The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 4, 1897, Page 21

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 1897. 19 HEIE ““Ghrough Repentance and Faith, ’ Whick Wil Lead to Baptism.”’ BISHOP NICHOLS The problem ot human life 85 we are living it may be practically stated in the question: *How are we {0 make the most of it?’ Theoryand practice, past and present, show all the ways of the trying to solve the problem trom tho epicurean, “Let us eat and drink, for tc-morrow we die,” up to the most vivid realization ot Christ’s promise: “Iam come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundant! Multitudes in every generation simply give it up. Some ever cipher on, covering the blackboard of their years with hopeless figur Others think to play truant to it sitogether in self-destruc- tion. Others use the chalk and board to caricature the great teacher or to ad- mire their own names “writ large.” Still others only look upon it as a matter of getting through some coming examinations, having an idea that when the time comes they can crib some one else’s work. And so the school ever keeps. Weall have to 1ake this problem of human Jife because we all live. Is anybody getting the answer? Those who are working upon it with the method of Jesus Christ believe they are. Nineteen centuries of them have believed they were and have died in the belfef. They have felt that he perfectly understood el the terms. They have seen thut he kuew atout equations which have the unknown quantities of another life, to be known when the answer is all reached. They have felt with a great thinker like Bishop Butler, that what we see‘here is the incompiete part of a greater theorem. They have recognized that man does not live long enough here, or deveiop enough bere, or become symmet- Taere is & genius in humanity inot get all his inspir: rical enouch here t which human expressall there s in his 1 nere does not fully exhib; The poet ¢ tion into his verse, the artist all his s and beauty on the canvas or i the marble, the musician all his harmouies in _the score, and the Christian can. not find interpretation for all his life with Christ in any experience of earth. eaches how to work out the other world equations. “The Son ot God might become sons of God.” To the one e says ““Come.” To the one finding doubt dance into truth. Aud every one can find and freely use his schoolroom. The most direct path is through repentance and faith, which lead to nis baptism and then to the other steps of an avowed dis- cipleship. Why not every weary worker and high thinker over human problems try him and his method? Wan FHimself Sives Value Go FHis Own Passions. REY. E. R. DIL Pastor of the Ce al M. E. Churen. 4 the solution in these words of Jesus: “A man’s life consists not in the T of the things wh n he possesseth.” 1atever helps to mske meu larger.and better is alone of real worth, TItis the man that gives value 10 his possessions, his surroundings; they are powerless togive value to him. Men sre not here to make money, but money is here to make Chri became Son of Man that the sons of m puzzled with all the labor and travail 100 hard to work out he pros cultivate the higher qualities is the recl business of life, the right ent of our thoughts, the due restriction of our desires, the resolute csistance of seductive temptation, the faithful discharge of duty, a conscientious regard for the rights of others, a tender sympathy for their suffering, s brotherly welfare, and above all habitual conformity to the law of God— ments of a true life. ¥ one that believes in a future life at all can doubt thata man’s tr a_preparation for the whole term of his being, and the Jife that is not so used is & failure, whatever else it may accomplish, or however high & man’s monument or glowing his epitaph may be. crest in the! these 1 do not see ““Strict Intogrity and Purity’” Is an Ex-Yiner’'s Answor. REY. JAMES WOODWORTL o gold miner and a druggist, following each of these my own sccount and for wages, sometimes very small—as Ihave been “flush” with pleuty of money for the supply of sll reasonable wants and s Jittle to “Iay by,” and I have been without a cent to relicve the demands of hunger, though with plenty all around me. For thirty- five years I huve been & minister, most of the time in this City; engaged in mi sion and other work which has brought me iato contsct with men of all classes, young and old, from the prisonerin his cell and the penniless stranger in the hospital to the milionaire in his office or his home, the high and the low, the ich and the poor, the ignorant and the learned, the rude and the refined, men, in hovels and in lezislative halls, men housed in palaces and men wandering hemeless and friendless, npon the street,and as a result of my experience and ubservation 1 give it as my deiiberate judgment that the only true solution of the problem of life lies in making it one of strict integrity and purity, in thought and fecling as well as in word and in outward acts, regardiess of consequences or of “what Mrs, Grundy will say,” coupled with untiring industry and dogged per- severance in pursuit of whatever may be presented as duty. In the Orue CSducation GChe Problem Is Solved. REV. A. G. WELLS. e riddle of life has an interpreting word. That word is “Education.’ is education. Itis the drawing out of man’s power. All the reveiation is or ever has been has come from the unfolding of man’s capacities and the unveiling of the universe betore the uprisiug race. Human progress com fre e compulsion put upon us to find cu: things. What is necded taen ? Trust in the integrity of the universe, in the wisdom of the silent power that 1 have been a far; professious both o low es §6 & mon steadily uplifts the race; aface to face relation with God; the child’s heart, the man’s sagacity, the single purpose. We are bui children if we can only follow a direction, obey a precopt, confide in a text, stare at a miracle, and heve no might of our own, no ideality, no lagre percep To think tnat revelation is complete, the book closed, the voice silent, awn, is not to believe in the living God, is to distrust reason, be deaf to the whispering spirit ever present, shut up to the dead past, deaf to the sanctities of the living present. In Individual Deportment, Yot in Dreams, but Deeds. REY. EDWARDS DAVIS, Pastor of the Second Christian Church of Oskland. The solution of the social problem depends on individual dcportment—not dreams, bui decds. Not on the Luttle-field, not in the legisiztive hall, not on the rostrum stage or pulpit, not in the home, but in the alley, in the gutter, in the pesthouse, the esylum, the priton, there shall the incarnate Christ be. When honor shall be given to the past purity of a fallen womean and to the marred image of God—a ruined man (a fallen woman never fell without a fallen man); when the peanut-vender, the bootblack, the street-sweeper, the flower-girl; when the poor, the oppressed shail take place with the humble, who have reason to be proud, then shull the 1 brotherhood reaca from the gutter unto God. ‘What is the problem of human life? This question has been asked by learned doctors and lisping children. As a supreme essence it invades the world of thought; human endeavor and material consummation. Many sezm to thi from prominent persons, given to THE CALL, will attest. AL Ve a haunting, subtle something which is behind and beyond all ink that they have solved it, as the interviews and answers But the **still, small voice” of questioning is not hushed—its whispering is unceasing. The followers of Buddha believe this life is but a penance, and earth but a place of punishment for the sins of some past existence of the soul on its tedious way to perfection and eternal peace. And that to expect only its sorrows and sufferings, to live it out in a kind of sullen resignation to the inevitable—to hope for nothing—if possible to “‘neither smils nor weep,” is to best solve the reason for its time of endurance. The cheerful Christian makes the best of life’s disappointments and contradictions ; attributes to a wise and merciful Providence all that he cannot understand ; sings over the grave of his fellowman hymns full of hop=and consolation, and covers a multitude of shortcomings in life and all connected with it by the broad mantle of an unqusstioning faith and charity. Ask the astrologer of this problem of life as h2 scans the starry heavens while the world is wrapped in selfish sleep. He will tell you: 1 live that future man may read The revelations of my creed. Ask it of the priest at his devotions in the watches of the ni This human life is but a span, ight and he will answer: Too short to intercede for man ; So, while the countless ages roll, 1 pray for his undying soul. Ask of the mother who guards the slumber of h:r child and she will make answer that— Her task is sweet, in God’s great plan, To rear a good and honest man. Ask the question of the lover, who in the supreme delight of an adored presence forgets all time, and he will tell you that it is to love and be bzloved. The gentle and gifted Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that to truly live is— To be honest, to be kind ; to earn a little and spznd a little less. With a thousand answers, sharp or undefined, the quastion For what do we live? Some well-known people have endeavored to make answer “3J Reliove There Js a Sod 7 HAnd Chat His YPame Is Love.”’ REY. GEO:GE GIBSON, Pastor of Emanuel Baptist Church. Esch man mustsettle the problem of life for himself. Ihave come to the conclusion that there is a Godand thathe is love. Life tomeis a beautiful thing because there isso much to enjoy. The sky, with its stars, belongs to me as much as to the rich man on Nob Hill; the flowers are mine to admire even if 1 do not have a garden. Then life is worth living because one can improve so much. It 1s a5 good as a holiday to feel that one has corquered a bad habit. The grwing man is justas bappy as the growing boy. To be rich in one’s self i3 best of ail. The conscious* ness that we are developing into true manhood excels all pleasures. Of course it counts for something to be rich. That some of us never wili be. What then? We are human beings, anyhow, and it is out of our humanity there comes the character that supplies joy and peace. Then 1 want to live because I can te so helpful to others. How grand to have the young come to you with thelr difliculties! How pleasant 10 loan a book to the student who has to write his first essay! Happy! Why should one not be bappy? Yes, I know that some will say the writer has had an easy life. There the reager is mistakea. Some asy he may turn author, and when he aoes he will get all tne material sor a novel out of his 0wn experiences. Sorrow and suffering make a dark mystery to the person who sits at home and thinks acout happiness. Selfishness solves few problems. The helpful per- s0n never Wanis to die. As Swinburne says— Tnto each man his handiwork: Unto each Lis crown. The just fate gives Who30 takes the woria’s life on him And bis own lays down, He, dying so, lives, and Perversity Che Result of Jgnorance. FATHER IL. Il WYMAN. A man ought to live according to right resson. That is to say according to conscience, which is a diciate of reason. The obstacles to a correet conscience ere ignorance and concupiscence, both of which may be overcome by effort, ase sisted by divine grace. Error and pervers are the results of the domination of ignorance and concupiscence over reason. True religious conviction rests prim:rily in the understanding. Itisnota mere sentiment of the heart. In other words a true moral cannot exist withouta true doctrinal system in religion. In the Catholic system the doctrines of faith and the principles of morality are as intimately united as the intellect and the wi.lin man. In the work of evangel'zation the preacher must first appeal to the under- standings, not to the emotional natures of his hearers, oth-rwisc nis converts would 1ot be soifdly grounded in the trath. 1 believe that often great harm has been done 10 religion by receiving into the churches during the so-called revivals of religion persons who do not understand any Christian system cf doctrine and morals. A prescher cannot be too ear: t teaching religion, provided he is sincere, but zeal must always be regulated by prudence. Those who wouid build wisely must be content 10 go siowly and carefully. We must first reason with men before we can hope 10 persunde them. Yice-Consul From fnpan Finds It in Patriotism. M. Fusa Kasur, Vice-Cons ul from Japan. The solution of the problem of liviag rightiy in Japan depends, as with other people, on the moral status, together with the quenchless Japanese spirit, which we call “yamaio dama<hi,” and which is similar in meaning to your word “patriotism.” So far as the bearing of morality on the subject was concerned in Japan morals and religion are entirely distinct, and a strict morality in conduct isobserved and practiced by every respousivle subject of the Empire, at home and more particularly abroad among foreign people. The “yamato damashi” sctuates the daily life of our people in iheir efforts to live worthily and sue- cessfully, Error 0-00000000000000000000000000000 yet lives. It will not down. to the question for THE CALL. Ghe Present Wage System Declared Hltogether Wrong. DE. NIETO. Dr. Nieto said that he could give no general rules for conduct for the solution of life’s problers, for the reason that differences of condition was so prominent & feature. Temperament, enviroument and education were essential factors in every human life, but these were not alike in any two individuals. However the sirife shouid be to keep as clear as possible from the exigencies and predicaments of existence that work injury to the best personal effort and sctitity. Life should be dealt with not as theory and speculation, philosophy and tneology wou'd have it, but as one finds life actually to be. In regard 10 abstract ideas the doctor thought every one had a right to exer- cise the fullest liberty. God and the human soul were abstract ideas and any one had & perfect right 1o think of those ideas as he pleased. All nature is excessive and superabundant. The spontaneous natural growth of a tree is excessive and wasteful, but the pruning-knife will direct its life forces into more profitable growth than if teft to itsell. £o one may help and direct human life, which is z1so excessive, into more wholesome channels by wisdom, care and torethough. I believe in the co-operative plan in the equalization of labor. The wage system of our social condition is all wrong, for it forces labor into servitude to weelth, whereas labor should be a partner. The man who buys and selis doubles the prices of produce. They should be equel, with & balance, i any, in favor of the producer. The wealth of brain, of muscle, of money shouid be equalized. There is enough theoiogy 1n the world and enough religion, but not enough practice of them. A Scientific Sducation