The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1905-02-08
CANAMAN DO AS HE LIKES?
A Eloquent Sunday Discourse By Rev.
Herbert B. Mott.
avsry Mas Exists Usdsr Set Of csnpslsions
The Old Deetrise.

his day who you will rve.'--Joshua
rriv.. 10.
Can man do as he likes:
OF course not! you say. All sorts OF
barriers hedge him round. He would
Nike to dy ms the birds fly, but the
weight of his flesh and bones keeps
ploddIng along the ground. He is born
boor or stupid: consequently he can
neither buy q steam yacht nor set the
Thames on fire, though he would like
Hearty to do both. The force OF public
opinion compels him to don tall silk
hat and a frock coat when he would
much prefer to go about In a golf cape
and shooting jacket. The force of
public law oompels him to run his auto
ht ten miles nm hour when he very
much wishes to spin along joyously at
the rate of thirty. Every man exists
nDder set of compulsions. He 1s
obliged to submit TO many limitations
natural and artificial and he is com
PEELED. by pushes and pulls and press
hres he is unable to resist. TO do many
things he doesn't want to do.
Nevertheless. in spite OF mans alb
feet slavery In certain directions. is
there not some small space some little
area, In which, instead of being q
C.
department of life and conduct IN
which he can do as he likes?
The old doctrine--the doctri'e be-
beved by our fathers. and by nearly
Ehe whole of humanity, civilized and
unclvilized. in every part of the world.
from the beginning of recorded time
was that there is such department of
tfe and conduct; that In all vital mat
tn@ In oil fIaf hat % n
with the moral quality Of life, man
gan do as he likes. Our fathers held
that, whenever we stand at a point
where two roads dlverge. we are able
10 choose, select. determine. which
road to pursue. In such a situation
the casting vote remains with us.
Whenever two or more governments.
leaders. employers. claim our allegiance.
we can choose whom we will serve"
This Is true, said our fathers, no mat
ter how severe the pressure. The
temptation, urgency. force Of circum
stances. may be so great as to resem
BILE c0mpulsion. 1t appears as if we
were obliged to take one road rather
than the other. This. said our fathers,
10 appearance only. In reality, when
ever two or more alternatives pre-
sent themselves. whenever two roads
open before us, the decision remains
with us. 1t is with us TO say yes or
no, to lift the latch or not 10 lift it, to
take the left or the right. No matter
how great the pressure brought to
bear on us. in the last resort we can
always choose poverty instead of
riches. captivity instead of freedom,
suffering instead of ease, and instead
Of life. rather than yield, If need be,
This is tbe oId doctrine ond al.
Though II has stood both tha test ~
time and tho test of eynarlanca there
annears to no I'm thesa fovs yoidaix,
SPREAD tendency to ignora ~ No ono
denies that circumstsncas axarcisa n
powerfnl infuence ovar our iivas bnt
fhe Tendency nowadays is IN ascrihe
everything 10 circrmsfancas
/ II il relo ted that the eminent mn t,,r.
Hlist Professor Ron,ton nIacad tba
eggs Of caternillars In diffarentIv COL
ored hoxes and left them thera to
hatcb ont with rho renarlohia resnIt
NAT tba aaos In +ho hI,," ~ hotohaS
out into blue caterpillars. those in the
red box into red. and those in the yel-
low box into yellow caterpillars. They
were, you see. the product of their
nj their surroundings made them. And
SO, it Is declared, are you and I; we
are what our surroundings and those
Of our ancestors make us. We are the
planes of outside conditions. past and
present.
Here is n man WIN ia On anarov 90
hocietv He nrevs nnon HE ,i,,d uis
caraar &c dtvidod hat,raan us .,aha n,nu ils
and other crin,es He is thn -,
the beInless victim ~ optward o,ro,,n, '
atsn,as u,a ara toid rIis ,notta, -.
a drmnkard his fatbar ,,as 80
H. was raa,.od In tha s,',,r W..
can Won axnacta Tr,,a ha has ~, a.
n reforn schaoI t,.ua ha hos 80 ~
hs,naS and ai1ad hv ror,o,,s r " ,,'a Ueen
thrnnic nooola ,,,horo ha hae ,,,arai,"ne.
Iv dacaivsd Pvt ha nnor sai,os',,
could MOI. ha,n hi,nsaif Tn,o prn9as
sor Ponlton,s oatarnti,ors i,a faai. 20,
~. tint Of lie a~ri,n,a nc po,.,, foVn V,' az
srhlaoi, NJ 10 t,',.,,, ''. 49, ~ ~
snrro,,nd;nas - y, .,I ~. ,sf" o'"en' iiis iis
es a,,,, WIZ e'"' Ne
VT, asalh. mere is the hero who, like
Sharies lamo, gives up all. in order to
support some one dependent on him.
OF surrehuers lie itself In order to
save the hVes OF others. We are told
Ihe same story about the hero as about
ihe thief. de Is not brave or self-de-
nylng or his own accord He Is heroic
SIMPLY because the conditions in which
ne was brought up were favorable to
neroism. and so heroism grew out of
his Q0nl inst n "a him Uac ,,ra,xr o..k ~