Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-07-17

4 by an old Latin classic: The gods. hear
| ing the continual grumblings OF the
| human race. decreed that all men
| should be able TO choose their own bur
| dens but they must choose some. They
decreed that every man. woman and
child should bring their load OF trouble
| In n pack and throw IL I'm one place
Then all the different troubles OF the
world We're piled in n heap. The rich
man came from his palace; the poor
man came from his hut. The old man
came tottering upon his stan; the
young man came leaplng as a roe upon
the mountain side. The father came,
| followed by his swarm of children; the
single man came alone. The bride
groom came. leading his bride; the Wild
over came after his wife had been
snatched from his side. All came with
their troubles. All threw their packs
I'm the one pile. "Now." said the gods
TO the assembled people. 'let each in
dividual select any one pack of trouble
that he would OF course the multi
tudes We're overjoyed. Each man at
| first lifted and weighed the troubles of
| every other man. Then at last" so
goes the fable. leach Individual at a
| given signal was satisfied to lift up
again his own troubles and in content
ment go his own way
The Cowara's Heart.
No power on earth can make a hui
man being more contented than that
which comes from being brought into
sympathetic touch with other peoples
trials. for all people have them. The
white, fteecy clouds of in the distance,
circling about the mountain top, may
look like sea gulls sporting with the
crest OF a wave. On nearer approach
they are only fog and drizzling mist.
The ships far out at sea have spotless
sails and trimmest hulls. But upon
nearer approach we see that their can
vas Is befouled and their hulls SCARED
with the blows of many tempests.
Clear crystals of n tender lose will not
only make us try to help our fellow
men and desire to live as long as we
can for that purpose. but they will also
teach us to be more and more content
ed with our own lives. Brother, better
change the lenses I'm your spectacles.
Better be sunbeam playing I'm the
day than a sulling owl. solitary and
alone. croaldng during the night.
A towards heart Is q direct cause
for the suicidal sin. ooh. no." says
some one; that cannot be. A suicide
may be this or that or the other thing.
but he is not coward. No man is a
coward who dares to commit self muir
der. No man Is coward Who will
calmly look death in the face and defy
the grinning skeleton Of the tomb"
All, my friend, You are wrong. The
direct cause OF the suicidal sin is in
variably the result Of towards heart
1t Is the act of man who runs away
from trouble instead OF courageously
graphing with II. The bravest of
deeds Is to die IL necessary TO save 9TH
ers. But it would not be heroic for
men to die merely because they are too
cowardly to fight Neither IS II he
roic or brave for any man to commit
suicide merely because he IL too craven
hearted to meet the responsibilities of
life as they nrise. The noblest word In
some respects In all the English Ian
guage Is duty" That word will some
times compel Its followers to plunge
into and endure the bayonet thrusts of
thorny hedge, as IL will sometimes
give the pleasanter command OF fol-
lowing that stern word through ON en-
lowered pathway.
BE True TO Chrfst
Now, my friends, as the suicidal sin
Is often caused by towards heart,
how can we best become brave and
true? How can we better fight this
tendency 20 self murder than by nobly
uDd conscientiously and dauntlessly
meeting the most pressing duty which
is nearest at hnnd? How can we cease
TO be towards better than by fulfilling
our honorable obligations which we
know we owe TO our God and our
Christi We have all read OF the Ro-
man sentinel who during an awful
eruption OF Mount yesuvius was ready
TO die at his post when the officer OF
the guard did not relieve him and al
low him TO fly for his life. Should we
not be equally ready TO be brave and
true to that great Commander who
shall yet ride the white horse of Vie
tory and in the great millennial day
come to claim and defend his own? He
has placed us here to do our duty. TO
live his life in the world, to serve him
by serving our fellow men. Shall we
cravenly desert our post? Shall we
declare that the task assigned us Is too
hard for us? Rather let us look to him
for the almighty strength that lie
promises TO his faithful servants that
We may endure as seeing him who Is
Invisible. So let Us stand undaunted
beneath his standard until his sum-
mons reaches us and we quit with the
triumphant shout: ~ have fought
good fight 1 have finished my course
have kept the faith. Henceforth
there Is laid up for me crown OF
righteousness"
The bravest act in all the world for
some men is to publicly confess
Christ. While we are preaching today
on the suicidal sin are you ready to
be as brave as william Cowper once
was? In a time of great mental de-
precision he was on his way to the
river Thames to take his own life.
When he arrived near the fatal waters
he saw man fishing at the end OF the
dock from which he intended TO throw
himself into the stream. He turned
back. Then he went home and tried
to stab himself to death, but the knife
snapped in two. Then he tried to
hang himself, but the rope broke.
Then William Cowper realized what
he was doing and how cowardly he
was He confessed his error before
the world and gave himself up, as new
err before. to sound forth the divine
praise. oh. my friends. will you not
realize that one OF the chief REQ sons of
the cowardly tendency to suicide IL
the unwillingness to publicly confess
and work and live for Christ? As all
roads were once supposed to lead to
Rome. every act and deed and thought
OF your life should lead you to the
foot OF the cross. Then, oh, then, II
you are true to Christ, you will never
be false TO yourselfl Then. oh, then,
your life, instead OF having n suicidal
tendency. will be an eternal life of tri-
umphe nt tnvi