The Press., 1892-05-05
NEVER SATISFIED.
DISCONTENT THE POWER THAT PUSHES US UPWARD AND ONWARD.

DlSCONTeNT TIRE POWER THAT PUSHES US UPWARD AND ONWARD. One Step in Advance Encourages Man.
 kind to Try for Greater Advance-The
 Problem of Progress Into Which the
 Thoughtful Man Sees Deeply.
 Eager, enthusiastic and sanguine people always expect to feel unbounded satisfaction ill the actual possession of that which they strive for. The boy longs to be man; the youth craves in- dependence; one looks forward to mar riage as his ideal of bliss, another yearns for wealth; one covets position, another power; one hungers for knowledge, m other for skill; one sighs for opportunity, another for ability. Whatever be the goal of their ambition, they believe that to be the one thing without flaw, the one thing which is to insure their hap piness and in the possession of which their enthusiasm is never to grow cold and their happiness never to fade.
 When this goal is reached, and it of ten is, how are these sanguine expecta- tions realized? Is the mind content and satisfedl Is the pleasure unsullied? Do the glowing colors continue as bright as before? Does their buoyancy receive no check? They have gained thrr point, they have secured what they desired, but have they realized what they antici- pated? Has the success been so very successful after all?
 Probably most of those who have had these experiences will have to confess that while in the first flush of posses sion all was joyful excitement, yet in short time that feeling gave way to a calmer and more dispassionate view of it's value Certain flaws and defects that would have been utterly secuted became apparent; it grew to be a com monplace and ordinary possession, and however unwilling they might be to part with it, yet it was no longer upon that, but upon other things still out of reach that their interest and enthusiasm were centered.
 MT. Philip Hamerton, speaking of the present attitude of the French people toward republican form of govern ment, gives an apt illustration of this truth He says: "The republican senti- ment, though resolute as to the preserva- tion of republican forms, has certainly become wonderfully cool. The coolness of the young men is especially remark able and significant. They are mostly republicans, it is true, and have no be- lief in the possibility of a monarchical restoration, but the more intelligent of I l1 x1 T. T of republican government very plain ly. and they have a tendency to dwell upon those difficulties and defects ill a manner that would astonish the militant republicans of the past. This composed and rational temper is the state of mind that comes upon all of us after the set tied possession of an object, and it is a sign of possession Most of us can cite instances to match this both in public and private affairs nearer home.
 The chief point to be considered, how. ever. is whether this result is or is not to be deplored. Some regard it among the bitter experiences of life, showing mere ly the transitory and shallow nature oi all happiness and the futility of all hopes. ''Of what use is it," they say ito strive and labor for that which, when attained, loses its power of bless. ing and cheering us? Why encourage an enthusiasm that must fade away and hold mp an ideal that is presently to be trodden under foot?' So they sink into pessimism and come to believe that all is vanity and ve1ation of spirit. But the thoughtful and intelligent man sees far deeper into the problem than this. He has discovered that in this very truth, held to be sd mournful, lies the kernel of all progress
 All the rose colofed hopes that we in dulge, all the attractive future spread out in such fair proportions to our i'm agination, lure us on to energy and eff fort. What does it matter that we ex aggerate it's importance, that we expect impossible effects from it, that all its de fects and disadvantages are entirely hid den from our sight? Were it not so, how much of our striving would come to al endl And when we attain these ob jects, what more natural than that, ths excitement of pursuit being over and the tension of mind relaxed, a calmness of spirit should follow and an ability te judge of it's excel1ences and it's disad vantages more dispassionately and more correctly.
 Suppose the- enjoyment is less keer and the satisfaction less complete thar we had anticipated. Should the mere pleasure felt in s4access be the main ob ject of our striving? Satisfaction indeed can only be transient emotion to ar intelligent and advancing man or wom an. Were it permanent condition o1 mind there could be no further progress Il Take, for example, the youth who longs for a higher education and tries through many obstacles, to obtain it At length the opportunity comes, and his wishes arc crowned with success Yet his delight, at first very keen, grad ually subsidies into aHcalm serenity.
 He comes. by degrees to understand ! the meaning of his opportunity. it's diff culties, it's sacrifices, its labor and the new field of hope and aspiration which it opens up. He no longer rests satisfied with the opportunity for which he longed his enthusiasm now takes another form; his hopes arc raised to a higher level; his energies are engaged in taking huVdutdSe ol IIlS IoIIuudCo oCCeSAou and he now looks with equal earnestness to the time when he shall have finished his course and begun the life work which he has planned.
 And when that time comes he will go through the same experience. His glad enthusiasm will be transferred to still higher altitude, and his new ideal will draw hum still onward and upward. Is | there anything sad or bitter in such an experience? Is there any loss of real happine. in this fading away of tenn porary pleasure? It is indeed the only road to happiness that is worthy of a noble man or wsman-that happiness which follows the vigorous use of the faculties and the constant pressing up | xrard to hiobar and hioher aftainmef,t,