Evening star., 1912-07-20
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Bv the Cllurcllman.

manu- al y SiNiiS yott al liSNoi VI
instruction along that line. With
almost every commodity on the
Jump. millions of American fam
lilies are finding it a serious prob
lem to keep ahead of the bill
collector.
At this time we speak rather
of the high cost of right living.
Kindly note the qualifying adj
jective | want to take the dis
cusssion for a moment or two into
higher realm, and make it con-
Germ of moral life rather than of
mere physical existence. Exist
ence is not necessarily expensive.
A crust or two and a few glasses
of water day will do the trick
for any of us. Genuinely right
living, on the other hand. whether
one is accustomed to dine on ter
rapin or on black bread, is a very
costly proposition. And it will be
no cheaper whether the price Of
foodstuffs goes up or down.
1t is not an easy matter in this
world to stand up to ones ideals.
Such loyalty. whatever the old
school copybooks used to tell us,
means struggle and sacrifice. He
who bitches his wagon to a star
is going to find rough travelling.
The best and most genuine people
in the community are not always
the people receiving the largest
degree of popular acclaim. The
man who lives clean, tells the
truth, works for the public good
without any ulterior motives, is
by no means sure of receiving all
the bouquets. Instead, he is like
ly to get kicks and cuffs and
sneers. The better man is the
more will all evil men hate him.
History proves the case up to
the hilt. You have a reason why
Dante. most luminous spirit of his
age, one of the greatest poets of
all time, must die broken-hearted
exile. You have a reason why
noble-spirited Paul of Tarsus
must lay his neck on the heads
mans block. You have reason
why Jesus Of Nazareth, great
friend of humanity, must die at
the hands of implacable enemies.
The world has a way of stoning
its prophets and setting at naught
its moral leaders. Any one who
has lifted his head above the. level
of his times has had to face the
opposing spirit of commercialism
and utility. Our own age is no
wise different in this regard from
its predecessors.
His biographer tells how, dur
ing the last ten years Of his short
life. the composer Mozart lived III
the great pleasure-loving city of
Vienna. He was in extreme pow
erty. eking out a precarious sup
port by giving concerts and piano
lessons. Often he actually suf-
fered from cold and hunger. His
compositions brought him in little
or nothing. the public preferring
the ''ragtime" Of that day to the
more serious works of the master.
When his publisher told him that
he must write in an easy, popular
style or not a note would be
printed, nor a cent paid him. he
replied: Then. my good sir, /
have only to resign myself and
die of hunger
1t doesn't cost much merely to
live, to exist, as the clam does in
the harbor mud, but to live right
that is an expensive matter.
The man who stands for prin-
ciple. suffers for the truth and
proves loyal to an ideal must fire.
quently exercise a force of will
and a patience in sacrifice that
moral misers know nothing about.
The costliest product in crea-
tion is a righteous character, and
it is worth all it costs. The best
things in life come high. If you
start out to buy genuine Franz
Halls or Rembrandt you are like
ly to pay for it at about the rate
OF ST. 900 per square inch. 4 sign
painter will cover whole board
fence for you at one-twentieth of
that rate. If you get the master
piece you are going to settle a big
bill. And it is not otherwise with
character.
When a man invests in good
life he invests in that which will
outlast the stars. An approving
conscience is the supreme earthly
boon. Any material success is as
dust and ashes beside that. When
one comes to realize these things
he is conscious OF no sacrifice and
no regret as he gladly pays the
high cost of right living.
What Have You Done!
You know of some one. do ron not
Whose presence serves to make you glad,
Whose coming strengthens you somewhat
| And soothes the bruises you have had.
! Is there not one OF whom won say: