Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1902-11-27
THE FEAR Ut' DEATH
1T SHOULD FIND NO LoDGMENT III
ANN RATIONAL MIND.
Vet This Dread of Meeting the In
evitnhle Is So Universal 'rhnt Our
Entire Social Fabric Is Largely
Ii.s.lt Upon 1t.

evitnlsle Is So Universal That Our
Entire socinl Fabric Is Largely
n.s.it Ii pom 1t.
Do VIC dread death OF the same
principle that half !; ncc. OF sheep
leap through Il certain hole in II fence
because the other half has dome SO!
For unless the fear be tr;lditon;u.y
and hereditary it is HARD to account
for it,
Death is change. occupying Il mo
mcnt. from one form OF life to another.
Whether it come in The course of lll-
turc or lay accident or design, it is sell
dom painful; never proSably so painful
as IL bout of The tootllachc. 1T brings
Us from !; condition of bondage and
uncertainty at best tn one of freedom
and security Esut often it is Il change
from slavery. both physical and moral
to emancipation comparatively perfect.
| or, III we hold the Llaterialist view. to
\ everlasting unconsciousncss. The spi.-
| itu;l state is cinancpatcd from the
4 inertia of matter and the tyranny of
| space; therefore thought will be pres
| encc, and y mans surroundings as to
! both thing and person will be inev-
l taDly such as are most desirable to
| him. The evil will be emancipated
from the opposition of the good. and
! the good will not be syrieved and ham
/ percd by the naclinations of the evil.
1 The whole chapter OF accidents which
/ here looms so large will there be elm
| mated. Time. which now makes us
| long for the arrival of an appointed
1 hour and now dread it's too speedy
/ coming, will he NO more. But we shall
measure life 10y its intensity and by its
| opportunities. In other words we shall
be the makers of our own times and
\ seasons.
| Death takes us from Il world of eff
| fccts to one of causes. The soul is
made of will and thought, and, as we
may daily perceive, it is only the OBJ
4 struction of material conditions that
prevents us from Immediately accom-
| plishing our desires and bcholding the
realization OF our thoughts. Again.
death is Inevitable to all and to any
one who chooses is Mt any moment at
tainable. BY what logic can our fear
\ of 1t be defended!
| Yet we fear it so much and SO uni
versaliy that our entire social fabric is
| built largely upon that fear. Our law
makes death the supreme penalty. Our
| funerals are occasions of mourning.
and the medical profession one of the
most numerous eNtant. spends its eN-
II iSt i'm tii,,r 4,
eagerly all nostl'ums OF cliXils that
promise us continuance of life. We
| ascribe supreme merit to the soldier
/ who risks his life for his country or t
the individual who sacrifices it for oil,
crs. We laud the stoicism which af
fects to despse death, Int which bases
| the virtue OF that despiSing upon th,
4 Acknowledged terror of the. event Our
hum:nitari;ns spend sympathy anu.
money In attempting to prolons the
4 miserable condition of the poor ant
l diseased. We shuddcr to hear of !, vast
natural calamity like that Of Marti
niIilc or of ;vo.i:blc accidents such n;
are furnished ,.aily by railways and
other instruments OF civilization And
all the while IL is the survivors who
suffer. II ans oMc does, though they
too. arc soon co.nfortcd 10y time or the
Insurance companies. The dead man
the nlan who has entered upon the new
and spiritual life. whom we absur!ly
4 pity, is free, and his troubles are over
| Suicides. ii is true. are said to in
crease with civilization. I;lit few
philosophical suicides occur Tie ma
jority are induced by dread of life
overcoming dread of Death. Ii may be
doubted il snicitle he ever the act of II
man at once perfectly brave and thor
oughly sane. The value of this LIFE
and it is IL real vaueiS in the disci
pline and experience it gives. which il
Is our honest and sensible duty to i'm
prove TO the utmost and to the last
Life may be Interesting and :rduous
1t may be disappointing and irl,some
1t is very seldom il ever uniformly ana
positively agreeable. Fear. on the 9th
| er hand. is o:e of the worst and baspst
OF evils, and fear OF death the most
irrational. 1t must have originated in
sheer Ignorance and thouyhtlcssness
1T ought to vanish before our modern
enlightenment and sagacity. and with
its disappearance Will appear social
changes that cannC: but be revolution
| airy and saltltary.-.Iuli;tn Hawthorne,
! in Brandur Magazine
| Dangerous Criminals