The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1899-03-16
RED TAPE OF Duty.
Simple Duty is Duty-Nothing More.
LOVE AND COMMON SENSE ALSO
NEEDED.
Saturday Evening Post.

collected. Duty is eyer paying asses
ments; love is constantly counting i,
premiums.
Duty is forced, like pump: love
spontaneous, like fountain. Duty j
prescribed and formal; it is part of til
red tape of life. 1t means running o.
moral rails. 1t is good enough as
beginning it is poor as finaiity.
The boy who :'stood on the burnr.
deck" and who committed suicide on
technical point of obedience, has bee,
held up to the school children of thi
century as model Of taithfulness t.
duty. The boy was the victim of bllne
adherence to the red tape Of duty. He
was placing the whole responsible,
for his acts on some one outside him
self. he was helpIessly waiting for in
structlon in the hour Of emergency
when he should have acted for himself
His act was an empty sacrifice 1t was
a useless throwing away of human
lie. 1t did no good to the father, tc
the boy, to the ship, or to the nation.
The captain who goes down with his
sinking vessel, when he has done eve.
rything in his power to save others ana
when he can save his own life without
dlshonor, is the victim OF false sense
OF duty. He is cruelty forgetful OF the
loved ones on shore that he is sacrifice
ing. His death means spectacular
exit from life, the cowardly fear of an
investigating committee, or brave
mans loyal, yet misguided, sense OF
duty. A human life, with it's Won
drons possibilities, Is too sacred an in
dlvidual trust to be thus lightly thrown
into eternity.
They tell us of the sublime noble
ness OF the Roman soldier at Pompeii,
whose skeleton was found centuries at
terward, imbedded in the once molten
lava which swept down upon the |
doomed city. He was still grasping
sword in his crumbling fingers. His
was morbid faithtulness to dbl, ,
line from which great convulsion OF
nature released him. An ausomaton
would have stood there Just as long,
as boldly. just as uselessly.
The man who gives one hour of his
lie to loving, conseerated service to
humanity is doing higher, better, truer
work In the world than an army of Ro-
man sentlneis paying useless tribute to
the red tape of duty. There is in this
Interpretation OF duty no sympathy
with the man who deserts his post ,
when needed ; it is but protest gainst .
losing the essence, the realness OF true ,
duty In "orshiping the mere form. ,
Anayze, If you will, any OF the great t
historic instances of loyalty to duty. c
and whenever they ring true you Will ,
ind the presence of the real element t
that made the act almost divine. 1t s
was duty,-plus love. It was no mere /
sense OF duty that made Grace Darlinp f
risk her life IN the awful storm of six i
Ly years ago: when she set out in the /
darkness of night, on a raging sea. to t.
rescue the survivors of the wreck nj 4
The Forfarshire" It was tho sense If +,
iuty' warmed and viyiGed by love Of e.
humanity, heroic courage, heart filled n
With divine pity and sympathy. s.
DUTY Is hard, mechanical process o
or making men do things that love IL
would make easy. 1t is a poor under al
tudy to love. 1t is not high enough al
motive with which to inspire humani-
y. Duty is the body to which love ia n
ne soul. Love, in the divine alchemy e
i hfe' transmutes all duties Into privi- &c
7ges, all responsibilities into lows. h,
The workman who drops his tools at re
ne stroke OF twelve as suddenly as il W
re had been struck by lightning NAV al
e doing his duty, but he is doing +,
otblng more. No man has made \,
reat success OF his life OR fit prepa- he
alton for immortality by doing mere i,
his duty. He must do that. and -,
lore. II he puts love into his work 60
ne "more" will be easy. ~,
The nurse may watch faithfully at 10
ie bedside OF a sick child as q dntv -.
ut to the mothers heart the care Of ,r
re little one In the battle against 90
cath is never duty the golden man. q
OF love thrown over every act makes fe,
le word duty haye Earring sound as ~,
desecration. r.
When child turns out badly in 10,
ter years, the parent may say, "Well do
always did my duty by him." Then tai
Is no wonder the boy turned out gu
rong. "Doing his duty by his son"
often implies merely food, lodging sid
othes and education supplied by the ret
ther. Why, a public institution DO,
'uid give that! What the bow need cen
most was deep draughts of love he "A
eded to live in an atmosphere of Y
Get sympathy, counsel and trnst An