The Irish standard., 1917-02-10

his fellows. His sympathy knew no
bounds, going so far as to forget him
self in his desire to be useful to man.
kind. 1t was his strongest instinct, in
herited from his refined, gentle and
sensitive mother and wonderfully de.
veloped through his childhood associa-
ton with nature.
Lincoln's lowly birth served to de-
velop him to the fullest perfection and
endowed him with the highest and
noblest qualities in man.
His childhood association with rum
ming brooks, vine-clad rocks and hick-
ory forests teeming with song birds
and overrun with wild flowers had
much to do with forming his simple.
earnest and truthful character.
He grew to mans estate with a
heart in full sympathy with every
phase of life, capable. of consorting and
sympathizing with all things. In this
respect he differed from his associates,
for they were only capable of sympa.
thizing with a few things. Though
many of them were intellectual giants,
they lacked the power to develop a
broad human outlook; they were linn
tied to their particular point of view,
the political, the social, the CONNER
cial, and the religious, and judged life
accordingly. Hence, anything outside
their contracted sympathies they con-
demned as thing of evil, and spent
their energy trying to save it from
damnation.
What was true of Lincoln's asso-
ciates applies with equal force to the
men of this day and age. Prejudices
and antipathies originating in birth
are seldom eradicated, and never if the
child is brought up in narrow
groove.
Our environment exerts upon us a
strong incentive to think, act and judge
as others do.
Lincolns success in life and his use.
fulness to mankind was his ability to
rise above this parrot-like existence
and to place himself in the position of
others in order that he might under.
stand them and be of use and service
to them. Because of his broad, human,
educated sympathies he was enabled
to do this to greater extent than
any other misguided sentiment in his
makeup. Is it any wonder that, con-
stituted as he was, he became the
matchless leader of men? While an
idealist in the truest sense, he was,
at the same time, unusually practical
and sound on all questions that affect
ed mans relation to society.
That Abraham Lincoln was in fuller
sympathy with mankind than any
other man is evidenced by what he
said and what he did for mankind dur
ing his earthly existence.
When a man said to him, "The peo-
pie will go wrong on this subject" he
replied, intellectually, probably, they
may; morally, never. In the multi
tude of counsel there is safety" said
he, quoting from the Bible. EXPIRES
sions of this kind flowed from his lips
in countless number:
"God must have loved the common
people, for He made so many of them
"You can fool all of the people some
of the time, some of the people all OF
the time, but can not fool all the peo
pie all of the time"
He always saw the distinction be-
tween an attempt to suppress public
opinion and direct public opinion.
Our duty is to direct public opinion
in the right channels; never to attempt
to suppress it. That was Lincoln's
philosophy, and his life and works are
an exemplifcation of that philosophy.
Under Lincoln the nation had a new
birth of freedom, and it is for us, the
living, to dedicate ourselves to the
preservation of that nation to sustain
which he gave the last full measure of
devotion,