fact of
the soul; it is more than a definition or an argument. An ideal is
always very certain and nobody wants to disprove it, nor can.

I notice the Menorah Association has for its aim the cultivation of
ideals. It is natural that young men, with red blood in them, should
hold dear the precious dreams of what might and should be. As I look
upon ideals now, through the perspective of years, I see they have
both strength as well as limitations. But I know that, however much
life and experience challenges them, they are the best force in us. I
respect and value them so much that I deplore the waste of the least
of them. An ideal is a moral ambition, a great wish of a true, even if
a bit naive, soul. And it should have the right of way.

Every work in life implies stern necessity and a fine wish. I am
reminded of a bridge in Berlin which the Germans have built with
inimitable art and truth. There are four groups, each at a corner. On
one an elderly man stands erect and writing. It is History, stern and
real. At his side stands a boy, lithe and graceful. There are ideals
just as much as Law in the affairs of men. On the other side of the
bridge stands another symbol of the two forces in Life: a man carrying
a bundle, a bent man, who has borne the brunt of the pioneer days, and
next to him also a youth. Commerce, however sordid, still implies
morality and the generous side of man. On the third side stands the
solemn figure of Religion, sober and haggard, the symbol of Faith and
martyrdom. And the young man, next to it, seems sprightly and strong.
Why must Religion be interpreted as dispensing comfort alone? Should
it not also give strength and joy? In the last corner stands
Pestalozzi, the teacher, and a boy looks up into his kind face. We
crave for action and capability more than for knowledge and facts. And
we crave for love more than for truth, and the real truth brings
affections and enthusiasm.

In the meetings of your Association you speak often of ideals, you
speak of them fervently. But ideals are not merely academic. They are
personal. An ideal becomes yourself, if it is yours at all. It is a
dynamic force within you. It pervades your whole being. It is an
unseen but a very telling strength. It directs you, and it sends you
on your errand of life. You cannot rest satisfied merely to know your
ideal and to speculate about it. It is the engine of warfare in your
career. Study ideals, not to contemplate and analyz