The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-07-22


ped Mt Hermon, lifting its mighty
bulk 10000 feet above the sea, and
the portals of eternity opened. There,
surrounded with supernatural beings.
His face did shine as the sun, and
his garments were white as the light"
It was a foregleam of what shall be.
Wrapped in a glorious cloud, In an
ecstacy unutterable, shaking Off the
weight of care and trouble the soul Of
the Perfect Man claimed it's rightful
heritage and revelled in conscious vic
tory.
Exalted Experiences.
Such luminous moments have been
often experienced by men. There are
long years of dreary service and
drudgery. The burdens of life gall
the bending shoulders, and the feet
are blistered as they tread their way
ov"r the burning sands. And then,
suddenly, We find ourselves toiling up
tho slopes of our Mount of Transflg-
uration on whose heaven-kissing sum-
NIT we see visions and hear voices
whose glory and power can never be
told, and in the memory of which we
move for years thereafter.
All the great things of earth have
come to men in these moments of ex-
altation. when the soul is flooded with
the light such as never was on sea
or land" The musician produces his
compositions, good but unsatisfactory;
and then all at once in a moment OF
inspiration gives the world an immor-
tai oratorio. The artesan laboriously
tolls in his workshop, and suddenly
startles the world with an indispensi.
BILE invention The artist paints pic
ture that crowns all his achievements.
TIE sculptor carves an image that Is
the admiration of the ages. The poet
sings a song that throbs through the
centuries. The statesman produces a
system of government that emanci-
pates q race. They are the results OF
mountain top visions, of the luminous
moments of life.
We estimate men in this world,
not by what they may be doing at any
specified time, but by what they have
done in their highest moods, what
they have done at their best We do
not expect Demosthenes to make
every speech an "Oration for the
Crown" We do not look for Shakes
peare to be always writing a Ham
let" One "In Memoriam" satisfies us
as to the ability OF Tennyson. We
measure their calibre by what they
have done, and can do, in the full
swell of their powers.
Raphael's Masterpiece.
Perhaps the noblest the most beau
tiful picture in the world is Raphaeps
last masterpiece, his last painting, the
Transfluration. now IL the Vatican at
Rome. He spent years of study upon
It: 1t was scarcely finished when he
died. While he was sick, he had the
picture hung in his sight, that his con-
slant thoughts might rest upon IT,
And when he was dead, the picture
was hung above his lifeless body,
where for days crowds came to honor
his wonderful genius, as they looked
with reverence at the dead artist and
his matchless conception.
We cannot all be Raphaels, but we
can all have our TRANSPORTATION, a
great crisis in our career when we
are lifted above and out of our en-
as Paul was, caught up into
invisible spaces TO hear and see
things unutterable. The busy mer-
chant may have It, the toiling day
laborer may experience II, the care
worn mother may enjoy 1t. Such a
luminous moment will broaden our
increase our faith, make life's
burdens easier to carry, send us forth
with new inspiration 10 take our place
in the toll of life at the foot OF the
mount We may not say much about
II In after years, but all life will take
OF different meaning thereafter, and
we shall move among men as those
who have been where the gates OF
heaven were ajar.
Such moments are not the every
day experiences of men. Christ had
but one TRANSPORTATION In his 33 years
Of life. II was not the day dream OF
youthful enthusiasm. a mere castle In
the air of a visionary. It was the
revelation of God to a soul prepared
for 1t by years of patient discipline
Service in the valley and on the plain
Is the preparation for the vision.