Men of Great Reputation

The men who have made history are remembered for many different things. Some have performed heroic deeds of physical force. Some have led their followers to war. Some are remembered for their acts of cruelty, intolerance, and inhumanity. Some are remembered because they have devoted themselves to study and research for the advancement of the frontiers of knowledge. Some because they lived unconventional lives. Some because they were martyrs. Some have won permanent place in man’s Book of Remembrance because they have done one thing eminently well a song, a painting, a single act of bravery, or perchance they have discovered a single fact of science. Comparatively speaking, it is not difficult to acquire a reputation while one lives, but it is extremely difficult to insure that one will be remembered long after one has passed beyond. Such, at least, is true so far as the memory of man is concerned. But in that Book of Remembrance in which is kept the record for the endless duration of everlasting life, no act or thought goes unrecorded or unremembered. And in that eternal record it is not the spectacular and rare deeds that carry the weight of balance, but the consistent mode of a man’s daily living the manner in which he is devoted to truth, kindliness, diligence, and humility. And when the great day or reckoning comes, the heroes of one great deed will find themselves faced not only with the record of a single spectacular performance, but also with the record of their daily lives.