Show THE GREAT STONE FACE by LEONARD A BARRETT nathaniel hawthorne relates a story in his great stone face which should be read frequently for its philosophy of idealism as a molding f factor actor in life in the mountains of new hampshire nature in her mood of majestic pla y yf f alne ulness s S formed on the side of a mountain by some im immense rocks r 0 c k s which had been thrown together in a certain position the features of a human countenance the great stone face according to tradition some day to the little town there would come a man whose face would be the perfect image of the face of stone and with him he would bring great and abiding blessings in one of the mountain homes there lived a boy named ernest who from his early life accepted the tradition and looked steadfastly for the arrival of this great and good man daily ernest would gaze for hours at the great stone face so that he might be able to recognize the man when he arrived many men visited the village but none fully satisfied ernest mr gather gold representing great wealth arrived old blood and thunder 0 the symbol of militarism also came other men came but all failed to reproduce in identical likeness the features of the great stone face after many years a poet came to the village and ernest felt sure that at last here was the man who was to save the people from their calamities but not so for the poet discovered in the face of ernest the perfect resemblance for which the people had been waiting by gazing daily at the image on the mountain side ernest had unconsciously fashioned his own face after its likeness eness the humble mountain boy had become in reality a character strong as the mountain image his ideals W were ere higher far than those of mr Gather gathergood gold or old blood and thunder he had fixed his mind upon the eternal S strength of that beloved face he had inspired his soul with the idealism ot of unchanging values ile he himself had become like the face he admired studied and adored in every life there should be a great stone face a commanding and inspiring ideal we are mastered by our ideals which may be thoughts though ts objects or persons the currents of many a life have been changed for nobler purposes by the influence of a great book or a majestic scene in nature or better still by contact with a personality who gives the strength of sincerity bought with tr the ie price of sacrifice for character we grow to be like those whom we admire beatrice inspired the soul of dante and ri herself led him through paradise se browning B is never more noble than when he confesses his debt to eliza beth barrett chaucer awoke the soul of john masefield the english poet robert louis stevenson writes few friends have had upon me an influence so strong for good as hamlet or rosalind find some book some thought some personality which will be to you what the great stone face was to ernest a spiritual presence which ethe realizes and enables the highest aspirations of your souls there are truly sermons in rocks if we will but heed them true influence comes not from a moments moment S eloquence but from the accumulation of a lifetimes thoughts stored up in in the eyes let us find an inspiration bigger than ourselves a e western newspaper union |