The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-02-14
PULPIT EDITORIALS.
Delivered by Df> Frank Crass 1T Trinity
Church, Chicagcv Preceding the Usual
sermon Sunday. Feb. Is, 1908.
TO GET MORE Or TO WANT LESS.
Copyright. 1881

~ | day season was an edition OF Thoreau
a Walden" by Houghten, Miffiin 81 c,
o There is no better work for a. youn
: man in the Sc days and especially
young American, to read. 10 he woal
, learn one OF the profoundest and mos
valuable sesrets of life. The two vol
ume edition in question is a beautifa
setting for the classic treasure O
Thoreau's thoeght. The Introduction L
these volumes is written by Bradford
Torrey, who admirably gets at the hear
OF the alathor. gives IL a good biography
on him and presents to MS a faithful
picture Cf his character. Mr.. Torrey
says that Thoreau's object In living fol
over two years aSnne i'm his hut by Wal
den pond, IN twenty seven cents a day
was not tor shun the world, as an m-
clean or csntamfnating thing, bue, to
live mis- own life, to think his own
thoughts, and. absve al, to solve for
himseaf the question OF how tn live ana
what 10 live for. Are you In want OF
! amusement nowadays?" ne writes tn a
I friend. ''Then play at the little game Of
getting living. Thsre newer was any
thing equal ts 1t. DO it temporarily.
though. and dynt sweat"
The gist OF Thoreaa's philosophy was
the same as that expressed In the home-
lg wisdsm OF Benjamin franklin,
There are two ways of being happy:
We may either diminish our wants or
augment our means" Thgreaus eff
forts werr exert;ed in showing how to-
do the former &nd it lis especially vail
liable to us because ala around us men
are struggling to- do the latter, and we.
that the increase of goods is the only
road TO joy. This strange, man built
him a hut by pond and lived there
summer and winter studying to see how
little he could mead. One cannot read
his picturesque pages without catching
something of his enthusiasm for SIM
plicitY.. Have you ever puaeticed walk. !
ing by the shop windows and revelling-
IN the reflection of how many things
there are you can do without? Have. y
you ever delighted in fofling within |
yourself the shopman's purpose? Heel
aims to show you how much, you ara 4
using his display to- prove to- yourself
how little, you need. But there ISL
nothing new under the sun. Come to
think of it, lit seems to me have bora
rowed that Thought from Socrates.
And Jesus had the same view when He
said: Take heed and beware of covet+
ouspess; for a. MANS life CONSISTENT not
In the abundance of things which he :,
We make much Of, we we1l-nigh wvr-
ship, advantages and equipment We |
speak glowingly OF our opportunities |
our educations and trainings. These
are all tools. But a man is greater
han his tools. How Insignificant are
he things" of literature compared
With the users! Shakespeare had no |
,ypewriter Chauuer frad no grammar
unless a Eatin gramnar), Job had mol
Dante had no patent let
er-file, Pepys had NO access to q clip.
ding bureau, Homer doubtless had not
20 much as a pen. Yet these are the.s
tings OF letters. crowned by the conn.,
non consent of mankind 1t makes lite
lie difference what you have with which
o do "a great gork, TT il is in you to do
t.. God is not on ths side of the strong
st battalions. Opportunity does not
make. the mals.
Mahomet wrote the Koran on, the |
blades OF sheep Shamgar had
10 artillery nor horsemen. but delivered
srael with an OK goad. Sampson slew
he Phillistines with the tawbone of an
tss David did the gianh to death with
/ pebble. Moses cleft the sea with a
'od. The trouble with us now Is, that
We are apt to magnify our institutions
1t the expense of the ever greater per-
Colleges. and training are good
4 you can digest them, and if they do
not eat you. But many Of our courses
)f study are too serong for the medi-
)cre person who is taking them; they
Are taking him. do not wish to teach |
my one to despise training; 50, to under
stand me is to feloniously steal my
meaning; but to encourage the man |
who is so placed he cannot secure 1t.
Dur shoreless sea of literature swamps
more geniuses than 1T floats. Shakes
peare's brain fattened OH the sparse
buffalo grass of Bocaccto and Plutarch;
while the stall-fed caves of this day
Are not worthy to stand under the shad-
DIV of hts barn.
When critical times have called for |
orators TO put the burning emotions of
the people into speech, who were the |
men whom Providence set forth in an
swer to the call? Bare-handed men |
like Patrick Henry, Peter the Hermit, |
Robert Emmett, and Whitfield. And |
how many would-be 'spell-binder,"
stepped to the lips In the art of eloou-
ton, (Which some one called "the art |
of teaching a dog how to wag his tail.") |
with battalions of books and the artil-
lery equipment of a sonorous voice,
drones on to q sleepy world!
True culture does not depend upon J
advantages. 1t is not denoted by the /
blase air of admiring nothing, the arti-
fetal accomplishment Of walking
through wondrous world like a block
head without lifting an eyebrow nor
cracking smile upon an imperturbabls
face.
I'VE see yon birkie, cad lord,
Wha struts and stares an a. thatq
Though hundreds worship at his word
He's but a coof, for a. that"
Burns himself was a good sample NJ
true culture, for 1t was said of hin,
that he was equally at home among the
lowly and among the nobility. II was
I, 10 tnn af NJ /