The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-01-09

~ viz OA0O ~
by their faith divine. By n mans
plain truth to manhood and for Gods
supreme design.
In truth the man of purpose is gen.
orally possessed of almost prophetic
foresight-as man of wonderful faith
in the future, humanity and God.
Such a faith marked the heroes of
the reformation, who, amid cracking
fagots or the dungeons gloom, turned
from the fortunes of the present to the
future with it's gratifying prospects,
and with a faith that reached outward
toward mar and upward toward God,
took courage from the assurance that
the blood of the martyrs is the seed
of the church"
Turn to st. Paul and the early fathers
of the church, to John Wesley and the
leaders of the Reformation, to William,
the silent Hollands great statesman
and patriot, and you will find the
darkest movements of their lives
frightened by a faith which forbade
despair and saw in the midst of car
mage, tumult and opposition the work
ing of a master hand.
The man of high purpose is unselfsh
as well as confident. Upon the altar
of his ideal the baser elements Of his
nature have been burned away. He
will suffer no fear of public censure,
no thirst for popular approval, no de-
sire of personal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT to
thwart the accomplishment of his
cherished hopes.
With due respect to conventional
forms in society, church and state he
yet finds in them no ultimate good
right. While 10th to forsake we'll
established precedents he pays no ad-
grafton to the traditions of the past.
His belief, though firm, is based upon
| rational evidence and no ~prejudicial
notions will be allowed to warp his
judgment. But he accepts facts, not
vague theories; truth, not mems I'M
supported ideas He knows no author
ity but Truth; no inspiration but the
Divine; no hope, but the eternal, and
finds in service its own rich reward.
In the language of Emerson: When
amin sity has been buried he erects no
headstone on its grave. Thoughts of a
similar nature must have inspired the
man who, comprehending the destruc-
tive influence Of the American dema
gogue at the close of the bloody drama
of 81 could write:
Oh meaner folk of narrower souls,
Heirs of ignOble thought,
Stir not the camphre's bIackened Goals,
Blo0d-drenched by those who fought,
Lest down from heaven a fire shall yet
Bear Gods own vengeance forth
On him who once again would set
DtScOrd 'twixt South and North.
Such has been the sentiment Of some
of the leaders of thought during the
past quarter Of a century and it should
be echoed by every patriot who longs
for the truest prosperity of the com
monwealth. Let the now rapidly mar
rowing chasm between the two sec
tions be no more, the bitter memories
sleep unrecalled and every suggestion
of a nation once divided be efaced
from the memory of man. Then the
men of the North and the men of the
South marching shoulder to shoulder
under one flag and with a single pur,
pose shall establish high among the ma
tions Of the earth the political, indus
trial and moral prestige of our own be-
loved land.
In addition to the thoughts previous,
~ suggested it will be observed that
the man of intense purpose is charac
teriHed by peculiar attractive power.
It is an expression of Lyman Abbot's
that decision Of character leads to
peace, honors and power. The Bibli,
cal statement lone man of you shall
chase a thousand" expresses another
aspect of the same enduring truth.
By the welLdirected magnetic infu,
ence of one nan fired with zeal in a
noble thousands of wavering
minds can be made secure on the side
of truth and justice.
The Arabian proverb divides man
kind into four leading classes:
He that is ignorant and knows that
he is ignorant is simple; teach him.
He that is ignorant but does not
know he is ignorant is foolish; shun
him.
He that knows but does not know
that he knows is asleep; wake him.
He that knows and knO1Us that he
knows is wise; follow him
Collect the biographies of the worlds
men of intense purpose from the banks
of the Nile to the shores of the new