876 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



ther, with his 'Here stand i; i can uo other,' fronts 

 the whole inisht of the empire and of the hierarchy; 

 Biinyan breaks the Conventicle Act and find himself 

 in Bedford gaol; Wesley, contrary to episcopal 

 authority, takes to field preaching, and is cast out 

 of the Establishment. Here, you may say, is dis- 

 obedience, here is defiance of the established order; 

 here is a tremendous self-assertion, a pitting of the 

 single ego against the whole system held as authori- 

 tative and sacred. 



And why has patriotism proved so inadequate? 

 The reason is not difficult to find as hinted above. 

 Germany has sought her own advantage, and pa- 

 triotism has simply meant to her and to her citizens 

 the development of her own life and the enlargement 

 of her own opportunities, with no purpose to con- 

 tribute to the advantage of other nations — -the greed 

 of commercialism rather than a generous purpose 

 to divide. And the same has been true of the other 

 contending nations to a great extent. When it comes 

 to an armed conflict the selfish view of national 

 relationships is the dominant view of the so-called 

 patriot. They strive to crush and exterminate rath- 

 er than to bless and elevate. If the United States 

 presents no larger conception of national duty than 

 that which we see across the ocean, patriotism will 

 fail here as it has failed there. And it ought to 

 fail. The real test is the value to the world and 

 not the advantage to a single national group. We 

 are bound to cultivate and promote this conception 

 of patriotism. Nothing short of this can meet the 

 demands of the world's progress. 



Ill view of the above, I have been won- 

 dering- if our Fourth of July were not in 

 some respects, especially the way in whicli 

 we have been celebrating it, a mistake. I 

 do not know whether at this present time 

 England sympathizes with our Fourth of 

 July or not; and I do not know whether 

 any nation besides the United States recog- 

 nizes the Fourth of July. While consider- 

 ing the matter it rejoices my heart to rec- 

 ognize that the use of firecrackers and toy 

 pistols and cannon has been for the last 

 few years largely done away with.* Christ- 

 mas is a world-wide anniversary. All na- 

 lions can unite in celebrating the birth of 

 our Lord and Savior; and would it not be 

 well if, at this present stage of affairs, we 

 should choose Jiolidays that cdl the world 

 can unite on in celebrating? Down in 

 Florida they have a fashion of having their 

 fireworks and things of that sort on Christ- 

 mas as well as on the 4th of July; but as I 

 have not been in Florida in July I cannot 

 speak from experience. 



Right here let me give you a little tract 

 that was sent me by some good brother. 

 Tt seems to me it points out the outcome 

 of all our trouble, and points to the glad 

 time when God's kingdom shall have come, 

 and his will be done on earth as it is in 

 heaven. I have read it over and over, and 

 every time I read it it gives me a thrill. 

 Here it is. Now see if it does not give you 

 a glimpse of the glad time coming: 



* A grandfather, a neighbor of ours in Florida, 

 made each of two boys a Christmas present (?) of 

 a little gun. Shortly after, while shooting fisli, one 

 accidentally shot the other, killing him instantly. 



OTHERS. 

 Lord, let me live from day to day 

 In such a self-forgetful way 

 That, even when I kneel to pray. 

 My prayer may be for others. 



Help me, in all the work I do, 

 To ever be sincere and true, 

 And know that all I do for you 

 Must needs be done for others. 



Let self be crucified and slain, 

 And buried deep, and all In vain 

 May efforts be to rise again 

 Unless to live for others. 



And when on earth my work is done, 

 And my new work in heaven begun, 

 Let me forget the crown I've won 

 While thinking still of others. 



Others, Lord! yes, others, 

 .Vnd none of self for me; 

 Help me to live for others, 

 That I may live for thee ! 



All that is necessary to make the above 

 apply to patriotism instead of individuals 

 is to substitute " our country " in place of 

 the word " me." Is it not likely that we 

 as a people, say here in the United States, 

 have been praying too much for oui- own 

 nation and too little for other nations'? 

 God knows our nation just now is in sad 

 need of the prayers of Christians ; but is it 

 not possible that our nation would be raised 

 up and lielped by praying for other nations 

 as well, instead of ourselves only, or for our 

 own United States? 



The third veise takes hold of me partic- 

 ularly : 



Let self be crucified and slain. 

 And buried deep, and all in vain 

 May efforts be to rise again 

 Unless to live for others. 



May the great Father above bless the 

 message of this Home paper. 



" WHAT HAVE WE TO GAIN BY HURTING ONE 

 ANOTHER STILL FURTHER ? " 



We clip the following from the Christian 

 Herald; and, if I am correct, they take it 

 from Collier's Weekly: 



What have we been fighting for ? What are we 

 fighting for? Do you know? Does any one know? 

 Why am I spending what is left of my substance, 

 and you what is left of yours, to keep on this war 

 against each other? What have we to gain from 

 hurting one another still further ? Why should we 

 be puppets any longer in the hands of crowned 

 fools and witless diplomats, even if we were dumb 

 and acquiescent before? Does not the blood of our 

 sons now cry out to us that this foolery should 

 cease? We have let these people send our sons to 

 death. 



It is you and T who must stop these wars, these 

 massacres of boys. Massacres of boys ! That indeed 

 is the essence of modern war, the killing off of the 

 young. It is the destruction of the human inheri- 

 tance; it is the spending of all the life and material 

 of the future upon present-day hate and greed. 



