William Lyon Mackenzie King

“ I can only repeat to you the message which you sent to me when all that I held dearest on earth seemed to have passed out of it. There is no death. Life is eternal and makes towards perfection. When those whom we love pass, we are the more linked to that greater, larger, deeper spiritual life which is within us and about us, but which passes our human comprehension. The very air in which I write is filled with a thousand associations which bring me into the closest sympathy with those who have passed through the Valley of the Shadow. ”

“ Harper's act of heroism will ever be an example and a lesson to us all. The stranger to our city will pause as he passes this monument and wonder what deed called forth its erection. He will be told of the noble act of self-sacrifice- of a life given in an effort to save another. The citizens of Ottawa will ever be proud to honour the memory of Harper, and to look, as the government shall look, upon this memorial as a national monument in every sense of the word. ”

“ I have had no cause to regret my choice of a profession. I begin to feel the tremendous power wielded by the press in formulating public opinion, and am in a position to build up, by reflection upon what it is, a conception of what a newspaper should be, all of which I trust will enable me, when the time comes, to do my share in furthering the highest interests of the State and mankind in general. I have come to see where the dangers which surround the young newspaper man lie, and am endeavouring to keep myself free from their influence. ”

“ This afternoon, Harry, Laschinger and I took a long walk in the frosty air, for winter has gripped Ottawa hard, ice covers the ground, ponds are frozen and the sky is stern and gray, and I found myself driven to turn conversation along this line. Is it because the church has so far drifted from truth that it succeeds so little in making the life of Christ a reality among men ? I thoroughly hold that once convince a man of a truth, and that truth, even despite him, will become an active potent factor in his life. How are men to be convinced ? ”

“ It is, perhaps, impossible to convey, save to those who have known the experience, any conception of what a constant association of this kind with Nature really means. It proves, to use Harper's own words, "how beauty, grandeur, sublimity and purity in God's world, find a ready response in the human heart unfettered." Yet it is this perception of God, this communion of soul between the creature and the Creator as He is revealed in Nature, that is the conscious or unconscious secret of all the refreshment and joy which comes from a contact of this kind. ”

“ The thought of the past week has caused me to look up for a moment to take another glance at the capital, which stands out clearly in the bright sunshine, though the lines of the buildings are softened by a blue white summer haze, sufficiently marked to give the effect of distance. If men could only get to a mountain occasionally and look down upon the world in which they live and move and have their being, there would be less dilettantism, less worship of forms, institutions, baubles and lath and plaster. ”

“ It is not what is gained in knowledge of books, but in knowledge of self, of limitations and powers and capacities ; in what is acquired of habits of self-discipline and application, of methods of thought and research, that a college or university renders its truest service to its students ; as it is by the love of truth and learning which it instils, rather than by the honours and degrees which it confers, that a university puts its stamp upon the graduates it sends out into the world. ”

“ I have never quite managed to shake off the attitude of mind of a student, and I find my- self constantly weaving my experiences in New York into my philosophy of life. The two events which seem to stand out most clearly are the visit to the Art Museum, and the concert at the Metro- politan. That was a glorious day, for it showed how men in the rush and flurry of business life have at hand the means of soul purifying and re- freshment in art and music, two great agencies which bring men's minds back from semblances to truth. ”

“ Moreover, there is much on which men can be agreed, broken arcs visible to all, though the perfect round is seen by none. There are right and wrong, truth and falsehood, honesty and dishonesty, love and hate, purity and vice, honour and dishonour, and the difference between them is as apparent and real as the difference 'twixt day and night, albeit, now and again, a twilight of uncertainty may render doubtful the confines of separation. ”

“ Harper's exclusive insistence was only upon what in this way was acceptable to all ; and knowing that it was acceptable, he was sure the appeal would find a response in those to whom it was addressed. Whatever men might be in seeking privately their own selfish ends, their belief in a moral order was apparent once, action became collective; the public had a conscience to which it was generally true, though men at times might seem to betray their better selves ; and public opinion might be expected to guard for society as a whole a right for which individuals sometimes lost respect. ”

