Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-09
Sunday Morning Talk
Man at His Best VS.. Man at His
Worst.

Man at His Best VS.. Man at His
Worst.
Who was the cynic who was in the habit
| of saying that the more he saw Of men
the fonder he grew Of dogs? Well, never
mind the gentleman's name He was a
pessimist sure enough, and yet moods come
| to us all when we sympathize with the
caustic remark. AS we think Of the cruel
ties and lusts, of the barbarities and in
dignities, of the greed and cunning. of the
tyranny and selfshness. which are directly
traceable to man, We are prone to exclaim:
"Oh, man. thou art but little lower than
| the beasts"
And yet In the midst of our despair we
hear another characterization of man:
Thou hast made him little lower than
| the angels" How can we reconcile these
diverse points Of view? Not by denying
either, but by admitting both. Man is
practically capable of groveling in the dust
with the brutes living in the heavens
with the saints and seraphs.
Hes man. We say, and when we say
it we mean he Is a poor. weak, temptible,
often contemplate, being in whom we can
put no confidence for he is sure to stumble
and fall. And then nobler thought strikes
U.S. and we say again hes a man." and
we mean that he's got the stuff in him to
resist temptation; he has God-like quail
ties and warm human sympathies and we
can safely trust him. And the wonderful
thing Is that we can sometimes pass these
two diverse comments on the same man.
Now. what is the tombstone that en-
ables us to recognize man at his best and
man at his worst? Is it what he achieves
that reveals the best in him? Surely, In the
'Iliad" Homer is at his best. and in Ham
LETT Shakespeare Is at his best. and in the
Messiah Handel is at his best, and IN
the ''Sistine Madonna" Raphael is at his
best True, to degree. and yet 1 have
known a man to preach sermon that
CENTRALIZED a listening congregation and then
go home and be boor to bis own kith and
kin.
No, man does not reach his best estate
until he begins to do something not for
himself-but for others. The history that
has been enacted on the Pacific coast the
past year abundantly proves this. When
the earthquake came. and people were
fleeing for their lives, rough men became
tender. lifted their brothers loads, did
marvellous things in the line OF sacrifce ana
heroism. The world looked on in surprise
and admiration. But after the first wave
of sympathy had passed the old selfish
human nature asserted itself in San Fran
cisco, as it would probably have. done
everywhere else in the world under the
same circumstances. and men became
grasping, they demanded the highest wages,
they thought of themselves and not OF
their neighbors and of the common good.
The dividing line between man at his
best and man at his worst is always found
just here: If he is working purely for MS
own interests. If he is pushing and gran,
bling for No. 1. he becomes snarly and
greedy and tricky and hateful; II he Is
striving first of all to make others COM
Portable and happy he grows himself gentle
and kind and strong and brave. 1t is
then, and then only, that we see man at
his best. Happy are we In living IN
century where the pressure OF pubic SEN
timent helps a man to be at his best. For
our age, as no age before. it is estimating
men from the point of view of the service
they are rendering the community MIL
lions do not count unless the millionaire
is making and using his money In ways
that benefit the public. Politicians are be-
ing brought to the same bar OF judgment.
And every man of US must determine
nhetber our lives can pass muster too.
There was one who was willing to be or
no reputation in order that He might min
ister to others. 1t is He who has dignihed
and ennobled humanity and exhlbited u AT
its very best. IdE rAnSoN.