life going on about
it, and lives in shadows and dreams,
created by Imagination, acting on and
through ignorance. The griefs which
were so violent then as almost to break
our heart would now be no heavier than
thistledown, no more substantial than
a cloud. The Joys which made the glad
earth childish paradise tenanted by
cherubs for playmates and angels for
guardians would now be intolerable if
they had to be endured. 1t is all out
lived, and we stand on the burial place
of that young past different in all save
name and continued individuality.
In youth the doubts and fears which
so terribly affected us are now as vague
and unsubstantial as are the former
sorrows of childhood. Before we knew
our power, or had measured exactly
the space we should occupy in the his
tory of our time and the esteem of soci-
ety-what an infintude of these doubts
and fears distracted us! We were so I'M
certain of ourselves, if we were sensi-
tive and without much assertions; or if
of the more sanguine kind, we made so
many bold flights which ended in igno-
minious tumbles into the gutter, be-
fore we learned the exact strength of
our pinions and what we could do and
what we could not! The invitations to
high places which gave us so much
anxious consideration about the correc
shibboleth-the triumphs which were
pain rather than pleasure because of shy
ness and modesty-the bright burning
hopes which seemed as if they would
90 on forever like the sun and the stars
and which ended in smoke and
smudge!
And then our love affairs! The Sleep
less nights we have had because she
was cross or he was cold; because she
tlirted in the corner with Tom and he
gave his arm to the supper-room to
Jane! And in return the wild, unrea-
soning delight when the idol of the mo-
ment graciously winked its precious
eyes and gave sign of understanding
our prayer! 1t has all passed. And we
have outlived our love for Tom, or mar
ried Jane-which certain cynics say
comes to much the same thing. At all
events, if we have married, we have
outlived fear and know the best and the
worst of our portion.
In like manner, if we 90 on long
enough, we outliye the proud JOY of
fulfilled ambition. The honor which
we gave our life to gain becomes to us
mere pinch of dust, mere name,
when our vitality has waned and we
care no more for things of the world ;
when pleasure itself has fallen from us,
and we want only rest and peace. We
need only to go on long enough to come
to this: "I0wt pasSe; tout case; tout
laSSer While, however, any energy
lives in us at all, and before we come
TO the last sad stage when we are
merely living mummies, held together
by slender thread of life-there are
certain things we do not and ought not
to outlive-these are Love of truth,
love of beauty, love of humanity. We
love our kind best when we love all
that is beautiful and good most; and,
without love of our kind, life is grim
and CHASTITY satire. We need never
outlive these things while the poor frail
machine of the body does its work.
And with these we shall always find
wells of happiness and floods of sun
shine whatever our outward circum-
stances may be.-Home Journal.