The life of William Plumer Jacobs

Front matter

Logical s^

Division

Jacobs,

Preface

THE value of a human life to his fellows and, therefore, of any biography to a library consists not in the name of the subject, nor in that of the town in which he lived. Neither do the names of his loved ones nor their number avail, nor his length of years with their praises and honours, to make the record of his days valuable. But if to these things which he holds in common with other men be added some new quality of struggle, some new fineness of sentiment, some new cleverness of thought ; or if perchance there was discovered in his career an old truth, and one almost forgotten, to be set aglow with a marvellous light, then, ere he has walked to the end of his lonely path — for it is always lonely — men are following in the glow of his torch and when his career is done the very glory of God is seen to illumine his footway. That is why the details of a man's life are usually uninteresting and the one thing he thought or felt or did fascinates. The details of Kobert Fulton's days or the grandparents of Abraham Lincoln are only so much chaff swept aside by the wind of human thought seeking the kernel of their life-discoveries. So it is ever.

A man must be just like his fellows to be of any value to them.

6 PREFACE

A man must be entirely unlike his fellows to be of any value to them.

Like in dream and struggle and hope ; unlike in that one difference the possession of which so differentiates him from others as to win from them the term "Great."

As if once to each generation, that none may be without witness, such men come, learn and teach their lesson, and go. The world, their friends and relatives later — for they usually learn it last — note that something unusual is happening, and after the inevitable period of ridicule and mockery and opposition, with their weapons of misrepresentation and evil speaking and jealousy, they render their words of generous praise.

It was so with this man as with all the other Great.

Now that it is all over, the secret of his life stands revealed. It is an old secret and very wonderful. From the beginning of time that which felt its power has glowed with a brightness so strangely beautiful that even a Moses must turn aside to see. For the life of this man can be summed up, with all the Apostles among the Dead, in the single word — God. With it was coupled unselfishness, and dreams, and common sense. When he was gone it was seen that a romantic halo had gathered about Riverside and the Enoree and the Orphanage and over the whole little town of Clinton as if the pillars of fire and cloud that had led him so long would remain yet a little while over the spot he loved so well.

But, after all, these — his orphans and college and village and river, his honours and his family — all these were but incidental to the great purpose of his life

PREFACE 7

whioh was to show that the Power is conscious of us and that we may be conscious of Him.

This is the Great Discovery — it is the biggest fact in our Universe.

It is worth writing a book to illustrate it again.

T. J.

Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Life and Leaves .