The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-05
SOCIETY SAVED
BY COURAGE
FEATURE OF INDIVIDUALITY.
GOODNESS OF COURAGE" DISCUSS
ED AT TRINITY CHURCH.

nEe is the Basis of Individual In
teSrity-Is the Power which Pre-
serves society From DisinteGra-
tion-Nerve That is Needed to Give
Efficiency to Georgia MiIitia-The
Heroism of Character-SOmethi
of the Courage of Strength.
The nerve that is ready to leave a
bloody body on the field of honor is
greatly needed to give efficiency to
even our Georgia militia"
In a sermon on the Goodness of
Courage" At Trinity Methodist Church
last night, Rev. DR.. A. NJ. Williams,
the pastor, made the above statement.
He took as his text: Deal courage
ously, and the Lord shall be with the
good II Chronicles 1911.
DR.. Williams said:
In this text Endorsement of God is
placed on courage, and it is classed
as good. Courage is foremost among
moral qualities. It may be called the
backbone of the moral nature. No mat
ter how excellent other qualities, with
out this they fail and confusion re-
suits
Courage is the basis of individual in
tegrity. That which enables a person
to hold self together is of prime i'm
portance Man needs force and that
which gives intelligent efficiency to
character is pluck. What more pitia-
BILE object than the stature of man
without the sense of a right to assert
existence and to demand it's respect.
Some people move about in a style
that seems to be an apology for being
here. The main feature of individuali-
ty is courage.
Courage Preserves Society.
Courage is the power which preserves
society from disintegration. Many in
1uences are at work tending to weaken
human life. Only a steady resistance can
overcome these tendencies. The con-
slant exhibition of the right mettle is
the protection of all wholesome institu-
tons. While courage may be an indi-
Vidual virtue. it also becomes a COM
munal quality; the world is made UP OF
units. The nature of the land depends
on the units os which it is made. Sa-
hara IS a conglomeration of simple
sand units Himalaya is a structure of
NOiNdilit Ahci u ClOAIlSs - people Is
noble when men of Courag eous individ-
uals standing for the best ideals of hu-
man life. The permanence of good in
our civilization depends on the courage
of succeeding generations.
Courage is the necessity in the moral
progress of man. Man represents the
growing element of Gods universe. The
support of the advancing column of
civilization is nerve. The children of
Israel wandered forty years in the will
derness and wasted a full generation
because they lacked the courage to &c
forward to possess the promised land
Many other delays apd losses have af-
fiicted man from a lack of this mettle.
A race OF towards never made any ad-
vance in any sphere of action. A race
of heroes makes life TEEN with achieve
ment in every possible line of living.
Takes Different Forms.
This quality takes different forms
rising from the source in which it
springs.
There is the courage of strength.
Men feel they can conquer because it
is in the consciousness of rich blood,
vigorous muscle, sound nerve, living
bone. Samson is illustrative of this
kind of courage. Fear did not enter
his heart of lion or Philistine because
he realized the giants strength. Men
admire physical prowess and the
bravery that generally accompanies it.
Doubtless this is right. Any form of
God-given power deserves a tribute
from man. This valor, however, is not
of the highest kind. In it's essence
it is moral and the true foundation out
of which 1t springs is the heart. The
word is derived from the Latin which
means heart. SO essentially the most
valiant man will draw his support
out of his moral nature. His sense OF
the need, his appreciation of the dan
ger, his view of consequences will be
present, but his spirit will prevail. The
old war story illustrates this very apt
ly.
gether. One a large, muscular, phleg-
mates, slow individual. The other
smaller, delicate. nervous, excitable
AS they advanced the little mans teeth
chartered. The big fellow chided him
with cowardice. The other indig-
nantly replied IF you appreciated
danger as l do you would have run
long ago" The moral force that holds
the physical inferior to his achieve
ment is a grander exhibition than any
mere exhibition of superior muscle.
Worlds Greatest Heroes.
Higher is the courage that comes
from conviction. Men that have a
creed that calls for action and follow
it with intrepidity are our greatest
heroes. Joshua belongs to this class.
Surrounded by sneaking pickering
multitude, he declared that whatever
others might do, he and his house
would serve the Lord This source of
holiness enabled Luther to say when
warned not to answer a summons to
the Diet of Worms, II will go in,
though as many devils were aiming AT
me as there are tiles I'm the roof" Such
confidence is at the basis of all prog
ress 1t is the product of faith.
Peter eXhorts the Christian Jews.
Giving all diligence, add to your faith
virtue" The commentators tell us this
virtue is Identical with courage. Cour-
age based on conviction demanded the
charter rights of modern civilization,
explored the wilds Of great continents,
planted our republic founded on free
dom, forged II to the foremost place
among nations as it responded to the
duty of the reckoning occasion. I'm
der the impulse of missionary convic-
ton the worlds page has been deco
rated with splendid forms of herosm.
Deeds for human liberty, human en-
lightenment, human salvation. are the
expression Of this courage OF convic-
ton.
HcroiSm of Character.
There is yet higher manifestation
Of courage. IL is the heroism OF char
acter. Men are accustomed to admire
moments Of daring, occasions Of ntre-
pidity, events Of valor These are
much cheaper than the fortitude Of a
devoted life. The crisis that demands
heraae action IS generally short la