The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-02
A SATURDAY SERMON.

| SATURDAY SEhMON.
| Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry;
/ for anger resteth in the bosom OF fools.
! EccleSiaSteS VII y.
This is but a fragment of much OF
the excellent advice that is to be found
in one of the most interesting and
valuable books of the Old Testament.
There has always been more or less
doubt as to who was the author OF
Ecclesiastes But it is commonly
ascribed by tradition to Solomon. At
any rate, it is the work of rare
philosopher. 1t has been analysed as
being composed of two elements, the
authors theoretical and practical
philosophy The theoretical philos-
ophy is, briefly: All is vanity-there
is no gain or result in human life; 1t
is without result, like the whole order
of things which goes on in an eter-
nal round, accomplishing nothing.
All the events of human life are in
the hands of God; man has no more
power over them than he has over
the wind. The practical philosophy
follows from this: Nothing is left to
man but to rejoice in his works, for
that is his portion. Even over this
man has no power; it is also in the
determination of God. Power to en-
Joy what good there is in life is the
gift of God. The author is. of
course, no sensualist. The good" en-
iovment of which he recommends
consists of the simple pleasures of
Iife-eating and drinking, the pleas
ures to be derived from activity In
work or business He is a God-fear-
ing man, and ends his writings as he
begins them with intoxicating the fear
of Cod
But whether one is willing to agree
entirely with such philosophy or not,
a reading or study of Ecclesiastes
cannot we'll be without profit, be-
cause of the admitted and apparent
soundness of much of the advice that
it contains. And surely none of it
hits a nail more squarely on the head
than does the admonition, quoted
above: BE not hasty in thy spirit to
be angry, for anger resteth in the
bosom of FOOLS"
Every one must realize the truth
of that assertion. Haste in becoming
angry is responsible for much of the
trouble and real misery in the world,
the misery that is wrought through
broken hearts and agonized souls.
The men and women who have had
their lives soured and spoiled through
the failing of themselves and others
to give quick vent to their angry pas
sions are without number. They are
almost as many as the leaves on the
trees. Most folk, too, permit them
selves to get angry over exceedingly
inconsequential matters. And when
anger takes possession of a man he
is little better than a raging beast.
Hate throttIes the love and tenderness
that are inherently his. He will say
and do things that he would never
think of saying and doing in his nor
NAL mood. Nor is there any instance
where anger ever awaited a sensible
man anything.
For these reasons, the demon an
ger should be fought necessarily by
every one. The man who lets it get
the upper hand with him has slipped
back many steps in his pursuit of hap
piness, the goal of life. Not only is he
chagrined at his own shortcomings
when the wave of anger blows away
or exhausts itself, but he is almost
certain to find that he has also
opened a wound in some one which
will be a long time healing if it ever
does.
1t is also incumbent on everybody
to be most charitably disposed to-
wards those who are so unfortunate as
to be possessed of hasty tempers, who
are quick to wrath. AS matter of
fact, they are almost wholly ire
sponsible when anger sways them.
Pity should be their portion.