Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1889-08-17
FREEDOM or rHouoHr.



power over his thoughts. His actions
may be restrained. his speech may be
fcttered. his body may be chained. his
life itself may be taken away, but his
thozghss no one can Interfere with.
They remain his own, aud. except with
his will. no one can ever guess what
they.are. But does this absence OF d.
rect power iasure true freedom OF
thought? IL may n. iirst sight seem 70
do so. but deeper insight into the
nature Of thought will show that Il Is
itself subject 70 many influences and
conditions. Associations, circum-
stances, education. climate. race. occu-
patton. hopes, fears. emotions--all
exert an Indirect but powerful pres
sure upon thought; so powerful that 10
In one sense IL 10 always free. Ia an
other sense IL is always controlled. II
no one else can claim authority over
our thought. neither may We exercise
an absolute and immediate dominion
over It, Is freedom Of thought, then,
mere namc-a sound without mean
ing? Not so. Real freedom OF any
kind involves not only the absence OF
artificial restraint. hut the presence
OF Influences favorable to growth
and development. The infant left
I without care IL not free; Il
has no choice but TO perish. The
body can be enslayed by gout or par
alysis as surely as by prisons and
chains; both prevent the healthfui
exercise which 10 its life. Even indo-
lence and self-indulgence may prove
equal iyrants. ID Is only where q
wholesome and active life secures for
the body that varied motion and other
salutary conditions needful TO its best
development thatwe can say the free
dom OF the body il secured. So the
freedom which thought needs IL not
merely the absence OF any personal
compulsory force, but the presence OF
| favorable influences. which shall enable
1t to grow In strength and TO perfcrm
Its functions In the most perfect man.
ner. Our thoughts should DO the
guides of our whole lives; their
province il to discover truth and 70
reject error. TO sift the just from the
unjust, the pure from the impure, the
better from the worse. and so to apply
them as to improve character and life.
How important, then. Il becomes thas
we should foster those conditions and
influences that will enable thought TO
perform, without hindrance, SO essen.
tial a work. One very strong pres-
sure that bears upon thought TO pre-
, vent its freedom and restrain It's
growth Is that Of fancied personal In
teresi. We say faneied. because the
real interest OF the individual Is bound
up in the healthful advancement OF his
thought. But 1t In not uncommon for
people to imagine that their happiness
lies In an opposite direction. They
fear the censure OF their party, or the
frown OF n fashionable circle. or the
loss OF favor or patronage. II they fol-
low out some train Of thought TO its
logical conclusions. Or they see that
II they accept its issues 1t will require Of
them certain sacrifices. which they ara
not prepared 10 make. Thus they stine
or abandon thoughts that seem danger
GUS. and remain on what they sup
pose TO be safe ground. forgetting that
there is no mental safety where free
dom OF thought Ia banished. Then
there are also preiudices aud antip-
athies, and even sympathies, to guard
against. II 10 impossible fully 10 esti-
mate how much our thinking Is gov
erned by our feeling. We love one per-
son and refuse to sec any defect In
him. We dislike another, and his de-
fects are so patent to MS that we see no
virtues. So with the parties we espouse
and those we oppose. Our tendency
Is 70 esteem the ideas and doings OF
the one as oil right and those OF the
other as all wrong. In general Ii may
be said that the desire to establish as
j true some particular conclusion. or
/ some special set OF ideas. Is n stronger
element in the investigation than the
desire 10 lind out what really Is true.
Now the desires and the emotions are
valuable parts OF our nature and deserve
full recognition. but when they tyran-
nize over the thoughts and prevent
their free action they exceed their do
main and ought TO be controlled. u
should be a habit of the mind TO pause
frequently and inquire why We think
thus and SO; for the motives TO thought
are rs numerous and a. varied rs the
motives to action. and form rs good a
test of its character. Perhaps few
duties are more difficult than this, yet
few are more essential 70 the cause OF
justice and truth. Could we correctly
estimate the immense power OF our
most secret thoughts, their influences
upon speech and action, upon charao-
ter and life, upon self aud others, we
should esteem il one OF our most sacred
obligations to keep them pure and
clean, free from the domination of sup
posed self-interest or desire. passion or
emotion. strong to discover truth and
right wherever they lie. and TO accept
their conclusion wherever they may
lead. ad.-Philadelphia Ledger.
Never Hesitate 20 Do Right. -
IL the most xtrtttAna ara ahosa xAc