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Speaker 1: Solitude. Why idly seek from outward things? The answer inward

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silence brings why climb the far off hills in pain

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a nearer view of heaven? To gain in lowliest depths

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of Bosky Dells, the hermit contemplation dwells whence piercing heaven

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with screened sight, he sees at noon the stars whose

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light shall glorify the coming night. Wittier in the still hour,

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when passion is at rest, gather up stores of wisdom

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in thy breast Wordsworth. Man's essential being is inward, invisible, spiritual,

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and as such it derives its life strength from within,

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not from without. Outward things are channels through which its

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energies are expended, but for renewal it must fall back

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on the inward silence. In so far as man's to

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drown this silence in the noisy pleasures of the senses

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and endeavors to live in the conflicts of outward things,

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just so much does he reap the experiences of pain

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and sorrow, which, becoming at last intolerable, drive him back

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to the feet of inward comforter, to the shrine of

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the peaceful solitude within. As the body cannot thrive on

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empty husks. Neither can the spirit be sustained on empty pleasures.

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If not regularly fed, the body loses its vitality, and,

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pained with hunger and thirst, cries out for food and drink.

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It is the same with the spirit. It must be

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regularly nourished in solitude on pure and holy thoughts, or

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it will lose its freshness and strength, and will at

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last cry out in its painful and utter starvation. The

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yearning of an anguish stricken soul for lighting consolation is

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the cry of a spirit that is perishing of hunger

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and thirst. All pain and sorrow is spiritual starvation, and

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aspiration is the cry for food. It is a prodigal

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son who, perishing of hunger, turns his face longingly towards

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his father's home. The pure life of the spirit cannot

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be found, but is lost in the life of the senses.

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The lower desires are ever clamorous for more, and they

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afford no rest. The outward world of pleasure, personal contact,

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and noisy activities is a sphere of wear and tear,

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which necessitates the counterbalancing effect of solitude. Just as the

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body requires rest for the recuperation of its forces, so

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the spirit requires solitude for the renewal of its energies.

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Solitude is as indispensable to man's spiritual welfare as sleep

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is to his bodily well being, and pure thought or meditation,

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which is evoked in solitude is to the spirit what

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activity is to the body. As the body breaks down

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when deprived of the needful rest and sleep, so do

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the spirits of men break down, being deprived of the

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necessary silence and solitude. Man as a spiritual being cannot

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be maintained in strength, uprightness, and peace except if he

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periodically withdraws himself from the outer world of perishable things,

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and reaches inward towards the abiding and imperishable realities. The

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consolations of the creeds are derived from the solitude which

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those creeds enforce. The regular observance of the ceremonies of

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formal religion, attended as they are, with concentrated silence and

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freedom from worldly distractions, compels men to do unconsciously that

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which they have not yet learned to do consciously, namely,

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to concentrate the mind periodically on the inward silence, and meditate,

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though very briefly, on high and holy things. The man

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who has not learned to control and purify his mind

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in seasons of chosen solitude, Yet whose awakening aspirations grow

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for something higher and nobler than he possesses, feels the

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necessity for the aid of ceremonial religion. But he who

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has taken himself in hand with a view to self conquest,

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who withdraws into solitude in order to grapple with his

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lower nature and masterfully bend his mind in holy directions,

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requires no further aid from book or priest or church.

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The Church does not exist for the pleasure of the saint,

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but for the evaluation of the sinner. In solitude, a

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man gathers strength to meet the difficulties and temptations of life,

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knowledge to understand and conquer them, and wisdom to transcend them.

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As a building is preserved and sustained by virtue of

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the foundation, which is hidden and unobserved, so a man

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is maintained perpetually in strength and peace by virtue of

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his lonely hour of intense thought, which no eye beholds.

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It is in solitude only that a man can be

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truly revealed to himself, that he can come to understand

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his real nature with all its powers and possibilities. The

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voice of the spirit is not heard in the hubbub

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of the world, and amid the clamors of conflicting desires.

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There can be no spiritual growth without solitude. There are

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those who shrink from too close a scrutiny of themselves,

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who dread too complete a self revelation, and who fear

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that solitude would leave them alone with their thoughts and

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call up before their mental vision the wrath of their desires.

