St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-13


last evening. They are the conditions
of his living out the fnllness of his
being, and OF his attainment of the des-
tiny which is marked out for him in the
counsels of the Infinite. This destiny
attained. happiness is his lot, and in
this happiness he receives the reward
ofrighteous conduct.
What is for man the fullneSS of being?
What is his true life, the beginnings of
which are given upon earth, the rich
fruitage of which comes to him in the
country beyond the grave? Mans true
life, enjoyed in its COMPREHENSIVE is
eternal life.
Mans True Life.
Mans true life is in his highest and
nObest faculties, the intellect and the
will, the first reaching out to truth, the
second embracing goodness and adher-
ing to it. Man comes under our notice
as a bundle of varied faculties, powers
and senses. Among these we must dis
tinguish those which belong to the soul,
as a spiritual being, differentiating him
from the lower creation, and those
which are common TO him with the ami
nal and the material worlds; we must
distinguish that which is permanent in
him and that which is temporary, Serv-
ing only transient purposes. Negetatlve
and animal life is not mans proper life;
the things which minister to IT, earthly
possessions, earthly enjoyments, are
not the proper objects OF his lOngingS
and aspirations. Man is a rational
being: intellect is his chief, his peculiar
faculty-intellect, the power to know,
to seek out truth, and to apprehend IT.
Truth is being; whatever is is truth,
and is the objective matter upon which
the intellect is exercised. Being, APP
pretended as truth by the intellect,
presents itself to the will of man as
goodness. For whatever is, is, so far as
it is being. good in itself and desirable
to man. To complete the philosophy of
being, | must add that all being, at the
same time that it is truth and goodness,
is also beauty, or, rather, it is beauty,
because it is truth and goodness. Being
is beautiful. inasmuch as it charms the
soul, satisfies its faculties, and pourS
into it JOY and cOntentment.
Mans Higher Faculties. S
The soul of man consists essentially
of those higher faculties of reaching
out to what being there is, under its
several aspects of truth, goodness and
beauty, and, necessarily, we find in
those faculties the souls true life. |
am aware that am speaking language
difficult to be understood. In our pres
ent state the material and the animal
OverpOwer us. They darken our interior
light, so that we scarcely see the SUI
prasensible; they occupy us, distress us
by their imperiOus demands, so that we
almost forget the higher life, and
when mention is made of this,
the message halls, as il were,
from n strange unknown world. with
which we have but slight concern, and
in which we scarcely believe we could
be satisfied Nevertheless, when we al all
reason upon things, we perceive clearly
that material and animal surroundings
and requirements are really things
transient, things eXtrinSic 10 the sOul,or
spiritual nature, things accidental and
conditional. We are, first of all, and
above all, souls, spirits, reasoning and
thinking creatures, whose chief eye TO
see things outside of self is reason, and
whose true life is and must be the Sc
quences OF the exercise of reason or in
tellect.
Creatures Do Not Satisfy.
All that is, is truth, goodness and
beauty. The universe is being, and
mans soul goes out to it, to behold, love
and admire. But what are its perfec-
lions but rays from the Incarnate Deity.
scintilIations from His eternal majesty?
The soul is not satisfied with knowing
effects without knowing the cause; it is
not satisfied with the finite and limited,
without reaching up to the Infinite Him.
self. God is being Infinite, supreme
truth, goodness and beauty, and toward
Him are the SOULS lOngingS. He is
THE "alpha and the omega" of crea-
ton, the "beginning and the end" of
all creatures. Inferior creatures reach
Him through sman, whom they serve.
and in whom they have their interpret
er: but man himself is so great that, en-
dowed with the supernal wings of intel
lect and will, he scars directly unto the
throne of the Almighty. The stream of
his life, descending from the highest
mountain top, courses through foreign
and uncongenial climeS until, through
His grace, it rises again upward, and
seeks repose in the bosom of His own
immensely. In the words of st. Au-
gustine. Our souls, . God, are made
for Thee, and there is no rest for them
until they return. to Thee"
Happiness in God.
1t is manifest that we have not in our
present condition the fullneSs of life.
W. are in a state of longing, of unrest,
of struggling, seeking what we need,
and what we do not possess. We are
not in state of happiness. Happiness
is the signal of our arrival in our native
home, where all is possessed that has
been hoped Tor, that the soul has sighed
for. 1t follows upon the attainment of
our destiny. 1t is the complete satiation
of longings, the fulfillment OF desires,
the repletlOn of the soul, with all the
good that it is capable of, the efface-
ment of all emptiness in intellect and
in will.
HappinessI Magic word. which we
all understand so well. because we all
are driven by our natures to court it.
and we all know we have il not. The
| all-wise Creator assigning to creature
| purpose, or a destiny, fashions the
creature for it, and makes that the
whole being is impelled toward it. and
| no rest allowed away from it. Will
the magnetiZed needle cease its troub-
| lous rotations until it faces the Polar
star? Neither will my soul rest, O..
God, away from Thee LAS the hart
panteth after the fountains of waters,
so my soul panteth after Thee,
0 God. My soul hath thirsted
after the strong, living God: when
shall L come and appear before the
face OF God?" But upon earth 1--WE see
through glass in dark MANNER" "we
know in part" we perceive God only
through His works, and, even so. in 4
manner most imperfect. The soul is
not, and cannot be satisfied. Nor will
earthly goods themselves fill the vast
sea-bed of our lOngings. They, at best
are limited, variable, periShable. Either
they are not given, or they are giver
with stint, or they tire wnen given: or
threatening to flee away. alarm in the
midst of possession and enjoyment. We
are not happy on earth, ''for we have
not here lasting city, but we seek one
that is to come"
The Eternal Life.
Heavenl This the sweet word whicl
tells of the con in city and of comins
happiness. In heaven we shall see God
Il longer in HIS works, but in Himself