That are known in many a land;
But the child of Genius quailed to hear
Death’s pitiless demand.
“Here that book cannot enter with thee,
For the bright flash of Genius is nothing to me.””
He presses into the unknown night alone, leaving behind him the sad warning to those who come after him—Love not the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12: 43.)
It may seem that we have painted the lovers of wealth and distinction in colors too deep and dark. They, however, are intended as the background from which true nobility and true greatness shall stand forth with greater beauty and loveliness.
He who is conscious of possessing powers capable of benefiting his fellow man, and spends his time and talents in inglorious ease, is guilty of sinful self-indulgence. It is not ours, like the stupid rustic, to sit still and wait until the stream passes by in order that we may cross, but rather stem the current and breast its billows. If we succeed, then success has been gained where it is always surest and sweetest, in the discharge of duty. We have sacrificed no principle; we have stooped to no mean act; our gold is not stained with the blood of trampled-on innocence; our reputation has not been gained in the pathway of shame.
If we fail, then we are encouraged by the thought that we have done what we could. (Mark 14: 8.)
In reply to a letter from a young man in which the following sentence occurred,—