Man in the Light of Evolution 



everything else — fortune, friends, opinions, and 

 beliefs — has gone adrift, they remain. We lose 

 them only with our lives, if even then. 



When these are supreme, men and civiliza- 

 tions are at their best. Think of the Jews under 

 the Maccabees, of Holland under WilHam the 

 Silent, of England under Cromwell, of Bohemia 

 under Ziska. In every case the leader incarnated 

 the convictions which stirred and inspired his 

 followers. Great social and political move- 

 ments owe their strength to the fact that they 

 appeal to the convictions of the people. They 

 may, or may not, appeal to their present inter- 

 ests. The statesman takes this into account \ 

 while the politician is busy counting or buying ^ 

 votes. Whoever said that a statesman was 

 only a dead politician must have been a staunch 

 Universalist. But the thought adds to our long- 

 ing for more statesmen. 



The successful orator is he who can appeal to 

 these convictions. Mr. Everett was a great or- 

 ator, and his oration at Gettysburg was no mean 

 effort. How many of us remember what he said ? 

 Mr. Lincoln added a few words. He spoke 

 out of the full heart of a great patriot, and ap- 

 pealed to the deepest convictions of every citizen 



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