Omaha daily bee., 1915-10-07

Stevenson always had a liking for al
legory. but his power reached the high
Get expression In his book DIR. Jokyll
and Mr.. Hyde"
This viii always be regarded as n
masterpiece. The seed-thought Of this
appalling fable IL familiar 10 all. It's
the old, old story OF the vitality present
war in our members, in which the high
est and lowest. the pGrcst and West
enlist for a war 10 the hilt that man Is
not one. but two. and In the field OF
consciousness the two natures fight
This problem Of the duality Of two
radically different natures housed IN the
same body has held the attention and
fascinated the thought of earnest men
Of all ages II Is not a problem for
the clolstered theologisn-it is an In
tensely practical problem In many
phases, which we meet at every turn
81 the road in our daily life.
The story had been written in many
books before Steve. = ~ translated It In
the language OF his terrible work. Stew
enson and all others. however. owe the
syreatest debt TO the New Testament.
II was 81. Paul who really wrote the
plot Of this story In the seventh and
enson lntel translated into the language
Of our day as DR.. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde
Name this problem what you WILL DIR.
Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde, the war in our
members. conflict OF flesh and spirit
and original sin-Rny one OF hundred
nsmes--the labols are not important
but you are compelled TO face this prob
lem every day.
Every day in life you have seen a
man with a loving heart tear his hair
over some hateful. mean thing he has
said or done 10 one he loved.
II had known In the morning
How YEARLY ~ the day, 100, -.
The words unkind would trouble my
said when you went away.
I would have been more CAREFUL darling
Nor given you needless pain,
But we vcx our own. with look and
tone,
wemight never take back again.
You have seen generous man sliding
away in selfish greed; you have seen
truthful man smarting under tho
scourge OF his own lie; you have seen a
virtuous man dashed by the conscious
ness Of vice. you have seen sober man
moaning In repentance for having been
drunk. You have had a quiet hour of
prayer and meditation Invaded by slime
and stained by the wickedest OF
thoughts, which, uhbidden. troop into
your mind like brood OF vultures.
We see Il in science. Some misguided
scientists have recently succeeded In
producing a diabollcal fool BY graft
ing the portion OF one insect onto the
body Of another they have made new
organisms, In which are Joined beings
OF directly opposite natures, miserable
;reatures with a clash OF irreconcilable
desires.
WEithea ms two Natures struxEIe.
Imagine. II you can, a Hplden-butter-
ny. one with passion for the sunshine.
ono with love OF darkness. One with a
longing for roses, the other with n
thirst for blood. The spider nature de-
vouring the butterfly. Imagine a wolf
lamb. 80
This terrible fact has It's representa-
ton I'm literature Hawthorne pictures
Roderick Eliiston carrying IN his bosom
an enormous green snake, Icy cold tho
entire length Of It's body. carrying the
deadliest poison In It's sting.
Il ate into and absorbed his very
being; It stung him when he thought of
his brothers good qualities; II gave him
pleasure when calamity and rhisfortune
overlook friend; It gave him supernat-
ural insight into the deepest faults OF
others. and took supreme delight In ex-
posing these.
II turned his face Into a HlciSly green.
mingling with natural deadly white;
Il put poison into the breath; IT, never
laughed. only at misfortune. It turned
speech into revolving hiss. until he was
n crawling and shudderlnE wretch.
That was bad enough. but what made
4 worse, he became welded 70 this re-
pulslve-sweet love. He had a longing to
so kind. but the vile overruled. One Nigh,
b. content TO be just a snake. but TO be
81 serpent and dove, vile and pure. Is to
struggle and writhe in the hell OF con-
tention
Edsar Allan Poe. with far more insight
represents this antegoniSm In William
Wilson. who was constantly meeting a
kind, gentle belng OF the Same name. with
manner and voice wondrously like his
This double logged his footsteps
thwarted evil purposes. dashed the cup
fiom his lips, intruded upon every tempta.
tion with uplifted finger OF warning and
pleading voice. Finally. tormented and
distracted by the impertinent intrusion he
drew rapier and thrust his gentle double
through. when the dying better self ut.
tered these terrible words;
"Heneeforth art thou also dead--deac
TO the. world. dead TO heaven. dead q
hope. dead to purity. dead 20 God. II
me thou did exist. thou hast murdered
myself"
PauI's Ptcture.
AN OF THE is In fun accord with Pauri
powerful picture OF the moral degenera
ton Of a soul divided against itself Blu
after all has been read and laid aside
we must turn 10 Stevenson as the on,
who has given US the most dramatic, IN,
most powerful and the most terrIbl,
commentary on the seventh and eight
chapters Of Romans.
In his strange story OF Or. Jekyii and
Air Hyde; he pictures Dr. Jelsyll as man
pure In his life. OF high ideals. loving and
kind. with generous sympathies ana wild,
charities who in his scientific investlga
tions in his laboratory one day discovere,
a drug. which. when taken. dissolved nj
better self and released the vile. mean
lower nature.
When he drank the drug Or. JekyIl. tn,