file which includes the original illustration4 ,see #cifdh-;h4htm or #cifdh-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#cifdh_/pg#cifdh-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#ci fdh_/cifdh-;h4zip7 ,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capital text has been replaced with all capitals4 ,,character ,,and ,,conduct ,illustration3 ,,faithful ,,unto ,,death ,,sir ,e4 ,j4 ,,poynter1 ,,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 ,this picture represents a ,roman ,guard on duty at one of the palaces during the destruction of ,herculanaeum1 who1 although he might perhaps have made his escape prefers to remain at his post1 faithful unto death4 ,,character ,,and ,,conduct ,a ,book of ,helpful ,thoughts by ,great ,writers of ,past and ,present ,ages ,selected and ,arranged for ,daily ,reading by the ,author of ,being ,and ,doing ,with a ,frontispiece by ,sir ,e4 ,j4 ,poynter1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 ,liverpool ,henry ,young ,sons ,london ,simpkin1 ,marshall1 ,hamilton1 ,kent ,co4 ,ltd4 #aije ,first ,edition1 #bjjj copies1 printed ,november #aijd ,second ,edition1 #ajjj copies1 printed ,december #aijd ,,to ,e4 ,k4 ,it is more men that the world wants1 not more systems4 ,it is character that our modern life waits for1 to redeem and transform it2 and conduct as the fruitage of character4 ,the ,citizen in his ,relation to the ,industrial ,situation1 ,,bishop ,,potter4 ,,preface ,this collection of noble thoughts expressed by men and women of past and present ages who have endeavoured to leave the world a little better than they found it1 is similar in arrangement and purpose to my former volume ,being and ,doing2 and has been compiled at the request of several readers who have found that book helpful4 ,it is obvious that without the kindly co-operation of many authors and publishers such books could not exist1 and ,i tender sincere and hearty thanks to those who have made the work possible4 ,all have treated me with unfailing courtesy and generosity4 ,where ,i have occasionally used short quotations without permission ,i ask forgiveness4 ,it would be impossible to name separately each one to whom ,i am a grateful debtor1 so special mention must only be made of the more heavily taxed1 and of those who have asked for a formal acknowledgment1 namely3-- ,the ,literary ,executors of the late ,mr4 ,ruskin1 per ,mr4 ,george ,allen1 for extracts from ,mr4 ,ruskin's works4 ,mr4 ,edward ,arnold for those from ,red ,pottage1 by ,mary ,cholmondeley4 ,canon ,barnett for those from ,the ,service of ,god4 ,messrs4 ,deighton ,bell ,co4 for those from ,pastor ,pastorum1 by the ,rev4 ,henry ,latham4 ,mr4 ,james ,drummond for those from the writings of ,professor ,henry ,drummond4 ,messrs4 ,kegan ,paul1 ,trench1 ,truebner ,co4 for those from ,sir ,edwin ,arnold's ,light of ,asia4 ,miss ,may ,kendall for those from ,turkish ,bonds1 c4 ,messrs4 ,longmans1 ,green ,co4 for those from the works of ,bishop ,paget1 and from ,canon ,mac,coll's ,here and ,hereafter4 ,professor ,mac,cunn for those from ,the ,making of ,character4 ,messrs4 ,macmillan ,co4 for those from the works of ,bishop ,westcott1 ,mrs4 ,bernard ,bosanquet2 ,tennyson's ,poems2 from the present ,lord ,tennyson's ,life of his father2 from the ,mettle of the ,pasture1 by ,james ,lane ,allen2 and from ,mrs4 ,humphry ,ward's translation of ,amiel's ,journal4 ,messrs4 ,methuen ,co4 for one from the ,life of ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson4 ,mr4 ,lloyd ,osbourne for those from ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson's works4 ,messrs4 ,wells1 ,gardner1 ,darton ,co4 for those from ,bishop ,winnington ,ingram's ,under the ,dome and ,friends of the ,master4 ,dr4 ,john ,watson for those from his writings4 ,permission was kindly given me before by ,messrs4 ,macmillan to quote from the works of the late ,archbishop ,temple and of ,matthew ,arnold4 ,by ,messrs4 ,smith1 ,elder ,co4 for quotations from ,robert ,browning4 ,by ,mr4 ,c4 ,lewes for quotations from ,george ,eliot2 and from ,lord ,avebury and the ,rev4 ,stopford ,brooke for those from their works4 ,in my experience the reading of extracts often leads to the reading of the books from which they were taken1 and ,i hope and believe many of these gleanings will serve as introductions4 ,,constance ,m4 ,,whishaw4 ,,sunny ,,bank1 ,,arnside1 ,,carnforth4 ,new ,year's ,day ,,january #a ,here you stand at the parting of the ways2 some road you are to take2 and as you stand here1 consider and know how it is that you intend to live4 ,carry no bad habits1 no corrupting associations1 no enmities and strifes into this ,new ,year4 ,leave these behind1 and let the ,dead ,past bury its ,dead2 leave them behind1 and thank ,god that you are able to leave them4 ,,ephraim ,,peabody4 ,,would',,st shape a noble life8 ,then cast ,no backward glances toward the past1 ,and though somewhat be lost and gone1 ,yet do thou act as one new-born2 ,what each day needs1 that shalt thou ask1 ,each day will set its proper task4 ,,goethe4 ,no aim is too high1 no task too great1 no sin too strong1 no trial too hard for those who patiently and humbly rest upon ,god's grace3 who wait on ,him that ,he may renew their strength4 ,faculties and ,difficulties for ,belief and ,disbelief1 ,,bishop ,,paget4 ,purpose ,,january #b ,you did not come into this world by chance1 you were not born by accident4 ,you all came charged with a mission to use your best efforts to extend the frontier of your ,master's ,kingdom by purifying your own hearts and leavening for good the hearts of all who come within the sphere of your influence4 ,your business here is not to enjoy yourselves in those fleeting pleasures which perish in the using2 not to sip as many dainties as you can from the moments as they fly2 not to gather as many flowers as you can pluck from the garden of this perishing earth2 not even to rest in the enjoyment of those nobler delights which come from the exercise of the intellect in the investigation of the works of ,god and man2 but rather to do your best to fit yourselves and others for the new heavens and new earth1 which ,god has prepared for those who love ,him4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,,canon ,,maccoll4 ,do not despise your situation2 in it you must act1 suffer1 and conquer4 ,from every point on earth we are equally near to heaven and to the infinite4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,a ,noble ,life ,,january #c ,a man's greatness lies not in wealth and station1 as the vulgar believe1 nor yet in his intellectual capacity1 which is often associated with the meanest moral character1 the most abject servility to those in high places1 and arrogance to the poor and lowly2 but a man's true greatness lies in the consciousness of an honest purpose in life1 founded on a just estimate of himself and everything else1 on frequent self-examination1 and a steady obedience to the rule which he knows to be right1 without troubling himself about what others may think or say1 or whether they do or do not do that which he thinks and says and does4 ,,george ,,long4 ,whether a life is noble or ignoble depends not on the calling which is adopted1 but on the spirit in which it is followed4 ,the ,pleasures of ,life1 ,,lord ,,avebury4 ,every noble life leaves the fibre of itself interwoven for ever in the work of the world4 ,,trench4 ,holiness ,,january #d ,jesus and ,his ,apostles teach that the supreme success of life is not to escape pain but to lay hold on righteousness1 not to possess but to be holy1 not to get things from ,god but to be like ,god4 ,they were ever bidding ,christians beware of ease1 ever rousing them to surrender and sacrifice4 ,the ,potter's ,wheel1 ,,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,the end of life is not to deny self1 nor to be true1 nor to keep the ,ten ,commandments--it is simply to do ,god's will4 ,it is not to get good nor be good1 nor even to do good--it is just what ,god wills1 whether that be working or waiting1 or winning or losing1 or suffering or recovering1 or living or dying4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years4 ,death hangs over thee4 ,while thou livest1 while it is in thy power1 be good4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,the ,power of the ,holy ,spirit ,,january #e ,we are haunted by an ideal life1 and it is because we have within us the beginning and the possibility of it4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,the power of the ,holy ,spirit6--an everlasting spiritual presence among men4 ,what but that is the thing we want8 ,that is what the old oracles were dreaming of1 what the modern ,spiritualists tonight are fumbling after4 ,the power of the ,holy ,ghost1 by which every man who is in doubt may know what is right1 every man whose soul is sick may be made spiritually whole1 every weak man may be made a strong man1--that is ,god's one sufficient answer to the endless appeal of man's spiritual life2 that is ,god's one great response to the unconscious need of spiritual guidance1 which ,he hears crying out of the deep heart of every man4--,i hope that ,i have made clear to you what ,i mean4 ,i would that we might understand ourselves1 see what we might be2 nay1 see what we are4 ,while you are living a worldly and a wicked life1 letting all sacred things go1 caring for no duty1 serving no ,god1 there is another self1 your possibility1 the thing that you might be1 the thing that ,god gave you a chance to be4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,a ,symphony ,,january #f ,to live content with small means2 to seek elegance rather than luxury1 and refinement rather than fashion2 to be worthy1 not respectable1 and wealthy1 not rich2 to study hard1 think quietly1 talk gently1 act frankly2 to listen to stars and birds1 to babes and sages1 with open heart2 to bear all cheerfully1 do all bravely1 await occasions1 hurry never2 in a word1 to let the spiritual1 unbidden and unconscious1 grow up through the common--this is to be my symphony4 ,,william ,,ellery ,,channing4 ,heed how thou livest4 ,do no act by day ,which from the night shall drive thy peace away4 ,in months of sun so live that months of rain ,shall still be happy4 ,,whittier1 ,translation4 ,patience with ,ourselves ,,january #g ,to be honest1 to be kind--to earn a little and to spend a little less1 to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence1 to renounce when that shall be necessary and not be embittered1 to keep a few friends but these without capitulation--above all1 on the same grim condition1 to keep friends with himself--here is a task for all that a man has of fortitude and delicacy4 ,across the ,plains1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,people who love themselves aright1 even as they ought to love their neighbour1 bear charitably1 though without flattery1 with self as with another4 ,they know what needs correction at home as well as elsewhere2 they strive heartily and vigorously to correct it1 but they deal with self as they would deal with some one else they wished to bring to ,god4 ,they set to work patiently1 not exacting more than is practicable under present circumstances from themselves any more than from others1 and not being disheartened because perfection is not attainable in a day4 ,,fenelon4 ,one is so apt to think that what works smoothest works to the highest ends1 having no patience for the results of friction4 ,mrs4 ,,ewing4 ,the ,foot-path to ,peace ,,january #h ,to be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars2 to be satisfied with your possessions1 but not contented with yourself until you have made the best of them2 to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness1 and to fear nothing except cowardice2 to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts2 to covet nothing that is your neighbour's except his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners2 to think seldom of your enemies1 often of your friends1 and every day of ,christ2 and to spend as much time as you can1 with body and with spirit1 in ,god's out-of-doors--these are little guideposts on the foot-path to peace4 ,,henry ,,van ,,dyke4 ,o ,lord1 that lends me life1 lend me a heart replete with thankfulness4 ,,shakespeare4 ,purpose ,,january #i ,he who lives without a definite purpose achieves no higher end than to serve as a warning to others4 ,he is a kind of bell-buoy1 mournfully tolled by the waves of circumstance1 to mark the rocks or shoals which are to be avoided4 ,surely there is something to be done from morning till night1 and to find out what is the appointed work of the onward-tending soul4 ,,fanny ,,kemble4 ,i ask you while hope is still fresh and enthusiasm unchilled to gain some conception of the solemnity1 the vastness1 the unity1 the purpose of life3 to pause in the street or on the river bank and ask yourselves what that strange stream of pleasure and frivolity and sorrow and vice means1 and means to you3 to reflect that you are bound by intelligible bonds to every suffering1 sinning man and woman3 to learn1 while the lesson is comparatively easy1 the secret of human sympathy3 to search after some of the essential relationships of man to man3 to interpret a little of the worth of even trivial labour3 to grow sensitive to the feelings of the poor3 to grow considerate to the claims of the weak4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,life1 a ,school ,january #aj ,all life is a school1 a preparation1 a purpose3 nor can we pass current in a higher college1 if we do not undergo the tedium of education in this lower one4 ,tennyson--a ,memoir1 by his ,son4 ,life is a succession of lessons1 which must be lived to be understood4 ,,emerson4 ,we never know for what ,god is preparing us in ,his schools1 for what work on earth1 for what work in the hereafter4 ,our business is to do our work well in the present place1 whatever that may be4 ,,lyman ,,abbott4 ,character and ,service ,january #aa ,never should we forget the close connection between character and service1 between inward nobleness and outward philanthropy4 ,we are not here to dream1 or even to build up in grace and beauty our individual life2 we are responsible1 each in our own little way1 for trying to leave this sad world happier1 this evil world better than we found it4 ,in this way slackness is infamy1 and power to the last particle means duty4 ,each of us1 in some degree1 must have the ambition to be an ',alter ,christus'--another ,christ1 shouldering with the compassionate ,son of ,god to lift our shadowed world from the gates of death4 ,what men want is not talent1 it is purpose2 not the power to achieve1 but the will to labour4 ,,bulwer ,,lytton4 ',awake1 thou that sleepest1 and arise from the dead1 and ,christ shall give thee light4' ,this is the principle with which we should look forth upon the world and our own life at the beginning of this year4 ,we look upon the world2 it seems as if it were sleeping still1 like ,rome1 as if it needed as much as ever to hear the shout1 ',awake1 thou that sleepest4' ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,present ,circumstances ,,january #ab ,everywhere and at all times it is in thy power piously to acquiesce in thy present condition1 and to behave justly to those who are about thee1 and to exert thy skill upon thy present thoughts1 that nothing shall steal into them without being well examined4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,such as are thy habitual thoughts1 such also will be the character of thy mind2 for the soul is dyed by the thoughts4 ,dye it then with a continuous series of such thoughts as these3 for instance1 that where a man can live1 there he can also live well4 ,but he must live in a palace2--well then1 he can also live well in a palace4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,of nothing can we be more sure than this3 that1 if we cannot sanctify our present lot1 we could sanctify no other4 ,,martineau4 ,circumstances ,,january #ac ,occasion is the father of most that is good in us4 ,as you have seen the awkward fingers and clumsy tools of a prisoner cut and fashion the most delicate little pieces of carved work2 or achieve the most prodigious underground labours1 and cut through walls of masonry1 and saw iron bars and fetters2 'tis misfortune that awakens ingenuity1 or fortitude or endurance1 in hearts where these qualities had never come to life but for the circumstance which gave them a being4 ,esmond1 ,w4 ,m4 ,,thackeray4 ,it always remains true that if we had been greater1 circumstances would have been less strong against us4 ,g4 ,,eliot4 ,a consideration of petty circumstances is the tomb of great things4 ,,voltaire4 ,the ,ifs of ,life ,,january #ad ,if it were--if it might be--if it could be--if it had been4 ,one portion of mankind go through life always regretting1 always whining1 always imagining4 ,as it is--this is the way in which the other class of people look at the conditions in which they find themselves4 ,i venture to say that if one should count the ifs and the ases in the conversation of his acquaintances1 he would find the more able and important persons among them--statesmen1 generals1 men of business--among the ases1 and the majority of conspicuous failures among the ifs4 ,over the ,teacups1 ,o4 ,w4 ,,holmes4 ,it is sad1 indeed1 to see how man wastes his opportunities4 ,how many could be made happy1 with the blessings which are recklessly wasted or thrown away6 ,happiness is a condition of ,mind1 not a result of circumstances2 and1 in the words of ,dugald ,stewart1 the great secret of happiness is to accommodate ourselves to things external1 rather than to struggle to accommodate external things to ourselves4 ,hume wisely said that a happy disposition was better than an estate of ,l#aj1jjj a year4 ,try to realise all the blessings you have1 and you will find perhaps that they are more than you suppose4 ,many a blessing has been recognised too late4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,the pleasure of life is according to the man that lives it1 and not according to the work or the place4 ,,emerson4 ,harmony ,,january #ae 444 ,have good will ,to all that lives1 letting unkindness die ,and greed and wrath2 so that your lives be made ,like soft airs passing by4 444 ,govern the lips ,as they were palace-doors1 the ,king within2 ,tranquil and fair and courteous be all words ,which from that presence win4 444 ,let each act ,assoil a fault or help a merit grow3 ,like threads of silver seen through crystal beads ,let love through good deeds show4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,the ,past is something1 but the ,present more2 ,will ,it not1 too1 be past8 ,nor fail withal ,to recognise the ,future in your hopes2 ,unite them in your manhood1 each and all1 ,nor mutilate the perfectness of life6-- ,you can remember2 you can also hope4 ,a4 ,h4 ,,clough4 ,harmony ,,january #af 444 ,,this is peace ,to conquer love of self and lust of life1 ,to tear deep-rooted passion from the breast1 ,to still the inward strife2 ,for love to clasp ,eternal ,beauty close2 ,for glory to be ,lord of self2 for pleasure ,to live beyond the gods2 for countless wealth ,to lay up lasting treasure ,of perfect service rendered1 duties done ,in charity1 soft speech1 and stainless days3 ,these riches shall not fade away in life1 ,nor any death dispraise4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,,we are all of us made more graceful by the inward presence of what we believe to be a generous purpose2 our actions move to a hidden music--'a melody that's sweetly played in tune4' ,,george ,,eliot4 ,ideals ,,january #ag ,it is not the ideals of earlier years that are the most unattainable4 ',the petty done1 the undone vast' is not the thought of the youth1 but of those who1 having done the most1 yet count themselves unprofitable servants1 because it is to them only that the experience1 the knowledge1 and the reflection of maturer years have opened up the far vistas of moral possibility4 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,,prof4 ,,maccunn4 ,in doing is this knowledge won1 ,to see what yet remains undone4 ,with this our pride repress1 ,and give us grace1 a growing store1 ,that day by day we may do more ,and may esteem it less4 ,,trench4 ,comfort me not6--for if aught be worse than failure from over-stress ,of a life's prime purpose1 it is to sit down content with a little success4 ,,lytton4 ,the ,celestial ,surgeon ,,january #ah ,,the ,,celestial ,,surgeon ,if ,i have faltered more or less ,in my great task of happiness2 ,if ,i have moved among my race ,and shown no glorious morning face2 ,if beams from happy human eyes ,have moved me not2 if morning skies1 ,books1 and my food1 and summer rain ,knocked on my sullen heart in vain3-- ,lord1 ,thy most pointed pleasure take ,and stab my spirit broad awake2 ,or1 ,lord1 if too obdurate ,i1 ,choose ,thou1 before that spirit die1 ,a piercing pain1 a killing sin1 ,and to my dead heart run them in4 ,underwoods1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,influence of ,great ,men ,,january #ai ,the thirst for memoirs and lives and letters is not all to be put down to the hero-worship which is natural to every heart4 ,it means1 perhaps1 a higher thing than that4 ,it means1 in the first place1 that great living is being appreciated for its own sake2 and1 in the second1 that great living is being imitated4 ,if it is true that any of us are beginning to appreciate greatness for its own sake--greatness1 that is to say1 in the sense of great and true living--it is one of the most hopeful symptoms of our history4 ,and1 further1 if we are going on from the mere admiration of great men to try and live like them1 we are obeying one of the happiest impulses of our being4 ,there is indeed no finer influence abroad than the influence of great men in great books1 and all that literature can do in supplying the deformed world with worthy and shapely models is entitled to gratitude and respect4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,glimpses into the inner regions of a great soul do one good4 ,contact of this kind strengthens1 restores1 refreshes4 ,courage returns as we gaze2 when we see what has been1 we doubt no more that it can be again4 ,at the sight of a ,,man we too say to ourselves1 ,let us also be men4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,influence of ,great ,men ,,january #bj ,we cannot look1 however imperfectly1 upon a great man1 without gaining something by him4 ,he is the living life-fountain1 which it is good and pleasant to be near2 the light which enlightens1 which has enlightened1 the darkness of the world2 and this not as a kindling lamp only1 but rather as a natural luminary1 shining by the gift of ,heaven2 a flowing light-fountain1 as ,i say1 of native original insight1 of manhood and heroic nobleness1 in whose radiance all souls feel that it is well with them4 ,,carlyle4 ,my sole fear was the fear of doing an unrighteous or unholy thing4 ,,socrates4 ,the truly honest man1 here and there to be found1 is not only without thought of legal1 religious1 or social compulsion1 when he discharges an equitable claim on him1 but he is without thought of self-compulsion4 ,he does the right thing with a simple feeling of satisfaction in doing it2 and is1 indeed1 impatient if anything prevents him from having the satisfaction of doing it4 ,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,the ,habit of ,admiration ,,january #ba ',we live by admiration1 hope1 and love1' ,wordsworth tells us1--not1 therefore1 by contempt1 despondency1 and hatred4 ,these contract and narrow the soul1 as the others enlarge it4 ,the more a man heartily admires1 the more he takes into his nature the goodness and beauty which excite his admiration4 ,his being grows up toward what thus evokes his enthusiasm4 ,and the habit of admiration is the outcome of a moral discipline which represses peevish and fault-finding dispositions1 and seeks the admirable in every situation and every person that life brings to us4 ',be ye enlarged' implies 'learn to admire and to praise4' ,learn to admire rightly2 the great pleasure of life is that4 ,note what the great men admired2 they admired great things3 narrow spirits admire basely1 and worship meanly4 ,,thackeray4 ,character of ,henry ,drummond ,,january #bb ,of ,henry ,drummond4--,he seemed to be invariably in good spirits1 and invariably disengaged4 ,he was always ready for any and every office of friendship4 ,it should be said that though few men were more criticised or misconceived1 he himself never wrote an unkind word about any one1 never retaliated1 never bore malice1 and could do full justice to the abilities and character of his opponents4 ,i have just heard that he exerted himself privately to secure an important appointment for one of his most trenchant critics1 and was successful4444 ,the spectacle of his long struggle with a mortal disease was something more than impressive4 ,those who saw him in his illness saw that1 as the physical life flickered low1 the spiritual energy grew4 ,always gentle and considerate1 he became even more careful1 more tender1 more thoughtful1 more unselfish4 ,he never in any way complained4 ,his doctors found it very difficult to get him to talk of his illness4 ,it was strange and painful1 but inspiring1 to see his keenness1 his mental elasticity1 his universal interest4 ,dr4 ,barbour says3 ',i have never seen pain or weariness1 or the being obliged to do nothing1 more entirely overcome1 treated1 in fact1 as if they were not4 ,the end came suddenly from failure of the heart4 ,those with him received only a few hours' warning of his critical condition4' ,it was not like death4 ,he lay on his couch in the drawing-room1 and passed away in his sleep1 with the sun shining in1 and the birds singing at the open window4 ,there was no sadness nor farewell4 ,it recalled what he himself said of a friend's death--'putting by the well-worn tools without a sigh1 and expecting elsewhere better work to do4' ,character ,sketch by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll in ,the ,ideal ,life4 ,character of ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson ,,january #bc ,i ,have referred to his chivalry only to find that in reality ,i was thinking of every one of the whole group of attributes which are associated with that name4 ,loyalty1 honesty1 generosity1 courage2 courtesy1 tenderness1 and self-devotion2 to impute no unworthy motives and to bear no grudge2 to bear misfortune with cheerfulness and without a murmur2 to strike hard for the right and take no mean advantage2 to be gentle to women and kind to all that are weak2 to be very rigorous with oneself and very lenient to others--these1 and any other virtues ever implied in 'chivalry1' were the traits that distinguished ,stevenson4 ,the ,life of ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson1 ,,graham ,,balfour4 ,through life he did the thing he was doing as if it were the one thing in the world that was worth being done4 ,the ,life of ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson1 ,,graham ,,balfour4 ,being and ,doing ,,january #bd ,upon the man who desired to be ,his disciple and a member of ,god's ,kingdom were laid the conditions of a pure heart1 of a forgiving spirit1 of a helpful hand1 of a heavenly purpose1 of an unworldly mind4 ,christ did not ground ,his ,christianity in thinking1 or in doing1 but1 first of all1 in being4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,history and literature furnish many instances of men who have made their mark in virtue of a striking personality2 whose reputation rests1 not on any visible tokens1--not on kingdoms conquered1 institutions founded1 books written1 or inventions perfected or anything else that they did1--but mainly on what they were4 ,their merely having passed along a course on earth1 and lived and talked and acted with others1 has left lasting effects on mankind4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,being and ,doing ,,january #be ,perfection is being1 not doing--it is not to effect an act1 but to achieve a character4 ,if the aim of life were to do something1 then1 as in an earthly business1 except in doing this one thing the business would be at a standstill4 ,the student is not doing the one thing of student-life when he has ceased to think or read4 ,the labourer leaves his work undone when the spade is not in his hand1 and he sits beneath the hedge to rest4 ,but in ,christian life1 every moment and every act is an opportunity for doing the one thing of becoming ,christ-like4 ,every day is full of a most expressive experience4 ,every temptation to evil temper which can assail us to-day will be an opportunity to decide the question whether we shall gain the calmness and the rest of ,christ1 or whether we shall be tossed by the restlessness and agitation of the world4 ,nay1 the very vicissitudes of the season1 day and night1 heat and cold1 affecting us variably1 and producing exhilaration or depression1 are so contrived as to conduce towards the being which we become1 and decide whether we shall be masters of ourselves1 or whether we shall be swept at the mercy of accident and circumstance1 miserably susceptible of merely outward influences4 ,infinite as are the varieties of life1 so manifold are the paths to saintly character2 and he who has not found out how directly or indirectly to make everything converge towards his soul's sanctification1 has as yet missed the meaning of this life4 ,,frederick ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,life-,giver1 not ,deed-,doer ,,january #bf ,christ was not primarily the ,deed-,doer or the ,word-,sayer4 ,he was the ,life-,giver4 ,he made men live4 ,wherever ,he went ,he brought vitality4 ,both in the days of ,his ,incarnation and in the long years of ,his power which have followed since ,he vanished from men's sight1 ,his work has been to create the conditions in which all sorts of men should live4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,therefore with all the strength ,god has given us1 let us be fulfillers4 ,let us try to make the life of the world more complete4 ,what can we do8 ,first1 each of us can put one more healthy and holy life into the world1 and so directly increase the aggregation of righteousness4 ,that is much4 ,to fasten one more link1 however small1 in the growing chain that is ultimately to bind humanity to ,god beyond all fear of separation1 is very much indeed4 ,and besides that1 we can1 with sympathy and intelligence1 patience and hope1 bring up the lagging side in all the vitality around us1 and assert for man the worth1 the meaning1 and the possibility of this his human life4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,seeing ,one's ,life in ,perspective ,,january #bg ,if we wish to cultivate our higher nature we must have solitude4 ,it is vitally necessary at times that we should be able to get away from every other being on the face of the earth4 ,what thoughtful person does not love to be alone2 to be surrounded with no objects but the fields and the trees1 the mountains and the waters1 to hear nothing but the rustling of the foliage and the songs of the birds1 and to feel the fresh breeze of heaven playing upon his cheeks8 ,moreover1 when we are very much in contact with human life1 when we are mingling with it1 we are liable to become too conscious of its turbid side1 or drearily oppressed with its commonplace features4 ,to see human life1 and weigh it in its many aspects1 we need at times to go away and be as it were on a pinnacle1 where we can take it all in with one sweeping glance4 ,solitude can affect us somewhat as religious worship does4 ,it can take us out of the consciousness of where we belong1 away from the ordinary selfish instincts by which we may be dominated4 ,too much solitude may be dangerous1 just as too much of the sense of mystery may be4 ,yet something of it is essential to our advance in spiritual life4 ,a man must go away where he can feel the mystery of his own being4 ,moreover1 a certain degree of solitude seems necessary to the full growth of the mind1 and it is in solitude that great principles are first thought out1 and the genius of eminent men formed1 for solitude is the nurse of enthusiasm1 and enthusiasm is the real parent of genius4 ,solitude1 moreover1 is essential to any depth of meditation or of character1 and is the cradle of thoughts and aspirations4 ,h4 ,w4 ,,smith4 ,one sees one's life in perspective when one goes abroad1 and to be spectators of ourselves is very solemn4 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,triviality ,,january #bh ,triviality is the modern equivalent for worldliness1 the regard for the outward and the visible4 ,the trivial mind is enmity with ,god1 and it is of many kinds4 ,there is the triviality which concerns itself with 'nothing1' which gossips about 'him' and 'her1' and becomes serious over a form1 a phrase1 a dress1 a race or a show4 ,there is the triviality to which the working people are forced by the cares of this life1 who all day and every day have to think of the bread which perisheth1 while their souls starve for lack of knowledge which endureth4 ,the cares of life as often choke the growth of the ,word as the deceitfulness of riches4 ,there is also that most insidious kind of triviality which tends to haunt the more serious circles1 wrapping itself in talk about social schemes1 ,church progress1 policies and philosophies1 passing itself off as serious1 when all the time the concern of the talker is to achieve a wordy success or to get notice for his little self or his little system4 ,the ,service of ,god1 ,,canon ,,barnett4 ,i believe that the mind can be profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things1 so that all our thoughts shall be tinged with triviality4 ,,thoreau4 ,triviality ,,january #bi ,they that use to employ their ,minds too much