,,life ,,and ,,conduct by ,j4 ,,cameron ,,lees1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d41 ,edinburgh4 ,toronto3 ,william ,briggs1 ,wesley ,buildings4 ,montreal3 ,c4 ,w4 ,coates4 ,halifax3 ,s4 ,f4 ,huestis4 #ahif4 ,entered1 according to ,act of the ,parliament of ,canada1 in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-six1 by ,,william ,,briggs1 at the ,department of ,agriculture4 ,,introduction4 ,this book has been selected from the ,guild ,series for young people1 published in ,scotland1 and reprinted in ,canada by permission4 ,the wise counsels and practical suggestions with which this book abounds make it eminently suitable for the ,epworth ,league ,reading ,course4 ,we commend it to all young people who are desirous to form their character on the ,christian model and to carry religious principle into the practical affairs of common life4 ,some of the chapters will furnish material for interesting programmes in the ,literary ,department4 ,,preface4 ,this hand-book has been written at the request of the ,christian ,life and ,work ,committee of the ,church of ,scotland as one of a series of volumes which it is at present issuing for the use of ,young ,men's ,guilds and ,bible ,classes4 ,the object of the writer has been to show how the principles of religion may be applied to the conduct of young men1 and in the practice of everyday life4 ,in doing this he has endeavored to keep steadily in view the fact that the book is designed chiefly as a manual of instruction1 and can only present the outlines of a somewhat wide subject4 ,his language has been necessarily simple1 and he has been often obliged to put his statements in an abbreviated form4 ,most of the contents of this book have been drawn from a long and somewhat varied experience of life2 but the author has also availed himself of the writings of others who have written books for the special benefit of young men4 ,he has appended a list of works which he has consulted1 and has endeavored to acknowledge his indebtedness for any help in the way of argument or illustration that they have afforded him4 ,it will be a great gratification to him to learn that the book has been in any way useful to the young men1 of whose position1 duties1 and temptations he has thought much when writing it2 and he sends it forth with the earnest prayer that the ,spirit of ,god may bless his endeavors to be of service to those whose interests he1 in common with his brethren in the ministry1 regards as of paramount importance4 ,,edinburgh1 #bhth ,june1 #ahib4 ,,contents4 ,,chap4 ,i4 ,,character ,,ii4 ,,success ,,in ,,life ,,iii4 ,,personal ,,influence ,,iv4 ,,friends ,v4 ,,money ,,vi4 ,,time ,,vii4 ,,courage ,,viii4 ,,health ,,ix4 ,,earnestness ,x4 ,,manners ,,xi4 ,,temper ,,xii4 ,,recreation ,,xiii4 ,,books ,,xiv4 ,,family ,,life ,,xv4 ,,church ,,xvi4 ,,citizenship ,,appendix ,,list ,,of ,,works ,,life ,,and ,,conduct4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,character4 ,everything in the practical conduct of life depends upon character4 ,what is character8 ,what do we mean by it8 ,as when we say such a man is a bad character1 or a good character1 or when we use the words1 ,i don't like the character of that man4 ,by character we mean what a man really is1 at the back of all his actions and his reputation and the opinion the world has of him1 in the very depth of his being1 in the sight of ,god1 to whom all hearts are open1 all desires known1 and from whom no secrets are hid4 ,it is said of ,burns1 the poet1 that walking along the streets of ,edinburgh with a fashionable acquaintance1 he saw a poorly-dressed peasant1 whom he rushed up to and greeted as a familiar friend4 ,his companion expressed his surprise that he could lower himself by speaking to one in so rustic a garb4 ,fool6 said the poet1 with flashing eye2 it was not the dress1 the peasant's bonnet and hodden gray1 ,i spoke to1 but the man within--the man who beneath that bonnet has a head1 and beneath that hodden gray a heart1 better than a thousand such as yours4 ,what the poet termed the man within1 what the ,scripture calls the hidden man of the heart1 is character--the thing a man really is4 ,now1 there are five things to be remembered about character4 ,i4 ,character is a growth4--,as the man without grows1 so the man within grows also--grows day by day either in beauty or in deformity4 ,we are becoming1 as the days and years pass on1 what we shall be in our future earthly life1 what we shall be when that life is ended4 ,no one becomes what he is at once1 whether what he is be good or bad4 ,you may have seen in the winter-time an icicle forming under the eaves of a house4 ,it grows1 one drop at a time1 until it is more than a foot long4 ,if the water is clear1 the icicle remains clear and sparkles in the sun2 but if the water is muddy1 the icicle looks dirty and its beauty is spoiled4 ,so our characters are formed2 one little thought or feeling at a time adds its influence4 ,if these thoughts and feelings are pure and right1 the character will be lovely and will sparkle with light2 but if they are impure and evil1 the character will be wretched and deformed4 ,fairy tales tell us of palaces built up in a night by unseen hands1 but those tales are not half so wonderful as what is going on in each of us4 ,day and night1 summer and winter1 a building is going up within us1 behind the outer screen of our lives4 ,the storeys of it are being silently fashioned3 virtue is being added to faith1 and to virtue is being added knowledge1 and to knowledge is being added brotherly kindness1 and to brotherly kindness charity2 or meanness is being added to selfishness1 and greed to meanness1 and impurity1 malice and hatred become courses in the building4 ,a wretched hovel1 a poor1 mean1 squalid structure1 is rising within us2 and when the screen of our outward life is taken from us1 this is what we shall be4 ,,ii4 ,character is independent of reputation and circumstances4--,a man may be held in very high esteem by the world1 and yet may be a very miserable creature so far as his character is concerned4 ,the rich man of the parable was well off and probably much thought of1 but ,god called him a fool4 ,here is a man who is greatly esteemed by the public2 he is regarded in every way as admirable4 ,follow him home1 and you find him in his family a mean and sordid soul4 ,there you have the real man4 ,we cannot always judge a man by what he has1 or by what he appears to us2 for what he is may be something very different4 ,these uniforms1 said the ,duke of ,wellington1 are great illusions4 ,strip them off1 and many a pretty fellow would be a coward2 when in them he passes muster with the rest4 ,we must not confound the uniform with the man3 we are often too ready to do so4 ,to a certain extent we can form an idea what a man is from the outside4 ,the horny hand tells of the life of labor2 the deep-set brow tells of the thinker4 ,in other words we have a right to judge a man by his habitation4 ,if the fences are broken down1 the paths are unkept1 the flower-beds full of weeds1 we may be pretty sure the inhabitants are idle1 thriftless1 perhaps intemperate4 ,so a clear eye1 a firm step1 an open countenance1 tell of a pure1 good soul within4 ,for example1 a man of cold exterior or of formal manner may often have a warm heart under it all2 a man of rough manners may have kindly feelings that he cannot express4 ,we are often long in the company of men before we really know them1 and then the discovery of what they are comes on us by surprise4 ,,iii4 ,character cannot be always hidden4--,there are those who seem to think that they can have one set of principles for themselves and another for the outward world2 that they can be in their heart one thing and in society another2 that they can have one character and another reputation4 ,they may be proud1 but they can so hide their pride as to have the reputation of being humble2 they can lie1 but still have the reputation of always speaking the truth2 they can be impure1 and yet have the reputation of being virtuous4 ,but sooner or later what they really are generally becomes manifest4 ,reputation and character come to be one4 ,that which they would keep secret cannot be concealed4 ,the mask which men would wear slips aside and discloses the face beneath it4 7#a7 ,time reveals character4 ,as the years pass along1 a man generally gets to be known for what he is4 ,for example1 if a man is a coward and enlists in the army1 he may swagger about and look like a real soldier1 but a time will come when the spirit of the man will show itself1 and he will be set down at his real value4 ,or a young man in an office may act dishonestly and go on perhaps for long doing so1 and thinking he is carefully concealing his frauds1 but1 when least expected1 discovery takes place1 and ruin and disgrace follow4 7#b7 ,sorrow reveals character4 ,nothing more truly shows what a man is than his bearing under the sorrows of life4 ,when the flag is wrapped around the flag-staff on a calm day1 when no breath of wind is moving1 we cannot read the device that is upon it1 but when the storm unfurls the flag1 we can read it plainly enough4 ,in the same way when the troubles of life beat upon men we can read clearly what they are4 ,again1 when we go along the road on a summer day we often cannot see the houses that are concealed by the foliage of the trees2 but in winter-time1 when the trees are bare and leafless1 we know what kind of houses are there1 whether they are squalid cottages or grand mansions4 ,so in the winter-time of life1 when the leaves are blown away1 men come out and we know what kind of character they have been building up behind the screen of their life4 7#c7 ,if time and sorrow do not reveal character1 eternity will4 ,we will appear then1 not as we seem1 but as we are4 ,christ is to be our judge4 ,consider what a striking thing it is in the life of ,christ that ,his searching glance seemed to go right to the heart1 to the hidden motive1 to the man within4 ,he knew what was in man4 ,a poor woman passed by ,him as ,he sat in the temple4 ,she was poverty-stricken in her garb1 and she stole up to the contribution-box and dropped in her offering4 ,christ's glance went right beyond her outward appearance1 and beyond her small and almost imperceptible offering1 to the motive and character4 ,she hath given more than they all4 ,all sorts of people were around ,him3 ,pharisees1 with their phylacteries2 ,scribes1 with their sceptical notions2 ,samaritans1 with their vaunted traditions3 but ,he always went right beyond the outward show4 ,the ,samaritan was good and kind1 though he got no credit for piety2 the ,pharisee was corrupt and self-seeking1 though he got no credit for piety2 the ,publican was a child of ,god1 though no one would speak to him4 ,christ reversed the judgment of men on those people whom they thought they knew so well1 but did not know at all4 ,so it shall be at the last2 we shall be judged by what we are4 ,,iv4 ,character alone endures4--,what a man has he leaves behind him2 what a man is he carries with him4 ,it is related that when ,alexander the ,great was dying he commanded that his hands should be left outside his shroud1 that all men might see that1 though conqueror of the world he could take nothing away with him4 ,before ,saladin the ,great uttered his last sigh he called the herald who had carried his banner before him in all his battles1 and commanded him to fasten to the top of the spear a shroud in which he was to be buried1 and to proclaim1 ,this is all that remains to ,saladin the ,great of all his glory4 ,so men have felt in all ages that death strips them1 and that they take nothing with them of what they have gained4 ,but what we are ourselves we take with us4 ,all that time has made us1 for good or evil1 goes with us4 ,we can lay up treasures in ourselves that neither moth nor rust can corrupt1 and which thieves cannot steal away4 ,the splendid treasures of memory1 the treasures of disciplined powers1 of enlarged capacities1 of a pure and loving heart1 all are treasures which a man can carry in him and with him into that other world4 ,we are but farmers of ourselves1 yet may1 ,if we can stock ourselves and thrive1 uplay ,much good treasure for the great rent-day4--,,donne4 ,all the jewels and gold a man can collect he drops from his hand when he dies1 but every good action he has done is rooted into his soul and can never leave him4--,buddhist saying4 ,v4 ,the highest character a man can have is the ,christian ,character4--7#a7 ,christ is the giver of a noble character4 ,it is possible to be united to ,christ as the branch is united to the tree2 and when we are so1 ,his life passes into ours3 a change in character comes to us2 we are renewed in the inward man1 old things pass away1 and all things become new4 ,in the life of ,st4 ,paul we have a striking instance how coming to ,christ effects a change in character4 ,he became a different man from what he was2 he received a new inward life2 a transfiguring change passed over the entire character2 the life he lived in the flesh became a life of faith in the ,son of ,god2 and his experience has been the experience of many4 ,the source of the highest and noblest character is ,christ4 7#b7 ,christ is also the standard of a noble character2 the true ideal of manhood is found in ,him3 the stature of the fulness of ,christ4 ,take the following illustration3 ,in ,holland we travel with ,dutch money1 in ,france with ,french money1 in ,germany with ,german money4 ,the standard of the coinage varies with every state we go into4 ,in ,britain there is one standard of coinage2 we may get some corrupted money or some light coin1 but the standard of coinage is the same4 ,the standard for the ,christian is the same throughout the years and in all places3 the one perpetual standard of the life of ,christ4 ,the best men are those who come the nearest to it4 ,those who come nearest to it are those who will do best in the practical conduct of life4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,success ,,in ,,life4 ,we often hear the word success used4 ,the great wish that most have in beginning life is that they may be successful4 ,one man constantly asks another the question regarding a third1 ,how has he succeeded8 ,what is success in life8 ,it may perhaps be defined in this way3 ,it is to obtain the greatest amount of happiness possible to us in this world4 ,there are two things to be borne in mind in estimating what success is3 ,i4 ,lives which according to some are successful must in the highest sense be pronounced failures4--,the idea of many is that success consists in the gaining of a livelihood1 or competency1 or wealth2 but a man may gain these things who yet cannot be said to have succeeded4 ,if he gets wealth at the expense of health1 or if he gets it by means of trickery and dishonest practices1 he can hardly be said to have succeeded4 ,he does not get real happiness with it4 ,if a man gains the whole world and loses his own soul1 he cannot be said to have succeeded4 ,true success in life is when a fair share of the world's good does not cost either physical or intellectual or moral well-being4 ,,ii4 ,lives which according to some are failures must in the highest sense be pronounced successful4--,the life of our blessed ,lord1 from one point of view1 was a failure4 ,it was passed in poverty1 it closed in darkness4 ,we see ,him crowned with thorns1 buffeted1 spit upon2 yet never was ,christ so successful as when ,he hung upon the cross4 ,he had finished the work given ,him to do4 ,he saw of the travail of ,his soul and was satisfied4 ,milton completed his ,paradise ,lost and a bookseller only gave him fifteen pounds for it1 yet he cannot be said to have failed4 ,speak1 ,history1 who are life's victors8 unroll thy long annals and say1 ,are they those whom the world calls victors1 who won the success of the day1 ,the martyrs or ,nero8 ,the ,spartans who fell at ,thermopylae's tryst ,or the ,persians or ,xerxes8 ,his judges or ,socrates8 ,pilate or ,christ8 ,what may seem defeat to some may be in the truest sense success4 ,there are certain things which directly tend to success in life3 ,the first is ,industry4--,there can be no success without working hard for it4 ,there is no getting on without labor4 ,we live in times of great competition1 and if a man does not work1 and work hard1 he is soon jostled aside and falls into the rear4 ,it is true now as in the days of ,solomon that the hand of the diligent maketh rich4 7a7 ,there are some who think they can dispense with hard work because they possess great natural talents and ability--that cleverness or genius can be a substitute for diligence4 ,here the old fable of the hare and the tortoise applies4 ,they both started to run a race4 ,the hare1 trusting to her natural gift of fleetness1 turned aside and took a sleep2 the tortoise plodded on and won the prize4 ,constant and well-sustained labor carries one through1 where cleverness apart from this fails4 ,history tells us that the greatest genius is most diligent in the cultivation of its powers4 ,the cleverest men have been of great industry and unflinching perseverance4 ,no truly eminent man was ever other than an industrious man4 7b7 ,there are some who think that success is in the main a matter of what they call luck1 the product of circumstances over which they have little or no control4 ,if circumstances are favorable they need not work2 if they are unfavorable they need not work4 ,so far from man being the creature of circumstances he should rather be termed the architect of circumstances4 ,from the same materials one man builds palaces and another hovels4 ,bricks and mortar are mortar and bricks till the architect makes something out of them4 ,in the same way1 out of the same circumstances one man rears a stately edifice1 while another1 idle and incompetent1 lives for ever amid ruins4 ,circumstances rarely conquer a strong man2 he conquers them4 ,he ,breaks his birth's invidious bar ,and grasps the skirts of happy chance1 ,and breasts the blows of circumstance1 ,and grapples with his evil star4--,,tennyson4 ,against all sorts of opposing obstacles the great workers of the world fought their way to triumph4 ,milton wrote ,paradise ,lost in blindness and poverty4 ,luther1 before he could establish the ,reformation1 had to encounter the prestige of a thousand years1 the united power of an imperious hierarchy and the ban of the ,german ,empire4 ,linnaeus1 studying botany1 was so poor as to be obliged to mend his shoes with folded paper and often to beg his meals of his friends4 ,columbus1 the discoverer of ,america1 had to besiege and importune in turn the states of ,genoa1 ,portugal1 ,venice1 ,france1 ,england1 and ,spain1 before he could get the control of three small vessels and #abj men4 ,hugh ,miller1 who became one of the first geological writers of his time1 was apprenticed to a stonemason1 and while working in the quarry1 had already begun to study the stratum of red sandstone lying below one of red clay4 ,george ,stephenson1 the inventor of the locomotive engine1 was a common collier working in the mines4 ,james ,watt1 the inventor of the steam-engine1 was a poor sickly child not strong enough to go to school4 ,john ,calvin1 who gave a theology to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries1 which has not yet been outgrown1 was tortured with disease all his days4 ,when were circumstances favorable to any great or good attempt1 except as they were compelled by determination and industry to become favorable8 7c7 ,even if circumstances seem in every way favorable1 industry is necessary to success4 ,though we be born1 as the saying is1 with a silver spoon in our mouth1 we cannot afford to dispense with work4 ,unless we are hard-working1 life will become a weariness to us4 ,work keeps life full and happy2 it drives all diseased fancies out of the mind2 it gives balance and regularity to all movements of the soul4 ,if then we expect to succeed in life we must make up our mind to work hard4 ,we must not let it be our notion of a fine lady or gentleman to do nothing4 ,the idle life is a miserable life2 it is bound to be so4 ,god has promised many a blessing to industry2 ,he has promised none to indolence4 ,god himself works1 and ,he wants ,his children to work4 ,the second thing that tends directly to success in life is a distinct ,aim4--,a man may run very hard in a race1 the perspiration may stream from his brow and every muscle be strained1 but if he is not running in a right direction1 if he is running away from the goal1 all his activity will not help him4 ,so1 industrious habits are not sufficient1 unless we have a distinct idea of what we are aiming at4 ,the world is full of purposeless people1 and such people come to nothing4 ,those who have succeeded best have chosen their line and stuck to it4 ,one great aim1 like a guiding-star above1 ,which tasked strength1 wisdom1 stateliness1 to lift ,their manhood to the height that takes the prize4 ,,browning4 7a7 ,the choice of a trade or profession is of enormous importance in settling our aim in life4 ,men often fail from having adopted a calling for which they are entirely unfitted4 ,the round man in the square hole is a pitiful spectacle4 ,it is difficult to lay down any special rule in regard to the choice of a profession or business4 ,some are obliged to take whatever opportunity offers1 and others have to begin work at too early an age to permit them to form a true idea of what they are best fitted for1 and are obliged to follow the wishes of others rather than their own4 ,this only we can say1 that so far as we have a choice we should adopt the calling that is most congenial to us and suits our inclinations4 ,grasp the handle of your being was the direction given by a wise counsellor to one who sought advice as to what calling he should follow4 ,everyone has certain aptitudes1 and as far as he is able should keep them in view4 ,there is often a distinct indication at a very early period of life for what we are best fitted4 ,the tastes of the boy foreshadow the occupations of the man4 ,ferguson's clock carved out of wood and supplied with rudest mechanism2 ,faraday's tiny electric machine made from a common bottle2 ,claude ,lorraine's pictures in flour and charcoal on the walls of the bakers' shops2 ,canova's modelling of small images in clay2 ,chantrey's carving of his school-master's head in a bit of pine wood1--were all indications clear and strong of the future man4 7b7 ,whatever you resolve upon1 keep to it4 ,one thing ,i do1 is a great rule to follow4 ,it is much better to do one thing well than many things indifferently4 ,it may be well to have many strings to our bow1 but it is better to have a bow and string that will every time send the arrow to the target4 ,a rolling stone gathers no moss4 ,he that is everything by turns and nothing long comes to nothing in the end4 ,if thou canst plan a noble deed ,and never flag till it succeed1 ,though in the strife thy heart should bleed1 ,whatever obstacles contend1 ,thine hour will come1 go on1 thou soul6 ,thou'lt win the prize1 thou'lt reach the goal4 ,,chas4 ,,mackay4 7c7 ,the higher our purpose is1 the greater our attainment is likely to be4 ,the nobler our ideal1 the nobler our success4 ,it seems paradoxical to say it1 but it is true1 that no one ever reached a goal without starting from it2 no one ever won a victory without beginning the battle with it2 no one ever succeeded in any work without first finishing it in his own mind4 ,pitch thy behavior low1 thy projects high1 ,so shalt thou humble and magnanimous be4 ,sink not in spirit2 who aimeth at the sky ,shoots higher much than he who means a tree4 ,g4 ,,herbert4 ,when we go forward to life we should make up our mind what we intend to make of life4 ,make up your mind after prayer to ,god1 and work for that4 ,the third essential to success in life is ,moral ,character1 in its various elements of honesty1 truthfulness1 steadiness1 temperance4 ,honesty is the best policy is one of those worldly maxims that express the experience of mankind4 ,a small leak will sink a great ship4 ,one bad string in a harp will turn its music into discord4 ,any flaw in moral character will sooner or later bring disaster4 ,the most hopeless wrecks that toss on the broken waters of society are men who have failed from want of moral character4 ,there are thousands of such from whom much was expected but from whom nothing came4 ,it is told of a distinguished professor at ,cambridge that he kept photographs of his students4 ,he divided them into two lots4 ,one he called his basket of adled eggs3 they were the portraits of men who had failed1 who had come to nothing though they promised much4 ,what brought most of them to grief was want of character1 of moral backbone4 ,some of them--a good many of them--went to drink1 others to love of pleasure1 others to the bad in other ways4 ,good principle counts for more than can be expressed2 it is essential4 ,many things may hinder a man from getting on--slowness1 idleness1 want of ability1 trifling1 want of interest in his vocation4 ,many of these faults may be borne with long by others1 and may be battled with earnestly by ourselves2 but a flaw in character is deadly4 ,to be unsteady1 dishonest1 or untruthful