GREAT THOUGHTS for each day's life is the title I have given this book;
and may these great thoughts, coupled with the force of the words which
express them, lead out to strong characters, strong endeavour, strong actions
in lives of many into whose hands the volume may come. Let it go
forth to the world at large; and may many a soul hungering for all that
is strong and beautiful, real and lasting, find therein that benefit which
right thinking can create in all our lives, let their surroundings and
conditions be what they may. The circumstances under which these
pages came to be bound together must be briefly referred to before their
message can be fully appreciated.
Trafalgar Square, that busy Central Junction of London's
best-known thoroughfares, is such an important landmark to me, having been
that haven where I have gone in times of joy and equally in times of greatest
sorrow, and there, in the noise and din of this busy place, has come what
George Macdonald called "a Bonnie Silence," from which ever issued a renewal
of courage, perseverance, fervent thanksgiving, and an increase of faith.
It was here that I first commenced to read, study, and love the poems of
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and to value them as boon companions who have meant
so much in my life. They have been Friends Indeed. In
the struggles, sorrows, misunderstandings, and perplexities of our lives,
with their varied emotions and human limitations, it is philosophy like
hers, expressed in so completely beautiful a manner, which has power for
such good in the world. I have heard it said her poems are merely
rhymes, but the chiming of her rhyming can make us understand better the
meaning and power of Love which must bring out the best in us and lead
us onward and upward, more ready to look for the good in our fellow-men
instead of the flaws. I stood, one evening in spring, under General
Gordon's statue, situated in the centre of the Square between two fountains,
and read aloud the powerful words round the top of its base--FORTITUDE,
FAITH, CHARITY, JUSTICE. I thought how they described the attributes
of his life and character. Then there flashed this additional thought--"What
dominated him most?" The answer came: LOVE--WHOLE LOVE, LOVE OF GOD,
LOVE OF COUNTRY. This thought never left me, and I found it became
impossible to cross Trafalgar Square without remembering that this statue
represented and reminded me of love whenever I passed it, which was always
sure to be once a week on my way to that other Haven of Rest, the Friends'
Meeting-house in St. Martin's Lane. Then came the thought, pressing
forward for consideration: Why not name the other statues, and so create
a thought-force centre in Trafalgar Square? So the mental appointment
was made to attend under the statue of Love and create nothing less than
landmarks of beautiful thinking. I took with me "Poems of Power,"
in my humble opinion Mrs. Wilcox's greatest help to suffering humanity,
a book which I made it a practice to carry in my pocket as a "First Aid"
in cases of need, and where lives lack the sunshine of love, fortitude,
and faith. So then my Companion (the Representative of Ella Wheeler
Wilcox) and I proceeded to make Trafalgar Square take on an entirely new
and uplifting aspect in each day's life. From the centre, Love, we
created silent but all-powerful witnesses, calling to our minds every time
they are seen ideals, realities, without with life loses its fragrance
and to-day its opportunities.
There in the centre rises up that great column: this represents
the I AM of the Universe--stands for Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence.
This calls to our remembrance, with feelings of deep thankfulness to her,
the all-sufficing description of what I AM means by Mrs. Pearsall Smith:
"'I AM all that My people need: I am their strength; I
am their wisdom; I am their righteousness; I am their peace; I am their
salvation; I am their life; I am their all in all.
* *
* *
*
"'I am rest for the weary; I am peace for the storm-tossed;
I am strength for the strengthless; I am wisdom for the foolish; I am righteousness
for the sinful; I am all that the neediest soul on earth can want; I am
exceeding abundantly, beyond all you can ask or think, of blessing, and
help, and care.'"
At the base of the column are four sturdy lions, two looking
out on the busy street, and two towards the more peaceful surroundings
where we are now standing. The two that look towards the noise and
din are PATIENCE and PERSEVERANCE, those toward the fountains SIMPLICITY
and SINCERITY.
