Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-24
VACATION PAPERS.
A CONsfDERArION OF ras PROPER
URJECr or PURSUIT IN LIFE
Mere world,y Good Not the Loftiest Aspiration
Nor the highest Achievement What
ought to Bc Taught the Young
FOR Their Real Good.
For the lNrELLiGENcEg.

".
There are some who maintain that tho first
object of pursuit In life is worldly good, that |
young people should be taught and trained |
primarily with view To making a good liN-
ing, and to acquire enough OF this worlds
good to make them comfortable and indie.
rsndent Others argue that II certain
quantity of this worlds good is desirable and
profitable the more one gains of 1t the better
and therefore worldly wealth is the highest
good for man. The desire for wealth is un.
doubtedly the prevailing passion in this |
country. 1t lies at the foundation of the |
larger portion of the private and public dis. |
honesty and political corruption that have bo-
come so shametully prevalent among us
| There is good book which teaches that
Z" the love of money is the root of all evA,'
| and experience and observation clearly con-
nrm the truth oi this teaching.
| But the teaching OF that same book, when
| it says, " Seek ye first the kingdom of God
| and His righteousness, aud all these things
| thiugS necessary for our earthly wants
| will ho added unto you," is not so readily
| accepted. The first aud most important OBJ
| iect IN life is to be taught now to make
| good living, 1t is said, ana from this stand
point schools and colleges are severely crit
| cized because they do not directly and rri-
| marily teach this If this were properly
taught 1t is said, there would not be 80 many
| helpless mortals in every community who
} cannot earn their bread. Bread and butter
| are more substantial and important than
mathematics, aud Languages, and philosu-
ply. These requirements belong, at best,
| only to the luNuries-usoless luNuries at that
OF life.
NOT THE GREATEST WANT.
Now it might easily be shown that the
want OF bread and butter is not the greatest
l Tn n1a IN Ia ,I,a,
I the wants of the mind and heart are harder
! | to be endured than the wants of the body
but we wish at present 10 show, that this
. | teaching, that the pursuit OF physical and
. | worldly good is the primary pursuit in life
= | defeats its own object 1t Is not those, as
. | class who are taught to seek a higher good
= in education for its own sake, and the cult
= | walton of the moral and religious nature as
q | good above all other good who fail to secur,
| a living in the world, but rather those whC
y | see and seek no higher good than to eat ant
= | drink. The difficulty lies not in the peopl,
"a | not knowing how to make a living, bu
: rather in faults in their moral development
a that so many fail TO get along in life AnC
| this wrong moral development has its chic
.e source in centreing the soul on mere worldly
a | good.
q The Bible is unquestionably right in hold
"a | ing up the love of money, and the love of tn
N | world, and making our chief concern wha
- | we shall eat and what we shall drink ant
"a wherewithal We shall be clothed, grea
In | evil instead of a great good. By making thi
=, | the chief object OF pursuit man not only lose
the higher goOd-providiug for the wants {
Ia | his higher nature-but he loses the lowe
good as well. The case is like that of the do
~ | crossing stream with piece of food in hi
mouth, which, upon seeing the image OF th
al | food in the water, and taking 1t Tor som,
ia thing better than he had, plunged after tn
,a | Image and so lost both what he had an
ne | what he sought instead thereof.
rh SINCERE, But FUTILE.
is We cannot we'll doubt the sincerity OF thes
L ! daily preachers OF the utilitarian bread -ant
IS butter theory, for they certainly labor har
to proclaim it. Day by day we have it n
va | iterated that our schools and colleges are a
tn | wrong, and our churches are no better, b.
as | cause they will not teach that to make goo
! | living Is the highest aim and object in lit
Ibt | True, their teaching does not seem to hay
] | much effect for the schools and colleges M
lat | churches go right on preaching and teaChlr
| | another doctrine Their following" seen
lit to be even smaller than that of the churche
on | which, they say, only woman attend an
est | more. Nobody seems To notice their dali
he bersting of the schools and colleges. To ket
re- | on preaching a theory under such cirCuu
ny stances seems at least 10 indicate their s
ny certify. But sincerity alone does not ensul
lse | the truth of what is taught
ph | Even the study of Latin and Greek is n
Mt | given up at the behest of so prominent
see man as Charles Francis Adams. The te
dency is rather 10 devote more time 10 mai
nat | il more thorough. And We rather think Il
he | venerable DR.. MCCosh, who has spent a lor
ch | life in the work Of teaching, will be sustaint
,nt in telling the young men under his care th
~, | they should not make the worldly good
seeking physical sustenance and wealth Il
I'D | chief end OF life. 1t harmonizeS well wi
the teaching OF one who spake as never ms
spake, when he warned his disciples not
nd | have undue care for what they should g
B." and drink, and wherewithal they shou
be clothed, for after all these things do q
gentlles theathen) seek. Our argument
that those who seek higher good in educ
ton and religion will not fail to know no
| to provide tor the lower wants of the hoe
also, and thus fulfill the Ssviour's promi
that ''all those things shall be added un
on them"
nj /