The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-05-03
THE SEASONS ANp THE SOUL.

THE SEASONS AND THE SOUL
I Seedtime and harvest, and cold aud heat,
and summer and winter. and day and night,
Genesis, viii, -.
These are the changes which mark the
recurring seasons OF the year. and their
counterparts are TO be found In the life
Of man. A year and a man pass through
precisely the same experience. for in the
history OF every human being are TO be
found periods OF heat and cold. OF seed
time OF harvest. and of day and night
The thoughtful man. who carefully
watches what may be called the strug-
giles of nature. its Joys, its shadows, its
clear and cloudy skies, its fragrant
flowers and -oxious weeds. must feel as
though he were looking into the glass Of
fate, wherein he secs reflected all the
peculiarities OF his own spiritual hfe. He
and nature are passing through precisely
the same changes, and there is neither
weed. nor flower. neither ice nor heat,
neither tempest nor calm. for the one
WHICH AtA- OAtlFI AOtS llbN flIAllF
ence
What more exqcisite in their beauty,
their fragrance and their mystery than
the bubbling. babbling. Joyous spring.
times of nature and of nan? We are
puzzled by the process OF growth in both
instances and by the boundless exuber-
ance OF both.
Within the seed is a handful OF ON
Impotence. a moiety of intelligence, and
when II is bedded II silently sets about
a task so maveilous that II you were to
see its work for the first time you would
hardly contain yourself for wcnder.
What is that divine propulsion which
draws from the soil materials which the
most skilfuI chemist cannot reach?
The boy is spiritually seed also, and
the mystery OF his growth is equally be-
yond solution What marvels Of posi-
bility are packed within that narrow
soul! AS the sculptor finds an angel in
every block Of marble, and with hammer
and chisel slowly brings 1t TO view, so
in every boy there is a grandeur OF char
acter, an archangers excellence, al the
elements Of that kind OF success which
God smiles upon. They need but the
Masters hand and the discipline Of life,
and then you win see a true nobleman-
The springtime fs full Of gladness and
fragrance and laughter and a certain
kind OF happiness; but is 1t, after all,
the best season? l think not.
Then comes the summer, with its tor
rid heat. its fields Of ripening grain. It's
vineyards and orchards laden with their
luscious products. Nature has heen
hard at work. and the results Of her
toll are in evidence. The very planet
must be heavier, since all the blossoms
Of spring have changed 20 fruit so gen.
erous in weight that the branches can
hardly bear the strain. Abundance,
abundance everywhere.
An equally curious transition has come
to the boy. Childish things have been
put away, and he Is bearing with the full
strength Of physical maturity the heat
and burden Of the day. With godlike
intellect he makes companions Of the
stars and forces from them secrets
which stretch through the countless
years Of the past; he corrals for the
practical benefit of mankind the in
Vulnerable natural laws which have
never before known subjection except to
the will Of God. They are tanned and
harnessed and become cs ohedient and
docile as were the genii Of fairy tales.
Summer is the season 3f achievement.
The man has developed capacities which
excite our wonder, for he grasps the
east and the west with his two hands.
The earth trembles under his feet, and
the heavens are within easy reach. And
vet the appetite for knowledge grows by
what it feeds on, and he Is impressed
and oppressed by the consciousness that
he has not reached the limit Of discoy-
cry. or of his own ability to dis
cover. Is It true that he will continue
10 grow, or is there a boundary which
he cannot pass? 1t has not yet been
found, and the future oeckons him TO
still greater accomplishment.
Therefore say the summer Of life is
not its best season.
Autumn comes with its chilling frosts,
and winter treads on autunn's heels, its
arms full of snow and ice. The earth
Yields up its glorious harvests, then be-
comes drowsy and soon falls on slum-
Der. The sap no longer flows, the leaves
wither and cover the ground, the trees