Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-10-27
Three Great Silences.

There is a vast temptation, under the
pressure of present life, never to be still /;
to become absolutely restless, noisy, and
superficial; to be so busy with excessive
professional duties, with public, philan-
thropes, and the demands of society. as 20
have no time for silence: to be so aSsociat-
ed, so organized, so committed, as TO de-
stroy all possibility Of isolation, seclusion
or solitude.
As a consequence. there are men and
women who are growing to dread privacy.
men and women to whom restless social ac-
tvity, the rustic of movement, the chatter
of conversation, and the general stir, ire
NOR, and noise of business become as es-
sential as the opium culprt's daily drug
men and women who must have noise. men
and women who are absolutely afraid of
solitude, fearful that they will be compelled
to meet themselves face to face in the ST.
lence. But it is ont of the silence
that all the marvellous things of human
action, all the splendid things of human
courage, all the sublime otferings\Of human
faith, have sprung. When the great tree
falls in a sudden storm, We find that, for
all its external bravery. it was decayed and
weak within The real strength of human
life lies there also. Societies, governments
nations, fall when the secret chambers of
individual hearts grow weak. But those
secret chambers cannot be filled from the
world outside. They can only be filled from
within, at the cisterns of Infinite Silence
There were three great silences in the life
of Jesus which seem to point to the three
deepest needs Of every life.
The first great silence in the life OF Jesus
holds all his years of growth. II meant
study in the shadows of the synagogue,
meditation on the upland pastures. prayer
beneath the evening stars. The first great
silence for every life should be, know thy
self. God has given to every individual
soul some gift that is unique, peculiar to
itself, some delicate tint that it alone can
add TO the great picture, some tone that no
other soul can sound forth. The soul can
not even attempt any response to these
divine, God-given impulses within, cannot
even know what they are, unless it meets
itself in solitude Bishop Brooks's moth
er, when asked about the training of bows.
advised all mothers to remember that there
was a sacred silence necessary to every
growing life, time when even the mother
should not intrude herself upon the privacy
of the individual soul with God
The second great silence in the life of
Jesus hides the masterful bracing of his
powers TO the one supreme mission of his
life. No sooner had he answered the sum
mons from the voice of John the Baptist
calling him to come and take up the work
which waited to be DONE than, led by the
spirit, he went out into the wilderness that
he might be alone, to concentrate his Wis
ion, steady and set his faith, mark out his
way, tune to the true pitch the secret pas
sions of his soul. The second great 81
lence, then, for every life should be, con
troll myself
The third great silence in the life of
Jesus tenderly wells the browning hour of
bis spirits tragic agony. In the Garden
of Gethsemane he left even the most be-
loved of his disciples, that he might be
alone, that out OF the silence he might
gather strength to enable him to meet that
highest demand, that he might have cour-
age TO lay down again all that he had taken
up,-all the bright hopes, all the splendid
ideals, all the expected achievements. The
third great silence, then, for every life.
should be, forego thyself. Christian Req
lister.