The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1909-07-13
.D|sCONTENT is
THEME OF TALK
(FrOm Sunday Is Advertiser. }


fact that they can not soar to realms
above, but the discomfort that prompts
endeavor, that spurs the soul onward
to achievements, was the topic of
stirring appeal by DR.. Thomas E. Green
at the Opera House last night. 1t was
sermon, a sermon of real life, that
the speaker delivered.
The fire of the evangelist, the zeal
of the monastic priest, and the deep
erudition of the scientist were all roll
ed into one in the succession of moral
lessons which DR.. Green preached to his
hearers.
DR.. Green said, in part:
You have been taught, since first
you began your individual training, that
contentment is one of the greatest vir-
tues that mankind can possess. 1t is
slap in the face of conventionality,
of accepted philosophy, when l preach
to you the doctrine of discomfort as the
means of accomplishing things.
1T was not so long ago that man
had to be contented whether he would
or no. Mans sphere was narrow, he,
of necessity, had to be satisfied with
his surroundings.
''To the early man it was impossible
to imagine anything that did not cor
respond to something that he was ac-
quainted with. The mountain had its
giants, giants whose rough games caus-
ed the thunder which disturbed his
slumbers. Even the gods of the early
man were simply magnifed creatures,
possessing all of his particular virtues
and his shortcomings. The god of the
early man was magnified human
Every phenomenon was the work of
some god, built in human image.
An early man was possessed of
fever. To him it was but the work of
scores of devils, dashing through his
body and taking delight in pricking
and prodding him with their fiery darts.
Man coulu do nothing but bow in con-
tentment to his fate and make the best
of it.
:" The wonder is that, in his struggle
for existence, the primitive man ever
found time to begin the study of crea-
tion. 1t was only discomfort which
prompted him. Do you realize what he
had to overcome7
Modern science has devised instru-
ments so delicate that q microbe one
-hundred-and-f fifty -thousandth of an
inch can be detected We're | to take a.
wheel, seven feet in diameter, start it
going at the rate of 365 revolutions
every five seconds, and place that little
microbe upon it, should put before you
an example illustrating the relation
ship of the human being to this great
world of ours. To that little microbe
each revolution would be equivalent to
one day. Five seconds would to that
microbe represent one year of life
Four minutes would be equivalent to
mans four score years and ten. What
chance would that little microbe have
to study the reason of it all7
''The old Greeks had legend that
the first discovery of man was fire. IF
that be true, he must of have discov-
cred it on some magic isle like yours
in the south, where great volcanic dis
turbance attracted his attention. Or it
may have been that he dropped piece
of raw meat into a boiling spring and,
taking it out, cooked, found it good.
1t was discomfort that enabled him to
profit by his discovery.
''The Indian came to the edge of
the American desert. Muttering pray
ers to ward off the evil spirits that
infested the desolate place, he waited
until nightfall, and then ventured ON
his way in fear and trembling. The
desert had conquered the Indian.
The 'forty-niner' reached the des-
ert. He also gazed upon it with fear.
The desert had conquered him.
"The Pioneer came. He drove to
one side, afraid to trust his life upon
the sea of desolate, burning sand. The
desert had conquered the pioneer.
'Then came the twentieth century
civilization, and it laughed at the
desert. Il am the spirit of progress,
it said, I'm spread wide my canals,
and I'll bring waters to quench the
fires in your burning bosom. Civiliza-
ton conquered the desert. What is
civilization, but the product of discon-
tent2
"There never was teacher, until
the most recent times, who did not
teach that discomfort was wrong.
HWhy, your modern scientist will
|, tell you that all creation, the universe
itself, is the very apotheosis of chaos.
| Order is not heaven IS first law, though
philosophers have told you time and
again that it is.
Discomfort has been the foundation
of advancement. 1t was discomfort that
| gave liberty to this country. 1t was
discomfort that prompted the common
| pNOPiS VI " LiSCuOh
from the barons.
"Christ was malcontent. He was
born into a world of sham, and he
preached discomfort with everything
but absolute freedom from taint.
Christ's disciples were known as the
men who turned the world upside down.
"When folk become contented, they
stagnate. Discomfort prompts them to
renewed efforts. The progress of human
history has been the gospel of discon-
tent. The simple life has done but
little good to this world.
81 want you to become disconnected
with all that is not good, and pure,
and true in Honolulu. 1 want you to
be discontented with a moral code
which breaches one law for the man
and another for the woman. | want you
to be discontented with state of
affairs that allows indiseriminate mat
ing. The priest and the physician should
stand together before the altar, and