Js What Tz Y)ost JYPeeded. BRADSHAW. Pioneer Christian Scientist of California. To solve the problem of life requires & clear understanding of the prinelple and law that governs it and the yielding of personal opinions to the verdict of science. Life is mind, and what we need s scientitic education on that bas Materinlism is seli-destroying, and has proven & dismal failure. it a radical change? Itis not nes mistakes, being sick ard me: Why not make essary 10 g0 00 in a state of ignorance, making taily discordant and unhappy. Power is inherent in miud only. A comprehension of that fact will enable one to act in accordance with the supremecy ot mind and 0 gain a power over sin and disease thatno otuer faculty can give. Whatever is impossible or delusive is not an ideal. There must be & recog- nized standard to guide one’s work, and one’s ideal of life must be definite and true—an embodiment of principle ; then it can be proven and reatized. Science has no fellowship with anything that lacks principle and proof. The demonstration of spiritual power over the material claims reveals the science of Christianity, and will enable us to maintain the conditions essential for true liy- ing and bring to light the Chrisi-like character. Cre RBible Could Pot Alone Redeem the Feathon. REV. WILLIAM RADER. Pastor of the Third Congregational Church. The solution of life’s problem requires time. A man may be converted sud- denly, but no man is equipped with character suddenly. The religious life is not resched at & sudden bound, but by patient endeavor and a long process of development. It is an eternal evolution. If the Bible were placed in the bands of every heathen in the world during the next week heathenism would not be conquered. Civilization, which includes a Christian commerce, a Christian industry and social order and a regencrated individuality, is the end of missions. A revival of reiigion is the beginning, %ol the end, of Christian character. What the world needs is character. It hus faith and it has motive, but where men fail is at the point where the good intention is transiated into life. It is ut this point where Christ, as the Savior of the world and as au example of the art of living and as the motive to true repentance unto salvation, comes to the rescue. 1f the world is to be saved at all it is to be saved by Jesus Christ, which means the acceptance of his teachings in their application to society and the individual, and an implicit trust and complete surrender of one's life 10 his life. , higher conceptions of life. Tgnorance Is the Obstacle Waw to Be Overcome. DR. JEROME A. ANDERSON. President of the Theosophists’ Association of California and editor of the Pacific Theosophist. The object of human life appears to be the perfecting of human character. The soul of man, in common with that of all nature, is undergoing an evolution ary process with, in his case. this specific object in view—to rise above the animal 10t a really human condition. The problem of life, then, for the race as well as for esch individual member thereof, is to accomplish this with the least amount of suffering and injustice. Happiness (or bliss) is the goal for which we are all, consciously or unconsciously, striving. Ignorance is the great and sole obstacie to be overcome. Men must be taught They must be made 10 feel in thelr hearts thatin true brotherhood lies their only hope. They must realize this from the very depths of their souls; & mere intelicetual concept will do no good. They must feel that the wrong of oneis the concern of all: that he who seeks his own selfish happiness is a moral fratricide. This is or ought to be the lesson of all religion and all pnilosophy; but the one is so hampered by foolish dogma and the othec Dby even more foolishly materialistic speculation that they have failed in the past and must continue to fail in the future to bring about even a semblance of happinoss. This world is governed in every department, whether physically or mentally. by the law of cause and effect. Each man’s destiny is in his own hands and he cannot possibly, by forgiveness or in any otner way, escape the consequences of his own scts. His present coudition, nowever unheppy it may be, is the result of his own past crrors in former lives. Men cannct be made better or more humane by law; nor can they be made just by inculeating any foolish dogma concerning rewsrds and punishmeuts in heaven or hell of which they know little and believe less. We want to be practical; to show men that here and now they are undergoing their rewards or punishments, and that this will always be the case; the happiness or unhappiness being determined by themselves in every instance under the law o csuse and effect. If we can bring this simple teaching home to the hearts of men, the problem of life will have been solved; the false ideals, the inhumsn competition, the mad, murderous longings for wealth, fama or power will die out, aud in their place will come a larger, broader, more divine