Part 6

In the moral and religious world, much the same futile methods of cure through repression are in use that obtained during the Dark Middle Ages.

In the individual, phantoms of the imagination, whose presence impose stagnation and disease, are created and clothed with the authority of masters, under the belief that they are the curses which bind fallen men to earth; and this in contradiction of every assurance and promise of Christ; in opposition to all intelligent methods of culture used in connection with animals and plants; and contrary to common sense.

These are strong statements, but they are indisputable; and if they are true, what then, is the remedy?

As previously stated, the only cure is the germ cure; and, beginning with the individual.

The task is not a difficult one. Appreciation of the limitations of the power of the depressing passions, and one's strength to extirpate them, and to be superior to them, are the only necessary prerequisites to victory. There is no tedious discipline, as in the various methods of repression in vogue; and dividends are immediately and continuously collectable on the fair face of the investment. No rule of conduct is necessary; for, out of Emancipation, only good conduct, to fit environing circumstances, can be expected; and yet, every Christian, every Jew, every Buddhist, every Mohammetan, every Free Mason, and every Odd Fellow, can accept Emancipation as a rule of life, without renouncing his other faiths and affiliations, because it is the fundamental principle of them all, expressed in terms of present knowledge, and unclouded by the shadows of ignorance and superstition, which gave the name of Dark Ages to a period of our history.

And outside of these devotees, there is the great mass of men, the so-called Skeptics, who claim to adhere to logic, and scientific sense, for their light on spiritual, as well as on material subjects. To these, Emancipation will be a haven of repose for their spiritual yearnings; and, unimpeded growth, under Divinely natural conditions, "will do the rest" for them all.

PRESCRIPTION

One grain of the assurance of Christ that man is made in the image of God.

One grain of respect for the responsibility of the care and culture of the Divine Essence with which we have been entrusted.

One grain of the command of Christ (implying a possibility) "Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect."

One grain of the example of Buddha that man can grow to perfection through the elimination of anger and worry and their brood of dependent passions.

One grain of the wisdom of Aristotle which declared that the passions are habits of the mind, and can be gotten rid of as physical habits are gotten rid of.

One grain of the assurance of Omar Khayyam that Heaven and Hell are within ourselves.

One grain of the assurance of Christ that "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."

One grain of common sense applied to an analysis of mental handicaps and the discovery of their limitations.

One grain of the to-day experience of the author that anger and worry are the roots of all the passions which depress, and can be eliminated.

DIRECTIONS

Take: and then let

The ever-full, never-full bounty of love, Sing a song, tell a tale, strike a chord, from above, Soften strife out of life, find a pleasure in giving, Sound the key-note on earth, of the Art of True Living.

SCRAPS OF EVIDENCE

Early in life I was fortunate enough to acquire the belief that, what seemed to be the consensus of opinion of the learned in any art or science, ought to be true; and, accepting their dictum, I have tried to grow up to an appreciation of their intelligence or taste in the subjects of their study, without combatting it with my own callow impressions. In this way I have enjoyed an early appreciation of the classics in music and in art, much in advance of the ordinary experience derived from personal contact. In this spirit of investigation I have collected some scraps of evidence which all prove my theory. No one has denied the possibility of Emancipation, but every one has found a pleasure at once in the ray of hope it suggests.

Since my attention has been directed to the possible total emancipation from the depressing passions, I have taken occasion to interview every man who seemed to enjoy unclouded happiness, as to the secret of his happiness. In almost every instance I have learned that the emancipated condition has dated, not from infancy and inheritance, but from some incident in later life that exposed the passions to ridicule, or showed them to be a cause of danger; such as death as the result of worry, or crime as the result of anger; some object lesson which proved the danger of permitting the passions to absorb one. I enquired of

A PHYSICIAN

who has recently been selected by vote of the members of his profession to a position of honor among them, and who is conspicuous for his enjoyment of such healthful recreation as only much younger men usually enjoy, whether he did not consider anger and worry habits of the mind, and not as necessary ingredients. "Certainly," said he, "and I know it to be true by the best possible evidence, the evidence of experience." After some further questioning I was able to get from him the following story: "When I was a boy I had an ungovernable temper which brought from my neighbors the prediction that I would come to some bad end. At school I was known as one of the four or five 'roosters.' There was scarcely a day that a ring was not formed, and some of us 'roosters' did not engage in a fight. I followed my studies pretty closely, however, in pursuance of a natural inclination to be 'on top,' but without any laudable ambition in connection with them, and finally graduated in medicine and began practice. I suffered great annoyance from horses and servants, and quarreled with them constantly, and got mad at my patients if they showed any unreasonable tendencies; until one day it came to me as a sudden revelation, that, what most hindered them from getting well, was the very thing that possessed me the greater part of the time, and made me disagreeable to myself and others; and I resolved to master myself as I had tried to master others. From that time I date my success in life, and certainly my happiness. I will not allow anything to worry me. If a driver or other servant does not please me, I do not quarrel with him, but pay him off, and let him go with the best of feeling. I have a collector who is very faithful, and very candid at the same time. When he fails to collect an account that is due, I sometimes ask him the reason, and he repeats to me what my patient has said. One day I questioned him about an account that had been long overdue, against a patient whom I met cordially every day at the club, but who was evidently 'short' at the time and suffered annoyance from collectors. 'What did he say?'said I. 'He said, sir, "Tell the doctor to go to hell," replied the honest collector. Most men would have taken offense at the message, and prosecuted his patient for the debt, or 'cut' him, or expressed anger in some way; but I simply didn't go where he had ordered, and never referred to the matter with him. We are the best of friends now, and he is one of my warmest advocates."

A MANUFACTURER

The president of one of the largest manufacturing corporations in the country, having properties in a dozen states, related to me the following story:

"Some years ago I journeyed south with a railroad magnate who stood very high at the time in the railway world. We came to a river crossed by his road. The bridge had been washed away, and, while it was rebuilding, trains were ferried to the further shores. Owing to some accident there was no boat on hand to transport the official's car across the stream. He became so angry that he flew into a wild passion, and cursed and discharged the subordinates in charge of the division without inquiry as to the cause of the delay. He learned afterward that the accident to the boat was unavoidable, and that none of the employes whom he had insulted so grossly and discharged so unfairly were responsible for it; but he was too proud to apologize.

"The incident made such an impression on me, that I resolved never to show anger again before my employes; and I have kept my resolve. It has led to my renouncing the habit altogether, and for many years anger has ceased to be a component part of my nature. I am sorry that I did not discharge worry at the same time, as results have proved that it has had no real cause to exist; and it has, as you say, stolen much precious time and energy out of my life."