The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-09-07
WHAT is pssslmlsM4
A Theory In the Air ia UnsubstantIai as
Many Other silly Theories.

MANY o,h-r SHY Theories.
We have heard Of commentators
darkening with many words the sub
iect they set uut 10 illunine. ! trust
TINT no such misfortune Is 10 result
from the lHbors Of the browning
societies la this country and England.
To class the keen-sighted. but large
minded and genial-hearted Browning
irnnng the pcssimists seems mistake
hard Ia account for To one who has
found In his hopeful philosophy.
greater encouragement than almost
any other single writer. teacher or
preacher Of to-day has 10 give.
confess Ia being skeptical as To the gen
uineness of much that calls itself pes
simism. or. rather rs TO the existence
Of many th"rough-gning pessimists.
question the proprirty nf chasing
Pascal among pessimists called Ere
llgious. for Ia my mind the ideas oi
religion and pessimism are incom-
patiblc-cven religion ~ Pascal under
stnod H.. II were truer 10 say Of
him that. In the struggle of his
intellect between faith aud under
lHibtuE AffifbNs Ht~ NJ ikfitN ib-l
hold on religion. aud then, for him. the
universe wns darkened. and chaos came
again. IL la recognize that in this
world sorrow outbalauces Joy be pes
simism. then I take IL that the major
ity of persons past their youth, who have
minds tc think with and hearts to feel
With. are pcssimisis. But sIch recog-
uition Uf the fact ~ life does not settle
the question whether IL is worth living
Browning says. in the person of
the pagan poet Cleon: Lilies made
Iuate To- JOY. as the soul sees il that
Is. in uualloyed fullness Of perfection;
yet the pagan could imagine state Of
being above the present in which the
e. ioy-hungrr" should be satisfied, II
Zeus the nll-wise were the all-lnving
ton. IL seems to me that the true
pessmist, like the true skeptic, l.
nothing II not thnrough-going. and
,hat To he one requires a greater hard
ness Of head aud coldness Of heart
than belong. thank Heaven. to many
A genuine pessimist should 90 out and
drown himself. rs the practical out
come of his belief: IL he does not. ID IL
because, in spite of theory, he con-
trivrs To find life tnlerahle-and il for
him. why may il not be for his fellows?
The formula of pessimism is. or ought
to be. that this is the worst Of all pos
sblc worlds. aud therefore let Us each
and all get out of IL. Schopenhaucr.
the great apostle of pessimism. 50
FAR as he WAS sincere and consistent,
was 80 Ia virtue of his GOODNESS If
heart. the luminous selfishness which
guided him through life" He was
never guilty of really associating with
anybody, we are told. But. granting
the existence Of few convinced and
more or less consequent contemner<
If the world and mankind. ] think IL
remains true that pcssimism l. mostly
theory in the air. IA unsubstantiai
and harmless rs many other theories
that men have manufactured In all
tges of the world. To return To tn,
point whence started-thnt Browning.
II all men. should be called pessi.
mist seems wonderful. most wonder
ful. and vet again wonderful. To rec
ngnize the force of circumstances and
The fatality of chance in the life OF
man. the irretrievableness of his mis-
takes. his capacity for suffering. tn.
possibility of his deepest joys trans
forming themselves into his mos,
poignant griefs. the Illustration of hop,
aud the heartsickness OF unfulfilled de-
are. ''iniinite passion and the pain Of
unite hearts that yearn'-to see and
feel all this does not make man
pessimist. To put into a word
that diametricallv opposite view takr
of Browning. il seems To me that, II
few great names apart. no poet with
50 wide and deep knowledge of hui
man nature and life has so uniformly
maintained n tone uf steadfast and
lofty hope. His world Is not made up
of saints and heroes. but of struggling.
SHINING. sorrowing men and women !;
yet i'm his creed they have always the
power To erect themselves above them
selves. Many of them find victory even
in defeat, joy in the midst of pain. and
honor. faith. and love worth. even iu
this life, more than easy-going COM
fort and the satisfaction of selfish pas
sion. The confidence of Brnwning's
tone contrasts with the uncertain utter
ance of most of his brother poets since
Wordsworth. Even the latter spoke,
as it were. frem the lonely height of
abstract contemplation. while Brown
ing's voice comes up from amidst the
throng of active human life. He says
of it
This world-it means intensely. and means
good;
To fnd It's meaning is my meat and drink"
And the fncts of existence which move
the shallower thinker To lamentation
and doubt, namely, the mutability OF
all things and the disappointment OF
hope. stir and stimulate Browning. 50
that he cries. of this .'old woe of the
world. tune to whose rise aud fall we
live and die
Rise with 1t, then Rejoice that man is hurieo
From change to change increasingly"
Atlantic Monthly.
PITH AND POINT.