Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-11-30

unity in diversity, and only the inn
pact Of the totality Of human motives
and impulses explains life as it really
is.
Remembering this, we are still per-
mitted to select from the mass of hu-
man impulses and motives those which
seem to predominant. Generally
speaking. the dynamic forces of life
fall into three great classes or i'm
pulses-fear, ambition, and love. Now
we are told in the ancient book that
the greatest of these virtues Is love.
We can easily agree with the book.
Fear and ambition have played and
still play an important part in the
drama of life. But neither apart nor
together do they yield the supremest
results.
Love has ever completed and sane
lied whatever ambition or fear
wrought which was worthy. Fear
sent the ancient Venetians to build
their first rude huts on the restless
bosom of the Adriatic, but love created
the matchless architecture of Torcello
and Murano. Fear and ambition chain
ed the shifting sands of the sea with
deep driven piles and bordered the sea
swept ISLES with stately palaces. But
love reared st. Mark s-set it with
priceless columns of porphyry and ala
baster, filed it's domes with deathless
mosaics, its spandrils with richest ira
eerieS, and crowned it's gables with
gentle angels.
Fear and ambition set ancient Flor
ence within ramparts of inyulnerable
stone. but love created the master
pieces of Angelo. the singing boys of
Della Robbia, the Gothic shaft of i'm
mortal GiottO, and the heavenly dome
of Bruneleschi. Ambition and no little
of malice winged the stiletto like the
verse of Dante. but the lorsing and
love of a homeslck exile gave them
Immortality and n universal message.
No really enduring creation of the
highest order exists except love has
been the master hand in its creation.
The hope of the modern home is
love. Fear never made home Show
me a home governed by fear and you
show me home barren and cherries
as the winter earth under gray winter
skies Show me a home ruled by love
and you show me a home soft as
summer dream, beautiful as sunset
skies lovelier and sweeter than a sum-
mer twilight when the birds twitter
their soft good night and the depart
ing day hangs poised on the rim Of
night.
Fear never made an abiding church
or religion. Love alone makes religion
inspirational Fear or ambition never
made a really great religious leader.
Love tips the tongue with persuasive
eloquence and fashions the stuff that
religious heroes and martyrs are made
of. Love alone Is the measure of
events. Is a thing right or wrong?
Does love sit supreme at the heart of
the deed is the searching counter cues
ton
Is war ever justifable? We are in
the midst of war. Titanic forces are
massing for war. Grim, savage faces
leer upon us from behind our Chris
tian pretensions of the fatherhood of
God and the brotherhood of man. Be
hind the priest stands half concealed
the armed soldier. III concealed by
the temple of religion stands the grim
lines and embellishments of war. The
smoke of canton in the far east OBJ
scures the smoke of incense from the
affairs of religion. Followers of the
gentle Nazarene let loose the hounds
OF war the earth over. and with pious
prayers to the god of battle feed count
less cannons with the choicest sons of
battle frenzied nations.
Is war ever justified? Is it, can it
ever be, Christian to fight? Lay the
measure of love upon the question. Is
war waged from pure love of country.
in defense of home and fireside, to
strike the shackles from limbs that
are bound. to set the face of the slave
toward freedoms holy light? Then
war. / should say, is justified. For
love can be fierce and dauntIess and
demand the sacrifice of life in certain
great crises of human history when
the welfare and rights of people are
at hazard and weakness writhes
helpless under the feet of tyranny.
Life itself is a struggle and battle,
and the rightfulness or wrongfulness
of it all is measured by the motives
which inspire. by the better things
WOE for mankind
Ard once more the measure OF men
is love. Has great hero been a lover
of men? Has he toiled for them, died
for them: Then his benign face
shines upon US from the fading years.
Generations come and go. each loving
tenderly the lover of men. Why does
Jesus hold 50 lastingly a place in the
worlds memory? Chiefly because the
one universal and undying virtue with
which believer and unbeliever have
alike invested him is the virtue Of
love Compared to Plato be was ig-
norant, his death was no more sublime
than the death Of Socrates. Yet Plato
IS q syliogisn. Socrates fragrant
memory. Jesus an inspiration Jesus
was one OF the supremest embodl-
nents o love tbs weird has witnessed.