upon ,trifles1 commonly make themselves incapable of any ,thing that is ,serious or ,great4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts1 and then thou wilt feel the principle of ,god to turn thy mind to the ,lord1 from whom cometh life2 whereby thou mayest receive the strength and power to allay all storms and tempests4 ,that is it which works up into patience1 innocency1 soberness1 into stillness1 staidness1 quietness up to ,god1 with ,his power4 ,therefore mind2 that is the word of the ,lord ,god unto thee1 that thou mayest feel the authority of ,god1 and thy faith in that1 to work down that which troubles thee2 for that is it which keeps peace1 and brings up the witness in thee1 which hath been transgressed1 to feel after ,god with ,his power and life1 who is a ,god of order and peace4 ,,george ,,fox4 ,it is not sin so much as triviality which hides ,god4 ,the ,service of ,god1 ,,canon ,,barnett4 ,the ,art of being ,quiet ,,january #cj ,it is only when we begin to think about life1 and how we should live1 that the art of being quiet assumes its real value2 to the irrational creature it is nothing1 to the rational it is much4 ,in the first place1 it removes what ,de ,quincey1 with his usual grand felicity of expression1 calls 'the burden of that distraction which lurks in the infinite littleness of details4' ,it is the infinite littleness of details which takes the glory and the dignity from our common life1 and which we who value that life for its own sake and for the sake of its great ,giver must strive to make finite4 ,since unconscious life is not possible to the intellectual adult1 as it is to the child--since he cannot go on living without a thought about the nature of his own being1 its end and aim--it is good for him to cultivate a habit of repose1 that he may think and feel like a man putting away those childish things--the carelessness1 the thoughtless joy1 'the tear forgot as soon as shed1' which1 however beautiful1 because appropriate1 in childhood1 are not beautiful because not appropriate in mature age4 ,the art of being quiet is necessary to enable a man to possess his own soul in peace and integrity--to examine himself1 to understand what gifts ,god has endowed him with1 and to consider how he may best employ them in the business of the world4 ,this is its universal utility4 ,it is unwholesome activity which requires not repose and thoughtful quiet as its forerunner1 and every man should secure some portion of each day for voluntary retirement and repose within himself4 ,the ,art of being ,quiet ,,january #ca ,one of the special needs of our day is more time for meditation and reflection4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,canon ,,maccoll4 ,we are too busy1 too encumbered1 too much occupied1 too active6 ,we read too much6 ,the one thing needful is to throw off all one's load of cares1 of preoccupations1 of pedantry1 and to become again young1 simple1 child-like1 living happily and gratefully in the present hour4 ,we must know how to put occupation aside1 which does not mean that we must be idle4 ,in an inaction which is meditative and attentive the wrinkles of the soul are smoothed away1 and the soul itself spreads1 unfolds1 and springs afresh1 and1 like the trodden grass of the roadside or the bruised leaf of a plant1 repairs its injuries1 becomes new1 spontaneous1 true1 and original4 ,reverie1 like the rain of night1 restores colour and force to thoughts which have been blanched and wearied by the heat of the day4 ,with gentle fertilising power it awakens within us a thousand sleeping germs1 and1 as though in play1 gathers round us materials for the future1 and images for the use of talent4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,inward ,stillness ,february #a ,let each of us sit still1 and keep watch for awhile in the silent house of his spirit4444 ,as near as is the light to one sleeping in the light1 so near is ,christ1 the ,awakener1 to every ,eternal man1 deeply as he may be asleep within his outer man4 ,,john ,,pulsford4 ,let us then labour for an inward stillness1 ,an inward stillness and an inward healing2 ,that perfect silence where the lips and heart ,are still1 and we no longer entertain ,our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions1 ,but ,god alone speaks in us1 and we wait ,in singleness of heart that we may know ,his will1 and in the silence of our own spirits1 ,that we may do ,his will1 and that only4 ,,longfellow4 ,commune with your ,own ,heart and be ,still ,,february #b ,perhaps one very simple1 but alas too often neglected rule1 may be suggested to those who are indeed desirous of realising through all the petty vicissitudes and monotonous or trivial round of their daily life1 the ,divine presence and power4 ',devotion early in the day before the day's worries begin4 ,it is the only way to keep the spirit ,godward through them all4' ,devotion1 it is needless to add1 is not 'saying prayers' in words either of our own or any one else's--nor is it only or chiefly 'making request4' ,it is pre-eminently worship1 the deliberate homage of the mind and heart--of the whole being to ,god who is its source4 ,and here steadfastness of will1 showing itself in determined concentration of attention1 is the indispensable condition of success2 for such concentration is by no means always an easy matter to attain1 even when the effort is 'made early in the day before the day's worries begin4' ,sometimes there are sleepless 'worries' which assert their presence with the first dawn of consciousness2 sometimes we are mentally or physically lazy1 inert or languid4 ,well1 if we habitually give in to such difficulties in a way of which we should be utterly ashamed were any other object of mental effort in question1 we must not be surprised if the entirely natural result ensues that we fail to 'realise' what we have never honestly set ourselves to treat as real4444 ,amid the thronging duties1 the ceaseless cares1 the toilsome or pleasurable round of daily life1 we must take and we must keep time to 'commune with our own hearts and in our own chamber1 and be still4' ,e4 ,m4 ,,caillard4 ,the ,receptive ,side of ,life ,,february #c ,to all who are active in ,christian work ,i would say1 ever remember that there must be fidelity to the receptive side of life if you are to exercise any real abiding influence4 ,how often do we hear men say that they have worked hard in their district1 or their school1 or their class1 and yet there is no result4 ,perhaps they have worked too hard4 ,there are a multitude of ,marthas in modern ,english life2 but it were good for such if1 at times1 they would follow the example of the wiser ,mary1 and sit down quietly at ,jesus' feet1 and draw in from ,him that power which cannot by any possibility be given out1 before it is taken in4 ,canon ,,body4 ,the problem set before us is to bring our daily task into the temple of contemplation and ply it there1 to act as in the presence of ,god1 to interfuse one's little part with religion4 ,so only can we inform the detail of life1 all that is passing1 temporary1 and insignificant1 with beauty and nobility4 ,so may we dignify and consecrate the meanest of occupations4 ,so may we feel that we are paying our tribute to the universal work and the eternal will4 ,so are we reconciled with life and delivered from the fear of death4 ,so are we in order and at peace4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,regulation of ,time ,,february #d ,no two things differ more than hurry and despatch4 ,hurry is the mark of a weak mind1 despatch of a strong one4 ,a weak man in office1 like a squirrel in a cage1 is labouring eternally1 but to no purpose1 and in constant motion1 without getting on a jot3 like a turnstile1 he is in everybody's way1 but stops nobody3 he talks a great deal1 but says very little2 looks into everything1 but sees into nothing2 and has a hundred irons in the fire1 but very few of them are hot1 and with these few that are he burns his fingers4 ,,colton4 ,hurry belongs to the mortal who wants to see the outcome of his work1 while eternity is lavish of time4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty4 ,you may as well borrow a person's money as his time4 ,,horace ,,mann4 ,punctuality is the politeness of kings4 ,,louis ,,xiv4 ,business-like ,habits ,,february #e ,it is very important to cultivate business-like habits4 ,an eminent friend of mine assured me not long ago that when he thought over the many cases he had known of men1 even of good ability and high character1 who had been unsuccessful in life1 by far the most frequent cause of failure was that they were dilatory1 unpunctual1 unable to work cordially with others1 obstinate in small things1 and1 in fact1 what we call unbusiness-like4 ,,lord ,,avebury4 ,a 'bustling' man is1 to a man of business1 what a monkey is to a man4 ,he is the shadow of despatch1 or1 rather1 the echo thereof2 for he maketh noise enough for an alarm4 ,the quickness of a true man of business he imitateth1 imitateth excellently well1 but neither his silence nor his method2 and it is to be noted that he is ever most vehement about matters of no significance4 ,he is always in such headlong haste to overtake the next minute1 that he loses half the minute in hand2 and yet is full of indignation and impatience at other people's slowness1 and wasteth more time in reiterating his love of despatch than would suffice for doing a great deal of business4 ,he never giveth you his quiet attention with a mind centred on what you are saying1 but hears you with a restless eye1 and a perpetual shifting posture1 and is so eager to show his quickness that he interrupteth you a dozen times1 misunderstands you as often1 and ends by making you and himself lose twice as much time as was necessary4 ,h4 ,,rogers4 ,time and ,method ,,february #f ,the thrift of time will repay in after life with usury of profit beyond your most sanguine dreams1 and waste of it will make you dwindle alike in intellectual and moral stature beyond your darkest reckoning4 ,,gladstone4 ,one of the striking characteristics of successful persons is their faculty of readily determining the relative importance of different things4 ,there are many things which it is desirable to do1 a few are essential1 and there is no more useful quality of the human mind than that which enables its possessor at once to distinguish which the few essential things are4 ,life is so short and time so fleeting that much which one would wish to do must fain be omitted4 ,he is fortunate who perceives at a glance what it will do1 and what it will not do1 to omit4 ,this invaluable faculty1 if not possessed in a remarkable degree naturally1 is susceptible of cultivation to a considerable extent4 ,let any one adopt the practice of reflecting1 every morning1 what must necessarily be done during the day1 and then begin by doing the most important things first1 leaving the others to take their chance of being done or left undone4 ,in this way attention first to the things of first importance soon acquires the almost irresistible force of habit1 and becomes a rule of life4 ,there is no rule more indispensable to success4 ,concentration ,,february #g ,the marked differences of working power among men are due chiefly to differences in the power of concentration4 ,a retentive and accurate memory is conditioned upon close attention4 ,if one gives entire attention to what is passing before him1 he is not likely to forget it1 or to confuse persons or incidents4 ,the book which one reads with eyes which are continually lifted from the page may furnish entertainment for the moment1 but cannot enrich the reader1 because it cannot become part of his knowledge4 ,attention is the simplest form of concentration1 and its value illustrates the supreme importance of that focussing of all the powers upon the thing in hand which may be called the sustained attention of the whole nature4 ,here1 as everywhere in the field of man's life1 there enters that element of sacrifice without which no real achievement is possible4 ,to secure a great end1 one must be willing to pay a great price4 ,the exact adjustment of achievement to sacrifice makes us aware1 at every step1 of the invisible spiritual order with which all men are in every kind of endeavour4 ,if the highest skill could be secured without long and painful effort1 it would be wasted through ignorance of its value1 or misused through lack of education2 but a man rarely attains great skill without undergoing a discipline of self-denial and work which gives him steadiness1 restraint1 and a certain kind of character4 ,the giving up of pleasures which are wholesome1 the turning aside from fields which are inviting1 the steady refusal of invitations and claims which one would be glad to accept or recognise1 invest the power of concentration with moral quality1 and throw a searching light on the nature of genuine success4 ,to do one thing well1 a man must be willing to hold all other interests and activities subordinate2 to attain the largest freedom1 a man must first bear the cross of self-denial4 ,concentration ,,february #h ,strive constantly to concentrate yourself2 never dissipate your powers2 incessant activity1 of whatever kind1 leads finally to bankruptcy4 ,,goethe4 ,all impatience disturbs the circulation1 scatters force1 makes concentration difficult if not impossible4 ,c4 ,b4 ,,newcomb4 ,they have great powers1 and they waste them pitifully1 for they have not the greatest power1--the power to rule the use of their powers4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,concentration is the secret of strength4 ,,emerson4 ,readiness ,,february #i ,to know how to be ready--a great thing--a precious gift1--and one that implies calculation1 grasp and decision4 ,to be always ready1 a man must be able to cut a knot1 for everything cannot be untied2 he must know how to disengage what is essential from the detail in which it is enwrapped1 for everything cannot be equally considered2 in a word1 he must be able to simplify his duties1 his business1 and his life4 ,to know how to be ready1 is to know how to start4 ,it is astonishing how all of us are generally cumbered up with the thousand and one hindrances and duties which are not such1 but which nevertheless wind us about with their spider threads and fetter the movement of our wings4 ,it is the lack of order which makes us slaves2 the confusion of to-day discounts the freedom of to-morrow4 ,confusion is the enemy of all comfort1 and confusion is born of procrastination4 ,to know how to be ready we must be able to finish4 ,nothing is done but what is finished4 ,the things which we leave dragging behind us will start up again later on before us and harass our path4 ,let each day take thought for what concerns it1 liquidate its own affairs and respect the day which is to follow1 and then we shall be always ready4 ,to know how to be ready1 is at bottom to know how to die4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,order ,,february #aj ,what comfort1 what strength1 what economy there is in order--material order1 intellectual order1 moral order4 ,to know where one is going and what one wishes--this is order2 to keep one's word and one's engagements--again order2 to have everything ready under one's hand1 to be able to dispose of all one's forces1 and to have all one's means of whatever kind under command--still order2 to discipline one's habits1 one's efforts1 one's wishes2 to organise one's life1 to distribute one's time1 to take the measure of one's duties and make one's rights respected2 to employ one's capital and resources1 one's talent and one's chances profitably2--all this belongs to and is included in the word order4 ,order means light and peace1 inward liberty and free command over oneself2 order is power4 ,aesthetic and moral beauty consist1 the first in a true conception of order1 and the second in submission to it1 and in the realisation of it1 by1 in1 and around oneself4 ,order is man's greatest need and his true well-being4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,the commissioning of the ,twelve imposed no particular form of rule2 but it taught the lesson that organisation and order and the distribution of duty were essential in things spiritual as well as in things temporal1 and that it was well for the children of light to be as 'wise in their generation' as the children of the world4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,the ,secret of ,thrift ,,february #aa ,the secret of thriving is thrift2 saving of force2 to get as much work as possible done with the least expenditure of power1 the least jar and obstruction1 the least wear and tear4 ,and the secret of thrift is knowledge4 ,in proportion as you know the laws and nature of a subject1 you will be able to work at it easily1 surely1 rapidly1 successfully1 instead of wasting your money or your energies in mistaken schemes1 irregular efforts1 which end in disappointment and exhaustion4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,it is never enough for us simply to know4 ,we must also weigh4 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,,prof4 ,,maccunn4 ,doing good1 being so divine a privilege1 is beset by its own dangers4 ,let us see that our good be not evil spoken of by want of thought1 method1 and self-denial in the doing of it4 ,the world is waiting for us1 with our little store4 ,oh that we might economise it more1 devote it more thoroughly1 and add to it6 ,every time we pray1 or study1 or work1 we are receiving to give away4 ,men are looking to us in faintness1 weariness1 and want1 and a voice says to us1 ',give ye them to eat4' ,if it is but five loaves1 we can offer them to ,christ1 and ,he will multiply them4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,endurance ,,february #ab ',a somewhat varied experience of men has led me1 the longer ,i live1' said ,huxley1 'to set less value on mere cleverness2 to attach more and more importance to industry and physical endurance4 ,indeed1 ,i am much disposed to think that endurance is the most valuable quality of all2 for industry1 as the desire to work hard1 does not come to much if a feeble frame is unable to respond to the desire4 ,no life is wasted unless it ends in sloth1 dishonesty1 or cowardice4 ,no success is worthy of the name unless it is won by honest industry and brave breasting of the waves of fortune4' ,of all work producing results1 nine-tenths must be drudgery4 ,there is no work1 from the highest to the lowest1 which can be done well by any man who is unwilling to make that sacrifice4 ,part of the very nobility of the devotion of the true workman to his work consists in the fact that a man is not daunted by finding that drudgery must be done1 and no man can really succeed in any walk of life without a good deal of what in ordinary ,english is called pluck4 ,that is the condition of all success1 and there is nothing which so truly repays itself as this perseverance against weariness4 ,bishop ,,philpotts4 ,perseverance ,,february #ac ,practise thyself even in the things which thou despairest of accomplishing4 ,for even the left hand1 which is ineffectual for all other things for want of practice1 holds the bridle more vigorously than the right hand2 for it has been practised in this4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ',it is not the spurt at the start1 but the continued1 unresting1 unhasting advance that wins the day4' ,the same law runs in ordinary life1 and he only need expect to attain success and win the honour of his fellow-men who is thorough4 ,the reason why men fail is1 in five cases out of six1 not through want of influence or brains1 or opportunity1 or good guidance1 but because they are slack2 and the reason why certain men with few advantages succeed1 is that they are diligent1 concentrated1 persevering and conscientious--because1 in fact1 they are thorough4 ,the ,homely ,virtues1 ,,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,unto him who works1 and feels he works1 ,this same grand year is ever at the doors4 ,,tennyson4 ,pleasure in ,work ,,february #ad ,joy or delight in what we are doing is not a mere luxury2 it is a means1 a help for the more perfect doing of our work4 ,indeed1 it may be truly said that no man does any work perfectly who does not enjoy his work4 ,joy in one's work is the consummate tool without which the work may be done indeed1 but without which the work will always be done slowly1 clumsily1 and without its finest perfectness4 ,men who do their work without enjoying it are like men carving statues with hatchets4 ,the statue gets carved perhaps1 and is a monument for ever of the dogged perseverance of the artist2 but there is a perpetual waste of toil1 and there is no fine result in the end4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,efforts to be permanently useful must be uniformly joyous1--a spirit all sunshine2 graceful from very gladness1 beautiful because bright4 ,,carlyle4 ,every joy is gain1 and gain is gain1 however small4 ,,browning4 ,duty ,,february #ae ,in ,life's small things be resolute and great ,to keep thy muscle trained3 know'st thou when ,fate ,thy measure takes1 or when she'll say to thee ',i find thee worthy2 do this thing for me'8 ,,lowell4 ,our duty is to be useful1 not according to our desires but according to our powers4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,i'll bind myself to that which1 once being right1 ,will not be less right when ,i shrink from it4 ,,kingsley4 ,there's life alone in duty done1 ,and rest alone in striving4 ,,whittier4 ,duty ,,february #af ,a duty is no sooner divined than from that very moment it becomes binding upon us4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,don't waste life in doubts and fears2 spend yourself on the work before you1 well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it4 ,,emerson4 ,the toppling crags of duty scaled ,are close upon the shining table-lands ,to which our ,god ,himself is moon and sun4 ,,tennyson4 ,the ,iron ,chains of ,duty ,,february #ag 444 ,one conviction ,i have gained from the experience of the last years--life is not jest and amusement2 life is not even enjoyment 444 life is hard labour4 ,renunciation1 continual renunciation--that is its secret meaning1 its solution4 ,not the fulfilment of cherished dreams and aspirations1 however lofty they may be--the fulfilment of duty1 that is what must be the care of man4 ,without laying on himself chains1 the iron chains of duty1 he cannot reach without a fall the end of his career4 ,a ,lear of the ,steppes1 ,,ivan ,,turgenev4 ,granted that life is tragic to the marrow1 it seems the proper function of religion to make us accept and serve in that tragedy1 as officers in that other and comparable one of war4 ,service is the word1 active service1 in the military sense2 and the religious man is he who has a military joy in duty--not he who weeps over the wounded4 ,lay ,morals1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,power ,,february #ah ,oh1 do not pray for easy lives4 ,pray to be stronger men6 ,do not pray for tasks equal to your powers4 ,pray for powers equal to your tasks6 ,then the doing of your work shall be no miracle4 ,but you shall be a miracle4 ,every day you shall wonder at yourself1 at the richness of life which has come in you by the grace of ,god4 ,,there is nothing which comes to seem more foolish to us1 ,i think1 as years go by1 than the limitations which have been quietly set to the moral possibilities of man4 ,they are placidly and perpetually assumed4 ',you must not expect too much of him1' so it is said4 ',you must remember that he is only a man after all4' ',only a man6' ,that sounds to me as if one said1 ',you may launch your boat and sail a little way1 but you must not expect to go very far4 ,it is only the ,atlantic ,ocean4' ,why1 man's moral range and reach is practically infinite1 at least no man has yet begun to comprehend where its limit lies4 ,man's powers of conquering temptation1 of despising danger1 of being true to principle1 have never been even indicated1 save in ,christ4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,virgil said of the winning crew in his boat-race1 ',they can1 because they believe they can4' ,an ,ideal ,level ,,february #ai ,no man who1 being a ,christian1 desires the kingdom of ,god1 can justly neglect giving his energy to the bettering of the social1 physical1 and educational condition of the poor1 the diseased1 and the criminal classes4 ,but he is not a ,christian1 or he has not realised the problem fully1 if that is all he does4 ,social improvement is a work portions of which any one can do1 in which all ought to share2 but if we who follow ,christ desire to do the best work in that improvement1 and in the best way1 we ought to strive--while we join in the universal movement towards a juster society--to give a spiritual life to that movement2 to keep it at an ideal level2 to free it from mere materialism2 to maintain in it the monarchy of self-sacrifice2 to fix its eyes on invisible and unworldly truths2 to supply it with noble and spiritual faiths2 to base all associations of men on the ground of their spiritual union--all being children of ,god1 and brothers of one another1 in the love and faith by which ,jesus lived2 and to maintain the dignity of this spiritual communion of men in faith in their immortal union with ,god4 ,this is the fight of faith we1 as fellow-workers with ,god1 shall have to wage2 and this not only binds us up with the poor1 but with the rich1 not only with the ignorant1 but the learned2 for on these grounds all men are seen as stripped of everything save of their humanity and their divine kinship4444 ,improve1 then1 the material condition and the knowledge of all who are struggling for justice2 it is part of your life which if you neglect1 you are out of touch with the new life2 but kindle in it1 uphold and sanctify in it1 the life which is divine1 the communion with man of ,god1 without union with whose character all effort for social improvement will revert to new miseries and new despair4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,work ,,february #bj ,idleness standing in the midst of unattempted tasks is always proud4 ,work is always tending to humility4 ,work touches the keys of endless activity1 opens the infinite1 and stands awe-struck before the immensity of what there is to do4 ,work brings a man into the good realm of facts4 ,work takes the dreamy youth who is growing proud in his closet over one or two sprouting powers which he has discovered in himself1 and sets him out among the gigantic needs and the vast processes of the world1 and makes him feel his littleness4 ,work opens the measureless fields of knowledge and skill that reach far out of sight4 ,i am sure we all know the fine1 calm1 sober humbleness of men who have really tried themselves against the great tasks of life4 ,it was great in ,paul1 and in ,luther1 and in ,cromwell4 ,it is something that never comes into the character1 never shows in the face of a man who has never worked4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,no man is born into the world1 whose work ,is not born with him2 there is always work1 ,and tools to work withal1 for those who will2 ,and blessed are the horny hands of toil6 ,the busy world shoves angrily aside ,the man who stands with arms akimbo set1 ,until occasion tells him what to do2 ,and he who waits to have his task marked out ,shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled4 ,,james ,,russell ,,lowell4 ,special ,work for ,each ,,february #ba ,there is some particular work which lies to every one's hand which he can do better than any other person4 ,what we ought to be concerned about is not whether it be on a large scale or a small--about which we can never be quite certain--nor whether it is going to bring us fame or leave us in obscurity--an issue which is in the hands of ,god--but that we do it1 and that we do it with all our might4 ,having done that1 there is no cause to fret ourselves or ask questions which cannot be answered4 ,we may rest with a quiet conscience and a contented heart1 for we have filled our place and done what we could4 ,the battle of life extends over a vast area1 and it is vain for us to inquire about the other wings of the army2 it is enough that we have received our orders1 and that we have held the few feet of ground committed to our charge4 ,there let us fight and there let us die1 and so fighting and so dying in the place of duty we cannot be condemned1 we must be justified4 ,brilliant qualities may never be ours1 but the homely virtues are within our reach1 and character is built up not out of great intellectual gifts and splendid public achievements1 but out of honesty1 industry1 thrift1 kindness1 courtesy1 and gratitude1 resting upon faith in ,god and love towards man4 ,and the inheritance of the soul which ranks highest and lasts for ever is character4 ,the ,homely ,virtues1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,the ,sin of ,idleness ,,february #bb ,there is a certain amount of work to be done in this world4 ,if any of us does not take his full share1 he imposes that which he does not take on the shoulders of another2 and the first cause of poverty1 of disease1 of misery in all ,states1 is the overwork which is imposed on men and women by the idle and indifferent members of the nation4 ,this is to steal from the human race2 to steal from them joy1 leisure1 health1 comfort and peace1 and to impose on them sorrow and overwork1 disease and homelessness1 bitter anger and fruitless tears4 ,this is the curse which the selfish dreamer leaves behind him4 ,many have been the fierce oppressors and defrauders of the human race1 but the evil they have done is less than that done by those who drop by drop and hour by hour drain the blood of mankind by doing no work for the overworked4 ,this is the crime with which the idle and indifferent will be confronted when the great throne is set in our soul1 and the books we have written on men's lives are opened1 and ,god shall lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet4 ',lord1 what hast ,thou to do with it8' we will say4 ',i did not neglect ,thee2 ,i took my ease1 it is true1 but ,i kept ,thy law4 ,i was never impious1 never an atheist4 ,when was ,i not religious8' ,then ,he will answer3 ',inasmuch as ye never worked for the least of these ,my brothers1 ye never worked for ,me6' ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,let us start up and live3 here come moments that cannot be had again2 some few may yet be filled with imperishable good4 ,j4 ,,martineau4 ,idleness ,,february #bc ,it is not necessary for a man to be actively bad in order to make a failure of life2 simple inaction will accomplish it4 ,nature has everywhere written her protest against idleness2 everything which ceases to struggle1 which remains inactive1 rapidly deteriorates4 ,it is the struggle towards an ideal1 the constant effort to get higher and further which develops manhood and character4 ,shun idleness1 it is the rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals4 ,,voltaire4 ,there is always hope in a man that actually and earnestly works4 ,in idleness alone is there perpetual despair4 ,,carlyle4 ',twere all as good to ease one breast of grief ,as sit and watch the sorrows of the world4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,fear of ,failure ,,february #bd ,who would ever stir a finger1 if only on condition of being guaranteed against oversights1 misinformation1 mistakes1 ignorance1 loss1 and danger8 ,h4 ,,martineau4 ,the man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides1 never decides4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,he who is too much afraid of being duped has lost the power of being magnanimous4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome4 ,,dr4 ,,johnson4 ,fear of ,failure ,,february #be ,extreme caution is no less harmful than its opposite4 ,,vauvenargues4 ,the men who succeed best in public life are those who take the risk of standing by their own convictions4 ,,garfield4 ,our doubts are traitors1 ,and make us lose the good we oft might win1 ,by fearing to attempt4 ,,shakespeare4 ,,it is better by a noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half of the evils which we anticipate1 than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what may happen4 ,,herodotus4 ,falterers ,,february #bf ,nay1 never falter3 no great deed is done ,by falterers who ask for certainty4 ,no good is certain1 but the steadfast mind1 ,the undivided will to seek the good3 ',tis that compels the elements1 and wrings ,a human music from the indifferent air4 ,the greatest gift the hero leaves his race ,is to have been a hero4 ,say we fail6-- ,we feed the high tradition of the world1 ,and leave our spirit in our children's breasts4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,how dull it is to pause1 to make an end1 ,to rest unburnish'd1 not to shine in use6 ,as though to breathe were life4 ,,tennyson4 ,after all1 depend upon it1 it is better to be worn out with work in a thronged community1 than to perish in inaction in a stagnant solitude3 take this truth into consideration whenever you get tired of work and bustle4 ,,mrs4 ,,gaskell',s ,life of ,c4 ,bronte4 ,courage ,,february #bg ,whether you be man or woman you will never do anything in the world without courage4 ,it is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour4 ,,james ,,lane ,,allen4 ,the brave man is not he who feels no fear1 ,for that were stupid and irrational1 ,but he whose noble soul its fear subdues ,and bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from4 ,,joanna ,,baillie4 ,heroism is the brilliant triumph of the soul over the flesh--that is to say1 over fear3 fear of poverty1 of suffering1 of calumny1 of sickness1 of isolation1 and of death4 ,there is no serious piety without heroism4 ,heroism is the