The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-12-22
"Much Ado About Nothing"

Citizen December 9Th and 10Th in
clusively l find that our oratorical
contest held at Sterling, Pa, some
time ago has caused a great deal of
| dissatisfaction particularly to the
| ones that received that knockout
blow" 1t seems to me that a whole
lot of quibbling about absolutely
nothing is fruitless. can say hon
estly the rest of the judges concur
ring that we sought to be fair in our
decisions and while there was an
unintentional mistake on the part of
| Sterling selecting one of their direc-
tors as a judge, nevertheless l be-
lieve every one of us sought to be
| fair and give each contestant his or
her share of credit.
The question might be asked,
| What is Defeat? Nothing but educa-
tion; nothing but the first steps in
something better. The man or wom-
an who today or yesterday has met
defeat is not always defeated; be-
cause If that particular person or
| persons, has any ambition at all they
| will make that defeat the next time
telling victory. Suppose for in
stance we are part of that great
throng of Romans who were assem-
bled in the Coliseum to see the
hated Christians struggle for the
| lives with the wild beasts of their
amphitheatre. The grand spectacle
is preceded by duel between two
rival gladiators, trained to fight to
the death to amuse the populace.
| When a gladiator hits his adversary
| in such contests he would say "hoc
habet" Che has it), and look up to
see whether he should kill or spare.
IF tho nnnn1n hold thoir n he
the victim would be left to recover
(and what a hard time some people
! have in recovering); they have in
| tellectual dyspepsia in chronic
| form and the only resource they can
| find to remedy their condition is
through the columns of local news
paper) if down he was to die. If he
| showed the least reluctance in pre-
senting his thrust for the death
blow, there would rise a wonderful
| shout: ''Recipe ferrum" (receive the
steeD. Prominent persons would
sometimes go into the arena and
watch the death agonies of the van
| quished, or taste the blood of the
hero. The two rival gladiators as
they entered would shout to the en-
| peror ave, Caesar, morituri to salu-
tant" (Hail Caesar, those about to
die salute thee). Then in mortal
strife they fought long and desper-
ately, these faces wet with perspira-
tion and dirty with the dust of the
arena. Suddenly an aged stranger
in the audience leaps over the rail-
ing and standing bareheaded and
barefooted between the contestants,
bids them stay their hands. A
humming sound comes from the vast
| q tTn Af fe-fA .s-s,,, f,,rr
from a geyser, followed by cries of
Back, Back, old man" But the
gray-haired hermit stands like
statue. "Cut him down, cut him
down." roar the spectators, and the
gladiator's statue, the would-be
peace-maker to earth, and fight over
his dead body
But what of it? What is the life
of poor old hermit compared with
the thousands who have met their
deaths in that vast arena? The un-
] known man died, but his death
brought Rome to her senses, and no
more gladiatorial contests disgraced
the Coliseum, while in every prov
ince of the empire the custom was
utterly abolished, to be revived no
more.
The vast ruin stands to-day
monument to the victory in the her
mit's defeat. No man fails who does
his best for if the critical world ig-
more him and use the gloves on him
his labor is weighed In the scales of
Omniscient Justice. AS there is no
effect without cause, no loss of ener-
gy in the world, so conscientious
persistence and grinding cannot
fail of its ultimate reward.
| nnN - -
learn how to get victory out of de-
feat. 1t seems to me that if our
friend Prof. Sipe who has made SO
much talk about nothing would simp-
ly educate his energies towards that
which is something he might be able
to give the Knockout blow if he
works hard enough But he has got
to hustle before he can do up the
Ariel boys. Now Sipe, turn some of
that bone of yours into flint, and girls
tie into muscle, that makes men in
vincible and formed ascendency in
the world. Do not then, Sipe, be
afraid of defeat. You are never so
near to victory, as when defeated in
good cause.
Failure becomes the final test of
persistence and of an iron will. 1t
either crushes a life, or solidifies
it. The wounded oyster mends his
Shell with pearl. He who never
failed has never half-succeeded. The
defeat at Bull Run was really the
greatest victory of the civil war, for
it sent the towards to the rear, and
the politicians home. 1t was the
lightning flash in the dark night of
our nations peril which gave us
glimpses of the weaker places in
our army. 1t was the mirror which
showed us the faces of the political
aspirants.
All the great works of the world
has been accomplished by courage,
and the worlds greatest victories
have been borne of defeat. Every
blessing that we enjoy, personal, Sc
curity, individual liberty, and con-
stitutional freedom, has been obtain
ed through long apprenticeships Of
evil The right of existing as a ma
tion has only been accomplished
through ages of wars and horrors.
j 1t required four centuries of martyr
L