The Washington herald., 1911-01-08
THE PROCESS OF THE SUNS

LII 1nOOGsCO OT LII oON6.
Said a writer to the Spectator in one
Of those intimate communications so
well written that even after all these
years they seem to have the vital force
Of deliberately conceived literary essay:
II am fully persuaded that one of the
best springs of generous and worthy ac-
ton is the having generous and worthy
thoughts of ourselves. Whoever has a
mean opinion of the dignity of his nature
will act in no higher rank than he has
allotted to himself in his own estimation.
If he considers his being circum
Scribed by the uncertain term of a few
years his designs will be contracted into
that same narrow span he imagnes Is to
bound his existence. How can he eXalt
his thoughts TO anything great or noble,
who only believes that, after short
term on the stage OF this world. he is to
sink into oblivion and lose his conscious
ness forever"
This opens Il subject that has been a
theme of many of the great cssaysts.
and which is the basis of much specula-
tive philosophy. The relation between
right living and right thinking is unde-
nabIe and it is because this relation is
SO close that the value of right think
ins-of thinking toward right and noble
ends-can hardly be overrated.
As Tennyson said:
Yet doubt not through the ages one uncasins
rnr1rSr runs,
And the thoughts of men arc widcned with the
process Of the suns
Who is there can doubt the truth of
b.
century by century. human life has
grown fuller and richer and to-day, so
insistently and pafnstakingly is science
searching out the hidden mysteries that
life never seemed to hold out so rich
promises before. Much that was hidden
from out forefathers. who thought them
selves wondrous wise. we have discov-
cred: much that is hidden from us, and
for which we are now cropping like chill
dren in the dark, shall be revealed in due
course to those who come after us.
"A hair. perhaps. divides the false and true;
Yes and single alf were the clesF
Gould hut find It to the treasure house,
And, peIadventure, to the Master. ton"
And, revertinS to Tennyson. it would
be well for us to remember that this
progress that is being made; this process
of the suns is never-has never been. and
never will be-the result Of unconsidered
human action. 1t owes its being to de-
coureur of all human accomplishment.
Every philosopher has recognized this
truth; many have set it down, but none
in clearer terms than did Thomas Carlyle,
who, in his Heroes and Hero Worship
says:
I'm csery epoch of the world, the great event.
parent Of all Others. is it not the arrival Of a
thinker In the worid:"
He means, of course, a great thinker,
the man whose dominant mind impeIs
others to follow him: and the world in
which he lives moves on by reason of
his power of thought, of seeing more
clearly into the future than those about
him; not by haltins steps, but by leaps
and bounds.
And yet the great point for all of us
to consider is that the power of thought
the good to be wrought by right think
inG-is inherent in all of US, and that no
duty lies heavier upon US than that of
guarding our thoughts and guiding them
into channels that shall be helpful to
ourselves and an inspiration to others.
Thought, like every other blessing.
comes from Him to whom we owe every
thing. and as Bailey says, in his ''Festus' -
Fine thoughts are wealth, for the right use Of
which
Men and onsh: tn be accountable
If not to Thee. TO those they influence
From worthy thoughts spring worthy
actions, and the reverse is true. 1t is
not by accident that a man does good
in the world; any more than it is by
chance that he does evil. It all begins
with thought-good or ill-and our light
est thought may have an influence wider
than we dream OF on all those with whom
we come in contact:
The woman aDseth at her spinning wheel
A pleasant chant, ballad bsrcarole:
She thinketh Of her song upon the whole
Far more than on her fax; and yet the reel
Is full. and artfIlly her fingers feel
With quick adjustment, provident control,
The hnes-too srbty twisted 10 unrolI-
Out to . perfect thread. 1 hence appeal
To the dear Christiaa ci:rrct-that We may do
Our Fathers business in these temples mirk,
Thus s~ft and steadfast thus intent and strong:
While thus. apart from toll our souls pursue
Some high. calm. sphesic tune. and prove our work
The better for the sweetness Of our song
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