Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-06-01

sions, all our occupations, we are to
see the Incompatible majesty Of the
man himself. Just this blindness to
the highest values is the indictment
the present may bring against the
past.
II am not like some people who
live only to be angel" said DR..
Hughes. II do not want to be an
angel, ! want to live to be an hundred
years old, each day hundred hours
long, and be busy each hour with
something left over
The supremacy Of the art Of living
is seen in that all other arts are in
tended to minister to life. "Art for
art sake" is fallacy. Art has no
significance apart from man. History
tells us Of an exquisite piece OF sculp-
ture wrought in q high and gloomy
corner Of an old cathedral by an art
ist. 1t was out Of sight for worship.
per and visitor, but the artist said
his careful work was to be seen by
the good God. As lesson in faith
full work the incident is good, but as
an example Of the use Of art we must
condemn the action, as we do that Of
the wealthyart collector who hides his
treasures from the public eye. The
intrinsic value Of the arts must be
estimated by the effect on life. A nor
NAL taste must condemn that which
does not minister to larger, nobler
feeling, thinking and doing. The
sufficient condemnation Of much Of
modern art lies in the fact that it fails
in this mission. So when every
other art has been achieved there
still remains for mastery the finest Of
all the fine arts-the art OF living.
You may not be poet You may
not aspire to those thrones Of power
where sit Homer, Dante, Shakespeare,
Milton, and all the literary court Of
the ages, but you can live the
thoughts that are embalmed in print
er's ink. Your life can be part OF
what DeQuincey calls the 'literature
of power" 1t is a thousand times
better to live an epic than to write
one; it is a thousand times better to
love than to sing about love with the
voice of Patti or Melba it is a
thousand times better to be hero
than to possess the ability to describe
an heroic deed. 1t has been pointed
out by our critics as an interesting
and significant fact that the greatest
writer's have used either the epic or
dramatic form. They find the rea-
son in the fact that these two literary
forms, though differing widely in
other respects, have this in common
they represent life in action. Thus
the highest literature describes the
activity of the human spirit; shows
us men freely expressing themselves
in thought, emotion and deed. But
as in the epic and drama we have the
high water marks of literature--let
us remember that the art of living,
which these forms can only describe,
is infinitely above them. The art of
living is greater than the art Of writ
ing. This then l urge upon my hear.
ers that the elements Of the highest
art In life and that here we can each
Of us become a true artist.
This endeavor to exalt the art Of
living is in keeping with this age Of
achievement. 1t may be true that
today the world is poverty stricken
in genius. 1t may be true that in
Germany, France, England and Amer.
lea there is sad dearth Of greatness.
1t may be true that it is difficult to
recall the name Of truly great poet,
sculptor, musician, orator or writer
1t may be true, as has been suggested,
that Just now there is no very great
person living; that this period is an
inter-regnum in the empire Of mind;
that the great old king is dead and
that the new king is in his minority;
and that common council is ruling
for few years. But it must not be
forgotten that this is a time in which
we are actually realizing,the brilliant
dreams of past genius. The dream
ers may be dead but the workers are