I choose for my subject faith wrought¹（锻造的，加工的） into life, apart from creed² or dogma（教条）. By faith I mean a vision of good one cherishes and the enthusiasm that pushes one to seek its fulfillment regardless of obstacles. Faith is a dynamic power that breaks the chain of routine and gives a new, fine turn to old commonplaces. Faith reinvigorates（使复兴） the will, enriches the affections and awakens³ a sense of creativeness.

 

Active faith knows no fear, and it is a safeguard to me against cynicism and despair. After all, faith is not one thing or two or three things; it is an indivisible totality of beliefs that inspire me. Belief in God as infinite good will and all-seeing Wisdom whose everlasting⁴ arms sustain me walking on the sea of life. Trust in my fellow men, wonder at their fundamental goodness and confidence that after this night of sorrow and oppression they will rise up strong and beautiful in the glory of morning. Reverence⁵ for the beauty an preciousness of the earth, and a sense of responsibility to do what I can to make it a habitation of health and plenty for all men. Faith in immortality⁶ because it renders less bitter the separation from those I have loved and lost, and because it will free me from unnatural⁷ limitations and unfold still more faculties⁸ I have in joyous⁹ activity. Even if my vital spark should be blown out, I believe that I should behave with courageous¹⁰ dignity in the presence of fate and strive to be a worthy¹¹ companion of the beautiful, the good, and the True. But fate has its master in the faith of those who surmount¹² it, and limitation has its limits for those who, thought disillusioned¹³, live greatly. True faith is not a fruit of security, it is the ability to blend mortal fragility with the inner strength of the spirit. It does not shift with the changing shades of one's thought.

 

It was a terrible blow to my faith when I learned that millions of my fellow creatures must labor¹⁴ all their days for food and shelter, bear the most crushing burdens and die without having known the joy of living. My security vanished forever, and I have never regained¹⁵ the radiant belief of my young years that earth is a happy home and hearth¹⁶ for the majority of mankind. But faith is a state of mind. The believer is not soon disheartened. If he is turned out of his shelter, he builds up a house that the winds of the earth cannot destroy.

 

When I think of the suffering and famine, and the continued slaughter¹⁷ of men, my spirit bleeds, but the thought comes to me that, like the little deaf, dumb and blind child I once was, mankind is growing out of the darkness of ignorance and hate into the light of a brighter day.

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