The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1889-07-17
NO 4 Pa, WEDNESDAY JULY It. 1889
securipr moral elevation. mental culture

securing moral elevation, mental culture
and personal independence
Some will say 1T can't be done" But
everybody can DO something. 1T can't
is the ruin Of men and of nations. In
fact, there is no greater cant than cunt
To do justice. man nIRst think well
not only Of himself, but Of the duties
which he owes to others. He must not
aim too low, but regard man as created
"a little lower than the angels Let him
think OF his high destinv-of the eternal
interests in which he has psrt-of the
great scheme of nature and providence
of the intellect with which he has been
endowed-of the power Of love conferred
upon him-of the home on earth proyid-
ed for him and he viii cease to think
meanly Of himself The poorest human
being is the center Of the efernities, the
Creator overshadowing all.
Hence, let every man respect himself
his body, his mind, his character. Self
respect, originating in seif-Iove, instigates
the first step of improvement. IL s:imu-
lates man to rise, to look upward, to de-
yelop his intelligence, to improve his
condition. Seif-rcspect is the root Of
most Of the yirtues-of cleanliness, ehas-
tity, reverence, honesty, sobriety. To
think meanly of ones self is to sink
sometimes to descend a p-ecipiee, at the
bottom of which is infamy.
Every man can help himself to some
extent. We are not mere straws thrown
upon the current to mark its course; but
possessed of freedom of action, endowed
with power to stem the waves and rise
above them, each making out a course
for himself We can each elevate our
selves in the moral Of moral being. We
can cherish pure thoughts We eaR per-
form good actions. We can live soberly
and frugalIy. We can provide against
the evil day. We can read good books,
listen to wise teachers, and place ourselves
under the divinest influences on earth.
We can live for the highest purposes, and
with the highest aims in view.
'Selfloye and social are the same,
says one Of our poets. The man who inn
proves himself improves the world. lie
adds one more true man to the mass.
And the mass being made mp of individ-
uaIs, it is clear that were each to improve
himself. the result would be the improve
ment Of the whole. Social advancement
is the consequenceof individual advance
ment. The whole cannot be pure, unless
the individuals composing it are pure.
Society at large is but the reflex Of indi-
viduaI conditions. All this is bat the
repetition Of a truism, but truisms have
often to be repeated to make their fuli
impression.
The uncertainty of life is strong in
dueement to provide against the evil day.
To do this is a moral and social az well
as religious duty But if any provide
not for his own, and specially for those
Of his own house, he hath denied the
faith, and is worse than an inddel."
Thrift is not in any way connected
with avarice, usrry, greed, or sel6shness.
Il IS, in fact, the very reverse Of these dis
gusting dispositions. 1t means economy
for the purpose Of securing independence.
Thrift requires that money should be
used and not abused-that it should be
honestly earned and economically en-
ployed.
"Sot for to put il in a hedge,
Not for 4 train attendant
But for the glorious privilege
OF being independent"
-Oace q Hsek