The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-17
"wHAT A BLIND MAN SAW
(soloctcd Tor Tho Times-Dispatoh


Selected for Tho -Dispatch.)
And they bring blind man unto
Him, and besought Him to touch him
And He put His hands on him
and He asked him II he saw aught
and he looked up and said, see mer
as trees walking."-Mark viii. 1924.
That is what a blind man saw. We
may have better eyes than he had
but we do not see only with our eyes
Every one knows that. We SEQ with
our minds. Tho mind looks GU,
through the lens OF the eye as though
a glass. and we see. OF course. we
need eyes. But how much We see de-
! ponds upon the seeing mind.
/: When We realize that sight is mind
seeing. we cannot escape the confess
. sion OF blindness. Clear seeing means
| clear thinking. And who will claim
! the prize for that? We are all broth
ers OF this blind man in his blind.
ness.
| This poor man, from universal black
ness. presently got his eyes half-open.
Christ said. do you see anything?
And he answered, II see men, for boz
hold them as trees walking" Whether
the mon looked to him like trees, or
the trees seemed to be walking about
like men. It Is impossible to say. But
1t is evident what a hazy, laundering
vision he had.
we can see better than that. We
can tell man from a tree. Anyhow.
we think we can. But can we? Are
we sure?
Is not a man thought more OF
man II he owns tree? Suppose he
owns hundred trees. and great
green lawn with fine house In the
midst, is he not more of man on
that account? Does not, then, tree
| go into tho making of manhood? Shall
we regard him as first among men who
possesses the most trees?
| You will not agree to that, nor will
In. We know better than that. We
know that 1t is not what he has. but
what he Is which makes the true man
and settles his place among men.
Character means manhood; the best
| character means the best man, and
trees have nothing to do with It We
can we say as much for our neighbors?
Is 1t not the common way of esttmat-
ing men?
/ Look closely at this blind man OF
]Bethsaida, and see II you do not know
him. Is not his name Society?
What this blind man needs is that
Christ shall touch him and open his
eyes SO that he may recognize q man
when he sees one. Aristocracy Is an
| abiding characteristic OF human life. 1t
has always existed; 1t exists every
where. and it will continue to do SO
until the end OF the world. Aristocrats
are simply the best. That is what
the word means And will always be
the best. But best in what? The Ideal
ELECTROMAGNETIC shall belong to It?
| Sometimes it has been made of the
stoutest muscles: sometimes of the old
est settlers; sometimes Of those with
the biggest pooketbooks.
But Christ settled forever the ideal
aristocracy. He cared not for strength
except for strength of character. II
mattered not to Him II mans great
| grandfather were the patriarch Abra-
ham. He loved the poor man just as
much as the rich. Look at the men
whom He chose as the actual aristo-
Gratis in His own ideal commonwealth
] They We're selected, not for strength
nor family, nor wealth, nor position
nor even wisdom; but simply for their
devotion to their Master. They gladly
followed Christ they were Els friends
The Bible makes short work of the
conventional aristocrat. The greatest
King gets no praise in that just his
tory IL he did not obey and follow the
will Of God. The one infexible stand
ard of appreciation is the rule of right
eousness. When society sees with q
clear vision touched by the healing
hand Of Christ, Christian manhood will
stand for more than birth or bank
! account. We shall doubt no more
about who or what is a man.
/ One OF the most important advan,
! tages OF sight is that 1t gives a
! knowledge of differences 1t makes At
!. possible for us to distinguish between
a man and a tree. And this knowl-
/ edge is one of the most useful things
/ thatw one can possess, because 1t tells
us what is valuable and what Is not.
We see what things are really worth,
A large part of the battle of life has
been fought and gained when one has
I learned the difference between man
and a tree. For that Is the difference
between the great and the small; be-
tween mind and matter; between the
eternal and the transitory; between
earth and heaven. One must recognize
the value of things, and 1t is condi-
toned upon sense OF proportion
None can succeed who habitually mis-
take small things for great. or grea,
for small,
There are many who are as blind as
I this poor man. but they do not know