Norwich bulletin., 1921-05-21
THE MAN WHO TALKS

on the glory of Britons past, the same , as the Roman forum now suggests the grandeur of the ancient Roman empire Some laughed at it as good joke; some took it very seriously; while others were indignant at thA suggestion that the great and glorious British empire could ever follow in the wake of dead nations.
 But nations grow old and die the same as individuals, and there. are some
 marks of old age in the organic life of this powerful. state. England's failure
 to recover from the terrible shock of
 the World war quickly shows that she
 has lost the elasticity of her youth. h.
 ternal strifes are adding greatly to the
 burden of her years. But on the. whole
 Great Britain has lived well, and that
 counts as much for a nation as for an
 individual Her greatest claim to inn
 mortality has been the general success
 of her colonial possessions.
 Sometime ago attention was called in
 these paragraphs that the do it now policy needs to be taken with grain | of salt" It is apt to lead to crude and | l lill-consdered action. Along other lines | | 1t offers advice that one may wisely and | safely follow. There are certain things 1 that ought to be done at certain times 1 no other time is quite so favorable as l the seasonable time If boy does not learn to swim, skate, play ball and in- dulge in other games and sports, he will 1 have no desire to do so when man. If | he does not go to school when young, the presumption Is he never will How | many men in the midst of a very busy life say: 'FEhen I get the time I will
 read such book" or T will visit such
 and such places" or q will do such and such things!'' As a matter of fact when | such a time comes-if it ever does-they find that they have no interest in those ] things Our relish for doing the things we desire always slips by with the op- portunity It is q pretty safe rule to
 "do it now" while the inspiration is on.
 How far are we justified in permitting external influences to control or at least
 to modify, our peace of mind, our happl- , hess. and our thinking? That most peo- pie are more or less affected by outward conditions goes without saying. Is 1t
 possible to rise entirely above depressing
 surroundings? Is it possible to go
 through fire without having the smell
 of smoke upon your garments? Can you Hive in the atmosphere of moral sTnudge without inhaling It's taint? Probably all neople at one time or another, are ex- posed to these things and many more i like them. We are more or less ike the s chameleon refecting the color of the oo-
 iect we are on or near for the time be- ing. For this reason, when we go
 through a cold, dreary northeast storm for about two weeks, 1t is apt to show on our faces and get inside of our disposl- c tion And yet is there really good eX- r cuse for letting the weather make us e miserable? Two things ought to work to- A gether in helping us rise above it; first, 4 our faith in the high moral purpose Of life: and, secondly, the exercise or a ' strong will power. If a person Is really
 absorbed in his work, his. attitude seems
 to say to the weather and these other e things, 'fGo hangF
 Do we make q proper distinction oe- j. tween a wonder and miracle? Wnel @ we come face to face with sonethlhe h that surprises us, and which we do no' |. understand, we are very apt 10 say Ch H
 It,s a miracler' Many things pass fol miracles that are not remotely connscl
 ed with them They are simply Wondef' u That baf1e our understanding, and hh u It with awe and astonishment. Here thei g. ,e tbe difference between a wonder ant
 Ia miracle: a wonder is anything we o' n- not understand, while miracle IS some I'd thing that subverts or transcends Ia" :" ;, To raiee a person from the dead l II olearfy and enthusiastically miraculous. T hS send A, wireless message from one par e. oF the. world to another is a wonder | r. tbe rood people living in the days or th r. RAvo1utionary war should come bac ,n and spv a bipIane gliding through tn S. air. they would be apt to exclalm: at ImiracIel 1t is the subVersion or natul ,o forces!" But we know better. IL IS nc TO the subversfon. but the mastery 1 oe af i'e' = re ural forces. The same is true or q h. great discoveries and inventions; the nd are the utilization of natural forces' hc as the subversion.
 lis Hrman disposition and capacity ar at among the stable qualities of the ages es very able man in one age would e5 aonalIv able in any other age aithoug ,d If would be expressed through nlIere,
 tchanneis The robber baron or the eaIl ~ and middle ages was the man oL 4 eilei gh end canacitv. And he lives and operate -al todav in less brutal fashion under tf Lte tile of "captain of industry" but to a ,e- intents and purposes he is the same O i'd robher He displays the same predatoi m iine+incts The particular form in WhlE
 ha showed his nature during the war ar
 since ie that of "profteer. In 1acl Il sl@ modem profiteer is far more greeoy tnf ec- tha old robber baron. The highwaynns is ot oIden days used to rob the rich al by give to the. poor, but the present df nd 1rofiteer soaks everyone within on read, the widows, orphans and fatne bo Ilass are all the same to him. It Wou ,,,t he interesting to trace any afucle 'u' conon,oditv from the consumer hack tOii tI,o' I,rodueer We should md what | he consumer pays twenty-five cents for, [ en- nroduced gets only about two, the re sed poes into the pocket of. the highwayrn om Sea ttered along the turnpike Of tra' or "But it's a long lane that has no tur .sts Ing"
 Are we net in danger of worshippI
 at the shrine of Doing ThingsF I
 neonIe of this country today seem p'
 seesed with a mania for doing things. the course we do not put the value of dol -ec- above that of being, but we certainly un ,e tbough we did. The consequel
 naturally is following the line of
 least resistance" If we would only
 aIize more often than we do what is ltry Inevitable result of all this press lore 1t,rE, and f-et and worry there would l. fewer nervous breakdowns and physl
 collapses than we have. Many peo inc know full well that they are trying .;or do too much, but seem to lack the mo
 I4 courage to cut out some Of thear act se' ties. But if a man feels that he can are trim his home duties hls business anS tln- and his social demands, can he not
 regulate his daily toll as to keep hea
 strensth and efficiency amid these d ,hlv cult circumstances? Has not pu rr,r man a, perfect right to say NO" to
 a half the appeals that are made Tor anu gratuitous time and strength?
 In OUT day we are emphasizing ''eu' value of recreation. The leisure | sus- used rightly Is always productive of
 up, and joy always accompanies real Ch
 tianity. The most pathetic report this the missionary brings back from pa rao lands is that children do not know