The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1911-03-16
IDEALS.

IDEALS.
Speaking of ideals, Louis Pasteur once
remarked: "Happy is the man who hasa
god in his heart''-the man who worshlps
at the shrine Of the beautiful, the true ana
the good In the hurry and excitement
OF modern life, with its hot pursuit OF
material comforts, if we would keep our
selves from degenerating into mere high
grade animals or intelligent machines, II
we wish to preserve and develop the moral
side of our character, we must have
"god in our heart lofty ideals OF truth,
beauty and goodness-to which we can
turn now and then for light and guidance
and inspiration. This is no mere poetic
fancy, or philosophic speculation, but an
actual, practical and living fact. 1t is the
absence of these noble ideals that makes
life not worth the living for so many after
they have been severely wounded by 1.-The
shafts and arrows of outrageous fortune"
The man who has "god in his heart is
never wholly daunted CT overwhelmed by
misfortune. No matter how serious his
reverses may be, he has always something
to fall back upon. The man of noble
ideals, instead of repining at the inevitable
ills which flesh is heir to, not infrequently
manages to pluck his greatest victories
from seeming defeat.
Cultured Europeans have often declared
that the American ideal is the almighty
dollar. Time was when the charge was not
wholly unfounded; and in many quarters it
has even now fairly solid foundation. But,
fortunately, its application to the American
people as whole is gradually growing
fainter and fainter; and it is highly prob
able that the time is is not far distant when
it will be nothing short of a gross libel,
and assuredly the sooner the better. The
strenuous life of the modern business
world, tends, no doubt, to develop strength
of character; but if business success, or
money getting, is allowed to become the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and
the end of existence, the development is apt
to be altogether one-sided. Without the
genter and nobler ideals-in fact, without
a certain amount of day dreaming-life is
not unlikely to grow utterly sordid, dull
and uninteresting. The modern trend is
decidedly practical, and the tendency is to
discard all that cannot be measured in
terms of the useful or practical. In this
connection, it can be said with absolute
truth that there never was a time when
IF ;o,b
Such ideals may, indeed, have no money
value, they may be of little or no benefit
from commercial standpoint; but they
certainly have an inestimable value from
the added charm and zest they give to life.
and their power to rescue from the ennui
and boredom which must sooner or later
follow purely material pursuits.
Under present conditions, we are sadly in
need of an admixture Of idealism, or day.
dreaming. Nor have we any reason to fea1
moderate dose of it. There is not much
danger of carrying the thing too far. We
could not if we would. The rapidly revolv.
ing wheel of progress will not let US
There is no question that modicum of thu
ideal would make life and its burden more
bearable. Put two men together in identi
cal circumstances. The one will CLEAR
every possible bit Of good from his sur
roundings. Everything is grist for hi
mill; all nature has voice for him, ant
he, an ear for it. The other will stand il
the very midst of Gods wondrous work
like one deaf, dumb and blind. The bird
and flowers have no message for him; o
rather they have but he does not heed it
Of course some are more gifted than other
in this respect, some minds more closel,
attuned to nature. All can't be poets, bu
all can acquire an intelligent apprecition O
natural truth, beauty and goodness. 1t i
habit of mind which can be cultivate
by all. And assuredly it is we'll wort
cultivating. Truly fortunate are they who
in the language of the poet:
Find tongues in trees,
Books in the running brooks;
Sermons in stones,
And good in everything.
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