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

cient Grecleng believed that thelr gods
dwalt on the summit Of mount Olympus
in Thsasaly, that beautiful mountain
whose summit reached above the clouds,
and whose lofty peaks were covered With
perpetual snow. Here they fsastec on
ambronia and nectar, dlucourasd upon the
affairs of Heaven and earth, and were
delighted at intervals by the swsst music
of Apollo's Tyre. This brief mythologi.
cal history is in itself clear definition OF
"Tbat Easy Place." place Of idlsnsss,
happiueas and of no responsibility;
place where the hands are folded, tho
eye. are closed and tho poor mortsla
slumber free from the cares and ankle
ties that ve1 tha busy world. But shers
Is another place, the oppoaite of that
easy place, and the path that leads 10
each of ;hem are opsn 10 every youth.
both Of them he cannot take, but one of
them he must follow. The nature Of
these two paths ID beautifully illustrated
by Procius in his narration concerning
Hercules. he says that When Hercules
WAS advancing from beyhood into man
hood, period at which the young be.
coming their own masters begin to give
intimatious whether they will enter
upon the path OF life by the way Of viz
tue or that of vice, that he went forth
into solitary place and sat perplexsd as
to which of these two paths he should
pursue, and while thus neditating two
lovely maidens approached him. One Of
them ran up to him and exclaimed: II
ssethatyou are hesltating, Hercules, upon
what path you shall 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 Il life far from
any sort of trouble. Sweet sleep shall
refresh thine eyes before they become
weary, and the choicsut of dain'iea the
appetite before it bscomeu hungry, and
you shall take freely of what others &C.
ouire by labor" Hercules on hearing
this address said: "And what, O woman,
be thy namsl" She replied: "My
friends call me Happiness, but those who
hate me call me vice." In the meantime
the other maiden approached him and
said: ~, also, have come to addreau you,
Hercules. I have llown your parents,
and have hoped that you would direct
your steps along the path that leads to
my dwelling and become an excellent
psformer of whatever is good and noble,
and that 1 might appear more honorable
through your illustrious deeds. will
not deceive you, however, with promises
of plsa.ure, but will net before you things
az they really are, for Of whatever is good
and noble, nothing is granted to mankind
without labor and care"
Thus spoke virtue to the tabled hero,
and thus she speaks to all. The young
mon of our day, like Hercules, are called
upon to decide which of these two pa.hc
they will pursue. If they would attain
that easy place they muat avoid the easy
and aowery path of vice, it leads from
idlensss 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 surmount 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. Mon can not
soar on fowery beds of ease to the high.
est and most honorable positions in life.
1t was not an easy road that General
Garfield travelled from his humble, boy.
hood home to the Presidential chair.
Aud 30 it is with many OF tho learned
professors of our colleges who receive
largo salaries for light duties, 1t ia only
| the Just reward of years of hard study
aud application. Tho highest and
| noblest positions in life are obtained by
labor and self-denial. Yet, clearly as
these two paths have been marked out,
there have been persons In all ages thai
have chosen the fowery path of vice in
order to shirk the hard fought battles of
life. We need not search for their
names la history, for they made no
record and left no name behind. In the
evening Of the nineteenth century, which
has Justly been termed the age of pro-
gres and improvement, We find men
l who will sacrifice truth, honor and every