The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1896-04-09
The Value of Contrast.

Most people divide human life
into the pleasant and unpleasant,
the sweet and the bitter, JOY and
sorrow, good and evil, and are apt
to suppose that out of the former
spring all our happiness and wei
fare; out Of the latter all our mis-
cry and failure. But in doing this,
they ignore the fact that contrast
is necessary and valuable element
in life and happiness. All true
art recognizes this need, and min
listers to it. The painter studies
the effect of light and shade, of
the bold and powerful stroke, OF
the quick and delicate touch. The
orator is now fervid and passion
ate, now tender and sympathetic,
now cool and argnmentative. The
actor plays on each emotion IN
turn, now thrilling us with IN
dignation. then melting us with
pity, now convulsing us with laugh
ter, then dissolving us in tears. The
poet portrays the most opposite
phases of character. A recent
English paper speaks Of Shake
spere and Milton illustrating art.
The play that exhibits Iachimo,
one of the greatest villains, gives
us Imogen, the woman that lives
in verse: Miranda is brought
into opposition with Caliban; if
there had not been an Iago, we
should not have had Desdemona;
and for Millions Eve we have to
thank the arch-fend, who was
found by Ithuriel, squat like a
toad" close at her ear, ''essaying
by his devilish art to reach the
organs Of her fancy"
If nature and art are thus rem
dered attractive by contrast, so is
human life in all it's phases. Take
the family, the germ of all society,
and note the contrasts it presents
Here are old and young, man and
woman, strength and weakness,
power and dependence, self-control
and helplessness, dwelling together
in mutual happiness, each devel-
oping the finest points of character
in the rest. Take away the con-
trasts, and the family disappears.
So, in lesser degree, social Cir
cles Of every kind are improved
and elevated by cordial touch of
opposites. The rich and the poor,
the cultured and the uneducated,
the theorist and the practical man,
the young and the old, the mar
ried and the single, the merchant
and the mechanic, can all help
each other, and that society thrives
best which brings them into pleas
ant and wholesome relations.
Capital and labor are great con-
trasts, but only as they come to-
gether in harmonious operation
can the highest value Of either be
evolved. Work and play are SEEM
ing antipodes, yet without play
work will be improbable, and
without work play would yield no
pleasure. Restraint and freedom
are opposed, and in our zeal for
the latter we would often destroy
the former; yet only as the former
is wisely enforced, can the latter
prove the unmixed blessing it is
capable of becoming. Even the
Joy and sorrow Of life, contrasts as
they are, may be brought into har-
mony. Both, when rightly borne,
combine to form the full and rich
character that one alone could
never bring forth. If there were
no dark places in our lives, we
should not value the brightness:
if there were no failures, we should
not care for success: if we had no
disappointments, we should have
few hopes. and without adversely,
prosperity would lose much Of it's
charm. -Minneapolis Times.