The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-11-17

~Ao ~ VIZ, 1A6AV Adu cACId1uJ N1Cuu III
there is more"-EVERY LAW OF MORALITY.
every ineligible mystery
There may be many others above and below u.s., but if these are
to remain forever unknown they become for us as if they did not
exist, and, should their existence one day be revealed to u.s.. it can
only be because they already are in us, ALREADY ARE OURS
WITHIN me there is more" and we are entitled to add perhaps, II
have nothing to fear for what is within me-"
This much is at least ccrtain-that the one active, inhabited region
OF the mystery Of justice is to be found within ourselves. Other
regions lack consistency. They are probably imaginary and must
inevitably be deserted and sterile.
They may have furnished mankind Wit illusions that served some
purpose, BUT NOT ALWAYS THOU DOING HARM, and
though re may scarcely be entitled to demand that all illusions should
be DESTROYED they should at leastnot be too manifestly opposed to our
conception of the universe.
Today we seek in all things the illusion of truth. 1t is not the
last or perhaps the best or the only one possible, but it is the one
which we at present regard as the most honorable AND THE MOST
NECESSARY.
In the heart of every man there exists an admirable love of truth
and JUSTICE and a we observe its mcessant activity in the depths Of
our heart, IS we watch it blending with all we think and feel and do,
we shall quickly discover which are the things that throw light upon
it and which those that plunge it in darkness, which ; the thnps
that guide 1t and which those that lead it astray; we shall learn what
nourishes AND WHAT ATROPHIEs, what attacks and what
defends.
Is justice no more than the human instinct Of preservation and
defense! Is it the purest product of our reason or rather to be
regarded IS composed of a number of those sentimental forces which
so often are right, though directly opposed to our reason-forces that
IN themselves are a kind of unconscious, vater reason, to which our
conscious reason invariably accords its startled approval when it has
reached the heights whence those kindly feelings long had beheld
what itself was unable to see?
IS JUSTICE DEPENDENT ON INTELLECT OR RATHER ON
cHARAcTER7
All men love justice, but not with the same ardent, fierce, exclu-
sle love, nor have they all the sames cruples, the same senstiveness
OR THE SAME DEEP CONVICTION.
We meet people Of highly developed instinct in whom the sense of
what is just and unjust is infinitely less delicate, less clearly marked.
than in others whose intellect would seem to be mediocre, for here a
great part is played by that little known ill defined side of ourselves
that we term the CHARACTER, and yet it is difficult to tell how
much more or less unconscious intellect must Of necessity 90 with
character that is UNAFFECTEDLY honest.
The point is to increase within ourselves our DESIRE for Justice.
and it is certain that, at the start, our character is less directly inau-
enced by our desire for justice than is our intellect, the development
OF which this desire in a large measure controls, and the cooperation
OF the intellect, which recognizes and encourages our good intention.
Is necessary for this to penetrate into and mold our character. That
portion of our love Of justice therefore WHICH DEPENDS ON
OUR CHARACTER, will benefit by its passage through the intel
lect, for in proportion as the intellect rises and acquires enlightenment
VII 1t succeed din mastering, enlightening and transforming our minds.
How shall we then increase and purify within ourselves the desire
for jus6ce2
We have some vague conception Of the ideal we would approach.
but how changeable still and illusory is this ideal! It is lessened bv
all THAT is STILL UNKNOWN to us in the universe. by all that
we 90 not perceive or perceive completely, by all that we question too
specifically.
BY LEARNING TO KNOW OURSELVES, BY NOT ACTING UNTIL
s,REs, HAVING GREAT CARE ALWAYS THAT WE DO NOT INJuRE
OUR NEieHsoR. SHALL WE AT LAST BE ABLE 70 KNOW WAT
JUSTICE Is.