At the four corners of the Square are placed lamps of
octagonal formation: these represent LOYALTY and FRIENDSHIP at the lower
ends, HEALTH and HARMONY on the upper terrace corners. A triangle
can be formed from General Gordon's statue to two others which are connected
by stone piers: the names on those that form the base are LIFE and TRUTH,
and the apex is LOVE, crowned as we have read by the four companions--FORTITUDE,
FAITH, CHARITY, and JUSTICE. To our right and left are lamps: one
is JOY and the other PEACE, worthy guardians of the statue representing
Love. The two fountains stand for ENERGY and INVINCIBLE DETERMINATION--not
through reliance on our own powers, but so wholly possible by the DIVINE
POWER of which the great column towering above us is the constant reminder.
The statue in the right-hand top corner stands for MERCY; the first flight
of steps PROGRESS, the second flight RESOLUTION, and the long line of stone
piers running along the top terrace reminds us of REGULARITY.
The steeple of St. Martin's Church stands for PRAYER.
The three round cupolas of the National Gallery speak three words: YIELD,
TRUST, OBEY; and counsel us that we should yield our wills to that of the
Divine Creator, trust Him wholly, and obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit
within us according to the light and leading given us each day and hour.
From this Square there are more flagstaffs to be seen than anywhere else
in the world, and each one of these can be named: each passer-by may give
them different names; but so long as they represent words which are strong
and high and beautiful, the very fact of thinking of such can do nothing
but uplift, encourage, soothe, and comfort.
The work--Love's work--was finished. Trafalgar Square
was now the centre of radiant thought in my life. Then came the feeling
that, out of the blessing and help granted to me, there existed an opportunity
of creating a foundation of great succour and comfort to the human race,
and I determined not to lose the chance of making my experience known near
and far. The very thought of such words as those mentioned seemed
to prompt a desire to cull from our language every word that could create
the GREATEST and THE GRANDEST Thoughts, when its meaning was silently
considered, when by the power of concentration its influence on the life
and character had been gauged, and the radiant possibility of its guidance
of our thoughts and subsequent actions had been realised.
This work is the outcome of my unique visit to Trafalgar
Square. I went home and read the Dictionary through with one ambition
in my mind: to find under each letter such words as should stir the heart
of humanity with hope in the hour of discouragement, health in sickness,
prosperity in poverty, courage in fear, faith in doubt, and transform by
thought-force, slowly but surely, existing trials into complete and happy
issues. Then to read again the entire works of my favourite Poet
and find in her poems lines which would express the meaning of these words.
Under all the letters of the Alphabet stand out, on the pages of this book,
beacons and lighthouses of words which can speak for themselves.
Let the Reader, when feeling downcast or sad, or at moments when such companions
as Fear, Worry, Hate or Jealousy come into the day's life, read through
the headlines of these pages and the lines from Mrs. Wilcox's works printed
below, and I feel that the words will constitute a veritable ALPHABET ARMOUR
against all that makes hearts to sink, and will sow that seed of Divine
Courage, Confidence, and Strength which shall give comfort as nothing else
can.
There are 366 pages, with IDEALS at the summit of each.
I have selected them from nearly 800 headlines which I might have used:
all that I hope is that the words chosen will do the most good to those
who think about them. Concentrate your attention upon the word which
heralds each day; picture what your character would be with such an attribute
dominant and expanding in it; think of the meaning of the word whilst you
are dressing in the morning; and do not be surprised if there comes radiating
into your life, by the time the year has run its course, a sense of fervent
thanksgiving that the Trafalgar Square incident to which I have referred
ever took place.
This has been a lavour of love, and I send it forth to
the world with feelings of glowing thankfulness for all that Divine Love
has brought me through in perfect peace and safety and with an unalterable
and unquenchable Quaker faith.
FRANK HOLME-SUMNER.
DARTMOUTH HALL,
WESTMINSTER.
November 1910.
Great
Thoughts for Each Day's Life.
