Democratic messenger., 1906-10-20


vclops his mind. who never studies,
who never struggles up the mountain
heights OF tlIuHsIit. as the Alpine
climber pants and pushes and pulls
himself up the crngs Of the Matter.
horn. Is man who becomes mental
degenerate. 1t Is only by work, only by
discOuragcmeuts. only by shutting the
teeth aud bracng the will and pushing
ahead that the chaotic conditions OF
tie mental realm can he evolved into
The harmonics Of mental COSMOS.
The Development Of the Mind.
John Ruskn once beautifully de.
fcribcd the development OF the mind
Your minds" he wrote. ARE endowed
with vast number of gifts for total
~ different uses limbs OF mind
which " you don't exercise you Grip
pie. One Is curiosity that Is gift.
capacity of pleasure In knowing which
II YOU neglect you make yourself cold
aud dull Another is sympathy the
power OF showing the feelings Of liv.
ing creatures. which II you destroy
you make yourself hard and cruel
Another OF your gifts is admiration
the power OF enjoying beauty or In.
genuity. which II you destroy you
make yourself base and irrevercnt
Another is wit-the power Of playing
with the lights of the many sides OF
truth. which IL you destroy you make
yourself gloomy and dull To others
In choosing your way of work II should
be your aim as far as possible 10
bring out all these faculties not one
merely. but al of them The way TO
bring them out Is TO concern your
selves attcntively with each faculty
To cultivate sympathy you must he
with living creatures and thinking
about them. To cultivate admiration
you must he among beautiful things
AMI looking NJ them" But some peo-
pie have "a stagnating mental cos
mos" They are never willing 10 read.
They are never willing to study They
care nothing about the great Wide
world aud its duings They literally
would not 90 across the street 10 see
the most beautiful picture ever paint
monies ever sung. while on the other
hand some men are never satisfied
with their present mental condition
They are always reaching up and
reaching out They will 10 to any
trouble to learn. No work for them
is too difficult if they can only i'm
prove themselves and learn something
new.
"Drat that boy" the farmer says
"IIc Is not worth two plnchcs Of salt
I can never make n man ont of him.
He is always idling his time away with
some study send him down into
the fields to plow. and as soon as din
ncr time comes he opens his tin pail
and book at the same time ana then
begins 10 read Then he forgets every
thing hut his book | am Just as liable
10 lind him there reading an hour later
as not" No. farmer. you Will never
make Il man out of that boy II your
definition of Il man is 10 be hedged IN
hy cabbage patch That boy has
higher visions OF life than planting
corn He Is dreaming He Is looking
ahead To- the time When aS II minister
Of the gospel. hc shall save men for
christ. or when as II physician he can
relieve the pain of the fcvcrcd brow,
or when rs Il lawyer lie can defend an
innocent man in the clutches Of the
law Through the disorder Of "a corn
crib he sees the work which God is
calling him To take w.
Not IA LoRfer.
"You miserable. lazy loafcr!" cried
the peasants angry wife 10 the stran-
ger brooding at her iireside. Did
not tell thee would give thee thy
dinner II thou wouldst watch that IL
did not get burned? Now by thy neg
ligcnce thou hast spoiled everything"
'Tis true that the man who was sit
ting ;,y the peasants fire had neglect
ed the task the peasants wife set him
to do. but was he a lazy, contemplate
lOafer? That man was the fugitive
king Of the English throne That man
was Alfred the Great. He may have
been blind 10 the operation Of the peas
ants fire. but those smoldering embers
liberty he was soon TO ignite. He was
dreaming. like Moses. of the people he
was To lead and the country he was
to rule and the mighty kingdom he
was 10 establish. which would he ref
ugc to all the downtrodden who would
come To its shores. DO not grumble.
q wife. because thy husbands thoughts
are sometimes winging their flight a
thousand miles away DO not com
plain. o mother because that daugh
ter is neglectful of the little things
when she is reaching up for the higher
When Cardinal Chig told the great
Cardinal de Retz that for three years
he had done All his writing with one
pen aud the pen was still as good as
new. Cardinal de RetZ came to the con-
clusion that his brother cardinal WAS
man of very small mental caliber My
friends. IN your mental life live for
something higher than the point OF u
pen Struggle. strive. push Turn. II
necessary. your study into very bed.
lam OF confusion BY thy upheavals
f.r a, t.t,~ t..npfaI ...y,nAa nA-