The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1909-07-15
OUR ILLS.

Whatever may be urged against the
Stoics and the hardness of their philosophy,
they accomplished some good in teaching
men how to bear misfortune with resolu-
ton. One who passes through life without
enjoying the sense of conquest in the
struggle with unfavorable circumstances,
or, as it has been happily termed, the per-
versity Of things, has not played heroic
part and has missed a discipline which is
necessary for the full development of manly
or womanly character. The satisfaction
arising from surrounding difficulties is
denied those whose lives have been always
along "the velvet course of fortune. :"
This is itself kind of misfortune. The
persons who have done things, who have
accomplished most for their own advance
ment and for humanity, have come up out
of great tribulation. These words have
their application in the lives of those who
have wrought well: "All great and hon.
orable actions are accompanied with great
difficulties. and must be both undertaken
and confirmed with unanswered bic courage"
Many of Us are daunted by exceedingly
trivial things. The secret of happy life
and prosperous career is to be found in
the buoyancy with which certain natures
women are called upon to play conspicu-
ously heroic part. GA great many brave
acts are performed where there are no wit
nesses." 1t is difficult at first to accom-
modate ourselves to an environment not
adjusted to our particular wishes and ex
pectations. The discovery that we must
adapt ourselves to obstructing and dis
couraging conditions as we find them in the
mysterious world and that it cannot be re-
created for us is among the first shocks we
receive in starting out in life for ourselves.
We learn to take advantage of favoring
circumstances and to school ourselves to
minimize the effects of untoward events.
1.-The self-poised person will look misfor-
tune in the face, and if he cannot avoid it
will meet it with courage
1t has been said that misfortune is one of
the elements in which we live. More has
been learned for the making of strong
character in the school of adversely than in
the school of prosperity. Character has
been defined 70 be "centrality, or the i'm
possibility of being displaced or overset."
Adversely reveals man to himself. No
man can call himself brave in the physical
sense unless he has been confronted by some
assailant. The heroic philosophy teaches
fortitude as we'll as resolution. The saga
cious Montaigne is worth quoting here:
"The law of resolution and constancie
implicit not we should not as much as in
US lieth in our power shelter ourselves
from the mischiefs and inconvenience that
threaten US, nor by consequence feare they
should surprise us. Contrariwise all honest
means for man to warrant himself from
evils are not only tolerable, but commend
able, and the part of constance is chiefly
acted in firmly bearing the Inconvenience
against which no remedy is to be found -
The impression is growing common, it is
feared, that every man has his price; that
integrity will be surrendered if the fee be
large enough. 1t is another way of saving
that we cannot be quite sure of the power
of any one to resist temptation until he is
tempted. The bearing which adversely has
upon this estimate of humanity is obvious.
Fielding refers to adversely as trial of
principle, and so it often is. ''Without it
man hardly knows whether he is honest
Or not.'' Addison gives better expression
to the same idea ''The gods in bounty
work up storms about us, that give man.
kind occasion to exert their hidden strength,
and throw out into practice virtues that
shun the day and lie concealed in the
smooth seasons and the Gains of life. ;"
But the dangers of prosperity have nowhere
been more beautifully expressed than in
this excerpt from one of Bishop Taylor's
sermons:
las long as the waters Of persecution
are upon the earth so long do we dwell in
the ark; but when the land is dry, the
dove itself will be tempted to wandering
course of life, and never to return to the
house of her safety
Happy is he who has sanguine tenn
permanent and is always searching for the
bright side. There is an infinity of suffer-
ing in the world, and many secret martyr
doms of the spirit are suffered by persons
who give no sign of discomfort. Stronp