“THE BUTTERED SIDE”

Otago Witness, Issue 4041, 25 August 1931, Page 67

“THE BUTTERED SIDE”

CASE AGAINST PESSIMISM LECTURE BY REV. A. STEVELY. “Mr President and Diggers,—l consider it a great privilege to stand before you men to whom we all feel we owe a great debt and sense of obligation that can never be forgotten—it must not be forgotten—and I think that that will be so while the world has a soul and a memory.” With these words the Rev. Alan Stevely commenced what he termed a chat, not a lecture, to the members of the Returned Soldiers’ Association on Tuesday evening. The lecturer said that if the big problems, of which there seemed to be no cheap and easy solutions, were going to be finally cleared up, it would be along the lines of a better understanding and in that spirit of comradeship which was displayed by the soldiers in the 'great days not long ago. In his chat he thought he would stick to very plain fare, and his subject would'be “ Things Always Fall on the Buttered Side.” The lecturer cited a quotation which stated how the slice of toast, particularly long and wide, “ landed on the sandy floor and always on the buttered side.” In effect, things were always against them. The thought in the question was common enough, but it was not accurate.

He would tell them, Mr Stevely said, of the experience of what was called the Old Men’s Parliament. The men met in the public park and two things they always kept clear of, showing their wisdom. One was politics and the other was religion.— (Laughter.) Any other subject might be taken for debate. The everpresent question of the slice of toast always falling on the buttered side was raised, and the point was put to the actual test. It -was then discovered that the toast did not always fall on tho buttered side—in fact, in quite a majority of cases it reached the ground on the other side. He thought it was good for them that night, passing as they were through strenuous times, to know that the toast did not always fall on the buttered side, that not infrequently it fell on the other side. The question went deeper than it first appeared, because they were living in a scientific age, and if they accepted something which wag not true it was going to colour, wrongly, all their thought. And that was really what was taking place. People had drawn a mantle of gloom over their lives. Sometimes it was called pessimism, but it was sometimes worse than that. The lecturer went on to deal with everyday superstitions —the unfriendly and evil powers which some people believed surrounded them—and said it was good to look in passing at some of the . “13’s.” He traversed happenings in the years from 1713 to 1313, and said that while the happenings might have appeared bad to some people they were hailed with pleasure by others. He illustrated his point by referring to the year 1513 —the battle of Flodden —the great sorrow of the Scots. They lost 10,000 men, their King, and the flower of their nobility in the battle. They knew the old Scottish song about that battle, “ The Flowers of the Forest are all wede away.” Still, had I been in England instead of Scotland,” said the lecturer, “ 1 would have seen nothing unfortunate for the other side.”—(Laughter.) Old pagan fears and superstitions appeared to die veTy slowly. Although it might appear that the toast usually fell on the buttered side it really did not do so. They should get expert with the toast, and even when it was falling for the buttered side they should strive to prevent it from doing so. They should try to rise above the situation. “ There was nothing either good or bad, but thinking made it so,” and even with a bad thing they should try to transform it into a good thing. There was an art in life of being so mentally and spiritually alert that they could catch the toast before it reached the sanded floor and prevent it from falling on the buttered side. He believed it was that spirit which had led his listeners through to the final triumph. And that was the serious note in his little thought that night. He believed that the spirit which was needed to-day was contained in the manner and composure of spirit of the “ diggers ” of those great days. This was the spirit that was going to help them in the present crisis. After all, the universe was a friendly place, and with that faith they could believe that things would be well. The greatest man and the greatest soldier who ever walked this planet gave us the final assurance that at the heart of the universe was love.— (Applause.)