view of human lite, which Wil usher in the new civilization of universal brotherhood. HAbide by the Laws of Religion HAnd the Laws of FHealth H. J. M'coY (General Secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Association). He who spake as never man spake said, “Iam the way, the truth and the life” And the prophetsaid thatthe Lord requires thatwe should “Do justly, love mercy and walk humbly.” This would seem to be the embodiment of the goiden rue to “Do unto others as we would have others do unto us.” The true way tolive is in strict obedience to the laws of God and the laws of health and true to one’s self. Shakespeare:said: “This above all—to tnine own self be true. And it must follow as the night theday thou canst not then be false to any man.” . proper siart in life is the mostessential thing in the matter of right living. The man of Nezareth should be the standerd of all real life, in which there is neither fiction, idesl nor impossible attainment. To seek him and make his teachings the rule and practice of life must be the best way to live. How to find that way is not difficult, for whosoever will do his will “shall know of the doctrine.’” Among the essential things to be desired in the solution of the problem of lite i good health—God’s richest blessing—and we should see well to it that this gift is not abused; followed by a liberal education, which every man should seek, and for the neglect of which there would seem to be little excuse, for the hum- blest mey obtain 1t in this day and generation. Economy in life should not be overlooked, and whoever is a spendthrift will ever be in want. The world is looking for men who can do something and competeat to do that something well, and the man who respects himself will have the respect of others and the problem of life be more easily solved. adame odjeska, a Rootblack Had a Crippled Vender. MODJESKA. Spend your money freely. s What d s one want of millions ? Let wealth be divided, and let other peovie use it to suit themselves. Beyond simple aud pieas ant surroundings and congenial companionship one should not seek. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. If we but practice the golden rule and be content with a comfortable living, the way to live, and persistency in that way, will have been sccomplished by the majozity of people. THE BOOTBLACK. There isn’t much polish or shine in me, an1 while I am st work it must bo so, for my business is to polish and make other pecpls shine. With plenty of eibow greasc and good blacking I get along well enough. Good muny others in the same business, but there is enough for us all to do and make a living. Yes, life goes pretty fair with me. I've no kick coming. I have a place to sleep, plenty to eat and drink, and some time tom: Whet more can Task ? Some day I')L have a little home for my family, and then I'll ask no odds of any one. I'm doing the best I can. A CRIPPLED VENDER. “For many years I have made a humble living and it isall T can expect. But I have some p.easures. The world goes past daily and I am conteat.” Ono Wust Seek the Way 20 Contentment, Carth Life, WILLTAM K. DAVID. One cannot solve the problem by the exact laws of mathematics, but there are a few rules of experience which will, if judiciously applied, bring the greatest measure of contentment. After all, *‘contentment is riches,” thereforo let one seek the way to be contented. Let not ambition, vanity or hobbies keep one from being contented with a great deal less than he thinks he deserves. Great wealth or high houors most frequently bring their possessors more trouble than happiness. Work of some kiud is essential to true happiness even among the very wealthy. Read John Ruskin’s “Sesame and Lilies.” Read it three times. If you hate cats and don’t like dogs, consnlt a good doctor and find out whether the fault lies with your heart or your liver. The Chinese Consul-Sencral Quotes From Confucius, FONG GUNG HENG, Chincse Consul-Genera 1f everybody lives or tries to live justly toward others and himself he will get there, if there s an eternal future for us. The principle enunciated in the Golden Rule is the best to live by. “What you yourself don’t like never think of doing to others,” is & maxim from Confucius that we may well follow. Crucifixion Thorn % that possesses that which is of ) It is known as the *“‘erucifixion keen sterest for every man, wo- or, in Latin, the “crucitera spin K\ man and child who has ever heard the | Rrows but in two spots on the earth—on story of the crucifixion. | the mesas of Sait River Valley a The plant lives, breathes, gains its sus. | tain parts of Palestine. The tenance from the sun and the air without | know but very little about it, a: the aid of leaves. | the fact that itis supposed to by There isa haloof picusand historical in- | ber of the quassia terest about the plant, because branches are the same as those with | with the acacia group. which the Jesus of Nazareth was| Professor Bessey, Rt AN \‘\ y ‘k ‘\‘ A6 i\l % \ i i THE