Page:Dealings with the dead.djvu/146

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DEALINGS WITH THE DEAD.

and never will. Soul naturally shrinks from scales, weights, measures, and yard-tapes; and it quite as intensely despises all protestation. Why? Because pure love is undemonstrative. Demonstration proceeds from volition, but love flows from a fountain altogether back of will. People may be proud of their property, but the human can have no true deep joys, save such as spring from love, pure, strong, earnest, spontaneous and reciprocal. Whatever is not thus based is distasteful to the soul in its higher moods. Joys of a tumultuous character, such as spring from impulsiveness and passion, are both short-lived and exhaustive; and the pestilent brood of anger, jealousy, hatred, disgust and trouble, ever and always follow in their train—priests of Misery, prime ministers of Evil! On the other hand, pure manly, womanly, human love, is recuperative, re-creative—is a virtue-exhilarant, tonic of good, vice-dispellant, and health-promotive; while contentment of heart, peace of mind, security, trust, calmness and serenity, are its attendant ministers. God, who made us, well knows that there is more of good than evil in our hearts, by virtue of our ancestry—Nature and Himself; yet, for His own grandly-purposed end, He permits us all to wade to Heaven through the malarious swamps of hell!—permits us all to experiment and suffer, in order that we may grow powerful and strong, and thus be fitted for the tremendous destiny that awaits all who wear the human form on the thither side of Time. People feel before they think, and the act of one single impulsive moment not seldom enshrouds an entire life in gloom. Have mercy, therefore—always! Mere thinking without feeling is quite as bad—nay, worse; for it freezes up the fountains of the soul! Something will grow and