The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-11-16
rHE SOUL or WORK.
Why Labor without Spirit Is Virtually
Body without Life.

Why Labor without Spirit Is Virtually n
Body Without Life.
There Is a certain man of busines.
IN this city whose first and constani
demand of all his employees and co
workers is that their spirit shall b,
right; so long as their hearts are h
the work he cares little for details.
Not every man of action is so keen
sighted; most men of this stamp are
exacting in matters of discipline. and
care little for the spirit in which the
work is done. The spirit is, neverthe-
less, the main thing; if the spirit is
right there viii be no shirking no In
efficiency, no procrastination. Where
a mans spirit leads him, there will his
feet walk willingly and his hands do
gladly. He will need neither urging
nor watching; no one will demand so
much of him as he will demand of him
self; no one will be half so critical of
his manner and method rs himself
When the motive power is right the
machinery will look after itself; If the
motive power is defective on unregu-
lated, the finest machinery is useless
Now, one of the secrets OF success is
getting ones spirit into ones work;
getting behind all ones activities the
full force of ones motive power. This
is by no means so common rs one
would think; it is. in fact. so uneom-
mon that when man puts his whole
force into his work he soon attracts Mt
tention because by that very fact he
.
A great deal Of the work OF the
world is done in perfunctory manner;
done 10 get through with it; done TO
get it off ones mind; done to secure
the return which it promises. 1t is
done without enthusiasm originality
contagious zeal. Stores, shops, offices,
factories are full of men whose chief
desire is to get their work of their
hands rs quickly and with as little
expenditure of strength as possible
They put as little Of themselves as pos
sible into it. These are not the men
who invent new methods, perfect new
processes, secure rapid and honorable
advancement; they are not the men
upon whom every body relies " whom
every body trusts, who turn the re
luctant face of fortune towards them
selves.
The men who give their work char
acter, distinction, perfection, are the
men whose spirit is behind their
hands, giving them a new dexterity.
There IS no kind of work, from the
merest routine TO the highest creative
activity, which does not receive all
that gives ii quality from the spirit in
which Il Is done or fashioned. Work
without spirit IS body without soul;
there Is no life in it, Flawless work
manship Is iinsel unless touched by
some influence OF the spirit; imperfect
| -vorbmsnsilip Is often redeemed lsy the
| power of spirit lodged in it. Every
| thing that lacl1s spirit is mechanical,
no matter how high the grade of its
| execution; every thing that contains
spirit possesses life. To put spirit into
ones work Is 10 vitalize it. to give it
| force. character, originality, distinc-
sion. 1t Is 70 put the stamp of one
| nature on II. and the living power OF
pne's soul into it When Mr. Arnold
~ one OF his brief speeches in this
/ country, urged young writers TO put
| their hearts into their business, he
| disclosed one of the sources of his own
| influence. His technical skin was great.
his sense of beauty delicate and almost
| faultless. his instinct for form unegring.
but all these qualities, though they
gave his work great charm, did not
give that work its peculiar influence
upon m any of the finest minds of the
! day. That influence came from the
fact that Mr.. Arnold put his spirit into
| every line he wrote, charged his work
Sith his own personality. 1t is the
quality of spirit which gives his verse
| rs beautiful meditativeness, and his
/ prose its peculiar sincerity and audaci-
| ty That which imparts life to the
highest artistic work imparts it &c
every kind of activity to which men
ct their hands. 1t is always the man
xho puts his spirit into his work who
Iakes his work tell for his own sue
eess and advancement = ChriStian
Union