By Newell Dwight Hillis
Nature's forces carry their atmosphere. The sun gushes forth light unquenchable; coals throw off heat; violets are larger in influence than bulk; pomegranates and spices crowd the house with sweet odors. Man also has his atmosphere. He is a force-bearer and a force-producer. He journeys forward, exhaling influences. Thinking of the evil emanating from a bad man, Bunyan made Apollyon's nostril's emit flames. Edward Everett insists that Daniel Webster's eyes, during his greatest speech, literally emitted sparks. If light is in man he shines; if darkness rules he shades; if his glows with love he warms; if frozen with selfishness he chills; if corrupt he poisons; if pure-hearted he cleanses. The soul, like the sun, has its atmosphere, and is over against its fellows, for light, warmth and transformation. This mysterious bundle of forces called man, moving through society, exhaling blessings or blightings, gets its meaning from the capacity of others to receive its influences. Standing at the center of the universe, a thousand forces come rushing in to report themselves to the sensitive soul-centre. There is a nerve in man that runs out to every room and realm in the universe. Man dwells in a glass dome; to him the world lies open on every side. Each man stands at the centre of a great network of voluntary influence for good. Rivers, winds, forces of fire and steam are impotent compared to those energies of mind and heart that make men equal to transforming whole communities and even nations.
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