St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-21
LIFE WORTH LIVING.

FxPresident ARTHUR is quoted as hav-
sag said on his death bed that be had no
desire to live any longer. as there was moth
ing in this world worth living for. II this
was the deliberate Judgment Of man who
had rounded out a career in which he had
attained the highest distinction within the
grasp of mortal ambition. what small pos
sibilities must life present to those who
dwell in the low lands of poverty and OBJ
scuritv. Can President ARTHUR's opinion
of life and its prospects be correct? Is 1t
true that there is nothing IN this world
worth living for? Or was it only the NOR
bid view of diseased mind? These are
ouestions that can best be answered by con-
sultation with our inner souls and by an
examination of the conditions which sur
round us. To ell external appearances
there was no man in the world who had
better reason to be satisfied with life and its
conditions than Mr.. ARTHUR. He had been
blessed in a measure far beyond that which
is melted out to the average of mankind.
He had a home and family; he had good
profession and an assured competence;
he was the center OF gen.
iaI and brilliant social circle; fortune
had Iavished its brightest smiles on him and
had borne him on its wings into positions
of power and honor that made him the
envy OF the most ambitious of his felloWmen;
fame and distinction came to him without
the effort of struggling for them; his name
will 90 down to history as one of the presi-
dents of earth's greatest republic; he had
taken with him into his retirement the re-
spect and good will of his countrymen.
And yet in the possession OF all these things
he was dissatisfied with life. He has left
on record, as his death bed verdict. that
there is nothing on earth worth living for.
Such testimony from sue source would
be discouraging if our own lives and eXpe-
riences and observations did not contradict
it. We know that Mr.. ARTHUR was mis-
taken. because we have the inner conscious
ness that there is a great deal in this life
worth living for. Mr.. ARTHUR's mistake
was in the misuse of the opportunities OF
life. He sought for happiness and content
mept in directions where they are not to be
found. To man who lives in himself and
for himself alone, there is very little in life
worth living for. Those who get out OF
themselves and live beyond themselves are
the ones who find the jewels of earthly con-
tentment Mr. ARTHUR was a high liver.
He liked the fat things of
the land. He belonged to that
class of men who have to wear fine linen
and fare sumptuOusly every day, and who
neglect the poor LAzARUsEs that lie at
their gates. Such selfish conditions are
neither soul-elevating nor soul-purifying.
They do not lift the individual up into that
serene atmosphere in which men live who
feel that their lives and their life work have
been benediction to humanity. There are
plenty of good people on earth borne down
with cares and responsibilities, over
Nhelmed with disappointment and beset
with discouragementS, who join with patient
old JOB in regretting the day they were
born. Perhaps all of US can likewise unite
with the man of w in giving expression to
the desire that we might not live always.
Yet these are no reasons for saying that this
life is not possessed OF worthy aims and
objects. There comes a time, perhaps, in
the life experience of every man and
woman, when, worn out with the cares and
anxieties which press upon it, the
tired soul longs to take the wings
of the morning and fly away and be al rest.
Yet, with all this sense of WEAKNESS weigh
ing upon it, that soul will not testify that
all the labors of life are fruitless, if it has
been laboring in fruitful fields. 1t is with
life work just as it is with physical or me-
chanical labor; the best results do not de-
pend SO much on the amount of force ex-
pended as they do upon the wisdom with
which it is directed. The man that dies
with the testimony on his lips that there Is
nothing in life worth living for has simply
been guilty of misdirecting the labors of his
life. The acquisition of wealth and fame
does not constitute Iife's real treasure.
There is something wortbier of human am
bition than that. Nor are all the fruits of
life labor gathered by the laborer. The
good that men do lives after Them : = -
WILL THEY HANG9