dazzling and glorious concentration of courage4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,self-trust is the essence of heroism4 ,,emerson4 ,responsibility ,,february #bh ,thousands live and die in the dim borderland of destitution2 that little children wail1 and starve1 and perish1 and soak and blacken soul and sense1 in our streets2 that there are hundreds and thousands of the unemployed1 not all of whom1 as some would persuade us1 are lazy impostors2 that the demon of drink still causes among us daily horrors which would disgrace ,dahomey or ,ashantee1 and rakes into his coffers millions of pounds which are wet with tears and red with blood2 these are facts patent to every eye4 ,now1 ,god will work no miracle to mend these miseries4 ,if we neglect them they will be left uncured1 but ,he will hold us responsible for the neglect4 ,it is vain for us to ask1 ',am ,i my brother's keeper8' ,in spite of all the political economists1 in spite of all superfine theories of chilly and purse-saving wisdom1 in spite of all the critiques of the irreligious--still more of the semi-religious1 and the religious press1 ,he will say to the callous and the slothful1 with such a glance 'as struck ,gehazi with leprosy1 and ,simon ,magus with a curse1' ',what hast thou done8 ,smooth religionist1 orthodox ,churchman1 scrupulous ,levite1 befringed and bephylacteried ,pharisee1 thy brother's blood crieth to ,me from the ground6' ,f4 ,w4 ,,farrar4 ,the healing of the world ,is in its nameless saints4 ,each separate star ,seems nothing1 but a myriad scattered stars ,break up the night1 and make it beautiful4 ,,bayard ,,taylor4 ,the ,sin of ,indifference ,,march #a ,they hear no more the cries of their brothers caught in the nets of misery3 ',help us1 we are perishing4' ,the curtains of their comfort are fast drawn2 they sit at home wrapt in family ease4 ,outside1 the sleet is falling1 the bitter wind is blowing1 thousands of the children of sorrow are dying in the fierce weather4 ,god ,himself is knocking at the door1 calling ',come forth and seek the lost with ,jesus4' ,we hear nothing1 the cotton of comfort stops our ears4 ,for a time1 till ,god ,himself breaks in on us with storm1 and disperses our comfort to the winds1 we can run no ,christian race4444 ,therefore1 lay aside1 not all comfort--men have a right to that--but that excess of it which softens and enfeebles the soul2 which sends to sleep the longing for ,god's perfection2 which makes our life too slothful to follow ,christ1 the ,healer of the world6 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,all my soul is full ,of pity for the sickness of this world2 ,which ,i will heal1 if healing may be found ,by uttermost renouncing and strong strife4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,wasted ,emotions ,,march #b ,pity1 indignation1 love1 felt and not made into acts of pity or of self-sacrifice1 lose their very heart in our dainty dreaming1 and are turned into their opposites4 ,our animation and activity of love1 unexercised1 becomes like the unused muscle1 attenuated2 and we are content to think with pleasure of the times when we were animated and active--a vile condition4 ,but the worst wretchedness of these losses does not consist in the damage we do ourselves1 but in the loss of power to benefit mankind1 in the loss of power to do ,god's work for the salvation and the greater happiness of man4 ,we are guilty to man1 and guilty before ,god1 when we lose our powers in inglorious ease4 ,we owe ourselves to men and women2 no amount of work frees us from the duty of keeping ourselves in the best possible trim1 body and soul1 mind and spirit1 that we may nobly work the loving work of ,him that sent us4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,opportunities are swarming around us all the time1 thicker than gnats at sundown4 ,we walk through a cloud of them4 ,,van ,,dyke4 ,doing more than ,feeling ,,march #c ,our ,lord 444 always brings back to mind that doing is more than feeling4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,a maxim of ,professor ,james 'never to suffer a single emotion to evaporate without exacting from it some practical service4' ,the ,making of ,character1 ,prof4 ,,john ,,maccunn4 ,but two ways are offered to our will-- ,toil with rare triumph1 ,ease with safe disgrace3-- ,nor deem that acts heroic wait on chance6 ,the man's whole life preludes the single deed ,that shall decide if his inheritance ,be with the sifted few of matchless breed1 ,or with the unnoticed herd that only sleep and feed4 ,,lowell4 ,the ,sacredness of ,work ,,march #d ,all true work is sacred2 in all true work1 were it but true hand-labour1 there is something of divineness4 ,,carlyle4 ,some of the commonest faults of thought and work are those which come from thinking too poorly of our own lives1 and of that which must rightly be demanded of us4 ,a high standard of accuracy1 a chivalrous loyalty to exact truth1 generosity to fellow-workers1 indifference to results1 distrust of all that is showy1 self-discipline and undiscouraged patience through all difficulties1--these are among the first and greatest conditions of good work2 and they ought never to seem too hard for us if we remember what we owe to the best work of bygone days4 ,the ,spirit of ,discipline1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,whether thy work be fine or coarse1 planting corn or writing epics1 so only it be honest work1 done to thine own approbation1 it shall earn a reward to the senses as well as to the thought2 no matter how often defeated1 you are born to victory4 ,the reward of a thing well done is to have done it4 ,,emerson4 ,doing our ,best ,,march #e ,it is not the quantity of our work that ,he regards1 but the quality of it4 ,he is less anxious that we should fulfil our task--for ,he can make up for our deficiencies--than that we should do our best2 for what ,he desires is the improvement of our characters1 and that requires the co-operation of our own wills with ,his4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,canon ,,maccoll4 ,experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal4 ,the winner is he who gives himself to his work1 body and soul4 ,,charles ,,buxton4 ,life is too short to waste1 99 99 99 99 99 ',twill soon be dark2 ,up6 mind thine own aim1 and ,god speed the mark6 ,,emerson4 ,work--,effective ,reforms ,,march #f ,we must be careful not to undermine independence in our anxiety to relieve distress4 ,there is always the initial difficulty that whatever is done for men takes from them a great stimulus to work1 and weakens the feeling of independence2 all creatures which depend on others tend to become mere parasites4 ,it is important therefore1 as far as possible1 not so much to give a man bread1 as to put him in the way of earning it for himself2 not to give direct aid1 but to help others to help themselves4 ,the world is so complex that we must all inevitably owe much to our neighbours2 but1 as far as possible1 every man should stand on his own feet4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,we are now generally agreed upon our aims3 nobility of character and not only outward prosperity2 victory over evil at its source1 and not in its consequences2 reforms which shall regard the welfare of future generations1 who are 'the greatest number4' ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,we fall under the temptation of seeking material solutions for spiritual problems2 material remedies for spiritual maladies4 ,the thought of spiritual poverty1 of spiritual destitution1 is crowded out4 ,we treat the symptoms and neglect the disease itself4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,work--,effective ,reforms ,,march #g ,if you are moved with a vague desire to help men be better men1 you must know that you can do it not by belabouring the evil but by training the good that there is in them4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,the ,christian1 therefore1 ,i repeat1 as ,christian1 will take his full part in preparing for the amelioration of the conditions of men no less than for their conversion4 ,he will in due measure strive to follow1 under the limitations of his own labour1 the whole example of his ,lord1 who removed outward distresses and satisfied outward wants1 even as ,he brought spiritual strength and rest to the weak and weary4 ,moreover1 this effort based upon resolute thought1 belongs to the completeness of the religious life of the ,christian4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,reforms which are effective must develop and strengthen character4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,work--,to cure is the ,voice of the ,past ,,march #h ,all measures of reformation are effective in exact proportion to their timeliness4 ,partial decay may be cut away and cleansed1 incipient error corrected3 but there is a point at which corruption can no more be stayed1 nor wandering recalled4 ,it has been the manner of modern philanthropy to remain passive until that precise period1 and to leave the sick to perish1 and the foolish to stray1 while it spent itself in frantic exertions to raise the dead1 and reform the dust4 ,the ,queen of the ,air1 ,,john ,,ruskin4 ,,the real work of charity is not to afford facilities to the poor to lower their standard1 but to step in when calamity threatens and prevent it from falling4 ,the ,standard of ,life1 ,,mrs4 ,,bernard ,,bosanquet4 ,to cure is the voice of the past2 to prevent1 the divine whisper of to-day4 ,children's ,rights1 ,,kate ,,douglas ,,wiggin4 ,satan's ,opportunities ,,march #i ,physiologists know as much about morality as ministers of the gospel4 ,the vices which drag men and women into crime spring as often from unhealthy bodies as from weak wills and callous consciences4 ,vile fancies and sensual appetites grow stronger and more terrible when a feeble physique and low vitality offer no opposing force4 ,deadly vices are nourished in the weak diseased bodies that are penned1 day after day1 in filthy crowded tenements of great cities4 ,children's ,rights1 ,,kate ,,douglas ,,wiggin4 ,man's unpitied misery is ,satan's opportunity4 ,mould conditions aright1 and men will grow good to fit them4 ,,horace ,,fletcher4 ,evil is ,wrought by want of ,thought ,,march #aj ,but evil is wrought by want of thought1 ,as well as want of heart4 ,,thomas ,,hood4 ,it is clear that in whatever it is our duty to act1 those matters also it is our duty to study4 ,,dr4 ,,arnold4 ,no alms-giving of money is so helpful as alms-giving of care and thought2 the giving of money without thought is indeed continually mischievous2 but the invective of the economist against indiscriminate charity is idle if it be not coupled with pleading for discriminate charity1 and above all1 for that charity which discerns the uses that people may be put to1 and helps them by setting them to work in those services4 ,that is the help beyond all others2 find out how to make useless people useful1 and let them earn their money instead of begging it4 ,arrows of the ,chace1 ,,john ,,ruskin4 7,from a letter published in the ,daily ,telegraph of ,december #bj1 #ahfh47 ,the ,hallowing of ,work ,march #aa ,we shall not do much of that which is best worth doing in the world if we only consecrate to it our gifts4 ,we have something else to consecrate for our work's sake1 for our friend's sake1 for the sake of all for whom in any way we are responsible4 ,beyond and above all that we may do1 is that which we may be4 ',for their sakes ,i sanctify1 ,i consecrate1 ,myself4' ,so our ,blessed ,lord spoke in regard to those whom ,he had drawn nearest to ,himself--,his friends2 those whose characters ,he would fashion for the greatest task that ever yet was laid upon frail men4 ,and even when we have set apart all that was unique in the nature and results of ,his ,self-consecration1 all that ,he alone could1 once for all1 achieve2 still1 ,i think1 the words disclose a principle that concerns every one of us--the principle of all that is highest and purest in the influence of one life upon the lives it touches3 ',for their sakes ,i consecrate ,myself4' ,there is the ultimate secret of power2 the one sure way of doing good in our generation4 ,we cannot anticipate or analyse the power of a pure and holy life2 but there can be no doubt about its reality1 and there seems no limit to its range4 ,we can only know in part the laws and forces of the spiritual world2 and it may be that every soul that is purified and given up to ,god and to ,his work releases or awakens energies of which we have no suspicion--energies viewless as the wind2 but we can be sure of the result1 and we may have glimpses sometimes of the process--surely1 there is no power in the world so unerring or so irrepressible as the power of personal holiness4 ,all else at times goes wrong1 blunders1 loses proportion1 falls disastrously short of its aim1 grows stiff or one-sided1 or out of date--'whether there be prophecies1 they shall fail2 whether there be tongues1 they shall cease2 whether there be knowledge1 it shall vanish away2' but nothing mars or misleads the influence that issues from a pure and humble and unselfish character4 ,the ,hallowing of ,work1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,one by ,one ,,march #ab ,nothing is more characteristic of ,jesus' method than ,his indifference to the many--,his devotion to the single soul4 ,his attitude to the public1 and ,his attitude to a private person were a contrast and a contradiction4 ,if ,his work was likely to cause a sensation ,jesus charged ,his disciples to let no man know it3 if the people got wind of ,him1 ,he fled to solitary places3 if they found ,him1 as soon as might be ,he escaped4 ,but ,he used to take young men home with ,him1 who wished to ask questions3 ,he would spend all night with a perplexed scholar3 ,he gave an afternoon to a ,samaritan woman4 ,he denied ,himself to the multitude3 ,he lay in wait for the individual4 ,this was not because ,he under-valued a thousand1 it was because ,he could not work on the thousand scale3 it was not because ,he over-valued the individual1 it was because ,his method was arranged for the scale of one4 ,jesus never succeeded in public save once1 when ,he was crucified3 ,he never failed in private save once1 with ,pontius ,pilate4 ,his method was not sensation3 it was influence4 ,he did not rely on impulses3 ,he believed in discipline4 ,he never numbered converts1 because ,he knew what was in man3 ,he sifted them1 as one winnoweth the wheat from the chaff4 ,spiritual statistics are unknown in the ,gospels3 they came in with ,st4 ,peter in the pardonable intoxication of success3 they have since grown to be a mania4 ,as the ,church coarsens she estimates salvation by quantity1 how many souls are saved3 ,jesus was concerned with quality1 after what fashion they were saved4 ,his mission was to bring ,humanity to perfection4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,one by ,one ,,march #ac ,our ,lord 444 does not1 on entering a village1 ordain that all the lepers in it shall be cleansed1 or all the palsied restored to the use of their limbs4 ,he condescends to take each case by itself4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ',one by one' is not only the safest way of helping1 it is the only possible way of ensuring that any real good is done4 ,rich and ,poor1 ,mrs4 ,,bernard ,,bosanquet4 ,love cannot be content while any suffer1--cannot rest while any sin4 ,i would not let one cry whom ,i could save4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,interruptions ,,march #ad ,so long as there is work to do there will be interruptions--breaks in its progress4 ,the minister at work on his sermon1 the merchant at his desk1 the woman in her household duties--all must expect these calls to turn aside from the work in hand4 ,and it is a part of one's character growth to bear these timely or untimely interruptions without any break in good temper or courtesy4 ,a young student who was privileged to call often upon ,phillips ,brooks in his study1 told the writer that he could never have learned from the ,bishop's manner or words1 that the big-hearted1 busy man was ever too busy to receive him4 ,to bear interruptions thus serenely is an opportunity for self-control not to be overlooked by any one who wants to do ,god's work in the right spirit4 ,he threw himself spontaneously1 apparently without effort and yet irresistibly1 into the griefs and joys1 the needs and interests of others4 ,he had the happy gift of taking everybody to his heart4 ,he was never inattentive4 ,as you talked to him you always felt he was listening and really trying to understand your case4 ,in the light of sympathy you saw yourself reflected in the mirror of his heart4 ,nor did he forget you when you were gone from sight4 ,his was not the cheap sympathy of an outward manner1 but the true emotion of the inward self4 ,to your surprise1 when you had left ,bishop ,fraser with a sense of shame at having occupied1 in your interview1 so much of his overcrowded time1 you would find the next morning a letter upon your table giving his fuller and more mature opinion of your plans or course of action4444 ,tender and loving1 in sympathy with the lowliest1 forbearing with the most unreasonable1 often interrupted1 but never resenting1 the sacrifice of self crowning all4 ,bishop ,fraser's ,lancashire ,life1 ,archdeacon ,,diggle4 ,mechanical ,work ,,march #ae ,miss ,keane took but little heed of the presence of ,rachel and ,hester in her brother's house4 ,those who work mechanically on fixed lines seem as a rule to miss the pith of life4 ,she was kind when she remembered them1 but her heart was where her treasure was--namely1 in her escritoire1 with her list of ,bible classes1 and servants' choral unions1 and the long roll of contributors to the guild of work which she herself had started4 ,red ,pottage1 ,,mary ,,cholmondeley4 ,any man seeking to be holy who does not set himself in close live contact with the life about him1 stands in great danger of growing pious or punctilious instead of holy4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,an ,ideal ,guest-chamber ,,march #af ,in ,mrs4 ,charles' well-known book1 ',chronicles of the ,schonberg-,cotta family1' there is a beautiful passage where ,fritz and ,eva1 beginning their young life together1 take into their house a penitent woman who was thought to be near death4 ,eva writes3 ',there is a little room over the porch that we had set apart as a guest-chamber1 and very sweet it was to me that ,bertha should be its first inmate2 very sweet to ,fritz and me that our home should be what our ,lord's heart is1 a refuge for the outcast1 the penitent1 the solitary1 and the sorrowful4' ,we all say we follow ,christ1 but most of us only follow ,him and ,his cross--part of the way4 ,when we are told that our ,lord bore our sins1 and was wounded for our transgressions1 ,i suppose that meant that ,he felt as if they were ,his own1 in ,his great love for us4 ,but when you shrink from bearing your fellow-creatures' transgressions1 it shows that your love is small4 ,red ,pottage1 ,,mary ,,cholmondeley4 ,radiant with heavenly pity1 lost in care ,for those he knew not1 save as fellow lives4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,to be ,trusted is to be ,saved ,,march #ag ,no one can perish in whom any spark of the ,divine life is still burning4 ,no one can be plucked out of the ,saviour's hands who still struggles towards ,him1 however feebly and falteringly4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,canon ,,maccoll4 ,to be trusted is to be saved4 ,and if we try to influence or elevate others1 we shall soon see that success is in proportion to their belief of our belief in them4 ,for the respect of another is the first restoration of the self-respect a man has lost2 our ideal of what he is becomes to him the hope and pattern of what he may become4 ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,coarse treatment never wins souls4 ,god's ,children ,,march #ah ,hallow the name of ,god1 hallow ,his character1 in all noble and good humanity4 ,that is not difficult4 ,but to hallow ,god's character in men and women who are not good1 in sinful humanity--that is not so easy4 ,yet1 if we would be true to this prayer of ,christ1 this too is part of our duty4 ,the evil are also the children of ,god4 ,they have not hallowed ,his character1 but abandoned its worship4 ,nevertheless they cannot get rid of it4 ,that divine thing lies hid1 ineradicably1 beneath their evil doing and evil thought4 ,the truth1 justice1 love1 piety1 and goodness of ,god are in abeyance in the wrong-doer1 but they are not dead in him4 ,they cannot die2 nothing can destroy them4 ,and we1 whose desire it should be to save men1 can1 if we have faith in the indestructible ,god in men1 pierce to this immortal good in the evil1 appeal to it1 and call it forth to light1 like ,lazarus1 from the tomb4 ,this we can do1 if1 like ,jesus1 we love men enough2 if our faith that the evil are still ,god's children be deep and firm enough4 ,in this we can keep closest to ,christ1 for it was ,his daily way of life2 and divinely beautiful it was4 ,he hallowed ,god's character in the criminal and the harlot4 ,he saw the good beneath the evil4 ,at ,his touch it leaped into life1 and its life destroyed the death in the sinner's soul4 ,it seems as if ,he said when ,he looked into the face of the wrong-doer1 ',father1 hallowed be ,thy character4' ,no lesson for life can be wiser or deeper than this4 ,it ought to rule all our doings with the weak and guilty4 ,it is at the very centre of the prayer1 ',hallowed be ,thy name4' ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,always at the door ,of foulest hearts1 the angel-nature yet ,knocks to return and cancel all its debt4 ,j4 ,r4 ,lowell4 ,raw ,material ,,march #ai ,one also is filled with hope at the figure of the clay1 because it suggests the immense and unimagined possibilities of human nature4 ,upon first sight how poor a thing is this man1 with his ignorances1 prejudices1 pettinesses1 his envy1 jealousy1 evil temper4 ,upon second thoughts how much may be in this man1 how much he may achieve1 how high he may attain4 ,this dull and unattractive man must not be despised1 whether he be yourself or another3 he is incalculable and unfathomable4 ,he is simply raw material1 soul stuff1 and one can no more anticipate him than you could foresee a ,turner from the master's colours--some of them very strange--or a ,persian rug from a heap of wool4 ,out of that unpromising face1 that sleeping intellect1 those awkward ways1 this crust of selfishness and a hundred faults1 is going to be made a man whom the world will admire and honour4 ,the ,potter's ,wheel1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,to have faith is to create2 to have hope is to call down blessing2 to have love is to work miracles4 ,the ,roadmender1 ,,michael ,,fairless4 ,the faith which saves others is the enthusiasm of patience4 ,the ,service of ,god1 ,canon ,,barnett4 ,pessimism ,,march #bj ,the next thing to speak of is a tendency in the world which is the very opposite of that of which we have spoken1 but which is equally characteristic of a time when a new life and spirit is on the verge of taking its form4 ,as part of the fight of faith is to support and direct the first1 so part of that battle is to weaken and oppose the doctrine that the world is going from bad to worse1 that there is no regeneration for it1 and that there ought to be none4 ,on this doctrine ,i have frequently spoken1 but ,i do not hesitate to speak of it again4 ,it is the fashion to praise it2 it deserves no praise1 it is detestable4 ,this is a favourite doctrine of the comfortable classes who are idle and luxurious or merely fantastic1 and of a certain type of scientific men1 both of whom are profoundly ignorant of the working world and of the poor1 who hate this doctrine and despise it4 ,the sufferings of the poor and the oppressed are used as an argument in its favour1 but1 curiously enough1 you scarcely ever find it held by the poor and the oppressed2--on the contrary1 these are the creators and builders of ,utopias3 out of this class grow those who prophesy a golden year4 ,those who have most reason to despair never despair4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,of all bad habits despondency is among the least respectable1 and there is no one quite so tiresome as the sad-visaged ,christian who is oppressed by the wickedness and hopelessness of the world4 ,service ,,march #ba ,service implies self-giving4 ,there is service which is just self-satisfaction1 pleasing to the taste for doing and meddling1 and there is service which is exactly measured to its pay4 ,true service implies giving1 the surrender of time or taste1 the subjection of self to others1 the gift which is neither noticed nor returned4 ,the ,service of ,god1 ,canon ,,barnett4 ,christian greatness is born of willingness to lay the lowliest duties on yourself1 and the way to be first is to be ready to remain last4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,nobleness consists in a valiant suffering for others1 not in making others suffer for us4 ,the chief of men is he who stands in the van of men2 fronting the peril which frightens back all others4444 ,every noble crown is1 and on earth will for ever be1 a crown of thorns4 ,past and ,present1 ,,carlyle4 ,no one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to any one else4 ,,dickens4 ,service ,,march #bb ,they were to mortify the self-importance and vain dignity that will not render commonplace kindness4 ',if ,i then1 your ,lord and ,master1 have washed your feet1 ye also ought to wash one another's feet4' ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,nothing is degrading which a high and graceful purpose ennobles1 and offices the most menial cease to be menial the moment they are wrought in love4 ,j4 ,,martineau4 ,and service will be the personal tribute to ,jesus1 whom we shall recognise under any disguise1 as his nurse detected ,ulysses by his wounds1 and whose ,body1 in the poor and miserable1 will ever be with us for our discernment4 ,jesus is the leper whom the saint kissed1 and the child the monk carried over the stream1 and the sick man the widow nursed into health1 after the legends of the ages of faith4 ,and ,jesus will say at the close of the day1 ',inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ,my brethren1 ye have done it unto ,me4' ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,service ,,march #bc ,we must not be perplexed or put out if we have to change our plans4 ,god sends us hither and thither2 we may think that we are wasting our special talents1 when ,god has1 after all1 some particular need for our particular work at a particular time4 ,and equally we must learn to measure our strength2 we cannot all do the same things1 we are not all adapted to the same work1 or charged with the same duties4 ,why should we overstrain ourselves in that which is beyond our strength1 or neglect plain duties for others less obvious8 ,ah6 ,god receives many a ,corban now which ,he will never accept2 self-chosen work done at the expense of duty2 work outside done to the neglect of our own proper work2 work done at the entire expense of our home and social duties2 the clear commandment of ,god shattered to pieces by some purely human tradition4 ,canon ,,newbolt4 ,every ,christian is the servant of men1 always and everywhere1 without respect to the distinctions of sex1 or class1 or nationality1 or creed4 ,canon ,,body4 ,mens ,sana in ,corpore ,sano ,,march #bd ,as there is a will of ,god for our higher nature--the moral laws--as emphatically is there a will of ,god for the lower1 the natural laws4 ,if you would know ,god's will in the higher1 therefore1 you must begin with ,god's will in the lower3 which simply means this--that if you want to live the ideal life1 you must begin with the ideal body4 ,the law of moderation1 the law of sleep1 the law of regularity1 the law of exercise1 the law of cleanliness1--this is the law or will of ,god for you4 ,this is the first law1 the beginning of ,his will for you4 ,and if we are ambitious to get on to do ,god's will in the higher reaches1 let us respect it as much in the lower2 for there may be as much of ,god's will in minor things1 as much of ,god's will in taking good bread and pure water1 as in keeping a good conscience or living a pure life4 ,whoever heard of gluttony doing ,god's will1 or laziness1 or uncleanness1 or the man who was careless and wanton of natural life8 ,let a man disobey ,god in these1 and you have no certainty that he has any true principle for obeying ,god in anything else3 for ,god's will does not only run into the church and the prayer-meeting and the higher chambers of the soul1 but into the common rooms at home down to wardrobe and larder and cellar1 and into the bodily frame down to blood and muscle and brain4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,the ,duty of ,physical ,health ,,march #be ,excess is not the only thing which breaks men in their health1 and in the comfortable enjoyment of themselves2 but many are brought into a very ill and languishing habit of body by mere sloth2 and sloth is in itself both a great sin1 and the cause of many more4 ,bishop ,,south4 ,there is no true care for the body which forgets the soul4 ,there is no true care for the soul which is not mindful of the body4444 ,the duty of physical health and the duty of spiritual purity and loftiness are not two duties2 they are two parts of one duty1--which is the living of the completest life which it is possible for man to live4 ,and the two parts minister to one another4 ,be good that you may be well2 be well that you may be good4 ,both of those two injunctions are reasonable1 and both are binding on us all4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,the ,duty of ,physical ,health ,,march #bf ,moreover1 health is not only a great element of happiness1 but it is essential to good work4 ,it is not merely wasteful but selfish to throw it away4 ,it is impossible to do good work1--at any rate1 it is impossible to do our best1--if we overstrain ourselves4 ,it is bad policy1 because all work done under such circumstances will inevitably involve an additional period of quiet and rest afterwards2 but apart from this1 work so done will not be of a high quality1 it will show traces of irritability and weakness3 the judgment will not be good3 if it involves co-operation with others there will be great possibility of friction and misunderstandings4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,when we are out of sorts things get on our nerves1 the most trifling annoyances assume the proportions of a catastrophe4 ,it is a sure sign that we need rest and fresh air4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,o ,almighty and most merciful ,god1 of ,thy bountiful goodness keep us1 we beseech ,thee1 from all things that may hurt us2 that we1 being ready both in body and soul1 may cheerfully accomplish those things that ,thou wouldest have done2 through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen4 ,the ,book of ,common ,prayer4 ,physical ,morality ,,march #bg ,the preservation of health is a duty4 ,few men seem conscious that there is such a thing as physical morality4 ,men's habitual words and acts imply the idea that they are at liberty to treat their bodies as they please4 ,disorders entailed by disobedience to ,nature's dictates they regard simply as grievances1 not as the effects of a conduct more or less flagitious4 ,though the evil consequences inflicted on their dependants1 and on future generations1 are often as great as those caused by crime1 yet they do not think themselves in any degree criminal4 ,it is true that in the case of drunkenness the viciousness of this bodily transgression is recognised1 but none appear to infer that if this bodily transgression is vicious1 so1 too1 is every bodily transgression4 ,the fact is that all breaches of the laws of health are physical sins4 ,,herbert ,,spencer4 444 ,health is not merely a matter of the body4 ',anger1 hatred1 grief1 and fear are among the influences most destructive of vitality4' ,and1 on the other hand1 cheerfulness1 good-humour1 and peace of mind are powerful elements of health4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,invalids ,,march #bh ,if you are an invalid1 do your best to get well2 but1 if you must remain an invalid1 still strive for the unselfishness and serenity which are the best possessions of health4 ,there are no sublimer victories than some that are won on sick-beds4 ,we have sometimes known some men or women1 helpless so that their lives seemed to be all dependent1 who yet1 through their sickness1 had so mounted to a higher life and so identified themselves with ,christ that those on whom they rested found the ,christ in them and rested upon it4 ,their sick-rooms became churches4 ,their weak voices spoke gospels4 ,the hands they seemed to clasp were really clasping theirs4 ,they were depended on while they seemed to be most dependent4 ,and when they died1 when the faint flicker of their life went out1 strong men whose light seemed radiant found themselves walking in the darkness2 and stout hearts1 on which theirs used to lean1 trembled as if the staff and substance of their strength was gone4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,pain is no evil unless it conquers us4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,invalids ,,march #bi ,it may be that ,god used to give you plentiful chances to work for ,him4 ,your days went singing by1 each winged with some enthusiastic duty for the ,master whom you loved4444 ,you can be idle for ,him1 if so ,he wills1 with the same joy with which you once laboured for ,him4 ,the sick-bed or the prison is as welcome as the harvest-field or the battle-field1 when once your