is fatal4 ,before ,god and man an unfaithful servant is worthless4 ,we may have other qualifications that go to command success1 such as those we have noticed1--industry and a distinct aim1--but want of principle will render them useless4 ,slow and sure often go together4 ,the slow train is often the safest to travel by1 but woe be to it and to us if we do not keep upon the rails4 ,the last essential to success in life is ,religious ,hopefulness4--7a7 ,our industry1 our purpose1 our principles may be all they ought to be1 yet the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong4 ,but when we find the race going from us and the battle going against us1 if we have trust in ,god and the hopefulness that comes from religion1 we will find heart to try again3 we will not be utterly cast down4 ,christian faith keeps men in good heart amid many discouragements4 7b7 ,even if a man or woman become rich or clever and have life pleasant around them1 they cannot feel at the close of life that they have succeeded if the future is dark before them4 ,when ,cardinal ,wolsey1 who had been the favorite of the king and had long held the government of ,england in his hand1 fell from power1 he said1 ,if ,i had served my ,god as truly as ,i served my king ,he would not have forsaken me in my gray hairs4 ,the world is a poor comforter at the last4 ,no man or woman has become successful until their essential happiness is placed beyond the reach of all outward fluctuation and change4 ,faith in ,christ1 the faith that penetrates the future and brings down from heaven a bright and blessed hopefulness1 which casts its illumination over the present scene and reveals the grand object of existence1 is essential to true success4 ,we cannot sum up the teachings of this chapter better than in the words of a poem of which we should try to catch the spirit3 they express the very philosophy of success in life3 ,courage1 brother6 do not stumble1 ,though thy path be dark as night2 ,there's a star to guide the humble2-- ,trust in ,god1 and do the right4 ,let the road be rough and dreary1 ,and its end far out of sight1 ,foot it bravely6 strong or weary1 ,trust in ,god1 and do the right4 ,perish policy and cunning1 ,perish all that fears the light6 ,whether losing1 whether winning1 ,trust in ,god1 and do the right4 ,trust no party1 sect1 or faction2 ,trust no leaders in the fight2 ,but in every word and action ,trust in ,god1 and do the right4 ,trust no lovely forms of passion1-- ,fiends may look like angels bright3 ,trust no custom1 school1 or fashion-- ,trust in ,god1 and do the right4 ,simple rule1 and safest guiding1 ,inward peace and inward might1 ,star upon our path abiding1-- ,trust in ,god1 and do the right4 ,some will hate thee1 some will love thee1 ,some will flatter1 some will slight3 ,cease from man1 and look above thee1-- ,trust in ,god1 and do the right4 ,,norman ,m',,leod4 ,that is the way to succeed in life4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,personal ,,influence4 ,we are all of us in close relations to one another4 ,we are bound together in numberless ways4 ,as members of the same family1 as members of the same community1 as members of the same ,church--we are bound so closely together that what any one of us does is certain to tell upon others4 ,it is out of this close connection with others that influence comes4 ,just as one man in a crowd sends by his movements a certain impulse throughout the whole1 just as the stone thrown into a pond causes waves that move far away from where the stone fell and that reach in faint ripples to the distant shore1 so our very existence exercises influence beyond our knowledge and beyond our calculation4 ,influence is of two kinds1 ,direct and ,indirect--,conscious and ,unconscious1--,the first is influence we deliberately put forth1 as when we meet a man and argue with him1 as when the orator addresses the multitude1 or the politician seeks to gain their suffrages4 ,the second is the influence which radiates from us1 whether we will it or not1 as fire burning warms a room1 or icebergs floating down from the frozen north change the temperature where they come4 ,there is a passage in ,scripture where both kinds of influence are illustrated4 ,iron sharpeneth iron2 so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend4 ,as in water face answereth to face1 so the heart of man to man4 ,the first part of the proverb refers to direct influence3 as iron sharpeneth iron1 so one man applying to another his powers of persuasion1 his motives in the shape of money or some other inducement1 moulds1 fashions1 sharpens him to his liking4 ,as in water face answereth to face3 this is the silent influence which we have on others4 ,there is no conscious exercise of power1 there is no deliberate putting forth of strength1 there is no noise as of iron against iron2 but as our shadow is silently reflected in the still water1 so our life and character silently reflect themselves in others1 and other hearts answer to the feelings that sway our own4 ,i4 ,direct or conscious influence4--,in regard to this everyone must choose his own line of action4 ,everyone has his own special gift1 and everyone has his own special opportunities4 ,there are1 however1 certain lines of direct influence that may be indicated1 and which lie open to all4 7a7 ,keeping others in the right path4 ,we constantly meet with people who are evidently taking a wrong road2 it is our duty to try and show them the right one1 and to persuade them to walk in it4 ,we see men taking up with evil habits1 evil companions1 or evil opinions2 we are bound to remonstrate with them and endeavor to warn them timeously4 ,this of course needs to be wisely done1 and after prayer to ,god to guide us rightly2 but we ought to do it4 ,a word spoken in due season how good is it4 ,such a word has often been blessed and made effectual1 and we should not shrink from speaking it4 ,the right time for speaking it should be chosen1 but it should not be left by us unsaid4 ,when ,paley the great moralist was a student at ,cambridge he wasted his time in idleness and frivolity1 and was the butt of his fellow-students4 ,one of them1 however1 took courage to remonstrate with him1 and did so with good effect4 ,one morning he came to his bedside and said to him earnestly1 ,paley1 ,i have not been able to sleep for thinking about you4 ,i have been thinking what a fool you are6 ,i have the means of dissipation1 and could afford to be idle2 you are poor and cannot afford it4 ,i could do nothing probably even if ,i were to try2 you are capable of doing anything4 ,i have lain awake all night thinking about your folly1 and ,i have now come solemnly to warn you4 ,indeed1 if you persist in your indolence and go on in this way1 ,i must renounce your society altogether4 ,the words took effect4 ,paley became a changed man1 and his after success sprang from his friend's warning4 ,this incident illustrates what may be the influence in this form of one man upon another4 7b7 ,bearing testimony against evil4 ,this is another line of direct influence open to all4 ,it is a precept of the book of ,leviticus1 ,if a soul sin1 and hear the voice of swearing1 and is a witness1 whether he hath seen or known of it2 if he do not utter it1 then he shall bear his iniquity4 ,if he does not give evidence against evil1 even to his own hurt he sins4 ,we are bound to protest against wrongdoing in any form2 and our protest1 if distinct and well directed1 always tends to good4 ,to be silent in certain circumstances makes us the accomplice of sin2 to speak out frees us from responsibility4 ,to be the dumb auditor of a shameful story1 or to listen silently to the relation of a deed of wickedness1 and not be honest and resolute in expressing our disgust and disapproval is to condone what no good man should condone4 ,the outspoken testimony against evil is incumbent on all ,christian men4 7c7 ,taking part in ,christian and benevolent work4 ,there are many ways1 it is evident1 in which we may do so individually4 ,the greatest works that have been done have been done by the ones4 ,no learned society discovered ,america1 but one man1 ,columbus4 ,no parliament saved ,english liberties1 but one man1 ,pym4 ,no confederate nations rescued ,scotland from her political and ecclesiastical enemies1 but one man1 ,knox4 ,by one man1 ,howard1 our prisons were purified4 ,by one woman1 ,miss ,nightingale1 our disgraceful nursing system was reformed4 ,by one ,clarkson the reproach of slavery was taken away4 ,god in all ages has blessed individual effort1 and if we are strong enough to take up any special line of benevolent and ,christian work that seems open to us we should not shrink from it4 ,we should be on the lookout for it4 ,but many from their circumstances are not able to do so1 and such can find their best opportunity by combining their own effort with the efforts of others4 ,there are many agencies at work in every community for the helping of man1 and they afford to all the opportunity of wisely using their power of influence4 ,this is true especially of the ,christian ,church4 ,it has been defined as a society for doing good in the world4 ,in many ways it carries on work for the benefit of others4 ,in every ,christian congregation there ought to be some work in which each of its members1 however few his talents may be1 can engage2 and in lending a helping hand each of them may do something directly towards making society sweeter and better4 ,,ii4 ,indirect or unconscious influence4--,there is an imperceptible personal atmosphere which surrounds every man1 an invisible belt of magnetism which he bears with him wherever he goes4 ,it invests him1 and others quickly detect its presence4 ,take some of its simplest phases4 7a7 ,think of the influence of a look4 ,when ,christ stood in the courtyard of the palace of the ,high ,priest over against ,his weak and erring disciple1 whom ,he heard denying ,him with oaths1 it is said1 ,the ,lord looked upon ,peter4 ,no more than that1 and it reached right down into his heart4 ,it touched him as nothing else could have touched him4 ,he went out and wept bitterly4 ,it was said of ,keble the poet that his face was like that of an illuminated clock1 beaming with the radiance of his poetry and wisdom2 and it is written of one of the most spiritually-minded of ,scotchmen1 ,erskine of ,linlathen1 that his looks were better than a thousand homilies4 ,there was something in the very expression of his countenance that spoke to men of an inner life and of a spiritual dwelling in ,god4 7b7 ,think of the influence of a smile3 the smile of welcome when we call at a friend's house2 the smile of recognition when we meet him in the street2 the smile of pleasure which the speaker sees in his audience2 the smile of satisfaction in one to whom we have done an act of kindness4 ,by the very expression of the countenance we can influence others1 make their life more pleasant or more painful4 ,there are those who by the sweetness of their demeanor are in a household like fragrant flowers4 ,they are like the sweet ointment of spikenard which the woman poured upon ,christ--the sweet perfume of it filled the whole house4 7c7 ,think of the influence of sympathy4 ,there are some natures that are gifted with a blessed power to bring consolation to men4 ,it is not that they are glib of tongue or facile of speech1 but somehow the very pressure of their hand is grateful to the saddened heart4 ,the simple and kindly action1 of which we think nothing1 may tell powerfully on others1 and unclose fountains of feeling deep down in the heart4 7d7 ,think of the influence of example3 the simple doing of what is right1 though we say nothing about it2 the upright life of a father or mother in a household2 the steady conduct of a soldier in his company2 the stainless character of a workman among his comrades1 or a boy in his school4 ,it is bound to tell4 ,example1 says ,dr4 ,smiles1 is one of the most potent instructors1 though it teaches without a tongue4 ,it is the practical school of mankind working by action1 which is always more forcible than words4 ,precept may point to us the way1 but it is a silent continuous example conveyed to us by habits1 and living with us in fact1 that carries us along4 ,good advice has its weight1 but without the accompaniment of a good example it is of comparatively small influence1 and it will be found that the common saying of ',do as ,i say1 not as ,i do' is usually reversed in the actual experience of life4 ,goodness makes good4 ,as a man who trims his garden in a straight row and makes it beautiful will induce in time all his neighbors to follow him1 or at least to be ashamed of their ragged and ill-kept plots in contrast with his own1 so is it that the upright1 good life of a sincere ,christian man will silently tell upon others4 ,these are some illustrations of the power of influence unconsciously exercised1 and the whole subject teaches us 7#a7 ,our responsibility4 ,if we are ready to ask1 ,am ,i my brother's keeper8 the answer is1 you cannot help being so4 ,it is as easy to evade the law of gravitation as the law of responsibility4 ,a man was lately prosecuted for having waited on his customers in clothes he had worn when attending his children during an infectious complaint4 ,it was proved that he had sown broadcast germs of the disease4 ,it would have been no justification for him to say1 ,what has anyone to do with the clothes ,i wear8 ,it is my own business4 ,he was a member of the community4 ,his action was silently but surely dealing out death to others4 ,he was punished1 and justly punished4 ,we cannot live without influencing others4 ,we say perhaps that we mean well1 or at least we mean to do no one any harm1 but is our influence harmless8 ,it is going from us in forms as subtle as the germs of an infectious disease4 ,say not1 ,it matters not to me1 ,my brother's weal is his behoof1 ,for in this wondrous human web1 ,if your life's warp1 his life is woof4 ,woven together are the threads1 ,and you and he are in one loom1 ,for good or ill1 for glad or sad1 ,your lives must share one common doom4 ,then let the daily shuttle glide1 ,wound full of threads of kindly care1 ,that life's increasing length may be ,not only strongly wrought1 but fair4 ,so from the stuff of each new day ,the loving hand of ,time shall make ,garments of joy and peace for all1 ,and human hearts shall cease to ache4 ,m4 ,j4 ,,savage4 7#b7 ,the power all have to do good4 ,there are some who think they can only serve ,god and man in a direct and premeditated way1 by taking up some branch of ,christian work and devoting themselves to it2 and if they have no gift in any special direction1 they think they are outside of the vineyard altogether4 ,but it is not so4 ,the sphere of quiet and unassuming ,christian life is open to all4 ,it is impossible to measure the extent of our influence4 ,its ,echoes roll from soul to soul1 ,and grow for ever and for ever4 ,like those of the ,alpine horn in the solitudes of the mountains1 long after the voice that caused them has ceased1 they reverberate far and wide4 ,no man lives to himself4 ,he could not do so if he would4 7#c7 ,the secret of good influence is to be influenced for good ourselves4 ,our lamp must be first lit if it is to shine1 and we must ourselves be personally influenced by coming to the great source of spiritual power4 ,if ,christ is in a man1 then1 wherever he may be1 there will radiate from him influences that can only be for good4 ,out of the life that is in him will flow rivers of living water4 ,thou must be true thyself ,if thou the truth wouldst teach4 ,thy soul must overflow if thou ,another soul wouldst reach4 ,it needs the overflowing heart ,to give the lips full speech4 ,think truly1 and thy thought ,shall the world's famine feed4 ,speak truly1 and thy word ,shall be a fruitful seed4 ,live truly1 and thy life shall be ,a great and noble creed4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,friends4 ,by friends we mean those whom we admit to the inner circle of our acquaintance4--,all of us know many people4 ,we are bound to do so2 to meet with men of all classes1 sects1 beliefs1 opinions4 ,but with most of us there are a few persons who stand to us in a different relation from the rest4 ,we are intimate with them4 ,we take pleasure in their company2 we tell them our thoughts3 we speak to them of things we would not speak of to others2 we confide in them1 and in joy and in sorrow it is to them we go4 ,it is of this inner circle1 and of those we ought to admit to it1 that we have now to speak4 ,friendship has been regarded in all ages as one of the most important relationships of life4--,cicero1 who dedicates an essay to it says that it is the only thing on the importance of which mankind are agreed4 ,it has been defined by ,addison1 the great ,english writer1 as a strong habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of each other4 ,it has been termed by another the golden thread that ties the hearts of the world4 ,a faithful friend has been called the medicine of life4 ,ambrose1 one of the ,christian ,fathers1 says1 ,it is the solace of this life to have one to whom you can open your heart1 and tell your secrets2 to win to yourself a faithful man1 who will rejoice with you in sunshine1 and weep in showers4 ,it is easy and common to say1 ',i am wholly thine1' but to find it true is as rare4 ,and ,jeremy ,taylor1 the great preacher1 calls friendship the ease of our passions1 the discharge of our oppressions1 the sanctuary to our calamities1 the counsellor of our doubts1 the charity of our minds1 the emission of our thoughts1 the exercise and improvement of what we meditate4 ,the great preachers1 philosophers and poets of all time have dwelt on the importance and sweetness of friendship4 ,the ,in ,memoriam of ,tennyson is a glorification of this relationship4 ,the highest of all examples of friendship is to be found in ,christ4--,his behaviour in this beautiful relationship is the very mirror in which all true friendship must see and mirror itself4 #a ,in ,his life we see the blessings of companionship in good4 ,he loved ,martha1 and her sister1 and ,lazarus4 ,he had intimate friends in ,his group of disciples4 ,peter and ,james and ,john stood to ,him in this relation4 ,they were taken by ,him into scenes which the rest of the disciples did not behold4 ,they knew a friendship with ,him unenjoyed by the others4 ,and of that inner circle there was one to whom the soul of ,jesus clung with peculiar tenderness--the beloved disciple4 ,human friendship has been consecrated for us all by this example of ,christ4 ,he offers himself to every one of us as a friend3 ,ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever ,i command you4 ,there are two things which specially show the importance of friendship3 7a7 ,it is regarded by others as a test of our character4 ,the worth of a man will always be rated by his companions4 ,the proverbs of all nations show this4 ,a man is known by the company he keeps4 ,like draws to like4 ,birds of a feather flock together4 ,if our companions are worthless1 the verdict of society regarding us will be that we are worthless ourselves4 ,this verdict may not in all cases be true1 but the probability is that it will be true4 ,if we are admitted to the friendship of men of honor1 integrity and principle1 people will come to believe in us4 ,we would not1 they will feel1 be admitted into that society unless we were in sympathy with those who compose it4 ,if we wish1 therefore1 that a good opinion should be formed regarding us by others1 we need to be especially careful as to those with whom we associate closely and whom we admit to intimate friendship4 7b7 ,friends have a special power in moulding our character4 ,george ,herbert's saying is true1 ,keep good company1 and you shall be of their number4 ,it is difficult1 on the other hand1 to be much with the silly and foolish without being silly and foolish also4 ,it is the common explanation of a young man's ruin that he got among bad companions4 ,we may go into a certain society confident that we will hold our own1 and that we can come out of it as we go in2 but1 as a general rule1 we will find ourselves mistaken4 ,the man of the strongest individuality comes sooner or later to be affected by those with whom he is intimate4 ,there is a subtle influence from them telling upon him that he cannot resist4 ,he will inevitably be moulded by it4 ,here also the proverbs of the world point the lesson4 ,he who goes with the lame1 says the ,latin proverb1 will begin to limp4 ,he who herds with the wolves1 says the ,spanish1 will learn to howl4 ,iron sharpeneth iron1 says the scriptural proverb1 so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend4 ,the rapidity of moral deterioration in an evil companionship is its most startling feature4 ,it is appalling to see how soon an evil companionship will transform a young man1 morally pure1 of clean and wholesome life1 into an unclean1 befouled1 trifling good-for-nothing4 ,lightning scarcely does its work of destruction quicker1 or with more fell purpose4 ,it is difficult to give precise rules in regard to the formation of friendship4 ,a man that hath friends1 says ,solomon1 must show himself friendly4 ,the man of a generous and sympathetic nature will have many friends1 and will attract to himself companions of his own character4 ,a few suggestions1 however1 founded on practical experience1 may be offered for our guidance4 ,i4 ,we should be 7a7 slow to make friendships1 and 7b7 slow to break them when made4--7a7 ,it is in the nature of some to take up with people very readily4 ,some young men are like fish that rise readily to a gaudy and many-colored fly4 ,if they see anything that attracts them in another they admit him at once to their confidence4 ,it should not be so4 ,among the reported and traditional sayings of ,christ1 there is one that is full of wisdom3 ,be good money changers4 ,as a money changer rings the coin on his counter to test it1 so we should test men well before we make them our friends4 ,there should be a narrow wicket leading into the inner circle of our social life at which we should make them stand for examination before they are admitted4 ,an old proverb says1 ,before you make a friend1 eat a peck of salt with him4 ,we should try before we trust2 and as we should be careful whom we receive1 we should be equally careful whom we part with4 ,thine own friend1 and thy father's friend1 forsake not4 ,with some1 very little severs the bond of friendship4 ,they are always changing their companions4 ,they are ,hail fellow1 well met1 with one to-day1 and cold and distant to-morrow4 ,inconstancy in friendship is a bad sign4 ,it generally arises from readiness to admit to intimacy without sufficient examination4 ,the friendship that is quickly cemented is easily dissolved4 ,fidelity is the very essence of true friendship2 and1 once broken1 it cannot be easily renewed4 ,quarrels between friends are the bitterest and the most lasting4 ,broken friendship may be soldered1 but never made sound4 ,alas6 they had been friends in youth1 ,but whispering tongues can poison truth4 99 99 99 99 ,they parted1 ne'er to meet again1 ,but never either found another ,to free the hollow heart from paining4 ,they stood aloof1 the scars remaining1 ,like cliffs which had been rent asunder2 ,a dreary sea now flows between4 ,,coleridge4 ,shakespeare gives this rule for friendship in his own wonderful way4 ,it could not be better stated-- ,the friends thou hast1 and their adoption tried1 ,grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel2 ,but do not dull thy palm with entertainment ,of each new-hatched1 unfledged comrade4 ,,ii4 ,we should refuse friendship with those whose standard of right is below our own4--,anything in a man or woman that indicates low moral tone1 or want of principle1 should debar them at once from our friendship4 ,it is not easy to say in so many words what want of principle is1 but we all know what is meant by it4 ,it corresponds to a constitutional defect in the physical system4 ,a person may have ailments1 but that is different from a weak and broken constitution4 ,so a person may have faults and failings1 but a want of principle is more serious4 ,it is a radical defect which should prevent friendship4 ,a small thing often shows us whether a person wants principle4 ,the single claw of a bird of prey tells us its nature4 ,according to the familiar saying1 ,we don't need to eat a leg of mutton to know whether it is tainted2 a mouthful is sufficient4 ,so a single expression may tell us whether there is a want of moral principle4 ,a word showing us that a person thinks lightly of honesty1 of purity in man1 of virtue in woman1 should be sufficient to make us keep him at a distance4 ,we may be civil to him1 try to do him good1 and lead him to better things1 but he is not one to make our friend4 ,cowper the poet says3 ,i would not enter on my list of friends1 ,though graced with polished manners and fine sense1 ,yet wanting sensibility1 the man ,who needlessly sets foot upon a worm4 ,we may think it a small thing to set the foot upon a worm1 but to do so needlessly and wantonly indicates a hard and cruel nature1 and a man with such a nature is not a safe friend4 ,,iii4 ,there should be equality in