Mexico weekly ledger., 1900-03-29

trade Of tent making.
ii. Furthermore, work is q blessing
to the race. 1t lightens the burden
which rests on Us because of elm. II
the words spoken to Adam, "In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
hread,n portray the cloud under which
humanity rests, they throw upon that
cloud the rainbow Of blessing.
Nowhere is there q more eloquent
testimony Of Gods goodness than lie
here found: "That He gave mar the
doom OF perpetual work rather than
perpetual idlenesH."
Where do we find most of con-
tentment, where do we hear the cher
ring song, and from whose lips breaks
the whistler's happy note9 From the
idlers at the street cerners9 The men
who do nothing but berate existing
circumstances and abuse govern
ments9 Not these. The ~contented
heart and the happy song and the
merry whistle are found among the
haunts of those who 60 forth to daily
work.
Work ennobles Life by giving us the
opportunity Of honoring God. A SOL
der honors his country by doing his
duty and In honoring his country he
honors himself. So with everyday
toll; the man who engages in it honors
God and ennobles his own life at the
same time.
We build monuments to the soldier
who has fallen unfolding his country's
flag. To-day l plead for monuments
erected In esteem and memory to the
unheralded host Of toilers in the great
army of everyday life. | knew q
man, q soldier, who, after the smoke
Of battle cleared, went back to the
common task and toll in support of o
crippled sister. He fell not long ago,
not on the battle field, but In the COM
mon duty OF building Q kitchen Ore.
His life and his death were as noble
in this az II be had lived all his life q
soldier and died from spear thrust or
bullet.
III. What is the true spirit in which
work should be undertaken? l an
swer: We should remember that no
honest toll dsgrades. Gods wisdom
is seen in the creation of mans hand
as well as In the formation Of his mind.
II to think with the brain is honorable
to work with the hand is honorable
also, for divine workmanship lie seen
in both. No necessary work Is de-
grading unless we make it so. An
unfair boxer is held in contempt. An
unfair, dishonest worker renders his
work degrading by his dishonest
method, The honor Of each mans
toll is then in his own hand and what
he is In his work fixes It's character
and makes it worthy or unworthy.
Again, the true spirit of work is to
put individuality into 1t. Each fac
tory puts upon its output q trade
mark-a sign which no one dare use.
Why shoald net one set upon all his
work the trade mark and sign of his
own conscientious individuslity?Here-
in lies thepathway Of the rising man.
Then, too, work should be put be-
fore the pay for work. The pay has,
as Ruskin says, Its place, but it should
not have first place. II the preacher
tkinks more of his salary than he
does Of his work we rightly despise
him; but why, ask, should there bel
different standard for the man who
works In the pulpit and the man who
works In shop or field or office? II we
condemn the one for putting the pay
first, why excuse it in the other?
We should not close u eyes also
TO the fact that all work is In q certain
sense sacred. The commandment
which bids ne Remember the Sabbath
day to keep It holy" fronts rs with
another imperative: 'six days shalt
thou labor" We honor God In heed
ing each Of them,
Do we crave an influence that lives
after us2 We purchase that influence
in our work. Homer and Dante got
nothing In the way of pay for their
work, but through the character Of
their labors they purchased future inc
luence. The inventors Of the tele-
scope and microscope received for
their labors, the one = dungeon and
the other want, but their work pro-
jects their influence into future ages.
Paul for all his activity got mainly the
privilege of supporting himself by
tent making and dying q martyr at
last, but the world will never grow
old enough to forget the work Of the
man whose life Is fifty described by
his own words, sin labors more album
dsnt." The power Of work to carry
us into the future is Illustrated ia the
cunning thought Of q sculptor en-
plOyed by q king to erect a statue in q
harbor and to>place in the cement
covering, the base, the name Of the
king. The sculptor wished to be re-
membered himself and 20 beneath
the cement, in the everlasting stone,
he cut his own name. And when the
waves Of time had washed out the
name Of the king there appeared the
s~culptor's name, deep cut in never
fading lines. So in the solid granite
Of duties done honestly and conscIsn-
tiously we may carvo not merely our
names, but our influence and useful
ness.
Let me speak here q word &c 70 the
attitude of society inregard to whatwe
call manual work. Too much Il 10 the
! case that the young man or woman is