CRUCIFIXION THORN AS IT GROWS RIVER VALLEY AND IN IN _THE PALESTINE. (’UIZONA has a strange desert plant | crowned on the heights of Calvary. | mily by some, while | the its | others declare that it will yet be who occupies the in Arizona chair of botany at the Nebraska Univer- sity, is making an exhaustive study of the rare plant, and several choice specimens | have just been shipped to him from Pheenix. These were obtained from large botanists | bushes which grow at longintervalson | side from | the mesa to a height of from twelve to e a mem- | eighteen feet. The Mexicans know it as “Palo Christo,” and the Catholic | churches in Southern Arizona are always decorated with the thorny branches at Eastertime. thorn”; osa.” It nd in cer- Professor Bessey has made cross-sec- tions out of previous specimens sent to him from Prcenix, and his own language is that “these sections disclose a very rare and wonderful plant of which the botani- cal world kno%s but very little.” The bushes, as seen on the desert not far from Phenix, have a most forbidding appearance. Oaly their remarkable odd- ily attracts one's attention. All of the plants of the desert have something to attract one to them, and offer a certain picturesqueness and beauty, either of form or color, to the eye—all of them except this bush of wicked-looking thorns. The bushes are all thorns, and nothing but thorns, and their wound is cruel and Iasting, for there is said to be a poison lurking in the tip of them. The poison is not deadly, nor even dangerous, hut troublesome and painful, and most pros- pectors would rather run into a charge of buckshot than into a “crucifixion thorn” bush. fixion” plants, thorns. And though an easily realize why its best, when water, of the bush are absolutely bare, except for 1ts thorns. These are from one to three inches in length, sharp as needles and fully as hard and strong, only they are thicker at the base and taper very gradu- ally to the point of disappearance. Early in the spring the *palo chnisto” puts forth a tiny green blossom, which soon ripens into clusters of smuall, yellowish starved thing. SALT vation, Branches of the Crucifixion Thorn. berries, These are the seed of the “cruci- The most remarkable thing about these bushes is that they are supposed to take in their sustenance through the infinie tesimally fine, steel-like ends ot the plentifa!, yet the feeding and breathing points must be so very small that one a barren and unhealithy appearance. At soil are at the maximum and all the other trees and flowers in the valley are During ten months of the year thelimbs | a cure for weary eyes to look upon, the crucifixion thorn seems to be a poor, half- ——————— The Empress of Russia intends to keep as a souvenir of her visit to France all the bouauets end crowns of flawers offered to ker by the French people, and has given orders to have them prepared for preser- remarkable fecundity. east of Ensena accompanying picture shows t..e senora to ti progeny. t hese are by no means all. Most of these, as m: cattle they herd. the thorns are very the plant has such sunshine and good Luke Nogra. A Wonderful Spanish Family The Sencra Rosario Moreno de Melendrez, widow 'of Don Antonio de Mslendrez, living near San Diego, presents a case of She is the mother of eighteen children, all living, and all live under the vaternal roof with their families. The senora is the owner of most of Santa Clara Valley in Lower California, about 175 miles south of San Diego and sixty miles The Melendrez family has lived there from time immemorial, having its cattle on a thousand hills. The e right of the girl with the baby in her lap. woman next to the men are the only persons in the group who are not the descendants of Donna Rosario. still as black as the raven’s wing and she is full of businexs, attending personatly to her larze ranch and managing all her eighteen children, their wives and busband -, besides the grandchild. an immense table, with the old woman at the head, dispensing hospitality on a wholesale plan. A photographer passed by ‘the ranchhouse and old Donna Rosario improved the opportunity to get a picture of paxt of her Boys were hurriedly sent out on horses to various parts of the ranch, where their brothers were herding cattie or break- ing Lroncos, and within Lalf an hour the group shown in the cut was formed. v be seen, are grandchildren. The Melendrez fsmiy eat meat mostly, with corn, chiles, melons and such licht stuff as can be raised without too much toil. So the cattle ona thousand hills are not too numerous to feed the rapidiy multiplying mouths. One of the Eenora’s boys, Jesus, is an outlaw, he having killed a neigubor in a brawl over a cow. large on the peninsuia and has avoided capture for five or six years. The old men in the rear and the Indian The old lady’s hair is n. It is Like a scene of biblical times to see the family gather around Nineteen descendants of hers are shown, but He is somewhere at Buz all the others are law-abiding ana inoffensive as the