The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1895-09-20
A HUMAN LIFE.


No, not all isvanity. A great many
things which you think very desirable
are Il mere pun Of vanity; but many
other things are quite worth working
for, and fully repay you for your labor.
The subject is an important one, for
such man as Solomon would hardly
have made such remark unless there
was IA truth in it. We can sit down
together and find mutual profit in a
careful inquiry as to the special mat
tcrs to which the wise man referred.
Solomon would scarcely be regarded
in these days as a conservative man.
He lived Il double life, one of which
was spent in physical pleasure, while
the other was devoted to intellectual
pursuits. His course could hardly be
approved Of by our modern public
opinion, and the pleasures which he
rather boastingly INDUCED in were
such as the gentlemen of our times
meyer refer to except in the confess
sional.
The upShot of his wide experience
in gratifying his appetites is that
they furnished him with no lasting
satisfaction, and in. that particular
matter every man in every age will
agree with him. The testimony.
when it is honestly given, is universal
and unanimous. No man can live on
the physical plane and feel that he
lived well. This sense of unrest, this
loss OF sclf-respcct, this burning re-
grct when memory recalls such Il past,
which all men suffer from, are simple
evidence OF the natural grandeur and
dignity OF the soul. In other words,
they prove that no one can be really
happy who makes his body rather
than his soul his master, ministcring
to the one and ignoring the other.
Just rs the physical functions rebel
when they are misuscd, and the re-
sultant suffering is u reminder that
you have broken certain laws, so the
spirit rebels when appetite or passion
is rampant, and the remorsc which
follows is Gods way of telling you
that you have struck the wrong trail
and are climbing the wrong hill. The
universe is 50 made that no one can
live for himself alone, can live selfish.
ly and mcanly without making for
himself Il little hell in which the
worm dctE not and the fire is not
Qucnched-untl that mode Of life is
changed for better.
1t is not true, however, that the
acquisition Of wealth is vanity, pro-
vided it be acquired with intgrity
The church is too apt to tell you that
this worldlincss is sinful and that the
other w0rldlincss alone is beneficial
We are placed here to do great work
and as long as we ought to do that
work with willing hands and an am
bilious heart. There is as much con
secration to be found in business life
as there is in Il monastic life. An(
there Is as much heroism required tt
do business on correct and irrcproach
able lines rs there is in going to for.
eign shore to preach the gospel tt
savagcs. fhc good men, the men who
are approved of God, are not all found
in the ministry or in the list of clurcl
membership. A man in the whirl O.
active commercial life may be as saint
ly as the ascetic who lives in a cave
and spends his time in meditation
and prayer.
But ii you recognize nothing cXccp
this world, if you are so absorbed II
its pursuits that you catch noglimpst
Of heaven and do not shape your end
with reference to a future, then tht
time will surely come when you viii
ask yourself il, after all, it pays yol
to live for forty or fifty years and theI
be snuffed out like candle. Thu
appetites of the body will be satet
sometime, and an appalling dissatis
faction will creep over your mind
You will be like harp that is ou
of tune or whose strings are broken
and you will cry out in bitterness .
spirit, "Vanity Of vanitics; all i
vanity" |"
You could hear the vail OF hu
man beings who have drunk tn
draught Of pleasure until only TIL
drege are left, il YOU could hear tn
moan of disappointment which come
from the lives of thousands sell
wrecked, you would trcmblc wit
pity. You cannot live a low life an,
have a sweet taste in your mouth
God must abdicate before that miracl
can occur. Never yet did a mea
thought or deed produce pleasan
dreams; and II you suffer bccaus
you have INDUCED in either it is sin
ply q thunderous command to men
your ways, and the thunder will cor
tinuc until you see your mistake an
rectify it. Some people will tell 10
that this suffering Is Gods wrat
working punishment In your soul
but, on the contrary, it Is Gods pit
for your wantonness, and your Ow
punishment Of yourself for beip
self-willed and self-indulgent.
Live fur your soul, not your bod.
because the body Will 20 back To dus
. after awhile, but thes0ul will remalI
Have due regard for your better, 20,