The following story is told of Hiram Powers, the sculptor:
Hiram Powers for thirty years wrought in Florence, Italy, away
from his native land. Here he produced the “Liberty” which
surmounts the Capitol at Washington, and such idealizations as
“The Massachusetts Puritan,” and “The California Pioneer.” When
asked once how he could keep so closely in touch with American
life, tho he had been away from his native land so long, he
replied, “I have never been out of touch with America itself. I
have eaten and slept in Italy for thirty-odd years, but I have
never lived anywhere but in the United States.”
As the sculptor lived in the United States while working in Italy,
so it is possible for the Christian to be a citizen of heaven while
staying and working here on earth. (Text.)
(1425)