friendship4--,equality of station1 of circumstances1 of position4 ,it does not do to lay down a hard and fast line as to this4 ,for instance1 in a young men's guild men of all stations and social conditions meet on an equality4 ,they are a brotherhood bound together by ties of a very close description4 ,to them this rule does not apply4 ,among members of such an association1 a young man may always fitly find a friend4 ,it is friendships formed outside such a circle1 and in general society1 that we have in view2 and1 in regard to such society1 we are probably not far wrong in saying that we do well to choose our intimate friends from those who are neither much above us nor beneath us4 ,if a man is poor1 and chooses as a friend one who is rich1 the chances are either that he becomes a toady and a mere hanger-on1 or that he is made to feel his inferiority4 ,young men in this way have been led into expenses which they could not afford1 and into society that did them harm1 and into debts sometimes that they could not pay4 ,making friends of those beneath us is often equally a mistake4 ,we come to look upon them with patronizing affability4 ,it is well enough to talk of our humble friends1 but they are too often like poor relations4 ,we accept their services1 and think that a mere 'thank you1' a nod1 a beck1 or a smile is sufficient recompense4 #b ,either to become a toady or a patron is destructive of true friendship4 ,we should be able to meet on the same platform1 and join hands as brothers1 having the same feelings1 the same wants1 the same aspirations4 ,we should be courteous to the man above us1 and civil to the man beneath us2 but if we value our independence and manhood we will not try to make a friend of either4 ,,iv4 ,we should not make a friend of one who is without reverence for what we deem sacred and have been taught to deem sacred4--,the want of reverence for that which is above us is one of the most serious defects in man or woman4 ,we should be as slow to admit one to our friendship who has this defect as we would be if we knew he had entered into a church and stolen the vessels of the sanctuary4 ,we should consort only with those who honor the sacred name we bear1 and treat it with reverence4 ,we should especially beware of admitting to intimacy the sceptic and infidel4 ,there are those who have drifted away from the faith of ,christ1 and to whom ,god and eternity are mere names4 ,such are deserving of our most profound pity and sorrow1 and we should do all in our power to lead them back to the ,father's house from which they have wandered4 ,but we should never make them our friends4 ,we cannot dwell in an ill-ventilated and ill-drained house without running the risk of having our own constitution lowered4 ,we cannot associate in close companionship with the infidel and the sceptic without endangering our own spiritual life4 ,doubt is as catching as disease4 ,take my word for it1 said the great ,sir ,robert ,peel1 who was a close observer of men1 it is not prudent1 as a rule1 to trust yourself to any man who tells you he does not believe in ,god1 and in a future life after death4 ,we should choose our friends from those who have chosen the better part1 and day by day we shall feel the benefit of their companionship in making us stronger and better4 ,these are some plain rules drawn from long experience of life which may be helpful to some4 ,we may conclude by quoting the noble lines of ,tennyson in which he draws the picture of his friend1 ,arthur ,hallam1 and the inspiration he drew from him3 ,thy converse drew us with delight1 ,the men of rathe and riper years3 ,the feeble soul1 a haunt of fears1 ,forgot his weakness in thy sight4 ,on thee the loyal-hearted hung1 ,the proud was half disarm'd of pride1 ,nor cared the serpent at thy side ,to flicker with his double tongue4 ,the stern were mild when thou wert by1 ,the flippant put himself to school ,and heard thee1 and the brazen fool ,was soften'd1 and he knew not why2 ,while ,i1 thy nearest1 sat apart1 ,and felt thy triumph was as mine2 ,and loved them more1 that they were thine1 ,the graceful tact1 the ,christian art2 ,nor mine the sweetness or the skill1 ,but mine the love that will not tire1 ,and1 born of love1 the vague desire ,that spurs an imitative will4 ,,tennyson4 ,happy are those whose friends in some degree approach the character here delineated4 #a ,stalker's ,imago ,christi4 #b ,hain ,friswell1 ,the ,gentle ,life4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,money4 ,money has been defined as the measure and standard of value1 and the medium of exchange4 ,it represents everything that may be purchased4 ,he who possesses money has potentially in his possession everything that can be bought with money4 ,money is thus power4 ,it seems to have in itself all earthly possibilities4 ,there are three things which should be borne in mind in regard to money3 ,i4 ,money itself is neither good nor bad4--,it is simply force4 ,it is like the lightning or the sunlight3 it withers or nourishes2 it smites or does other bidding2 it devastates or fertilizes1 according as it is used by us4 ,whether money is good or bad depends on whether it is sought for in right or wrong ways1 used wisely or unwisely1 squandered where it does harm1 or bestowed where it does good4 7a7 ,that it may be a power for good is evident to all4 ,it enables men to benefit their fellow-creatures2 it gives a man independence2 it procures him comforts he could not otherwise have obtained4 ,it is1 as it has well been termed1 the lever by which the race has been lifted from barbarism to civilization4 ,so long as the race could do nothing but barely live1 man was little more than an animal who hunted and fought for his prey4 ,when the race began to think and plan and save for tomorrow1 it specially began to be human4 ,there is not a single feature of our civilization to-day that has not sprung out of money1 and that does not depend on money for its continuance4 7b7 ,that money may be a power for evil is equally evident4 ,much of the crime and sin and sorrow of the world spring from its misuse4 ,the love of money1 as ,scripture says1 is a root of all evil4 ,in the haste to be rich men too often lose their very manhood4 ,money1 it is often said1 does wonders1 but the most wonderful thing that it does is to metalize the human soul4 ,,ii4 ,money and our relation to it is a test of character--,the making and the using of it is an education4 ,if we know how one gets and spends money1 we know what a man is4 ,so many are the bearings of money upon the lives and characters of mankind1 that an insight which would search out the life of a man in his pecuniary relations would penetrate into almost every cranny of his nature4 ,he who1 like ,st4 ,paul1 has learnt how to want and how to abound1 has a great knowledge2 for if we take account of all the virtues with which money is mixed up--honesty1 justice1 generosity1 charity1 frugality1 forethought1 self-sacrifice1 and their correlative vices--it is a knowledge which goes to cover the length and breadth of humanity1 and a right measure and manner in getting1 saving1 spending1 taking1 lending1 borrowing and bequeathing would almost argue a perfect man4 #a ,nearly all the virtues and all the vices are connected with money4 ,its acquisition and its distribution are almost certain indications of what we are morally4 ,,iii4 ,there are some things that are better than money1 and that cannot be purchased with it--,these are indeed the best things4 ,all that can be bought money possesses actually or potentially1 but there are some things that cannot be bought4 ,love1 friendship1 nobleness of soul1 genius1 cannot be purchased4 ,we must estimate rightly the power of money4 ,it is great1 but it may be exaggerated1 7a7 ,honesty is better than money4 ,if a man gains money at the expense of honesty and integrity1 he pays too great a price4 ,he is like a savage who barters jewels for a string of beads4 7b7 ,home is better than money4 ,if a man1 struggling and striving to be rich1 has no time for the joys of family and the rich blessings that circle round the fireside1 if he knows nothing of the charm of love and the pleasures that spring from the affections1 he pays too great a price--a costly house and luxurious furnishings are no substitute for love in the home4 7c7 ,culture is better than money4 ,if a man grows up in ignorance and vulgarity1 shut out from the world of art1 literature and science1 and all that refines and elevates the mind--a rude1 uncultured boor--he pays too great a price for any money he may scrape together4 7d7 ,humanity is better than money4 ,the rich man who leaves ,lazarus untended at his gates1 who builds about him walls so thick that no cry from the suffering world ever penetrates them1 who becomes mean and stingy1 close-fisted and selfish1 pays too great a price4 ,of such a man it is said in ,scripture that in hell he lifted up his eyes4 ,surely he made a bad bargain1 7e7 ,spirituality is better than money4 ,he who has made an idol of his wealth1 who in gaining it has lost his soul1 who has allowed money to come between him and ,god1 has paid too great a price for it4 ,he has well been depicted by ,john ,bunyan as the man with the muck-rake gathering straws1 whilst he does not see the golden crown that is held above him4 ,christ tells us ,god regards such a man as a fool4 ,there are certain rules of conduct which may be laid down1 drawn both from ,scripture and experience1 in regard to money4 #a4 ,we are especially to remember our stewardship4--,money is a trust committed to us1 for which we are to give account unto ,god4 ,we are answerable to ,him for the use we make of it4 ,if we have amassed wealth1 from ,god has come the power that enabled us to do so4 ,all we have is ,his--not our own4 ,to each of us shall be addressed the words1 ,give an account of thy stewardship1 for thou mayest be no longer steward4 ,if we remember this great truth we shall be rightly guided1 both in regard to the accumulation and the distribution of money4 ,we shall not inordinately desire it1 for we shall feel that with its increase comes new responsibility2 and we shall be careful how we spend it1 for the question will ever be present to our minds1 ,what would the great ,master1 to whom we have to give account1 wish us to do with it8 ,those who have most wisely used their money are the men who have realized most intensely the thought of their stewardship4 ,in the ,life of ,mr4 ,moore1 the successful merchant1 by ,smiles1 this is most admirably shown4 ,he amassed1 by industry and by enterprise1 great wealth2 he lived a noble and benevolent life2 he was honored by all men for his character and his generosity4 ,but at the root and foundation of his life was the thought that all he had was a trust committed to him by ,god4 #b4 ,we should do good as we go4--,there are those who allow that they should do good with their money1 but they defer carrying out their intention till they have accumulated something that they think considerable4 ,if they ever become rich1 then they will do great things4 ,the folly of this is apparent1 7a7 ,they lose the happiness which the humblest may daily reap from small deeds of kindness2 and 7b7 they lose the power which will enable them to do anything if the great opportunity they desire comes4 ,doing good1 it has been well said1 is a faculty1 like any other1 that becomes weak and atrophied1 palsied for lack of use4 ,you might as well stop practising on the piano1 under the impression that in a year or two you will find time to give a month to it4 ,in the meantime1 you will get out of practice and lose the power4 ,keep your hand and your pocket open1 or they will grow together1 so that nothing short of death's finger can unloose them4 #b ,however little money we may have1 we should use a portion of it in doing good4 ,the two mites of the widow were in the eye of ,christ a beautiful offering4 ,giving should always go with getting4 ,mere getting injures us1 but giving brings to us a blessing4 ,gold1 says holy ,george ,herbert1 thou mayest safely touch2 but if it stick it wounds thee to the quick4 ,george ,moore1 to whom we have referred1 wrote yearly in his diary the words of wisdom-- ,what ,i saved ,i lost1 ,what ,i spent ,i had1 ,what ,i gave ,i have4 ,what proportion of our money we should give every one must determine for himself1 but we are not safe spiritually unless we cultivate the habit of generosity4 ,the ,lord loveth a cheerful giver4 ,there are many1 it has been satirically said1 who would be ,good ,samaritans without the oil and the two pence4 ,all of us1 however humble our station1 are bound to give as ,god hath prospered us for the help of man and the cause of ,christ2 and the discharge of the obligation will become to us one of the greatest pleasures in life4 #c4 ,we should cultivate thrift4--,thrift is just forethought4 ,it is reasonable prudence in regard to money4 ,it provides for the rainy day4 ,if poverty be our lot1 we must bear it bravely2 but there is no special blessing in poverty4 ,it is often misery unspeakable4 ,it is often brought upon us by our self-indulgence1 extravagance and recklessness4 ,we are to use every means in our power to guard against it4 ,the words of the poet ,burns are full of common-sense3 ,to catch ,dame ,fortune's golden smile1 ,assiduous wait upon her1 ,and gather gear by every wile ,that's justified by honor2 ,not for to hide it in a hedge1 ,nor for a train attendant1 ,but for the glorious privilege ,of being independent4 ,the squalor and wretchedness which often fall upon people come from their not having exercised a little thought in the use of their money4 ,a little self-denial would have saved them1 and those depending on them1 from many sorrows4 ,a saving habit is good4 ,it is coarse thinking to confound spending with generosity1 or saving with meanness4 ,the man who puts by a little week by week or year by year1 against possible contingencies is wise4 ,however small may be our salary and limited our income1 we should try and save part of it4 ,every young man should be a member of a savings bank1 or a benefit club1 by means of which he can make provision for the future4 ,the honest endeavor to make such provision is in itself an education4 #d4 ,we should earnestly endeavor to avoid debt4--,debt means slavery4 ,it is loss of independence4 ,it is misery4 ,he 7says a ,spanish proverb7 that complains of sound sleep1 let him borrow the debtor's pillow4 ,every shilling that we spend beyond our income means an addition to a burden that may crush us to the ground4 ,pay as you go1 is a good rule4 ,keep a regular account of what you spend1 is another4 ,before you buy anything1 think whether you can afford it1 is a third4 ,but whatever rule we follow in regard to our expenditure1 let us see that it does not exceed our income4 ,the words of ,horace ,greeley1 a great ,american writer and politician who had a large experience of life1 are not too strong3 ,hunger1 cold1 rags1 hard work1 contempt1 suspicion1 unjust reproach1 are disagreeable1 but debt is infinitely worse than them all4 ,never run into debt6 ,avoid pecuniary obligation as you would pestilence or famine4 ,if you have but fifty cents and can get no more a week1 buy a peck of corn1 parch it1 and live on it1 rather than owe any man a dollar4 #e4 ,we should resolutely set our face against gambling4--,gambling is one of the curses of our time4 ,it is the endeavor to get money by dispensing with labor1 to make it without honestly working for it4 ,it entails widespread ruin and degradation4 ,its consequences are often of the most appalling character4 ,when the gambling spirit is once aroused1 like drunkenness1 it becomes an overpowering appetite1 which the victim becomes almost powerless to resist4 ,gambling is in itself evil1 apart from its deadly effects4 7a7 ,it proposes to confer gain without merit1 and to reward those who do not deserve a reward1 7b7 ,it proposes to benefit us while injuring our neighbor4 ,benefit received1 says ,herbert ,spencer in his ,sociology1 referring to gambling1 does not imply effort put forth2 but the happiness of the winner involves the misery of the loser4 ,this kind of action is therefore essentially anti-social1 sears the sympathies1 cultivates a hard egoism1 and produces general deterioration of character and conduct4 ,the young should specially guard against this vice1 which has been a rock upon which many a promising life has made disastrous shipwreck4 #a ,sir ,henry ,taylor1 ,notes from ,life4 #b ,life ,questions1 by ,m4 ,j4 ,savage4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,time4 ,time1 it is said1 is money4 ,so it is1 without doubt4 ,but to the young man or young woman who is striving to make the most of himself or herself time is more than money1 it is character and usefulness4 ,they become great and good just as they learn how to make the best use of their time4 ,on the right employment of it depends what we are to be now1 and what we are to be hereafter1 ,we all complain1 says the great ,roman philosopher ,seneca1 of the shortness of time1 and yet we have more than we know what to do with4 ,our lives are spent either in doing nothing at all1 or in doing nothing to the purpose1 or in doing nothing that we ought to do4 ,we are always complaining that our days are few1 and acting as though there would be no end of them4 ,in regard to the right use of time--how to make the most of it and to get the most out of it--there are certain things that we should bear in mind and keep in constant remembrance4 ,we may arrange them for convenience under four heads3 ,economy1 ,system1 ,punctuality and ,promptitude4 ,i4 ,economy4--,we all know what economy is4 ,in regard to money1 in connection with which the word is chiefly used1 it is keeping strict watch over our expenditure1 and not spending a penny without good reason4 ,according to the oft-quoted proverb1 ,take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves4 ,economy1 in regard to time1 is to watch over the minutes1 hours and days1 and the years will take care of themselves4 ,it is1 to let every moment of time be well employed2 to let every hour of the day as it passes be turned to use2 to let none be spent in idleness or folly4 ,it is a good advice that of the poet-- ,think nought a trifle though it small appears1 ,sands make the mountain1 moments make the years1 ,and trifles life4 ,in the mint1 where money is coined1 when the visitor reaches the room where the gold coins are cast1 it is said that the floor is a network of wooden bars to catch all the particles of the falling metal4 ,when the day's work is done1 the floor is removed and the golden dust is swept up to be melted again4 ,in the same way we should economize time3 gather up its golden dust1 let none of its moments be lost4 ,be careful of its spare minutes1 and a wealth of culture will be the result4 ,it is said of a ,european cathedral that when the architect came to insert the stained-glass windows he was one window short4 ,an apprentice in the factory where the windows were made came forward and said that he thought he could make a window from the bits of glass cast aside4 ,he went to work1 collected the fragments1 put them together1 and produced a window said to be the finest of all4 ,in the same way men have made much out of the bits of time that have been1 so to speak1 broken from the edges of a busy life4 ,many illustrations might be given from history of what men have been able to do by a wise economy of time4 ,sir ,humphry ,davy established a laboratory in the attic of his house1 and when his ordinary day's work was done began a course of scientific studies that continued throughout his memorable life4 ,cobbett learned grammar when a soldier1 sitting on the edge of his bed4 ,lincoln1 the famous president of ,america1 acquired arithmetic during the winter evenings1 mastered grammar by catching up his book at odd moments when he was keeping a shop1 and studied law when following the business of a surveyor4 ,douglas ,jerrold1 during his apprenticeship1 arose with the dawn of day to study his ,latin grammar1 and read ,shakespeare and other works before his daily labor began at the printing office4 ,at night1 when his day's work was done1 he added over two hours more to his studies4 ,at seventeen years of age he had so mastered ,shakespeare that when anyone quoted a line from the poet he could give from memory that which came next4 ,while walking to and from his office ,henry ,kirke ,white acquired a knowledge of ,greek4 ,a ,german physician1 while visiting his patients1 contrived to commit to memory the ,iliad of ,homer4 ,hugh ,miller1 while working as a stonemason1 studied geology in his off hours4 ,elihu ,burritt1 the learned blacksmith1 gained a mastery of eighteen languages and twenty-two dialects by using the odds and ends of time at his disposal4 ,franklin's hours of study were stolen from the time his companions devoted to their meals and to sleep4#a ,many similar instances might be added to show what may be done by economising time and strictly looking after those spare minutes which many throw away4 ,the great rule is1 never to be unemployed1 and to find relief in turning from one occupation to another1 due allowance of course being made for recreation and for rest4 ,the wise man economises time as he economises money4 ,,ii4 ,system4--,it is wonderful how much work can be got through in a day if we go by rule--if we map out our time1 divide it off and take up one thing regularly after another4 ,to drift through our work1 or to rush through it in helter skelter fashion1 ends in comparatively little being done4 ,one thing at a time will always perform a better day's work than doing two or three things at a time4 ,by following this rule one person will do more in a day than another does in a week4 ,marshal thy notions1 said old ,thomas ,fuller1 into a handsome method4 ,one will carry twice as much weight trussed and packed as when it lies untoward1 flapping and hanging about his shoulders4 ,fixed rules are the greatest possible help to the worker4 ,they give steadiness to his labor1 and they enable him to go through it with comparative ease4 ,many a man would have been saved from ruin if he had appreciated the value of method in his affairs4 ,in the peasant's cottage or the artisan's workshop1 in the chemist's laboratory or the shipbuilder's yard1 the two primary rules must be1 ,for every one his duty1 and1 ,for everything its place4 ,it is a wise thing to begin the day by taking a survey in thought of the work we have to get through1 and thus to divide it1 giving to each hour its own share4 ,the shortest way to do many things is to do one thing at a time4 ,albert ,barnes was a distinguished ,american theologian who wrote a valuable commentary on the ,bible amid the work of a large parish4 ,he accomplished this by systematic arrangement of his time4 ,he divided his day into parts4 ,he devoted each part to some duty4 ,he rigidly adhered to this arrangement1 and in this way was able to overtake an amount of work that was truly wonderful4 ,in the life of ,anthony ,trollope1 the great novelist1 we are told that he kept resolutely close to a rule he laid down for himself4 ,he wrote so many pages a day of so many lines each4 ,he overtook an immense amount of work in the year4 ,he published many books1 and he made a great deal of money4 ,the great ,english lawyer ,sir ,edward ,coke divided his time according to the well-known couplet-- ,six hours in sleep1 in law's grave study six1 ,four spend in prayer1 the rest on nature fix4 ,sir ,william ,jones1 the famous ,oriental scholar1 altered this rule to suit himself4 ,seven hours to law1 to soothing slumber seven1 ,ten to the world allot1 and all to ,heaven4 ,benjamin ,franklin's system of working is given in his ,life4 ,each day was carefully portioned off4 ,his daily programme was the following3 ,morning4 7 ,rise1 wash1 and address the #e 7 ,almighty ,father2 contrive ,question1 ,what good #f 7 the day's business and take shall ,i do this day8 #g 7 the resolution of the day2 7 prosecute the present study1 7 breakfast4 #h 7 to 7 ,work #aa 7 #ab 7 ,read or look over accounts and ,noon4 to 7 dine4 #a 7 #b 7 ,afternoon1 to 7 ,work #e 7 #f 7 ,put things in their place2 ,evening to 7 supper2 music or diversion or ,question1 ,what good #i 7 conversation2 examination of have ,i done to-day8 7 the day4 #aj 7 ,night to 7 ,sleep4 #d 7 ,it is evident that a scheme of life like this could not suit everyone4 ,it is given as an illustration of the value of adhering to method in our work4 ,order1 the poet ,pope says1 is ,heaven's first law1 and time well ordered means generally work well and thoroughly done4 ,,iii4 ,punctuality4--,this means keeping strictly as to time by any engagement we make either with ourselves or with others4 ,if we resolve to do anything at a certain time1 we should do it neither before nor after that time4 ,it is better to be before than after4 ,but it is best to be at the very minute4 ,if we enter into an engagement with others for a certain time1 we should be precise in keeping it4 ,in a letter from a celebrated merchant1 ,buxton1 to his son1 he says1 ,be punctual2 ,i do not mean merely being in time for lectures1 but mean that spirit out of which punctuality grows1 that love of accuracy and precision