Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-11-29

walk bent and never look up: it is all
endurable because it is all so short; he
some day will be better off than kings
and emperors are now.
But as the generations are born the
inspiring vision of that future loses its
force; the ideals are gone and the
children come into the world with their
fathers content with their present con-
ditfon, but devoid Of aspiration and
also devoid Of their fathers faith in
the compensation of the future.
Then Games the reaction. Some dar-
ing spirits assert that If there is any
good, If there is equity and rights, men
ought to enter into and eujoy them
here and now. And some who catch
unwilling to believe that he keeps from
his children the present joys of his
home; they invite to a present heaven
Then how easy it is to fall into the
error of seeking only material present
day paradise, to live as # the only
things worth living for were food and
clothes and pleasant circumstances.
Better a worthy, beautiful ideal afar
off than an unworthy and debasing one
already realized. The heaven that
SO many are seeking will but bring all
men to the level of the brute.
The danger is that we shall miss the
real benefit Of this great truth that
whatever good is desiged for man may
be realized in large measure while he
lives and shall make his good to con-
sist only in goods. Better conditions
of living easily become the foe Of the
best. Heaven is not meat and drink;
it is the better heart.
Making houses and lands the SUI
than looking forward to hmps and
crowns. 1t is easy, being freed from
slavery to a superstition to relapse into
slavery to our lower selves. We are
in danger of living for a living In
stead of for our lives. We are ION
the make" instead of being engaged in
making manhood. We are digging the
lead of commercial advantage with the
gold shovels of character.
We may be measured by our own
measurements In sermons and ora
tons we assure ourselves that we are
a great people because we have here
SO many acres, so many millions OF
bushels Of corn and of wheat, 50 high
wages, SO vast financial resources. We
are living in the glut of things and set
ting these things as the end Of living.
All this does not mean that prosper
ity Is wrong; 1t does not mean that
misery or poverty is a virtue. The
danger is not in our many acres, our
high wages, our millions Of money the
danger Is that these are the ends in
stead Of the means; that we are exist
ing for our living; that we make the
man the tool of his money instead Of
the money being the making Of the
man.
Every man has in his breast the keys
to his own heaven. If he will he may
find the riches of character; he may
enter into the paradise Of a mind at
peace; he may taste of the divine joys
of serving his fellows; he may, in
thought commune with all the good
and great; ne may hear the morning
stars sing together.
The eternal crown Of glory is the
crown of character. The streets paved
with gold are the fair, clear ways of
W. hOy p vryho Ci
never weary are the strings of SYM
patty and love and pain; these make
the heavenly harmony. The angels are
in the faces we learn to love. These
make heaven when we see them in the
light of the presence of eternal love.