Public Domain1
Introduction to Soul-Help Papers
by
Isaiah Reid
Des Moines, Iowa 1904
There are many problems that come up every day in the ordinary affairs of life, but the great problems are the soul problems. These deal directly with character and destiny. In this book some of these, in a natural, familiar way, are taken up and discussed for the benefit of the common reader. Longer and more philosophic papers might with this class of readers lose their interest. Briefer articles might not sufficiently carry the information. A book of a different character might teach you how to make more money. The writer of these pages would rather help you to build more stately soul-mansions.
Every soul has its Tarshish ships and its St. Bernard passes.2 The sidelights of those who have been over the road may help the reader in finding his way. With the hope that such will be the case with every reader of these pages, this little book is committed to the great book-reading world, wherever it may go. It is the hope of the writer that sometime in the Sweet By and By, both writer and reader shall meet and find joy and blessing in former acquaintance, though it be only by way of a book. Till then, goodbye.
Endnotes:
- The text itself is public domain. The original book, Soul-Help Papers, was transcribed by Jim Kerwin, biographer of Isaiah Reid, and co-edited and emended with Denise Kerwin. Annotations and emendations are copyright © 2008 by Jim Kerwin along with his other contributions to the online, print, and e-book versions of Isaiah Reid's Soul-Help Papers. ↩
- Soul-Help Papers originally carried with it a dual subtitle: “Tarshish Ships and Open Doors.” (Indeed, when it was first published the book was sometimes referred to in reviews by the subtitle rather than the title.) The subtitle was derived from the titles of the book’s first two chapters, “Tarshish Ships: Permission, or Approval of God?” and “Our St. Bernard’s Passes or Open Doors.” ↩