The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1896-08-08

Love is a passion. It is a God
given passion. When the Divine
Being created man in the image of
Himself he created in him the pas.
sion of love, because it was intend
ed in the Divine plan that love
should be the ruling passion Of the
world. And so it is.
Love is not only a passion, but
it is q sentiment. Love is paradox
ical. This, because, while the mean.
ing of love is faithfulness, devotion
and truth, love creates faithlessness,
neglect and falsehood. This may
seem strange to one set of persons
in the social world, yet to another
should they study it and think of
it they would not be surprised.
Love has made and wrecked kings
and empires. 1t has made and
ruined men and women socially,
financially and physically. In olden
times, before civilization was what
it is now, love created kingdoms
by its force exercised between two
affectionate beings whose love was
sufficient to overcome all obstacles
Of politics and diplomacy; it has
wrecked empires by it's unholiness
and the intrigues that followed it
has made men and women by the
influence it had over the conduct
Of their lives; it socially, financial
ly and physically ruined them for
the same reason. It is written in
David's Psalms that "Man that is
born of woman is of few days and
full of trouble. He cometh forth
as flower and is cut down; he
tleeth also as shadow and contin-
ueth not" And why is this, in q
large number of instances2 Simply
because of love. This may seem
to be a queer assertion. Yet, it is
true, for while love is a natural
passion, one born of the highest
attributes of mankind, yet it be-
comes at times passion that causes
unnatural results. Philosophers
who are cynics, and many of them
are, say that
LOVE Is ONLY SUPERFICIAL;
that it is q passion ephemeral in its
nature, passing fancy. That is
true of many persons who make of
love only a passion, divesting it
of all its sentiment, truthfulness
and fidelity.
But love, taken as a truism, is
divine, and, like all things of d.
vine origin, depends upon human
kind for its development into that
which is good and true or its de-
basement into that which is wicked
and false. Thus one might go on
for quantity and quality as to what
love is capable of, but there are
many specific instances in past
and daily history of what men and
women have done as the result of
their affection for each other.
True love never dies, and that is
illustrated by the life of the late
Democratic statesman, Frank Hurd,
who, because he did not get the
sweetheart of his youth, never mar
ried. While this is an instance of
taithfulness because of love, yet
the contrary has been known. A
divorce was tried in this county
not long ago where the testimony
showed that man loved his wife
so that he was constantly jealous
Of her. She could not leave the
house to 60 to peddler's wagon
TO buy food but that be accused
her of flirting with the peddler.
This sort of suspicion grew upon
him by his own cultivation of it,
that finally. when be would return
from his work and learn that she
had been out of the house during the
dayihe would upbraid her and beat
her. Then he would ask for forgive
ness and declare his love for her.
Famous men in history have
done strange things on account of
love. Marc Antony threw away
all the greatness in store for him in
life because of bis love for the
beautiful and fascinating Cleopatra.
Dante, the great Italian poet,
was made ridiculous by his love
for Beatrice. He says himself that
so powerful was the spell of Beat
rice's person that l had to avoid
her. From thinking of this most
gracious creature I became 30 weak
and lean that it was irksome for
my friends to look at me. At one
time, because the object of his love
failed to smile upon him, he went
to a lonely spot aud bathed the
ground with his tears. Think of a
man like Dante being thus affected
It is related of Ulrich Won Lich-
tenstein, q German, that to chow
his love for woman he amputated
one of his fingers and carried it to
her, thus indicating what be could
endure because of his love. He
also, at her command, drank from
the same bowl with lepers, to show
that he would obey her requests.
1t is related of a man who lived
in Switzerland that because of re-
mark he made about the woman