soul has come to value as the end of life the privilege of seeking and of finding ,him4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,to be well enough to work is the wish of my natural heart2 but if that may not be1 ,i know that 'they also serve who only stand and wait4' ,god will not require healthy men's labour from you or me2 and if we are poor in power and opportunity to serve ,him1 our widow's mite will weigh against the gold ingots of ,his chosen apostles4 ,memoir of ,george ,wilson4 ,the widow's mite8 ,well1 when they laughed at ,s4 ,theresa because she wanted to build a great orphanage and had only three ducats to begin with1 she answered1 ',with three ducats ,theresa can do nothing1 but with ,god and her three ducats there is nothing which ,theresa cannot do4' ,f4 ,w4 ,,farrar4 ,lessons of ,suffering ,,march #cj ,to have suffered much is like knowing many languages4 ,you have learnt to understand all1 and to make yourself intelligible to all4 ,we have all met some great sufferers1 whose cheerfulness and good-humour are not only a lesson to us who enjoy good health1 but who seem to be1 as it were1 raised and consecrated by a life of suffering4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,what man goes worthily through sorrow and does not come out hating shams and pretences1 hungering for truth2 and also full of sympathy for his fellow-man whose capacity for suffering has been revealed to him by his own8 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,hypochondriacs ,,march #ca--;,,april #a ,there is a temperament called ,hypochondriac1 to which many persons1 some of them the brightest1 the most interesting1 the most gifted1 are born heirs1--a want of balance of the nervous powers1 which tends constantly to periods of high excitement and of consequent depression1--an unfortunate inheritance for the possessor1 though accompanied often with the greatest talents4444 ,people of this temperament are subject to fits of gloom and despondency1 of nervous irritability and suffering1 which darken the aspect of the whole world to them1 which present lying reports of their friends1 of themselves1 of the circumstances of their life1 and of all with which they have to do4 ,now the highest philosophy for persons thus afflicted is to understand themselves and their tendencies1 to know that these fits of gloom and depression are just as much a form of disease as a fever or a toothache1--to know that it is the peculiarity of the disease to fill the mind with wretched illusions1 to make them seem miserable and unlovely to themselves1 to make their nearest friends seem unjust and unkind1 to make all events appear to be going wrong and tending to destruction and ruin4 ,the evils and burdens of such a temperament are half removed when a man once knows that he has it1 and recognises it for a disease1--when he does not trust himself to speak and act in those bitter hours as if there were any truth in what he thinks and feels and sees4 ,he who has not attained to this wisdom overwhelms his friends and his family with the waters of bitterness2 he stings with unjust accusations1 and makes his fireside dreadful with fancies which are real to him1 but false as the ravings of fever4 ,a sensible person1 thus diseased1 who has found out what ails him1 will shut his mouth resolutely1 not to give utterance to the dark thoughts that infest his soul4 ,a lady of great brilliancy and wit1 who was subject to these periods1 once said to me1 ',my dear sir1 there are times when ,i know ,i am possessed of the ,devil1 and then ,i never let myself speak4' ,and so this wise woman carried her burden about with her in a determined1 cheerful reticence1 leaving always the impression of a cheery1 kindly temper1 when1 if she had spoken out a tithe of what she thought and felt in her morbid hours1 she would have driven all her friends from her1 and made others as miserable as she was herself4 ,she was a sunbeam1 a life-giving presence in every family1 by the power of self-knowledge and self-control4 ,little ,foxes1 ,,harriet ,,beecher ,,stowe4 ,comfort's ,art ,,april #b ,it would be very petty of us who are well and can bear things1 to think much of small offences from those who carry a weight of trial4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,trouble is so hard to bear1 is it not8 ,how can we live and think that any one has trouble--piercing trouble--and we could help them and never try8 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,pity makes the world soft to the weak and noble for the strong4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,ask ,god to give thee skill ,for comfort's art1 ,that thou may'st consecrated be1 ,and set apart ,unto a life of sympathy6 ,for heavy is the weight of ill ,for every heart1 ,and comforters are needed much ,of ,christlike touch4 ,irritability ,,april #c ,irritability is1 more than most unlovely states1 a sin of the flesh4 ,it is not1 like envy1 malice1 spite1 revenge1 a vice which we may suppose to belong equally to an embodied or a disembodied spirit3 in fact1 it comes nearer to being physical depravity than anything ,i know of4 ,there are some bodily states1 some conditions of the nerves1 such that we could not conceive of even an angelic spirit1 confined in a body thus disordered1 as being able to do any more than simply endure4 ,it is a state of nervous torture2 and the attacks which the wretched victim makes on others are as much a result of disease as the snapping and biting of a patient convulsed with hydrophobia4444 ,i think it is undeniable that the peace and happiness of the home-circle are very generally much invaded by the recurrence in its members of these states of bodily irritability4 ,every person1 if he thinks the matter over1 will see that his condition in life1 the character of his friends1 his estimate of their virtues and failings1 his hopes and expectations1 are all very much modified by these things4 ,cannot we all remember going to bed as very ill-used1 persecuted individuals1 all whose friends were unreasonable1 whose life was full of trials and crosses1 and waking up on a bright bird-singing morning to find all these illusions gone with the fogs of the night8 ,our friends are nice people1 after all2 the little things that annoyed us look ridiculous by bright sunshine2 and we are fortunate individuals4 ,little ,foxes1 ,,harriet ,,beecher ,,stowe4 ,irritability ,,april #d ,the philosophy of life1 then1 as far as this matter is concerned1 must consist of two things3 first1 to keep ourselves out of irritable bodily states2 and1 second1 to understand and control these states1 when we cannot ward them off4 ,of course1 the first of these is the most important2 and yet1 of all things1 it seems to be least looked into and understood4 ,we find abundant rules for the government of the tongue and temper2 it is a slough into which1 ,john ,bunyan hath it1 cartloads of wholesome instructions have been thrown2 but how to get and keep that healthy state of brain1 stomach1 and nerves which takes away the temptation to ill-temper and anger is a subject which moral and religious teachers seem scarcely to touch upon4444 ,we have a common saying1 that this or that person is soon used up4 ,now most nervous1 irritable states of temper are the mere physical result of a used-up condition4 ,the person has overspent his nervous energy1--like a man who should eat up on ,monday the whole food which was to keep him for a week1 and go growling and faint through the other days2 or the quantity of nervous force which was wanted to carry on the whole system in all its parts is seized on by some one monopolising portion1 and used up to the loss and detriment of the rest4 ,little ,foxes1 ,,harriet ,,beecher ,,stowe4 ,accidie ,,april #e 444 ',accidie1' the spiritual sloth1 which we rechristen 'depression' and 'low spirits1' and meet with sympathy6 ,dante met it by fixing its victims in the mire beneath the water1 where they keep gurgling in their throats the confession-- ',we sullen were ,in the sweet air1 which by the sun is gladdened1 ,bearing within ourselves the sluggish reek2 ,now we are sullen in this sable mire4' ,stray ,thoughts on ,reading1 ,,lucy ,,soulsby4 ,a dull day need not be a depressing day2 depression always implies physical or moral weakness1 and is therefore never to be tolerated so long as one can struggle against it4 ,,hamilton ,w4 ,,mabie4 ,accidie ,,april #f 444 ,the sin of accidie1 which is 'a sorrowfulness so weighing down the mind that there is no good it likes to do4 ,it has attached to it as its inseparable comrade a distress and weariness of soul1 and a sluggishness in all good works1 which plunges the whole man into lazy languor1 and works in him a constant bitterness4 ,and out of this vehement woe springs silence and a flagging of the voice1 because the soul is so absorbed and taken up with its own indolent dejection1 that it has no energy for utterance1 but is cramped1 and hampered1 and imprisoned in its own confused bewilderment1 and has not a word to say4' ,the ,spirit of ,discipline1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,try it for a day1 ,i beseech you1 to preserve yourself in an easy and cheerful frame of mind4 ,compare the day in which you have rooted out the weed of dissatisfaction with that on which you have allowed it to grow up1 and you will find your heart open to every good motive1 your life strengthened and your breast armed with a panoply against every trick of fate2 truly1 you will wonder at your own improvement4 ,,richter4 ,accidie ,,april #g ,as one compares the various estimates of the sin1 one can mark three main elements which help to make it what it is--elements which can be distinguished1 though in experience1 ,i think1 they almost always tend to meet and mingle2 they are gloom and sloth and irritation4 ,the ,spirit of ,discipline1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,you find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people4 ,why not make earnest effort to confer that pleasure on others8 ,you will find half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy4 ,,lydia ,,maria ,,childs4 ,wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness2 altogether past calculation its power of endurance4 ,,carlyle4 ,accidie ,,april #h ',it is a mood which severs a man from thoughts of ,god1 and suffers him not to be calm and kindly to his brethren4 ,sometimes1 without any provoking cause1 we are suddenly depressed by so great sorrowfulness1 that we cannot greet with wonted courtesy the coming even of those who are dear and near to us1 and all they say in conversation1 however appropriate it may be1 we think annoying and unnecessary1 and have no pleasant answer for it1 because the gall of bitterness fills all the recesses of our soul4' ,those who are sad after this fashion have1 as ,st4 ,gregory says1 anger already close to them2 for from sadness such as this come forth 7as he says in another place7 malice1 grudging1 faint-heartedness1 despair1 torpor as to that which is commanded1 and the straying of the mind after that which is forbidden4 ,the ,spirit of ,discipline1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,activity is the antidote to the depressions that lower our vitality1 whether they come from physical or psychical causes4 ,accidie ,,april #i ,we may be somewhat surprised when we discover how precisely ,pascal1 or ,shakspeare1 or ,montaigne1 can put his finger on our weak point1 or tell us the truth about some moral lameness or disorder of which we1 perhaps1 were beginning to accept a more lenient and comfortable diagnosis4 ,but when a poet1 controversialist and preacher of the ,eastern ,church1 under the dominion of the ,saracens1 or an anchoret of ,egypt1 an ,abbot of ,gaul1 in the sixth century1 tells us1 in the midst of our letters1 and railway journeys1 and magazines1 and movements1 exactly what it is that on some days makes us so singularly unpleasant to ourselves and to others--tells us in effect that it is not simply the east wind1 or dyspepsia1 or overwork1 or the contrariness of things in general1 but that it is a certain subtle and complex trouble of our own hearts1 which we perhaps have never had the patience or the frankness to see as it really is2 that he knew it quite well1 only too well for his own happiness and peace1 and that he can put us in a good way of dealing with it--the very strangeness of the intrusion from such a quarter into our most private affairs may secure for him a certain degree of our interest and attention4 ,the ,spirit of ,discipline1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,accidie ,,april #aj ,and now1 as ever1 over against ,accidie rises the great grace of ,fortitude2 the grace that makes men undertake hard things by their own will wisely and reasonably4 ,there is something in the very name of ,fortitude which speaks to the almost indelible love of heroism in men's hearts2 but perhaps the truest ,fortitude may often be a less heroic1 a more tame and business-like affair than we are apt to think4 ,it may be exercised chiefly in doing very little things1 whose whole value lies in this1 that1 if one did not hope in ,god1 one would not do them2 in secretly dispelling moods which one would like to show2 in saying nothing about one's lesser troubles and vexations2 in seeing whether it may not be best to bear a burden before one tries to see whither one can shift it2 in refusing for one's self excuses which one would not refuse for others4 ,these1 anyhow1 are ways in which a man may every day be strengthening himself in the discipline of ,fortitude2 and then1 if greater things are asked of him1 he is not very likely to draw back from them4 ,and while he waits the asking of these greater things1 he may be gaining from the love of ,god a hidden strength and glory such as he himself would least of all suspect2 he may be growing in the patience and perseverance of the saints4 ,for most of us the chief temptation to lose heart1 the chief demand upon our strength1 comes in the monotony of our failures1 and in the tedious persistence of prosaic difficulties2 it is the distance1 not the pace1 that tries us4 ,to go on choosing what has but a look of being the more excellent way1 pushing on towards a faintly glimmering light1 and never doubting the supreme worth of goodness even in its least brilliant fragments1--this is the normal task of many lives2 in this men show what they are like4 ,and for this we need a quiet and sober ,fortitude1 somewhat like that which ,botticelli painted1 and ,mr4 ,ruskin has described4 ,the ,spirit of ,discipline1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,temper ,,april #aa ,what is temper8 ,its primary meaning1 the proportion and mode in which qualities are mingled1 is much neglected in popular speech1 yet even here the word often carries a reference to an habitual state or general tendency of the organism in distinction from what are held to be specific virtues and vices4 ,as people confess to bad memory without expecting to sink in mental reputation1 so we hear a man declared to have a bad temper and yet glorified as the possessor of every high quality4 ,when he errs or in any way commits himself1 his temper is accused1 not his character1 and it is understood that but for a brutal bearish mood he is kindness itself4 ,if he kicks small animals1 swears violently at a servant who mistakes orders1 or is grossly rude to his wife1 it is remarked apologetically that these things mean nothing--they are all temper4 ,certainly there is a limit to this form of apology2 and the forgery of a bill1 or the ordering of goods without any prospect of paying for them1 has never been set down to an unfortunate habit of sulkiness or of irascibility4 ,but on the whole there is a peculiar exercise of indulgence towards the manifestations of bad temper which tends to encourage them1 so that we are in danger of having among us a number of virtuous persons who conduct themselves detestably1 just as we have hysterical patients who1 with sound organs1 are apparently labouring under many sorts of organic disease4 ,let it be admitted1 however1 that a man may be a 'good fellow' and yet have a bad temper1 so bad that we recognise his merits with reluctance1 and are inclined to resent his occasionally amiable behaviour as an unfair demand on our admiration4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,temper ,,april #ab ,jealousy1 anger1 pride1 uncharity1 cruelty1 self-righteousness1 sulkiness1 touchiness1 doggedness1--these are the staple ingredients of ,ill-,temper4 ,and yet men laugh over it4 ',only temper1' they call it3 a little hot-headedness1 a momentary ruffling of the surface1 a mere passing cloud4 ,but the passing cloud is composed of drops1 and the drops here betoken an ocean1 foul and rancorous1 seething somewhere within the life--an ocean made up of jealousy1 anger1 pride1 uncharity1 cruelty1 self-righteousness1 sulkiness1 touchiness1 doggedness1 lashed into a raging storm4 ,this is why temper is significant4 ,it is not in what it is that its significance lies1 but in what it reveals4 ,but for this it were not worth notice4 ,it is the intermittent fever which tells of un-intermittent disease2 the occasional bubble escaping to the surface1 betraying the rottenness underneath2 a hastily prepared specimen of the hidden products of the soul1 dropped involuntarily when you are off your guard4 ,in one word1 it is the lightning-form of a dozen hideous and unchristian sins4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,whenever you are angry1 be assured that it is not only a present evil1 but that you have increased a habit4 ,,epictetus4 ,temper ,,april #ac ,certainly if a bad-tempered man can be admirably virtuous1 he must be so under extreme difficulties4 ,i doubt the possibility that a high order of character can co-exist with a temper like ,touchwood's4 ,for it is of the nature of such temper to interrupt the formation of healthy mental habits1 which depend on a growing harmony between perception1 conviction1 and impulse4 ,there may be good feelings1 good deeds--for a human nature may pack endless varieties and blessed inconsistencies in its windings--but it is essential to what is worthy to be called high character1 that it may be safely calculated on1 and that its qualities shall have taken the form of principles or laws habitually1 if not perfectly1 obeyed4 ,if a man frequently passes unjust judgments1 takes up false attitudes1 intermits his acts of kindness with rude behaviour or cruel words1 and falls into the consequent vulgar error of supposing that he can make amends by laboured agreeableness1 ,i cannot consider such courses any the less ugly because they are ascribed to 'temper4' ,especially ,i object to the assumption that his having a fundamentally good disposition is either an apology or a compensation for his bad behaviour4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,temper ,,april #ad ,consider how much more often you suffer from your anger and grief1 than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,the difficult part of good temper consists in forbearance1 and accommodation to the ill-humour of others4 ,,empson4 ,do we not know that the storm of feeling can be checked1 if only we can prevent the first word from being spoken1 the first gesture from being made4 ,and is it not matter of common observation that persons who begin by being ,stoics in demeanour end by becoming ,stoics in reality8 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,temper ,,april #ae ,if this be one of our chief duties--promoting the happiness of our neighbours--most certainly there is nothing which so entirely runs counter to it1 and makes it impossible1 as an undisciplined temper4 ,for of all things that are to be met with here on earth1 there is nothing which can give such continual1 such cutting1 such useless pain4 ,the touchy and sensitive temper1 which takes offence at a word2 the irritable temper1 which finds offence in everything whether intended or not2 the violent temper1 which breaks through all bounds of reason when once roused2 the jealous or sullen temper1 which wears a cloud on the face all day1 and never utters a word of complaint2 the discontented temper1 brooding over its own wrongs2 the severe temper1 which always looks at the worst side of whatever is done2 the wilful temper1 which over-rides every scruple to gratify a whim1--what an amount of pain have these caused in the hearts of men1 if we could but sum up their results6 ,how many a soul have they stirred to evil impulses2 how many a prayer have they stifled2 how many an emotion of true affection have they turned to bitterness6 ,how hard they sometimes make all duties6 ,how painful they make all daily life6 ,how they kill the sweetest and warmest of domestic charities6 ,the misery caused by other sins is often much deeper and much keener1 more disastrous1 more terrible to the sight2 but the accumulated pain caused by ill-temper must1 ,i verily believe1 if added together1 outweigh all other pains that men have to bear from one another4 ,bishop ,,temple4 ,quarrels ,,april #af ,blow not into a flame the spark which is kindled between two friends4 ,they are easily reconciled1 and will both hate you4 ,from the ,german4 ,quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,he approaches nearest to the gods who knows how to be silent even though he knows he is in the right4 ,,cato4 ,when any one has offended me1 ,i try to raise my soul so high that the offence cannot reach it4 ,,descartes4 ,quarrels ,,april #ag ,the mind is often clouded by passion until it is incapable of clear thought4 ,harsh words1 stinging words1 cruel words are usually spoken without thought4 ,rash deeds which result in most serious consequences are performed without thought4 ,the wrong-doer does not consider beforehand the character of his deed1 its effects on himself and others1 and its ultimate consequences4 ,we shall never be sorry afterwards for thinking twice before we speak1 for counting the cost before entering upon any new course1 for sleeping over stings and injuries before saying or doing anything in answer1 or for carefully considering any business scheme presented to us before putting money or name into it4 ,it will save us from much regret1 loss1 and sorrow1 always to remember to do nothing rashly4 ,do nothing in a hurry4 ,nature never does4 ',most haste1 worst speed1' says the old proverb4 ,if you are in doubt1 sleep over it4 ,but1 above all1 never quarrel in a hurry4 ,think it over well4 ,take time4 ,however vexed you may be overnight1 things will often look very different in the morning4 ,if you have written a clever and conclusive1 but scathing letter1 keep it back till the next day1 and it will very often never go at all4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,revenge ,,april #ah ,he that studieth revenge keepeth his own wounds green4 ,,bacon4 ,ill-temper and envy and revenge find here an arsenal of pious disguises2 this is the playground of inverted lusts4 ,with a little more patience and a little less temper1 a gentler and wiser method might be found in almost every case2 and the knot that we cut by some fine heady quarrel-scene in private life1 or1 in public affairs1 by some denunciatory act against what we are pleased to call our neighbour's vices1 might yet have been unwoven by the hand of sympathy4 ,across the ,plains1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,still in thy right hand carry gentle ,peace ,to silence envious tongues4 ,,shakespeare4 ,touchiness ,,april #ai ,touchiness1 when it becomes chronic1 is a morbid condition of the inward disposition4 ,it is self-love inflamed to the acute point4 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,purge out of every heart the lurking grudge4 ,give us grace and strength to forbear and to persevere4 ,offenders1 give us the grace to accept and to forgive offences4 ,forgetful ourselves1 help us to bear cheerfully the forgetfulness of others4 ,give us courage and gaiety and the quiet mind4 ,spare to us our friends1 soften to us our enemies4 ,bless us1 if it may be1 in all our innocent endeavours4 ,if it may not1 give us the strength to encounter that which is to come1 that we be brave in peril1 constant in tribulation1 temperate in wrath1 and in all changes of fortune1 and down to the gates of death1 loyal and loving one to another4 ,as the clay to the potter1 as the windmill to the wind--as children of their sire1 we beseech of ,thee this help and mercy for ,christ's sake4 ,vailima ,prayers1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,unbalanced ,memory ,,april #bj ,it is so easy to forget a kindness1 and to remember a kick4 ,yet controlling our recollections is almost as important as controlling our temper4 ,we are apt to forget completely a hundred little kindnesses and courtesies which one has shown us1 and to remember a single careless slight or thoughtless word4 ,often we hear it said of some wrong or foolish deed1 ',i have never thought so well of that man since then2 it was there he showed his real character1'--as if a man's real character appeared more in one separate deed to which1 perhaps1 he was sorely tempted1 than in the striving and overcoming of many days and years4 ,our thoughts are often worse than we are1 just as they are often better than we are4 ,and ,god sees us as we are altogether1 not in separate feelings or actions1 as our fellow-men see us4 ,we are always doing each other injustice1 and thinking better or worse of each other than we deserve1 because we only hear and see separate words and actions4 ,we don't see each other's whole nature4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,enveloped in a common mist1 we seem to walk in clearness ourselves1 and behold only the mist that enshrouds others4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,unbalanced ,memory ,,april #ba ,strange endurance of human vanity6 a million of much more important conversations have escaped one since then1 most likely--but the memory of this little mortification 7for such it is1 after all7 remains quite fresh in the mind1 and unforgotten1 though it is a trifle1 and more than half a score of years old4 ,we forgive injuries1 we survive even our remorse for great wrongs that we ourselves commit2 but ,i doubt if we ever forgive slights of this nature put upon us1 or forget circumstances in which our self-love has been made to suffer4 ,w4 ,m4 ,,thackeray4 ,a past error may urge a grand retrieval4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,memory is not a pocket1 but a living instructor1 with a prophetic sense of the values which he guards2 a guardian angel set there within you to record your life1 and by recording it to animate you to uplift it4 ,,emerson4 ,silence a great ,peacemaker ,,april #bb ,hard speech between those who have loved is hideous in the memory1 like the sight of greatness and beauty sunk into vice and rags4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,i don't want to say anything nasty1 because nasty words always leave a scar behind4 ,isabel ,carnaby1 ,,ellen ,,thorneycroft ,,fowler4 ,silence is a great peacemaker4 ,,longfellow4 ,if bitterness has crept into the heart in the friction of the busy day's unguarded moments1 be sure it steals away with the setting sun4 ,twilight is ,god's interval for peace-making4 ,reconciliation ,,april #bc ,it is exceedingly noteworthy that in the rule laid down here by our ,lord1 the responsibility of seeking reconciliation is laid primarily1 not upon the man who has done wrong1 but upon the man who has received the wrong4 ,it is the injured man who is to take the initiative1 to go after the offender1 to seek him out1 and to exhaust all proper means of bringing him to a right state of mind1 and of getting him reconciled to the man whom he has wronged4 ,it is only after all these proper means have been exhausted1 after the man who has been injured has done everything in his power--a great deal more than the law prescribed--it is then only that he is to regard the offender as 'a heathen man and a publican4' ,is not this the exact opposite to the world's code of morality upon that subject8 ,is it not the rule among men of the world--,i do not use the word in a bad sense--is it not the rule among ,christian men of the world1 who live what we should call on the whole good honest lives1 to wait until the offender has come to them with a confession and an apology8 ,and if they then accept the apology and forgive the offence1 they probably think they have done something very magnanimous2 nor would they consider they had done anything very much amiss if they refused to accept the apology1 especially if the offence had been a gross one4 ,if the offender did not apologise1 even an otherwise good ,christian would probably think that he might treat the matter with indifference1 take no notice of it1 and say to himself1 ',he has offended me1 ,i will take no notice1 ,i will leave him to himself4' ,would not men of the world--,christian men--consider that they had upon the whole discharged the ,christian duty of forgiveness if they treated the offender in that way8 ,but the law which our ,lord laid down in ,his answer to ,peter1 which governed ,his own conduct1 the law which rules the dealing of ,almighty ,god with sinful man1 is that the man who has been injured1 to whom the wrong has been done1 is to make the first move1 is to take the first step1 is to go after the man who has done the wrong1 and use his utmost means of persuasion to convince him of his guilt1 and to bring him back from the error of his ways4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,canon ,,maccoll4 ,reconciliation and ,forgiveness ,,april #bd ,never forget1 when you have been injured1 that your duty is not only to refrain from retaliating1 not simply to retire upon your dignity and self-respect1 not to leave the offender severely alone2 but to seek him out1 to reason with him1 to pray for him1 to exhaust all your powers of persuasion1 all the resources of gentleness and love4 ,it is only when all this has been done that your responsibility is ended1 and you are justified in leaving him to be dealt with by ,almighty ,god4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,canon ,,maccoll4 ',remember1' he said1 444 'that if you forgive him1 you become changed yourself4 ,you no longer see what he has done as you see it now4 ,that is the beauty of forgiveness3 it enables us better to understand those whom we have forgiven4 ,perhaps it will enable you to put yourself in his place4' ,the ,mettle of the ,pasture1 ,,james ,,lane ,,allen4 ,could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant8 ,,thoreau4 ,forgiveness ,,april #be ,the little hearts that know not how to forgive6 ,,tennyson4 ,oh1 make my anger pure--let no worst wrong ,rouse in me the old niggard selfishness4 ,give me ,thine indignation--which is love ,turned on the evil that would part love's throng2 ,thy anger scathes because it needs must bless1 ,gathering into union calm and strong ,all things on earth1 and under1 and above4 ,make my forgiveness downright--such as ,i ,should perish if ,i did not have from ,thee2 ,i let the wrong go1 withered up and dry1 ,cursed with divine forgetfulness in me4 ',tis but self-pity1 pleasant1 mean and sly1 ,low whispering bids the paltry memory live3-- ,what am ,i brother for1 but to forgive8 99 99 99 99 99 ,lord1 ,i forgive--and step in unto ,thee4 ,,george ,,macdonald4 ,reparation ,,april #bf ,all high happiness has in it some element of love2 all love contains a desire for peace4 ,one immediate effect of new happiness is to make us turn toward the past with a wish to straighten out its difficulties1 heal its breaches and forgive its wrongs4 ,,james ,,lane ,,allen4 ,as long as we love1 we can forgive4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,when it is our duty to do an act of justice it should be done promptly4 ,to delay is injustice4 ,,la ,,bruyere4 ,his heart was as great as the world1 but there was no room in it to hold the memory of a wrong4 ,,emerson 7said of ,lincoln74 ,the ,unamiable ,,april #bg ,of all mortals none are so awfully self-deluded as the unamiable4 ,they do not1 any more than others1 sin for the sake of sinning1 but it may be doubted whether1 in the hour when all shall be uncovered to the eternal day1 there will be revealed a lower depth than the hell which they have made4 ,they inflict torments with an unconsciousness almost worthy of spirits of light4 ,the spirit sinks under the prospect of the retribution of the unamiable1 if all that happens be indeed for eternity1 if there be1 indeed1 a record of every chilling frown1 of every querulous tone1 of every bitter jest1 of every insulting word1 of all abuses of that tremendous power which mind has over mind4 ,the throbbing pulse1 the quivering nerves1 the wrung hearts that surround the unamiable2 what a cloud of witnesses is here6 ,the terror of innocents who should know no fear1 the vindictive emotions of dependents who dare not complain1 the faintness of heart of lifelong companions1 the anguish of those who love2 what an array of judges is here6 ,the unamiable1 the domestic torturer1 has heaped wrong upon wrong1 woe upon woe1 through the whole portion of time which was given into his power1 till it would be rash to say that any others are more guilty than he4 ,,harriet ,,martineau4 ,ill-,nature ,,april #bh ,,how is ill-nature to be met and overcome8 ,first1 by humility3 when a man knows his own weaknesses1 why should he be angry with others for pointing them out8 ,no doubt it is not very amiable of them to do so1 but still1 truth is on their side4 ,secondly1 by reflection3 after all we are what we are1 and if we have been thinking too much of ourselves1 it is only an opinion to be modified2 the incivility of our neighbours leaves us what we were before4 ,above all1 by pardon3 there is only one way of not hating those who do us wrong1 and that is by doing them good2 