The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1888-07-27
TO AMERICAN N
"A Few Happy Remarks Compliment
tary to Them.

noblest characteristics of woman:
The ages which have Immediately
preceded the last hundred years were
ages of faith, in which the pendulum
swung beyond the reach or ken of
reason. As q result when the pendu-
lum swung back to the side of reason,
impelled as it has been by the added
force of discoveries in science and the
revolt of the human mind from its
long bondage, it has swung clear be-
yond the confines of faith. Now,
whereas faith not regulated by reason
may be a dangerous guide, reason TN
inspired by faith has no vital power to
advance the destinies of mankind or
add a grain to human happiness.
This age is not so much an age of
unbelief as it is an age of unsettled
beliefs, not only IN religion, but in all
things. Science and a spirit of in
auiry has unsettled nearly every pre-
conceived theory from the origin of
earthquakes down to the method of
making Jersey butter. But religion
Is not primarily a thing of the reason.
II is an aspiration, a reaching out for
something higher where reason may
not lead, but where she can follow and
mark the line between religion and
superstition.
Women are the guardians CT the
faith. To her faith is something more
than a dogma. Be careful how you
permit il to be undermined by spe-
cious reasoning Or insidious and covert
attacks. They say hope is the anchor
Of the soul, but without faith the
cable is gone that ties you to hope.
To the healthful mind doubts will pre-
sent themselves about dogmas and
forms, but the eternal truths, the
over.ruling power, the immortal des-
tiny OF man, his responsibility and the
assurance that at last all things must
be made right, all inequalities recti-
fed, these are living truths which every
soul must recognize the necessity of,
and therefore their existence, for if |
understand the basic principle of one
line of scientific research it is this
that where a need IS felt, that need
viii se supplied.
AS In the olden time the sacred fire
was committed to the care of the YES
tails, so is the flame of q pure and re-
generate religion committed to the
care of the women of to-day. The
aspirations and ideas of the race are
nurtured and guarded by her. Through
her influence churches are reared and
the sound of praise is heard in the
land. AT her knee the lessons are inn
parted which, though silent in their
operation, inspire men to heroic effort
or RESTRAIN them from guilt and impel
women IL lives Of seif-saeritice and
bring back the erring.
The last thing a man eyer forgets is
the prayer he has lisped at his moth
er's side.
The future is hers, for she, more
fh9n any other, shapes the growth of
the men of the future, and her teach
ings a never be unfruitful, Tor they
are Incorporated with the tissues of
the youth, who viii hereafter largely
control the destinies Of mankind.
Ii the Ufzzi Gallery in Florence
stands the statue Of q woman. 1t is
N antique. II was chiseled in Athens
over 1000 years ago. All that is beau
tiful in form and symmetrical in pro-
portion is found IN this statue. The
shape Of the limbs, the pose of the
trunk and the contour of the head
have been the admiration of the artistic
world for the last 200 years. This is
the celebrated Venus de Medicis.
After all it impresses you with no
ether idea than that here is the statue
of q beautiful woman. There are no
suggestions Of a soul, nothing but
sense. 1t tells no story. 1t marks no
nrnrh r. fn,r,Artalf1ae - enr
save that Of passion, which would de-
grade rather than exalt.
In one Of the corridors of the Lou
yre az Paris stands another statue. 1t
IS also Of Greek origin. No one knows
the name Of the artist. 1t Is of heroic
size, but that does not add to its Dig
nifty The arms are gone, but no pro.
fame hand has ever dared attempt their
restoration. The body, full Of dignity,
afrangrh and repose, would impress
yon by Its quiet self-reliance. The
features are not beautiful, bv some
they would not BE called classic, but
3 would say impulsively that this
WaS cniselcd IN the likeness Of some
Moman rapt IN and inspired by some
lefty purpose, OF that it was intended
rs an Improvisation Of those virtues
which artists ia every age have de-
lighted % represent through the per-
sonalsiy Of woman. You feel that this
Statue represents something over
WINCH death has no power. and which
Time cannot change. 1t looks the
pure Maiden the wise matron, the
protector the adviser, TIE consider.
fh& inHpIEer. the susfainnr. IL renra.