The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-12-11
Splendid Address.


A. F.. Sheldon, president of the
Sheldon School, Chicago, held the
closest attention of a large audience
at the First NJ E. church on Friday
evening last for nearly an hour and
a half.
Mr.. Sheldon is we'll known to
many Shiawassee county people, hav-
ing formerly lived at Vernon with
his parents, Mr.. and Mrs. Seth Shei-
don The family removed to Ann Ar
Dor after Mr.. Sheldon completed his
work in the Vernon schools and he
graduated from the University. For
several years ne has been building
up the Sheldon School and is now
erecting a very large building to ac-
commodate its increasing attendance.
A number Of his school-day friends
were here from Vernon to greet him.
A brief analysis of Mr.. Sheldon's
entertaining and highly instructive
address follows:
Success Is the attainment and pre-
servation of a practicable and legiti-
mate ideal. 1t includes four things,
health, long life, money and honor
Success which includes the attain
ment and preservation of these four
elements is not matter of luck or
chance. 1t is governed by law-nat-
ural law, eternal law. To work in
harmony with natural law, either
consciously or unconsciously, means
success.
To violate enough of the natural
laws of success means failure.
Man is physical and mental being
he has body and he has a mind.
The mind can do but three things:
1t can know; 1t can feel; it can will.
There are negatives, destructive, or
success qualities of the body and the
same is true of the mind.
There are negative, Obstructive, or
failure qualities of the body and the
same Is true of the mind.
Every positive or success quality
has its negative or failure quality.
This law of quality extends all
through nature. Light has it's dark
ness; heat has its cold.
In man we find this law. In the
physical qualitits, health has it's
sickness; strength has its weakness.
In the mental qualities we find
that, among the knowing, Judgment
has it's injudiciousness; memory has
its forgetfulness.
In the realm Of the feelings, faith
has its doubt; courage has it's fear;
honesty has its dishonesty.
In the realm Of the will we find
that decision has it's indecision; &C
ton has it's inactivity.
The above are but examples. "A
complete analysis of man reveals
some fifty two qualities; every posi-
tive has it's negative. The positives
are the channels for the expression
of natural law.
To the degree that the positive
constructive, upbuilding qualities
are developed in any given indivi-
dual, to that degree can natural law
express itself through him.
The negatives are overcome by the
development Of the positives, Just
as darkness is overcome by light.
The positives are developed by edu-
cation.
Education means to draw out.
True education means the education
ton of the positive or success quail
tiles.
Two processes are necessary for
education, viz: exercise and feeding.
The mental muscles must have food
and exercise if they are to be drawn
out, as certainly as must the physi-
cal.
Your clothes are not your body ana
your body is not you. 1t is just the
clothing of the real you. The real
you is the spiritual body of Saint
Pauls philosophy. you have a
natural body and a spiritual body"
The spiritual body that Saint Paul
refers to is the soul of man and that
is the real man.
The soul manifests itself i'm states
of knowing, states of feeling and
states of willing and this is called the
mind.
These soul energies must have
to grow, educt, develop.
The human race passes through
four stages, from the view point OF
the growth of intelligence:
LIST, Ignorance: End, knowledge;
3rd, learning; 18th, wisdom.
Ignorance is mental darkness, alb
sence of knowledge Knowledge is
that state of knowing born of the in
tellectual grasp of facts. Learning
is knowledge plus. Wisdom is more
the spiritual perception Of truth then
truth arrived at through logical pro-
cesses. And wisdom is the prin-
cipaT thing"
There are four grades of people
from the view point of efficiency:
LIST, the Indifferent, the "I don't care"
fellows; end, the students; 3rd
adopts; 4th, masters.
There are four grades of life:
LIST, Inconsistencies of the plant
and mineral kingdom; 2nd the sim
pie consciousness of the brute. The
dog knows but doesn't know that 1t
knows. Then comes man and the self
plane of consciousness. Man knows
and feels and wills and knows that
he knows and feels and wills. And
he can know how he can know and
feel and will more and more. which