anger is best conquered by kindness4 ,such a victory over feeling may not indeed affect those who have wronged us1 but it is a valuable piece of self-discipline4 ,it is vulgar to be angry on one's own account2 we ought only to be angry for great causes4 ,besides1 the poisoned dart can only be extracted from the wound by the balm of a silent and thoughtful charity4 ,why do we let human malignity embitter us8 ,why should ingratitude1 jealousy--perfidy even--enrage us8 ,there is no end to recriminations1 complaints1 or reprisals4 ,the simplest plan is to blot everything out4 ,anger1 rancour1 bitterness1 trouble the soul4 ,every man is a dispenser of justice2 but there is one wrong that he is not bound to punish--that of which he himself is the victim4 ,such a wrong is to be healed1 not avenged4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,the ,science of ,social ,life ,,april #bi ,every man has his faults1 his failings1 peculiarities1 eccentricities4 ,every one of us finds himself crossed by such failings of others1 from hour to hour4 ,and if he were to resent them all1 or even notice all1 life would be intolerable4 ,if for every outburst of hasty temper1 and for every rudeness that wounds us in our daily path1 we were to demand an apology1 require an explanation1 or resent it by retaliation1 daily intercourse would be impossible4 ,the very science of social life consists in that gliding tact which avoids contact with the sharp angularities of character1 which does not argue about such things1 does not seek to adjust or cure them all1 but covers them1 as if it did not see4 ,,frederick ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,if you would have a happy family life1 remember two things1--in matters of principle1 stand like a rock2 in matters of taste1 swim with the current4 ,the ,science of ,social ,life ,,april #cj ,much of the sorrow of life1 however1 springs from the accumulation1 day by day and year by year1 of little trials--a letter written in less than courteous terms1 a wrangle at the breakfast table over some arrangement of the day1 the rudeness of an acquaintance on the way to the city1 an unfriendly act on the part of another firm1 a cruel criticism needlessly reported by some meddler1 a feline amenity at afternoon tea1 the disobedience of one of your children1 a social slight by one of your circle1 a controversy too hotly conducted4 ,the trials within this class are innumerable1 and consider1 not one of them is inevitable1 not one of them but might have been spared if we or our brother man had had a grain of kindliness4 ,our social insolences1 our irritating manners1 our censorious judgment1 our venomous letters1 our pinpricks in conversation1 are all forms of deliberate unkindness1 and are all evidences of an ill-conditioned nature4 ,the ,homely ,virtues1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,let us think1 too1 how much forbearance must have been shown us that we were not even conscious of needing2 how often1 beyond doubt1 we have wounded1 or annoyed1 or wearied those who were so skilful and considerate that we never suspected either our clumsiness or their pain4 ,studies in the ,christian ,character1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,the ,science of ,social ,life ,,may #a ,then1 to be able1 when we live with our brother men1 not to remember what we wish for ourselves1 but only their wants1 their joy and their sorrow2 to think1 not of our own desires1 but how to minister to the great causes and the great conceptions which help mankind2 to be eager to give pity to men1 and forgiveness to their wrong2 to desire with thirst to bind up the broken heart of man1 and to realise our desire in act--this is to thirst for ,god as ,love4 ,for this is self-forgetfulness1 and in the abysmal depths of ,his ,being1 as well as in every surface-form into which ,he throws ,himself out of ,himself1 ,god is the absolute ,self-forgetfulness4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,if1 in the paths of the world1 ,stones might have wounded thy feet1 ,toil or dejection have tried ,thy spirit1 of that we saw ,nothing--to us thou wast still ,cheerful1 and helpful1 and firm6 ,therefore to thee it was given ,many to save with thyself2 ,and1 at the end of thy day1 ,o faithful shepherd6 to come1 ,bringing thy sheep in thy hand4 ,,matthew ,,arnold4 ,the ,science of ,social ,life ,,may #b ,if you would be loved as a companion1 avoid unnecessary criticism upon those with whom you live4 ,the number of people who have taken out judges' patents for themselves is very large in any society4 ,now it would be hard for a man to live with another who was always criticising his actions1 even if it were kindly and just criticism4 ,it would be like living between the glasses of a microscope4 ,but these self-elected judges1 like their prototypes1 are very apt to have the persons they judge brought before them in the guise of culprits4 ,let not familiarity swallow up old courtesy4 ,many of us have a habit of saying to those with whom we live such things as we say about strangers behind their backs4 ,there is no place1 however1 where real politeness is of more value than where we mostly think it would be superfluous4 ,you may say more truth1 or rather speak out more plainly to your associates1 but not less courteously than to strangers4 ,sir ,,arthur ,,helps4 ,for manners are not idle1 but the fruit ,of loyal nature1 and of noble mind4 ,,tennyson4 ,sympathy ,,may #c ,there is nothing which seems to try men's patience and good temper more than feebleness3 the timidity1 the vacillation1 the conventionality1 the fretfulness1 the prejudices of the weak2 the fact that people can be so well-meaning and so disappointing1 these things make many men impatient to a degree of which they are themselves ashamed4 ,but it is something far more than patience and good temper towards weakness that is demanded here4 ,it is that the strong1 in whatsoever sphere their strength may lie1 should try in silence and simplicity1 escaping the observation of men1 to take upon their own shoulders the burdens which the weak are bearing2 to submit themselves to the difficulties amidst which the weak are stumbling on2 to be1 for their help's sake1 as they are2 to share the fear1 the dimness1 the anxiety1 the trouble and heart-sinking through which they have to work their way2 to forego and lay aside the privilege of strength in order to understand the weak and backward and bewildered1 in order to be with them1 to enter into their thoughts1 to wait on their advance2 to be content1 if they can only serve1 so to speak1 as a favourable circumstance for their growth towards that which ,god intended them to be4 ,it is the innermost reality of sympathy1 it is the very heart and life of courtesy1 that is touched here3 but like all that is best in moral beauty1 it loses almost all its grace the moment it attracts attention4 ,the ,spirit of ,discipline1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,nothing but the ,infinite pity is sufficient for the infinite pathos of human life4 ,j4 ,,shorthouse4 ,patience ,,may #d ,the example of our ,lord1 as ,he humbly and calmly takes the rebuff1 and turns to go to another village1 may help us in the ordinary ways of ordinary daily life4 ,the little things that vex us in the manner or the words of those with whom we have to do2 the things which seem to us so inconsiderate1 or wilful1 or annoying1 that we think it impossible to get on with the people who are capable of them2 the mistakes which no one1 we say1 has any right to make2 the shallowness1 or conventionality1 or narrowness1 or positiveness in talk which makes us wince and tempts us towards the cruelty and wickedness of scorn2--surely in all these things1 and in many others like them1 of which conscience may be ready enough to speak to most of us1 there are really opportunities for thus following the example of our ,saviour's great humility and patience4 ,how many friendships we might win or keep1 how many chances of serving others we might find1 how many lessons we might learn1 how much of unsuspected moral beauty might be disclosed around us1 if only we were more careful to give people time1 to stay judgment1 to trust that they will see things more justly1 speak of them more wisely1 after a while4 ,we are sure to go on closing doors of sympathy1 and narrowing in the interests and opportunities of work around us1 if we let ourselves imagine that we can quickly measure the capacities and sift the characters of our fellow-men4 ,studies in the ,christian ,character1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,selfishness ,,may #e ,any man--with the heart of a man and not of a mouse--is more likely than not to behave well at a pinch2 but no man who is habitually selfish can be sure that he will1 when the choice comes sharp between his own life and the lives of others4 ,the impulse of a supreme moment only focusses the habits and customs of a man's soul4 ,the supreme moment may never come1 but habits and customs mould us from the cradle to the grave4444 ,vice and cowardice become alike impossible to a man who has never--cradled in selfishness1 and made callous by custom--learned to pamper himself at the expense of others6 ,a ,happy ,family1 ,mrs4 ,,ewing4 ,sympathy is the safeguard of the human soul against selfishness4 ,,carlyle4 ,where ,love is1 ,god is ,,may #f ,where ,love is1 ,god is4 ,he that dwelleth in ,love dwelleth in ,god4 ,god is ,love4 ,therefore love4 ,without distinction1 without calculation1 without procrastination1 love4 ,lavish it upon the poor1 where it is very easy2 especially upon the rich1 who often need it most2 most of all upon our equals1 where it is very difficult1 and for whom perhaps we each do least of all4 ,there is a difference between trying to please and giving pleasure4 ,give pleasure4 ,lose no chance of giving pleasure4 ,for that is the ceaseless and anonymous triumph of a truly loving spirit4 ',i shall pass through this world but once4 ,any good thing therefore that ,i can do1 or any kindness that ,i can show to any human being1 let me do it now4 ,let me not defer it or neglect it1 for ,i shall not pass this way again4' ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,let the weakest1 let the humblest remember1 that in his daily course he can1 if he will1 shed around him almost a heaven4 ,kindly words1 sympathising attentions1 watchfulness against wounding men's sensitiveness--these cost very little1 but they are priceless in their value4 ,are they not almost the staple of our daily happiness8 ,from hour to hour1 from moment to moment1 we are supported1 blest1 by small kindnesses4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,oil and ,wine ,,may #g ,whatever impatience we may feel towards our neighbour1 and whatever indignation our race may rouse in us1 we are chained one to another1 and1 companions in labour and misfortune1 have everything to lose by mutual recrimination and reproach4 ,let us be silent as to each other's weakness1 helpful1 tolerant1 nay1 tender towards each other6 ,or1 if we cannot feel tenderness1 may we at least feel pity6 ,may we put away from us the satire which scourges and the anger which brands2 the oil and wine of the good ,samaritan are of more avail4 ,we may make the ideal a reason for contempt2 but it is more beautiful to make it a reason for tenderness4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,it is always a mistake to paint people blacker than the facts warrant1 both because such exaggeration is pretty sure to cause a reaction to the opposite extreme1 and also because we are likely to miss the lesson which the errors or misconduct of others should teach us1 if we think them so exceptionally wicked that we are ourselves in no danger of following their example4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,canon ,,maccoll4 ,family ,life--,without ,jar or ,jostle ,,may #h ,let us give everybody a right to live his own life1 as far as possible1 and avoid imposing our own peculiarities on another4 ,if we were to picture a perfect family1 it should be a union of people of individual and marked character1 who1 through love1 have come to a perfect appreciation of each other1 and who so wisely understand themselves and one another1 that each may move freely along his or her own track without jar or jostle1--a family where affection is always sympathetic and receptive1 but never inquisitive1--where all personal delicacies are respected1--and where there is a sense of privacy and seclusion in following one's own course1 unchallenged by the watchfulness of others1 yet withal a sense of society and support in a knowledge of the kind dispositions and interpretations of all around4 ,in treating of family discourtesies1 ,i have avoided speaking of those which come from ill-temper and brute selfishness1 because these are sins more than mistakes4 ,an angry person is generally impolite2 and where contention and ill-will are1 there can be no courteousness4 ,what ,i have mentioned are rather the lackings of good and often admirable people1 who merely need to consider in their family-life a little more of whatsoever things are lovely4 ,with such the mere admission of anything to be pursued as a duty secures the purpose2 only in their somewhat earnest pursuit of the substantials of life1 they drop and pass by the little things that give it sweetness and perfume4 ,little ,foxes1 ,,harriet ,,beecher ,,stowe4 ,ungraciousness ,,may #i ,we can recall occasions in which we have been impatient1 inconsiderate1 self-willed1 self-asserting4 ,we have sharply resented some want of good taste3 we have made light of a scruple or of a difficulty which weighed heavily on another3 we have yielded ungraciously a service which may have been claimed inopportunely3 we have been exact in requiring conventional deference to our judgment3 we have not checked the keen word1 or the smile which might be interpreted to assert a proud superiority4 ,in all this we may have been justifiable according to common rules of conduct2 but we have given offence4 ,we have not1 that is1 shewn1 when we might have shewn1 that ,christian sympathy1 devotion1 fellowship1 come down to little things2 that the generosity of love looks tenderly1 if by any means it may find the soul which has not revealed itself4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,seek the graces of ,god with all your strength2 but above all seek the graces that specially belong to heaven4 ,try hard to be humble1 to be free from all conceit1 to question your own opinions1 to give up your own way1 to put simplicity first among all excellences of character1 to be ready to think yourself in the wrong1 to prefer others to yourself2 for this character is nearest to ,god's heart1 and to babes who are of this sort does ,god reveal ,his most secret mysteries4 ,bishop ,,temple4 ,the ,spectrum of ,love ,may #aj ,the spectrum of ,love has nine ingredients3-- ,patience--',love suffereth long4' ,kindness--',and is kind4' ,generosity--',love envieth not4' ,humility--',love vaunteth not itself1 is not puffed up4' ,courtesy--',doth not behave itself unseemly4' ,unselfishness--',seeketh not her own4' ,good ,temper--',is not easily provoked4' ,guilelessness--',thinketh no evil4' ,sincerity--',rejoiceth not in iniquity1 but rejoiceth in the truth4' ,patience2 kindness2 generosity2 humility2 courtesy2 unselfishness2 good temper2 guilelessness2 sincerity--these make up the supreme gift1 the stature of the perfect man4 ,you will observe that all are in relation to men1 in relation to life1 in relation to the known to-day and the near to-morrow1 and not to the unknown eternity4 ,we hear much of love to ,god2 ,christ spoke much of love to man4 ,we make a great deal of peace with heaven2 ,christ made much of peace on earth4 ,religion is not a strange or added thing1 but the inspiration of the secular life1 the breathing of an eternal spirit through this temporal world4 ,the supreme thing1 in short1 is not a thing at all1 but the giving of a further finish to the multitudinous words and acts which make up the sum of every common day4 ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,my ,duty to my ,neighbour ,,may #aa ,there is an idea abroad among moral people that they should make their neighbours good4 ,one person ,i have to make good3 myself4 ,but my duty to my neighbour is much more nearly expressed by saying that ,i have to make him happy--if ,i may4 ,across the ,plains1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,of all the weapons we wield against wrong1 there is none more effective than pure and burning joy4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,there is no beautifier of complexion1 or form1 or behaviour1 like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us4 ,,emerson4 ,duty of giving ,happiness ,,may #ab ,it is astonishing how large a part of ,christ's precepts is devoted solely to the inculcation of happiness4 ,how much of ,his life1 too1 was spent simply in making people happy6 ,there was no word more often on ,his lips than 'blessed1' and it is recognised by ,him as a distinct end in life1 the end for this life1 to secure the happiness of others4 ,this simple grace1 too1 needs little equipment4 ,christ had little4 ,one need scarcely even be happy one's self4 ,holiness1 of course1 is a greater word1 but we cannot produce that in others4 ,that is reserved for ,god ,himself1 but what is put in our power is happiness1 and for that each man is his brother's keeper4 ,now society is an arrangement for producing and sustaining human happiness1 and temper is an agent for thwarting and destroying it4 ,look at the parable of the ,prodigal ,son for a moment1 and see how the elder brother's wretched pettiness1 explosion of temper1 churlishness1 spoiled the happiness of a whole circle4 ,first1 it certainly spoiled his own4 ,how ashamed of himself he must have been when the fit was over1 one can well guess4 ,yet these things are never so quickly over as they seem4 ,self-disgust and humiliation may come at once1 but a good deal else within has to wait till the spirit is tuned again4 ,for instance1 prayer must wait4 ,a man cannot pray till the sourness is out of his soul4 ,he must first forgive his brother who trespassed against him before he can go to ,god to have his own trespasses forgiven4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,duty of giving ,happiness ,,may #ac ,the function of culture is not merely to train the powers of enjoyment1 but first and supremely for helpful service4 ,bishop ,,potter4 ,it was often in ,george ,eliot's mind and on her lips that the only worthy end of all learning1 of all science1 of all life1 in fact1 is that human beings should love one another better4 ,culture merely for culture's sake can never be anything but a sapless root1 capable of producing at best a shrivelled branch4444 ,she was cheered by the hope and by the belief in gradual improvement of the mass2 for in her view each individual must find the better part of happiness in helping another4 ,she often thought it wisest not to raise too ambitious an ideal1 especially in young people1 but to impress on ordinary natures the immense possibilities of making a small circle brighter and better4 ,few are born to do the great work of the world1 but all are born to this4 ,and to the natures capable of the larger effort the field of usefulness will constantly widen4 ,the ,life of ,george ,eliot1 ,j4 ,w4 ,,cross4 ,blessed are the ,happiness ,makers ,,may #ad ,have you ever noticed how much of ,christ's life was spent in doing kind things--in merely doing kind things8 ,run over it with that in view1 and you will find that ,he spent a great proportion of ,his time simply in making people happy1 in doing good turns to people4 ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,take life all through1 its adversity as well as its prosperity1 its sickness as well as its health1 its loss of its rights as well as its enjoyment of them1 and we shall find that no natural sweetness of temper1 much less any acquired philosophical equanimity1 is equal to the support of a uniform habit of kindness4 ,nevertheless1 with the help of grace1 the habit of saying kind words is very quickly formed1 and when once formed it is not speedily lost4 ,sharpness1 bitterness1 sarcasm1 acute observation1 divination of motives--all these things disappear when a man is earnestly conforming himself to the image of ,christ ,jesus4 ,the very attempt to be like our dearest ,lord is already a wellspring of sweetness within us1 flowing with an easy grace over all who come within our reach4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,faber4 ,blessed are the ,happiness ,makers4 ,blessed are they who know how to shine on one's gloom with their cheer4 ,,henry ,,ward ,,beecher4 ,character--,the ,right ,atmosphere ,,may #ae ,character cannot be formed without action4 ,through it strength comes4 ,but every action must have its reaction upon the nature of the one who puts it forth4 ,if it does not1 it fails of that which is its highest result2 for the finest expression of a man's nature is not to be found in action1 but in that very intangible thing which we call his atmosphere4 ,there are a great many people who are alert1 energetic1 and decisive1 but who give forth very little of this rare effluence--this quality which seems to issue out of the very recesses of one's nature4 ,it is1 however1 through this quality that the most constant influence is exercised2 that influence which is not only put forth most steadily1 but which penetrates and affects others in the most searching way4 ,the air we breathe has much to do with health2 in a relaxing atmosphere it is difficult to work2 in an atmosphere of vitality it is easy to work4 ,we never meet some people without going away from them with our ideals a little blurred1 or our faith in them a little disturbed4 ,we can never part from others without a sense of increased hope4 ,there are those who invigorate us by simple contact2 something escapes from them of which they are not aware and which we cannot analyse1 which makes us believe more deeply in ourselves and our kind4 ,so far as charm is concerned1 there is no quality which contributes so much to it as the subtle thing we call atmosphere4 ,there are some people who do not need to speak in order not only to awaken our respect1 but to give us a sense of something rare and fine4 ,in such an influence1 all that is most individual and characteristic flows together1 and the woman reveals herself without being conscious that she is making herself known4 ,such an atmosphere in a home creates a sentiment and organises a life which would not be possible if one should attempt to fashion these things by intention4 ,the finest things1 like happiness1 must be sought by indirection and are the results of character1 rather than objects of immediate pursuit4 ,it is always good to know1 if only in passing1 charming human beings4 ,it refreshes one like flowers1 and woods1 and clear brooks4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,character--,child-like-ness ,,may #af ,jesus afterwards focussed the new type of character in a lovely illustration which is not always appreciated at its full value1 because we deny it perspective4 ,every reader of the ,gospels has marked the sympathy of ,jesus with children4 ,how ,he watched their games6 ,how angry ,he was with ,his disciples for belittling them6 ,how ,he used to warn men1 whatever they did1 never to hurt a little child6 ,how grateful were children's praises when all others had turned against ,him6 ,one is apt to admire the beautiful sentiment1 and to forget that children were more to ,jesus than helpless gentle creatures to be loved and protected4 ,they were ,his chief parable of the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,as a type of character the ,kingdom was like unto a little child1 and the greatest in the ,kingdom would be the most child-like4 ,according to ,jesus1 a well-conditioned child illustrates better than anything else on earth the distinctive features of ,christian character4 ,because he does not assert nor aggrandise himself4 ,because he has no memory for injuries1 and no room in his heart for a grudge4 ,because he has no previous opinions1 and is not ashamed to confess his ignorance4 ,because he can imagine1 and has the key of another world1 entering in through the ivory gate and living amid the things unseen and eternal4 ,the new society of ,jesus was a magnificent imagination1 and he who entered it must lay aside the world standards and ideals of character1 and become as a little child4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,character--,negative ,virtues ,,may #ag ,some people seem to be here in the world just on their guard all the while1 always so afraid of doing wrong that they never do anything really right4 ,they do not add to the world's moral force2 as the man1 who1 by constant watchfulness over his own health1 just keeps himself from dying1 contributes nothing to the world's vitality4 ,all merely negative purity has something of the taint of the impurity that it resists4 ,the effort not to be frivolous is frivolous itself4 ,the effort not to be selfish is very apt to be only another form of selfishness4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,beware of making your moral staple consist of the negative virtues4 ,it is good to abstain and teach others to abstain1 from all that is sinful and hurtful4 ,but making a business of it leads to emaciation of character1 unless one feeds largely also on the more nutritious diet of active sympathetic benevolence4 ,o4 ,w4 ,,holmes4 ,the seductions of life are strong in every age and station2 we make idols of our affections1 idols of our customary virtues2 we are content to avoid the inconvenient wrong1 and to forego the inconvenient right with almost equal self-approval1 until at last we make a home for our conscience among the negative virtues and the cowardly vices4 ,the ,life of ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson1 ,,graham ,,balfour4 ,character ,,may #ah ,the moments of our most important decisions are often precisely those in which nothing seems to have been decided2 and only long afterwards1 when we perceive with astonishment that the ,rubicon has been crossed1 do we realise that in that half-forgotten instant of hesitation as to some apparently unimportant side issue1 in that unconscious movement which betrayed a feeling of which we were not aware1 our choice was made4 ,the crises of life come1 like the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 without observation4 ,our characters1 and not our deliberate actions1 decide for us2 and even when the moment of crisis is apprehended at the time by the troubling of the water1 action is generally a little late4 ,character1 as a rule1 steps down first4 ,diana ,tempest1 ,,mary ,,cholmondeley4 ,great occasions do not make heroes or cowards--they simply unveil them to the eyes of men4 ,silently and imperceptibly1 as we wake or sleep1 we grow and wax strong1 or we grow and wax weak1 and at last some crisis shows us what we have become4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,character--,our ,echoes roll from ,soul to ,soul ,,may #ai ,one of the main seats of our weakness lies in this very notion1 that what we do at the moment cannot matter much2 for that we shall be able to alter and mend and patch it just as we like by-and-by4 ,,hare4 ,we sleep1 but the loom of life never stops2 and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up to-morrow4 ,,beecher4 ,let every soul ,heed what it doth to-day1 because to-morrow ,the same thing it shall find gone forward there ,to meet and make and judge it4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,our echoes roll from soul to soul1 ,and grow for ever and for ever4 ,,tennyson4 ,habit ,,may #bj ,like flakes of snow that fall unperceived upon the earth1 the seemingly unimportant events of life succeed one another4 ,as the snow gathers together1 so are our habits formed3 no single flake that is added to the pile produces a sensible change2 no single flake creates1 however it may exhibit1 a man's character2 but as the tempest hurls the avalanche down the mountain1 and overwhelms the inhabitant and his habitation1 so passion1 acting upon the elements of mischief1 which pernicious habits have brought together by imperceptible accumulation1 may overwhelm the edifice of truth and virtue4 ,,jeremy ,,bentham4 ,in the conduct of life1 habits count for more than maxims1 because habit is a living maxim1 become flesh and instinct4 ,to reform one's maxims is nothing3 it is but to change the title of the book4 ,to learn new habits is everything1 for it is to reach the substance of life4 ,life is but a tissue of habits4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,habit ,,may #ba ,the ,hell to be endured hereafter which theology tells1 is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioning our characters the wrong way4 ,could the young realise how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits1 they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state4 ,we are spinning our own fates1 good or evil1 and never to be undone4 ,every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never-so-little scar4 ,psychology1 ,professor ,,william ,,james4 ,routine is a terrible master1 but she is a servant whom we can hardly do without4 ,routine as a law is deadly4 ,routine as a resource in the temporary exhaustion of impulse and suggestion is often our salvation4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,it is just as easy to form a good habit as it is a bad one4 ,and it is just as hard to break a good habit as a bad one4 ,so get the good ones and keep them4 ,,mckinley4 ,sin has its ,pedigree ,,may #bb ,one false note will spoil the finest piece of music1 and one little sin1 as we deem it1 may ruin the most promising character1 involving it in a network of unforeseen consequences out of which there may be no escape4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,canon ,,maccoll4 ,there is a physical demonstration of sin as well as a religious2 and no sin can come in among the delicate faculties of the mind1 or among the coarser fibres of the body1 without leaving a stain1 either as a positive injury to the life1 or1 what is equally fatal1 as a predisposition to commit the same sin again4 ,this predisposition is always one of the most real and appalling accompaniments of the stain of sin4 ,there is scarcely such a thing as an isolated sin in a man's life4 ,most sins can be accounted for by what has gone before4 ,every sin1 so to speak1 has its own pedigree1 and is the result of the accumulated force1 which means the accumulated stain of many a preparatory sin4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,temptation ,,may #bc ,two things a genuine ,christian never does4 ,he never makes light of any known sin1 and he never admits it to be invincible4 ,canon ,,liddon4 ,we always meet the temptation which is to expose us when we least expect it4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,it is of the essence of temptation that it should come on us unawares4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,if we cannot at once rise to the sanctities of obedience and faith1 let us at least resist our temptations4 ,,emerson4 ,sin ,,may #bd ,we judge of sins1 as we judge of most things1 by their outward form4 ,we arrange the vices of our neighbours according to a scale which society has tacitly adopted1 placing the more gross and public at the foot1 the slightly less gross higher up1 and then by some strange process the scale becomes obliterated4 ,finally it vanishes into space1 leaving lengths of itself unexplored1 its sins unnamed1 unheeded1 and unshunned4 ,but we have no balance to weigh sins4 ,coarser and finer are but words of our own4 ,the chances are1 if anything1 that the finer are the lower4 ,the very fact that the world sees the coarser sins so well is against the belief that they are the worst4 ,the subtle and unseen sin1 that sin in the part of the nature most near to the spiritual1 ought to be more degrading than any other4 ,yet for many of the finer forms of sin society has yet no brand4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,tried by final tests1 and reduced to its essential elements1 sin is the preference of self to ,god1 and the assertion of the human will against the ,will of ,god4 ,with ,jesus1 from first to last1 sin is selfishness4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,sin ,,may #be-bf ,we deceive ourselves in another way1 namely1 by seeking for all manner of excuses and palliations4 ,the strength of the temptation1 or the suddenness of it1 or the length of it2 our own weakness1 our natural tendency to that particular sort of sin2 our wishes to be better1 the excellence of our feelings1 the excellence of our desires2 the peculiarity of our circumstances1 the special disadvantages which make us worse off than others2 all these we put before our minds as excuses for having done wrong1 and persuade ourselves too often that wrong is not really wrong1 and that though the deed was sinful the doer of it was not4 ,i do not mean that these palliations are never worth anything1 nor do ,i mean that in every case the same deed is the same sin4 ,there are no doubt infinite varieties of guilt in what appears outwardly the same deed1 and ,god will distinguish between them and will judge justly4 ,but the habit of mind which leads us to palliate our sins and find good excuses for them1 has this dangerous tendency1 that it blinds us to the evil of evil4 ,we slip into the delusion that we are better than we seem1 that our faults look worse than they are1 that inside we have good dispositions1 and good desires1 and warm feelings1 and religious emotions1 and that it is only the outside that is marked by those evil stains4 ,this is a delusion and a grievous