The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-14

tnat Wutn IOe SOUL nESL. iNS AihHS
relationship to God, perennial JOY hrst
springs in the heart. 1t Is impossible TO
make man happy without hope. Hope
can not live when holiness is lost, out OF
the universe. Genuine gladness is first
tasted of man when he realizes that ne
has a Father in heaven Interested IN his
welfare. He that believes himself to be
a child of chance is like a ship on an un-
known sea in the midst of terrible
storm, without compass or rudder
To analyze a nations Joy Is to become
acquainted with Its religion; to study Its
songs is to know its strength. The char
acter of the nations gladness is ever de-
termined by the character of its relig-
ious conception. The river of rejoicing
never rises higher than the level of the
religious force which gives II momentum.
a smile may be controlled by the mus
cles OF the face, but happiness Is con-
trolled only by the motives of the heart.
Genuine gladness is but one of the many
expressions of genuine goodness. Godli-
ness Is not only the genesis and the gem
ius, but the guard of gladness Glad
ness is God-givcn and God-guarded. At
is good gift, and God gives and guards
every good gift. AS garrison protects
citadel, so Godliness guards gladness.
Righteousness is the refuge of rejoicing.
religion Is the defense of nations Joy.
and the bulwarks Of the nations lib
erty, love and peace. Godliness is alone
the efficient defense from the enemies
who would destroy nations joy. 1t
alone furnishes the strength and fosters
the fortitude necessary to perpetuate
nations peace.
GARRISONS A NATION.
The piety that promotes peace and pros
perity garrsons a nations Eladness. The
stronghold of a nations joy is not the
wealth of revenue. not the strength of
arms, not the wisdom of statesmen, but
that virtue, love, truth, which is born
OF Godliness. The happiness of n nation
is only secure when it is hidden in the
heart of holiness While virtue is hon
ored, peace is undisturbed. While right
eousness rules the nation, the spirit of
rejoicing reigns without a rival While
moral goodness defends a nation, joy
will gladden. the heart. Let the moral
life lower its tone, let seltishness control
the affairs of a nation, and greed and
avarice will sap the nations joy. and
leave the land in the hands of dark and
dismal despair.
While nation is righteous, and while
reverence rules in the heart, it's joy is
invulnerable. it's peace perennial, and its
Eladness as immortal as God. He that
would protect efficiently the joy of this
republic and perpetuate its peace, let
him seek to foster that religious senti-
ment and that Goodness. which alone
is a sufficient bulwark and a garrison of
sufficient strength to guard it's gladness.
No true patriot will updervalue eladness
ane no one rightly values gladness who
uuGervalues the Godliness which alone
is its sufficient guard and great garri-
son
Gladness guards greatness: Godliness
generates gladness, and gladness gener-
ates greatness. A nation becomes strong
to the degree that 1t is joyous, and great
to the degree that it is glad. Genuine
gadness guards the growth and garri-
sons the greatness of a nation against
all who would rob 1t of it's glory. A
glad nation possesses one of the most
essential elements of greatness, that
which makes 1t irresistible and invulner-
able This is greatness. Cheerfulness Is
ever confident; confidence is ever cour-
ageous; courage is an element in the
character of greatness. What gives
strength promotes greatness. What pro-
notes the growth of greatness protects
Its glory, what guards it's glory makes
1t great. Thus our text in saying that
JOY Is a stronghold Of the nation teaches
us that gladness generates greatness.
THE SECRET OF STRENGTH.
This will be admitted of all who will
accept the teaching of the text that the
spirit of joy is the secret of strength.
This is truth which has been strangely
overlooked throughout the centuries. In
deed, 1t is marvellous wv few expert
mentally believe il L. how little has
ever been spoken or written concerning
this all-important truth, the contribution
of gladness to greatness. The importance
of right conception of it can not easily
be over-estimated, and this apathy and
Indifference toward it, can only be ex-
planned by practical unbelief in it's value.
Volumes upon volumes have been writ
ten on the influence and value of sor-
the DSfOrDoiney tpndarnxy md ,a
streng th-giving influence of sorrow have
been eulogiZed for centuries, until we
nave come TO associate greatness with
grief, strength with sorrow, and ma
jesty of mind with melancholy. But we
may search the great libraries in vain
for any work written on joy as an ele-
ment of strength, and gladness as a con-
trolling element In greatness. True,
little has been written on the negative
side, showing the dangerous influence of
pessimism, but next to nothing has been
written on the power of optimism to pro-
mote greatness.
Nevertheless. it is gloriously true that
gladness generates greatness. In indi-
Vidual experience no one doubts the Ver-
acity of this statement. We only expect
TO accomplish anything to the extent that
We are happy and hopeful. Our success
is ever commensurate with our conf
dence and courage, nurtured by cheer
fulness. Dependency and despair dim
the eye, consume the energy and par
alyze the arm necessary to do deeds of
daring. Exuberance of spirit is essen
tial to the strides of excelsior on the
sleeps of evolution. The sterling strength
of hope is essential to reach the SUI
preme heights of success. Ambition can
not live where hope does not love. Where
hope dwells, there is happiness. This
must be true of the nation.
A nation will soon become what it be-
lieves itself to be. If pessimism is al
lowed to live unchallenged, and the ma
tion believes that its politics has gone
to the devil, and its government be-
come the embodiment of greed and avar-
icee, then its doom is not far distant
on the other hand, the nation that has
confidence in itself, that is ever young
whose Joy is a perennial spring, whose
cheerfulness permeates the whole body
polite and whose vim and vivacity vivify
its character, moves with majestic
strides on the path of progress. The
nation that dwells on the great and good
deeds of its heroes, which is so con-
scious OF it's glorious possibilities as to
be made glad of heart, that remembers
only victory, having buried failure in
oblivion, this optimistic and glad nation
must inevitably be great
1t is not an accident of nature that
the greatest deeds of the world are ever