which mark the efficient man4 ,the habit of being punctual extends to everything--meeting friends1 paying debts1 going to church1 reaching and leaving place of business1 keeping promises1 retiring at night and rising in the morning4 ,we may lay down a system or method of work for ourselves1 but it will be of little service unless we keep carefully to it1 beginning and leaving off at the appointed moment4 ,if the work of one hour is postponed to another1 it will encroach on the time allotted to some other duty1 if it do not remain altogether undone1 and thus the whole business of the day is thrown into disorder4 ,if a man loses half an hour by rising late in the morning1 he is apt to spend the rest of the day seeking after it4 ,sir ,walter ,scott was not only methodical in his work1 he was exceedingly punctual1 always beginning his allotted task at the appointed moment4 ,when a regiment1 he wrote1 is under march1 the rear is often thrown into confusion because the front does not move steadily and without interruption4 ,it is the same thing in business4 ,if that which is first in hand be not instantly despatched1 other things accumulate betimes1 till affairs begin to press all at once1 and no brain can stand the confusion4 ,we should steadily cultivate the habit of punctuality4 ,we can cultivate it until it becomes with us a second nature1 and we do everything1 as the saying is1 by clockwork4 ,in rising in the morning and going to bed1 in taking up different kinds of work1 in keeping appointments with others1 we should strive to be to the minute4 ,the unpunctual man is a nuisance to society4 ,he wastes his own time1 and he wastes the time of others2 as ,principal ,tulloch well says1 ,men who have real work of their own would rather do anything than do business with him4 #b ,,iv4 ,promptitude4--,by this we mean acting at the present moment--all that is opposed to procrastination1 putting off to another time1 to a convenient season which probably never comes--all that is opposed also to what is called loitering or dawdling4 ,there is an old ,latin proverb1 ,bis dat qui cito dat1--he gives twice who gives quickly4 ,the same thing may be said of work1 ,he works twice who works quickly4 ,in work1 of course1 the first requirement is that it should be well done2 but this does not hinder quickness and despatch4 ,there are those who1 when they have anything to do1 seem to go round it and round it1 instead of attacking it at once and getting it out of the way2 and when they do begin it they do so in a listless and half-hearted fashion4 ,there are those who look at their work1 according to the simile of ,sidney ,smith1 like men who stand shivering on the bank instead of at once taking the plunge4 ,in order1 he says1 to do anything that is worth doing in this world1 we must not stand shivering on the bank thinking of the cold and the danger1 but jump in and scramble through as well as we can4 ,it will not do to be perpetually calculating and adjusting nice chances2 it did all very well before the ,flood1 when a man could consult his friends upon an intended publication for a hundred and fifty years1 and then live to see its success for six or seven centuries afterwards1 but at present a man doubts1 and waits1 and hesitates1 and consults his brother1 and his uncle1 and his first cousin1 and his particular friends1 till one day he finds that he is sixty-five years of age1 that he has lost so much time in consulting first cousins and particular friends that he has no time to follow their advice4 ,this is good sense1 though humorously put4 ,promptitude is a quality that should be assiduously cultivated4 ,like punctuality1 it becomes a most valuable habit4 ,procrastination1 it is said1 is the thief of time1 and hell is paved with good intentions4 ,these proverbs are full of wisdom4 ,when we hear people saying1 ,they are going to be this thing or that thing2 they intend to look to this or to that2 they will by and by do this or that1 we may be sure there is a weakness in their character4 ,such people never come to much4 ,the best way is not to speak about doing a thing1 but to do it1 and to do it at once4 ,to these thoughts on the use of time we may fitly add the great words of ,scripture1 ,so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom1 ,ps4 xc4 #ab4 ,redeeming the time1 because the days are evil1 ,ephes4 v4 #af4 ,we transform time into eternity by using it aright4 #a ,these illustrations are given by ,mr4 ,davenport ,adams4 #b ,beginning ,life4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,courage4 ,we all know what is meant by courage1 though it is not easy to define it4 ,it is the determination to hold our own1 to face danger without flinching1 to go straight on our way against opposing forces1 neither turning to the right hand nor the left4 ,it is a quality admirable in the eyes of all men1 savage and civilized1 ,christian and non-,christian--as admirable as cowardice1 the opposite quality1 is detestable4 ,the brave man is the hero of the savage4 ,bravery1 or1 as the ,scriptures term it1 virtue1 is a great requisite in a ,christian4 ,if it is not the first1 it is the second characteristic of a ,christian life4 ,add1 says ,st4 ,paul1 to your faith virtue1 that is to say1 courage4 ,it is the very glory of youth to be courageous4--,the sneak and the coward are the abhorrence of youth4 ,it is youth which climbs the imminent deadly breach and faces the deadly hail of battle1 which defies the tyranny of custom and the hatred of the world4 ,one may have compassion for age1 which is naturally timid and sees fears in the way1 but youth which is cowardly is contemptible4 ,there are two kinds of courage--the one of a lower1 the other of a higher type4 7a7 ,the first1 the lower kind of courage1 is that which has its root and foundation in our physical nature4 ,it is constitutional2 there is little or no merit in it4 ,some men are born to know no fear--men of strong nerve1 of iron constitution1 and powerful physique4 ,such men laugh at danger and scorn opposition4 ,theirs is the courage of the lion or the bull-dog1 and there is no virtue about it4 ,they cannot help being what they are4 7b7 ,but there is another kind of courage which is not so much physical as moral4 ,it has its foundation not in man's bodily constitution so much as in his higher nature4 ,it draws its power from the invisible4 ,are you not afraid1 was a question put by a young and boastful officer to his companion whose face was blanched and pale1 as they stood together amid the thickly falling shot of a battle-field4 ,i am afraid1 he replied1 and if you were half as afraid as ,i am1 you would run4 ,in his case there was little physical courage1 but there was the higher courage drawn from a sense of duty which made him stand firm as a rock4 ,when our ,lord knelt in ,his mysterious anguish in ,gethsemane1 ,his whole physical nature seemed broken down1 ,his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground4 ,suffer1 ,he said1 this cup to pass from me2 and ,his strength came from the invisible4 ,not my will1 ,he cried1 but thine be done4 ,with that sublime trust in ,god strengthening ,him1 ,he shrank not back for a moment2 ,he took the cup and drained it to the dregs4 ,this is the highest form of courage that there is4 ,the weakest women have displayed it in face of appalling dangers4 ,it is the courage of the martyr1 the patriot1 the reformer4 ,there is a glory and beauty in it before which all men bow4 ,there are three chief forms which this moral courage takes in ordinary life4 ,first1 there is the courage of our opinions4--,many people1 perhaps the majority1 do not have opinions4 ,they have simply notions1 impressions1 sentiments1 prejudices1 which they have imbibed from others4 ,they may be said to be like looking-glasses1 which have a shadow of whatever stands before them4 ,so long as they are in company with a positive person who believes something1 they have an opinion4 ,when he goes the shadow on the looking-glass goes also4 ,they are like the sand on the seashore--the last person who comes the way makes a track and the next wave washes it away and leaves the sand ready for another impression4 ,how many are there who1 when any important question comes up1 have no opinion about it1 until they read their paper or hear what other people are saying4 ,there is no sort of courage more needed than the courage to form an opinion and keep by it when we have formed it4 ,there is no more contemptible form of cowardice than to do a thing merely because others do it4 ,the grand words of ,president ,garfield of the ,united ,states are worthy of remembrance3 ,i do not think what others may say or think about me1 but there is one man's opinion about me which ,i very much value1 that is the opinion of ,james ,garfield2 others ,i need not think about4 ,i can get away from them1 but ,i have to be with him all the time4 ,he is with me when ,i rise up and when ,i lie down1 when ,i go out and when ,i come in4 ,it makes a great difference whether he thinks well of me or not4 ,to this noble utterance we may add the words of the poet ,russell ,lowell3 ,they are slaves who will not choose ,hatred1 scoffing1 and abuse1 ,rather than in silence shrink ,from the truth they needs must think4 ,they are slaves who dare not be ,in the right with two or three4 ,second1 there is the courage of resistance4--,this is the chief form courage should take in the young4 ,they are surrounded on every side by strong temptations--temptations addressed to their lower nature1 to vanity1 to indolence1 to scepticism1 to impurity1 to drunkenness4 ,there is many a young man beset by temptation who has in reality to fight far harder if he will maintain his integrity than any soldier belonging to an army making its way through an enemy's country4 ,he does not know when an ambush may be sprung upon him1 or from what side the attack may come4 ,in an old tower on the ,continent they show you1 graven again and again on the stones of one of the dungeons1 the word ,resist4 ,it is said that a ,protestant woman was kept in that hideous place for forty years1 and during all that time her employment was in graving with a piece of iron1 for anyone who might come after her1 that word4 ,it is a word that needs to be engraven on every young man's and young woman's heart4 ,it represents the highest form of courage which to them is possible--the power to say ,no to every form of temptation4 ,third1 there is the courage of endurance4--,this is really the noblest form of courage4 ,there is no excitement in it2 nothing to be won by it4 ,it is simply to bear without flinching4 ,in the buried city of ,herculaneum1 near ,vesuvius1 now uncovered1 after the guide has shown the visitor the wonders of the place he takes him to the gate and points out the stone box where were found1 buried in ashes1 the rusted remains of the helmet and cuirass of the ,roman sentinel4 ,when the black cloud rose from the mountain1 and the hot ashes fell around him1 and the people rushed out at the gate1 he stood there immovable1 because it was his duty1 and died in his place1 suffocated by the sulphury air4 ,it was a grand instance of courage1 but it is seen again and again equalled in common life4 ,in men and women stricken down by fell disease2 in those on whom adverse circumstances close like the walls of an iron chamber2 in people for whom there was no possible escape1 who could only bear1 but who stood up firm and erect in their weakness1 whose cross1 instead of crushing them to the earth1 seemed only to lift them up4 ,we are told that ,robert ,hall1 the great preacher1 suffered much from disease4 ,he was forced often to throw himself down and writhe on the ground in paroxysms of pain4 ,from these he would rise with a smile1 saying1 ,i suffered much1 but ,i did not cry out1 did ,i8 did ,i cry out8 ,these are the chief forms of moral courage in ordinary life4 ,we have now to point out what are the sources of such courage4 ,the first source of courage is conviction--the feeling that we are in the right1 the testimony of a good conscience4 ,nothing can make a man brave without that4 ,thrice is he armed1 we are told1 who hath his quarrel just1 and he is more than trebly armed who knows in his heart that it is just4 ,if we go over the roll of the strongest and bravest men the world has seen we will find that at the root of their courage there lay this fact of conviction4 ,they believed1 therefore they spake1 therefore they fought1 therefore they bled and died4 ,the man of strong conviction is the strong man all the world over4 ,if a man wants that1 he will be but a feeble character1 a poor weakling to the end of the chapter4 ,shakespeare says that conscience makes cowards of us all2 but it does something else when it makes us fear evil--it lifts us above all other fear4 ,so it raised ,peter1 who had shortly before denied his ,master1 to such courage that he could say before his judges1 ,whether it be right in the sight of ,god to hearken unto you more than unto ,god1 judge ye4 ,for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard4 ,it has enabled men and women to endure a martyr's death when one word1 which they would not speak1 might have saved them4 ,the second source of courage is faith4--,we use the word in the ,christian sense of trust in ,god4 ,when a man feels that ,god is with him he can stand up against all the powers of earth and hell4 ,if ,god be for us1 who can be against us8 ,the heroes of the past1 who subdued kingdoms and wrought righteousness1 have all been men of faith4 ,recall ,hebrews xi41 the ,covenanters1 the ,ironsides of ,cromwell1 the ,huguenots1 ,luther1 ,knox4 ,their faith may not have been so enlightened as it might have been had their knowledge been wider4 ,their religious creeds may have contained propositions that are no longer accepted1 but they were strong because of their undoubted faith in ,god4 ,when ,his presence is an abiding presence with us and in us1 our ,strength is as the strength of ten1 ,because our hearts are pure4 ,he who fears ,god will know no other fear4 ,the third source of courage is sympathy4--,a man who has ,god with him will be brave if he stand alone1 but he will be greatly helped if he is in company with others like himself and knows that he has the sympathy of good men4 ,you remember ,st4 ,paul on his journey to ,rome reaching a little village about thirty miles from the great city4 ,the look-out for him was very depressing4 ,he had appealed to ,caesar1 but what likelihood was there of his obtaining justice in ,caesar's capital4 ,he might be thrown to the lions1 or made to fight for his life in the ,coliseum1 a spectacle to the ,roman multitude4 ,then it was that a few ,roman ,christians who had heard of his approach came out to meet him1 and1 it is said1 he thanked ,god and took courage4 ,such was the power of sympathy4 ,if we would be encouraged we will seek it4 ,if we would encourage others we will give it4 ,we will only say in closing this chapter that its subject is most truly illustrated by the life of our ,lord himself4 ,the mediaeval conception of ,christ was that ,he exhibited only the passive virtues of meekness1 patience1 and submission to wrong4 ,from the gospels we form a different idea4 ,he vanquished the devil in the wilderness2 ,he faced human opposition boldly and without fear2 ,he denounced the hypocrisy of the ,pharisees1 and encountered their rage and violence4 ,he went calmly along ,his appointed path1 neither turning to the right hand nor to the left4 ,scribes1 ,pharisees1 ,sadducees1 could not deter ,him from doing ,his ,father's work4 ,amid a tumultuous tempest of ill-will ,he moved straight forward1 foreseeing ,his death1 setting ,his face toward ,jerusalem1 knowing all that awaited ,him there4 ,he went through ,gethsemane to ,calvary with the step of a conqueror4 ,never was ,he more truly a king than on the cross1 and the grandest crown ever worn was the crown of thorns4 ,in ,him we have the highest example of courage1 as of all other virtues4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,health4 ,health means soundness of body and of mind2 the keeping of our physical system in such a condition that it is able to do its work easily1 without disturbance1 and without pain2 the exercise of the mind so as not to harm the body4 ,there are certain preliminary considerations that we should bear in mind in connection with this subject4 ,i4 ,the close connection between body and mind4--,they are both related to each other in some mysterious way4 ,so close is the connection that the one cannot be affected without the other4 ,the well-being of the one depends on the well-being of the other4 ,the power which the mind has over the body and the body over the mind has been well and tersely described by a writer of our time4 ,man1 he says1 is one1 however compound4 ,fire his conscience1 and he blushes2 check his circulation1 and he thinks tardily or not at all2 impair his secretions1 and the moral sense is dulled1 discolored1 or depraved1 his aspirations flag1 his hope and love both reel2 impair them still more1 and he becomes a brute4 ,a cup of wine degrades his moral nature below that of the swine4 ,again1 a violent emotion of pity or horror makes him vomit2 a lancet will restore him from delirium to clear thought2 excessive thought will waste his energy2 excess of muscular exercise will deaden thought2 an emotion will double the strength of his muscles2 and at last1 a prick of a needle or a grain of mineral will in an instant lay to rest forever his body and its unity4 #a ,when we consider the close connection between mind and body1 and how the state of the one affects the other1 we see how important it is that both should work together in that harmonious action which is health1 and how carefully we should guard against anything by which that harmonious action may be interrupted4 ,,ii4 ,bodily health is almost essential to success in life4--,it is not absolutely essential1 but it is almost essential4 7a7 ,physical health is not everything4 ,give a man1 it has been said1 a good deep chest and a stomach of which he never knew the existence1 and he must succeed in any practical career4 ,this has been said by a great authority1 ,professor ,huxley1 but it is only partially true1 for many worthless people fulfil these conditions4 ,they are1 as ,carlyle calls them1 only animated patent digesters4 7b7 ,great things also have been done in the world by men whose health has been feeble4 ,calvin was a man of sickly body2 ,pascal was an invalid at eighteen2 ,pope was weak and deformed2 ,william of ,orange1 a martyr to asthma2 ,hall1 the famous preacher1 suffered great paroxysms of pain2 ,milton was blind2 ,nelson1 little and lame2 ,st4 ,paul in bodily presence was weak4 ,on the other hand1 some of these men might have done more if their health had been better4 ,health is a splendid possession in the battle of life4 ,the men of great physical vitality1 as a rule1 achieve most2 other things being equal1 their success in life is sure4 ,everything shows that the greatness of great men is almost as much a bodily affair as a mental one4 ,it has been computed that the average length of life of the most eminent philosophers1 naturalists1 artists1 jurists1 physicians1 musical composers1 scholars and authors1 including poets1 is sixty-five years4 ,this shows that the most successful men on the whole have had good bodies and been blessed with great vitality4 ,,iii4 ,the care of the body is a religious duty4--7a7 ,it is so because our spiritual feelings are largely dependent upon the state of our health4 ,certain conditions of body undeniably occasion1 irritate and inflame those appetites and inclinations which it is one great end of ,christianity to repress and regulate4 ,the spirit has sometimes to maintain a terrible struggle against the flesh4 ,intemperance is largely the result of bad feeding4 ,it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle1 than for a dyspeptic person to be gentle1 meek1 long-suffering4 ,dark views of ,god often come from the state of the body4 ,it would largely lift up the moral and spiritual condition of men if their surroundings were such as tended to keep them in health4 ,to improve men's dwellings1 to give them healthy homes1 pure air to breathe1 and pure water to drink1 would tend to help them morally and spiritually1 7b7 ,god requires of us a certain amount of service by and through our bodies4 ,we cannot perform the work if we destroy the machines by which the work is to be done4 7c7 ,scripture especially calls us to make the body the object of our reverent care4 ,your bodies are members of ,christ4 ,the body is for the ,lord1 and the ,lord for the body4 ,your body is the temple of the ,holy ,ghost1 which is in you1 which ye have of ,god4 ,if any man defile the temple of ,god1 him will ,god destroy4 ,yield your members as instruments of righteousness unto ,god4 ,sin is not to reign in your mortal body4 ,glorify ,god in your body4 ,we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice1 holy1 acceptable unto ,god1 which is our reasonable service4 7d7 ,the body is a part of that humanity which ,christ by ,his incarnation took1 redeemed1 sanctified and glorified4 7e7 ,our ,lord's miracles were nearly all performed on the human body1 for its relief1 cure1 and restoration to life4 ,,iv4 ,to a certain extent our health is in our own hands4--,not altogether1 for some are constitutionally defective1 and subject to infirmities with which they are born1 and which they have perhaps inherited4 ,but a vast amount of disease is preventable1 and comes from causes over which we have direct control4 ,it is reckoned that a hundred thousand persons die annually in ,england of preventable diseases--from disobedience to the laws of health1 which are ,god's laws1 and the transgression of which1 wilfully1 is sin4 ,beyond all doubt a vast amount of sickness comes from bad living1 from intemperance in eating and drinking1 from breathing bad air1 from inhabiting ill-constructed houses4 ,it is possible to live in accordance with the laws of health so that life may be comparatively free from disease and from pain4 ,if ,providence denies health1 the want of it must be patiently endured4 ,if we have inherited weakness1 we must make the most of the strength we have4 ,but if we lack health through our own fault we are guilty of shameful sin4 ,to discuss fully the subject and laws of health would require a whole treatise1 and would be beyond the scope of this text-book4 ,there are1 however1 some outstanding conditions for the preservation of health which are plain to everyone1 and which may be summed up in the three words ,temperance1 ,exercise1 and ,rest4 ,these have been well termed the three great physicians1 whose prescriptions are painless and cost nothing4 #a4 ,temperance4--,man needs a certain amount of food to sustain him1 but if that amount be increased beyond the proper quantity it is dangerous to health4 ,it overtasks the power of digestion and is injurious4 ,we need therefore to be constantly on our guard as to what we eat and drink lest we run into excess4 ,every one must study his own constitution1 find out its need1 and suit the supply of food to its wants4 ,according to the old proverb1 ,we should eat to live1 not live to eat4 ,it is a great matter for health when we are able to strike the proper medium and neither eat nor drink too much nor too little4 ,to lay down rules on this subject for the individual is impossible4 ,one man's food is another man's poison4 ,a man must determine from his own experience what he ought to take1 and how much1 as well as what he ought to avoid4 ,the word intemperance is generally employed as applying to the abuse of strong drinks4 ,on this subject much has been written1 some advocating total abstinence and others judicious and moderate use4 ,into this region of controversy we cannot enter4 ,the evils of drinking habits1 as they are called1 are plain to all4 ,they are a terrible curse to society1 and a terrible danger to the individual4 ,they have ruined many a promising career4 ,for many1 perhaps we may say for most1 entire abstinence is their only safety4 ,he who finds that he can do his work well by drinking only water will be wise if he drinks nothing else4 ,that will never harm him1 though other liquids may4 ,we must judge for ourselves1 but ,temperance in all things is a rule binding on every ,christian man4 ,we cannot have health unless we strictly and constantly practise temperance4 #b4 ,exercise4--,this is as necessary to health as food4 ,only by exercise--physical exercise--can we maintain our muscles1 organs and nervous system in proper vigor2 only by exercise can we equalise the circulation and distribute the blood evenly over every part of the body2 only by exercise can we take a cheerful and wholesome view of life1 for exercise assists the digestion1 and a good digestion is a sovereign antidote to low spirits2 only by exercise can the brain be strengthened to perform the labor demanded of it4 #b ,no sensible man will try to do without it4 ,if any man does so he will pay the penalty4 ,as to the amount of exercise and the kind of exercise every man must judge for himself4 ,some1 from their occupation1 need less than others2 the outdoor laborer1 for instance1 than the clerk who is most of the day at the