The Washington herald., 1915-09-25


or resenting evil, feels for it sublimated love
NOT love that encourages it to self-assertion
and violence: but that goes out to it with pity,
with the desire to show it mercy and to change
its nature. If could all take this attitude evil
would disappear from the world. 1t can resist
everything but love.
When we know evil for the weakness that #
is instead of resentng those that do evil we shall
feel tor them the hne regard that docs good both
to them and to ourselves. To be able to ap-
proach one that we once considered bad and to
recognize him as brother is a glorious feat
incidentally, 1t carries many surprises Where
once we may have expected to find only what
was dark and forbidding, many shining
reward in the realizing OF our own folly, in the
finding of the road that leads to humility
The situation becomes complicated when we
see evil directed against ourselves How are we
to meet it? Are to resist and to fight and to
create more evil? If we think of evil in the old
fashioned way, this course becomes almost ire
sistibe. Soon we are in torment Bv taking
the evil directed against us and shetering it in
the mind and in the heart, ourselves become
evil we turn consciousness into battle-ground
we are stirred up, enraged There is no know
ing where there will be end to the conse-
quences, whether there will really ever be an end
We may start trains of evils to go on even after
we are dead.
But how different our attitude must be when
we recognize evil weakness. Shall we make
the weakness of another our own? Surely not |
Shall we hate the other for this weakness? In |
stinctIvely we are tempted to reply in the affrma
tive. But if we compare the weakness with other |
weaknesses, not moral but physical such as pneu- |
mona or tuberculosis we folly. Should
we resent the outbreak of physical disease in an
acquaintance friend? Should we strive to |
share his disease ourselves? The best we could
do would be to alleviate or to help.
So If any one seems to harm us or makes the
effort to harm us, let realize that the harm lies
wholly in our own minds. 1t is merely a potcn-
tal force, which We may make malignant or
benefcent. Can there be any hesitancy in choos-
ing?
OF course all know that in practice the
choice, at first, is hard. And vet experience
teaches us that we ought to be able to make it !
Immediately and vigorously 1t is not merely
that the rewards great but the penalties are
so memorable. All the fbcrs in our being thai
protect us from suffering ought, logically to rush |
to our defense. But there are other fbers within
us, bad habits, wrong attitudes making us their
slaves, giving us false messages clamoring for
the base and transient solace that goes with re-
venge Their appeal is like sensuality They try
to blind But really know better All /
We need to do rs to look ahead, to anticipate con-
sequences. For the evil have entertained in
the past we have paid usurers price Now we
have not only escaped this special peril but we
have weakened those enemies of habit within
US and we have strengthened the divine realm
if, instead OF returning evil for evil we can sim
cerely and with humility offer good The only
good within our power may be the maintenance |
of kindly attitude Simple as If NAV seem II [
is certain to bring big results.