The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1915-05-29
WORDS OF COMFORT
Fear Not Them Which Kill the Body
but Are Not Able to Kill the Soul"

Jesus had long been describing to
his disciples the perils which awaited
them as the ministers of his gospel.
Behold" he said, 81 send you forth
as sheep in the midst of wolves. D..
Men will deliver you up to the coun-
ellis and they will scourge you in the
synagogues. And We shall be
hated of all men for my names sake"
But "fear not them which kill the
body, but are not able to kill the soul"
was his last word of mingled comfort
and inspiration; "rather fear him
which is able to destroy both soul and
body in hell"
Here is an admonition not merely
for the disciples who knew Jesus, but
for all men who are faced by the vic
issitudes of everyday existence. OF
what are we commonly so much afraid
as of the things (which kill the body =?
tilences that "walk in darkness" con-
1agrations that devour cities, fnan-
cial crises that ruin fortunes, the
burglar, the footpad, the assassin-are
not these the chief terrors of our
lives? And do we not make it a prime
object of our existence to provide ways
and mean of escaping these direful
contingencies. To safeguard our
property, to shelter ourselves from ex-
posture and exhaustion, to avoid dis
ease and accident, to secure protec-
ton against violence, to live out our
allotted span of years-this is what
we want! And we are inclined to JUS
tify device or law or weapon of any
kind which will achieve for US this
end.
Soul the Central Part of Life.
That such a viewpoint, however hu-
man, is essentially unworthy of true
manhood must be evident to anyone
who gives the matter a moments con-
sideration. Why should we bother to
any extent about this body of ours,
which is at the best but a tool to use
or a tenement in which to live for a
brief period? And especially why
should we make the preservation and
protection of this body an object of
existence, and, as a result, fear every
one of the kindred chances which may
injure or destroy it? Of course it is
foolish to mortify the flesh or weaken
the body uselessly. Prudence, result
ing in good health and material secur-
ity, is wise. But our question con-
Germs primary purposes and especial
ly the crises when choice must be
made. Then should we know with
clearness that not the body but the
soul is the central fact of life, and
the things therefore, which may kill
not the body but the soul, the things
to be noted and feared.
Real Things to Fear.
Temptation, vice, cowardice, idle
ness, sloth, ease, ~selfshness, sin
these are the things of which to be
afraid. And these the things, let it
be added, which must be conquered
and overthrow even though the body
be blasted in the process Not to be
healthy, but to be holy; not to be
rich in goods, but abundant in good;
not to live long, but serve well-this
is the task which is set each man by
the hand of Almighty God. Hence
the testimony of all the prophets of
the ages gone! The true man, said
Socrates, will not Calculate the
chance of living or dying, but will
consider whether in doing anything he
is doing right Or wrong, acting the
part of a good man or a bad" "To
die sooner or later is not the bust
ness" said Seneca, "but to die well
or ill.," "He that fndeth his life shall
lose it," said Jesus in his greatest
word, "but he that loseth his life for
my sake shall find it,"