Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1907-03-22
OUR BETTER SIDE.

49, sssS5ssSSS5SSSSS
By Rev. DR.. Villa.

Whatsoever things are true, whatso-
ever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report, if there be any virtue and if
there be any praise, think on these
things. 4 IS.
These words are an appeal to the
best in human nature. In every man
there is an angel and demon; tenden-
cies toward right, inclinations toward
the wrong. There Is no man so thor
oughly bad that some good may not be
found In him. There is no man so
truly good that he is without imper-
fections. Every once in while we say
of a man that there is no good in him
whatsoever. But that judgment is rath-
er an expression of our attitude toward
him than real estimate of his char
acter.
A Christmas card was in circulation
last year which read: "There is so
much good in the worst of us and so
much bad in the best of us that it does
not behoove any of us to talk about the
rest OF us"
We frequently speak of the fiXity of
character, but almost every passing
hour our consciousness is undergoing
change. The mechanism of thought,
feeling, purpose, is one of stupendous
variability. One hour we are under the
influence of one set of emotions, the
next hour these emotions are succeed
ed by an entirely different group of SEN
sations.
In sense we are all victims of the
clock and the man of the morning and
the man of the evening, while one and
the same man, yet are two different
men. On the purely spiritual side there
Is even deeper mystery. Over the
lives of the majority of men living
within the confines of Christendom the
Sabbath day casts something Of it's
spiritual influence. There Is some ele-
walton of soul, some thought Godward,
however slight, on the Sabbath.
Our liability to change under some
Influence from without is enormous, in
calculable. A single glance at the face
of Beatrice revolutionized the life of
Dante. His case Is typical. To-day
throughout all Christendom men are
being strangely and wondrously affect
ed by the sanctity Of the home, the
worship Of God, the anthem, the voice
of the preacher.
There Is an unrealized self in every
man. Now and then we catch CLEANS
of our better life. They come to us in
stray, sacred moments as prospects
caught few times from some lofty
mountain altitude-the vision of that
other being. that self buried down deep
within us, that cries out now and then
for freedom, for larger, truer, nobler,
divine life.
William Watson tells us what it is in
these lines
AS some most pure and lovely face,
Seen in the thronged and hurrying
street,
Sheds DER the world sudden grace,
A flying odor sweet.
/ Then passing leaves the cheated sense,
Baked with phantom excellence.
So in our souls the visions rise,
OF that fair life we never led,
They flash a splendor past our eyes,
We start and they are fled.
They pass and leave us with blank gaze,
Resigned to our ignoble days.
These words are heart-thrilling They
are mockery and judgment. Yea,
but they are also an inspiration and a
prophecy. Every man may live this
better life. Not in any ascetic, mo-
nastic scheme. which ties up our days
and our souls as in a straight waist
coat, but in an alliance, working COM
pact between our souls and God.
Two young men came to this city
from a western town. One Of them had
felt the narrow limitations Of his boy
hood. He thought, well as a man passes
through this world but once, and he
will be long time dead, he might as
well have his fling and see what there
Is in life, so he summed the good peo-
pie. He had seen enough Of them at
home. He visited the haunts Of sin.
Well, he has had his fling, his face and
his eyes tell the tale.
The other young man came with the
determination not only to make the
best Of his opportunities, but also, as
Jean Paul Richter said: ITO make as
much out of himself as it is possible
to make out of the stuff" He put him.
self In touch with the best associations,
yes, he went to the church and was
encouraged in his purpose. The pass
ing years have witnessed not only his
material success. but also his growth
In manhood. He paid attention to what
was best