The Republican., 1909-09-09

wish to better conditions, to i'm
prove the world and bring it as
near as possible to perfection.
There is nothing chimerical or
utopian about it; it is self-restrain-
ed, reasonable and kept within due
bounds. 1t aims only at the real
liable. 1t is a source of formulation
and praiseworthy rivalry, squirting
men on to surpass one another in
conferring benefits on mankind at
large. 1t is not only useful, but
likewise essential for the evolution
of the race.
There is another sense, however,
in which discomfort is not the ori-
gin of progress, but the very re-
verse---a sense in which it is not
at all laudable, but, on the con-
trary, one of the worst curses that
can light on individuals or nations.
We mean here the discomfort of
sulkiness--the discomfort of despair
the state of those who are dis
gruntled and at the same time
hopeless; who are ever thinking of,
and aspiring TO the, unattainable.
This IS the discomfort of pessimism
as the former is the discomfort of
optimism. To make our meaning
clearer and palmer, if need be, it
is not at all uncommon to find
chronic grumblers who are dissat-
isfed with the gifts God has given
them and the station of life for
which they are by nature fitted
They want to be what they can
never be, and being unable to reach
the goal of their desires, decide te
sit down idly, with folded arms,
and do nothing. They must be
either leaders or nobodies-as if
an army composed entirely Of gen
erals, or navy OF admirals, would
be OF any earthly use to a nation.
Such an attitude is the bitter
enemy of all human progress and
the toster-parent of stagnation.
Those who are so afflicted evident
ly lose sight OF the fact that socie-
ty, like the individual, is a living
organism composed of many and
varied members, and that its es-
sential we'll being depends on the
harmonious working or co-opera-
ton of its differert : parts. All
can't be the head, or the eye, or
the ear. Some must of necessity
fill the minor parts; and these
minor parts are just as important
in their way as the more conspiCu-
GUS Offices. And just as in the
human body we value all the mem
bers, so in society at large, abso-
lutely speaking, there is no voca-
tion mean or ignoble. Shakespeare
tells us that the worlds a stage
and all the men and women play
ers thereon. That is true enough.
But there IS one great, striking
difference between the theatrical
stage and the grea drama of hui
man life. On the former, as a
rule, the leading lights the star
actors and aCtresses-get most OF
the applause; those who are forced
to play the lesser roles often get
but scant notice. But on the great,
wide stage, where the Author OF
our being is both judge and audi
ence, it matters not what part we
play-whether it be prominent OF
obscure-provided we play it well
The hodcarrier and the poor wash.
woman, who perform conscien-
tiously and exactly the duties OF
their lowly state, may be far more
pleasing to their Maker than the
professional man, the monarch OF
the genius-Certainly, a consoling
reflection.
Besides, in this world nothing
succeeds like success. For most
men it means everything; while
the Creator regards not the amount
of success we obtain, but the eff.
forts we put torth-our earnest.
mes, our sincerity and good will
TO do cheerfully and well-to the
very best of our abilitv-the duties