The Tragedy and Triumph of Youth, I: The Nature of True Character

THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF YOUTH. BY J. E. HICKMAN, A.M., PRESIDENT OF THE MURDOCK ACADEMY 1.— THE NATURE OF TRUE CHARACTER. Our minds have a thousand eyes, and our hearts but one, yet the light of a whole life dies when our character is gone. The chemist, making an assay for gold, grinds the bulky ore, places it into the furnace and heats it to an intense degree. The gold, the only thing of value in the rock, flows to the bottom, the dross is cast aside. The gold is weighed, and the value of the ore computed. So in the life of man, with all his reputation, acquired experiences, and hereditary endowments, he is tested in the crucible of human experiences and weighed in the balance of eternal worth. The value of the man is his character,— the gold of the human soul. Character, in its better sense, includes all those higher qualities that make man a moral, loving, thinking being. As the gold was gradually deposited in the rock, through long ages, so likewise character is the result of the soul's long struggle for truth, and a mastery of life's forces and life's passions. As there are inferior or base metals, so also there are inferior char-

46 IMPROVEMENT ERA. acters. The analogy may be carried a step further: we find rock without coveted metal, and we meet men without admirable characters. The intensity or the strength of the master-man — the man of character — depends upon the amount of truth acquired, and the undefiled application of it in the uplifting of his own self and of humanity. Character, in its better and truer sense, is the product of the moral and religious side of life rather than of the intellectual, for the intellect may increase while character may decrease; or, character may increase while scholastic attainment remains comparatively stationary. The man of character banks truth, and draws usury for the soul; the prodigal, through profligacy, abandons the truth and becomes a moral bankrupt. ' 'Learning enables us to grasp the laws of society, to read the truths written upon the pages of earth and sky; it aids to lift man into a higher civilization; it enables him to stand at the head of created beings crowned with the triumph of science and philosophy." Character is not the learning but the assimilation of truth. Nor must reputation be confounded with character, for reputation is a gift from the public; character is a self endowment. Reputation is that which seems ; character is the reality — the summation— of a noble life. Reputation scarcely ever agrees with one's character, for it is either higher or lower. Like one's shadow, reputation may precede or follow, extend or diminish, or entirely vanish. Character is rock, reputation shifting sand. Reputation is the coat, character the man; and, like a coat, reputation often deceives as to the real worth of its possessor. In such cases, it is like paint on a lady's face, its mission may be only deception. Character is complex in its nature. It is more than a mere good intention, or a mere respect for the moral law. That is not the kind of morality wanted. It is not enough to be good. One must be good for something. That is the kind of character we should build in our homes, in our schools, and in our nation. When you say that you are good, say also for what, and I will put a value upon you. Negative goodness means little in the

THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF YOUTH. 47 world of worth; it is unharnessed energy; it is granite lying dead in the mountain side. Judgment and will are elements in character-building. To determine what is right and to act accordingly, is the work of the youth. Simply storing facts, no matter how valuable, does not necessarily affect character. It is knowledge transmitted into wisdom that influences or becomes part of our moral worth. That learning which is not worked into the warp and woof of the soul's purer self, lies as undigested food, and becomes an inviting culture for the microbes of sin. Beaver City, Utah. [to be continued. REDEEMING THE WASTE PLACES The illustrations are by George Albert Smith, and show how there are stil strenuous and unfaltering pioneers among the colonizers of the Latter-day Saints, who are still willing to plant their feet in the desert and grow up with the country Modern dwellings with hot and cold water, pavements, telephones, electric lights, and other luxuries, come later, or to the next generation. A Pioneer Home at Grayson, San Juan County, Utah.