The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1888-03-08
YOUR IDEAL.
"As MAN TaInKETH so IS He"
A Short Lay Sermon that has the Ideal
and the Real in Lille for its Text.
TSandford Express.l

Now the ideal a man sets before his
mind will largely determine his char
acter and work. GAS man thnketh,
so IS he." A mans thoughts are made
from his surroundings and imagina-
ton and he draws picture before
him to live up to or down to. Robert
I. Burdette says the highest and
grandest ideal men ever set up is just
before they leave the school or college.
But when they lay their hands upon
the base, sordid and material affairs OF
life, the beautiful picture that an am
bilious mind has painted vanishes as
feeting shadow. 1t may have been an
empty air castle. We often think OF
the ideal we set up in the first step OF
our pathway. The boys who moved
with us into line. Where are they 7
What are they? How many have
failed How many have been par
tally successful Are the high and
noble ideals of these men dead ! Some
of them had kindled the spark OF
genius. Has it been blown out by the
| billiards. of a cold and common place
lfe2 Have the petty aims, the small
affairs and the little and narrow souls
around them leveled them down to be
common place fellows1 Have the
conventionalities Of men, the worship
of Mammon and the degradation OF
earthly things strangled the noble aspl'
rations Of their souls1
We have but one objection to the
nineteenth century. 1t is too utlll-
tartan. That makes it uilin11ginatlve,
cop,mon place, unheroic, Cowartily,
mean, petty, and record ofsittle dirty
tricks. 1t has too many stomachs to
feed and too many bodies to clothe. II
is too much employed in using uE
scraps and ideas of other centuries
We shall be glad when it is over al
least, because it has waged war on The
idealist and called him a dreamy ant
impractical fellow. 1t has appeared
to want no higher ideal than to gel
uoney and material wealth and te
enjoy sensuality. The ideals of the
great majority of men are low ane
base and they call for energy and &C
ton to correspond.
f There Is a class of men that are con
) tinually pleading for something better
for a life with higher purpose,
holier ambition and r7ore beautiful
conception. They dccry the craving
for and the abuse of money and power
. They say the mind had a beautiful an
splendid birth place. 1t was in ros
and fragrant Eden. 1t should no
forget the beauty Of the garden, tn
odor Of the flowers, the songs of tn
birds and the divine soul from whenc
all came. To this we must endeavo
to struggle back. Our ideal must b
in that direction. .Imagination paint
for us radiant picture. Memoir
& gathers incentives to new efforts frol
: the past. Hope stands on the edge {
e the diving day and points to a brighte
tomorrow, even points us onward t
the prize. No sooner than we stan
on Nebo We long to reach Pisgah. III
good Of oday is but the starting poil
n for tomorrow. The coming life-Cl
y is always on" This is the mind Cf
# Gladstone, Of an OBrien of Parnel
!, The ideal of every man is known
q q 1t is seen blazing through his life
\ the light in the midnight lantern an
1t he is just as sure to represent by h
y actions and deeds the ideal within h
: soul, as the light does the quality
3. the oil within the lantern.
. What should your ideal be1 tt
=. very best thing that can be reache,
IF The very best work that is capable
:, being performed. The best thin
- that can be made of this life. AS ,
. have before said this is hard age
maintain 4 good ideal, but we Z
should strive to erect as high ideals
practableness will permit. There
nothing unreal in an ideal based upc
common sense.
You can never rise higher than yo
,e ideal. If'you are painter and ha
r a poor ideal OF the art, your pictur
Is Is will be cartoons on your ideal. So
H. is with everything you do. Do n
to ann low N doing anything that
- = worthy to be done. Try 20 make t
th bes, of everything, your hand hnde
!" to do. If nothing else, it will bril-
i. out the best that is within you. Yo
Sc noblest thoughts, your intensest energ
ne ne and you will keep company at all tim
" with = most peaceful and pleasant CO
es science. The best words that can
=. % said Of any man, is that he has do
er his best. That is initiating God vi
ur AL your might. We have no apollo
,,n to make for writing this kind Of