Page:Education and Life; (IA educationlife00bakerich).pdf/201



A famous artist once painted a portrait on a unique plan. He secured a copy of every photograph of the subject from his babyhood. When the painting was finished, there appeared in it the pictures of seven people of different ages, skilfully grouped and variously employed, but all portraits of the same person, each representing a stage of growth. We shall not attempt the work of the artist, but will endeavor to furnish the brush and colors, leaving you to fill in the sketches, now and at future times, at your leisure.

A tale is told of a man who awoke one night thinking of his past and groaning in evident mental distress. To the solicitous inquiry of his guardian angel, he replied: "I am thinking about the people I used to be." The angel, smiling, said: "I am thinking seriously about the people you are going to be"—thinking of

"The soul that has learned to break its chains, The heart grown tenderer through its pains, The mind made richer for its thought, The character remorse has wrought To far undreamed capacities; The will that sits a king at ease. Nay, marvel not, for I plainly see And joy in the people you're going to be."

The gradual realization of higher and higher types is the general law of evolution in the organic world;