The following extract points a needed caution to those who are blest
with prosperity:
Some time ago we saw a tree that had been struck by lightning
and actually rent asunder. It had been blown open as perfectly
as if the pith of the tree had been lined with gunpowder and
touched off. The reason for this is easily explained. The tree
had been struck by lightning before it had been wet by the
storm. Consequently the lightning bolt followed the line of
least resistance, which was the damp wood under the bark. The
electric current heated the sap, and, converting it so quickly
into steam, the explosion was the result.
How very like that tree are a great many people! Prosperity
is the electric current. Coming upon them so suddenly, as is
so often the case, they are unable to bear the pressure of
elevation and honor and distinction, and are rent asunder with a
crash. They “go down” with a thud.
As the forest tree that has been struck by the killing bolt
drops only to rot, so does the man who has been overelated by
prosperity.
(2565)