desk4 ,one man may take exercise best by walking1 another by riding1 another by following outdoor sports4 ,athletics1 such as football1 and cricket1 are a favorite form of exercise with the young1 and if not followed to excess are most advantageous4 ,the walk in the open air is life to many4 ,but boy or man can never be what they ought to be unless they take exercise regularly and judiciously1 take it not to exhaust but to refresh and stimulate4 ,it strengthens the nerve and clears the brain and fits for work4 #c4 ,rest4--,man needs a certain amount of repose to sustain his frame in full vigor4 ,some need more1 some need less4 ,we must find out for ourselves what we need and take it4 ,lack of sleep is especially a great waste of vitality4 ,here also we must exercise our judgment as to the amount of sleep we require4 ,one needs a great deal2 another can do with very little4 ,early rising1 which has been much recommended1 is only good for those who go early to bed4 ,if one is compelled to sit up late he should sleep late in the morning4 ,it is no virtue on the part of anyone to get up early unless he has slept enough4 ,that he must do if he is to have health4 ,a man who would be a good worker must see to it that he is a good sleeper2 and whoever1 from any cause1 is regularly diminishing his sleep is destroying his life4 ,shakespeare has well described the blessing of sleep when he says3 ,sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care1 ,the death of each day's life1 sore labor's bath1 ,balm of hurt minds1 great ,nature's second course1 ,chief nourisher in life's feast4 ,these are but hints in connection with a great subject4 ,a few brief rules may be given of a general character3 #a4 ,take exercise every day in the open air if possible1 and make it a recreation and not merely a duty4 #b4 ,eat wholesome food1 drink pure water4 #c4 ,let your house and room be well ventilated4 #d4 ,take time enough for sleep4 ,do not worry4 #e4 ,watch yourself1 but not too closely1 to find out what exercise1 air1 diet1 etc41 agrees with you4 ,no man can be a rule for another4 #f4 ,if you consult a physician1 it is better to do it before you are unwell than later4#c ,we close this chapter with the powerful words of ,thomas ,carlyle1 addressed to the students of the ,university of ,edinburgh3 ,finally1 ,i have one advice to give you which is practically of very great importance4 ,you are to consider throughout much more than is done at present1 and what would have been a very great thing for me if ,i had been able to consider1 that health is a thing to be attended to continually2 that you are to regard it as the very highest of all temporal things4 ,there is no kind of achievement you could make in the world that is equal to perfect health4 ,what to it are nuggets or millions8 #a ,frederic ,harrison1 ,popular ,science ,monthly ,supplement4 #b ,plain ,living and ,high ,thinking4 #c ,these rules are given by ,j4 ,freeman ,clarke in his work on ,self-,culture4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,earnestness4 ,another word for earnestness is enthusiasm4 ,the ,scriptural equivalent is zeal4 ,it means putting our whole heart into whatever we are doing4 ,it is a sweeping1 resistless energy1 which carries everything before it1 like a river in full flood4 ,its nature is well expressed in the saying of the old huntsman1 ,throw over your heart1 and your horse will soon follow4 ,earnestness is not to be confounded with noise1 vehemence1 or outward demonstration4--,it is often exceedingly quiet and undemonstrative4 ,notice when the machinery of an engine is standing still1 how the steam makes a great noise as it issues from the safety-valve1 but when the vapor is turned into the cylinder and is used in driving the engine all that thundering sound disappears4 ,it does not follow that there is no steam4 ,it is going in another direction1 and doing its appropriate work4 ,it is a great mistake to imagine that enthusiasm and what is called fuss are identical4 ,the most enthusiastic men are often the quietest4 ,no one can doubt the enthusiasm of a man like ,livingstone4 ,he had enthusiasm for science1 for philanthropy and for religion4 ,it was unflagging2 yet not a boast1 not a murmur escaped his lips4 ,he did the thing he meant to do1 and made no noise in doing it4 ,earnestness is often regarded with suspicion and condemned4--,it is the fashion with many to sneer at it4 ,it is often alone1 and then it is not respectable4 ,it is often in excess1 and is therefore ineffective4 ,it is often disturbing to the sleepiness of others1 and is therefore hated by them4 ,our ,lord was an enthusiast in the eyes of the ,pharisees4 ,st4 ,paul was an enthusiast to ,festus4 ,the early ,christians were enthusiasts to the pagan world because they turned it upside down4 ,the martyrs and confessors of all times have been regarded as enthusiasts by those of their own time who were not in sympathy with them4 ,an enthusiast is called by many a fanatic1 and a fanatic in the eyes of some is a most dangerous member of society4 ,all the great leaders of the world have been men in earnest4--,emerson says truly that every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is the triumph of enthusiasm4 ,our civil and religious liberties we owe to enthusiasts for freedom4 ,the enthusiasm of ,columbus gave us ,america2 the enthusiasm of ,knox reformed ,scotland2 the enthusiasm of ,wesley regenerated ,english religious life2 the enthusiasm of men like ,garibaldi and ,cavour and ,mazzini has made in our own time a new ,italy4 ,these men were all denounced in their day1 cold water was thrown on all their projects1 but their burning earnestness carried them on to triumph4 ,the scorned enthusiast of one generation is the hero of the next4 ,earnestness is a great element in securing success in life4--,a well-known writer and preacher1 ,dr4 ,arnot1 tells that he once heard the following conversation at a railway station between a farmer and the engineer of a train3 ,what are you waiting for so long8 ,have you no water8 ,oh1 yes1 we have plenty of water1 but it is not boiling4 ,so there may be abundance of intelligence and splendid machinery1 and all the appliances that help to success1 but what is wanted is intense boiling earnestness4 ,we have a good illustration of the power of earnestness in speaking4 ,one man may say the right thing1 and say it in a pleasing and cultured manner2 every phrase may be well placed1 every sentence polished1 every argument in its proper place4 ,another man may have no elegance of diction1 his words may be unpolished1 his sentences even ungrammatical1 and yet he may move a great multitude1 as the leaves of the trees are moved by the wind1 through the intense earnestness and enthusiasm by which he is possessed4 ,we see the same thing in ,christian effort4 ,the organization of a church may be perfect1 its resources may be large1 and it may have in its service an army of able and well-disciplined men2 but without enthusiasm and burning zeal its efforts are powerless and come to nothing4 ,when1 as at ,pentecost1 the ,holy ,spirit descends upon a church in tongues of fire1 then there is quickening1 and souls are gathered in4 ,no man has ever had a supreme influence over others without more or less enthusiasm in his nature4 ,there are three directions we may give in regard to earnestness or enthusiasm4 #a4 ,respect it in others4--,do not join with those who regard it as something that is not respectable4 ,it is always preferable to what is cold and formal4 ,life is better than death1 and when there is life there is energy and earnestness4 ,even when enthusiasm takes forms that we cannot altogether approve of1 it is worthy of respect4 ,next to being ,servetus who was burnt1 said one1 ,i would have been ,calvin who burnt him4 ,that was a strong way of saying that zeal is a beautiful thing in itself1 though zeal that is not according to knowledge is not good4 ,we may not approve of many of the opinions and methods of ,francis ,xavier1 the great missionary and saint of the ,roman ,church1 but we cannot fail to admire his burning zeal in the cause of ,christ1 and look with something like awe on his high-souled devotion to the work of an evangelist4 ,he was swept on by an enthusiasm that never failed1 and which carried him over obstacles that would have daunted any ordinary man4 ,the ,puritans were denounced by many good people of their time1 and the great preacher1 ,dr4 ,south1 delivered a sermon against them1 entitled ,enthusiasts not led by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,but we all know how great the men were1 and how great a work they did through the very enthusiasm that he condemned4 ,it is better1 according to the proverb1 that the pot should boil over than not boil at all4 ,the word enthusiasm literally means filled1 or inspired1 by ,god1 and the meaning of the word may teach us how noble a thing enthusiasm is in itself1 and how worthy it is of admiration and respect4 #b4 ,we should cultivate it in ourselves4--,it is a virtue1 like all others1 that can be cultivated4 7a7 ,by resolutely setting our face against doing anything in a languid and half-hearted way4 ,if a thing is worth doing1 it should be done with all our might4 7b7 ,by studying the lives of great men4 ,when we do so we catch something of the earnestness that inspired them4 ,this is perhaps the best result of reading biography4 ,we feel how noble was the enthusiasm of the heroes of the past1 and how1 by means of it1 they were able to do great things1 and to march on to victory4 7c7 ,by associating with those who are in earnest4 ,there is nothing so contagious as enthusiasm1 and when we come in contact with those who live under the impulse of grand ideas1 something of their force and power is conveyed to ourselves4 ,the great soul strengthens the weak soul4 ,while the solitary coal on the hearth will go black out1 when it is heaped up with others it springs into a blaze4 ,o ever earnest sun6 ,unwearied in thy work1 ,unhalting in thy course1 ,unlingering in thy path1 ,teach me thy earnest ways1 ,that mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise4 ,o ever earnest stars6 ,unchanging in your light1 ,unfaltering in your race1 ,unswerving in your round1 ,teach me your earnest ways1 ,that mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise4 ,o ever earnest flowers6 ,that with untiring growth ,shoot up and spread abroad ,your fragrance and your joy1 ,teach me your earnest ways1 ,that mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise4 ,o ever earnest sea6 ,constant in flow and ebb1 ,heaving to moon and sun1 ,unchanging in thy change1 ,teach me thy earnest ways1 ,that mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise4 ,,horatius ,,bonar4 #c4 ,we should carry earnestness into our religious life4--,this above all4 ,there are many who tolerate earnestness in other things1 but who look upon it as dangerous in connection with religion4 ,it is regarded as of very questionable value1 and spoken of with doubt and suspicion4 ,let a man become earnest in prayer1 earnest in work1 or rise in any way above the dead level in which so many are content to rest1 and he will be often spoken of in tones of pity1 sneered at as a fanatic1 or denounced as an impostor4 ,this suspicion with which earnestness in the ,church of ,christ is often regarded may be accounted for4 7a7 ,there has been a vast deal of zeal in the ,church about religion which has not been zeal for religion3 about matters of ritual1 ,church government1 and the like4 7b7 ,zeal has been often expended in contentions about small points of doctrine2 often about those very points which are shrouded in mystery4 7c7 ,zeal has been often manifested in the interest of sect and party rather than of ,christ4 7d7 ,zeal has often taken persecution for her ally1 and wielded among men the weapons of earthly warfare4 ,for these reasons its appearance in the ,church is often regarded as we might regard the erection in a town of a gunpowder magazine which1 at any moment1 might produce disorder1 ruin1 and death4 ,yet ,scripture regards earnestness in religion as essential4--,indifference and lukewarmness it regards as hateful 7,rev4 iii4 #ae1 #af74 ,it calls us to a solemn choice and to a lifelong service4 ,its heroes are those who lived in the spirit of ,brainerd's prayer1 ,oh1 that ,i were a flaming fire in the service of my ,god4 ,there is an allegory of ,luther which may be quoted here4 ,the devil1 he says1 held a great anniversary1 at which his emissaries were convened to report the results of their several missions4 ',i let loose the wild beasts of the desert1' said one1 'on a caravan of ,christians1 and their bones are now bleaching on the sands4' ',what of that8' said the devil2 'their souls were all saved4' ',i drove the east wind1' said another1 'against a ship freighted with ,christians1 and they were all drowned4' ',what of that8' said the devil2 'their souls were all saved4' ',for ten years ,i tried to get a single ,christian asleep1' said a third1 'and ,i succeeded1 and left him so4' ,then the devil shouted1 and the night stars of hell sang for joy4 ,there are three spheres of religious life in which earnestness should be specially shown4 #a4 ,in prayer4--,this is specially inculcated in the two parables of our ,lord1 the unjust judge and the friend at midnight1 and in ,his own words1 ,ask1 and it shall be given you2 seek1 and ye shall find2 knock1 and it shall be opened unto you4 ,one1 it is said1 came to ,demosthenes1 the great orator1 and asked him to plead his cause4 ,he heard him without attention while he told his story without earnestness4 ,the man saw this1 and cried out anxiously that it was all true4 ,ah6 said ,demosthenes1 ,i believe you now4 ,the earnest prayer is the prevailing prayer4 #b4 ,in sacrifice4--,this is in all life the test of earnestness4 ,the student giving up time for the acquisition of knowledge2 the merchant giving up his hours to the pursuit of business2 the explorer braving the heat of the tropics and the cold of the arctic regions in his zeal for discovery4 ,it is the same in religion4 ,we must count all things1 with ,st4 ,paul1 as loss1 that we may win ,christ1 and be found in ,him4 #c4 ,in impressing others4--,it is out of the heart that the mouth speaketh1 and power to impress others is given only to those who do so with a full heart1 and who are consumed with a burning zeal for the salvation of souls4 ,these are they whom ,god has1 in all ages1 blessed in the conversion of men4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,manners4 ,the word manners comes from the ,latin manus1 the hand1 and literally means the mode in which a thing is handled--behavior1 deportment4 ,manners may be defined as the pleasing or unpleasing expression of our thoughts and intentions1 whether in word or action4 ,we may say or do a thing in an agreeable or a disagreeable way4 ,according as we choose the one or the other1 our manners may be said to be good or bad4 ,good manners are the result of two things4--7a7 ,self-respect and 7b7 consideration for the feelings of others4 ,the man who respects himself will be careful to say or do nothing that may seem to others degrading or unworthy4 ,the man who has consideration for the feelings of others will be equally careful to do or say nothing that may give them pain1 or be offensive to them4 ,good manners beautify character4--,it was a celebrated saying of an old bishop1 ,william of ,wykeham1 ,manners maketh man4 ,this is1 however1 only partially true4 ,manners do not make a man any more than good clothes make a man1 but if he is made they greatly improve him4 ,some have been truly excellent who have had an uncouth and unpolished address1 but that was rather to their disadvantage than otherwise4 ,rough diamonds are always precious1 but a diamond that is cut and polished1 while it retains its value1 is much more beautiful4 ,civility of speech1 politeness of address1 courtesy in our dealings with others1 are qualities that adorn a man1 whilst rudeness1 incivility1 roughness in behavior1 detract greatly from his value1 and injure his usefulness4 ,tennyson's words are true3 ,manners are not idle1 but the fruit ,of noble nature and of loyal mind4 ,good manners tend greatly to success in life4--,coarseness and gruffness lock doors1 gentleness and refinement open them1 while the rude1 boorish man is shunned by all4 ,take the case of a speaker addressing a public meeting4 ,what he says is weighty and important4 ,his arguments are powerful and well marshalled1 but his speech is uncouth and disagreeable4 ,he says things that are coarse and vulgar4 ,his bad manner vastly takes away from the impression which he desires to make1 and which1 if his manner had been different1 he would have made4 ,again1 two young men serve in a place of business4 ,the one is gentle in his demeanor1 meets his customers with a pleasant smile1 is always polite4 ,the other is rough in his deportment1 apparently does not care whether those he deals with are pleased or not4 ,the one is a favorite with everybody2 the other1 who may be equally worthy as far as character is concerned1 is disliked4 ,good manners often disarm opposition4--,people may have a prejudice against ourselves personally1 or against the cause we represent4 ,it is wonderful1 however1 how much may be done to soften them by habitual courtesy towards them1 and by studiously avoiding anything calculated to offend them or rouse their anger4 ,a wise man will always endeavor to be specially civil towards any one who differs from him4 ,it is related that in the early days of the ,abolition movement in the ,united ,states1 two men went out preaching3 one1 a sage old ,quaker1 brave and calm2 the other1 a fervid young man4 ,when the ,quaker lectured1 the audience were all attention1 and his arguments met with very general concurrence4 ,but when it came to the young man's turn1 a tumult invariably ensued1 and he was pelted off the platform4 ,surprised by their different receptions1 the young man asked the ,quaker the reason4 ,friend1 he said1 you and ,i are on the same mission2 we preach the same things2 how is it that while you are received so cordially1 ,i get nothing but abuse8 ,i will tell thee1 replied the ,quaker2 thee says1 ',if you do so and so1 you shall be punished1' and ,i say1 ',my friends1 if you will but do so and so1 you shall not be punished4' ,it is not what we say1 but how we say it4 #a ,in ,the ,memorials of a ,quiet ,life it is said of ,augustus ,hare that1 on a road along which he frequently passed1 there was a workman employed in its repair who met his gentle questions and observations with gruff answers and sour looks4 ,but as day after day the persevering mildness of his words and manner still continued1 the rugged features of the man gave way1 and his tone assumed a softer character4 ,politeness is the oiled key that will open many a rusty lock4 ,good manners may be summed up in the one word1 ,gentleman4--,that term implies all that good-manners ought to be4 ,the original derivation of the word is from the ,latin gentilis1 belonging to a tribe or gens2 and in its first signification it applies to those of noble descent or family2 but it has come to mean something far wider1 and something which every man1 however humble1 may be--a man of high courtesy and refinement1 to whom dishonor is hateful4 ,what is it1 says ,thackeray1 to be a gentleman8 ,it is to be honest1 to be gentle1 to be generous1 to be brave1 to be wise1 and1 possessing all these qualities1 to exercise them in the most graceful outward manner4 ,it was said of our ,lord by one of the early ,english poets1 that he was ,the first true gentleman that ever breathed4 ,to be a gentleman in all circumstances is the highest idea we can form of good manners4 ,it is what1 in our intercourse with others1 we should strive to be--to have high thoughts1 as ,sir ,philip ,sidney expresses it1 seated in a heart of courtesy4 ,in ,bishop ,patteson's life is given the estimate of him1 as a true gentleman1 by a ,new ,zealand native3 ,gentleman-gentleman thought nothing that ought to be done too mean for him4 ,pig-gentleman never worked4 ,the savage knew by instinct that the good ,bishop who came to live among them that he might teach them to be better1 who treated them with invariable courtesy and consideration1 was a true gentleman1 though he had to clean his own hut1 to cook his own food1 and to mend his own kettles4 ,and he knew also that the man who made others work for him without doing them any good in return1 who swore at them and abused them1 was only a pig-gentleman1 however rich or high in station he might be4 ,a few advices on the subject of this chapter may be given4 #a4 ,cultivate a pleasing manner4--,any one can be civil and polite if he sets himself to be so4 ,some suppose that it is unworthy of a robust character to be gentle in demeanor1 that it indicates a certain amount of effeminacy1 and that strength and gruffness go together4 ,we hear men spoken of sometimes approvingly as rough diamonds4 ,but history tells us that the noblest and strongest have been the most tender and courteous4 ,king ,robert the ,bruce was brave as a lion1 tender-hearted as a woman4 ,sir ,walter ,raleigh was every inch a man1 a brave soldier1 a brilliant courtier1 and yet a mirror of courtesy4 ,nobody would accuse ,sir ,philip ,sidney of having been deficient in manliness1 yet his fine manners were proverbial4 ,it is the courtesy of ,bayard1 the knight1 sans peur et sans reproche1 which has immortalized him quite as much as his valor4 #b ,it is not beneath us to study good manners4 ,to a great extent they come naturally from refinement of disposition and inborn delicacy of feeling4 ,but they may also1 to a great extent1 be learned and acquired4 ,watch1 it has wisely been said1 those of excellent reputation in manners4 ,catch the temper of the great masters of literature--the nobility of ,scott1 the sincerity of ,thackeray1 the heartiness of ,dickens1 the tenderness of ,macdonald1 the delicacy of ,tennyson1 the grace of ,longfellow1 the repose of ,shakespeare4 ,it is well worth while for every young man beginning life to form a true idea of what good manners are1 and to make it his constant effort to acquire them4 #b4 ,avoid eccentricity4--,eccentricity is the deliberate endeavor to make ourselves different from those around us4 7a7 ,some show it in their dress by wearing garments often of outrageous shape and hue4 7b7 ,some show it in their speech by striving to say things that they think especially smart4 7c7 ,some show it in their actions by striking forced attitudes1 and putting themselves in grotesque positions4 ,it all springs from love of notoriety and desire to be thought different from their neighbors4 ,it is the mark1 as a rule1 of fops and fools1 and an indication of weakness of character4 ,it is fundamentally inconsistent with good manners4 ,johnson was called ursa major1 or big bear1 from the gruffness of his manner4 ,this was probably natural to him1 but many affect a similar manner from a desire to be eccentric4 ,the big bears of society are odious4 ,johnson's own words are applicable to such3 ,a man has no more right to say an uncivil thing than to act one--no more right to say a rude thing to another than to knock him down4 ,those also who are ever trying to say things which they think smart1 but which are often impudent1 and meant to give annoyance1 ought to receive no countenance4 ,sir1 said one such person in his ,irish brogue to ,dean ,swift1 ,i sit 7set7 up for being a wit4 ,then1 sir1 said the ,dean1 ,i advise you to sit down4 ,similar people should be treated in the same way4 #c4 ,try to conquer shyness4--,this is constitutional with some1 but even when this is the case it can be overcome by taking pains4 ,the shy man is often awkward in manner2 and1 what is worse1 he often gives the impression to others of being rude1 when he has no intention to be so4 ,there are those who1 in their own family and among their own friends1 are known to be warm-hearted1 kind and gentle1 but who1 from this defect of which we speak1 have a reputation far from enviable4 ,any young man who is afflicted with it should set himself resolutely to get the better of it4 #d4 ,we should be especially courteous to those below us in station4--,to servants in our house1 to those in our employ1 to the poor1 we should be marked in our civility4 ,it is the very essence of gentlemanhood that one is polite to the weak1 the poor1 the friendless1 the humble1 the miserable1 the degraded4 ,the conduct of our ,lord to such is ever worthy of our imitation4 ,indeed1 as it has been well remarked1 the character of men and women is perhaps better known by the treatment of those below them than by anything else2 for to them they rarely play the hypocrite4 ,the man who is a bully and abusive to those weaker or less fortunate than himself1 is at heart a poor creature2 though1 in company of his equals1 he may be affable and polished enough4 ,for example1 ,kingsley mentions regarding ,sir ,sydney ,smith that the love he won was because1 without any conscious intention1 he treated rich and poor1 his own servants1 and the noblemen1 his guests1 alike courteously1 cheerfully1 considerately1 affectionately1 bearing a blessing and reaping a blessing wherever he was4 ,when a celebrated