The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-08-02
THE SUNDAY PULPIT
WE BELONG TO TWO WORLDS:
(New York Herald.)

ne NOIli NiSStlH Il - hA4
thereof: but he that doeth the Will or
God ahideth for.ver.-I. John. H.. II.
Il am a man of the world That IS
your boast. But it Is really nothing 10
boast of. for you have diSSipated one h'll
Of your heritage. Or perhaps you nave
never known anything about THAT lost
half. The ideal man Is not simply ana
only a man of the world, but a man OF
two worlds. Until he recognizes that
fact and governs himself accordingly he
cannot sing his song with a clear voice
or do his own soul justice.
There must be two sides to a twenty
dollar gold piece or it is not genuine. In
like manner a genuine life must have
two worlds in view all the time.
This lower world is mans field Of &C
ton. in which he shows his mettle, Il
in which he not only forms his charac-
ter, just as Il boy learns his lessons AT
school. but adds to the aggregate strength
or weakness of his fellows. If he IS
abiaze others will light their candles
at his fire: if he is merely cold ashes
they will blow into peoples eyes and 50
blind them that they cannot see the
truth.
The other world is a reservoir from
which he draws daily inspiration. pa
thence with which to achieve under diff
fculties. hope. cheerfulness, spiritual re-
pose and resignation which SWeetenS the
soul that would otherwise be emblttered.
When a man is only half himself he is
satisfied with to-day. its ambitions and
pleasures. When he is his whole self
this world is too narrow for his soul and
he finds Il peculiar happiness in The
contemplation of another sphere which
will furnish him the opportunity to attain
his manifest destiny.
1t seems very odd to hear a man argue
that he is under no obligation to obey
a Coo whom he has never publicly con
feSSed. He is :; man of the world. Meth
er knows nor cares anything about re-
ligion, and therefore claims the right to
do as he pleases.
Now. it is 4 mans business to know
something about the laws Of the world
he lives in. and it will not help him in
the least to shrug his shoulders and
declare that he does not believe in those
laws. The stern fact is that the laws
will act whether he believes in them or
not. They are quite independent of
, anything he may or may not believe. and
after 4 while he will learn that it is
very much more to his interest to know
| what they are and to give strict heed
L ~ iitIl tht1 " III ~ VI my
their existence.
He sees this with regard to physical
law and is very careful about breaking
it. When standing on the edge of 4 precl-
pice he may deny the existence Of gravi-
.~tatiOn. but he will not take the leap
and thus show the courage of his con-
victions. The law does not care a
jot or title about his personal theories.
1t will do its work in spite of his argu-
ments. and he will certainly suffer the
consequence of his rashnesS.
The spiritual law is equally rigid,
though it acts more slowly. IOr that
! reason some men are deceived. You
5 may not believe in purity of body, but
still the revengeS of time are awful. You
may ignore all moral principles, you may
even succeed so far as to make a for
tune based on evil practices, but when
you investigate your own character, if
YOU ever dare to do so. you will be
forced to acknowledge that you know
little about the sweetest and most re
poseful and joyous part of life. and that
YOU have been feeding on the husks
which the swine did eat
| know Of no spectacle more painful
to contemplate than that of Il man who
has persistently used the world for pur-
poses Of selfish gain, ignoring all obliga-
tons of honesty, charity and generosity,
and then in his old age sees himself just
as he is-dWarfed, twisted, incapable of
holy emotions or high aspirations; Il poor,
miserable creature who has lived 4 mis-
take and reached a period beyond which
recovery is impossible so far as this
life is concerned. For such a man to
see himself just as he is, to measure his
own exact weight. to know wildly how
he is regarded by his fellow men, to
be conscious that his example, as bad
us it is brilliant, has led scores astray-
that must be Il doom too dreadful for
words to express. | nave heard a great
deal about he'll. but that man can tel!
me of more horrors thar | have ever
conceived.
70 have your sou take you in hand
and show you how you ave abused it.
to have some angel paint the picture of
!; what YOU might have been and then
force YOU by divine compulsion to com
pare it with what YOU really are, tina
would be simply awful.
If YOU answer the charges Of the angel
by saying that you are a man of the
world the reply will be forthcoming like
Il peal of thunder:-"YOu were not born
to be a man OF the world. but a man
+ Cod If YOU know enough to use this
world YOU should know enough to use
i in such way that if there is any other
world you will be fitted to enter it with
out shame
No.: there is but one way to live. and
that is to live justly. The world is large
and wide, but there is no spot where a
man can hide from the moral con
sequence of dishonesty. 4 noble char
acter IS not created. it is made. Ever
on the low plane of pure eXpediency il
IS better to be true to yourself than TO bf
false. You cannot ignore a tornado. yor
must protect yourself against it. You can
not ignore God or His laws. for they re
fuse to be ignored.
Religion is only another word for com
mon sense. It IS not 4 mystery. it is
4 plain and simple fact. If Won live
grandly. nobly. justly. if you direct YOU
voyage by the stars. if YOU can look tht
world III the face without a blush. know
, ne that the world can see your soul and
f your motives as we'll as your actions. Won
H. Y tho kind 1f