The Portland daily press., 1897-11-29
LIVING BY the DAY.
10 sioent Butler of Colby University at
Wiliiston Church Yesterday.

nov. Nathaniel Butler, D. D., presi-
ugnv w,,,, VI Colby University, ssssotficiated at
winston church yesterday, and in the
presence of large congregation at the
iAoinAhg service, delivered a very schol-
ariy and powerful sermon on the subject
u Living by the Day." taking the
woros OF his text from Matthew, 9th
onapIer, 34th verse: "Be not anxious
'hereiore for tomorrow Tomorrow will be
ahAious for itself. Sufficient unto the
ua' AZ 6ne evil thereof" He said in part !:
oA IKE Emerson and Carlisle have rem
ooreu their chief service to mankind by
saying Tor us what we vaguely feel, but
oanno6 say for ourselves. They gather
up lor us what otherwise would lie scat
oereo through the books and brains of
men and give it to US in compact forms
lor ready use. Such is this utterance of
"inerson: who so shallibarely and
gradually subdue the gorgon of ccnven-
slon and fashion and show men how to
i've clean, handsome and heroic life
amid the beggardly elements of our
ololes and villages; he who shall teach
ihe now to eat my meat and take my
repose and deal with men without any
sname following, will restore the life of
man to splendor and make his name
dear to all history
| In these words Emerson has sketched
TOT US the true idea of human life, the
simple sphere of noble ambition, yet,
such words as these, and indeed the
words of human authors in general,
auord US only view of what is neces-
sary, but do not give us the means of at
tanning it, This is not to deny the real
help that such writings afford us, but
1T is to point out that such help is dis
tlnctly limited and it warns us against
the error Of forgetting the limitation.
The truth that enough of evil comes of
every day was not for the first time
made known to thu world when Christ
uttered the words Of the text. The great
| question, however, had been what to do
In view of this evil. In its answer to
this question the Christian philosophy
of life stands alone. All other serious
views upon the subject seem to be includ-
ed in the doctrines of either the Epiou-
reans or of the Stoios. Epicurus taught
that pleasure was the chief good thing
| in life. 1t is true that he insisted that
q really happy life could be reached only
| by temperance, chastity and healthy,
| intellectual and moral Development
His doctrine, however, was at the best a
| rofinad SalAahraCc in tho roo ol,i
of his followers it degenerated into
sensualism and licentiousness The
Stoics ON the other hand insisted upon
a fixed objective moral standard and
held that the chief good thing in life Is
| the ability to live in harmony with ma
| ture and the claims of universal good,
and especially in complete Indifference
| to pleasure and pain. The Epicuvean
strove to avoid pain and distress only
to plunge into self indulgence.
| The Stoio strove to be Indifferent to
pain and JOY alike-an impossibility.
The Christian philosophy bids a man
face the ills of life one day at time, as
sured that Divine power and wisdom
| cooperating with human will bring him
| through victor.
The "eyil," mentioned in the text must
be interpreted broadly as including every
| thing which brings with it the possibili-
ty of neglect or wrong Judgment or false
conduct Possible evil as well as actual
objective evil must be understood The
problem of each day is to keep us free
from evil through clearness Of vision,
purity Of heart, courage and diligence;
all these in the highest degree being
! made possible through the indwelling
and cooperation of the Divine spirit.
Thus viewed, daily life takes on a new
meaning. Each day brings with 1t
enough, in. .the fist place, to keep us
thoroughly occupied with that day. We
need not reach forward into the future
and bring back into today burdens,
that do not belong to it. Yet, this is
what we are ever prone to do, and thus
we crowd out what we might successful
| ly handle if we would give to each day
its own appropriate concerns. Full
faith in Divine providence makes it pos
sible for man to dismiss all these su-
perfuous cares and to concentrate him
1
self upon the day. Whether in religion
or business or domestic life, the power
| to concentrate ones self upon the day
| is one secret of peaceful ana fruitful
living.
In the second place each day brings
with 1t enough to train US and bring
out the best thing that is In us. What
ever our. surroundings or our calling, we
can be realizing all our latent power.
The most common place thing done as it
| ought to be done, is an educator, SO that
so far as concerns the perfection of char
acter, we need not fret because our sur
roundings and our duties are not other
| than they actually are. The work of our
| lives consists not in circumstances, but
in ourselves.
In the third place each day brings with
1t enough to prepare US for the future
Faith in God is not, as some think, an
unreasonable disregard of the future
and blind and wilful refusal to exer-
else common prudeDCe and fnresioht