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And so they go where the din of pleasure is loudest,

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and where the reproving voice of truth is drowned. But

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he who loves truth, who desires and seeks wisdom, will

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be much alone. He will see the fullest, clearest revelation

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of himself, will avoid the haunts of frivelty and noise,

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and will go where the sweet, tender voice of the

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Spirit of truth can speak within him and be heard.

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Men go after much company and seek out new excitements,

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but they are not acquainted with peace. In diverse paths

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of pleasure, they search for happiness, but they do not

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come to rest. Through diverse ways of laughter and feverish delirium,

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they wander after gladness and life. But their tears are

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many and grievous, and they do not escape death. Drifting

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upon the ocean of life in search of selfish indulgences,

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men are caught in its storms, and only after many

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tempests and much privation do they fly to the rock

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of refuge, which rests in the deep silence of their

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own being. While a man is absorbed in outward activities,

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he is giving out his energies and is becoming spiritually weaker,

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And in order to retain his moral vigor, he must

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resort to solitary meditation. So needful is this that he

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who neglects it loses or does not attain the right

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knowledge of life. Nor does he comprehend and overcome those

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most deeply rooted and subtlest of sins, which appear like virtues,

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deceiving the elect, and to which all but the truly

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wise succumb. True dignity abides with him alone, who, in

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the silent hour of inward thought, can still suspect and

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still revere himself in lowliness of heart. He who lives

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without ceasing in outward excitement, lives most in disappointments and griefs,

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where the sounds of pleasure are greatest heart. Emptiness is

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the keenest and deepest He also, whose whole life, even

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if not one of lust for pleasure, is centered in

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outward works, who deals only with the changing panorama of

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visible things, never falling back in solitude upon the inner

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and invisible world of permanent being. Such a man does

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not attain knowledge and wisdom, but remains empty. He cannot

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aid the world, cannot feed it aspirations, for he has

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no food to offer it, his spiritual store being empty.

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But he who courts solitude in order to search for

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the truth of things, who subdues his senses and makes

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quiet his desires, such a man is daily attaining knowledge

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and wisdom. He becomes filled with the spirit of truth.

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He can aid the world, for his spiritual store is

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full and is kept well replenished. While a man is

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absorbed in the contemplation of inward realities, he is receiving

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knowledge and power. He opens himself like a flower to

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the universal light of truth, and receives and drinks in

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its life, imparting rays. He also goes to the eternal

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foundation of knowledge and quenches his thirst in its inspiring waters.

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Such a man gains in one hour of concentrated thought

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more essential knowledge than a whole year's reading could impart.

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Being is infinite, and knowledge is illimitable, and its source inexhaustible.

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And he who draws upon the innermost depths of his

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being drinks from the spring of divine wisdom, which can

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never run dry, and quafs the waters of immortality. It

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is this habitual association with the deep realities of being,

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this continual drinking in of the water of life and

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its perennial source, that constitutes genius. The resources of genius

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are inexhaustible because they are drawn from the original and

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universal source. And for the same reason the works of

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genius are ever new and fresh. The more a genius

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gives out, the fuller he becomes with the accomplishment of

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every work. His mind extends and expands, reaches out more vastly,

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and sees wider and ever wider ranges of power. The

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genius is inspired. He has bridged the gulf between the

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finite and the infinite. He needs no secondary aids, but

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draws from that universal spring which is the source of

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every noble work. The difference between a genius and an

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ordinary man is this The one lives in inward realities,

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the other in outward appearances. The one goes after pleasure,

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the other after wisdom. The one relies on books, the

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other relies upon his own being. Book learning is good

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when its true place is understood, but is not the

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source of wisdom. The source of wisdom is in life itself,

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and is comprehended by effort, practice, and experience. Books give information,

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but they cannot bestow knowledge. They can simulate, but cannot accomplish.

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You must put forth effort and achieve for yourself. The

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man who relies entirely upon books and does not go

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to the silent resources within himself is superficial and becomes

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rapidly exhausted. He is uninspired, though he may be extremely clever,

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for he soon reaches the end of his stock of

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information and so becomes void and repetitious. His work lacks

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the sweet spontaneity of life and ever renewed freshness of inspiration.