delusion4 ,you cannot be good and do wrong4 ,you cannot be righteous and do unrighteousness4 ,granted that you may slip once into a sin which notwithstanding is not really a part of your nature4 ,still1 this cannot happen several times over4 ,make no mistake4 ,if you do wrong the deed is a real part of your life1 and cannot be removed out of it by any fancy of yours that it is on your circumstances1 your temptations1 your peculiar disadvantages that the blame can be cast1 still less by any wishes or emotions or feelings even of the most religious kind4 ,bishop ,,temple4 ,the strength of a man's virtue is not to be measured by the efforts he makes under pressure1 but by his ordinary conduct4 ,,pascal4 ,sins of the ,spirit ,,may #bg ,we must remember that it is by the mercy of ,christ that we are saved from being what we might have been4 ',there goes ,john ,bradford1 but for the grace of ,god1' said a good man when he saw a criminal being led to execution4 ,we are too apt to take the credit to ourselves for our circumstances4 ,imagine that you were born of poor parents out of work in ,whitechapel1 and had to pick up your living in the docks1 or that you were a working girl in ,bethnal ,green1 trying to keep your poor parents or nurse a sick brother out of making match-boxes at #b-a_/d;d4 a gross1 and then thank ,god you were spared the temptation to a bad life1 which they have to undergo4 ,so1 again1 we must remember that sins of the spirit are quite as bad in the eyes of ,christ as sins of the flesh2 ,he never spoke a hard word of the publican and sinner1 but ,he lashed with ,his scorn the ',scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites4' ,the sins that we respectable people commit lightly every day1 of pride and indolence and indifference to the sufferings of the poor1 may be worse in ,his sight than the most flagrant sins of those who know no better4 ,friends of the ,master1 ,bishop ,,winnington ,,ingram4 ,sin ,,may #bh ,i have often observed in the course of my experience of human life1 that every man1 even the worst1 has something good about him2 though often nothing else than a happy temperament of constitution1 inclining him to this or that virtue4 ,for this reason1 no man can say in what degree any other person besides himself can be1 with strict justice1 called wicked4 ,let any one with the strictest character for regularity of conduct among us1 examine impartially how many vices he has never been guilty of1 not from any care or vigilance1 but for want of opportunity1 or some accidental circumstances intervening2 how many of the weaknesses of mankind he has escaped because he was out of the line of such temptation2 and--what often1 if not always1 weighs more than all the rest--how much he is indebted to the world's good opinion because the world does not know all3 ,i say1 any man who can thus think will scan the failings1 nay1 the faults and crimes of mankind with a brother's eye4 ,,burns4 ,very late in life1 and only after many experiences1 does a man learn1 at the sight of a fellow-creature's real failing or weakness1 to sympathise with him1 and help him without a secret self-congratulation at his own virtue and strength1 but on the contrary1 with every humility and comprehension of the naturalness1 almost the inevitableness of sin4 ,an ,unhappy ,girl1 ,,ivan ,,turgenev4 ,sin ,,may #bi ,remove from us the protection1 the encompassing safeguards and shelters we enjoy2 withdraw the influences for good that are daily and weekly dropped on us like gentle dew from heaven1 and have dropped ever since we had any being2 deprive us of the comforts and interests1 the innocent substitutes for forbidden pleasures2 expose us to the loneliness1 the vacancy1 the dreary monotony1 the hopeless struggle1 the despair in which the majority of the men and women who fall find themselves immersed2 and bring before us1 thus exposed and bereft1 what temptation you will--uncleanness1 intemperance1 theft1 lying1 blasphemy--and not one in ten of ordinary ,christian people1 ,i believe1 would stand before it4 ,r4 ,w4 ,,barbour4 ,looking within myself1 ,i note how thin ,a plank of station1 chance1 or prosperous fate1 ,doth fence me from the clutching waves of sin2-- ,in my own heart ,i find the worst man's mate1 ,and see not dimly the smooth-hinged gate ,that opes to those abysses ,where ye grope darkly1--ye who never knew ,on your young hearts love's consecrating dew ,or felt a mother's kisses1 ,or home's restraining tendrils round you curled2 ,ah1 side by side with heart's-ease in this world1 ,the fatal night-shade grows and bitter rue6 ,,james ,,russell ,,lowell4 ,conscience ,,may #cj ,conscience is harder than our enemies1 ,knows more1 accuses with more nicety1 ,nor needs to question ,rumour if we fall ,below the perfect model of our thought4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,if a man has nothing to reproach himself with1 he can bear anything4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,character is the ground of trust and the guarantee for good living1 and that character only is sound which rests upon a good conscience and a clean heart and a strong will4 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,repentance ,,may #ca ,what is true contrition8 ,sorrow for sin in itself1 not for sin's consequences4 ,the ,guided ,life1 ,canon ,,body4 ,remorse and repentance are two very different things4 ,repentance leads back to life2 but remorse ends often in the painless apathy and fatal mortification of despair4 ,dean ,,farrar4 ,penitence is like the dawn4444 ,it is the breaking of the light in the soul1--dark enough sometimes no doubt1 but a darkness giving place steadily to the growing light4 ,bishop ,,walsham ,,how4 ,heredity ,,june #a ,the father says of his profligate son whom he has never done one wise or vigorous thing to make a noble and pure-minded man3 ',i cannot tell how it has come4 ,it has not been my fault4 ,i put him into the world and this came out4' ,the father whose faith has been mean and selfish says the same of his boy who is a sceptic4 ,everywhere there is this cowardly casting off of responsibilities upon the dead circumstances around us4 ,it is a very hard treatment of the poor1 dumb1 helpless world which cannot answer to defend itself4 ,it takes us as we give ourselves to it4 ,it is our minister fulfilling our commissions for us upon our own souls4 ,if we say to it1 ',make us noble1' it does make us noble4 ,if we say to it1 ',make us mean1' it does make us mean4 ,and then we take the nobility and say1 ',behold1 how noble ,i have made myself4' ,and we take the meanness and say1 ',see how mean the world has made me4' ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,speaking of ancestors--',what right have ,i to question them1 or judge them1 or bring them forward in my life as being responsible for my nature8 ,if ,i roll back the responsibility to them1 had they not fathers8 and had not their fathers fathers8 and if a man rolls back his deeds upon those who are his past1 then where will responsibility be found at all1 and of what poor cowardly stuff is each of us8 ,the ,mettle of the ,pasture1 ,,james ,,lane ,,allen4 ,heredity ,,june #b ,this tracing of the sin to its root now suggests this further topic--its cure4 ,christianity professes to cure anything4 ,the process may be slow1 the discipline may be severe1 but it can be done4 ,but is not temper a constitutional thing8 ,is it not hereditary1 a family failing1 a matter of temperament1 and can that be cured8 ,yes1 if there is anything in ,christianity4 ,if there is no provision for that1 then ,christianity stands convicted of being unequal to human need4 ,what course then did the father take1 in the case before us1 to pacify the angry passions of his ill-natured son8 ,mark that he made no attempt in the first instance to reason with him6 ,to do so is a common mistake1 and utterly useless both with ourselves and others4 ,we are perfectly convinced of the puerility of it all1 but that does not help us in the least to mend it4 ,the malady has its seat in the affections1 and therefore the father went there at once4 ,reason came in its place1 and the son was supplied with valid arguments--stated in the last verse of the chapter--against his conduct1 but he was first plied with love4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,heredity ,,june #c ,any insistence on heredity would have depreciated responsibility1 and ,jesus held every man to his own sin4 ,science and theology have joined hands in magnifying heredity and lowering individuality1 till a man comes to be little more than the resultant of certain forces1 a projectile shot forth from the past1 and describing a calculated course4 ,jesus made a brave stand for each man as the possessor of will-power1 and master of his life4 ,he sadly admitted that a human will might be weakened by evil habits of thought1 ,he declared gladly that the ,divine ,grace reinforced the halting will3 but1 with every qualification1 decision still rested in the last issue with the man4 ',if ,thou wilt1 ,thou canst make me clean1' as if his cure hinged on the ,divine ,will4 ,of course1 ,i am willing1 said ,jesus1 and referred the man back to his inalienable human rights4 ,jesus never diverged into metaphysics1 even to reconcile the freedom of the human will with the sovereignty of the ,divine4 ,his function was not academic debate1 it was the solution of an actual situation4 ,logically1 men might be puppets2 consciously1 they were self-determinating1 and ,jesus said with emphasis1 ',wilt thou8' ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,even natural disposition1 of which we make so much when we speak of heredity1 is only a tendency till habit takes it and sets it and hardens it and drives it to a settled goal4 ,,hugh ,,black4 ,bearing ,criticism ,,june #d ,when people detect in us what are actually imperfections and faults1 it is clear that they do us no wrong1 since it is not they who cause them2 and it is clear1 too1 that they do us a service1 inasmuch as they help us to free ourselves from an evil1 namely1 the ignorance of these defects4 ,we should not be angry because they know them and despise us1 for it is right that they should know us for what we are1 and that they should despise us if we are despicable4 ,such are the feelings which would rise in a heart filled with equity and justice4 ,what then should we say of our own heart when we see in it a quite contrary frame of mind8 ,for is it not a fact that we hate the truth and those who tell it us1 that we love those who deceive themselves in our favour1 and that we wish to be esteemed by them as other than we really are8 ,,pascal4 ,a man should never be ashamed to say he has been in the wrong1 which is but saying1 in other words1 that he is wiser to-day than he was yesterday4 ,,pope4 ,faults ,,june #e ,too many take the ready course to deceive themselves2 for they look with both eyes on the failings and defects of others1 and scarcely give their good qualities half an eye3 on the contrary1 in themselves they study to the full their own advantages1 while their weaknesses and defects 7as one says7 they skip over1 as children do the hard words in their lessons that are troublesome to read2 and making this uneven parallel1 what wonder if the result be a gross mistake of themselves4 ,archbishop ,,leighton4 ,to hide a fault with a lie is to replace a blot by a hole4 ,it is a great folly not to part with your own faults1 which is possible1 but to try instead to escape from other people's faults1 which is impossible4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,the greatest of faults1 ,i should say1 is to be conscious of none4 ,,carlyle4 ,obstinacy ,,june #f ,obstinacy is will asserting itself without being able to justify itself4 ,it is persistence without a plausible motive4 ,it is the tenacity of self-love substituted for the tenacity of reason or conscience4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,if any man is able to convince me and show me that ,i do not think or act right1 ,i will gladly change2 for ,i seek the truth by which no man was ever injured4 ,but he is injured who abides in his error and ignorance4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,it is never too late to give up our prejudices4 ,,thoreau4 ,when one's character is naturally firm1 it is well to be able to yield upon reflection4 ,,vauvenargues4 ,calumny ,,june #g ,any man of many transactions can hardly expect to go through life without being subject to one or two very severe calumnies4 ,amongst these many transactions1 some few will be with very ill-conditioned people1 with very ignorant people1 or1 perhaps1 with monomaniacs2 and he cannot expect1 therefore1 but that some narrative of a calumnious kind will have its origin in one of these transactions4 ,it may be fanned by any accidental breeze of malice or ill-fortune1 and become a very serious element of mischief to him4 ,such a thing is to be looked upon as pure misfortune coming in the ordinary course of events2 and the way to treat it is to deal with it as calmly and philosophically as with any other misfortune4 ,as some one has said1 the mud will rub off when it is dry1 and not before4 ,the drying will not always come in the calumniated man's time1 unless in favourable seasons1 which he cannot command4 ,,helps4 ,if any one tells you such a one has spoken ill of you1 do not refute them in that particular2 but answer1 had he known all my vices1 he had not spoken only of that one4 ,,epictetus4 ,calumny ,,june #h ,i am beholden to calumny that she hath so endeavoured and taken pains to belie me4 ,it shall make me set a surer guard on myself1 and keep a better watch upon my actions4 ,,ben ,,jonson4 ,as to people saying a few idle words about us1 we must not mind that1 any more than the old church-steeple minds the rooks cawing about it4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,the power men possess to annoy me ,i give them4 ,,emerson4 ,assailed by scandal and the tongue of strife1 ,his only answer was--a blameless life4 ,,cowper4 ,flattery ,,june #i ,flattery is a false coinage which would have no currency but for our vanity4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,if we did not flatter ourselves1 the flattery of others could do us no harm4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,self-love is the greatest ,flatterer in the ,world4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,the ,devil has no stauncher ally than want of perception4 ,,philip ,h4 ,,wickstead4 ,pride ,,june #aj ,there are two states or conditions of pride4 ,the first is one of self-approval1 the second one of self-contempt4 ,pride is seen probably at its purest in the last4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,the foundation of pride is the wish to respect one's self1 whatever others may think2 the mainspring of vanity is the craving for the admiration of others1 no matter at what cost to one's self-respect4 ,the ,heart of ,rome1 ,f4 ,,marion ,,crawford4 ,any revelation of greatness overwhelms petty thoughts4444 ,the presence of death turns enemies into friends4 ,in the same way the petty feelings of pride and vanity would lose much of their power if people had the overwhelming feeling which comes from the contemplation of ,almightiness1 ,all-goodness1 and ,all-love4 ,there would be a marked change in all human relations if men turned from the presence of the ,thrice ,holy to face one another2 if thoughts of self and for self were driven out of their minds by worship4 ,the ,service of ,god1 ,canon ,,barnett4 ,conceit ,,june #aa ,it is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended1 but the glory belongs to our ancestors4 ,,plutarch4 ,conceit spoils many an excellency4 ,some persons are so proud of their goodness1 or of their attainments1 or of their position1 or of their character1 or of their family1 that they become offensive to many who would otherwise be won by their merit4 ,pride mars1 blights1 and withers whatever it touches4 ,it begets assumptions that are very belittling as well as hard to bear4 ,a man weakens his influence and retards his personal and public interests by giving it full control4 ,its exhibition may be natural2 but noble manhood1 high moral character1 regard to the feelings of others and ,christianity all demand its suppression4 ,humility ,,june #ab ,what hypocrites we seem to be1 whenever we talk of ourselves6 ,our words sound so humble1 while our hearts are so proud4 ,guesses at ,truth1 edited by ,archdeacon ,,hare4 ,by despising himself too much a man comes to be worthy of his own contempt4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,just as criticism alone ministers to pride and then to death1 so creation1 even of the smallest kind1 ministers to humility4 ,and that stands to reason3 the slightest act of shaping instantly opens before you an ever-expanding sea1 and the vision of the infinite is the death of vanity and pride4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,humility is the hall-mark of wisdom4 ,,jeremy ,,collier4 ,egotism ,,june #ac ,we ought to have this measure of charity for egotistical people--a willingness to suppose that they actually believe themselves to be what they assume to be4 ,it is quite possible for a person to be in such a fog of misapprehension that everything about him--his little world1 his personal interest--will loom abnormally large4 ,when the fog is dispelled1 he will see things as they are1 and estimate them and himself accordingly4 ,egotism of this kind is pardonable2 and there is a great deal of it which is peculiar to the mists and strange refractions of youth4 ,when the sun of a clearer and larger knowledge chases away the fog1 a right-minded young person emerges from this egotistical1 too self-conscious period of his life1 and finds a new adjustment for himself in the great and serious world4 ,he who is always enquiring what people will say1 will never give them opportunity to say anything great about him4 ,reputation is in itself only a farthing candle1 of wavering and uncertain flame1 and easily blown out2 but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit4 ,,lowell4 ,the ,code of ,society ,,june #ad ',freedom' is not the power to do what we like1 but to be what we ought to be4 ,,charles ,,gore4 ,there is no commoner danger than that of accepting the code of the society in which you live as the rule of right4 ,bishop ,,temple4 ,strive all your life to free men from the bondage of custom and self1 the two great elements of the world that lieth in wickedness4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,what ,i must do is all that concerns me1 not what the people think4 ,this rule 444 is harder1 because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it4 ,,emerson4 ,public ,opinion ,,june #ae ,it is not the many who reform the world2 but the few who rise superior to that ,public ,opinion which crucified our ,lord many years ago4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,we are tempted to measure ourselves by others1 to acquiesce in an average standard and an average attainment4 ,we forget that while we are not required to judge our neighbours1 we are required to judge ourselves4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,moral courage is obeying one's conscience1 and doing what one believes to be right in face of a hostile majority2 and moral cowardice is stifling one's conscience1 and doing what is less than right to win other people's favour4 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,public ,opinion ,,june #af ,opinion has its value and even its power3 to have it against us is painful when we are among friends1 and harmful in the case of the outer world4 ,we should neither flatter opinion nor court it2 but it is better1 if we can help it1 not to throw it on to a false scent4 ,the first error is a meanness2 the second an imprudence4444 ,be careful of your reputation1 not through vanity1 but that you may not harm your life's work1 and out of love for truth4 ,there is still something of self-seeking in the refined disinterestedness which will not justify itself1 that it may feel itself superior to opinion4 ,it requires ability to make what we seem agree with what we are1--and humility to feel that we are no great things4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,suppose any man shall despise me4 ,let him look to that himself4 ,but ,i will look to this1 that ,i be not discovered doing or saying anything deserving of contempt4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,spiritual ,balance and ,proportion ,,june #ag ,a well-governed mind learns in time to find pleasure in nothing but the true and the just4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,not only does sympathy lead us to see the opinions of others in a truer light1 it enables us to form a sounder judgment on our own2 for as long as a man looks only 'on his own things1' he fails to see them in true proportion4 ,,lucy ,,soulsby4 ,if we can live in ,christ and have ,his life in us1 shall not the spiritual balance and proportion which were ,his become ours too8 ,if ,he were really our ,master and our ,saviour1 could it be that we should get so eager and excited over little things8 ,if we were ,his1 could we possibly be wretched over the losing of a little money which we do not need1 or be exalted at the sound of a little praise which we know that we only half deserve and that the praisers only half intend8 ,a moment's disappointment1 a moment's gratification1 and then the ocean would be calm again and quite forgetful of the ripple which disturbed its bosom4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,temperance ,,june #ah 7,of ,training4447 its aim must be to bring into human character more of that unity1 consistency1 harmony1 proportion1 upon which the ,greek philosophers were never weary of insisting as the essence of virtue4 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,temperance4--,the original term describes that sovereign self-mastery1 that perfect self-control1 in which the mysterious will of man holds in harmonious subjection all the passions and faculties of his nature4 ,self-will is to mind what self-indulgence is to sense1 the usurpation by a part of that which belongs to the whole4 ,in ,knowledge temperance4--,the ,apostle counsels temperance1 the just and proportionate use of every faculty and gift1 and not the abolition or abandonment of any4 ,it is easier in many cases to pluck out the right eye or to cut off the right hand than to discipline and employ them4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,balance ,,june #ai ,temperance is reason's girdle and passion's bridle4 ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,be wary and keep cool4 ,a cool head is as necessary as a warm heart4 ,in any negotiations1 steadiness and coolness are invaluable2 while they will often carry you in safety through times of danger and difficulty4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,place a guard over your strong points6 ,thrift may run into niggardliness1 generosity into prodigality or shiftlessness4 ,gentleness may become pusillanimity1 tact become insincerity1 power become oppression4 ,characters need sentries at their points of weakness1 true enough1 but often the points of greatest strength are1 paradoxically1 really points of weakness4 ,balance ,,june #bj ,culture implies all which gives a mind possession of its powers4 ,,emerson4 ,there are very1 very few from whom we get that higher1 deeper1 broader help which it is the prerogative of true excellence in judgment to bestow3 help to discern1 through the haste and insistence of the present1 what is its real meaning and its just demand2 help to give due weight to what is reasonable1 however unreasonably it may be stated or defended2 help to reverence alike the sacredness of a great cause and the sacredness of each individual life1 to adjust the claims of general rules and special equity2 help to carry with one conscientiously1 on the journey towards decision1 all the various thoughts that ought to tell upon the issue2 help to keep consistency from hardening to obstinacy1 and common sense from sinking into time-serving2 help to think out one's duty as in a still1 pure air1 sensitive to all true signs and voices of this world1 and yet unshaken by its storms4 ,studies in the ,christian ,character1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,sound ,judgment ,,june #ba ,we are all inclined to judge of others as we find them4 ,our estimate of a character always depends much on the manner in which the character affects our own interests and passions4 ,we find it difficult to think well of those by whom we are thwarted or depressed1 and we are ready to admit every excuse for the vices of those who are useful or agreeable to us4 ,,macaulay4 ,to judge is to see clearly1 to care for what is just1 and therefore to be impartial1--more exactly1 to be disinterested1--more exactly still1 to be impersonal4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,of all human faculties there is none which more enriches our lives than a sound moral judgment4 ,genius is rarer and more wonderful4 ,but this surpasses even genius in the fact that it is not only in itself a virtue1 but the fruitful mother of virtues4 ,it is as ,aristotle said1 ',given a sound judgment and all the virtues will follow in its train4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,if the moral judgment is to be sound it must presuppose character1 faculty to deliberate1 and enlightenment4 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,sound ,judgment ,,june #bb ,that is a penetrating sarcasm of ,george ,eliot's in ',amos ,barton'3 ',it is so much easier to say that a thing is black1 than to discriminate the particular shade of brown1 blue1 or green to which it really belongs4 ,it is so much easier to make up your mind that your neighbour is good for nothing1 than to enter into all the circumstances that would oblige you to modify that opinion4' ,everybody needs the suggestion that is embodied in the above remark4 ,our judgments of men are always more or less defective4 ,but it is the man who prides himself on his outspokenness1 the man who thinks it would be cowardice to withhold an opinion of men and things1 particularly if he is charged with the duty of public utterance1 that needs to learn that blue or brown or green is not black1 and that in nothing is so much discrimination needed as in the diagnosis of character4 ,never does a man portray his own character more vividly than in his manner of portraying another4 ,,richter4 ,sound ,judgment ,,june #bc ,it hardly can seem strange that excellence in judgment is thus rare if we go on to think of the manifold discipline that it needs4 ,for we cannot deny that even physical conditions tend at least to tell on it2 and most of us may have to own that there are days on which we know that we had better distrust the view we take of things4 ,it is good counsel that a man should1 if he has the chance1 reconsider after his holiday any important decision that he was inclined to make just before it2 that he should appeal from his tired to his refreshed self2 and men need to deal strictly with the body1 and to bring it into subjection1 not only lest its appetites grow riotous1 but also lest it trouble1 with moods and miseries of its own1 the exercise of judgment4 ,and then1 with the calmness of sound health1 or the control that a strong and vigilant will can sometimes gain over the encroachments of health that is not sound1 there must also be the insight and resourcefulness of learning2 that power to recognise1 and weigh1 and measure1 and forecast1 which comes of long watching how things move2 the power that grows by constant thoughtfulness in study or in life2 the distinctive ability of those who1 in ,hooker's phrase1 are 'diligent observers of circumstances1 the loose regard whereof is the nurse of vulgar folly4' ,studies in the ,christian ,character1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,harsh ,judgment ,,june #bd ,how often we judge unjustly when we judge harshly4 ,the fret and temper we despise may have its rise in the agony of some great unsuspected self-sacrifice1 or in the endurance of unavowed1 almost intolerable pain4 ,whoso judges harshly is sure to judge amiss4 ,,christina ,,rossetti4 ,we meet and mingle1 we mark men's speech2 ,we judge by a word or a fancied slight2 ,we give our fellows a mere glance each1 ,then brand them for ever black or white4 ,meanwhile ,god's patience is o'er us all1 ,he probes for motives1 ,he waits for years2 ,no moment with ,him is mean or small1 ,and ,his scales are turned by the weight of tears4 ,judging ,,june #be ,perhaps it were better for most of us to complain less of being misunderstood1 and to take more care that we do not misunderstand other people4 ,it ought to give us pause at a time to remember that each one has a stock of cut-and-dry judgments on his neighbours1 and that the chances are that most of them are quite erroneous4 ,what our neighbour really is we may never know1 but we may be pretty certain that he is not what we have imagined1 and that many things we have thought of him are quite beside the mark4 ,what he does we have seen1 but we have no idea what may have been his thoughts and intentions4 ,the mere surface of his character may be exposed1 but of the complexity within we have not the faintest idea4 ,people crammed with self-consciousness and self-conceit are often praised as humble1 while shy and reserved people are judged to be proud4 ,some whose whole life is one subtle studied selfishness get the name of self-sacrifice1 and other silent heroic souls are condemned for want of humanity4 ,the ,potter's ,wheel1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,to weigh other minds by our own is the false scale by which the greater number of us miscalculate all human actions and most human characters4 ,,john ,,oliver ,,hobbes4 ,biassed ,judgments ,,june #bf ,how difficult it is to submit anything to the opinion of another person without perverting his judgment by the way in which we put the matter to him4 ,if one says1 ',for my part ,i think it beautiful1' or ',i think it obscure1' or the like1 one inclines the hearer's imagination to that opinion1 or incites it to take the contrary view4 ,,pascal4 ,human speech conveys different meanings to differently biassed minds4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,we judge of others by what we see in them3 and1 what is more perilous still1 we are tempted to judge of ourselves by what others can see in us4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,judging ,,june #bg ,the sinner's own fault8 ,so it was4 ,if every own fault found us out1 ,dogged us and hedged us round about1 ,what comfort should we take because ,not half our due we thus wrung out8 ,clearly his own fault4 ,yet ,i think ,my fault in part1 who did not pray ,but lagged and would not lead the way4 ,i1 haply1 proved his missing link4 ,god help us both to mind and pray4 ,,christina ,g4 ,,rossetti4 ,she had the clear judicial mind which must inevitably see the tragic pitifulness of things4 ,she had thought too much to be able to indulge in the primitive luxury of unqualified condemnation4 ,in ,connection with the ,de ,willoughby ,claim1 ,mrs4 ,,hodgson ,,burnett4 ,she was one of those lowly women who apply the severity born of their creed to themselves1 and spend only the love born of the indwelling ,spirit upon their neighbour4 ,g4 ,,macdonald4 ,justice and ,mercy ,,june #bh ,it is not even1 amongst men1 the best and purest who are found to be the severest censors and judges of others4 ,quickness to detect and expose the weakness and frailties of a fellow-man1 harshness in condemning them1 mercilessness in punishing them1 are not the characteristics which experience would lead us to expect in a very high and noble nature4444 ,to be gentle1 pitying1 forbearing to the fallen1 to be averse to see or hear of human faults and vices1 and when it is impossible not to see them to be pained and grieved by them1 to be considerate of every extenuating circumstance that will mitigate their culpability1 to delight in the detection of some redeeming excellence even in the vilest4444 ,is not all this the sort of conduct which1 as experience teaches us1 betokens1 not moral apathy or indifference1 but the nature which is purest and most elevated beyond all personal sympathy with vice4444 ,if1 then1 human goodness is the more merciful in proportion as it approaches nearer to perfection 444 might we not conclude that when goodness becomes absolutely perfect1 just then will mercy reach its climax and become absolutely unlimited8 ,principal ,,caird4 ,search thine own heart4 ,what paineth thee ,in others1 in thyself may be2 ,all dust is frail1 all flesh is weak2 ,be thou the true man thou dost seek4 ,,whittier4 ,judging ,,june #bi ,it is my way when ,i observe any instance of folly1 any queer or absurd illusion1 straightway to look for something of the same type in myself1 feeling sure that amid all differences there will be a certain correspondence2 just as there is more or less correspondence in the natural history even of continents widely apart1 and of islands in opposite zones4444 ,introspection which starts with the purpose of finding out one's own absurdities is not likely to be very mischievous1 yet of course it is not free from dangers any more than breathing is1 or the other functions that keep us alive or active4 ,to judge of others by oneself is in its most innocent meaning the briefest expression for our only method of knowing mankind2 yet1 we perceive1 it has come to mean in many cases either the vulgar mistake which reduces every man's value to the very low figure at which the valuer himself happens to stand2 or else1 the amiable illusion of the higher nature misled by a too generous construction of the lower4 ,one cannot give a recipe for wise judgment3 