The Washington herald., 1916-10-23
The Man with Imagination.
BY ORIsoN SWEET MARDEN.

Prof. John Tyndall, the great scientist, said
Scientific education ought to teach us to see the
invisible as we'll as the visible in nature; to pic
ture with the eye of the mind those operations
which entirely elude the eye of the body"
1t is impossible to measure the part that the
eye of the mind or the imagination, plays in the
life of~man Unimaginstive people who can see
only with the eye of the body, tell US that the
imagination is all we'll enough in artists, musi-
cians and poets but that it has little place in the
great world of realities Yet all the achievements
of modern civilization of which we are so proud
are the product of mans imagination.
at cannot be DONE" cries the man without
imagination. at shall be DONE" cries the OF
vision, whose inner eye sees a glorious world
constructed on the lines of his imagination.
Once when Emerson in the company OF
men of affairs who had been discussing railroads
stocks, and other business matters for some time
he said: Gentlemen, now let discuss real
things for a while"
Emerson was called Visionary because he
saw with the souls eye the prophetic vision OF
the world to be, the higher civilization to come
Tens of thousands of men and women stand to-
day where he then stood almost alone.
The difference between what two people get
out of what they accomplish depends very largely
upon the difference in their power of imagna-
ton; in their ability to with the inner eye to
get at the real things of life, as Emerson called
them.
What do you see in great picture or great
book, in an arousing motto maxim2 What do
you get out of stirring lecture, fine Sermon
an inspiring conversation? What does 1t mean
to your
The difference in the way we see things Is
what makes the difference between a great, sub
lime personality and very ordinary, common
place 1t is not the failure to see or to hear
these things with the corporal eye, the corporal
ear, but the failure to drink in their real meaning
their true values that makes them in the latter
case fall barren dry, lifeless ground.
Take single motto for example. One youth
would say ndifferently: That is pretty good
The words did not get beyond his bodily eye
They created mental vision of higher and
nobler things. Another would say enthusiastic
ally: isn't that splendid Why, I am going to
copy that, and paste it in my pocketbook; in my
hat l am going to put it up in my sleeping
room; where I work; keep it where it will stare
me in the face all the time and help me to be
what I want to be-"
l little while ago | was present at one Of the
most wonderful, most inspiring talks, BY a man
of manifold experience. 1t was the most inter
esting talk l listened to in my life 1t posi-
lively panied not to be able to write down
every word of it. I could not help noticing the
expression of the different faces near me as they
listened to the marvellous "reminiscences of one
Of the richest lives. Some of them were drinking
in the words as though they were nectar of the
gods One young man, especially, seemed so
afraid he would miss a\word that nothing could
distract his attention. No matter what happened
in other parts of the room, his eyes were riveted
to the mans face. He was taking notes Just as
rapidly as he could. Others seemed only hall
interested and were frankly indifferent
One young man looked actually bored, impatient
and was continually looking at his watch as
though he wished the ordeal over
Two people walk side by side through life
and do not see the same things or hear the same
things or get the same results out of the same
experiences. One with the inner eve, and
absorbs nutrition, power, enlargement from
things which mean nothing to the other
Nothing will make life richer or more fruit
full than cultivated imagination. The imagina
tion like every other quality, is cultivatable
Reading the best literature, looking at the beau
ties of nature, listening to the song of the birds
and the music of the brooks; all these things
nourlsh and develop the imagination They lead
man to aspire
Copyright, IgB)