man returned the salute of a negro1 he was reminded that he had done what was very unfashionable4 ,perhaps so1 he replied1 but ,i would not be outdone in good manners by a negro4 ,good words1 says holy ,george ,herbert1 are worth much1 and cost little4 ,the same may be said of good manners4 #a ,the ,secret of ,success4 #b ,plain ,living and ,high ,thinking4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,temper4#a ,temper is the harmonious and well-balanced working of the different powers of the mind4 ,good temper is when harmony is maintained2 bad temper when it is violated4 ,temper1 it was said by an ,english bishop1 is nine-tenths of ,christianity4 ,we may think this an exaggerated statement1 but there is much to commend it4 ,the fruit of the ,spirit of ,god is peace1 and peace is the condition of a heart which is at rest--in harmony with ,god and man4 ,peace may be taken as the ,scriptural word for temper4 ,good temper is a sign that the different powers of the soul are working in harmony4--,for instance1 the atmosphere is well tempered when it is neither too hot nor too cold1 neither too dry nor too moist1 having neither too much electricity nor too little4 ,then the weather is called fine4 ,it is a pleasure to live4 ,when the weather is bad1 the balance of the elements is broken1 and life is disagreeable and unpleasant4 ,the body is well tempered when the nervous system and the blood and the nutritive system all work in due harmony4 ,when these three great constituents of the body are well balanced against each other1 the result is health4 ,the body is not well tempered in a student who takes no exercise1 and where everything goes to feed the brain2 nor in a pugilist in training1 where everything goes to feed the muscles4 ,the result is disease4 ,we all know the musical instrument called the harp4 ,all the strings are tuned into perfect harmony4 ,if there is a false note struck1 that is a sign to the musician that there is something wrong1 and that the instrument needs to be tuned4 ,the discord is a symptom1 that some cords are out of order4 ,so1 bad temper is a sign that some string in our moral constitution is out of harmony and needs to be tuned4 ,good temper can be acquired4--,it is the result of culture4 ,there are two things often confounded with it--7a7 good nature and 7b7 good humor4 ,good nature is something born with us--an easy1 contented disposition1 and a tendency to take things quietly and pleasantly4 ,we inherit it4 ,there is little merit in possessing it4 ,good humor is the result of pleasant surroundings and agreeable circumstances4 ,a good-humored man is so when everything goes right2 when things go wrong1 his good humor departs and bad humor takes its place4 ,but good temper results from training and self-control--keeping constant watch over our passions and feelings1 and above all being in constant harmony with ,god2 for he who is at peace with ,god is at peace with man1 and will keep the even tenor of his way4 ,there are various signs or forms of ill-temper that may be adverted to4 ,one form of ill-temper is irritability4--,we perhaps know what it is to have a tooth where the nerve is exposed4 ,everything that touches it sends a thrill of pain through us4 ,some people get into a moral state corresponding to that4 ,the least thing puts them out1 vexes them1 throws them into a disagreeable frame of mind4 ,when one gets into that state1 he should feel that there is something wrong with him--something is off the balance1 some nerve is exposed4 ,he had better look to it and go off to the dentist4 ,another form of ill-temper is readiness to find fault4--,this is a sure sign of a screw being loose somewhere4 ,an ill-tempered person is always making grievances1 imagining himself ill-used1 discontented with his position1 dissatisfied with his circumstances4 ,he never blames himself for anything wrong2 it is always someone else4 ,he is like a workman who is always excusing himself by throwing the blame on his tools2 like a bad driver who is always finding fault with his horses4 ,some fretful tempers wince at every touch1 ,you always do too little or too much2 ,he shakes with cold2 you stir the fire and strive ,to make a blaze2 that's roasting him alive4 ,serve him with venison1 and he chooses fish2 ,with sole2 that's just the sort he would not wish4 ,alas6 his efforts double his distress1 ,he likes yours little1 and his own still less4 ,thus1 always teasing others1 always teased1 ,his only pleasure is--to be displeased4 ,if we find ourselves getting into this state of mind1 it is high time to inquire what is wrong with us4 ,another form of ill-temper is passion4--,some people are very subject to this development4 ,they are gunpowdery1 and when a small spark touches them they fly out1 and there is a blaze4 ,it is a very unlovely feature of a man's character1 and if people in a passion could only see themselves in a glass1 their eyes flashing1 their brow contracted and their features distorted1 they would feel that they have cause to be ashamed of themselves4 ,after having been in what is called a towering rage1 there often comes to a man the feeling expressed in the words1 ,i have made a great ass of myself4 ,if we have done so1 we should resolve never to make ourselves ridiculous again4 ,perhaps the worst form of ill-temper is sulkiness4--,this is passion not dying out1 but continuing to smoulder like the embers of a fire where there is no flame4 ,a sullen disposition is as bad a sign of something being wrong as there could well be4 ,it is like what the doctors call suppressed gout4 ,the disease has got driven into the system1 and has taken so firm a hold that it cannot easily be dislodged4 ,better a man whose temper bubbles over and is gone1 than the man who cherishes it in his bosom and allows1 not the sun of one day1 but of many days1 to go down on his wrath4 ,a word or two is perhaps necessary1 in addition to what has been said1 as to the means by which good temper is to be preserved and bad temper avoided4 ,i4 ,we should cherish a deep and strong detestation of the evil effects of bad temper in all its forms4--7a7 ,it has a bad effect physically4 ,it produces consequences injurious to health4 ,the man who indulges in it habitually cannot do so with impunity4 ,doctors constantly warn their patients to refrain from irritating disputes1 and to avoid men and things likely to provoke their anger4 7b7 ,it has a bad effect socially4 ,the bad-tempered man is seldom a favorite with society4 ,men eventually dislike him and shun him as a nuisance4 ,his family1 if he has one1 come to regard him with dread rather than love4 7c7 ,it has a bad effect as regards success in life4 ,everything1 the proverb says1 comes to him who waits4 ,the patient and forbearing man attains his object much sooner than the man of passion and abuse4 ,such a person is continually thwarted in his plans4 ,people refuse to be bullied into acquiescence2 and threats1 which have well been called the arguments of a coward1 raise rather than disarm opposition4 7d7 ,it has a bad effect spiritually4 7#a7 ,the man of evil temper wants the calm disposition of soul necessary to communion with ,god4 ,the glass through which he looks into the spiritual world is clouded and gives a distorted vision4 ,he whose soul is filled with anger and clouded by passion cannot pray4 ,before he lays his gift upon the altar1 he must be reconciled to his brother4 7#b7 ,scripture is full of warnings against evil temper3 ,he that is soon angry dealeth foolishly4 ,make no friendship with an angry man1 and with a furious man thou shalt not go1 lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul4 ,an angry man stirreth up strife1 and a furious man aboundeth in transgression4 ,be ye angry and sin not2 let not the sun go down upon your wrath4 ,let all bitterness1 and wrath1 and anger1 and clamor1 and evil speaking be put away from you1 with all malice2 and be ye kind one to another1 tender hearted1 forgiving one another1 even as ,god for ,christ's sake hath forgiven you4 ,the example of our blessed ,lord specially teaches the same lessen4 ,calmly and peacefully ,he pursued ,his divine work4 ,when reviled he reviled not again1 but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously4 ,before the ,high ,priest1 ,pilate and ,herod1 ,his indignant silence was more eloquent than scorching words4 ,,ii4 ,we should deliberately cultivate self-control4--,if a railway train is going swiftly along1 and the driver sees something on the track1 he applies the brake1 and thus avoids collision4 ,in regard to temper1 self-control is like the brake1 and we should be ever ready to put it on4 ,a person can come1 in time1 to get a wonderful control over his temper if he watches against it4 ,the writer knew a young man who was at one time of an ungovernable temper2 he used to be at times like one possessed4 ,but by watching and resolutely putting on the brake he grew up one of the sweetest-tempered and most lovable of men4 ,he fought the wild beast within him1 lashed it and kept it down4 ,a merchant had passionately abused a ,quaker1 who received his outburst of ill-temper in silence4 ,being afterwards ashamed of himself1 he asked the other how he was able to show such patience4 ,friend1 replied the ,quaker1 ,i will tell thee4 ,i was naturally as hot and violent as thou art4 ,i knew that to indulge temper was sinful1 and ,i found it was imprudent4 ,i observed that men in a passion always spoke loud1 and ,i thought if ,i could control my voice ,i should repress my passion4 ,i have therefore made it a rule never to allow my voice to be above a certain key1 and by a careful observance of this rule ,i have1 by the blessing of ,god1 mastered my natural temper4 ,strong resolution can do much4 ,if the pot boils1 says the proverb1 take it off the fire4 ,a little care1 a word swallowed1 a rising sentence struck down in us by a simple rule1 may save us humiliation4 ,by reflection1 by restraint and control a wise man can make himself an island which no floods can overwhelm4 ,he who is tolerant with the intolerant1 mild with the fault-finders1 and free from passion with the passionate1 him ,i indeed call a wise man4--,buddhist saying4 ,,iii4 ,but while an act of self-control can restore the proper temper and balance to the mind when it is in danger1 the best way is to keep it so that it will not go off the balance4 ,you know that if a clock stops1 we may perhaps make it go again by a shake2 if it does not keep time1 we can often put the hands right2 but the best way is to keep the machinery always so well balanced and adjusted that it will not stop or go wrong4 ,we may watch and control the temper when it breaks out2 but the better way is to keep it so well balanced that it will not break out4 ,the soul that is in harmony with ,god1 that is full of the spirit of ,christ1 will ever be peaceful and serene4 ,if ill-temper is our besetting sin1 ,god's grace1 if we ask it1 will give us power to conquer it ,while we watch against it1 we should pray against it also4 ,the beautiful words of ,thomas ,kempis point out to us the secret of the well-tempered and well-balanced mind3 ,first keep thyself in peace1 and then thou wilt be able to bring others to peace4 ,if the peace of ,god which passeth all understanding keep our hearts and minds1 through ,christ ,jesus1 our life will never have its serenity disturbed by ill-temper4 #a ,i wish to acknowledge my indebtedness for some hints in this chapter to an interesting work on ,self-,culture1 by ,james ,freeman ,clarke4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,recreation4 ,recreation is another name for amusement4 ,both words express the same idea4 ,recreation means to create over again1 the building up of the system when it is exhausted4 ,amusement primarily is said to be derived from the halt which a dog makes in hunting1 when he pauses to sniff the air in order to see in which way the scent lies4 ,having done this1 he starts off again with redoubled speed4 ,both these words in themselves suggest the place that the things which they signify should occupy in life4 ,they are for the refreshing of our strength1 in order to renewed effort4 ,recreation is a necessary part of life4--,there are two great laws under which we live3 the law of work and the law of recreation4 ,man has to work1 and to work hard1 in order to live4 ,work also is necessary to happiness4 ,he that labors1 says the ,italian proverb1 is tempted by one devil2 he that is idle1 by a thousand4 ,the industrious life1 it is perfectly plain 7as we have shown in a previous chapter71 is that which we should all follow4 ,but recreation is as needful in its place as work4 7a7 ,this is the teaching of nature4 ,god has made us capable of enjoying ourselves1 just as ,he has made us able to think1 or talk1 or work with our hands4 ,the first sign of intelligence in the infant is a smile4 ,the child's nature unfolds itself in play1 and as man grows up1 it develops itself in many forms4 ,the universe also is full of joy and gladness4 ,the sky is blue1 the sea glistens1 the flowers are strewn over the earth4 ,we speak of the waves playing on the shore1 of the shadows playing on the mountain side4 ,all this indicates that there is a certain play element that rejoices in the world around us4 7b7 ,this is the teaching of experience4 ,unvaried and unbroken toil becomes a sore burden2 it breaks the spirit1 weakens energy1 and saddens the heart4 ,all work and no play1 according to the proverb1 makes ,jack a dull boy4 ,there are men around us working so hard that they have no family life1 no social life1 no time for thought or for culture4 ,they are simply cogs in a great wheel that is ceaselessly turning round and round--wearing themselves out before their time by excess of labor4 ,this cannot be right4 ,there is an interesting tradition of ,st4 ,john1 the disciple of our ,lord1 that while amusing himself with a tame partridge he was asked by a huntsman how he could spend his time in so unprofitable a manner4 ,st4 ,john replied1 ,why dost thou not carry thy bow always bent8 ,because1 answered the huntsman1 if it were always bent1 ,i fear it would lose its spring and become useless4 ,be not surprised then1 replied the apostle1 that ,i should sometimes remit a little of my close attention of spirit to enjoy a little recreation1 that ,i may afterwards employ myself more fervently in divine contemplation4 ,it is said also of a most saintly man1 ,carlo ,borromeo1 that while engaged with some friends in a game of chess1 the question was started1 what they would do if they knew they were to die within the hour4 ,i would1 said ,borromeo1 go on with my game4 ,he had begun it for ,god's glory1 and in order to fit himself for ,god's work1 and he would finish it4 ,these anecdotes illustrate the truth that recreation is a necessary part of life1 and may be engaged in with the highest object4 ,recreation1 therefore1 is not to be regarded as an evil in itself--,men at different times have so regarded it4 7a7 ,those who have been termed ascetics in the ,church of ,rome looked upon every form of amusement as sinful4 ,even to smile or laugh was a fault needing severe penance4 ,they were cruel to themselves1 denied themselves all earthly joy1 and placed vice and pleasure in the same category4 7b7 ,the ,puritans also1 in the time of the ,stuarts1 set their faces strongly against games and recreation of every kind4 ,they denounced all public amusements1 as ,macaulay tells us1 from masques1 which were exhibited at the mansions of the great1 down to the wrestling matches and quoiting matches on the village green4 7c7 ,in all ages there have been good men animated by the same feeling4 ,life has seemed to them so serious as to have no place in it for mirth4 ,even one so saintly as ,archbishop ,leighton said that pleasures are like mushrooms--it is so difficult to distinguish those that are wholesome from those that are poisonous1 that it is better to abstain from them altogether4 ,those views have something noble in them4 ,they spring from hatred of sin and from realizing intensely that ,recreation is liable to abuse4--,it often leads to evil4 ,it was the unbridled gaiety of the age1 with its selfishness and sensuality1 that made the ,puritans denounce amusement1 though the austerity they enforced led to dreadful consequences4 ,repression passed into excess4 ,it was as if the pent-up sewerage of a mud volcano had been suddenly let loose4 ,the unclean spirit forcibly driven out by the ,puritans returned with seven other spirits more wicked than himself1 and the last state of ,stuart ,england was worst than the first4 ,the history of that period shows us the mistake religion makes by frowning down all amusements as sinful4 ,but that some may be so is equally clear4 ,they are so 7a7 when they are contrary to the express commands of the ,word of ,god4 ,there are pleasures which are in themselves unlawful1 and which are condemned by the divine law4 ,these1 ,god's children will shun4 ,they are forms of wickedness which they will ever hold in abhorrence4 ,the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the eye1 and the pride of life1 with all that the words mean1 though the world may regard them as pleasures1 and engage in them as amusements1 are evil before ,god4 ,but not to dwell on this1 which is evident1 amusements are evil 7b7 when they unfit for work4 ,the end of labor1 said the ,greek philosopher ,aristotle1 is to rest4 ,it is equally true that the end of rest is to labor4 ,pleasures that tempt us from daily duty1 that leave us listless and weary1 are pernicious4 ,outdoor games1 for instance1 ought to strengthen the physical frame1 they ought to make us healthy and strong and ready for work4 ,but when carried to excess they often produce the opposite result1 and become positively hurtful4 ,if the ,saturday's play unfit for the worship and rest of the ,lord's day2 if an employer1 as has been stated1 has been obliged to dismiss his clerks more than once because of their incapacity for work owing to football matches1 cricket matches1 and sports generally1 it is clear that these have not been for their good2 and the same may be said of the effect of other forms of amusement1 especially when carried to excess4 ,the amusements that send us back to toil with a lightened heart and a vigorous mind are those only that we should engage in2 all others are detrimental1 and should be shunned4 7c7 ,it is necessary to say also that amusement in any form followed as the end of life becomes specially sinful4 ,even the heathen moralist1 ,cicero1 could say that he is not worthy to be called a man who is willing to spend a single day wholly in pleasure4 ,how much more truly may a ,christian feel that he who liveth in pleasure is dead while he liveth4 ,a life that is simply play1 that is simply amusement1 is no life at all4 ,it is only a contemptible form of existence4 ,a soul sodden with pleasure is a lost soul4 ,to be a mere pleasure-seeker is not the chief end of man4 ,nothing grows more wearying than continuous amusement1 and no one needs amusement so much as he who is always at it4 ,he loses the power of real enjoyment4 ,he has1 like ,esau1 bartered his birthright for a mess of pottage4 ,he is useless to man and guilty before ,god4 ,it is not easy to lay down distinct and definite rules in regard to recreation--to set down and catalogue those amusements which it is safe for us to follow1 and those from which we should refrain4 ,this has been attempted1 but not successfully6 and the reason is evident4 ,what may be safe for one person may not be safe for another4 ,if we are told that an amusement has been held to be wrong1 we are ready to reply that the mere opinion of others is not binding upon us2 and perhaps in our contempt for views which appear to us bigoted and straitlaced1 we rush into the opposite extreme4 ,the true guide in recreation is a ,christian spirit4 ,he who possesses it will need no list of what are lawful and unlawful made out for him4 ,he will be better guided than by any carefully compiled code of duty set before him4 ,all1 therefore1 that shall be attempted in this direction is to give a few general counsels which may be serviceable4 #a4 ,we should exercise our own judgment as to what amusements are helpful or the reverse4 ,it has been said1 ,when you are in ,rome1 do as the ,romans do4 ,we would rather put the adage thus1 ,when you are in ,rome1 do not as the ,romans do4 ,there are questions which majorities may decide for us1 and there are questions which every soul must decide for itself4 ,that everybody goes to bull-fights in ,spain does not make bull-fighting right2 neither is an amusement right because it is popular4 ,in this1 as in other matters1 we must dare sometimes to be singular4 ,follow not a multitude to do evil4 #b4 ,what is one man's meat is another man's poison4 ,we are not a law to our neighbor1 neither is our neighbor a law to us4 ,the amusement that we find injures us1 lowers our moral and spiritual tone1 and unfits us for the serious business of life1 is the thing for us to avoid1 as we avoid food which some men can take with impunity1 but which does harm to us4 #c4 ,keep on the safe ground of certainty4 ,whatever is doubtful is dangerous1 and had best be left alone4 ,if we go skating1 and have a suspicion that the ice in a certain spot is weak1 that is sufficient to make us avoid it4 ,possibly we might pass over it without danger1 but the thought that it may be dangerous leads us to give it a wide berth4 ,if you do not wish to hear the bell ring1 says the proverb1 keep away from the bell rope4 ,there is a sufficiency of amusements which are beyond doubt safe and satisfying1 without our trying those that may be dangerous4 ,the best recreation often comes from change of occupation1 and there is none better than the companionship of books1 the sweet solace of music1 the softening influence of art1 or the contemplation of the beauties of nature1 the melody of woods and winds and waters4 ,there are fountains of joy open on every side of us1 from which we may quaff many an invigorating draught1 without drinking from those which are often poisoned and polluted4 #d4 ,the pleasure that is more congenial than our work is to be taken with caution4 ,so long as a man enjoys his work more than his amusement1 the latter is for him comparatively safe4 ,it is a relaxation and refreshment1 and he goes from it all the better for it2 but if a man likes his pleasure better than the duties to which ,god has called him in the world1 it is a sign that he has not realized1 as he ought to realize1 the object for which life was given him4 #e4 ,for the question1 ,what is the harm8 substitute1 ,what is the good8 ,the former is that which many ask in regard to amusements1 and the very asking of the question shows that they feel doubtful about them and should avoid them4 ,but when we ask1 ,what is the good8 it is a sign that we are anxious to know what benefit we may derive from them1 and how far they may help us4 ,that is the true spirit in which we should approach our amusements1 seeking out those that recruit and refresh us mentally1 morally1 and physically4 ,those are hints#a which may be found useful4 ,religion never was designed1 it is said1 to make our pleasures less4 ,religion also1 if we know what it means1 will ever lead us to what are true1 innocent1 and elevating pleasures1 and keep us from those that are false1 bad in their influence1 and which leave a sting behind them4 ,rejoice1 ,o young man1 in thy youth1 and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth1 and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes3 but know thou1 that for all these things ,god will bring thee into judgment4 ,let those who practise the first part of that text not forget the second4 #a ,i am indebted for some of them to an article in ,the ,christian ,union4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,books4 ,books have an influence on life and conduct the extent of which it is impossible to estimate4 ,the precepts they inculcate1 the lessons they exhibit1 the ideals of life and character which they portray1 root themselves in the thoughts and imaginations of young men4 ,they seize them with a force which1 in after years1 appears scarcely possible4 ,these words of ,principal ,tulloch will not appear too strong to any one who can look back over a long period of life4 ,such must ever feel that books have had a powerful effect in making them all that they are4 ,there are many considerations that go to show the importance of books4 ,books are the accumulated treasures of generations4--,they are to man what memory is to the individual4 ,if all the libraries in the world were burned and all the books in the world destroyed1 the past would be little more than a blank4 ,it would be a calamity corresponding to that of a man losing by a stroke the memory of past years4 ,the literature of the world is the world's memory1 the world's experience1 the world's failures4 ,it teaches us where we came from4 ,it tells us of the paths we have travelled4 ,almost all we know of the history of this world in which ,god has placed us we know from books4 ,in books1 as ,carlyle says1 lie the creative ,phoenix ashes of the whole past--all that men have desired1 discovered1 done1 felt1 or imagined1 lie recorded in books1 