The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-01-01


everywhere. The proof of which is that
the man who has none in himself vatnly
looks for 1t In life.
Note this well: The ideal is within our
selves There Is no poetry where you
have put none. Poetry is not in the air;
1t is in the mind it is sown by man In
things. If you have soul in yourself, you
will find soul around you. If you have
beauty, aspiration, In your spirit you Will
find traces of these around you. But
If nothing of the ideal vibrates inside
you you will find nothing of 1t outside.
If you possess an ideal within you, set
1t up against reality, to shed light upon
the latter, as you would carry a light in
to a dark place.
Treasures of ideals created in other
souls can be transmitted to ours. The
earth with its sorrows, its wretched-
ness and ugliness, death and the grave
with their dark hues. have been modified
by the human soul, creator of the ideal
and of the light. Some Of our brothers
who have passed before us on the road
which we tread in our turn, have shed
light even upon the floor of the sepulchre.
They have brought strength into weak
ness, and have found strange rich
es even in poverty. They have been able
to say beholding the mystery daily at
work in their lives: to wit: the trans
formation of phenomena and Circumstance
es by the mysterious and intimate force
of the soul-"We are poor, out we make
many rich"
! And wherefore? Because they put
their spirit into life, they breathed their
soul into things, they set flaming in
miserable objects, lighted by that fire Of
beauty, strength, love, reflected its flames
and similar to the extinguished stars,
their very affiiction, because in them
their soul was reflected, become beacon
lights of the future.
If a woman says land the sort who
does is not altogether unknown). II am
not fond of homework. the soup kettle
is a dreadful bore, it is not interesting,
it is not spiritual I am at once aware
that she is thinking of the superficial
thing. Never can a soup kettle be poeti-
CAL never can it look like the graceful
: amphora which the critical woman Of
the Bible carried upon their shoulders or
their heads.
But how can the soup kettle help 1t?
Is it the soup kettles part to become
poet, have an ideal? 1t is you, Madame,
who must put ideal into the soup kettle.
And when l say soup kettle l am think
| ing of all humble occupations In them
selves devoid of spirituality. Let us sup
1 pose I am backing my boots. Well
/ shall do my work more cheerfully and
they will shine with a finer polish. II,
let us say I am brushing my clothes, q
still do sometimes) what is to prevent my
brushing them with feeling? We must
put ideal into our occupations. Every act
| admits of an admixture of ideal, exactly
as all meats admit of seasoning. We
must put salt into the soup, ideal into
| life.
| Review your memories Remember the
people who cannot be seen at work with
out the impulse Selling you to snatch the
broom out of their hands, or hammer,
or spade and showing them how to use it.
There are sorry workers of the sort
among intellectual as we'll as manual
workers Their attitude might discourage
one from ever attempting to work. They
appear all the time to be saying: What
stupid trade. My son shall certainly
learn a different one" Whereas others:
Oh in their case just the opposite is seen.
You watch them at work practicing
trades you would not have chosen, with
so much punctuality, devotion, good hui
NOR, energy with such sense Of "the
useful fight of days" that they impress
you as great and the desire arises to im-
tate them.
There you have the great, the divine
secret of a rich, and even happy life.
When you see some one doing a thing
in such a way that you wish at once to
be doing the same, halt. The opportunity
is a rare one. Do not miss 1t when 1t
comes.
I sometimes go and sit with women of
the people, to learn of them. 1t is much
harder to practice the ideal on the out
skirts than in the central portions of the
city. More courage is needed to bring
about a little beauty, a little charm, in
a common room which is used for every
purpose, than in more favorable surround
ings and with several persons to assist
by their services
To sustain and strengthen the fibre of
the ideal let it be recalled to our minds
by whole series of witnesses. Let our
road. however hard 1t be, have mile
stones all along 1t encouraging signs,
marks which shall call us back to order,
reminders, remembrances. When we are
fainting and ready to relnquish the
quest. let some signal restore our
strength, saying Courage! Forget not!'
Let us put ideal into our manner of
dressing, of arranging our house. Moth
ing more interesting, more artistic than
that sort of sculpture practiced upon the
frequently unwieldly block of ordinary
existence. And where 1t is not possible
in ones dwelling to raise more than
IDEAL flower in glass of water, a be-
loved portrait a picture embodying
comforting thought that is still some
thing, a protest. an affirmation Of the
will that life should become more beauti-
full, more righteous than 1t now is. New
err say: zone must be rich to make ones
life beautiful
There is no need to buy at price Of gold
widely quoted works.
The smallest twig serves as perch for
the bird, and the ideal needs only
point to fasten upon.
You know that the authors of the plays
which most rouse our admiration for
their greatness of SOUL of action, their
imperishable beauty, had very no stage
setting for them. Their plays were per-
formed upon bare planks. But those who
listened were not troubled by the pow
erty of decoration, or the smoky lamps,
they lived suffered, hoped. with the heroes
in the play.
The human soul is always equal to It.
self. The least sign can awaken in It
world. There are days when a simple
knot Of faded flowers can restore to life
the whole past; when tattered banner