isa-normaladvance-1914-00005

Description:	THE NORMAL ADVANCE&tje Wgo Count? Court Souse SofterJOHN B. WISELYA good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving .favor rather than silver and gold.—Proverbs XXII.AS I sit at my table in my recitation room, here in the main building of the Indiana State Normal School, lpoking out at the south¬ west window, my eyes rest upon the tower of the Vigo County Court House. Inartistic in some of its outlines, as I think, and always soot-be¬ grimed, dark and forbidding in appearance, sometimes enshrouded in black clouds of smoke, still to me it is an imposing and a fascinating object. I love to look upon it and whenever I have an idle moment, my eyes almost involun¬ tarily turn to this dome. I have been contem¬ plating it for a dozen years or more. I have seen it when the sun was shining brightly upon it under the larger dome of blue, when it threw back at him his rays as he advanced upon it from the East, when it scattered in refulgent splendor the shafts of light which he shot down upon its crest at high noon, and when it hurled back at him his shining arrows as he sank beneath the western horizon. I have seen it in the storm when dark clouds almost con¬ cealed its form, when the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled around its head. I have seen it in winter under the leaden skies wrapped in its mantle of snow. In the dark night its watch¬ ful eyes peer out in the darkness to the four quarters of the earth. No matter by what high¬ way one may approach the city by night, one of these same watchful eyes is ever upon him.It is always inspiring, always there, always with its message, there in its place. It speaksto us of permanence, stability, steadfastness, re¬ liability, things worth while, things everlasting, eternal. It reminds us of the pyramids and the mountains. And does it not make us wish that everything that goes oh under the dome, in this temple of justice, and within the sphere of its influence were as solid and substantial and re¬ liable, as dependable as is the dome itself?Some peoples lives are like this dome. There is nothing shoddy or artificial about them. They can be depended upon. They have the element of stability. We always know where to find them. No matter what the conditions are, in storm or in sunshine, in prosperity or in adversity, there they are always in their places, calm and serene, dignified and self-possessed, steadfast and always to be depended upon. You yourself can call to mind many of them in the school, the family, in state affairs, in the lodge, in the church, you are never disappointed in them, never tricked or deceived by them. If you ever found one of these persons who was not true to himself, you would be as much sur¬ prised as if you were to look up some fine morn¬ ing and find the court house tower gone. They are towers of strength, the mountain peaks of humanity they give us our faith in immortal¬ ity. How comfortable we feel in their presence and under their influence! What a blessed feel¬ ing of relaxation, peace, rest, and security they afford us!I know a man who lives in this town. I
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/32441
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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