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Such a man has cut himself off from the infinite

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supply and deals not with life itself, but with dead

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or decaying appearances. Information is limited, knowledge is boundless. The

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inspiration of genius and greatness is fostered evolved and finally

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completed in solitude. The most ordinary man who conceives a

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noble purpose, and summoning all his energies and will broods

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upon and ripens his purpose in solitude, will accomplish his

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object and become a genius. The man who renounces the

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pleasure of the world, who avoids popularity and fame, and

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who works in obscurity and thinks in solitude for the

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accomplishment of a lofty ideal for the human race, becomes

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a seer and a prophet. He who silently sweetens his heart,

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who attunes his mind to that which is pure and

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beautiful and good, who in long hours of lonely contemplation,

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strives to reach the central, in eternal heart of things,

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brings himself in touch with the inaudible harmonies of being,

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opens himself for the reception of the cosmic song, and

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becomes at last a singer and a poet. And so

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with all genius. It is the child of solitude, a

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very simple hearted child, wide eyed and listening and beautiful,

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yet withal to the noise enamored world, in inc comprehensible

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mystery of which it is only now and then a

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glimpse from beyond the well guarded portals of silence in

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man's self arise august anticipations, symbols types of a dim

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splendor ever on before. In that eternal circle, life pursues.

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Saint Paul, the cruel persecutor and blind bigot. After spending

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three years alone in the desert, comes forth a loving apostle,

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an inspired seer. Gautama Sidahartha, the man of the world,

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after six years in the forest of lonely struggle with

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his passions and intense meditation upon the deep mysteries of

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his nature, becomes Buddha, the Enlightened One, the embodiment of calm,

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serene wisdom, to whom a heart thirsty world turns to

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refreshing waters of immortality. Lao Tazou, an ordinary citizen filling

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a worldly office in his search for knowledge, courts solidlitude

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and discovers the Tao, the supreme Reason by virtue of

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which he becomes a world teacher. Jesus the unlettered Carpenter.

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After many years of solitary communion upon the mountains, with

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the unfailing love and wisdom, comes forth the blessed Savior

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of mankind. Even after they had attained and had scaled

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the lofty heights of divine knowledge. These great souls were

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much alone and retired frequently for brief seasons of solitude.

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The greatest man will fall from his moral height and

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lose his influence if he neglects that renewal of power

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which can only be obtained in solitude. These masters attained

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their power by consciously harmonizing their thoughts and lives with

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the creative energies within themselves, and by transcending individuality and

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sinking their petty personal will into the universal will. They

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became masters of creative thought and stand as the loft

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tiest instruments for the outer working of cosmic evolution. And

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this is not miraculous. It is a matter of law.

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It is not mysterious, except in so far as law

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is mysterious. Every man becomes a creative master in so

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far as he subordinate himself to the universally good and true.

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Every poet, painter, saint, and sage is the mouthpiece of

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the eternal. The perfection of the message varies with the

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measure of individual selflessness. In so far as self intervenes,

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the distinctness of the work and message becomes blurred perfect

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selflessness is the acme of genius, the consummation of power.

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Such self abdignation can only be begun, pursued, and completed in solitude.

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A man cannot gather together and concentrate his spiritual forces

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when he is engaged in spending those forces in worldly activities.

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And although after power is attacked, the balance of forces

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can be maintained under all circumstances, even in the midst

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of antagonistic throng, such power is only secured after many

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years of frequent and habitual solitude. Man's true home is

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in the great silence. This is the source of all

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that is real and abiding within him. His present nature, however,

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is dual, and outer activities are necessary. Neither entire solitude

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nor entire action is the true life in the world.

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But that is the true life, which gathers in solitude,

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strength and wisdom to rightly perform the activities of life.

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And as a man returns to his home in the evening,

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weary from labor, for that sweet rest and refreshment which

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will prepare him for another day's toil, so must he

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would not break down in the labor of life, come

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away from the noise and toil of the world's great workshop,

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and rest for brief period in his abiding home in

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the silence. He who does this, spending some portion of

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each day in sacred and purposeful solitude, will become strong

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and useful and blessed. Solitude is for the strong, for

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those who are ready to become strong. When a man

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is becoming great, he becomes solitary. He goes in solitude

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to seek, and not which he seeks, he finds. For

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there is a way to all knowledge, all wisdom, all truth,

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all power, and the way is forever open, but it

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lies through soundless solitudes and the unexplored silences of man's being.