The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-06-11

erary brightness were extinguished IN
the darkness Of debauchery. There
IL an ancient legend that tells how .
small insect came each day apd fed
from the bowl OF milk which. was
|chifd's meal. This insect was allowed
to continue unmolested and ut last II
grew to . monster and slew the boy.
Paul said. II BUFFET my body and
bring II into subsection" He who
nurtures q slight weakness. however
insignificant. will discover too late
that the weakness has been his un-
doing.
Don't seek to destroy your vice but
convert It. Don't seek to eradicate q
weakness substitute something else
for 1t. What seems to be your vice
may be your highest virtue. A man
says, II have q temper and It IL ruin
Ing me-" but that temper subdued may
make for \ greater calmness and q
greater elaboration such as was found
in the Duke OF wellington. Words
worth. as q child. had a moody and
violent temper, was perverse and OBJ
stinate In defying criticism. He
/ brought this under great self-control
and this became one Of the distinguish
ing qualities of his life, enabling him
to defy he criticism of his enemies.
Self-respect. self differentiation. self
consciousness of power. were the
characteristics OF his nature all his
life. Cromwell had q Maynard and
violent temper and was known a. .
Yoystefer in hts town and seemed
to be rapidly going to the bad. when
religion In one Of It's most rigid forms
laid hold upon his iron nature and SUBJ
5ected II to Calvenism. An entirely
new direction was thus given to his
temperament which forced an outlet for
itself In public life. and eventually be-
came the dominating force in England
for a period OF twenty years.
But there Is only one who ever
walked this earth who was able to con-
troll Himself absolutely. believe
much in the mind. but despiee that
philosophy which makes the mind a
god. 1t Ia impossible to control this
self OF ours without the supernatural
work of God. II you would master
yourself let the Master claim you. Like
Ulysses Of old. whom mythology tells
us. took upon his boat that famous
| singer OF the ancient times. even
Orpheus himself. whose music was 30
much stronger and clearer than that OF
the sirens that neither the commander
nor the sailors heard their voice. So
pray you take on board the ship OF
your soul the great Orpheus. the Man
of Galilee, Jesus Christ. the Son OF
God.
Must Deny Ourselves.
III. Deny thyseif"
seif-denial for it's own sake is moth
| Ing at all. In the medieval ages
! -. I'D
when they wore hair shirts. scourged
| themselves with whips. put nails or
pebbles In their shoes to hurts them
and TO make walking torture. They
endured all sorts of self-infiicted pains
and suTerings. They supposed that
this was being like Christ. passing
through various experiences and prov
ing themselves saints OF a very high
order. The whole system was a piece
Of -seif-aecepsinn- The Gacrihce to
which God calls US is living sacrE-
| fee. the giving of ourselves to the life
of others.
| Many centuries ago there lived IN
Athens the homeiiest man in all
Greece and perhaps the homeIiest man
! in all the world He was known for
/ hts eccentricttiesZ -eharacter--Ha
talked much on the streets and in the
i
| ters. he talked to the bakers. he
talked to the poets. he talked to me
orators. he talked to the actors. he
| talked to everybody. One day he was
arrested, tried and sentenced to die.
| Plato In his apology" gives an In
teresting description OF his trial and
| In Critic we are told the story OF
how his friends gathered around and
tried to make an escape for him and
send him into exile. He hesitated only
fraction Of a second and then said
&t.gf + Eo AWAY Ysr.sxfN esa.e, TN elsse,aad
not save my teaching NV tcachins
| goes for naught II do that. re-
gard my teaching and my relation to
my feilowmen Of more Importance than
my life and stay right where i am"
when the hour arrived for his death
they brought him the hsnlcek and
without moments hesitation he
| drained tire contents OF the cup to the
very drege. He continued to speak
as he continued to die. His feet be-
came cold. but he kept on talking
Then the stupor crept to his knees
and he kept on talking then II crqIs
to his thighs and he still kept on: then
II erept to his body and he still talked
then II reached his heart and he
dropped dead. And Why He knew,
even bAfore the Greatest IeaCner de-
clared II. that "whosoever would save
hts life shall lose II. and whatsoever
, shall lose his life shall and It."
Principle Of seif-D<niai.
The principle OF self-denial Is uni
versal and Inevitable. He who would
live and make live must give himself
to It. The very ground upon which
we walk and the soil we cultivate are
but the disinterested bodies Of men.
animals. insects, trees, shrubs. that
have yielded up themselves TO make
sure the future. From the boulder on
the mountain that loses Its life to
make tbs soil. the soil that gives Its
life to make the harvest. the seed that
give up themselves to make the In
crease. the or that eats OF the increase
and gives up his life into the life of
man. all are obeying this law. This
IL marvellous world God has given
us to live in but the law. DENY your
self and live. save yourself and die. !"
liz on every hand.
Every lesson you have learned, every
principle that has been inculcated.
every voice that has been hustled and
every voice obeyed. will fail to make
Won what Won ought to be and crown