Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-06-18


PAST AND FUTURE.
The past is nothing, being everything
the future is every thing, being nothing
A paradox The past is forever gont
and is therefore nothing, still it is every
thing in that it comprises the whole Of
our lives up to the present. The future
lie nothing in fact SO far as realization Ii
concerned, but everything as to expeota.
ton; expectation which often fails ia
become reality. Many lives are wasted
in contemplating the future, in dream.
ing, in building shadowy air castles. L
is pleasant to sit and picture future
full of pleasure and success. Very real,
too, seems the dreams; but the waking
what o change it brings. In the
dream we are the center round which all
things move, the one considered first;
in reality we are only one Of the many.
When the day dreams carry US SO far
into the realms Of the improbable, the
contrast with tho reality makes the
present seem unsatisfactory; makes one
discontented and consequently unwilling
to perform the duties Of every day life.
1t is not right that thoughts of the fu-
ture should be allowed to darken the
present. One should not permit herself
to idle away the days in mere dreams of
future triumphs. nor be content to sit
with folded hands awaiting their COM
ing. Work for them. Show by will
and effort that the impossible is possible.
We must gain our ownl Nothing Ia
gainediwithout effort, and this is world
of self for SELF II we expect pleasant
futures we must try to make them so,
and while performing the nearer duties
prepare for those that lie beyond.
The study Of the future is like jour
ney to a new country: the imagination
travels in advance, pcturing things as
we should prefer to have them; but Oft
en-, because OF our own lack OF energy
or will, the realization Is disappointing
Then, too, what appears inviting from a
distance is found to be the contrary on a
closer view. Things have an unpleasant
way OF being either too much Or too lit
tie like what was expected. Our
eyes often play us false by Civ.
ing us wrong Impressions OF
objects seen In the dim distance; so itS
no wonder that the future can not be
foretold, when we have not even the
outlines from which to Judge. Half q
century ago, did any one predict such
future as the present! Was it then
thought by any far-sighted individual
that the peace OF the United States
would be threatened by Mormonism, by
strifes between labor and capital? Men
of to-day should be warned, by the past
of other nations, that injustice and OPP
preston will finally turn upon their
cause and crush 1t. In the strife the in.
nocent will suffer with the guilty. 1t is
not the one oppression, not that OF q
few years; IL is the wrongs Of past CEN
turtles accommodating, wrong upon wrong.
till the burden is too great to be borne,
and Ia thrown off. A revolution takes
place. To this the history Of France
can give terrible testimony, in the
scenes of seventeen hundred and ninety
four. Then the past ruled the present
with blood-stained hand. The pres.
emit must always take Its character from
the past; but many that see through the
glass Of human actions but dimly 'rea.
son that Tomorrow must be wise, be-
cause to-day was not, nor yesterday; as
II good days were shapen OF themselves,
not Of the very life blood Of mems
souls"
After all this life, through which so
many glide With laughter and without
thought, 10 serious problem, hard to
solve. For what purpose are we here,
Where will be our feat abode! How
did we come to have an existence
These questions can not be answered in
any way, but that objections are to be
raised. II we are here created without
q creator; il the Bible is collection OF
myths, not Of divine inspiration; surely
it Is best to make the present life good,
TO- no existence beyond this eau be ex-
pec,ed. II, on the other hand, we are
led by the dictates Of conscience, by the
laws Of nature, which all admit TO exist
and by so admitting give evidence in ia
vor Of great law giver--for without
giver there can be no laws; II we are led
by the evidence Of the senses, By the
mighty intellect OF man, and by mans
very existence (which it is absurd to at
tribute to chance or TO protoplasm) to
believe In higher, purer future; 1t IL
still the present here with which we are
concerned. lis here we prepare for
the future, and by our records here are
we to be judged. The monday Of the
present will sink into the night OF the
past, giving bright stars or dark clouds
to look back upon. Which, each one
must decide for himself.
It is common mistake to try too
much TO shape our lives in our own way;
and, by putting our feeble wills in oppo
sition to that higher one, we have, of
course, failure; then we bewail our ill
luck. Luck What Is iil Are we still
pagans, believing in the existence of the
creations Of NEUROLOGICAL times? Or is
the expression a testimony to that very
human failing of wishing TO cast from
our own shoulders the burdens laid
apon them by our blindness or misap.
piled energy Our futures depend, not
upon luck or chance, but upon our own
energies directed by the will of our
Father In Heaven.
If everything does not go smoothly
and evenly, it must be remembered that
a summit can never be reached by keep.
ing in the valley. The higher the sum
nit the more difficult the climbing. The
rough places may leave their effects
upon the grooves Of our characters. The
word character primarily means grooves.
II We want these straight in the future.
they must ever be straight in the pres.
tutt ~ bhut taC Reos ohCW WI
wayeriBQ line. For when once made
crooked they are hard to straighten.
Always the past comes governing the
present.
One afternoon while in the studio Of
friend, / noticed a heavily draped
easel. Curious to see the hidden pic
ture. rolled back the curtain SO care
lessly that rough edge rubbed the wet
colors. Then there was revealed a
beautiful landscape, but with blur in
the brightest part; blur that made the
picture yalueless. By careful re-touch-
ing II could be rendered almost unno-
ticeable. but the landscape could never
be perfect as at first. All mysorrow could
not undo what had been done. When
looking at the picture, always the mem
ory OF that one blot will be uppermost
in my mind, attracting attention from
the perfect portions.
Our futures are as the picture. We
are rolling up the curtain OF the pres
emit. revealing what is to be our future,
and its fairness may be married by one
false. needless, act Of our own or an
others doing. By future acts the past
NAV be In a part hidden but 1t will
aver be coming forward. The one false
step will more than balance the better
aeta Of later years.
Life is like the tapestry weaving OF
olden times, when the weaver sat at
Inc back Of OF the curtain he was max.
ing, working blindly on, putting a
thread here and thread there as the
pattern demanded. Till all was finished
and he could view the design from the
other side. be could not tell exactly
what it would be like. And he who is
false to present duty breaks thread in
the loom, and will see the defect when
the weaving Of a life time is unrolled. In
the tapestry Of life, what is once woven
remains forever, 1t cannot be taken out
thread by thread, and woven over
again. But the broken threads we can
zee in the past will teach us to act diff.
erently when similar troubles threaten
as in the future.
The dead have more control over the
present, and therefore over the future,
than the living. There Is no escaping