The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-02-26
The Practical and The Ideal.

and set apart, so often even put in
to antagonism and made to appear
like contestants in a battle-the tri-
umph of one meaning the defeat of
the other-that it requires some eff
fort to realize their true relative
position. People who pride them
selves upon being eminently practi-
cal are apt to despise ideality, or at
any rate, to esteem it simply as
luxury to be enjoyed in seasons OF
leisure and dismissed when the real
duties of life claim attention.
Dreams, fancies, longings, they say,
perform no labor, accomplish moth
ing useful, and only unfit the man
who INDUCES in them for the stead
fast discharge of his obligations.
Let him dismiss them as idle fig
ments of the brain and actual life if
he wishes to be power of good to
himself or to others. Now the great
mistake which such persons make
is in supposlng that real life can
exist without the help of imagina
ton. No work of human hands is
ever done without a picture of it
having been first formed IN the
mind of the doer. The architects
plan, the artists picture, the law
yer's plea, the husbandman's har-
vest exist in imagination before
they do in actuality, and1they owe
all their excellence and beauty to
the character of these imaginings
and the degree in which they have
been faithfully represented. So in
character-there is that which is
and that which ought to be, and
the first, which is practical, derives
all its worth from its resemblance
to the second, which is ideal. We
must have a conception of justice
before we can be just; a mental
picture of truthfulness or honor,
or purity or kindness, before we
can be truthful or honorable or
pure or kind. The good man must
be both ideal and practical, and in
deed, he cannot be the latter in its
lest sense unless he 10 in the form
er, for he cannot bring into activity
virtues OF which he has never con-
ceiVed. The universal admission
that men are not as good, or as
noble as they might be, is of itself
a proof that all have ideals beck
oning and helping them upwards.
No one deliberately upholds wrong
doing, however much he may com
NIT it; no one condemns right con-
duct, however much he may neg
lect it. Mems ideals are better
than their actions, but not better
than themselves, for they are true
and vital part of themselves.
Could We be shorn Of our ideals,
character would rapidly sink, and
life would show sorroWful record.
At the best, We could but repeat the
past, for we should see no hand
reckoning US upward, and hear no
voice encouraging to higher effort.
We are right in deploring the dis
lance that exists between our life
as it is, and as we know it ought to
be, but we should have still greater
cause for sorrow did we find our
conceptions of purity, love, truth
and goodness fading from our
minds. On the other hand, those who
simply hold these ideals in an in
d0lent and self-indulgent way, new
er transforming them into action or
infusing them into life, will soon
lose them altogether. Their contin-
uance depens on the use that is
made Of them. They are not simp-
ly to be admired, reverenced and
cherished-they are to be obeyed.
If We do not render Thorn this ODE.
dience, they will fit from US, and
leave us poor indeed. Of what use
is the mental picture of a valuable
invention, if do persevering energy
puts it into form to help or to com
fort mankind? OF what value is a
theory OF education without an ed
ucator, or dream OF beauty that is
never realized? OF what avail is a
high notion OF honor to him who
stoops to mean actions, or q glori-
Gus vision of love to him who will
S0SliAOO hSShihS W Vic DSlONCuE
How futile is the notIest scheme of
philanthropy to him who never
helps a fellow creature, or the keen
est sense of justice to him who OPP
presses the poor! Only as the ideal
becomes the practical, is it fulfill
ing its mission in the world. Upon
this union all progress depends. If
we cherish our ideals and draw our
lives close up to them, they will
rise still higher, and we shall rise
with them. Faithful loyalty to our
best conceptions is the only path to
practical well-doing. In this way,
little by little, character is built
up, life is purified and ennobled,
and the power and the will for
good are strengthened and estab-
ished.-Budget.