Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-12-07
unfolds the hidden life of thought and
feeling.

I
Rather consists in opening out way
Whence the imprisoned splendor may escape
| Than in effecting entry for light
| supposed to be without
Every truth lies there, deep down in
| the possibilities of mans nature. and
| he knows the future by becoming con-
scious of what he is and of the far
reaching purpose of his life; if his
nature is not essentially immortal
no outward authority can make him
| believe it is. The witness of every
| truth must be directly to our own
| consciousness. whatever makes itself
| felt there is real and undeniable: this
| is the one and only method of vertical
| tiOD for all facts; the truths of science
and art are inner experiences. We
believe in the law of evolution be-
cause it is the law of our own life.
The beauty of the world is seen by the
beautiful soul.
Hegel, the greatest of modern phil
| osophers taught that ''Knowing and
Being are one" Being is the condi-
tion of Knowing, that is we must live
| a progressive life, we must look in the
direction where the light shines, we
must follow the indications: there
must be strong desire and effort.
Revelations never come to the
indolent or half hearted. We have to
think and feel our way into every
realm; we have to put energy into our
search and never cease until we find.
Activity expands the mind and
creates perception. When man uses
his eyes they grow in power and he
behOldS more of the world. So when
a man thinks he develops a rational
life and sees Reason in the world.
BY intellectual activity-wider and
deeper study he increases his power to
understand he enricheS the mind
with larger, ripper thoughts-he rises
from lower to higher consciousness,
what he once doubted or denied be-
comes certainty for his eyes have
opened and he sees clearly, his expert
ence has widened to comprehend more
facts. When he looked upon the world
with his outer eye only. he was
MaterialiSt and believed there was no
other world; as he began to reflect he
was conscious Of being brought into
touch with something he could not
see or feel. an unseen element entered
into his life: the more he tries to
understand this mysterious presence
the more is he impressed with it's
reality and SO he rises from simple
sensation to a vision of high and sub
lime truth-tO faith in a spiritual
world.
To know is a progressive process.
Truth is not d ready-made, outside
thing. We can have no better de-
scrlption of it's real nature than that
of the greatest Teacher, ''The words
that | speak unto you are spirit and
life" We may know all the creedS
and yet be ignorant of truth. We
shall always miss it if we are seeking a
definition or finished final utterance.
If the truth is spirit and life there is
movement-SOme unrealized purpose
greater and wiser than we have yet
seen, if we would know the truth
we must learn the purpose. We
learn ar 7He I've the. life of earnest,
honest thought and high moral endea-
vor. Life only can find life. Think
ing only can know thought, and
loyalty to the moral ideal brings man
into the divine presence. No man who
lives true life doubts the existence
of truth: as he strives to live worthily
the quality of his life changes, it's
value increases, he feels it is too good
to periSh-he is conscious of it's ever
lasting destiny.
''Our best beliefs from best affect ions spring.
The right disposition of the heart is
essential to the discovery of the eter
nal facts, if we love truth the path
way is sure to open. BLESSED are the
pure in heart for they shall see God"
is as sure of fultilment as BLESSED are
the lovers of knowledge for they shall
find wisdom" We cannot separate
the moral from the intellectual acti-
witty in the quest of the greatest truth.
Novalis emphasizes it when he claims
that "Moral action is the great and
only experiment which explains the
riddles of our existence" 1t is certain
that life is both intellectual and
moral, and as truth is not only thought,
but thought which is pure and good,
the man who seeks it with the intel
lect alone will not ind it.
Every aspect of nature has this
moral quality and can only be seen by
the sincere and good. The beauty of
the world, for example is hidden to
those who harbOr evil thoughts, they
pervert and obscure the vision; and it
is contrary to the nature of things
that a man who dwells habitually
with what is coarse should believe in
the reality of spirit.
| No. Revelation is to the whole life,
and man must live out his full life
before it can shine upon him in all its
SplendOr. He must exercise every
faculty and power, bring his whole ma
ture into play, the head and the
heart, reason and feeling.
You remember Darwin's confession,
hot Il &c f,,a
had become atrophied by neglect and
nature, and so a man may doubt
the existence of realities simply
because he is centred on one Or two
| things, habitually absorbed by them.
He may keep his head bent down to
the earth until he loses sight of the
stars in the heavens: it is only as he
conscious of invisible Influences
| bounds, lifting it above all that is
| trivial and transient.
| | met with striking illustration of
this natural growth into faith in one
of my recent visits. A lady who had
been sick for several years told me
how the truths of religion had become
real to her. L have had plenty of
time to think she said ''as | could do
nothing but sit and lie here, felt
must have something to help me to
bear my suffering, and the more
thought of it | was convinced that
the only help for me was in believing it
to be for some wise and good purpose
that | was in the care of Higher
Power. AS this thought became habit
with me light and strength came into
] my life. [ felt I WAS In communion