The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-09-28
60 TO

Justly and honorab.. because he is afraid or
hell or desires heaven, because he is afrad OF
being hanged, fears the jniI BUT BECaI-SE IN,
CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT HIS OWN RESPECT
BECAUSE HE IS BEGINNING TO GET A SPARK
or THE REAL HUMANITY WHICH WILL, n
FUTURE GOVERN Us ABSOLUTELY
The day is coming when All men will do pood no.
cause they WANT 10 do good and for no other
reason AMI that will be only the very beginning
Of civilizations
Meanwhile let rs be glad that there are other
inducements TO good condnc, and To great accom-
pishmcnt
Let rs be grateful for the stories about hell and
about heaven. for the dreadful pictures Of a ycnpo-
full and torturing God; let be grateful even for
the rack, the knout. the hangmans rope the per.
sonai vanity, the desire for scf-approya, and all
the other inside savage forces that have driven men
on to do their best 10 abstain from their worst
while waiting for them become civilized
Here is the letter from our friend. Read IT. II
will interest you:
Dear Sir,-Your editorial i'm which You saw Won
have been asked whether the opportunities ut pres
cnt arc many for young formerly was Ger.
tninly very interesting reading appears that the
bur
it also requires greater ability at present 20 scizo
them 1t is doubtful whether the young men of the
past could repeat their successes under present con
ditions.
That part of your editorial where you say to the
effect that most after they die are about rs
much thought Of rs the chickens they atc starts
up train of thought something like this in nv
mind: What's tho difference whether posterity
knows or cares about us rs individuals not? It's
only question of time anyhow, if no catastrophe
occurs before to destroy life here when the earth
will cool of and roll ms an uninhabitcd snhcro
through space, SO what is the of worrying
whether posterity knows of me or not? Most Of
Us are not sufficiently cognzant of our own unim
portance. Such Edison, for instance an.
pear ms mental giants to for the that most
of us arc intellectual pigmies. Possibly on some
other planet further along in the scale of dcvcop-
ment than ours there integences that womb
make the mind of Edison ridicnlously in
significant. Reasoning from deduction, that is
quite probability.
For centuries past it seems to have been the aim
OF tho human microbe to leave some ''footpr ~
the sands OF time There evidences that Tho
ancicnts (as we call those who lived few short
years hgo) were imbued with the idea of perpe-
uating their mental and physical personalities OLD
Father Time simply laughed in his sleeve at their
puerile efforts, and great poet apfy described
their efforts: what fools these mortaIs be-"
Why not get down to hard pan? Why not dron
the idea OF doing things for II hope OF reward or !,
fear of punishment and do right for rights sake and
because it is just as easy to do right wreng and
much more PLEASANT. Let us face the oblivion OF
death with Spartan courage in spite the fact hot
folks ten thousand years from now won't know TINT
any ono of us lived and less let us do orr
best NOW for the sake OF those who are here NOW
on this planet. Right you don't care whethc,
tho man in tho next fiat thinks you arc a great mo,
or not so why worry what dweller or dwell
ers hero later on think of you? All our efforts
have but temporary results, for verify THERE rs
NO .PERAIANENCE. Yours very truly
-..-.4--a..eA. ~ MONROE SUNSHINE,