wherein whoso has learned the mystery of spelling printed letters may find it and appropriate it4 ,books open to us a society from which otherwise we would be excluded4--,they introduce us into a great human company4 ,they enable us1 however humble we may be1 to hold converse with the great and good of past ages and of the present time--the great philosophers1 philanthropists1 poets1 divines1 travellers4 ,we know their thoughts1 we hear their words1 we clasp their hands4 ,the chamber of the solitary student is peopled with immortal guests4 ,he has friends who are always steadfast1 who are never false1 who are silent when he is weary1 who go forth with him to his work1 who await his return4 ,in the literature of the world a grand society is open to all who choose to enter it4 ,books are the chief food of our intellectual life4--,there are men that have1 indeed1 done great things who have read but little4 ,these have had their want of mental training compensated by their powers of observation and experience of life4 ,but they have been for the most part exceptional men1 and it is possible they might have done better if they had studied more4 ,to the great majority of men books are the great teachers1 the chief ministers to self-culture4 ,books in a special manner represent intellect to those who can appreciate them4 ,we cannot estimate in this aspect their importance4 ,they are in regard to self-culture what ,montaigne calls the best viaticum for the journey of life4 ,when we think of what we owe to them1 we may enter into the feelings of ,charles ,lamb1 who wished to ask a grace before reading more than a grace before meat4 ,in regard to books1 the practical questions that present themselves are1 what we should read1 and how we should read4 ,the first question cannot be answered in any definite manner4 7a7 ,the enormous number of books in the world forbids this4 ,let any one enter a library of even moderate size1 and he will feel how almost hopeless it would be1 even if it were profitable1 to draw out a practicable list of what may be advantageously chosen for reading and what may well be cast aside4 7b7 ,still more does the infinite variety of tastes1 circumstances3 and talents1 forbid the laying down of definite rules4 ,reading that might be profitable for one might not be so for another4 ,reading that would be pleasant to one would be to another weariness4 ,every class of mind seeks naturally its own proper food1 and the choice of books must ultimately depend upon a man's own bias--on his natural bent and the necessities of his life4 ,there are1 however1 one or two directions that may be given1 and which may be profitable to young men4 ,first1 ,we should read1 as far as possible1 the great books of the world4 ,in the kingdom of literature there are certain works that stand by themselves and tower in their grandeur above all others4 ,they are referred to by ,bacon1 in his weighty way1 when he says3 ,some books are to be tasted1 others to be swallowed1 some few to be chewed and digested4 ,this last class of books may be still spoken of as few4 ,various lists have lately been published of the best hundred books1 according to the opinion of some of the greatest men of our time4 ,there is considerable agreement among the writers as to what they consider the best books1 and there is considerable difference also4 ,it is easy to see how those who compiled these lists have been largely influenced in making their selection by their own peculiar tastes and fancies4 ,probably there is not one of their lists which any young man would care to follow out in its entirety4 ,we give elsewhere the one which seems most likely to be useful to those into whose hands this text-book may probably come1#a though it is evident that many young men might profitably leave out some of the books mentioned and substitute others4 ,still one thing is clear1 that it is possible to make a selection of outstanding works in literature4 ,after consultation with others better informed than himself1 a young man can make a list suitable to his capacities and tastes1 of books that really are great books1 and in this way he may acquire knowledge that is worth having1 and which will furnish a good and solid foundation for his intellectual culture4 ,it is with books of this kind that he should begin1 and a few such books thoroughly mastered will probably do him more good than all others that he may afterwards read4 ,it is hardly necessary to say that there is one book that may be termed specially great1 and which all young men should make the special subject of their study4 7a7 ,the ,bible1 even as a means of intellectual culture1 stands alone and above all others4 ,in the poorest cottages1 says ,carlyle1 is one book wherein for several thousands of years the spirit of man has found light and nourishment1 and an interpreting response to whatever is deepest in him4 ,no man can be regarded as an educated man unless he is familiar with this book4 ,to understand its history and position in the world is in itself a liberal education4 ,those who have been indifferent to its spiritual power and divine claims have acknowledged its great importance in regard to self-culture4 ,take the ,bible1 says ,professor ,huxley1 as a whole1 make the severest deductions which fair criticism can dictate for shortcomings and for positive errors1 and there still remains in this old literature a vast residuum of moral beauty and grandeur2 and then consider the great historical fact that for three centuries this book has been woven into the life of all that is best and noblest in ,english history2 that it has become the national epic of ,britain1 and is familiar to noble and simple from ,john o' ,groat's house to ,land's ,end2 that it is written in the noblest and purest ,english1 and abounds in exquisite beauties of a mere literary form2 and finally1 that it forbids the merest hind who never left his village to be ignorant of the existence of other countries and other civilizations1 and of a great past1 stretching back to the furthest limits of the oldest nations of the world4 ,by the study of what other book could children be so much humanized8 ,in these words we have a noble tribute to the intellectual greatness of the ,bible4 7b7 ,but it has other claims upon us than its power to stimulate mental culture4 ,it is inspired by ,god4 ,it is profitable for doctrine1 for reproof1 for correction1 for instruction in righteousness4 ,it is man's guide through the perplexities of life to the glory of heaven1 ,wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way8 ,by taking heed thereto according to thy word4 ,read then the great books of the world1 and this book1 the greatest of all4 ,second1 ,another suggestion that we may make in regard to the use of books is that we should read from some centre or standpoint4 ,a person takes a house in the country4 ,this he makes the centre of many excursions4 ,one day he climbs the mountain1 another day he walks by winding stream1 on another he sails along the shore4 ,in this way he explores the surrounding country by degrees1 coming back each night to the place he started from4 ,we may do much the same thing with profit in our excursions among books4 ,for instance1 we may take the starting-point of our profession1 and read all we can in regard to it4 ,a farmer should read about farming1 a lawyer about law1 a divine about theology4 ,or we may take the starting-point of our physical frame1 and read steadily all we can as to our bodily organisation and its laws2 or we may take as our starting point the land we dwell in1 or even the locality where we live1 and seek to learn all we can regarding its history4 ,in this way distinct lines of study are opened up to us1 and we are saved the evil of desultory reading1 which too often fills the mind only with a jumble of facts undigested and unarranged1 and therefore of but little value4 ,the writer knew a young minister in a ,scottish manse who had among the few books in his library the ,encyclopaedia ,britannica4 ,in this work he took up distinct courses of reading--a course of biography1 a course of history1 a course of geography--and in this way he acquired knowledge well systematized1 which was of great value to him in his after life4 ,we should endeavor1 according to some such method as we have indicated1 to carry on our reading4 ,every man and every woman who can read at all should adopt some definite purpose in their reading1 should take something for the main stem and trunk of their culture1 whence branches might grow out in all directions1 seeking air and light for the parent tree1 which it is hoped might end in becoming something useful and ornamental1 and which at any rate all along will have had life and growth in it4 ,these words of ,sir ,arthur ,helps put very tersely the point on which we have been insisting4 ,third1 ,we should read books on the same principle as we associate with men4 ,we only admit to our society those whom we deem worthy of our acquaintance1 and from whose intercourse we are likely to derive benefit4 ,we should do the same in regards to books4 ,there are people who read books which1 if they took to themselves bodily form and became personified1 would be kicked out of their houses4 ,readers often associate in literature with what is vile and contemptible1 who would never think of associating with people possessing a similar character4 ,yet the society of a weak or bad book is just as harmful to us in its way1 and should be as little tolerated by us as the society of a weak or bad man4 ,indeed1 between an author and a careful reader there is an intimacy established even closer than is possible in the intercourse of life1 and evil books poison the springs of thought and feeling much more thoroughly than an evil acquaintanceship could do4 ,we cannot be too strict1 therefore1 in applying to books the rules we follow in regard to society1 and refusing our acquaintance to those books unworthy of it4 7a7 ,such books may be known by reputation4 ,we would not associate with a man of bad reputation1 neither should we read a book of which the reputation is evil4 7b7 ,they may be judged of also by very slight experience4 ,very little tells us whether a man is worthy to be admitted to companionship1 and very slight acquaintance with a book is sufficient to tell us whether it is worth reading4 7c7 ,but especially by beginning with those great authors that are beyond doubt high toned1 the master-spirits of all time1 we shall acquire a power of discrimination4 ,we shall no more care to read foul1 impure1 and unwholesome literature than a man brought up in the society of honorable men would choose to cast in his lot with thieves and blacklegs and the offscourings of society4 ,we have anticipated much that might be said in answer to the question how to read1 and only a few words need be written in regard to it4 7#a7 ,read with interest4 ,unless a book interests us we do not attend to it1 we get no benefit whatever from it1 and may as well throw it aside4 7#b7 ,read actively1 not passively1 putting the book under cross-examination as we go along--asking questions regarding it1 weighing arguments4 ,mere passive reading may do no more good than the stream does to the iron pipe through which it flows4 ,novel-readers are often mere passive recipients of the stories1 and thus get no real benefit from them4 7#c7 ,read according to some system or method4 7#d7 ,read not always for relaxation1 recreation1 and amusement1 but chiefly to enable you to perform the duties to which ,god has called you in daily life4 #a ,see ,appendix4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,family ,,life4 ,the words ,family--,home--,household--all express one idea4 ,they imply a relationship existing between certain individuals1 a circle or sphere separate from the mass of human beings1 within which there are special duties to be performed and a special life has to be lived4 ,it is not necessary to define particularly what is meant by the word ,family1 for it is well understood by all of us4 ,family life is peculiar to man4--,the lower animals have nothing in all respects resembling it4 ,in some particulars their mode of life occasionally approaches it1 but not in all4 ,the birds of the air1 for instance1 care tenderly for their offspring1 but when these come to maturity the relation between them and their parents comes to an end4 ,the family relation on the other hand lasts through life1 and is only broken by the hand of death1 if even then4 ,the family has been instituted by ,god for the welfare of man4 ,the condition in which we come into the world requires it--our training for the work of life demands it--it is specially adapted to promote the great ends of human existence4 ,family life is that which most truly leaves its mark upon us4--,in the family habits are formed which make us what we are for the rest of our life4 ,home influences accompany us to the very end of our journey4 ,let any one ask himself what are the chief sources of his virtues1 and he will feel that a large proportion of them are derived directly or indirectly from association with his fellow-creatures in the family4 ,the training of parents1 the affection and influence of mothers and sisters1 powerfully and lastingly affect our intellectual and moral nature4 ,from a wise father we learn more than from all our teachers4 ,when a celebrated artist1 ,benjamin ,west1 was asked ,what made him a painter8 his reply was1 ,it was my mother's kiss4 ,i should have been an atheist1 said a great ,american statesman1 if it had not been for one recollection1 and that was the memory of the time when my departed mother used to take my little hand in hers1 and caused me on my knees to say1 ',our ,father1 who art in heaven4' ,on the other hand1 those who have been so unfortunate as to have had an unhappy home rarely emancipate themselves from the evil effects of their upbringing4 ,if they do1 it is after the severest struggle4 ,the child1 it has been said1 is the father of the man1 and it is in the family the child receives his first impressions for good or for evil4 ,the world he first lives in is his home4 ,family life supplies a great test of character4--,when ,whitefield was asked whether a certain person was a ,christian1 he replied1 ,i do not know4 ,i have never seen him at home4 ,people are often one thing in the world and another in their own family4 ,in the close intercourse of the home circle they exhibit themselves in their true colors4 ,a man who is a good son or a good brother is generally found to be a good man4 ,if he is a source of evil in his own home1 in his intercourse with the world he will1 sooner or later1 be found wanting4 ,it is beyond the scope of this book to dwell at length upon the duties incumbent on the various members of a family4 ,it may be sufficient to indicate generally the feelings which should animate the young persons who belong to it4 ,probably most of those into whose hands this manual will come are members of a family4 ,what should therefore be their conduct at home is a question that well deserves their consideration4 #a4 ,obedience is the fundamental principle of family life4 ,every family has a head1 and that head must rule4 ,order is heaven's first law4 ,where there is no obedience there can be no order in a family4 ,the first form of authority which is placed before the child is that of the parent1 and to the parent he has to be subject4 ,children1 says the apostle1 obey your parents in all things1 for this is well pleasing unto the ,lord4 ,even for those members of a family who have grown out of the state of childhood obedience must be the rule1 though in their case it is not to be1 as in the case of the child1 unquestioning obedience1 but is to be founded on reason1 affection and gratitude4 ,with them obedience takes the form of reverence1 or1 to use a more familiar word1 respect4 ,the child is bound to obey his parent without hesitation or reply2 the young man who has entered into greater liberty than the child will still respect his parents' wishes and cherish reverence for their authority4 ,this feeling on his part is termed in the ,scriptures ,honor4 ,honor thy father and thy mother is one of the ,ten ,commandments1 and can never cease to be included among moral and religious obligations4 ,it is opposed to everything like unseemly familiarity1 discourtesy of treatment1 insolence in reply1 or deliberate defiance4 ,it implies respect for age and experience1 and a sense of the great sacrifices a parent has made for his children's welfare4 ,it is said that in our time the bonds of parental authority are being loosened1 and that young men do not regard their parents with the deference that once was invariably shown towards them2 that they do little to smooth the path of life for them when they grow old and weak1 and are more ready to cast them on the public charity than to contribute to their support4 ,such a state of things would be shameful1 if true4 ,it would indicate a corruption of social life at the fountain-head that must lead to serious consequences4 ,the family is the nursery both of the ,state and of the ,church1 and where the purity and well-being of family life is impaired1 both ,state and ,church are sure to suffer4 ,there should be therefore an earnest and prayerful endeavor upon the part of the young to cherish towards their parents that loving sense of their superiority which is implied in the word ,honor4 ,let them learn first1 says ,st4 ,paul 7#a ,tim4 v4 #d71 to show piety at home1 and to requite their parents2 for that is good and acceptable before ,god4 ,there can be no more pleasing memory for a young man to have than this1 that he has been a dutiful son2 none more bitter than this1 that he has set at defiance1 or neglected1 those to whom he owes so much4 #b4 ,affection is the atmosphere that should pervade the household4 ,without hearts1 it has been truly said1 there is no home4 ,a collection of roots1 and trunk1 and branches1 and leaves1 do not make a tree2 neither do a number of people dwelling together make a home4 ,a certain number of animal lives that are of prescribed ages1 that eat and drink together1 by no means makes a family4 ,almost as well might we say that it is the bricks of a house that make a home4 ,there may be a home in the forest or in the wilderness1 and there may be a family with all its blessings1 though half its members be in other lands or in another world4 ,it is the gentle memories1 the mutual thought1 the desire to bless1 the sympathies that meet when duties are apart1 the fervor of the parents' prayers1 the persuasion of filial love1 the sister's pride and the brother's benediction1 that constitute the true elements of domestic life and sanctify the dwelling4 #a ,these beautiful words are true4 ,it is love that makes home4 ,the dweller1 in a distant land sends again and again his thoughts across the sea1 and reverts with fond affection to the place of his birth4 ,it may be a humble cottage1 but to him it is ever dear because of the love which dwelt there and united those who dwelt there by ties that distance cannot sever4 ,even the prodigal in the matchless parable of our ,lord1 herding with the swine and eating of their husks1 was led to a higher and a better life by the remembrance of his father's house4 ,a home without love is no home1 any more than a body without a soul is a man4 ,it is only a corpse4 #c4 ,consideration for those with whom we live in the family is the chief form which affection takes4 ,each member has to remember1 not his own comfort and wants1 but the comfort and wants of those with whom he dwells4 ,his welfare as an individual he must subordinate to the welfare of the household4 ,there are various forms which want of consideration takes1 and all of them are detestable4 7a7 ,tyranny1 where the strong member of a family insists on the service of those weaker than himself4 7b7 ,greed1 where one demands a larger share of comfort1 food1 or attention than that which falls to the others4 7c7 ,indolence1 where one refuses to take his proper part in the maintenance of the family1 spending his wages1 perhaps1 on his own pleasures1 and yet expecting to be provided for by the labor of the rest4 7d7 ,discourtesy1 where1 by his language and manners1 he makes the others unhappy1 and1 perhaps1 by his outbursts of temper fills the whole house with sadness4 7e7 ,obstinacy1 which will have its own way1 whether the way be good or not4 ,all these forms of selfishness are violations of the true law of family life1 and render that life impossible4 ,in the family1 more than in any other sphere1 everyone should bear the burdens of others4 ,everyone should seek1 not his own1 but another's welfare1 and the weak and feeble should receive the attention of all4 #d4 ,pleasantness should be the disposition which we should specially cultivate at home4 ,if we have to encounter things that annoy and perhaps irritate us in the outer world1 we should seek to leave the irritation and annoyance behind when we cross the threshold of our dwelling4 ,into it the roughness and bluster of the world should never be permitted to come4 ,it should be the place of sweetness and light1 and every member may do something to make it so4 ,it is a bad sign when a young man never cares to spend his evenings at home--when he prefers the company of others to the society of his family1 and seeks his amusement wholly beyond its circle4 ,there is something wrong when this is the case4 ,i beseech you1 said one addressing youth1 not to turn home into a restaurant and a sleeping bunk1 spending all your leisure somewhere else1 and going home only when all other places are shut up4 ,a young man1 it is admitted1 may find his home uninviting through causes for which he has not himself to blame4 ,still1 even then he may do much to change its character1 and by his pleasant and cheerful bearing may bring into it sunshine brighter than the sunshine outside4 #e4 ,the highest family life is that consecrated by ,religion4 ,the household where ,god is acknowledged1 from which the members go regularly together to the house of ,god1 within whose walls is heard the voice of prayer and praise1 is the ideal ,christian family4 ,in such a family the father is the priest1 daily offering up prayers for those whom ,god has given him1 at the family altar4 ,he makes it his duty1 and regards it as his privilege to bring up his children in the nurture and admonition of the ,lord1 and by personal example and teaching to train them up as members of the household of faith4 ,unlike those who leave the religious instruction of their children entirely to others1 he loves to teach them himself4 ,a household thus pervaded by a ,christian atmosphere is a scene of sweet and tender beauty4 ,such a household is well depicted by our ,scottish poet1 ,robert ,burns1 in his ,cotter's ,saturday ,night4 ,there we see how beautiful family life may be in the humblest dwelling4 ,from scenes like these old ,scotia's grandeur springs1 ,that makes her lov'd abroad1 rever'd at home4 #a ,dr4 ,james ,martineau4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,church4#a ,the word church is derived from the ,greek word ,kuriakon1 the ,lord's 7from ,kurios1 the ,lord71 and it has various significations4 7a7 ,sometimes it means the whole body of believers on earth--the company of the faithful throughout the world--the number of the elect that have been1 are1 and shall be gathered into one1 under ,christ the ,head thereof2 and is the spouse1 the body and the fulness of ,him that filleth all in all4 #b 7b7 ,sometimes it is applied to a body of ,christians differing from the rest in their constitution1 doctrines1 and usages2 as1 for example1 the ,church of ,rome1 the ,greek ,church1 the ,reformed ,church4 7c7 ,sometimes it refers to the ,christian community of a country or its established religion1 as when we speak of the ,gallican ,church1 the ,swiss ,church1 the ,church of ,england1 the ,church of ,scotland4 7d7 ,it is used in a still more limited sense to represent a particular congregation of ,christians who associate together and participate in the ordinances of ,christianity1 with their proper pastors or ministers4 7e7 ,it is applied also to the building in which the public ministrations of religion are conducted1 as when we speak of the church in such a street1 ,st4 ,james' church1 ,st4 ,peter's church1 etc4 ,in this chapter we use the word church in the fourth sense1 as representing a particular congregation of ,christians4 ,to such a community every young man should belong1 and in connection with it he is called to discharge certain special duties4 ,there are four aspects in which the life of the ,church1 in this sense1 may be regarded4 ,i4 ,it represents ,christian worship4--7a7 ,public worship seems essential to the very existence of religion4 ,at least1 every religion the world has seen has had its meetings for public rites and ceremonies4 ,faith unsupported by sympathy1 as a rule1 languishes and dies out in a community4 ,were our churches to be shut ,sunday after ,sunday1 and men never to meet together as religious beings1 it would be as though the reservoir that supplies a great city with water suddenly ran dry4 ,here and there a few might draw water from their own wells1 but the general result would be appalling4 7b7 ,public worship also