Page:Ralcy H. Bell - The Mystery of Words (1924).pdf/154

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

Meanings and Moral Values

shrew a shrew? Her words. In them you feel her vexatious temperament, the violence of her nature, and in them you may taste the vinegar of her disposition. What makes Debs the most loved of living men? You will say, Because he is the most loving. That is only part of it. His suffering for his ideals, his righteous consistency, his inflexible spirit, his unbowed head, his forgiving heart, and his great love for his kind—all these, in themselves, are mute. Numberless men and women possess these same characteristics. If such traits were not widely in the hearts of human beings, Eugene V. Debs, would be a lonely bird over an abyss—impotent as a wail in a desert world. The aptness of his words—that is his genius, his eloquence, and his glory. In his apt words you feel the gentleness, the sincerity of his soul. Through them you catch glimpses of his vision. They are the medium through which his superb character is revealed. They are the dynamics of his great influence. They give you con-

130