Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1906-11-24
THE GOOD SIDE OF LIFE

@A1 0SOD 04Dc CE LII Il
AT present We are occupied with an
epidemic of vice. We are consider
ing the evils in social, commercial
and political life, which. unless ex-
tirpated. will leave no hope for bet
ter days I'm the body polite. No man
has been made well and strong by
studying his disease: no nation has
ever grown stronger by fixing public
attention upon the things tint are
evil and of base report. even with
the intention of destroying them.
Health comes rather from good liv-
ing than disease comes from the
presence OF evil. Fix your atten-
ton upon the good. There is n con-
tagion OF virtue taught by Chris
tianity. Positiveness and compan-
ionship are two great principles of
our creed. Let your affections be
placed upon the highest things. not
destroyed; let your desires be for
the best things; do not be without
desires. AS Browning says of Dante,
"He hated wickedness; that hinders
loving"
BE like Paul; he was not cynic.
There is many man who thinks
all good men are dead, and he is not
very well himself. The men who
think that all good men are dead ex-
cept themselves do not feel very
well. They are saying. "All is rot
ten" There are frivolous and hys-
terical voices crying. More evil,
more calamity" soothing sirup
voices saying. 1T is all right: Just
keep on doing business at the old
stand"
We should avoid the tar and feath-
er pessimist as well as the rosewater
optimist. One tears everything down; ;
the other bushes everything up. We
should be with those who say no
good man shall go unhonored, no
guilt shall be unpublished, and be-
lieve that there is much good as well
as sin in the world. Let us build up
the eternal foundations of positive
manhood
We hear much of the muck-raker
and he is supposed to be the man
who exposes evils. The muck-raker
of Pilgrims Progress" is the man
who rakes up the golden dust of
base acts. the petty political sticks
and twigs, or concentrates all his
attention upon wages instead of
work. | think that virtue is as con-
tagious as vice, although it takes
longer. The only real wealth in the
world is life. There is no success
except virtue. If we live with good
people, their>yirtue attracts us. Many
college men cannot read or write
good English because they read de-
ciduous stuff. To teach them to
write, | would not blue-pencil their
work, but give them the works of
the best authors to read Modern
reading is too much along the lines of
the morgue and the pesthouse. We
should read what will develop our
sanity and Imagination. Wordsworth
says I'VE live by admiration, hope
and love"
You choose your own destiny.
What you think about most will
soon become part of your own char
acter. what you look at most you
will soon come to look like. Look
at the good things rather than at
the base Satire dies with its OBJ
ject, but praise lives forever. No one
was ever saved by ethics or theology.
They are excellent and interesting
but not all-sumcient We must learn
to follow i'm reality Nas well as i'm
theory the religion OF Christ.-Ad-
dress of Rev DR.. Henry Van Dyke.
Bishop Potter relates that on the
first occasion when he visited Bish-