The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-09-08


 was in our Whittiers, and Garrisons. and Phillipses. and Summers and Beechers, was, as it were, set on fire by the touch of a burning cause and glow ing ideals. And not less can it be seen in the great women such as our novel, ist who has lately gone.
 We look about us to-day and we see so many people giving expression to only the low and common impulses of their being We see so many young men devoting their lives to things un- worthy of their nature, to things which add nothing to their own lives or to the world. We see so many young women seeking only those things which culti- Vate only the lighter and more super tictal part of their natures, So every where we see our young people-and old, too, for that matter-giving them selves over to things that are utterly unworthy of them as children of God, when they might be consecrating themselves to high and noble things which would deepen and enrich their lives in many ways, and call out their best and truest And we often hear the cry Have these young men lost all that nobleness and manliness and aspi- ration that is the glory of a young man? Have they lost that love for country, that care for it's welfare and for the purity of the nation; or have our young women lost all that pride of beauty of character, all that capacity for breadth of sympathy and depth of feeling and culture of soul that is the glory of a woman?" No, this is not so and none of us believe it true. think the whole trouble is that no high ideal. no great ambition, no apparent cause that calls for sacrifice and endeavor, no great force of love, no rich, inspiring personality has touched their lives. They have not felt the touch of any thing in their hearts that was high enough to unlock their .truest, fairest self.
 We often hear the older men say to- day that if another great war should break out there would not be the same great rising of young men to offer themselves in sacrifice at the altar of truth and freedom; that the same glowing patriotism and spirit of devo- tion to home and country would not manifest itself; that the young men of to-day are more degenerate than the fathers and do not respond so nobly to the call of duty; that they have not the manly fibre of the fathers. They said the same things before the war; but when the time came and some plain, visible cause, all glowing and burning, D. scented itself to the young nen of those days, they responded and rose to the occasion ard left noble records on sea and land. So it would be to-day. Just so soon as the young men felt some cause calling them they would re- spond. But there are just as great causes, there are just as noble ideals, and there are most inspiring men. The trouble is the young men and wo- men do not see and feel them. The first duty and the glory of the preacher and the teacher is the bringing of these things into the lives of young men and women, pointing them to that which will call out their completest nature and striving to make his own an in spring and quickening life to others.
 There is in each one of us far greater depths of being than the world sees or knows. There is in all of us the capac- ity and possibility to become much higher and nobler than we are, to grow into larger and richer character, to rise into greater grace and purity of life. I can't look into the face of a young person, even of one living the narrowest existence, without wonder ing what, in the grace of God, that young man or woman might become could I but bring some high ideal or | glowing cause or great life to touch the heart and stir to action what may be there. I wonder always, in the pres ence of some young man what great capacity of earnest living and conse- cration there is there; what spark of the divine that might glow and burn if only I could bring the divine spirit to touch his heart through Christ or any | other man. I have-and you have seen such an one suddenly awakened | and miracle has been wrought before | our eyes. l have seen a young man | living the commonest kind of life, go- | ing on from day to day with no shadow of an ideal before him, no purpose be- | beckoning him on nothing above the commonest asserting itself in any way; l suddenly in some way a high purpose 1 lays it's hold upon him, some ideal worthy of his noblest effort presents | itself unto him. or he feels an impelling | call to be more than he is-a scholar, a patriot, a hero, or better than all, the l Christ has touched his heart. The soul responds and a change is wrought be- fore our eyes such as when Saul felt the same touch on the way to Damas- | GUS and arose a new man and an apos- tie. He we thought of commonest ca pacity suddenly reveals to the world | that there is in him such stuff as he- roes are made of. Or we have seen some girl who has expressed only the l shallowest part of her nature, respond 1 to the touch of some new high power | that has come into her life, and unfold | into a depth of beauty of being that | cannot be surpassed by anything on earth. What was wanted was the mere touching of the life by the powers from without to kindle the life powers | within. Deep calleth unto deep"
 | Now the great need of to-day is to call out the highest, truest, completest | life of people all the time. We want, all the time, the kind of life that is | lived in the presence of these occasion al moments of deep great impelling | motives. We want to have the every l day life of the people heroic. We want the heroism of the battlefield, the en- 1 thusiasm of great movements, to be |