Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-04-09
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LIVES THAT LEAD.

L4V Els THAT LEAD.
By Henry F. Cope.
The path of the just is as the shin
ing light that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day."-Prov. 4 :1S.
Pictures fade; books turn to dust;
but lives live On forever. The soul
OF single man has such possibili
ties that 1t can project itself through
all time, touch practically all lives and
I'LL all eternity with its force. Beside
the potentialities of one life all other
powers sink into insignificance. This
is the fruitage of the travail of the
ages and all the works Of our hands
are but the dust on its petals.
Few may write books or paint great
pictures, but all must live their lives
and with US all it lies to determine
whether they shall be great or small,
high as heaven in their towering In
spiration or deep as the grave in their
dark warning. This is the great work,
just to live Alright and to find the I'M
ending life by living the kind of life
that cannot end.
The great books, pictures, sermons,
oratOriOs Of all the ages are just hui
man lives; all our writings, compost
lions, and sayings are but reflections
OF the light Of greatness in PERSONAL
ties; every enduring inspiration rises in
some living soul. What you are is al
ways more to the world than all that
you can say or sing; the one Is intelli-
gible and possible only by the other.
We forget this so easily; we talk
Of living to do great things; we seem
to think that greatness is wholly
matter of exalted circumstance or eX-
ceptional opportunities, possible only to
the few and denied to the many be-
cause it is evident that not all can be
kings or conquerors, heroes starring
on the front pages or martyrs dying at
the stake.
The truly great are large Of heart,
lofty of aspiration, generous OF soul
long before they meet the particular
duty or crisis that reveals their exist
ing greatness to the public gaze; they
are great before they meet the great
occasion; the greatest remain great Of
heart and soul after such an occasion.
The position does not make the man
the man but magnifies the position.
Your place in life may seem to be
a lowly one but the size of your life
does not depend on your situation;
you would be just as small If the
caprice Of fortune cast you up on the
steps Of a throne; you would be just
as great If 1t led you to the most OBJ
scure place on earth. The secret of
greatness is the cultivation of great
qualities of heart and mind in secret.
The essential things Of life lie with
in the reach Of all the elements Of
greatness are never in things unattain-
able by the most loWly.
The man within you depends not on
gee-gaws or feathers, not on baggage
or furniture, not on rank or station,
but on large heartedness, honesty, sin
cerity, and elevation of purpose,
breadth Of sympathy and simplicity.
The glory of the great life is that 1t
speaks to us all; such a life is one of
Tie DcOpuSlS u uISA hC AAOSI
high is not silent so long as these lives
speak. How they move us to shame
with our pettiness, with our striv1ngs
after empty honOrs and fading wealth.
What a call is here to lay aside pre-
tense and mockeries, to cease to en-
deavor to disguise low aim with lofty
phrases, and to be our best selves.
There were great lives in the long
ago: and there are truly great lives
close to our own day lives that lift
themselves in sheer gentleness and no.
bility to leadership and bearing them
selves with simplicity and humility, in
elevation and through tremendous
crises help us on. Can there be any
thing much better than to make them
known to our children and to follow
their laws ourselves?
Let not the lower self, slothful
and dreading toll and trial, say to us ::
The way of greatness is only for the
chosen few; be content with being just
about what you are. Let not that
same self, seeking to trick you, say !:
Seek the great place; lift your empty
self to high place and men will call
you great. The great stream is great
whether it flows in quietness or is
sweeping obstacles before it or bearing
ships on its bosom. The great life is
not less in obscurity than when the
times call its reserves to their aid.
MORE GOOD MEN AND WOMEN.
Rv Rev. Charles E. Aked, D. D.