Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1904-12-15

and our thought should adapt itself to
the situation. Do not say that we live
in more trying times than our ances-
tors, for things seen from afar are Of
ten seen imperfectly. 1t Is. moreover,
scarcely gracious to complain of not
having been born in the days of ones
grandfather.
What we may believe least contesta-
BILE on the subject is this: From the be-
ginning of the world 1t has been hard
to see clearly; right thinking has been
difficult everywhere and always. In
the matter the ancients were In no
wise privileged above the moderns, and
1t might be added that there Is no diff
ference between men when they are
considered from this point Of view.
Master and servant, teacher and learn
er, writer and artisan. discern truth at
the same cost. The light that humanity
acquires In advancing is no doubt Of
the greatest use, but 1t also multiplies
the number and extent Of human prob
lems The difficulty Is never removed; !;
the mind always encounters its obsta-
Gle. The unknown controls US and
hens us in on all sides. But just as
one need not exhaust spring to
quench his thirst, SO we need not know
everything to live. Humanity lives and
always has lived on certain elemental
provisions.
We will try to point them out. First
of all, humanity lives by confidence. In
so doing 1t but reflects, commensurate
~. lao fnh
is the hidden source of all beings. An
imperturbable faith in the stability Of
the universe and its intelligent order
ing sleeps in everything that exists.
The flowers, the trees, the beasts Of the
field, live in calm strength, In entire Sc
curity. There Is confidence In the fall
ing rain, In dawning day, In the brook
running to the sea. Everything that
is seems to say: II am, therefore l
this, rest assured"
So, too, mankind lives by confidence.
From the simple fact that he Is, man
has within him the sufficient reason for
his being-a pledge Of assurance. He
reposes In the power which has willed
that he should be. To safeguard this
confidence, to see that nothing discon-
certs 1t, to cultivate It, render 1t more
personal, more evldent-toward this
should tend the first effort of our
thought. All that augments confidence
within US Is good, for from confidence
Is born the life without haste-tranquil
energy, calm action, the love Of life
and its fruitful labor. Deep seated con-
fidence Is the mysterious spring that
sets in motion the energy within us. 1t
is our nutriment BY 1t man lives much
more than by the bread he eats. And
so everything that shakes this conf
dence Ia evil--poison, not food.
Dangerous Is every system of thought
that attacks the very fact of life de-
clarlng 1t to be an evil. Life has been
too often wrongly estimated In this
century. What wonder that tho tree
withers when Its roots are watered
with corrosives. And there Is an ex-
tremely simple reflection that might
be made In the face OF all this mega
tion. You say life - en- evil Well,
what remedy for It do you offer2 Can
you combat 1t, suppress It? | do not
ask you TO suppress your own life, to
commit suicide-of what advantage
would that be TO us?-but to suppress
nfe, not merely human life. but life
at Its deep and hidden origin, all this
upspringlng of existence that pushes
toward the light and, TO your mind. is
rushing TO misfortune; / ask you TO
suppress the will TO live that trcmbles
through the immensities of space. TO
suppress, In short, the source of life.
Can you do II? No. Then leave MS In
peace Since no one can hold life In
check liz IL not better to respect II
other people dlsgusted with It? When
one knows that certain food In danger
Gus to health he does not eat It, and
when certain fashion of thinking
robs us OF confidence, cheerfulness and
strength we should reject that certain
not only that IL IN nutrimcnt noxious to
the mind, but also that II Is false There
IL no truth for man but In thoughts
that are human, and pcsslmism II In
human. Besides, II wants as much In
modesty as In logic. To permit one
self 10 count as evil this prodigious
thing that we call life one needs have
seen It's very foundation, almost to
have made It. What Il strange ntti-
tude IL that of certain great thinkers
OF our times! They net as II they had
created the world very long ago, In
their youth, but decidedly II was mis-
take, and they had well repented II.
n I..t ,,At,riuh nnranlpna from other
meat, strengthen our souls with cheer
Ing thoughts What Is trucst for man
IL what best fortlfies him.
n mankind lives by confidence, II
lives also by hope-that form OF coni-
dencc which turns toward the future.
All life Is result ana an aspiration;
all that exists supposes nm origin ANA
tends toward nm end. Life IL progress
sion; progression il aspiration. The
progress OF the future IL IN innnitude
OF hope. Hope is ut the root of things
and must be reflected In the heart or
man; no hope. no life. The same pow
er which brought MS into being urges
us to go UP higher What IL the mean
Ing OF this persistent instinct which
pushes us ON? The true meaning IL
that something III TO result from life,
that out OF Il ii being wrought good
greater than itself. toward which it
alowly moves, and that this painful
sowcr called man needs, like every
sowcr, 20 count on tho morrow. The
history Of humanity IL the history OF
indomltable hope; otherwise everything
would have been over long ngo. To
press forward under his burdens. to
guide himself in the night. 10 retrieve
his falls ana his failures. TO escape de-
spnir even IN death, man has need or
hoping always. and sometimes against
all hope. Here IN the cordial that sus-
tnlns him. Had we only logic we
should have long ago drawn the con
clusion, Death has everywhere the last
word, and we should be dead OF tho
fdca. But we have hope. and that In
why we live and believe IN life.
Suso. the great monk and mystic,
one OF the simplest and best men that
ever lived. had touching custom.
Whenever he encountered n woman.
were she the poorest and Oldest. ho
stepped respectfully inside. though his
bare feet must tread among thorns or
IN the gutter. II do that" he said, ITO
render homage 10 our holy lady the
Virgin Mary" Let us offer TO hope Il
like reverence. II we meet II In the