The mirror., 1894-05-24
SALTWATER, MINNESOTA, MAY a. 1884.
WHAT I AM AND WHAT MIGHT
HAVE BEEN.

WHAT I AM AND WHAT I MIGHT
HAVE BEEN.
Man Has the Power By Which He May
Overcome the Difficulties That Bar
the Paths of Progress to a Higher
Sphere In Life.
Why will man instead of enjoying
all the manifold sources of health,
strength and JOY, turn his back on them
and follow the beckonings of his worst
enemies, to seek outside his little para
disc, false pleasures and food that poi
sons both soul and body? We are too
apt to attribute to the hidden workings
of the evil one or his allied spirits, the
moral degradation and temporal ruin
wrought around us in the lives and
homes of men by their own sin, and
originating in their own mind and
heart, consummated by their own free
will. in spite of the lights and warning
voice of conscience Of course we do
not and cannot deny it, as it is the re-
vealed word of God, both in the old
and new testament. Man is assailed
by his inveterate and sleepiess foe in
many ways, and has, as we'll, much to
fear from the seductive words and
examples of his fellow men. Never
theless, his true danger lies in his own
heart; he is himself his own greatest
enemy. Hence, for once that our temp
tatiOn and the occasion of our fall
comes from without, hundred times,
the sole cause Of our sin and its conse-
quences may be traced to ourselves.
The guilty thought and imagination
are the spontaneous growth OF our own
soul, as well as the subsequent resis-
tance to conscience, and the final full
and free consent given to evil. There
is nothing more pitiful in the brief
story of the downfall and arraignment
of our first parents, as is plainly told in
Genesis. how Adam shifted the guilt Off
his own shoulders to his companions,
and her imitation of her husbands
pusillanimity and cowardice, in throw
F ing the blame on the serpent. In this
, prevaricating weakness, we all show
ourselves but too truly the offspring OF
I these great criminals by transferring to
f someone or something, the whole
, blame for our misdeeds But If we
look we'll into our own soul, and the
, truthful record of our own conscience
n we shall most surely find that we are
ourselves our own worst tempters, anC
+ most frequently our sole tempters.
Frequently it occurs that man, after
n committing some crime. will cry aloud
p "Oh, if it had not been for liquor,
should not have committed this crime
h it was whisky that maddened m.
\ BRAIN" The blame is all laid on whisky
p he does not ask himself why he dranl
# the whisky. If he did, his weakness
&c would be shown to him. He was no
J. true to himself or to his manhood; he
"a ever ready to throw the blame on some
20 one. or something other than his owl
f weak will. How many men ALLOW
At themselves to be led step by step t
20 forgo the fulfillment Of the most sacre
n. duties and commit actions abhOrred b
their natures, lest they should b
sneered at or deemed unmanly b
their acuuaintanceS. This seems almOs
TX incredible when considered with cali
IT, reason. or when mentioned to one wit
i'd but little experience of men. To mos
ey of the readers of this paper, howeve
g. it will recall the all too frequent rea
in tiles of every day life.
he Two young men leave college t.
as gether and at the same time begin the
nd career in the world. They have equ
W. prospects, both are bright and hay
MT sufficient of the worlds goods to laun(
ed them properly. One associates himse
Lp- with steady, sober, Christian mel
he the other enters society, joins the cll
he and classes himself "man of tt
world" On separating they agree
ne meet again at the end of ten years
oh compare notes. Can we not forsee t.
II result? The former, by his steady ha
it's and control over himself, becom
ny one of the leading lawyers of his sta
at while the other had lived his short Ii
ot of pleasure, throwing himself into
the mad revelry of high life, which W