Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1889-04-24
SAFEGUARDS OF THE wit.
Felix Adler Points to tho Means OF Di-
writing IL frum Evil lur-.,oxcs

Felix Adler Points to tho Means OF NJ
vrrtinE II from Evil Purposes.
Every nook and corner of Chickcrinc
hall was occupied when Felix Adler rose
to deliver his lecture on The Struggle
Against Temptation. Tho audience
listened To- Mr.. Adler with ript attention
and Mt the conclusion of the address an
plauded loudly.
After .he usual singing By the choir
Mr.. Adler said that human desire was nj
the bottom OF nearly all the good and
evil In the world; the desire for lnowl-
edge fostered the pursuit Of science. the
desire for the beautiful had created the
arts. and virtue would be unknown il
there was not within man n rropin., for
moral harmony.
There arc also within u.s." he con-
tinued. certain gross eppetitcs and
cravings, and when these occupy the
field ofihc mind t.,ey crowd out the bet
ter thoughts and drown tho soft, sweet
voice of virtue. The Voice of duty has
been called still and smell, cnd to hear It
VIC must have the faculty OF sitting oar
passion,
"Cc'eain natural desires arc lest deal.
with by satisfying them, particularly In
chi,dren. whose appe:itcs are only sharp.
cned for pleasure when it Is denied them.
Many children. denied what il perfectly
legitimate in youth. particularly the
sons OF clergyricn, 20 to czccssos the
moment they gain their liberty.
1T Is the normal rule to weaken de-
s;rcs By satisfying them, but there are
certain desires which we cannot and
others which we must not crafty. No
desire il justified because it is natural, II
1t i:'tcrfercs with higher considerations;
ana ell desire must be suppressed when
1t does interfere with these ccnsidcra-
lions. The object of desire has power
over us in proportion u is mental image
10 sharply defined. Consequently. wl,e1,
such desires do impress themselves upon
our mind. we must at oacc turn cur.
thoughts III another direction.
Human will Is free, let doubtars eay
tho contrary, notwithstanding. This tho
DRY to the contrary il the outcome of OBJ
scurc metaphysics. We must. ncverthe-
less, understand the limits in which we
are free. Let no man believe that he
can harbor evil thoughts without being
the worse for it. We arc. however, free
to throw OF these thoughts when they
er,tcr, and IL making this effort lies our
redemption. This throwing off must be
complete and immediate, else IL oaly
leads to renewed moral degradation. We
must force our thoughts into q now
channel when evil ones assail US. but by
forbidding them VIC only make the de-
sirc moro intense. Jesus illustrates this
whc-i he says Get thee behind me.
Satan
ely soaic it is argued that this system
Is cowardly and that we should boldly
face evil 1t Is true that we ought TO be
able to face it; but 1t Is also true that
VIC arc unable to do so successfully.
You hear Of tho great social sin, the
moral filth of which is spread over
our city. How can men who have
mothers and sisters forget the sanctity Of
women and profit by this sin? 1t Is de-
eire that curses them and makes their
vision narrow, and they apologize for
themselves by saying that tho desire is
natural. Weaklings all, ever ready to
appeal TO nature. Let each man have n
task for himself throughout life, md
Ike Ulysses he viii sal past the sirens
toward the shining GOAL
The two great helps toward this end
are the society OF good and true men,
and particularly that of cultivated and
refined women. and the-ideal companion
slip OF those loved ones who have passed
AWAY.
I'm the FIRST We find those things which
we have been striving for taken for
granted. and in the second we can do
nothing wrong in tho radiant beauty OF
those sweet faces which have gonc TO tho
life Of infinite peace - Now York
Herald.