THINGS AND THOUGHTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 87

THINGS AND THOUGHTS.

Br John Christie. — Out of Darkness, Light. —

It is well for some of us that the soul is invisible, for were we to see our own we might go mad with horror at its hideousness. To test this, be alone in some deep midnight, and think in the light of the philosophy of Plato, and in that of the gospe] of Christ — what the soul should be and might be, and then scrutinise your own steadily, -sternly, yet without moral morbidness or mental exaggeration. You will, indeed, require to be a very soulless man or a man of strong reason and of much faith in the mercy of God to survive the ordeal ; but~ it is worth crying for the sake of knowing the difference between what you are and what you might be, notwithstanding all your mortal weaknesses. Yet shun despair not less than you do intellectual arrogance or moral cocksureness and egoistic self-satisfaction. The conscience and the self -criticism of the Christian in conjunction with the courageous personality of the ancient Greek — that is the blend. First, the faith of our own Browning : Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, The of life, for which the first was made : Our times are in His hand Who saith, "A -whole I planned. Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be .afraid."

Then to this add the strong personal equation of the Greek Anthology : Caught in the toils of trouble, soul, my soul, Thyself do thou control ; And to the weapons of advancing foes A steady breast oppose ; Nor quail nor quiver* at the hostile might Of squadrons rushing on thee in the fight. Thine be no boasting should the victor's

crown Bring thee deserved renown; Thine no dejected sorrow should defeat Suggest a base retreat; Rejoice in joyous things, nor overmuch. Let grief thy bosom touch "Because of evil ; and still bear in mmd 1 How changeful are' the ways of humankind. Have faith and reverence, humility and courage, and -what wilt thou not endure, overcome, and accomplish for thy kind, thyself, and the purpose of God?

— Nature and Genius. —

Does man, when he presents the world with the greatest product of genius, do more than the tree does when it gives forth its leaves ior blossoms, or -than the bird when it sings its song? Shakespeare seems to have done' his part in this connection with the happy spontaneousness and divine insouciance of Nature generally ,\ in her character as a producer of great and beautiful and wonderful things ; while other geniuses appear to emulate the proverbial mountain that, "with sore and - much labour, gives birth to a mouse.

— The Comic Spirit. —

The very seriousness of life is a reason why -we should not take it too seriously, as to do so would only add to its seriousoaess. Herein lies a full justification for that divine comic spirit which Nature, with infinite wisdom, has provided as a balancer and sweetener of her own more strenuous qualities. Wherefore, let us cultivate that spirit — with the wisdom which is its crowning characteristic.

Now, by two-headed Janus, Nature hath framed strange fellows in her time: Some that will evermore peep through their eyes ■And laugh like parrots at a bagpipe; And other of such vinegar aspect That they'll not show their teeth in way

of smile, Though Nestor swear the jest he laughable.

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. No man worthy of the name of man would belong to either of these absurd groups; but every true man will himself see to it that he himself becomes the genial possessor of too much true knowledge and 'true courage to be daunted by anything in the universe ,of God. Above .all, life being .serious, jie --will

decline to add to its seriousness by taking it too seriously; and so the comic spirit, justified by the need for balance and measure in Nature, will also be justified by the wisdom of its children.

— Proof of Pettiness. — >

To be angry with people who are petty enough to be angry about petty things is a proof that we ourselves nave an ample ahare of the very pettiness which we dislike in others.

—The Tooth of the Serpent.—

The last expression of some souls is bitter and poisonous, like the tooth of the serpent. Of this an instance is supplied by the old cynic who, loving his young wife after a fashion, can yet say to her: "When I am dead, kiss me and I shall live again ; and yet do not, dear, lest you yourself should then also die — of disappointment at my recovery."

— Psychological Kinship. —

When one man indignantly says to another, "I am just myself, and cannot be you," and the other observes with complacent -contempt, "That is unfortunate for you," they are no doubt far apart in sympathy ; yet how close they are to each other in 'psychological kinship and value! Inveterate, unregenerate egoists both ; and, comparing their souls with our own, see we not that we are their brethren?

CUPID'S CANTRIPS. In a' the wide-ness o' the warl' There isna sic a wight At playing cantrips as the carle That has been Cupid hight. He scours the oountiy up and down As though he were the de'il, An' jumbles hearts in ilka town Like herrings in a creel. Cupid is a pawky chiel, Pawky let him be ; Cupid oft has played the de'il, Frien's, wi' you an' me.

Sac Davie dotes on Bessie Brcon, Whsa doesna care for him, But hankers for a sailor loon 'Whi sighs for Stisie Sim ; An' Susie lo'ee a landward lad Whause dearie is hinisel' : Sac some are sad, an' some are mad, An' some are damned in hell.

Cuuid is a pawky caiel, Pawky let him bs ; Cupid oft has played the de'il, Frien's, wi' you an' me.

The unco wise would put an end To a' this merry play, Btit this may ilka fste forfend For ever and a day; For love's wild humour is to lifa What salt is to the sea. And iron to the blood and strife Of folk that wad be free.

Cunid is a pawky chiel, Pawky let' him be ; Cu^id oft has played the . e'i!, Frien's, wi' you an' me.