The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-05

sees great railroad systems crossing
the desert, and a nation builds them.
He forms and carries out large plans,
because he sees large visions, every
where the greatest financiers will be
found to be men of large imagination.
In every department of life the imagi-
nation acts the part of plodd-ng " a
horse in carrying on the worlds work.
But while it is a faithful plodder it is
also something more. 1t lifts the soul
of man above the common place TO
where it can see the larger vision and
comprehend the grander possibilities
OF life. 1t is the true interpreter OF ma
ture, the inspirer of music, poetry and
art. A photograph cannot interpret
nature. 1t lacks perspective. In
photograph the highest mountain looks
no larger than the little hill. The power
of Imagination must aid the artists
touch before the picture can express
the beauty and sublimity of nature.
1t requires idealization to bring out
the truth. Imagination is the gateway
through which we gain admittance into
the realm of thought. Ideas are
intangible. No eye has seen them and
no hand has touched them. They are
locked away from the apprehension of
the senses. But the power of ina gina
ton opens the way for man into the
world of ideality 1t becomes therefore
the parent Of all philosophy.
But more than this, imagination leads
the way toward apprehension of the
infinite. 1t is the voice of God whis-
pering to the soul of man. 1t tells of a
divine origin and an immortal destiny.
1t shows to man the higher vision and
points the way to God.
The preacher recognized that there
were dangers in the use Of the fmagina-
ton. There is the danger that arises
from a diseased ina gination wherein
the sewerage of impure thought makes
the agination an open ceSspoo1, to
poison and pollute the streams of life.
There is also the danger OF uncon-
trolled imagination, uprestrained by
common sense or reason ana leading IT'S
possessor into wild extravaganza. But
far more dangerous than either of these
is the danger of unrelated ina ination,
which finds no outlet into action, so
that its possessor becomes al .a4r
dreamer.
This last danger suggests the right
use of the imagination, and our true
relation to its power. Man stands al
ways between the heavenly vision and
the daily duty. On one side of him
stands imagination pointing out the
vision of ideal goodness, truth and
beauty. On the other side stands duty
pointing to the little tasks he ought to
do each day. Some embrace the vision
ard forget the task. These are the
visionary dreamers who pass their lives
! in clustered walls or in solitary medi-
tation. Others turn their backs upon
the vision and go plodding at their
tasks. These miss the inspiration and
the joy of life. But he is wisest who
learns to value both, drawing inspira-
ton from the one while he obeys the
direction of the other, and thus makes
life complete and rich and beautiful.
This was what st. Paul meant when
he said that he had not been disobedi-
ent unto the heavenly vision. No man
was ever more practical than Paul,
more intensely active or more widely
influential. But every act and word
and thought was influenced by the
heavenly vision that burst upon his
soul, and the voice that spoke to him
cut Of the light. He was no idle
dreamer meditating on the vision, but
whatever he did the vision was al
ways present with him and gave sub
Unity to all he wrought
This is the great lesson for our gen
eraion-frst with uplifted hearts to
apprehend the vision of the good, the
beautiful and true and then with
earnest lives to transmute the vision
into deeds.