Of Men and Mountains

I picked up this book by William Douglas -copyright 1950- and really enjoyed his writing on his explorations & experiences in the pacific northwest mountains.

"I stood in the silence of the gathering night, charting my course by it. Then the words my father had spoken came back: 'If I die it will be glory. If I live it will be grace.'

That was his evening star --a faith in a power greater than man. That was the faith of our fathers --a belief in a God who controlled man and the universe...

Man's age-long effort has been to be free...We can keep our freedom through the increasing crises of history only if we are self-reliant enough to be free. We cannot become self-reliant if our dominant desire is to be safe and secure; under that influence we could never face and overcome the adversities of this competitive age. We will be self-reliant only if we have a real appetite for independence.

Dollars, guns, and all the wondrous products of science and the machine will not be enough...

We need a faith --the faith of our fathers. We need a faith that dedicates us to something bigger and more important than ourselves or our possessions. We need a faith to which we commit our lives. We need a faith for which it would be glory to die. Only if we have such a faith are we free to live."

~Excerpt taken from pg. 329 of Of Men and Mountains