Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-24

temptation and press FORWARD TO IHe
contamination of a high purpose? 1t is
their ideal of life.
As ! have gone through the country l
have found here and there young men
sometimes the sons Of farmers, some
times the sons of mechanics. sometimes
the sons of merchants. sometimes the
sons of professional men-young men who
have one characteristic in common,
namely, that they have been preparing
for service They have learned that serv-
ice is the measure of greatness, and
though they have not always known just
what line of work they were to follow,
they have been preparing themselves for
service, and they will be ready when the
opportunity comes.
] know young man who came to this
country when he was eighteen years of
age; he came to study our institutions
and learn of our form of government,
and now he has returned with deter
mination to be helpful to his people. l
watched him for five years. and l never
knew "A man who more patiently or per-
severingly pursued high ideal. You
might have offered him all the money in
the Treasury to have become a citizen of
the United States, but 1t would have been
no temptation to him. He would have
told YOU that he had a higher ideal than
to stand guard over a chest of money.
His desire was to be useful to his coun-
try, and ! have no doubt that he will be.
x
Some years ago it was my good
fortune to spend the day in the coun-
try home of the great philosopher Of
Russia. You know something of the his
tory of Tolstoy, how he was born in
the ranks of the nobility and how, with
such a BIRTH he enjoyed every possible
social distinction. At an early age he
became writer of fiction and his books
gave him fixed place among the nov
ellStS of the century. He sounded all
the depths and shoals of honor in so
far as honor could be derived from So
ciety or from literature. and yet at the
age Of forty-eight life seemed SO vain
and empty to HIM that he wanted to die.
They showed me ring in the ceiling of
a room In his house from which he had
Planned to hang himself. And what de-
tered him? A change came in his
ideals He was born again, he became
new creature, and for more than
twenty eight years clad in the garb of
a peasant and living the simple life
of a peasant. he preached unto all the
world a philosophy that rests upon the
doctrine Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart and thy neighbor
as myself.
There Is scarcely civilized commu-
Iity III oil the WOTlO Wnefe the name
of ToiStoy is not known and where his
influence has not been felt He made
such an impression upon the heart of
Russia and the world that while some
of his books were refused publication in
Russia and denied Importation from
abroad. and while people were pro-
hib.ted from circulating some of the
things that he wrote. yet with a. million
men under arms the government did
not lay its hands upon Tolstoy.
u x
Let me add another illustration of a
complete change in the ideal In col
leSe / became acquainted with q stu
dent fourteen years my senior, and
learned the story of his life. For some
years he was a tramp, going from place
to place without fixed purposes or habi-
tatton. One night he went by accident
into place where revival was in
progress, and he was not only converted
but he decided to be a minister.
watched him as he worked his way
through college. doing chores to earn his
board and lodging, working on Satur-
days In a store, and during the summer
months at anything he could find to do
/ watched him as he worked his way
through the theological seminary, and
then / watched him as he preached the
gospel until he died, and 1 never knew
q man more consecrated to a high pur-
the twinkling of an eye. Could anything
be more marvellous?
In the journey from the cradle to the
grave we encounter nothing SO marvel
Gus as the change in the ideals that
work a revolution in the life itself, and
there Is nothing in materialism to ex-
plain this change.
1t makes a great deal of difference to
the Individual what his ideal is. and it
also makes difference to those about
him. If you have man working for
you it makes a great deal of difference
to you whether he Is watching You all
the time to see that you give him the
best possible pay for his work, or watch
ing himself a little to see that he gives
you the best possible work for his pay
And we are all working for somebody.
Instead of working by the day and re-
ce!ving our pay at night. or instead OF