The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-08-05

SALTWATER,
do. l had done more than twenty
wrong things, for which l had always
felt regret, and was about to seize my
imaginary sponge and rub them out at
once, but l thought it best to move
with care, to do as l had done to others,
lay nay character out upon the dissect-
ing table and trace all the influences
which had made or marred it. Ifound
to my surprise, if there were any golden
threads running through it, they were
wrought out by the regrets felt at the
wrong; that these regrets lad run
through the course IF my life, guided
my footsteps through all the intricacies
and problems, and if should obliterate
golden threads were whose
lengthening lines were woven into my
very nature-if l should obliterate all
these 1 should destroy what little there
was of virtue in my moral makeup.
Thus | learned that the wrong act fol-
lowed by the just regret and by thought
full caution to avoid like errors made
me better man than l should have
been if had never fallen. In this l
found hope for myself and hope for
others, and tell you who sit before
me, as l say to you all In every condi-
tion, that if you will you can make
yourselves better men than if you had
never fallen into errors and crimes. A
mans destiny does not turn upon the
fact of his doing or not doing wrong;
for all men will do it; but of how he
bears himself, what he does and what
he thinks after the wrong act. It was
we'll said by Confucius, the Chinese
sage, that mans character is decided
not by the number of times he falls,
but by the number of times he lifts
himself up.
do not know why evil is permitted
in this world. but do know that each
of us has the magical power to trans
mute it into good. Everyone before
me can, if he will, make his past errors
sources of moral elevation. Is this not
a grand thought, which should not only
give us hope, but which should inspire
US with firm purposes to exercise this
power which makes us akin to the AL
mighty? For He has given it to Us and
has pointed out in His word how We
shall use it. The problem meets us at
every step. There is nothing we do
which will not make us better or worse.
do not speak merely of great events,
but of the thoughts upon our beds; the
toll of the workshop and the little du-
ties which attend our every hour. God
in His goodness does not judge us 80
much by what we do, but when we have
done things right or wrong, our destiny
mainly turns upon what we think and
do after their occurrence. It is then
we decide if they shall lift us up to a
higher level or bear US down to lower
grade of morals. Our acts mainly
spring from impulses or accidents-the
sudden temptation, imperfect knowl-
edge, or erring judgment It is the
afterthought that gives them their hue
The world may MT see this; it may
frown upon the deed and upon the man
who nevertheless by his regrets makes
it one which shall minister to purity
and virtue in all his afterlife. You
who sit before me in some ways have
advantages over men whose minds are
agitated by the hopes and fears of &C.
tive pursuits; who find no time by their
thoughts to make them tend to virtue
and to happiness. With each of you in
little time the great question will be-
not if you are to be set free, not what
the world thinks of you, not what yor
have, but what you are; for death Otter
knocks at the door of your cell an(
some of your number are carried from
their narrow walls to the more marrow
!. walls of the grave. Let it not b,
, thought that | prove wrong may b.
/ done SO that good may follow. Witt
! st. Paul / protest against such infer
| ence from the truths that men ar
saved by the repentance of their sins
J But let us look farther into this sub
> ject, for it deeply concerns US. Thougl
/, we are unable to recall the errors o
: the past we may so deal with them tina
l they will promote our wisdom, oIr vii
9 tue and our happiness. Upon this poin
I am not theorizing. Whoever think
ol will learn that human experienc