“ Men of the stamp of Carlyle, Emerson and Matthew Arnold go to the root of questions, and their books will do you one hundred times as much good as all the novels which are going the rounds. Every man owes it to himself to supply his mind with the best material available, and, although Carlyle may seem a little heavy in parts, where one may not have become familiar with the subject matter he refers to, you will find the influence of his sturdy personality upon your own views of life. ”

“ There have been, doubtless, splendid rich men. When these reach that state when, of their own free will, and of deliberate choice, they are prepared to go, sell all that they have, and give to the poor, then they have reached an attitude of mind and heart which enables them to distinguish between semblances and realities, to deliberately select the latter, and so realize the greatest happiness, the Kingdom of Heaven. ”

“ And unworthy of so holy a memory Harper never was. While spared to him, the love and affection of his father and mother were his greatest inspiration, and his great reward; taken from him, the remembrance of their example, and belief, in their continued life. Existence, constituted an abiding presence, helping him ever to nobler conduct and aim. ”

“ The Love of Others IN love for others human nature manifests its highest expression. It is the quality of soul by which, in his relations with his fellows, a man's capacity for service is determined ; it is the fount at which all the finer springs of action are fed. Generosity, mercy, pity, friendship, devotion, sacrifice, flow from this one source, which conscious effort may help to replenish, but which conscious or unconscious borrowing can never exhaust.
In his love for others lay the absorbing passion of Harper's life. ”

“ On the place of churches in national and social life, I take the ground that the important thing for a man is his religion, what he actually believes regarding his relation to the universe, rather than his church affiliation. The first is in- dividual and real, the latter more or less artificial and a matter of expediency, a means of assisting him in making easier the spread of the views which he holds ; in fine, an institution, with an object doubtless, but none the less an institution, machinery. ”

“ I believe in making one's surroundings as beautiful as may be, but I feel that there is much waste and vulgar display in the way in which wealthy New York arrays herself. Her luxury is ponderous and" heavy and dull, when one remembers that much of it rests on the necks of the hundreds of thou- sands of toilers who gasp for breath in the narrow streets, from whom are withheld God's free gifts, the sunlight and the pure air." ”

“ At times, i encouraged by the appreciation which I have been able to give to some of the sublime thoughts of master-minds, or by the words of such friends as, I have been quite hopeful as to my future usefulness, but on both my thoughts and my humours, I can see the fatal traces of repeated disappointments. Of course the life that I have been living has not been without its advantages. ”

“ For my own part, I am convinced that the critical spirit is not indicative of meanness, but rather of balance and honesty of mind, and is calculated to create, not blind prejudice, but wholesome conviction. This is particularly the case where the critic has, as in the case of Matthew Arnold, imaginative power properly controlled, and a deep appreciation of love and beauty. ”

“ With the added responsibility there has come to me an increasing sense of the usefulness of the work which we are doing. I believe we can do much towards determining the direction of social progress. With a knowledge of fact, an absence of sectarian prejudice, some understanding of the progress of human institutions, and of the motives which influence men, we should, if we can keep control of ourselves, and maintain high ideals as inspiration for the development of the best that is in us, be able to render a lasting service to this country. ”

“ The judgment which is really important is that of one's own conscience. Mine tells me that, however imperfect our work may have been, however much there may be room for improvement, what we have done has not been inconsiderable, especially when the difficulties under which we have laboured are considered. I am confident that the broad lines of policy which we have followed are right, and that our work, as our knowledge of existing conditions increases, will be of more and more value to the working men of Canada and to the country generally. ”

“ I have been filling a position of usefulness to a degree. I do not think I have lost in moral force, while I think I have gained in knowledge and love of my fellow men ; while the fact that I have been compelled to drop some ideas which I have held has proven to me both that my tendency is towards an honest desire for truth, and that I have still much to learn. ”

“ The sturdy integrity, inherited from her father, and a gentle, loving kindness, which probably came from the mother who died when she was yet a child, combined to make a character which by its sweetness, beauty and nobility, has woven itself into my life. ”

“ I want us both to live fruitful and useful lives, and it is by such conscious, deliber- ate work as I have referred to, that we both can do it. Let us cut asunder what of empty, un- profitable conviviality, and the like, may have grown into our lives, and let us live so that when we are old men, if we are spared, we may look back upon our lives without regret, and feel that we have been worthy of the best that is in us, and of the trust which our dear parents placed in us. ”

