The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-10-12
THAT EASY PLACE.

clent GreClan1 believed tnat snelr gous
dwelt on the summit Of mount Olympus
in Thsrsaly, that beautiful mountain
whose summit reached above the clouds,
and whose lofty peaks were covered With
perpetual snow. Here they toasted on
ambrosia and nectar, dircourasd upon the
afftirs of Heaven and Garth, and wsre
delighted at intervals by the sweet music
Of Apollo's Tyre. This brief mythology
cal history is in itself clear definition Of
"That Easy Place." place of idleness,
Happiness aud of no responsibility;
place where the hauds are folded, tho
eyes are closed and the poor morts's
slumber frae from tho carea and ankle
ties that ve1 the busy world. But there
i, another place, the oppoaise of that
easy place, and the pata that leads 10
each of them are opsn to every youth.
both OF them be cannot take, bu. enc of
them he must follow. The nature Of
these two paths i, beautifully illustrated
by ProciuH in his narration concerning
Hercules He says that when Hercules
Was advancing from boyhood into man
hood, period at which the young BE-
coming thoir own maatoa beaiu to give
iptimatious whether thsy will enter
upon the path OF life by tho way Of vir-
tue or that of vice, that he went forth
into q solitary place and sat perplexed as
to which of these two paths he should
pursue, and while thus meditating two
lovely maidcns approached him. Oae Of
them ran up to him and exclaimed: 81
seethatyou are hesitating, Hercules, upon
what path you shsll enter upon life, ifnow
you will make friend of me / shall con-
duct you by the easiest and most delight
full road. You shall taste of every ape.
cies of pleasure, and lead life far from
any sort of trouble. Sweet sleep shall
refresh thine eyes before they become
weary, and the choicest of dainsies the
appetite before it bscomeu hungry, and
you shall take freely Of what others &C.
quire by labor" Hercules on hearing
this address said: "And what, 0 woman,
be thy name" She replied: "My
friands call me happiness, but those "ho
hate me call ME vice." In the meantime
the othor maiden approached him and
said {: 81, also, have come to address you.
Hercules. I have known your parents,
and have hoped that you would direct
your steps along the path that leads to
my dwelling and become aD excellent
peformer of whatever is good and noble,
and that might appear more honorable
through your illustrious DECIDE. | will
not deceive you, however, with promises
of pleasure, but will act before you things
aa they really are, for Of whatever is good
and noble, nothing is granted to mankind
without labor and caro-"
Thus spoke virtue to the tabled hero,
and thus she speaks to all. The young
men of our day, like Hercules, are called
upon to decide which of these two paths
they will pursue. If they would attain
that easy place they muat avoid tho easy
and Aowery path of vice, it leads from
idleness downward, step by step, to the
lowest depths of poverty and Disgrace,
while the rough and rugged path of vir-
tue, beset by many difficulties, offers to
those who will Surmourt them and stand
on the summit, joy and happiness, that
the idler can never know. 1t leads to
that easy place. We should always bear
| in mind that what We call an easy place
is reached by hard road. Men can not
soar on fowery beds of ease to tho high.
est and most honorable pohitions in life.
1t was not an easy road that General
Garfield travelled from his humble, boy.
hood home to the Presidential chair.
And 10 it is with many OF the learned
professors of our colleges who receive
large salaries for light duties, it is only
the Just reward of years of hard study
and application Tho highest and
uoblest positions in life are obtsined by
labor and self-denial Yet, clear) y as
these two paths have been marked out,
there have been persons in all ages tha'
have chosen the fowery path Of vice in
order to shirk the hard fought battles of
life. We need nos search for their
names in history, for they mad" no
record and left no name behind. In ,he
evening of the Nineteenth century, which
has Justly been termed the age of pro-
gre.s and improvement, we find men