The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-16

Love beareth all things. believeth all
things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things. Love never faileth."-lst Cor,
xiii, z.
Paul is the prince OF definers. Like
Shakespeare. he describes the ways of the
heart once for all; yet his description is
infinitely more inclusive, infinitely more
conclusive. When once he has spoken. it
is impossible to add to the truth and beauty
Of his words.
Others before and since Paul have
characterized love. Goldsmith called 1T
"a method of protracting our greatest
pleasure De Musset, "the fever or the
soul;' Theodore Parker. 1.-The piety of
the Affections Liebinitz. delight in the
happiness of another" But whichever Of
these definitions may be considered best.
they all fall short of Paul's, which gives
loves finest characteristic. namely. its
persistence in spite of the sins and in
gratitude of the beloved. Others have
described love chiefly by the pleasure
that attends It; Paul by the service it
renders.
This famous 18th of Corinthians is
called 1.-THE Love Chapter" We cannot
quote it all here; read it, study it, verse
by verse and as a whole. Our English
word charity Ghe incomplete render
ing of the old translation comes far
short of expressing the original signif-
canoe; the revised version has 1t 'love,"
which more nearly represents Pauls
meaning, though still inadequately, as We
shall see. He plaintly shows us that love
transcends benevolence. He ~eloquently
tells us that love is more than eloquence.
He keenly discerns that it is more pro-
found than wisdom, greater than faith.
superior to hope, nobler than martyr
ION.
Then, having exhausted every word of
comparison, he comes directly to the point
and says, love suffereth long and is kind
patiently keeps its spirits up and makes
itself useful. He chooses to say nothing
of loves gains. Love is too rich to seek
its own. 1t is by nature overlooking. 1t
| lives to give.
Thus far Paul has described love as the
virtue that is neither selfish nor resent
full: but it occurs to him that there are
revelations of the corruptness Of others
that grind into dust the last remnant of
admiration; there are burdens of ingrati-
tude and wrong beneath which our re-
] spect for others is crushed. A man may
shame his parents, a son maltreat his
mother, a husband wrong his wife, a sim
ner cruelty his Savior: love may look long
yet find nothing lovely nor lovable in it's
| objects. Will love stand such a strain?
Yes; for ''love never faileth.' The word
in the original is 'falleth'' or "stumbleth."
| and the significance is that when we can
no longer admire. respect or even justify
0fharG IN their cOndI1ct-when every other
feeling for them has fallen. stumbling or
borne down beneath the dead weight of
their sinfulness, love treads stoutly. cheer
fully on. bravely bearing it's burden. This
Tennyson meant when he sung Love is
love forever more; love will never fall"
FOUR BRILLIANT HUES.
Let the rays Of love fall on the prism
OF thought, and four brilliant hues ap-
| pear. First, loves mantle. Love bear
eth all things or to quote again the bet
ter original, ''covereth all things" This
is the mantle of charity with which love
Shields the erring one from the heartless
gaze of an ~unsympathetic world. A friend
has fallen, wronged himself and us; we
| receive tenderly his voluntary confession
| and will not tear off the cloak to parade
his sins before others; We cover him from
the rude curiosity and malicious ~gloating
of the unfriendly rather than spread the
| rumor of his sins to no purpose but his
injury. Love does not gossip; 1t cannot
| SANDER. When necessary to speak-to
him who has sinned or of him to others
love speaks for greater sorrow for him
than for itself, even though the sin has
wronged it most of all. Faithful are
the wounds of a friend"-faithful, but not
reproachful, not unkind, and, duty done.
love forgives and forgets.
Second, loves creed-simple in state
ment but comprehensive and varied in ap-
plication. Love believeth all things
not all the I'll reports that come to its ears
these it is loath to believe; but until a
mans wickedness be proven, at least, love
withholds its decision, believes all things
that it can in his favor ard puts the best
possible construction upon his action.
Forced to acknowledge the fault, instead
of being quick to impute rascally or I'M
friendly motives.
How rarely a man, viewing matters from
his own standpoints, thinks himself wholly
wrong; there are to his mind, and rightly
oftentimes, many mitigating circum-
stances. We should at least put ourselves
in his place, consider all things that have
led TO the sin and be charitable in our
Judgment.
The world cares nothing for the under
lying facts. 1t sees only the overt act and
is quick and harsh in its conclusions. IL
has no sympathy, nothing but censure,
for the actual commission of even tina;
Of which it may itself be in spirit guilty.
1t remorselessly condemns one who per-
maps is, all in all, more innocent in his
unsuccessfully resisted temptation than
others in their easy virtue-one who,
goaded beyond endurance, fell in his weak
ness more sinned against than SHINING.
Thoughtlessness and ignorance more often
than malevolence and selfshness are at
the bottom of this cruelty. But love is
ever ignorant of the palliating facts. II
has not lived in selfish forgetfulness of
the trials, temptations and failures of
mankind. With ready sympathy it appre-
ciates the loneliness, fancied injuries. even
the sinful thoughts, that bit by bit have
undermined the character or led to the
unhappy action. 1t sees and appreciates
and is ready to forgive, provided the sin
ner's sorrow is genuine
UNNECESSARILY FACTS