Thought lives through the ages, flies about over the earth, and
goes on visiting fresh minds, after the mind that gave it birth
has gone back to dust and nothingness.
An Italian wrote words to this effect:
"Man is commanded to forgive his enemies. Nowhere is imposed on
him the far more difficult task of forgiving his friends."
Francis Bacon, the philosopher, read in England the words of the
Italian and quoted them.
Vincent W. Byars, a very able thinking man of St. Louis, read
Bacon's quotation out there, and now, coming to New York, he says
to this writer:
"Why don't you make an editorial on that old Italian saying
quoted by Bacon?"
Italy--England--St. Louis--New York--thus the idea has hopped
about, until to-day you get it in this column. A million of you
read it, or at least glance at it; and so, if the idea has any
value, it will go hopping on all over the earth's surface long
after the steel press that prints this paper shall have crumbled
away. ----
How little your ENEMIES can hurt you! How little harm they do,
even when they try! You are warned against them and on your
guard. The world knows they are your enemies, and discredits
what they say.
It is quite easy to forgive our enemies, for they do us
comparatively little harm.
But to forgive our friends would be hard indeed if we could
realize how much harm they do us. ----