It is often thought that the best means of promoting the search for truth is to have men advocate divergent views as strongly as they can, with the ideas that from the discord truth will emerge. This has its merit in assuring that no grain of truth will remain obscure; and it is excellent when as in a court, there are judges and jurors entrusted with the duty of remaining impartial and forming a right judgment. But in his part in creating opinion a citizen is both advocate and judge. Not only does he present his views, but he contributes also to the public judgment; and therefore he should strive for the nearest approximation he can make to truth. Moreover, by so doing he becomes a larger force. It was Lincoln rather than Garrison or Phillips that convinced his people of the necessity for emancipation.

There are times of stress when men must fight for the greater truth as they see it against another aspect of truth which in the insistent strife is less vital; times when duty demands not to ask the reason why, but to do and die! Then duty becomes heroic, but intellectually simply. In more tranquil periods the supreme duty is to think aright. It is then that opinions can, and should, be formed that will direct action when the stress comes. Let us not forget that in peace the conflicting opinions are formed that later produce wars; that in quiet times the social ideas grow which, if erroneous, collect the explosives for subsequent catastrophes. It is then that the duty is incumbent to form, and help others to form, correct, unbiased opinions, particularly upon these subjects in which we may have special means of reaching a right judgment.

Forethought Urgently Needed

Before we were drawn into the war, and still more since, we have heard much of the need of preparedness, and rightly so. But preparation should not be merely of material things, but of opinions. Most of all we need thinking to prepare for crises ahead. In fact there was never more need of forethought than now, for the public men of the present day are, as a rule, apt to take short views. For such a need educated men, and among them college graduates, are peculiarly responsible, because they have been furnished above others with the means of forming opinions by ascertaining the facts on which they should be based, and by considering them from an abstract, and hence a detached, point of view. Such men are in a real sense the watchmen of the people, for if they see the evil coming and give not warning, the blood of the people who suffer should be required at their hand: and not less should it be required when they have failed to see it after receiving the privilege of education that should have given them the power of seeing.

Prejudice Obscures Vision

Wrong opinions come mainly from lack of sight, from not seeing far enough, or widely enough, or from obstacles in the line of vision, and there fore failing to take into account a part of the factors in the problem. Such near-sightedness, or defective vision, is due partly to our ignorance in large part unavoidable because we know, and can know, only a small portion of the influite compass of eternal truth. If is partly due also to the narrowness of our sympathies' which prevents us from comprehending the sentiments and point of view of others, who are quite as sincere, intelligent and well informed as ourselves, perhaps familiar with aspects of the matter we know little about and gifted with a deeper insight. It is due in no small measure to prejudice which obscures our vision.

Usually quite unconsciously to ourselves, for prejudice's that is conscious, like a mist at the rising of the sun, is likely to be about to dissipate. And herein lies one of the great difficulties in thinking aright, that we do not know when we are wrong, or we should not be wrong. The man who knows the right trail does not miss it. We go wrong because the moon has smittea our minds with error.

Blindness Partly Due to Passion

Again our failure to see clearly is due partly to passion that blinds us often selfish, ignoble passion, impatience with those who oppose us, jealously, vindictiveness, fear, or avarice of wealth and fame. Sometimes the passion springs from better motives, a desire to help others unjustly treated, or eagerness for the success of a cause in whose righteousness we have faith I knew a man who made a rule when indignant to write a letter as strongly as he felt, then address if to himself and drop it into the mail. On receiving if the next morning he had an impression of the way it would affect the person for whom it was intended not a bad thing to do, if not literally at least in imagination, as a means of putting oneself in another's place.

The fact is that over all these sources of shortsightedness we have some control, over many of them very great control. We can lessen our ignorance by earnest search for truth. We can widen our sympathies, and reduce our prejudice by striving to do so, and that without letting our resolution be sicklied o'er by the pale cast of thought. We can control our passions by frankly acknowledging their existence to ourselves.

Above all we can place ourselves on a higher plane of vision by striving to look at things from a loftier standpoint. We can endeavor to rise above our own sentiments, surroundings and purposes until they assume their true proportions in a wider horizon. We can try to think how they would be regarded by a Being infinite in knowledge, in love and in sympathy with all sentient creatures that now are, or hereafter will be, living upon the earth. No doubt we shall still be in error, because we are finite, severely limited in mind and heart, but the nearest approach we can make to the pure white light of truth is to raise our thoughts as closely as we are able to those of the Infinite and Eternal