The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-11-02

And behold. the Lord stood upon a wall
made by a plumbline. with a plumbline
in his hand.-Amos, wiz.
What is right will stand, and what is
wrong will tOtter and fall The universe
was built on that plan. If it had not
been il would itself have been a failure.
What is true has its hour OF birth. but
never an hour of death. Once in the
world, 1t stays there as long as the world
stays. 1t may sometimes be hidden I'M
der the rubbish of prejudice and super
stition. but its vitality cannot be quench-
ed. and when the incubus which brushes
1t Is lifted off il rises to it's feet again
md goes about doing its work Error
on the other hand, is like a usurper who
seizes the throne by force, sways the
kingdom for period. and then is hurled
back into the Oblivion whence he came.
We need no graveyard for our truths,
because they are immortal; but the Gem
etery in which our errors are buried is so
large that no surveyor has ever measur-
ed it. None of us is so young that he
cannot look back and see that he has
outSrown many an apparently well
founded opinion and was forced to accept
something larger and broader. We laugh
over the broken toy when We are twenty.
though we wept until our heart broke
when the accident occurred in child
hood.
In order therefore. to live comfortably
and with as few regrets as possible. We
need to buy a plumbline at as carly a
stage as may be. and to use ii in our
daily lives No builder of a house would
be without it; neither a builder of char
acter. The constant application of the
plumbline reveals the security or inSe-
curity of our work. a piece of lead and
a string will serve the purpose OF the
mason, and conscience the purpose of
81. ILL
except under the dictation of the plumb
line because evil consequences are sure
TO follow and our bad work will cost us
dear in the end. 1t is "a worse folly for a
man to live his own life in his own mar
row way when God has told him that he
must live II in the right way or be buried
under a heap OF remorse. The plumbllne
Is the autocrat in every star that floats
in space. well as on the earth. DO
your task with it in your hand. you will
get on: lay it aside and let your task
look out for itself. you will end badly as
surely as logic is logic.
The straightforward man is the only
ideal man. There is no success outside
of cIeanhanded honesty Every dollar
which has not Lhe stamp OF manly honor
is a curse 1t is a great privilege TO have
money, but il must be good money.
has its place in competi-
tive world. but shrewdness need not en-
croach on fair play. l know what the
cynics say-name1y, that you must either
cheat or be cheated-but do not forget !
that while such a man may be a good
Judge OF his own motives il would be /
sorry work TO measure all men by his .
low standard. He may make himself as !
bad as he pleases, and we may be forced I
10 believe that he is what he says others .
are. but his estimate of the world is false /
md there is no truth in 81.
The evil that is abroad makes itself .
,onspicuous-is as easy to see as a ban /
Ter I'm the sky. The good in the world .
s under cover. 1t is modest because II ,
s good. 1t cannot use a megaphone and 3
proclaim that II Is better than this poor
publican" but there Is virtue enough
Lmong men to make the earth a fitting
listing spot for the angels of heaven.
md virtue grows year after year, slowly
may be true. but still II grows. 1t is
lot mushroom which springs forth in
night and is gone by noon, but a stur-
IS oak which lasts for generations.
And. after all, this virtue, honesty, 10y
lily to truth and justice. are the only
Kings worth working for. lie who pos
esses them has riches of which he can
lot be robbed interior satisfaction
which the soul prizes more than aught
lse. 1t produces peace of mind and
ealth of body. 1t makes one calm and
and is greater blessing
han fame or gold. We may not think
/. because the current of public opinion
weeps the other way but the years
% on we come closer and closer 10 that
ruth
The plumbline! Build for security and
See that your thoughts are
ure and your deeds noble. as you would
ee that the materials of your new house
re the best that can be had. Use the ex-
eriences of life whether they be of joy
r sorrow, as steps In an upward climb.
here is only one thing you can carry
lto eternity-your character. See that
is what it should be, and the jasper
ates will gladly swing open to give you
welcome.-Geo. II. Hepworth, in n. Y.
Terald.