The Washington herald., 1916-11-15
How to Lift Life Above the Common
place.
ny ORIsON SWEET MARDEN,

When the movement for womans enfranchise-
ment was defeated in the New York State legis-
lature, DR.. Anna Howard Shaw, at great suf-
frage meeting, said at is forty years this spring
since ! began to work for suffrage. For the
greater part of that time have given my life to
| it. If should be born again and it needed me
should do it all over again " Nothing bigger
can come to human being than to love great
more than life itself and to have the privilege
throughout life of working for the cause"
What splendid enthusiasm and youthful vigor
of ideals in woman in her 7oth year! What a
contrast to the spirit of of our young people
today-the blaze, the nerveless the Indifferent!
This heroic worker for suffrage actually took a
great defeat as great victory With the faith and
enthusiasm of the prophets and martyrs of old,
she knows that her cause will ultimately triumph.
Her ideal grows brighter with the years, her pur-
pose to realize it more determined.
1t is nothing unusual to see men and women
rise serenely above defeat or go through the tor
ture of fearful trials and losses for years and still
remain calm, unruffled,, serene, simply because
they sustained by a mighty principle, buoyed
up by great infexible purpose.
Men and women have gone to prison, to the
stake, the gallows calmly and serenely if
taking pleasant Journey because their souls were
buttressed by a principle much greater, so
much more powerful than the trouble they were
passing through that they were not materially af-
fected by it.
On the other hand, when a person lacks an
inspiring purpose, or is not sustained by divine
principle, he all to pieces the least little
trouble or sorrow that comes to him. He is
crushed by defeat
| Some one has said that they who have CEN
trail purpose in their life fall easy prey fear
worry. troubles and self-ptyngs all of which are
indications of weakness which leads just as surely
deliberately planned sin failure unhappiness,
and loss, for weakness cannot exist in a power
| evolving universe"
The thing that grades human beings is the
difference in their of lifcs responsibilities
The person who does not feel that there is any
special significance in his being on the earth the
man woman who is indifferent to what his or
her life means, ought to mean, will never
| amount to much.
The sense of an infinite purpose pervading the
universe characterizes those who do the big things
in the world. The great majority, however, seem
to think that they at liberty to do anything
they see fit with their lives; that life is present
| to them without any obligation on their part to
use it for other than purely selfish ends. But
the fact is our lives have not only profound
meaning, but they involve certain duties and obi
cations. We were put here to play divine part
in the great universal scheme. Our parts are
marked mot transferable" We play them, or they
are left out and the performance of the great
world drama is defective, incomplete, to that ex-
| tent.
! 1t is the men who believe steadfasty in some
thing in particular, who ally themselves with a
great moral movement; men who have strong and
vigorous convictions of some kind who form the
bulwarks of civilization. The weaklings are those
who not actuated by an inspiring purpose; who
have strong convictions any subject. They
have very strong religious faith, strong po-
litical convictions decided moral convictions
They drift along with the tide, easily, indferenty
always following the line of least resistance.
If you do not have a definite aim, high, all
absorbing purpose in life you not really liv-
ing, you only existing You not playing
the part assigned you as woman until
you live for IDEAL for the furtherance of the
great forward world movement. You here to
contribute your share to the betterment of the
race. You have message for the world Why
! not deliver it?