The Washington herald., 1914-07-20
DR.. 'MARDEN'S
UPLFT TALKS
BY ORIsON SWEET MARDEN.
CAuthor Of Pushing to tho Front" etc.
FOLLOW THE VISION.
ICnrrrighf. IslLl

/ tCoryr1Gnt. ISl4J
| It Is astonishing how much power there
\ Is in an intense desire and a dtermina-
tion to accomplish thing, no matter
whether II Is hard or easy. AS Napoleon
used to say. a firm resolution can make
-ealities out Of possibilities.
As a rule, it is the intensity OF that d.
| vine hunger within US for achievement,
that thirst for knowledge that must be
| quenched, which measures our success
power.
Bury a pebble, and It will obey the law
of gravitation forever. Bury an acorn,
and II will obey a higher law and grow.
In the acorn is a vital force superior to
the attraction Of the earth. All plants
and animals are climbing or reaching up
ward. Nature has whispered into the ear
OF all existence: Look up" Man, above
all. should have a celestial gravitation.
The ambition OF every true man should
be to be more. not to have more.
We see today with a clearer vision all
the wonderful things that are waiting to
be manifested. We know that the manip-
ulator Of all huTan law is mind. end that
the master builders are our thoughts and
with tools a thousand times finer than
the methods Of the past, We build more
stately mansions for the SOUL
Even in the commonest and most medi-
oCre lives there are moments and hours
Of such nobility and unselfshness that II
they could be made permanent, those
lives would be immeasureably lifted.
But II we would see the color OF our fu-
ture. We must look for 1t in our present:
IL We would gaze on the star OF our des-
tiny, We must look for II in our hearts.
The aspiration OF today decides the action
Of tomorrow. and every thought: every
impulse, goes to the shaping OF both.
With every breath. We either move to-
ward the realization OF the greater Of
retrogress toward the lesser. There Is
no pause In, human existence, no neutral
ground in the kingdom Of soul. We are
always moving. either toward the front
or toward the rear.
Prof Peabody. Of Harvard University.
used to say that a firm decision to be an
educated man IS itself half an education.
II a boy once gets a thirst for an eduCa-
tion. gets his ambition fired to do some
thing. there is very little danger Of fail
ure. "Contentment is, after all, simply
refined indolencp."
determination to accomplish some
thing. obstacles or no obstacles: a firm
resolution 10 make a way IL no way Is
open. IS an indication of ability to sue
ceed. But the determination must come
first Without a firm resolution. without
confidence IN oneself. success is impossi-
BILE. II is the thing we long for. that we
strive for. that We determine to achieve
at all hazards. which indicates the line
OF our possible success. The thing w
long for. that We are.
1t is not enough now and then to mount
on wings Of ecstacy into the infinite We
must habitualIy dwell there. The great
man is he who abides easily on heights
to which others rise occasionally and
with difficulty. Don't let the maxims of
a low prudence daily dinned into your
ears lower the tone of your high ambition
or check your aspiration. Hope lifts US
step by step up the mysterious ladder,
tho top OF which no eye hath ever SEEN
Though we do not find what hope prom
ised. yet We are stronger for the climbing.
and We get a broad outlook upon life
which rcpays the effort Indeed. IL We
do not follow where hope beckons, We
gradually slide down the ladder in de-
spair.
Therefore. whatever happens, follow the |
vision of the soul It Is the one path that
leads to the hearts desire