The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-08-07
PLAY THE GAME FAIRLY

P0rndpS one or the mOSt uluiCuit
things, found by one who desires to
right by his fellow men, is to follow
the instructions of the Book of Com
mon Prayer. that foundation stone OF
the English speaking religions, when
it answers the question, What is my
duty toward my neighbor?
There are three duties, we are told,
that every man owes from the fact
of his being: to God, his neighbor and
himself. The difficulties are most In
yolyed in our every day duties toward
our neighbor. What they are, IRE
generally summed up in that golden
rule, which is so easy to say and so
hard to practice, and raises the ques-
ton in every mind, can man fulfill
all his duty toward his neighbor, and
follow that rule?
To those who are our intimates,
those for whom we have a sincere af-
lection and regard, the duty becomes
not only easy, but pleasant to do the
things for him that we would have
him do for us. 1t is easy to extend to
him more than the ordinary courte-
sizes, more than the ordinary help,
more than the ordinary sympathy, be-
cause he is our friend.
''Let me be true enough to meet each
honest eye,
Yet if friend whose sorrowed heart
has been undone
Asks me for comfort where in truth
there can be none,
Then let me grasp his grouping hand
and kindly lie."
But when it comes to extending the
field of friendship to our neighbors,
those who walk with us in the path of
life, but with whom we have no init
mate relations, it comes much harder
to extend to them all those fraternal
and brotherly courtesies that we give
to those we love. Our neighbor is our
friend, once removed, and we cannot
personally feel toward him as we feel
toward our frlend.
1t is hard then to give him all that
consideration and friendliness, and it
is hard to overlook his faults. 1t is
hard to forgive him when his rights
clash with ours, it is so easy to mis-
judge him.
"And if my neighbor does those
things / think are ill,
Let me not judge! Who knows what
tangled, haunting slSein
Fate may have woven to have mesh
ed his heart in pain
Would have smothered the evil knot
with half his skill?"
But there is one satisfaction that
comes to every man who has tried to
do his duty to his fellow man, to his
neighbor and to his friend, that what
ever rebuffs he may have sustained.
however short he has fallen if carry
ing out his full intentions, he has the
of knowing that he has
tried, and that he has played the
game of life with the utmost fairness,
and has not taken advantage OF the
weakness of others
Whatever others may have done, he
retains the comfortable feeling that
he has not been controlled by small
ness, by pettiness, by meanness.
Since | must play the game of life,
this is my prayer:
Though / may lose, let me preserve
smiling face,
Let me not scorn the weak who
falter in the race;
Let me be merciful-let me play fair.
And with the poet, whose lines are
quoted, we may err on the side of
friendliness and kindness; we may
close our eyes and our ears to the
faults, the weaknesses, the injustices
of others, and we can play the game,
ending life with the consciousness
that few human beings have suffered
for our unfriendliness, our injustice
or because we have not played the
game fairly.-Miami Herald.