The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-05-09
vrrruE As A MERIT.

mended. ard its absence regarded as a
persora, fault 70 be condemned Those
who no~-ess any virtue consider them
selves entitled to especial praise. and at
tribute Il usually TO voluntary and
active exercise Of Will There Is virtue
which is fostered by sel<-control and ex-
erted at a sacrifice Of inclination, but the
most usual forms Of virtue are those
which arise from entirely involuntary
causes and thrive upon passive acquies-
cence-
Courage, cheerfulness. generosity. tenn
perance, chastity, hrmness are all forms
of virtue to be found In men and women.
They are always commendable, no doubt.
but they are not by any means the result
Of conscientiousness. Very often they are
no more than the result of natural charac-
ter. needing no seif-sacrifice to assert
them. and calling for no heroic effort to
maintain them In the face Of temptation
and assault. The possession of courage is
not obtained by cultivation: II Is gift OF
nature. 1t Is accompanied by robustness
OF physique, and knows no law OF arti-
fetal stimulation. This Is even more usu-
ally the case with chastity. Very mild
hammered men may be goaded BY injustice
10 display of aggressive or resisting
courage which is unusual In the ordinary
course of life. Chastity Is far more de-
pendent upon heredity and physical con-
stitution than upon watchful self-suppres-
sion and active self-control. Psychologists
and physicians know this to be true; they
know that II is to this benefcent cause
society owes Its purity and the home Its
sanctity. They realize that 1t Is not the
same in men as in women, because the
physical conditions are different.
Generosity is a happy possession, but it
is not q cultivated virtue. The generous
disposition is to be found not only In its
manifestation of unselfshness toward
others, but as the result of a desire to be
good-natured. It's presence is indicated by
the conformation of the head the outline
of the chin, the curve of the lips and, it
is said with perhaps less certainty, In
the shape of the hand. These physical
will. They reside in the individual as the
outcome of prenatal inheritance.
The unfailing fountain of cheerfulness,
which scatters its hopeful spray in the
darkest hours and In the deepest shadows
Of life, which murmurs encouragement
before the most formidable obstacles and
remains unchecked in the severest trials,
is a blessing to the possessor and help
to those brought within its influence. But
1t cannot be produced by artificial means.
If the heart is a gloomy cave of fore
boding and despair. no effort of the will
can turn 1t into a well-spring OF sunny
hopefulness. Its presence is marked by
the light of the eye. by that spiritual fire
whose first spark was engendered before
the soul entered its human frame; it 10
known by the smile which is not of the
lips alone. and cannot be simulated by the
artifice of the actor.
When virtue is entitled to worship 10
when it becomes courage in the deter
mnation OF the shrinking; when generos-
ity is cultivated in the grasping nav Of
heart overcomes its tendency to see only
the dark side and schools itself to con-
fdence and cheerfuiness. Chastity is to
be revered as the saintliest virtue when
its sweet serenity is preserved only after
battle with the allurements of opportun-
ity and the stimulation of the emotions
stirred by strong affection.
As the mere quiescent presence of the
virtues does not always entitie the pos
SCISSOR so much to praise as to claim to
be cnvied; so their absence does not al
ways call SO much for harsh and unmiti-
gated censure as for pity. The heredity
of sin may or may not be directly trace
sble to the fall OF man, as related In the
Scriptures. but 1t exists. To the virtuous
and good, the practice OF the virtues is
easy. and the effort to violate the instincts
is rarely made. To the naturally de-
pravcd-and almost all men and women
are depraved in some kind and I'm sor,e
degree-the temptation to do wrong Is
only yielding TO a natural desire. and
resistance of Il calls forth a positive de-
termination and sometimes heroic self
will.
Nowhere in all the Scriptures which tell
Of the teachings of Christ is a knowledge
Of human nature better displayed. more
subsimely interpreted than In the glorious
passage which says. There is more re-
to4eing in heaven over one penitent sinner
than over ninety and nine who are
righteous
The virtuous owe most of their virtue 10
whatever there is OF the divine in human
nature: the unrighteous who control the
weaknesses and fraiities. and become In
any degree better than their unchecked
inelinatsons would make them. achieve
victory whose magnitude and glory the
Savior OF mankind acknowledged when he
extended the hand OF welcome to him who
voluntarily gave up the world. the flesh
and the deyn and entered the fold OF the
Shepherd OF the soul.