The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1890-06-12
Nan ! Ideal Life.
By j. RAMsDEN RILEY.

| life as molly as ne can, il the true
ideal. In that endeavor he gains
strength daily; day by day he il
/ visibly conscious Of increased power,
which comes from an Infinitely high
er source. He knoaps this; and Isl
lied, rather than governed, by any
specific rules; whittier it may lead
him he knows not by It's guidance
1 however, he will beno more ashamed
1 to enter the lowest howell on an err
rand of mercy than he is to bless
1 God for the opportunities Of serving
l4him. Such man may suffer the
slings and arrows of outrageous for
tune the poverty that in the pres
emit day overtakes the rich SO quick
lily and grinds an innocent wife and
/ family in the same cruel mill-nay,
even the bitter experiences of that
bastard love which s'fiies out of the
window on its sapproach--yet he
tfeels, though he knows not how or
when it come about, that the seeds
sown in the better days will surely
bloom and bear fruit, either here or
i in eternity. Nevertheless / am CON
tinually with thee" is his power of
strength, and the gates of hell may
not prevail against it Asking d dy-
ing man what he particularly wish
ed for, nothing here said he,
Everything smells Of earth" There
is far too much earth" in our COM
position, and were it not that man
has higher principle! within ever
/ ready to be cultivated, we should de-
your each other like wild beasts.
snake money the servant" said an
old philosopher, "or ii aoill be thy.
master" and it is one of the best
| maxims for rich men, who too often
do not use, but abuse wealth. Con-
sidering that no man can be absolute
| " certain Of possessing his wealth,
| eUen ten minutes, and the good that
may often be done with very little
bestowed in the immediate proximi-
lty of our own dwellings,, it is surely
AN earthly disease Of the mind that
influences any man to devote all his
thoughts and energies to the acqui-
sition of that which when gained he
does not even enjoy himself. But we
do not wish to insinuate that all
lrich men necessarily find it difficult
to pass through the needles eye"
of that great responsibility attached
to the possession of wealth. There
are some, who because they are rich,
never get credited for their good
deeds. They would be less admira-
BILE characters if they expected it. 7
Above a certain am punt, no man
is richer than another; that amount
varies with the individual. If that
surplus be not worthily used, nothing
|. is more certain than this, that it will
be abused; for all the ingenuity of
man will not prevent the 5fulfilment
Eof that mission for which alone it
was bestowed; there is nearly as
much about money as life itself.
But we are wandering little from
the point Every man, whether he
| be rich or poor, gentle or simple, has
| it in his power to communicate hap
| piness in some way or other to those
around him. Money, as a specific
for many of the ills of life, is often
Of little use; so that, as occasion re-
quires, both rich and poor may be
useful If they aoiu OF all classes of
men, Masons have the best oppor-
tunities Of doing real good. AS a
body they possess, if the distressed
is or has been one of themselves, a
better knowledge of the justice of re-
lief, and therefore, their heart can be
in the works -..i s.&4
Goethe said that II any man aoere
to do all that he Is called upon to do,
he Would Kill himself Sn a t,velUe-
month. Perhaps that is the reason
why SO many avoid suicide by doing
so little. However, it is to be feared
that some suffer a far more lingering
and painful death through having
wrapped themselves up in the treach-I
erous Macintoshes of selfishness,
than will ever die of enlarged gener-
osity towards their suffering fellow
creatures. Itis beautifully express
ed in an old Manx proyerb, that
"aohen one poor man helps another
poor man God himself laughs" =
and men can all attempt a deal more
than they do for their fellows, with
out running any risk at all. Masons
are, such to very little purpose, if
they neglect to- avail themselves of
the opportunities they have Of doing
good. AS previously stated, it can
be done in many cases without mon
| ey; hence many a man of whom it
has been said "his life was failure
will bejudged far differently hereaf-
ter. Whatever may be the mystery
and purpose of our lives, the man
| with one talent has but to make use
I Of it to Gods honor, and depend
upon it he has as good an assurance
Of Heaven as he who has ten. And
as the ripples at the very edge of
sheet of water may be caused by
stone thrown in the center by
child, SO there is no fathoming the
depth or knowing the extent or dis
tance at which goodSdeed may be,
penetrated away from the center of
its commission.
| The poor artizan who carries a few
fresh gathered flowers into his neigh.
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