strengthens and deepens religious feeling4 ,a man can pray alone and praise ,god alone2 but he is1 beyond all doubt1 helped when he does so in the company of others4 ,he is helped by the conditions of time and place2 and the presence and sympathy of his fellow-worshippers have upon him a mighty uplifting influence4 7c7 ,above all1 public worship is the channel through which we receive special blessings from ,god4 ,there is communion in the sanctuary between us and ,him4 ,the true worshippers shall worship the ,father in spirit and in truth1 for the ,father seeketh such to worship him4 ,god desires our worship1 and blesses it to us4 ,that ,he does so has been the experience of ,christians in all ages4 ,they have found in the house and worship of ,god a strength and power that supported and blessed their life4 ,they have realized that the promise of ,christ is still fulfilled1 ,where two or three are gathered together in my name1 there am ,i in the midst of them4 7,matt4 xviii4 #bj47 ,,ii4 ,the ,church represents ,christian teaching4--,in the congregation the ,word of ,god is read and preached4 7a7 ,preaching has always formed part of the service of the ,christian ,church from the very earliest times4 ,in the second century ,justin ,martyr says3 ,on the day called ,sunday1 all who live in the cities or in the country gather into one place1 and the memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read as time permits2 then when the reader has ceased1 the president verbally instructs and exhorts to the imitation of these good things4 ,this description of an early ,christian service is applicable still4 ,wherever the ,church meets there is religious teaching4 7b7 ,and it is the only such teaching that multitudes receive4 ,without it they would be left to grope their way alone4 7c7 ,whenever1 therefore1 there has been a revival of life in the ,church1 great stress has been laid upon the preaching of the ,word of ,god1 and ,god has specially blessed it to the conversion of sinners and the edification of ,his people4 ,,iii4 ,the ,church represents ,christian fellowship4--7a7 ,it keeps up the idea of brotherhood in the world4 ,it brings people of different ranks and classes together1 and that under most favorable circumstances4 ,whatever a man is in the world1 in the ,church he is made to feel that in the eye of ,god he is a member of one family1 having the same weaknesses1 the same sorrows1 the same needs1 the same destiny before him as those around him4 ,in the ,church the rich and poor meet together in equality before the same ,god1 who is the ,maker of them all4 7b7 ,but especially in its worship is the ,church a common bond between believers4 ,on one day of the week men of all nations1 kindreds1 peoples and tongues1 a multitude whom no man can number1 unite in spirit together4 ,their prayers and praises ascend in unison to the ,throne of ,grace4 ,they enter into the communion of saints4 ,they belong to one holy fellowship4 7c7 ,at the table of the ,lord they take their places as partakers of one life--as one in ,christ4 ,the cup of blessing which we bless1 is it not the communion of the blood of ,christ8 ,the bread which we break1 is it not the communion of the body of ,christ8 ,for we being many are all partakers of that one bread4 7#a ,cor4 x4 #af1 #ag47 ,,iv4 ,the ,church represents ,christian ,work4--,it is not merely a society for instruction or for the cultivation of devout feelings4 ,it is an aggressive society4 ,every congregation of believers is a branch of the great army which is warring against the kingdom of darkness4 ,every individual is called upon to be a fellow-laborer with ,christ1 and not merely to work out his own salvation1 but to work for the salvation of others4 ,the motto of every true ,christian ,church should be1 ,work for everybody1 and everybody at work4 ,those who may be able to do little as isolated individuals may do much by combining their efforts with those of others4 ,the ,church gives them the power and the opportunity4 ,we may now glance at some of the special duties incumbent upon those who are connected with the ,church1 and particularly upon young men4 #a4 ,we should be regular in availing ourselves of the means of grace which the ,church affords4 ,if it be the home of worship1 of teaching1 of fellowship1 and of work1 it is a home from which we should not make ourselves strangers4 ,there is a blessing to be found there1 and we are remiss if we do not seek it4 ,every young man should be a regular attendant on the ministrations of religion4 ,he should be so 7a7 for his own sake1 and 7b7 for the sake of others4 ,he may perhaps have at times the feeling1 ,i can get my worship in the fields and my teaching from my books2 ,i can get along without the ,church4 ,but surely he undervalues the promised blessing to those who forsake not the assembling of 7themselves7 together4 ,surely he undervalues the power1 and strength1 and comfort1 that come from association with believers4 ,but even if he could get on without the ,church1 is he not bound to consider others8 ,has any man in a world like ours1 where all are bound together and are dependent on one another1 any right to consider as to whether he can get on alone8 ,is he not bound to consider those around him8 ,we must all feel that it would be a great calamity to a nation were public worship given up1 churches closed1 and ,sunday made a day of recreation4 ,but those who absent themselves from public worship are undoubtedly using their influence in that direction4 ,if it be right for them to absent themselves1 it must be right also for others to imitate them1 and it is easy to see how disastrous generally such imitation would be4 ,especially should every young man become a communicant at the table of the ,lord4 ,besides the many spiritual benefits of which the sacrament is the channel to every devout believer1 it is an ordinance which is particularly helpful to the young4 ,it leads them to make a decision1 and decision gives strength4 ,from the moment they deliberately and solemnly make their choice1 there is a power imparted to their life that it had not before4 ,in the life of the well-known ,scotsman1 ,adam ,black1 it is said that shortly after he went up to ,london he became a communicant in the ,church to which he belonged4 ,i found1 he says1 this step gave a stability to my character1 and proved a defence from follies and vices1 especially as a young man in ,london1 entirely my own master1 with no one to guide or check me4 #b4 ,we should take each of us our full share in the work of our ,church4 ,it is a poor sign of a church when all the work done is by the minister1 or by the office-bearers alone1 and it is a still poorer sign of those who belong to it4 ,it is a sign that they have not felt the power of that grace which ever leads the soul to put the question1 ,what wilt thou have me to do8 ,there are none who cannot do something4 ,the writer read lately of a church in ,england1 the grounds of which were regularly tended and made beautiful by the young men belonging to it4 ,that may seem a small service1 but it was something4 ,it showed a good spirit4 ,if we are to get the most out of the ,church1 we must help it to do its work--charitable1 missionary1 ,sunday ,school1 ,young ,men's ,guild4 ,if the best heart and talent of young men were put into these and other agencies1 the power of the ,church for good would be increased immeasurably1 and not the least of the advantage would come to the workers themselves4 ,let each do his own part4 ,there is one way1 we need scarcely say1 in which we can all help the ,church's work3 by giving to it as the ,lord hath prospered us4 ,under the ,old ,testament dispensation every one was under strict obligation to give a fixed proportion of his substance for religious purposes4 ,surely we should not be less liberal when the proportion is left to our own sense of duty4 ,freely we have received4 ,let us also freely give4 #c4 ,while loyal to our own ,church1 we should cherish towards all ,christians feelings of charity and good-will4 ,many of us1 probably most of us1 belong to the ,church to which our parents belonged2 and so long as we feel it ministers to our spiritual benefit we should keep by it and work with it4 ,there is little good obtained by running from church to church1 and those who sever themselves from their early religious associations are often anything but gainers4 ,but while we are loyal to our own regiment in the ,christian army1 and proud1 so far as a ,christian may be so1 of its traditions and achievements1 let us ever feel that the army itself is greater than our own regiment1 and not only cherish good-will and brotherly love towards those who fight in that army1 but be ready at all times to co-operate with them1 and to fight with them against the common enemy4 ,it is well to be a good churchman1 it is infinitely better to be a good ,christian4 ,it is best when one is both2 for indeed he is the best ,christian who is the best churchman1 and he is the best churchman who is the best ,christian4 #a ,the subject of ,the ,church1 ,ministry and ,sacraments is to be fully dealt with in a ,guild text-book by the ,rev4 ,norman ,macleod1 ,d4 ,d4 ,we only refer in this chapter to those phases of ,church life that are more immediately connected with ,life and ,conduct4 #b ,confession of ,faith4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,citizenship4 ,citizenship is derived from the ,latin word civitas1 the state1 and comprehends the duties that are binding upon us as members of the state4 ,the first question then that arises in considering these is1 ,what do we mean by the state8 ,the state may be defined as the larger family4--,the family is the origin of the state4 7a7 ,in early times government was of the simple kind that prevails in a family4 ,the father was the head of the household and ruled over his children4 ,as these grew up and had families of their own1 they naturally looked to the aged head of the family1 listened to his counsels1 and were guided by his wisdom4 ,hence the first form of the state was the tribe or clan1 and the first form of government was patriarchal4 ,the head of the family governed the tribe4 7b7 ,on the death of the patriarch it was necessary that a successor should be appointed4 ,sometimes he was the son of the patriarch or his nearest descendant4 ,sometimes he was chosen by the tribe as the strongest and bravest man and most competent to lead them against their enemies4 ,often tribes combined for mutual protection4 ,thus nations were formed1 and the government passed from the patriarchal to the monarchical form4 ,the head was called the king1 which literally means the father of a people4 ,we trace this growth in government in the history of the ,israelites4 ,first1 we have the family of ,israel in immediate relation with the patriarchs4 ,as the ,israelites grew and multiplied1 they came under the leadership of ,moses1 who governed the tribes4 ,finally1 when they settled in the land of ,canaan1 they became a nation1 and were governed by a king4 ,the kingdom was the expansion of the family4 7c7 ,in modern times there has been a further development4 ,government by a king or monarch was in the first instance despotic4 ,it is so in some cases--as in ,russia at the present day4 ,the will of the sovereign is the law by which the people are ruled4 ,but just as a wise father relaxes his control over his full-grown sons1 and admits them to a share in the government of the household with himself1 so the people have in modern times been permitted to exercise power in the state4 ,the head of the state remains1 but the main power of government lies with the people4 ,this form of government is called constitutional4 ,in ,great ,britain we have a limited monarchy2 the power of the sovereign is controlled by the will of the people1 who have a large share in making the laws4 ,in the ,united ,states of ,america1 in ,france1 and in other countries1 we have republics1 where the voice of the people is supreme1 though at the head of the state is a president1 elected by the people1 and bound to carry out their wishes4 ,as the state is the larger family1 the duties of those who compose it correspond with those belonging to the members of a household4 #a4 ,there is the duty of loyalty or patriotism4 ,the first duty of the member of a family is love of home and of those who belong to it4 ,however poor or humble it may be1 he feels bound to it by no ordinary ties4 ,he defends its interests4 ,above all other households1 he loves his own the best4 ,the first duty of the citizen is of the same kind4 ,he loves his land2 his own country is dearer to him than any other on earth4 ,he is ready to defend it even with his life4 ,the words of ,sir ,walter ,scott1 as of many another poet1 express this patriotic feeling3 ,breathes there the man with soul so dead1 ,who never to himself hath said1 ,this is my own1 my native land1 ,whose heart hath ne'er within him burned1 ,as home his footsteps he hath turned1 ,from wandering on a foreign strand4 ,many have died for their country's sake1 and in all ages this has been thought a specially noble death4 ,history records with affection the names of such men as ,wallace1 ,bruce1 ,william ,tell1 and ,garibaldi1 who sacrificed very much for the land they loved4 ,and as peace has its victories no less renowned than those of war1 it has been the pride of others to serve their country by guarding its liberties1 increasing its happiness1 diminishing its evils1 reforming its laws4 ,the flag of a country is the symbol1 to those who belong to it1 of their common inheritance4 ,brave men will follow it through the shot and shell of battle4 ,men have wrapt it round their breasts1 and have dyed its folds with their heart's blood to save it from the hands of the enemy2 and wherever it waves it calls forth feelings of loyalty and allegiance4 #b4 ,another primary duty of citizenship is obedience to the law4 ,here again we have the rule of the family extended to the state4 ,the child is bound to obey his parents unless they bid him do what his conscience clearly tells him is wrong2 so1 a good citizen will obey the laws of his country1 unless these laws are so evidently unjust that the good of all demands that they should be resisted4 ,whatever the law is1 he will endeavor to respect and obey it4 ,if he believes it to be an unjust or unrighteous law1 he will do his best to get it amended or abolished4 ,it is only in an extreme case1 though this opens a subject on which we cannot enter1 that he can be justified in refusing obedience4 ,let every soul1 says ,scripture1 be subject unto the higher powers4 ,for there is no power but of ,god3 the powers that be are ordained of ,god4 ,whosoever therefore resisteth the power1 resisteth the ordinance of ,god2 and they that resist shall receive to themselves condemnation4 ,for rulers are not a terror to good works1 but to the evil4 4 4 4 ,wherefore1 ye must needs be subject1 not only for wrath1 but also for conscience sake4 #c4 ,it is a duty of citizenship to see that the laws are reasonable and just4 ,in a family1 the grown-up members will use their legitimate influence to promote the wise regulation of the household1 that there may be peace and harmony4 ,the same desire will animate the members of the state4 7a7 ,this is specially incumbent upon those who1 like ourselves1 live under constitutional government4 ,with us1 government is not the prerogative of the ,crown1 or of a few families2 or of men of rank or wealth4 ,it is not despotic1 or aristocratic1 or plutocratic1 but democratic--that is to say1 it is in the hands of the people1 or of those of the people to whom it has been entrusted1 and who form a large proportion of the male inhabitants of the country2 on them devolves the making of the laws by which the country is governed4 ,they are bound to do their best to see that these laws are what they should be--equitable and righteous1 and for the interest of the whole community4 7b7 ,this they can only do through their representatives4 ,we could conceive of a state so small that each of its members could take a direct part in its government4 ,that is not the case with us1 and the people can only exercise their control through those they authorise to represent them4 ,these they elect1 and in electing them are bound to see that they are men who are worthy of the trust committed to them1 who will make laws good for every class4 ,this applies not only to the election of members of ,parliament1 but wherever the representative principle is carried out1 as in the case of councils1 school boards1 and other forms of local government4 ,wherever a man exercises the privilege of choosing a representative1 he is bound to do so conscientiously1 and with an earnest desire to perform what is right4 ,it is a maxim in law that what we do by another we do ourselves4 ,we are responsible for those whom we choose to make our laws1 and if we help to choose unworthy men we cannot be held blameless of the consequences that may follow4 7c7 ,as it is our duty to exercise this privilege of citizenship rightly1 we are also bound not to refrain from exercising it4 ,we hear people say sometimes that they have nothing to do with politics4 ,but by keeping altogether aloof they cannot rid themselves of their responsibility4 ,by abstaining they may do almost as much to further the views they disapprove of as by taking an active part in promoting them4 ,if there are evils in connection with government1 the best way to get rid of them is for good men to take a part in public life1 and try to bring about a better state of things4 ,in a free country no man can shake off his obligations by refraining from taking part in public affairs4 ,the talent that is entrusted to us we are bound to use for the glory of ,god and the good of man4 ,our political power1 however small1 is such a talent1 and we are responsible for its proper employment4 #d4 ,it is a duty of citizenship to take direct part in all that we believe is for the good of the state4 ,we say a direct part1 as distinguished from the indirect part we take in government through representatives4 ,a man's duty as citizen does not end with the ballot-box1 or with the election of members either to the national or local council4 ,a great part of the business of the nation is carried on by the voluntary efforts of its members4 ,there are men and women that have no part in representative government1 who yet can discharge nobly the duties of citizenship4 7a7 ,all can take a part in forming a healthy public opinion4 ,this is done in all free countries in various ways3 through the press1 through public meetings1 and by means of the speech and communications of everyday life4 ,if our views are those of a minority1 we may help1 by our influence1 our example1 the fearless expression of our convictions1 to turn the minority into a majority2 and in a democratic country the views of the majority will ultimately prevail4 7b7 ,we can also take direct part in promoting objects that tend to the well-being of society4 ,much is left by the state to voluntary effort by its members4 ,the state undertakes the defence of the country by the army and navy1 the relief of the poor1 and the elementary education of the people2 but beyond these and other instances of direct state action there is much left to be done by the people themselves1 and for themselves4 ,the ,volunteer movement1 in which men take part of their own free will1 and which has been of so much benefit to the country2 the erection and support of hospitals1 libraries1 art galleries1 colleges and universities2 the furnishing of the people with amusement and recreation--are illustrations of what may be done by members of the community directly4 ,all such efforts tend to the welfare of the state4 ,all its members reap benefit from them4 ,he who does not help and encourage them is as mean as the man who would go to an hotel and take its entertainment1 and then sneak away without paying the reckoning4 ,whatever we can do to benefit society benefits ourselves1 and in throwing ourselves heart and soul into any of those enterprises that benefit society we are discharging in a very special way the duties of good citizenship4 ,it only remains to say in a word that our citizenship should be the outcome of our religion4 ,without that1 citizenship loses its high position4 ,he who fears ,god will honor the king1 and he who renders to ,god the things that are ,god's will render to ,caesar the things that are ,caesar's4 ,he will give to all their dues3 tribute to whom tribute is due2 custom to whom custom2 fear to whom fear2 honor to whom honor4 ,religion thus becomes the strength of the state1 and righteousness exalteth a nation4 ,,appendix4 ,the following is the list of the best hundred books referred to in ,chapter ,,xiii4 ,it is by ,professor ,blackie1 ,edinburgh1 author of ,self-,culture1 and is given with his kind consent4 ,i4 ,,history ,,and ,,biography4 ,the ,bible4 ,homer4 ,wilkinson's ,ancient ,egyptians4 ,max ,von ,dunche's ,history of the ,ancient ,world4 ,plutarch's ,lives4 ,herodotus4 ,history of ,greece--,grote or ,curtius4 ,history of ,rome--,arnold or ,mommsen4 ,menzel's ,history of the ,germans4 ,green's ,history of the ,english ,people4 ,life of ,charlemagne4 ,life of ,pope ,hildebrand4 ,the ,crusades4 ,sismondi's ,history of the ,italian ,republics4 ,prescott's ,america4 ,prescott's ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,italy1 by ,professor ,spalding4 ,chronicles1 by ,froissart4 ,the ,normans--,freeman and ,thierry4 ,motley's ,dutch ,republic4 ,life of ,gustavus ,adolphus4 ,the ,french ,revolution--,thiers1 ,carlyle1 ,alison4 ,bourrienne's ,life of ,napoleon4 ,wellington's ,peninsular ,campaign4 ,southey's ,life of ,nelson4 ,america--,bancroft4 ,the ,stuart ,rising of #agde1 by ,robert ,chambers4 ,carlyle's ,life of ,cromwell4 ,foster's ,statesmen of the ,commonwealth4 ,life of ,arnold--,stanley4 ,life of ,dr4 ,norman ,macleod4 ,life of ,baron ,bunsen4 ,neander's ,church ,history4 ,life of ,luther4 ,history of ,scottish ,covenanters--,dodds4 ,dean ,stanley's ,jewish ,church4 ,milman's ,latin ,christianity4 ,,ii4 ,,religion ,,and ,,morals4 ,the ,bible4 ,socrates or ,plato and ,xenophon4 ,marcus ,aurelius ,antoninus' ,meditations4 ,epictetus ,seneca4 ,the ,hitopadion and ,dialogues of ,krishna4 ,st4 ,augustine's ,confessions4 ,jeremy ,taylor4 ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,martineau4 ,aesop's ,fables4 ,,iii4 ,,poetry ,,and ,,fiction4 ,homer4 ,virgil4 ,dante4 ,the ,niebelungen ,lay4 ,the ,morte ,d',arthur4 ,chaucer4 ,shakespeare4 ,spenser4 ,goethe--,faust1 ,meister1 and ,eckermann's ,conversations4 ,milton4 ,pope4 ,cowper4 ,campbell4 ,wordsworth4 ,walter ,scott4 ,burns4 ,charles ,lamb4 ,dean ,swift1 ,tale of a ,tub and ,gulliver's ,travels4 ,tennyson4 ,browning4 ,don ,quixote4 ,goldsmith1 ,vicar of ,wakefield4 ,george ,eliot4 ,dickens4 ,robinson ,crusoe4 ,andersen's ,fairy ,tales1 ,mother ,bunch4 ,grimm's ,popular ,songs and ,ballads1 especially ,scotch1 ,english1 ,irish and ,german4 ,,iv4 ,,fine ,,arts4 ,ferguson's ,history of ,architecture4 ,ruskin4 ,tyrwhitt4 ,v4 ,,politics ,,and ,,political ,,economy4 ,de ,tocqueville4 ,john ,stuart ,mill4 ,fawcett4 ,laveleye4 ,adam ,smith4 ,cornewall ,lewis4 ,lord ,brougham4 ,sir ,j4 ,lubbock4 ,,vi4 ,,science ,,and ,,philology4 ,j4 ,g4 ,wood's ,books on ,natural ,history4 ,white's ,natural ,history of ,selbourne4 ,geology--,hugh ,miller1 ,ramsey1 ,geikie1 ,ansted4 ,botany--,general ,elements of ,british4 ,science of ,language--,trench and ,farrar1 ,max ,mller4 ,taylor's ,words and ,places4 ,,vii4 ,,voyages ,,and ,,travel4 ,in every variety2 especially the old collections4 ,,list ,,of ,,works4 ,the following is a list of works upon topics treated in this text-book1 which have been consulted in its preparation1 and which may be useful to students3 ,self-,culture1 by ,john ,stuart ,blackie4 ,edinburgh3 ,david ,douglas4 ,twentieth edition4 #ahib4 ,plain ,living and ,high ,thinking1 or ,practical ,self-,culture--,moral1 ,mental and ,physical1 by ,w4 ,h4 ,davenport ,adams4 ,london3 ,john ,hogg1 ,paternoster ,row4 #ahhj4 ,the ,secret of ,success1 by ,w4 ,h4 ,davenport ,adams4 ,london3 ,john ,hogg1 ,paternoster ,row4 #ahhj4 ,the ,threshold of ,life1 by ,w4 ,h4 ,davenport ,adams4 ,t4 ,nelson ,sons1 ,paternoster ,row4 #ahgf4 ,on the ,threshold1 by ,theodore ,t4 ,munger4 ,london3 ,ward1 ,lock ,co4 #ahhh4 ,beginning ,life1 by ,john ,tulloch1 ,d4,d4 ,london3 ,chas4 ,burnet ,co4 #ahhc4 ,life3 a ,book for ,young ,men1 by ,j4 ,cunninghame ,geikie4 ,london3 ,strahan ,co4 #ahgj4 ,the ,gentle ,life1 by ,j4 ,hain ,friswell4 ,london3 ,sampson ,low ,marston4 #ahgj4 ,self-,culture1 by ,james ,freeman ,clarke4 ,boston3 ,j4 ,r4 ,osgood ,co4 #ahha4 ,life ,questions1 by ,m4 ,j4 ,savage4 ,boston3 ,lockwood1 ,brooks ,co4 #ahgi4 ,elements of ,morality1 for ,home and ,school ,teaching1 by ,mrs4 ,chas4 ,bray4 ,london3 ,longmans1 ,green ,co4 #ahfc4 ,the ,family and its ,duties1 by ,robert ,lee1 ,d4,d4 ,london3 ,longmans1 ,green ,co4 #ahfc4 ,christianity in its ,relation to ,social ,life1 by ,rev4 ,stephen ,j4 ,davis4 ,london3 ,religious ,tract ,society4 ,home ,life1 by ,marianne ,farningham4 ,london3 ,james ,clarke ,co4 ,the ,domestic ,circle1 by the ,rev4 ,john ,thomson4 ,london3 ,swan ,sonnenschein ,co4 #ahhf4