The Washington herald., 1911-01-08

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Job, THE Lord giveth and the Lord TAX
eth away; blessed be the name of the
| Lord and to lean on the everlasting
arms"
Optimism is the thought Of gladness.
II is the thought of good wishes" for
all. 1t is the thought that reveals its
timist, the smile. the symbol of optim-
| ism. 1t is the rest of mind. the content
| of heart, the lightness, of soul. the
| clearness of conscience that is resultant
| in a congenial. benevolent, loving dispo-
! sition, also symbolical of optimism. 1t is
| the greatest possession of any man,
| woman, or child inhabiting this sphere.
1t is the only remnant Of the sublime
! bliss that has survived the. falLof Eden.
| Optimism. blessed optimism. we bow be-
| fore thy sacred shrine in alteration. Our
poor work may perish. but thine shall
| endure forever JOHN N. KING.
Optimism means a freedom from that
| worry and inordinate strife which beset
the lives Of the unsatisfied and covetous
1t means years of youthfulness: never
| longing for death because Of old age.
| 1t means friends for you, and you never
| an enemy to anybody. Ii means to every
J one who INDUCES in its soft and love-
| generating influence, to the rich and to
! the poor. to the healthy and to the un-
healthy-to all. contentment and happi-
hess. and if not a long life, surely an
ALLEN PRENDER
What. indeed does the word optimism
| imply? 1t lies in the power of every op-
| timist to answer that question.
Optimism causes us to look for the best
qualities in our friends. The endeavor to
look at the bright side of things will in
| time produce the habit OF optimism-a
habit that is the surest safeguard against
surrounding evils. If we give to the
world the best we have we are sure to
get the best in return.
To attune the mind to cheerfulness
should be one Of the first principles Of
optimism, because We are told that
! everything but poison thrives in a cheer
full atmosphere. Optimism begets con-
tentment- which We all know is an i'm
pregnable fortress against the misfor-
tunes that come into our lives
Knowing the good to be derived from
the spread of optimism. we should en-
deavor not only to cultivate this spirit Of
universal hopefulness. but to distribute
| its rays along the pathway of those who
have not yet learned to appreciate its
value. A. B. FITZGERALD.
Optimism is the doctrine that 'all
things work together for good to those
who love the Lord" But the love of the
Lord is an active, progressive principle.
not to be confused with that listless
habit of mind which accepts idly what
ever happens under some vague impress
sion that things will turn out right
some how or other; or il the do not,
why, it will be all the same hundred
years hence" That is mere incidence
stagnation, bearing the same relation to
optimism that bit of helplessly drift
ing wreckage bears to the powerful ship
plowing its way through gale and flood
straight to its appointed haven. The op-
timiSt does not think to find the harvest
Of good ready to his hand: neither does
he expect it to mature while he sits idly
by. He firmly believes that possibilities
for good reside in every condition, event.
and course of action-seeds to be sought
out and cultivated with industry and
care and made to yield a beneficent
harvest
The pesimist says: Lo. the sun is set.
am in utter darkness. My work is end
ed: my way is cut OF. Let me face the
inevitable with dignified fortitude. Let
void. Let me not delude myself by vain
IL imagining that the sun still shines, as
does my optimistic brother. How easily
he takes life. He never worries. He
seems not to realize his own wretched
condition. Poor fellow. his cheerfulness
is almost pitiful. He blinds himself with
delusions.
The optimist says: Truly the sun is set,
but experience assures me that it will
rise again, and reason teaches me that IN
the very nature of things it must rise
again. Undoubtedly the darkness delays
my journey, hinders my work: yet let me
hut adjust myself to the altered condi-
tions and the night may be turned to
account in many pleasant and profitable
ways. There is satisfaction in knowing
that while my path is shrouded in gloom.
others far beyond my horizon are rejoic-
ing in the sunlight. The serene beauty
of the stars. the soft melodies of the
night, the quiet communion with the few
friends who stay by us through the hours
of shadow. the season Of repose that
brings renewed vigor-these are mercies
that the splendor OF day cannot yield.
The aim of the true optimist Is so to
profit by the good that is inherent in all
experience that he may learn to thank
God far the night Of adversely as well as
for the day Of prosperity:
There are those who express themselves
as dissatisfied with what seems to them
an unjustified optimism. and who think
the better view Of life Is the fatalistic
one which frankly recognizes the inability
of puny man to change by one iota the
existing order Of things-who hold with
the Tentmaker that:
We are no other than q moving row
OF Magic shadow-shapes that come and
go
Round with the sun-illumined lantern
held
In midnight by the master Of the snow.
But helpless pieces Of the game he plays
Upon This checkerboard Of nights and
days;
Hither and thither moves. and checks.
and slays.
And one By one back In the closet lays
But after all optimism simply means
taking the best possible view Of things.
and that II surely the sanest attitude that
We can assume as we pursue our brief
pilgrimage from one vast unknown to
another. It 10 true that We are compassed
about with much evfl, but life's pathway
il also strewn with much good, and the
optimist simply elects to choose the good
rather than the evil.
Not that the optimist wjllfully closes
his eyes to the ell. II b his aim. II