Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1905-02-09
T. FREDERICK COUNTY, MD, THURSDAY FEBRUARY g. 1905
wrong loing-to a habit of thinking
lightly Of the exceeding sinfulness or

|
; lightly Of the exceeding sinfulness OF
sin.
This evil doctrine is the more diff
cult to combat because there Is an ele-
ment of truth in it. We are moved
and swayed by circumstances. Birth
and education do exercise powerful
influence over us. These things must
be taken into considera ton, Never
theless, they don't explain everything.
Make what allowance you will for. cir.
cumstances and education. still in
every transaction we have the last
word. The proof of this is in our
daily conduct. We cannot help blam-
ing men and praisng them.
Suppose you are on Boston street.
and are accOsted by an individual in
shabby garments. You are touched by
his tale of woe and with your usual
generosity you give him an ample
aims. Five minutes later (this Incl.
dent Is founded upon facO in the crush
of a crowded corner, you feel an un.
wonted hand busy at your pocket, and,
turning round, discover in the would
he thief the very man you have just
helped.
What do you think of this fellow?
Do you feel toward him as il he were
an invalid, a sick soul, deluded vic.
tim Of circumstance?
On the contrary, you regard - and
justly rcgard-the robust purloiner of
your pocketbook as an ungrateful
scoundrel, and, if you are a good citi.
zen, you promptly and Indignantly
hand him over to the police. Sorrow
and pity you no doubt experience, but,
mingled with sorrow and pity there
will be righteous Indignation. How
ever many excuses your kind heart
makes for him, you will still blame
the man; for you will he convinced.
however bad his surroundings and his
bringing up, being man, he could
have kept straight in spite OF all, as
many another has done. You know. in
your soul, that, however great the OBJ
stacles being Il man, he was still mas.
ter Of himself. He might have chosen
differently. He might have taken the
right road instead of the wrong one, il
only he had fried hard enough, You
feel. after all is said and done, he was,
in this matter, able to do as he liked.
Consequently, he is responsible. There.
fore, we blame him.
Take the opposite case. that Of the
hero. We have all read recently how
the Japanese attempted to block the
entrance to Port Arthur by sinking
steamers in the channel. One of these
vessels had reached the appointed spot.
Her anchor had been let go. The fuse
attached to the charge which was to
blow a hole in her had been lighted.
Thn nf1ynDr in N nd nr1nppl the
crew into the lifcboat. lie himself be-
ing the last to leave the ship. A mo-
ment he stands on the gunwale, ready
TO cast loose. He counts his men, One
s missing. Shall they leave him?
The officer has but an instant in which
60 make up his mind. There is an in
ward struggle between the rival i'm
pulses of duty and Sclf-rcgard. Then
he climbs again upon the shOt-swept
deck to seek his lost cOmrade. Alas!
it Is in vain. The next moment he is
killed by Russian shell, and his crew
push off, only just in time to save
themselves.
Why do we regard this man as Il
hero? Why was public funeral held
in his honor by his COuntrymenE Why
do we praise him? Because we feel
tho brave action was due to him, and
to no thing and no one else. Because
we feel that he stood where two ways
diverged--the way of duty and the way
of Safety-and that he was master of
the situation. He determined which
road to take. Out of his Own brave
will. out OF his own courageous soul,
he chose the right way, The decision
Law not with circumstances conditions
previous training, or ancestry, but
with himself. We feel that he. and he
alone. was responsible, and that there.
fore to him, and to him alone, belongs
the credit and the praise.
We cannot help blaming the crim'
inal, wa cannot help praisinc the
hero, but. if criminal and hero were
simply the victims of circumstances. TO
do so would he meaningless. We have
no right to condemn the criminal if hn
cannot help doing what he does. There
is no sense in honoring the hero if the
hero!Sm Is due 10 education or 10 sur.
rounding conditions; that is. to some
thing other than the hero. Yet we do
condemn the one and we do give our
homa &c to the other. We cannot help
ourselves. The praise and the blame
we bestow are involuntary acknow!.
edgment that, in spite of all the theo-
ries closet philosophers may spin,
there is an iueradicable conviction in
the human heart that we are able in
the last resort, to do as we like, and
that rs 4 consequence we are respon.
sible before God and man both for our
deeds and for our thoughts.