“ Social and Political Ideals FEW men of his years have thought as deeply as Harper did, or had clearer perceptions, concerning conditions and forces which make for happiness and progress in social life, and the development of national greatness. Had he been spared he would have been an earnest and practical reformer ; silent as his voice is now, the words he once uttered are not without their value to our day and generation. ”

“ My dear L , I am be- coming more and more convinced every day that the most important duty we have is the upbuilding of our character; for it is in the strength and I richness of our character that we obtain the title to self-respect, and are able to influence others. It is by bringing ourselves into closer contact with the highest thought that we are going to be enabled to obtain high-mindedness and purity ourselves. ”

“ Take walks, get exercise in the open air, be cheerful, read, and generally try and make life happier by the means which you have at hand. I am neither scolding nor lecturing, and I have said nothing which you do not already know, but somehow to-night, you have been run- ning in my mind, and I wanted to tell you what I thought and wished, so that, in due course of time, you will look back to the winter of 1901 as one of the happiest chapters in your life. ”

“ In his absence, the department of labour had come in for some criticism at the instance of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association. Harper was anxious lest this should be a matter of concern to his friend, and hastened to reassure him. The letters are a true expression of himself. They reveal his standards, his belief in truth, his appreciation of beauty, his conception of duty, his trust in an overruling Providence, his deep concern for humanity, and his love for his friend. ”

“ These and other weaknesses I must control, and my character I must seek to strengthen in order that my life shall not be useless, in order that I may realize dear mother's last wish, that we may meet ' There. ' I must try, with the help of God, to more and more conform thought and act to the model of the perfect life of Christ, a life that if men and States would imitate, there would be an end to viciousness and of man's inhumanity to man. To be brought face to face, daily, with Hoffman's beautiful representation should make strong resolutions stronger and more possible of realization. ”

“ I am becoming more and more convinced daily of the fact that this country is going through a transition stage which must influence it to the bottom. The use of machinery, the weakening of the artisan by removing the rewards of skill, the work and wages of girls, the prevalence of piece work and its results, the effects of pauper and convict labour, and a thousand other prob- lems are brought daily before my notice in terms of flesh and blood. ”

“ On the contrary, whatever its origin, it derived its strength from a carefully thought out philosophy of life, a philosophy based on a belief in a divine order and purpose in the universe, and in the sanctity of individual lives. He had faith in both God and man, and he held that the will of the one could only be fulfilled as it was realized in the life of the other. ”

“ It may be that for many men four years of undergraduate life are not sufficient to make a college impress deep, or, to appearances, lasting; but if in any measure it is real, that influence must tell, not only on the years im- mediately succeeding, but through the whole of life. The first fruits of a college education are make of mind towards the problems of life, as these present themselves when academic halls are vacated, than in any immediate accomplishment. ”

“ Misunderstanding, bitterness and passion have much sway in each. But your strength lies in the fact that what you seek is fair- ness, truth and justice, as well as the promotion of industrial peace and the country's welfare. ' Speak to his heart, ' says Emerson, ' and the man becomes suddenly virtuous.' My dear Rex, I assure you it is not the prejudice of a friendship, which makes me miss you more than I care to confess, that tells me that it is not the strong arm of a commission, nor yet the power of public opinion, that is your strongest weapon in this important crisis ”

“ Henry Compton, that as working men acquire their full rights, their leaders will turn to the noble task of impressing upon them the duties of citizenship. Outside of parliaments and law courts, the destiny of the nation's workers and employers is being shaped by the consciousness of right in the minds > of the mass of the people."
" I have confidence that public opinion will, in most cases and in the long run, strike a true note. I have faith in the saying, * the people may make mistakes, but the people never lie.' Show the people what it all means, and the people will do what is right. ”

“ Your life has grown into mine to such an extent that your hopes and aspi- rations are mine as well. Take care of yourself, my dear Rex, and whatever may be the outcome of your mission, I know that you will have done your duty. When you are in the mountains think of one whose soul is also profoundly stirred by the message which great, glorious, beautiful Nature has for man. ”