The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-04-18

development of higher MANHOOD, the
production of character be the aim,
then manifestly that object is but
partially accomplished in the purest
and best. But shall all that has been
done go for naughta
~ Are all the moral and intellect
ual acquisitions of such men as Luth-
er and Shakespeare, and Milton, and
Hampden, and Washington, and
Charming, no more than the dew
drop that glitters for moment in
the morning sun and is gone forever7
Are they no more than the bubbles
that rise and fall on the bosom of the
relentless river? Are they no more
than frost on the window panes or
mists on the mountain Are they
trees cut down by the axe of death,
in the midst of their fruitage, to be
trees of knowledge no longer? Be it
so, if so it must be. We shall bow to
the inevitable. But then, somehow it
strikes us, the life of good and
great man must be the supreme mys-
terry of the universe. 1t is majestic
highway that leads to one endless
swamp noble river that runs out
in the sands. Is it worthy of such
one as we conceive God to be, that he
should do this thing7 Just when the
spirit is beginning to triumph over
the animal, when the lessons of expert
ence are leaving their strongest i'm
pressions; when the vision of what
life should be is becoming brighter;
when the power of helpfulness to our
fellows is reaching its noblest posi-
bilities, then shall the hand of the
Eternal smite us into nothingness!
Believe it not. The broken pillar will
be completed, the shattered harp re-
stored.
(2) But not alone of the superior
spirits of earth do we think. We
feel for those who are lowest down
in the scale. For these do our hearts
throb with inexpressible pity. The
hand of the genial springtime, in lift
ing the mantle of winter, shows us
how the withered leaves of autumn
fell. They were whirled by the
wind into all sorts of places They
fell by the wayside, and were
trampled by the foot of the pass
ers-by. They were carried into bleak
and exposed fields. They foated
down upon thepool in the forest, and
there they lie rotting today. 1t is
even thus that human beings come
into life and find themselves flung in
to the worst and vilest places,-often
into haunts of crime and dens of ig-
norance and vice. Multitudes know
almost nothing of good, never draw
a pure breath or think an ennobling
thought. For such as these our
hearts cry out: els this all? Are they
never to know anything better7 Is
there no outlook? Shines there not
over their future some star of hope?
Is the darkness never to be banished,
the sin never to be purged away" /
think sometimes that | understand
the spirit of Paul who was willing to
be himself accursed, if his brethren
might be saved. Can you not mag
inc some such royal soul, standing
with barred brow in the Great Pres
ence, saying; "Father, l have tasted
good; know something of life's pos
sibilities; if there must be annihila
ton, let me be blotted out, let me be
plunged into the eternal sleep; but
let these, the poor, neglected, down
trodden, ignorant, and guilty live, to
know how rich and sweet their life
may be-"
We feel that the good and great
must be perpetuated; but if there is
to be any difference, rather let those
be exterminated whose lives have
turned to some purpose, than quench
the smoking fax that has never yet
emitted a spark. AS Mr.. Chadwick
says: "What logic there is here, l
pause not to discover. My only claim
is that the hope of Immortality, fed
by this sense of human misery, this
longing that the most miserable of
men shall have a chance to live, be-
fore they die forever, is not an ig-
noble, not an unworthy hope. By
this sign it conquers, if by no other.
The criticism generally comes from
those who dream and dream OF an
ideal and perfected humanity here on
this earth. 1t is a noble dream, en-
nobling all who cherish it and strive
to realize some little fraction here and
now of its sublime integrity. But if
this dream be noble and ennobling,
what can there be ignoble or debas-
ing in the dream of good time COM
ing for the millions upon millions
who cannot live to see that glorious
day, who have already endured the
.ar;l If av;sfanca for a LITTLE while and