“If I lay waste and wither up with doubt
The blessed fields of heaven, where once my faith
Possessed itself serenely, safe fro death;
If I deny the things past finding out;
Or if I orphan my own soul of
One That seemed a Father, and make void the place
Within me where he dwelt in power and grace,
What do I gain, that am myself undone?”
The word wholesome means whole, sound, having perfect health. It is applied usually to conditions. Thus we speak of a wholesome climate, meaning a climate that is salubrious and healthful; or of wholesome food, meaning food that is nutritious. But the word may be used also of a person. Hawthorne speaks of a thoroughly wholesome heart, and of the purifying influence scattered throughout the atmosphere of the household by the presence of one such heart. The dictionaries tell us that this use of the word is probably obsolescent. But it should not be allowed to grow obsolete; for we have no other word which quite expresses the same shade of meaning, and it is a quality of life for which we much need a name.
There are wholesome people who indeed exert a purifying and healthful influence wherever they go. They are hale, whole, and normal in their make up and in their condition. They are healthy, not in body only, but also in mind and in spirit. Such persons are blessings wherever they are found, full of life and of inspiration. Even unconsciously they diffuse strength, cheer, hope courage, by the mere influence of their presence.
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