it resembles appropriate muscular action1 which is attained by the myriad lessons in nicety of balance and of aim that only practice can give4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,contemptuousness ,,june #cj ,our ,lord not only told men that they were the children of ,god1 that they should strive after their ,father's likeness1 and that they might approach nearer and nearer to being perfect as ,he is perfect3 but1 what was more than this1 in every word ,he spake1--whether of teaching1 or reproof1 or expostulation1 or in ,his passing words to those who received ,his mercies1--,he treated them as ,god's children4 ,man1 as man1 has in ,his eyes a right to respect4 ,anger we find with our ,lord often1 as also surprise at slowness of heart1 indignation at hypocrisy1 and at the ,rabbinical evasions of the ,law2 but never in our ,lord's words or looks do we find personal disdain4 ,towards no human being does ,he show contempt4 ,the scribe would have trodden the rabble out of existence2 but there is no such thing as rabble in our ,lord's eyes4 ,the master1 in the parable1 asks concerning the tree1 which is unproductively exhausting the soil1 why cumbers it the ground2 but it is not to be rooted up1 till all has been tried4 ,there it stands1 and mere existence gives it claims1 for all that exists is the ,father's4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,tennyson was very grand on contemptuousness4 ,it was1 he said1 a sure sign of intellectual littleness4 ,simply to despise1 nearly always meant not to understand4 ,pride and contempt were specially characteristic of barbarians4 ,real civilisation taught human beings to understand each other better1 and must therefore lessen contempt4 ,it is a little or immature or uneducated mind which readily despises4 ,one who has travelled and knows the world in its length and breadth1 respects far more views and standpoints other than his own4 ,tennyson--,a ,memoir1 by his ,son4 ,false ,impressions ,,july #a ,there are thousands and thousands of little untruths that hum and buzz and sting in society1 which are too small to be brushed or driven away4 ,they are in the looks1 they are in the inflections and tones of the voice1 they are in the actions1 they are in reflections rather than in direct images that are represented4 ,they are methods of producing impressions that are false1 though every means by which they are produced is strictly true4 ,there are little unfairnesses between man and man1 that are said to be minor matters and that are small things2 there are little unjust judgments and detractions2 there are petty violations of conscience2 there are ten thousand of these flags of passions in men which are called foibles or weaknesses1 but which eat like moths4 ,they take away the temper1 they take away magnanimity and generosity1 they take from the soul its enamel and its polish4 ,men palliate and excuse them1 but that has nothing to do with their natural effect on us4 ,they waste and destroy us1 and that1 too1 in the soul's silent and hidden parts4 ,,henry ,,ward ,,beecher4 ,a lie which is half a truth ,is ever the blackest of lies4 ,,tennyson4 ,truth ,,july #b ,truth is the great mark at which we ought to aim in all things--truth in thought1 truth in expression1 truth in work4 ,those who habitually sacrifice truth in small things will find it difficult to pay her the respect they should do in great things4 ,lord ,,iddesleigh4 ,stand upright1 speak thy thought1 declare ,the truth thou hast that all may share4 ,be bold1 proclaim it everywhere1 ,they only live who dare4 ,sir ,,lewis ,,morris4 ,the mind can only repose upon the stability of truth4 ,dr4 ,,johnson4 ,truthfulness ,,july #c ,be profoundly honest4 ,never dare to say 444 through ardent excitement or conformity to what you know you are expected to say1 one word which at the moment when you say it1 you do not believe4 ,it would cut down the range of what you say1 perhaps1 but it would endow every word that was left with the force of ten4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,be honest with yourself1 whatever the temptation2 say nothing to others that you do not think1 and play no tricks with your own mind4 ,of all the evil spirits abroad at this hour in this world1 insincerity is the most dangerous4 ,j4 ,a4 ,,froude4 ,truthfulness is the foundation of all personal excellence4 ,it exhibits itself in conduct4 ,it is rectitude1 truth in action1 and shines through every word and deed4 ,,samuel ,,smiles4 ,accuracy ,,july #d ,we always weaken what we exaggerate4 ,,la ,,harpe4 ,it is no great advantage to have a lively wit if exactness be wanting4 ,the perfection of a clock does not consist in its going fast1 but in its keeping good time4 ,,vauvenargues4 ,after much vehement talk about 'the veracities1' will come utterly unveracious accounts of things and people--accounts made unveracious by the use of emphatic words where ordinary words alone are warranted3 pictures of which the outlines are correct1 but the lights and shades and colours are doubly and trebly as strong as they should be4 ,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,truthfulness ,,july #e ,it takes two to speak truth--one to speak and another to hear4 ,,thoreau4 ,truth of intercourse is something more difficult than to refrain from open lies4 ,it is possible to avoid falsehood and yet not tell the truth4 ,it is not enough to answer formal questions4 ,to reach the truth by yea and nay communications implies a questioner with a share of inspiration1 such as is often found in mutual love4 ,yea and nay mean nothing2 the meaning must have been related in the question4 ,many words are often necessary to convey a very simple statement2 for in this sort of exercise we never hit the gold2 the most that we can hope is by many arrows1 more or less far off on different sides1 to indicate1 in the course of time1 for what target we are aiming1 and after an hour's talk1 back and forward1 to convey the purport of a single principle or a single thought4 ,virginibus ,puerisque1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,truthfulness ,,july #f ,in very truth lying is a hateful and accursed vice4 ,it is words alone that distinguish us from the brute creation1 and knit us to each other4 ,if we did but feel proper horror of it1 and the fearful consequences that spring from such a habit1 we would pursue it with fire and sword1 and with far more justice than other crimes4 ,i observe that parents take pleasure in correcting their children for slight faults1 which make little impression on the character1 and are of no real consequence4 ,whereas lying1 in my opinion1 and obstinacy1 though in a less degree1 are vices1 the rise and progress of which ought to be particularly watched and counteracted2 these grow with their growth1 and when once the tongue has got a wrong set1 it is impossible to put it straight again4 ,whence we see men1 otherwise of honourable natures1 slaves to this vice4 ,if falsehood had1 like truth1 only one face1 we should be on more equal terms with it1 for we should consider the contrary to what the liar said as certain2 but the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand forms1 and is a field of boundless extent4 ,,montaigne4 ,every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar1 but is a stab at the health of human society4 ,,emerson4 ,truthfulness ,,july #g ,the cruellest lies are often told in silence4 ,a man may have sat in a room for hours and not opened his teeth1 and yet come out of that room a disloyal friend or a vile calumniator4 ,and how many loves have perished because1 from pride1 or spite1 or diffidence1 or that unmanly shame which withholds a man from daring to betray emotion1 a lover1 at the critical point of the relation1 has but hung his head and held his tongue8 ,and1 again1 a lie may be told by a truth1 or a truth conveyed through a lie4 ,truth to facts is not always truth to sentiment2 and part of the truth1 as often happens in answer to a question1 may be the foulest calumny4 ,a fact may be an exception2 but the feeling is the law1 and it is that which you must neither garble nor belie4 ,the whole tenor of a conversation is a part of the meaning of each separate statement2 the beginning and the end define and travesty the intermediate conversation4 ,you never speak to ,god2 you address a fellow-man1 full of his own tempers3 and to tell truth1 rightly understood1 is not to state the true facts1 but to convey a true impression2 truth in spirit1 not truth to letter1 is the true veracity4 ,virginibus ,puerisque1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,truth is violated by falsehood1 and it may be equally outraged by silence4 ,,amman4 ,gossip ,,july #h ,gossip is a beast of prey that does not wait for the death of the creature it devours4 ,diana of the ,crossways1 ,g4 ,,meredith4 ,give to a gracious message ,a host of tongues2 but let ill tidings tell ,themselves when they be felt4 ,,shakespeare4 ,let evil words die as soon as they're spoken4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,if there is much art in speaking1 there is no less in keeping silence4 ,there is an eloquent silence2 it serves to praise and to condemn3 there is a scornful silence3 and there is a respectful silence4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,back-biting ,,july #i ,hear as little as you possibly can to the prejudice of others2 believe nothing of the kind unless you are forced to believe it2 never circulate1 nor approve of those who circulate1 loose reports2 moderate as far as you can the censure of others2 always believe that if the other side were heard a very different account would be given of the matter4 ,everyday ,christian ,life1 ,dean ,,farrar4 ,we must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture1 which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light4 ,,emerson4 ,refrain your tongue from back-biting2 for there is no word so secret that shall go for nought1 and the mouth that belieth1 slayeth the soul4 ,,wisdom i4 #b4 ,gossip ,,july #aj ,when people run about to disseminate some scrap of news which they alone possess1 the result is not usually beneficial either to character or to mind4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,slander meets with no regard from noble minds1 ,only the base believe what the base only utter4 ,no word1 once spoken1 returneth ,even if uttered unwillingly-- ,shall ,god excuse our rashness8 ,that which is done1 that abides4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,egotism ,july #aa ,above all things1 let us avoid speaking too often about ourselves1 and referring to our own experiences4 ,nothing is more disagreeable than a man who is constantly quoting himself4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,the pest of society is egotists4 ,,emerson4 ,avoid the personal view1 the small view1 the critical and fault-finding view4 ,run away from gossip as from a pestilence1 and keep in your soul great ideals and ideals to solace your solitude4 ,they will drive out petty worries1 conceits and thoughts of carking care4 ,,ada ,c4 ,,sweet4 ,conversation ,,july #ab ,the etiquette of conversation consists as much in listening politely as in talking agreeably4 ,h4 ,a4 ,the reason why so few persons are agreeable in conversation is that every one thinks more about what he shall say than about what others are saying1 and because one cannot well be a good listener when one is eager to speak4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,i am an enemy to long explanations2 they deceive either the maker or the hearer1 generally both4 ,,goethe4 ,conversation ,,july #ac ,the tone of good conversation is flowing and natural2 it is neither heavy nor frivolous2 it is learned without pedantry1 lively without noise1 polished without equivocation4 ,it is neither made up of lectures nor epigrams4 ,those who really converse1 reason without arguing1 joke without punning1 skilfully unite wit and reason1 maxims and sallies1 ingenious raillery and severe morality4 ,they speak of everything in order that every one may have something to say3 they do not investigate too closely1 for fear of wearying3 questions are introduced as if by-the-bye1 and are treated with rapidity2 precision leads to elegance1 each one giving his opinion1 and supporting it with few words4 ,no one attacks wantonly another's opinion1 no one supports his own obstinately4 ,they discuss in order to enlighten themselves1 and leave off discussing where dispute would begin3 every one gains information1 every one recreates himself1 and all go away contented2 nay1 the sage himself may carry away from what he has heard matter worthy of silent meditation4 ,argument ,,july #ad ,argument is always a little dangerous4 ,it often leads to coolness and misunderstandings4 ,you may gain your argument and lose your friend1 which is probably a bad bargain4 ,if you must argue1 admit all you can1 but try to show that some point has been overlooked4 ,very few people know when they have had the worst of an argument1 and if they do1 they do not like it4 ,moreover1 if they know they are beaten1 it does not follow that they are convinced4 ,indeed it is perhaps hardly going too far to say that it is very little use trying to convince any one by argument4 ,state your case as clearly and concisely as possible1 and if you shake his confidence in his own opinion it is as much as you can expect4 ,it is the first step gained4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,speak fitly1 or be silent wisely4 ,,george ,,herbert4 ,after speech silence is the greatest power in the world4 ,,lacordaire4 ,it is better to remain silent than to speak the truth ill-humouredly1 and so spoiling an excellent dish by covering it with bad sauce4 ,,st4 ,,francis ,,de ,,sales4 ,argument ,,july #ae ,when opposition of any kind is necessary1 drop all colour of emotion out of it and let it be seen in the white light of truth4 ,nothing does reason more right than the coolness of those that offer it3 ,for truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than from the arguments of its opposers4 ,,william ,,penn4 ,be calm in arguing3 for fierceness makes ,error a fault1 and truth discourtesy4 ,,george ,,herbert4 ,to speak wisely may not always be easy1 but not to speak ill requires only silence4 ,argument ,,july #af ,prejudice is opinion without judgment4 ,when a positive ,man hath once begun to dispute anything1 his ,mind is barred up against all ,light and better ,information4 ,opposition provokes him1 though there be never so good ,ground for it1 and he seems to be afraid of nothing more1 than lest he should be convinced of the ,truth4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,in proportion as we love truth more and victory less1 we shall become anxious to know what it is which leads our opponents to think as they do4 ,we shall begin to suspect that the pertinacity of belief exhibited by them must result from a perception of something we have not perceived4 ,and we shall aim to supplement the portion of truth we have found with the portion found by them4 ,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,an ,open ,mind ,,july #ag ,he often thought that ,dr4 ,arnold's maxim of being prepared each morning to consider everything an open question a good working rule4 ,not that one should readily change one's opinions1 but should always have an open mind1 never a closed one1 on any question outside exact knowledge4 ,he that never changed any of his opinions1 never corrected any of his mistakes2 and he who was never wise enough to find out any mistakes in himself1 will not be charitable enough to excuse what he reckons mistakes in others4 ,,whichcote4 ,narrow-mindedness is a cause of self-sufficiency4 ,we are slow to believe what is beyond the scope of our vision4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,tolerance ,,july #ah ,nothing1 in our ,lord's wisdom1 strikes me more than ,his moderation with regard to error4 ,what seems false to one man's mind may be true to that of another4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,a genuine universal tolerance is most surely attained1 if we do not quarrel with the peculiar characteristics of individual men and races1 but only hold fast to the conviction1 that what is truly excellent is distinguished by its belonging to all mankind4 ,,goethe to ,,carlyle4 ,new ideas want a little time to grow into shape3 we know how easily a man is startled into shutting his mind against novelty when it is suddenly presented4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,right ,use of ,speech ,,july #ai ,there is no better way1 ,i believe1 in which to test the reality of our culture than by the self-discipline it teaches us to use in talk2 and it may be that the chief service we can render1 the chief outcome that ,god looks for from our higher education1 is that in our homes1 in the society around us1 we should set a higher example of the right use of speech2 the right tone and temper and reticence in conversation2 the abhorrence of idle words4 ,neither let us think that this ever will be easy to us4 ,we must not be affected or pedantic1 we must not be always setting other people right2 but we must be careful2 we must keep our wishes and passions from colouring our view of things2 we must take great pains to enter into the minds and feelings of others1 to understand how things look to them1 and we must remember that1 whatever pains we take in that regard1 the result is still sure to be imperfect2 we must rule our moods1 our likes and dislikes1 with a firm hand2 we must distrust our general impressions till we have frankly1 faithfully examined them2 we must resist the desire to say clever or surprising things2 we must be resolute not to overstate our case2 we must let nothing pass our lips that charity would check2 we must be always ready to confess our ignorance1 and to be silent4--,yes1 it is a hard and long task2 but it is for a high end1 and in a noble service4 ,it is that we may be able to help others2 to possess our souls in days of confusion and vehemence and controversy2 to grow in the rare grace of judgment2 to be such that people may trust us1 whether they agree with us or not4 ,it is that we may somewhat detach ourselves from the stream of talk1 and learn to listen for the voice of ,god1 and to commit our ways to ,him4 ,studies in the ,christian ,character1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,thoughts ,,july #bj ,if we are not responsible for the thoughts that pass our doors1 we are at least responsible for those we admit and entertain4 ,,charles ,b4 ,,newcomb4 ,the pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts1 and the great art in life is to have as many of them as possible4 ,,bovee4 ,we lose vigour through thinking continually the same set of thoughts4 ,new thought is new life4 ,,prentice ,,mulford4 ,culture ,,july #ba ,culture is not an accident of birth1 although our surroundings advance or retard it2 it is always a matter of individual education4 ,,hamilton ,w4 ,,mabie4 ,the secret of culture is to learn that a few great points steadily reappear1 alike in the poverty of the obscurest farm1 and in the miscellany of metropolitan life1 and that these few are alone to be regarded3--the escape from all false ties2 courage to be what we are2 and the love of what is simple and beautiful1--these1 and the wish to serve1 to add somewhat to the well-being of men4 ,,emerson4 ,the highest we can attain to is not knowledge1 but sympathy with intelligence4 ,,thoreau4 ,courtesy ,,july #bb ,courtesy is really doing unto others as you would be done unto1 and the heart of it lies in a careful consideration for the feelings of other people4 ,it comes from putting one's self in his neighbour's place1 and trying to enter into his mind1 and it demands a certain suppression of one's self1 and a certain delicate sympathy with one's neighbour4 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,even as one tries thus to think out the quality and work of courtesy1 to understand the skill and power which it wields so quietly1 to see the issues upon which it tells in the lives that are affected by it1 one may begin to feel that its place is really with the great forces of character that ennoble and redeem the world2 that1 simply and lightly as it moves1 it rests on deep self-discipline and deals with a real task2 that it is far more than a decoration or luxury of leisurely excellence4 ,but it is in contact with those who are growing perfect in it1 those who never fail in it1 that one may more nearly realise its greatness4 ,in seeing how every part of life is lit and hallowed by it2 how common incidents1 daily duties1 chance meetings1 come to be avenues of brightness1 and even means of grace2 how points of light come quivering out upon the dull routine of business1 or the conventionality of pleasure2 how ,god is served through every hour of the day2--it is in seeing this that one may come to think it far from strange that for ,his beginning of miracles our ,saviour chose an act of courtesy4 ,studies in the ,christian ,character1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,courtesy ,,july #bc ,courtesy4 ,this is ,love in society1 ,love in relation to etiquette4 ',love doth not behave itself unseemly4' ,politeness has been defined as love in trifles4 ,courtesy is said to be love in little things4 ,and the one secret of politeness is to love4 ,love cannot behave itself unseemly4 ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,the nearer you come into relation with a person1 the more necessary do tact and courtesy become4 ,o4 ,w4 ,,holmes4 ,kindness is the principle of tact1 and respect for others the condition of 'savoir-vivre4' ,amiel's ,journal4 ,life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy4 ,,emerson4 ,courtesy ,,july #bd ,true politeness arises from the heart1 not the head4 444 ,the machinery of life is so apt to be heated1 one keenly appreciates those who are ever deftly pouring in the cooling oil1 by their patience and their tact1 their sweetness and their sympathy4 ,and one resents keenly that class of people who are honest and well meaning1 but who are persistently discourteous and are not ashamed--,i mean the man who is credited with what is called a bluff1 blunt manner1 and who credits himself with a special quality of downrightness and straightforwardness4 ,he considers it far better to say what he thinks1 and boasts that he never minces his words1 and people make all kinds of excuses for him1 and rather talk as if he were a very fine fellow1 beside whom civil-spoken persons are little better than hypocrites4 ,as a matter of fact1 no one can calculate the pain this outspoken gentleman causes in a single day1 both in his family and outside4 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,there is a courtesy of the heart2 it is allied to love4 ,from it springs the purest courtesy in the outward behaviour4 ,,goethe4 ,manners ,,july #be ,manners are the happy ways of doing things4 ,if they are superficial1 so are the dew-drops1 which give such a depth to the morning meadows4 ,,emerson4 ,love's perfect blossom only blows ,where noble manners veil defect4 ,c4 ,,patmore4 ,the gentle minde by gentle deeds is knowne2 ,for a man by nothing is so well bewrayed ,as by his manners4 ,,spenser4 ,true politeness is perfect ease and freedom4 ,it simply consists in treating others just as you love to be treated yourself4 ,lord ,,chesterfield4 ,manners ,,july #bf ,manners aim to facilitate life1 to get rid of all impediments4 ,they aid our dealings and conversation1 as a railway aids travelling1 by getting rid of all the obstructions on the road4 ,,emerson4 ,defect in manners is usually the defect of fine perceptions4 ,,emerson4 ,he is beautiful in face1 in port1 in manners1 who is absorbed in objects which he truly believes to be superior to himself4 ,,emerson4 ,familiar acts are beautiful through love4 ,manners ,,july #bg ,manners impress as they indicate real power4 ,a man who is sure of his point1 carries a broad and contented expression1 which everybody reads4 ,and you cannot rightly train one to an air and manner1 except by making him the kind of man of whom that manner is the natural expression4 ,nature forever puts a premium on reality4 ,,emerson4 ,a man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners4 ,,chesterfield4 ,manners are the ornament of action1 and there is a way of speaking a kind word1 or of doing a kind thing1 which greatly enhances its value4 ,what seems to be done with a grudge1 or as an act of condescension1 is scarcely accepted as a favour4 ,s4 ,,smiles4 ,manners ,,july #bh ,there are many tests by which a gentleman may be known2--but there is one that never fails--,how does he exercise power over those subordinate to him8 ,how does he conduct himself towards women and children8444 ,he who bullies those who are not in a position to resist1 may be a snob1 but cannot be a gentleman4 ,he who tyrannises over the weak and helpless may be a coward1 but no true man4 ,s4 ,,smiles4 ,our servants never seem to leave us2 they are paid what many people would call absurdly high wages1 but ,i do not think that is the attraction4 ,my mother does not see very much of them1 and finds fault1 when rarely necessary1 with a simple directness which ,i have in vain tried to emulate2 but her displeasure is so impersonal that there seems to be no sting in it4 ,it is not that they have failed in their duty to herself1 but they have been untrue to the larger duty to which she is herself obedient4 ,the ,house of ,quiet4 ,influence ,,july #bi ,and just as we may ruin our own characters without knowing it1 so we may ruin the characters of others4 ,we are always influencing each other--a truth which ,i have often impressed upon you1 because ,i feel its deep importance4 ,we cannot help ourselves4 ,and this influence1 which we thus unconsciously exercise by our mere presence1 by look1 gesture1 expression of face1 is probably all the more potent for being unconscious4 ,there are germs of moral health or disease continually passing from us and infecting for good or ill those about us4 ,we read that when our ,lord was on earth virtue went out of ,him sometimes1 and healed the bodies of those who came in contact with it4 ,his ,divine humanity was always diffusing a spiritual atmosphere of purity around ,him1 which attracted1 they knew not how1 those who came within the sphere of ,his influence4 ,so it must be with us in so far as our characters are pure and unselfish and ,christlike4 ,our very presence will influence for good all who are near us1 making them purer and nobler and more unselfish1 and shaming what is mean and base out of them4 ,if1 on the other hand1 our characters are ignoble and impure1 we shall exude1 without knowing or intending it1 a poisonous influence on all who come near us4 ,have we not sometimes felt this mysterious influence--a presence attracting1 perhaps awing1 us by some sort of spiritual magnetism2 or1 on the other hand1 repelling us as by the presage of impending danger8 ,let us endeavour to keep this inalienable responsibility of ours always in our thoughts4 ,and it will be a great help to test ourselves now and then by the example of our ,divine ,master4 ,life ,here and ,hereafter1 ,canon ,,maccoll4 ,influence ,,july #cj ,let us reflect that the highest path is pointed out by the pure ,ideal of those who look up to us1 and who1 if we tread less loftily1 may never look so high again4 ,remembering this1 let it suggest one generous motive for walking heedfully amid the defilements of earthly ways4 ,n4 ,,hawthorne4 ,others are affected by what ,i am1 and say1 and do4 ,and these others have also their sphere of influence4 ,so that a single act of mine may spread in widening circles through a nation or humanity4 ,,channing4 ,a man who lives right1 and is right1 has more power in his silence than another has by his words4 ,character is like bells which ring out sweet music1 and which1 when touched accidentally even1 resound with sweet music4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,quench not the ,smoking ,flax ,,july #ca ,make a great deal more of your right to praise the good than of your right to blame the bad4 ,never let a brave and serious struggle after truth and goodness1 however weak it may be1 pass unrecognised4 ,do not be chary of appreciation4 ,hearts are unconsciously hungry for it4 ,there is little danger that appreciation shall be given too abundantly4 ,here and there1 perhaps1 in your shops and schools and households1 there is some one who has too lazily sunk down upon the praise he has received for some good work1 and rested in sluggish satisfaction on it2 but such disasters hardly count among the unfulfilled lives which have lived meagrely and stuntedly for the lack of some simple cordial human approval of what they have honestly1 however blunderingly1 tried to do4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,it is a great sign of mediocrity to be always praising moderately4 ,,vauvenargues4 ',quench not the smoking flax'--to which ,i add1 ',never give unnecessary pain4' ,the cricket is not the nightingale2 why tell him so8 ,throw yourself into the mind of the cricket--the process is newer and more ingenious2 and it is what charity commands4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,quench not the ,smoking ,flax ,,august #a ,christians are very often liable not1 perhaps1 to put obstacles into the way of efforts to do right so much as to refuse them the needful help1 without which they have little chance of succeeding4 ,to look coldly on while our fellows are struggling in the waves of this evil sea and never to hold out a hand or to say a word of encouragement1 is very often most cruelly to depress all energy of repentance4 ,the strong virtue that can go on its own way without being shaken by any ordinary temptation too often forgets the duty due to the weakness close to its side4 ,by stern treatment of faults which were yet much struggled against1 by cold refusal to acknowledge any except plainly successful efforts1 by rejecting the approaches of those who have not yet learnt the right way1 but are really wishing in their secret hearts to learn it1 those who are strong not unfrequently do much harm to those who are weak4 ,bishop ,,temple4 ,the best we can do for each other is to remove unnecessary obstacles1 and the worst--to weaken any of the motives which urge us to strive4 ,the ,standard of ,life1 ,mrs4 ,,bernard ,,bosanquet4 ,influence ,,august #b ,even in ordinary life1 contact with nobler natures arouses the feeling of unused power and quickens the consciousness of responsibility4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,do we not all know how apt we are to become like those whom we see1 with whom we spend our hours1 and1 above all1 like those whom we admire and honour8 ,for good and for evil1 alas6 ,for evil--for those who associate with evil or frivolous persons are too apt to catch not only their low tone1 but their very manner1 their very expression of face1 speaking and thinking and acting4444 ,but thank ,god1 444 just in the same way does good company tend to make them high-minded4444 ,i have lived long enough to see more than one man of real genius stamp his own character1 thought1 even his very manner of speaking1 for good or for evil1 on a whole school or party of his disciples4 ,it has been said1 and truly1 ,i believe1 that children cannot be brought up among beautiful pictures1--,i believe1 even among any beautiful sights and sounds--without the very expression of their faces becoming more beautiful1 purer1 gentler1 nobler4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,influence ,,august #c ,throw a stone into the stream1 and the circles that propagate themselves are the beautiful type of all influence4 ,,emerson4 ,it requires but little knowledge of society and history to assure us of the strong permeating invisible influence upon society at large of any body of men of clear thought1 strong conviction1 and disciplined conduct4 ,at once many things respond to the magnetism2 many are put on their mettle who would not for the world own it3 many recognise their own best things more clearly in the new light shed upon them2 there is instinctive moral competition4 ,such influences travel fast and far4444 ,i have always myself believed that the later thought of the ,roman world--the mellow stoicism of ,aurelius and ,epictetus in the second century1 with its strong unexplained instinct for a personal and fatherly ,god1 with its gentle and self-denying ethics1 shews the tincture of the influence diffused through the thoughts and prayers1 the quiet conversations or the dropped words and overheard phrases--or the bearing and countenance of a slave here or a friend there1 known or perhaps not known to belong to that strange new body of people with their foolish yet arresting faith1 with their practices everywhere spoken against yet of such pure and winning charm--who bore the name of the ,nazarene4 ,the ,church's ,failures and the ,work of ,christ1 ,bishop ,,talbot4 ,friendship ,,august #d ,we should ever have it fixed in our memories1 that by the characters of those whom we choose for our friends1 our own is likely to be formed1 and will certainly be judged of by the world4 ,we ought1 therefore1 to be slow and cautious in contracting intimacy2 but when a virtuous friendship is once established1 we must ever consider it as a sacred engagement4 ,,blair4 ,might ,i give counsel to any young hearer1 ,i would say unto him3 ,try to frequent the company of your betters4 ,in books and life is the most wholesome society2 learn to admire rightly2 the great pleasure of life is that4 ,note what the great men admired--they admired great things2 narrow spirits admire basely1 and worship meanly4 ,,thackeray4 ,be slow to fall into friendship2 but when thou art in1 continue firm and constant4 ,,socrates4 ,friendship ,,august #e ,there is nothing so bad for man or woman as to live always with their inferiors4 ,it is a truth so important1 that one might well wish to turn aside a moment and urge it1 even in its lower aspects1 upon the young people who are just making their associations and friendships4 ,many a temptation of laziness or pride induces us to draw towards those who do not know as much or are not in some way as strong as we are4 ,it is a smaller tax upon our powers to be in their society4 ,but it is bad for us4 ,i am sure that ,i have known men1 intellectually and morally very strong1 the whole development of whose intellectual and moral life has suffered and been dwarfed1 because they have only accompanied with their inferiors1 because they have not lived with men greater than themselves4 ,whatever else they lose1 they surely must lose some culture of humility4 ,if ,i could choose a young man's companions1 some should be weaker than himself1 that he might learn patience and charity2 many should be as nearly as possible his equals1 that he might have the full freedom of friendship2 but most should be stronger than he was1 that he might for ever be thinking humbly of himself and be tempted to higher things4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,friendship ,,august #f ,for good or evil a man's moral and spiritual outlook is altered by the outlook of his comrade4 ,it is inevitable1 and in all true comradeship it makes for truth1 and generosity1 and freedom4 ,it is an incalculable enlargement of human responsibility1 because it constitutes us1 in a measure1 guardians each of the other's soul4 ,and yet1 it is never the suppression of a weak individuality by a strong one4 ,that is not even true discipleship1 but spiritual tyranny4 ,what the play of two personalities brings about is a fuller1 deeper self-realisation on either side4 ,the experience of comradeship1 with all the new knowledge and insight that it brings into a life1 can leave no ideal unchanged1 but the change is not of the nature of a substitution1 but of continuous growth4 ,it is not mental or moral bondage1 but deliverance from both4 ,and it is the deliverance from bondage to ourselves4 ,it is our refuge from pride4 ,more than all else1 comradeship teaches us to walk humbly with ,god4 ,for while ,god's trivial gifts may allow us to grow vain and self-complacent1 ,his great gifts1 if we once recognise them1 make us own our deep unworthiness1 and bow our heads in unspeakable gratitude4 ,we may have rated our deserts high1 and taken flattery as our just due2 we may have competed for the world's prizes1 and been filled with gratified ambition at securing them4 ,but however high we rate ourselves1 in the hour in which the soul is conscious of its spiritual comrades1 we know that ,god's great infinite gift of human love is something we have never earned1 could never earn by merit or achievement1 by toil1 or prayer1 or fasting4 ,it has come to us straight out of the heart of the eternal ,fatherhood2 and all our pride and vanity fall away1 and our lives come again to us as the lives of little children4 ,comradeship1 ,,may ,,kendall4 ,friendship ,,august #g ,friendship is a plant which cannot be forced4 ,true friendship is no gourd1 springing in a night and withering in a day4 ,,charlotte ,,bronte4 ,blessed are they who have the gift of making friends1 for it is one of ,god's best gifts4 ,it involves many things1 but1 above all1 the power of going out of one's self1 and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another4 ,,thomas ,,hughes4 ,friendship cannot be permanent unless it becomes spiritual4 ,there must be fellowship in the deepest things of the soul1 community in the highest thoughts1 sympathy with the best endeavours4 ,,hugh ,,black4 ,friendship ,,august #h ,our chief want in life is1 somebody who shall make us do what we can4 ,this is the service of a friend4 ,,emerson4 ,the end of friendship is for aid and comfort through all the passages of life and death4 ,,emerson4 ,every man rejoices twice when he has a partner of his joy4 ,a friend shares my sorrow1 and makes it but a moiety2 but he swells my joy1 and makes it double4 ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,he that is thy friend indeed1 ,he will help thee in thy need4 ,if thou sorrow1 he will weep4 ,if thou wake1 he cannot sleep4 ,thus in every grief in heart ,he with thee doth bear a part4 ,,shakespeare4 ,friendship ,,august #i ,to begin with1 how can life be worth living1 to use the words of ,ennius1 which lacks that repose which is to be found in the mutual good-will of a friend8 ,what can be more delightful than to have some one to whom you can say everything with the same absolute confidence as to yourself8 ,is not prosperity robbed of half its value if you have no one to share your joy8 ,on the other hand1 misfortunes would be hard to bear if there were not some one to feel them even more acutely than yourself4 ,,cicero4 ,comradeship is one of the finest facts1 and one of the strongest forces in life4 ,,hugh ,,black4 444 ,all ,i can do is to urge on you to regard friendship as the greatest thing in the world2 for there is nothing which so fits in with our nature1 or is so exactly what we want in prosperity or adversity4 ,,cicero4 ,friendship ,august #aj ,beware lest thy friend learn to tolerate one frailty of thine1 and so an obstacle be raised to the progress of thy love4 ,,thoreau4 ,that he had 'a genius for friendship' goes without saying1 for he was rich in the humility1 the patience and the powers of trust1 which such a genius implies4 ,yet his love had1 too1 the rarer and more strenuous temper which requires 'the common aspiration1' is jealous for a friend's growth1 and has the nerve to criticise4 ,it is the measure of what he felt friendship to be1 that he has defined religion in the terms of it4 ,of ,henry ,drummond1 ,,george ,,adam ,,smith4 ,all men have their frailties1 and whoever looks for a friend without imperfection will never find what he seeks4 ,we love ourselves notwithstanding our faults1 and we ought to love our friends in like manner4 ,,cyrus4 ,friendship ,,august #aa 444 ,for instance1 it often happens that friends need remonstrance and even reproof4 ,when these are administered in a kindly spirit they ought to be taken in good part4 ,but somehow or other there is truth in what my friend ,terence says in his ,andria3 ',compliance gets us friends1 plain speaking hate4' ,plain speaking is a cause of trouble1 if the result of it is resentment1 which is poison to friendship2 but compliance is really the cause of much more trouble1 because by indulging his faults it lets a friend plunge into headlong ruin4 ,but the man who is most to blame is he who resents plain speaking and allows flattery to egg him on to his ruin4444 ,if we remonstrate1 it should be without bitterness2 if we reprove1 there should be no word of insult4444 ,but if a man's ears are so closed to plain speaking that he cannot bear to hear the truth from a friend1 we may give him up in despair4 ,this remark of ,cato's1 as so many of his did1 shews great acuteness3 ',there are people who owe more to bitter enemies than to apparently pleasant friends3 the former often speak the truth1 the latter never4' ,besides1 it is a strange paradox that the recipients of advice should feel no annoyance where they ought to feel it1 and yet feel so much where they ought not4 ,they are not at all vexed at having committed a fault1 but very angry at being reproved for it4 ,,cicero4 ,men of character like to hear of their faults2 the other class do not4 ,,emerson4 ,before giving advice we must have secured its acceptance1 or rather1 have made it desired4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,friendship ,,august #ab ,the friendship of ,jesus was not checked or foiled by the discovery of faults or blemishes in those whom ,he had taken into ,his life4 ,even in our ordinary human relations we do not know what we are engaging to do when we become the friend of another4 ',for better for worse1 for richer for poorer1 in sickness and in health1' runs the marriage covenant4 ,the covenant in all true friendship is the same4 ,we pledge our friend faithfulness1 with all that faithfulness includes4 ,we know not what demands upon us this sacred compact may make in years to come4 ,misfortune may befall our friend1 and he may require our aid in many ways4 ,instead of being a help he may become a burden4 ,but friendship must not fail1 whatever its cost may be4 ,when we become the friend of another1 we do not know what faults and follies in him closer acquaintance may disclose to our eyes4 ,but here1 again1 ideal friendship must not fail4 ,personal ,friendships of ,jesus1 ,j4 ,r4 ,,miller4 ,for he that wrongs his friend ,wrongs himself more1 and ever bears about ,a silent court of justice in his breast1 ,himself the judge and jury1 and himself ,the prisoner at the bar1 ever condemned4 ,,tennyson4 ,friendship ,,august #ac ,treat your friends for what you know them to be4 ,regard no surfaces4 ,consider not what they did1 but what they intended4 ,,thoreau4 ,what makes us so changeable in our friendships1 is our difficulty to discern the qualities of the soul1 and the ease with which we detect those of the intellect4 ,judge not thy friend until thou standest in his place4 ,,rabbi ,,hillel4 ,criticism often takes from the tree caterpillars and blossoms together4 ,friendship ,,august #ad ,there are two elements that go to the composition of friendship1 each so sovereign that ,i can detect no superiority in either1 no reason why either should be first named4 ,one is ,truth 444 the other is ,tenderness4 ,,emerson4 ,the essence of friendship is entireness1 a total magnanimity and trust4444 ,a friend is a person with whom ,i may be sincere4 ,before him ,i may think aloud4 ,,emerson4 ,people do not sufficiently remember that in every relation of life1 as in the closest one of all1 they ought to take one another 'for better for worse4' ,that1 granting the tie of friendship1 gratitude1 esteem1 be strong enough to have existed at all1 it ought1 either actively or passively1 to exist for ever4 ,and seeing we can at best know our neighbour1 companion1 or friend as little1 as alas6 we often find he knoweth of us1 it behoveth us to trust him with the most patient fidelity1 the tenderest forbearance2 granting unto all his words and actions that we do not understand1 the utmost limit of faith that common sense and ,christian justice will allow4 ,nay1 these failing1 is there not left ,christian charity8 which being past believing and hoping1 still endureth all things4 ,friendship ,,august #ae ,mutual respect implies discretion and reserve even in love itself2 it means preserving as much liberty as possible to those whose life we share4 ,we must distrust our instinct of intervention1 for the desire to make our own will prevail is often disguised under the mask of solicitude4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,everything that is mine1 even to my life1 ,i may give to one ,i love1 but the secret of my friend is not mine to give4 ,,philip ,,sidney4 ,when true friends part they should lock up one another's secrets and change the keys4 ,,feltham4 ,friendship ,,august #af ,so true it is that nature abhors isolation1 and ever leans upon something as a stay and support2 and this is found in its most pleasing form in our closest friend4 ,,cicero4 ,and great and numerous as are the blessings of friendship1 this certainly is the sovereign one1 that it gives us bright hopes for the future and forbids weakness and despair4 ,in the face of a true friend a man sees as it were a second self4 ,so that where his friend is he is2 if his friend be rich1 he is not poor2 though he be weak1 his friend's strength is his2 and in his friend's life he enjoys a second life after his own is finished4 ,,cicero4 ,in distress a friend ,comes like a calm to the toss'd mariner4 ,,euripides4 ,friendship ,,august #ag ,a man only understands what is akin to something already existing in himself4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,there are some to whom we speak almost in a language of our own1 with the confidence that all our broken hints are recognised with a thrill of kinship1 and our half-uttered thoughts discerned and shared3 some with whom we need not cramp our meaning into the dead form of an explicit accuracy1 and with whom we can forecast that we shall walk together in undoubting sympathy even over tracks of taste and belief which we may never yet have touched4 ,faculties and ,difficulties for ,belief and ,disbelief1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud4 ,,addison4 ,friendship ,,august #ah ,and though ,aristotle does well to warn us that absence dissolves friendship1 it is happily none the less true that friend may powerfully influence friend though the two be by no means constant associates4 ,even far removal in place1 or in occupation1 or in fortunes1 cannot arrest influence4 ,for once any man has true friends1 he never again frames his decisions1 even those that are most secret1 as if he were alone in the world4 ,he frames them habitually in the imagined company of his friends4 ,in their visionary presence he thinks and acts2 and by them1 as visionary tribunal1 he feels himself1 even in his unspoken intentions and inmost feelings1 to be judged4 ,in this aspect friendship may become a supreme force both to encourage and restrain4 ,for it is not simply what our friends expect of us that is the vital matter here4 ,they are often more tolerant of our failings than is perhaps good for us4 ,it is what in our best moments we believe that they expect of us4 ,for it is then that they become to us1 not of their own choice but of ours1 a kind of second conscience1 in whose presence our weaknesses and backslidings become 'that worst kind of sacrilege that tears down the invisible altar of trust4' ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,friendship ,,august #ai ,few things are more fatal to friendship than the stiffness which cannot take a step towards acknowledgment4 ,life of ,f4 ,w4 ,crossley1 ,,rendel ,,harris4 ,do not discharge in haste the arrow which can never return3 it is easy to destroy happiness2 most difficult to restore it4 ,,herder4 ,discord harder is to end than to begin4 ,,spenser4 ,think of this doctrine--that reasoning beings were created for one another's sake2 that to be patient is a branch of justice1 and that men sin without intending it4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,friendship ,,august #bj ,we should learn from ,jesus that the essential quality in the heart of friendship is not the desire to have friends1 but the desire to be a friend2 not to get good and help from others1 but to impart blessing to others4 ,many of the sighings for friendship which we have are merely selfish longings1--a desire for happiness1 for pleasure1 for the gratification of the heart1 which friends would bring4 ,if the desire were to be a friend1 to do others good1 to serve and to give help1 it would be a far more ,christlike longing1 and would transform the life and character4 ,personal ,friendships of ,jesus1 ,j4 ,r4 ,,miller4 ,to love is better1 nobler1 more elevating1 and more sure1 than to be loved4 ,to love is to have found that which lifts us above ourselves2 which makes us capable of sacrifice2 which unseals the forces of another world4 ,he who is loved has gained the highest tribute of earth2 he who loves has entered into the spirit of heaven4 ,the love which comes to us must always be alloyed with the sad sense of our own unworthiness4 ,the love which goes out from us is kept bright by the ideal to which it is directed4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,friendship ,,august #ba ,friendships that have been renewed require more care than those that have never been broken off4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,broken friendship may be soldered1 but never made sound4 ,spanish ,proverb4 ,a friend once won need never be lost1 if we will be only trusty and true ourselves4 ,friends may part1 not merely in body1 but in spirit for a while4 ,in the bustle of business and the accidents of life1 they may lose sight of each other for years2 and more1 they may begin to differ in their success in life1 in their opinions1 in their habits1 and there may be1 for a time1 coldness and estrangement between them1 but not for ever if each will be trusty and true4 ,for then they will be like two ships who set sail at morning from the same port1 and ere night-fall lose sight of each other1 and go each on its own course and at its own pace for many days1 through many storms and seas1 and yet meet again1 and find themselves lying side by side in the same haven when their long voyage is past4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,friendship ,,august #bb ,the most fatal disease of friendship is gradual decay or dislike1 hourly increased by causes too slender for complaint and too numerous for removal4 ,those who are angry may be reconciled1 those who have been injured may receive a recompense2 but when the desire of pleasing1 and willingness to be pleased1 is silently diminished1 the renovation of friendship is hopeless3 as when the vital powers sink into languor1 there is no longer any use for the physician4 ,the ,idler4 444 ,there is such a disaster1 so to speak1 as having to break off friendship4444 ,in such cases friendships should be allowed to die out gradually by an intermission of intercourse4 ,they should1 as ,i have been told that ,cato used to say1 rather be unstitched than torn in twain4444 ,for there can be nothing more discreditable than to be at open war with a man with whom you have been intimate4444 ,our first object then should be to prevent a breach2 our second to secure that if it does occur1 our friendship should seem to have died a natural rather than a violent death4 ,,cicero4 ,friendship ,,august #bc ,friends--those relations that one makes for one's self4 ,,deschamps4 ,some one asked ,kingsley what was the secret of his strong joyous life2 and he answered1 ',i had a friend4' ,the years have taught some sweet1 some bitter lessons--none wiser than this3 to spend in all things else1 but of old friends to be most miserly4 ,,lowell4 ,the best wish for us all is1 that when we grow old1 as we must do1 the fast friends of our age may be those we have loved in our youth4 ,,mason4 ,jealousy ,,august #bd ,jealousy is a terrible thing4 ,it resembles love1 only it is precisely love's contrary4 ,instead of wishing for the welfare of the object loved1 it desires the dependence of that object upon itself1 and its own triumph4 ,love is the forgetfulness of self2 jealousy is the most passionate form of egotism1 the glorification of a despotic1 exacting1 and vain ego1 which can neither forget nor subordinate itself4 ,the contrast is perfect4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,jealousy is a secret avowal of inferiority4 ,,massillon4 ,jealousy ,,august #be ,we are not jealous of what we give up1 but of what is wrested from our unwilling hands4 ,the first is always ours1 the second never can be4 99 99 99 99 99 ,jealousy is not love1 but it is the two-edged sword that parts true love from counterfeit4 ,at its touch1 the knowledge of what it is to love without reward1 thrills heart and brain1 sharp and clear1 almost a vision of hell4 ,then if we are base1 we die to love2 but if we are noble1 it is to ourselves we die4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is only what we surrender willingly that is ours always1 as the wave never loses what it surrenders to the sea4 ,turkish ,bonds1 ,,may ,,kendall4 ,jealousy ,,august #bf ,what state of mind can be so blest1 ,as love that warms the gentle brest2 ,two souls in one2 the same desire ,to grant the bliss1 and to require8 ,if in this heaven a hell we find1 ',tis all from thee1 ,o ,jealousie6 ,thou tyrant1 tyrant of the mind4 ,all other ills1 tho' sharp they prove1 ,serve to refine a perfect love2 ,in absence1 or unkind disdain ,sweet hope relieves the lover's pain2 ,but ,o6 no cure but death we find ,to sett us free ,from ,jealousie1 ,thou tyrant1 tyrant of the mind4 ,false in thy glass all objects are1 ,some set too near1 and some too far3 ,thou art the fire of endless might1 ,the fire that burns and gives no light4 ,all torments of the damned1 we find ,in only thee1 ,o ,jealousie2 ,thou tyrant1 tyrant of the mind4 ,,dryden4 ,love and ,remorse ,,august #bg ,we should get a lesson in friendship's ministry4 ,too many wait until those they love are dead1 and then bring their alabaster boxes of affection and break them4 ,they keep silent about their love when words would mean so much1 would give such cheer1 encouragement1 and hope1 and then1 when the friend lies in the coffin1 their lips are unsealed and speak out their glowing tribute on ears that heed not the laggard praise4 ,many persons go through life1 struggling bravely with difficulty1 temptation1 and hardship1 carrying burdens too heavy for them1 pouring out their love in unselfish serving of others1 and yet are scarcely ever cheered by a word of approval or commendation1 or by delicate tenderness of friendship2 then1 when they lie silent in death1 a whole circle of admiring friends gathers to do them honour4 ,every one remembers a personal kindness received1 a favour shown1 some help given1 and speaks of it in grateful words4 ,letters full of appreciation1 commendation1 and gratitude are written to sorrowing friends4 ,flowers are sent and piled about the coffin1 enough to have strewn every hard path of the long years of struggle4 ,how surprised some good men and women would be1 after lives with scarcely a word of affection to cheer their hearts1 were they to awake suddenly in the midst of their friends1 a few hours after their death1 and hear the testimonies that are falling from every tongue1 the appreciation1 the grateful words of love1 the rememberings of kindness6 ,they had never dreamed in life that they had so many friends1 that so many had thought well of them1 that they were helpful to so many4 ,personal ,friendships of ,jesus1 ,j4 ,r4 ,,miller4 ,love and ,remorse ,,august #bh ,when our indignation is borne in submissive silence1 we are apt to feel twinges of doubt afterwards as to our own generosity1 if not justice2 how much more when the object of our anger has gone into everlasting silence1 and we have seen his face for the last time in the meekness of death4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,all about us move1 these common days1 those who would be strengthened and comforted by the good cheer that we could give4 ,let us not reserve all the flowers for coffin-lids4 ,let us not keep our alabaster boxes sealed and unbroken till our loved ones are dead4 ,let us show kindness when kindness will do good4 ,it will make sorrow all the harder to bear if we have to say beside our dead1 ',i might have brightened the way a little1 if only ,i had been kinder4' ,personal ,friendships of ,jesus1 ,j4 ,r4 ,,miller4 ,i like not only to be loved1 but to be told ,i am loved4 ,the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,love and ,remorse ,,august #bi ,oh6 do not let us wait to be just or pitiful or demonstrative towards those we love until they or we are struck down by illness or threatened with death6 ,life is short1 and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us4 ,oh1 be swift to love1 make haste to be kind6 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,too soon1 too soon comes ,death to show ,we love more deeply than we know6 ,the rain that fell upon the height ,too gently to be called delight1 ,within the dark vale reappears ,as a wild cataract of tears2 ,and love in life should strive to see ,sometimes what love in death would be6 ,,coventry ,,patmore4 ,dissension ,,august #cj ,alas6 how light a cause may move ,dissension between hearts that love6 ,hearts that the world in vain had tried1 ,and sorrow but more closely tied2 ,that stood the storm when waves were rough1 ,yet in a sunny hour fall off1 ,like ships that have gone down at sea1 ,when heaven was all tranquillity6 ,a something1 light as air--a look1 ,a word unkind or wrongly taken-- ,oh6 love that tempests never shook1 ,a breath1 a touch like this has shaken2 ,and ruder words will soon rush in ,to spread the breach that words begin2 ,and eyes forget the gentle ray ,they wore in courtship's smiling day2 ,and voices lose the tone that shed ,a tenderness round all they said2 ,till fast declining1 one by one1 ,the sweetnesses of love are gone1 ,and hearts1 so lately mingled1 seem ,like broken clouds--or like the stream ,that smiling left the mountain's brow1 ,as though its waters ne'er could sever1 ,yet1 ere it reach the plain below1 ,breaks into floods1 that part for ever4 ,o you that have the charge of ,love1 ,keep him in rosy bondage bound6 ,lalla ,rookh1 ,t4 ,,moore4 ,love ,,august #ca ,love is the first and the last and the strongest bond in experience4 ,it conquers distance1 outlives all changes1 bears the strain of the most diverse opinions4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,say never1 ye loved once6 ,god is too near above1 the ,grave1 beneath3 ,and all our moments breathe ,too quick in mysteries of life and death1 ,for such a word4 ,the eternities avenge ,affections light of range2 ,there comes no change to justify that change1 ,whatever comes1--,loved once4 ,e4 ,b4 ,,browning4 ,unrequited ,love ,september #a ,it was the old problem1 of love that may not even spend itself for those it loves4 ,some hold that the purpose of such privation--as bitter to the spirit as the loss of light1 and warmth1 and air to the body--is to teach men to love ,god1 and not their fellow-men4 ,rather1 it is to teach them to love human beings more1 with love not separate from the love of ,god1 but near to ,his own heart4 ,such love is never fruitless1 though it may seem to be4 ,our longing to serve personally is often only longing for the personal reward of service2 and love that serves in finite fashion often misses the mark4 ,we hurt where we desire to heal3 we bind a greater burden on the life whose load we only strive to lighten4 ,god's cross is always a crown3 our crowns are often crosses4 ,the cup of water that we put to our friend's lips is from a poisoned spring4 ,only the cup that we give ,god to bear to him1 is always pure and cool4 ,turkish ,bonds1 ,,may ,,kendall4 ,unrequited ,love ,,september #b ,infancy8 ,what if the rose-streak of morning ,pale and depart in a passion of tears8 ,once to have hoped is no matter for scorning3 ,love once3 e'en love's disappointment endears1 ,a moment's success pays the failure of years4 ,r4 ,,browning4 ,it looks like a waste of life1 that mowing down of our best years by a relentless passion which itself falls dead on the top of them4 ,but it is not so4 ,every year ,i live ,i am more convinced that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given1 the powers we have not used1 the selfish prudence which will risk nothing1 and which1 shirking pain1 misses happiness as well4 ,no one ever yet was the poorer in the long run for having once in a lifetime 'let out all the length of the reins4' ,red ,pottage1 ,,mary ,,cholmondeley4 ,bereavement ,,september #c ,if we still love those we lose1 can we altogether lose those we love8 ,the ,newcomes1 ,,thackeray4 ,they that love beyond the ,world cannot be separated by it4 ,death cannot kill what never dies4 ,nor can ,spirits ever be divided that love and live in the same ,divine ,principle2 the ,root and ,record of their ,friendship4 ,if ,absence be not ,death1 neither is it theirs4 ,death is but ,crossing the ,world1 as ,friends do the ,seas2 they live in one another still4 ,for they must needs be present1 that love and live in that which is omnipresent4 ,in this ,divine ,glass they see ,face to ,face2 and their converse is ,free as well as ,pure4 ,this is the ,comfort of ,friends1 that though they may be said to ,die1 yet their ,friendship and ,society are1 in the best ,sense1 ever present1 because ,immortal4 ,,william ,,penn4 ,bereavement ,,september #d ,parting and forgetting8 ,what faithful heart can do these8 ,our great thoughts1 our great affections1 the ,truths of our life1 never leave us4 ,surely they cannot separate from our consciousness2 shall follow it whithersoever that shall go2 and are of their nature divine and immortal4 ,,thackeray4 ,i can only say that ,i sympathise with your grief1 and if faith means anything at all it is trusting to those instincts1 or feelings1 or whatever they may be called1 which assure us of some life after this4 ,tennyson--a ,memoir1 by his ,son4 ,what is it when a child dies8 ,it is the great head-master calling that child up into his own room1 away from all the under-teachers1 to finish his education under his own eye1 close at his feet4 ,the whole thought of a child's growth and development in heaven instead of here on earth1 is one of the most exalting and bewildering on which the mind can rest4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,death of ,young ,children ,,september #e ,nothing is left or lost1 nothing of good ,or lovely2 but whatever its first springs ,has drawn from ,god1 returns to ,him again4 ,on an ,early ,death1 ,,trench4 ,when one comes to the loss of young children--a sad perplexity--let it not be forgotten that they were given4 ,if in the hour of bitterest grief it were asked of a bereaved mother whether she would prefer never to have possessed in order that she might never have lost--her heart would be very indignant4 ,no little child has ever come from ,god and stayed a brief while in some human home--to return again to the ,father--without making glad that home and leaving behind some trace of heaven4 ,a family had counted themselves poorer without those quaint sayings1 those cunning caresses1 that soft touch1 that sudden smile4 ,this short visit was not an incident3 it was a benediction4 ,the child departs1 the remembrances1 the influence1 the associations remain4 ,if one should allow us to have ,sarto's ,annunciation for a month1 we would thank him3 when he resumed it for his home he would not take everything1 for its loveliness of maid and angel is now ours for ever4 ,and if ,god recalls the child ,he lent1 then let us thank ,him for the loan1 and consider that what made that child the messenger of ,god--its purity1 modesty1 trustfulness1 gladness--has passed into our soul4 ,the ,potter's ,wheel1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,the ,dead ,,september #f ,the dead abide with us6 ,though stark and cold ,earth seems to grip them1 they are with us still3-- ,they have forged our chains of being for good or ill ,and their invisible hands these hands yet hold4 ,our perishable bodies are the mould ,in which their strong imperishable will-- ,mortality's deep yearning to fulfil-- ,hath grown incorporate through dim time untold4 ,vibrations infinite of life in death1 ,as a star's travelling light survives its star6 ,so may we hold our lives1 that when we are ,the fate of those who then will draw this breath1 ,they shall not drag us to their judgment bar1 ,and curse the heritage which we bequeath4 ,,mathilde ,,blind4 ,we are learning1 by the help of many teachers1 the extent and the authority of the dominion which the dead exercise over us1 and which we ourselves are shaping for our descendants4 ,we feel1 as perhaps it was impossible to feel before1 how at every moment influences from the past enter our souls1 and how we in turn scatter abroad that which will be fruitful in the distant future4 ,it is becoming clear to us that we are literally parts of others and they of us4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,the ,dead ,,september #g ,i with uncovered head ,salute the sacred dead1 ,who went and who return not4 ,say not so6 99 99 99 99 99 ,we rather seem the dead that stayed behind4 ,blow1 trumpets1 all your exaltations blow6 ,for never shall their aureoled presence lack3 ,i see them muster in a gleaming row1 ,with ever-youthful brows that nobler show2 ,we find in our dull road their shining track3 ,in every nobler mood ,we feel the orient of their spirit glow1 ,part of our life's unalterable good1 ,of all our saintlier aspiration3 ,they come transfigured back1 ,secure from change in their high-hearted ways1 ,beautiful evermore1 and with the rays ,of morn on their white ,shields of ,expectation4 ,,james ,,russell ,,lowell4 ,the ,dead ,,september #h ,and yet1 dear heart6 remembering thee1 ,am ,i not richer than of old8 ,safe in thy immortality1 ,what change can reach the wealth ,i hold8 ,what chance can mar the pearl and gold ,thy love hath left in trust for me8 ,and while in life's long afternoon1 ,where cool and long the shadows grow1 ,i walk to meet the night that soon ,shall shape and shadow overflow1 ,i cannot feel that thou art far1 ,since near at need the angels are2 ,and when the sunset gates unbar1 ,shall ,i not see thee waiting stand1 ,and1 white against the evening star1 ,the welcome of thy beckoning hand8 ,,john ,,greenleaf ,,whittier4 ,the ,dead ,,september #i ,lord1 make me one with ,thine own faithful ones1 ,thy ,saints who love ,thee1 and are loved by ,thee2 ,till the day break and till the shadows flee1 ,at one with them in alms and orisons2 ,at one with him who toils and him who runs1 ,and him who yearns for union yet to be2 ,at one with all who throng the crystal sea1 ,and wait the setting of our moons and suns4 ,ah1 my beloved ones gone on before1 ,who looked not back with hand upon the plough6 ,if beautiful to me while still in sight1 ,how beautiful must be your aspects now2 ,your unknown1 well-known aspects in that light1 ,which clouds shall never cloud for evermore6 ,,christina ,,rossetti4 ,death ,,september #aj ,most persons have died before they expire--died to all earthly longings1 so that the last breath is only1 as it were1 the locking of the door of the already deserted mansion4 ,the fact of the tranquillity with which the great majority of dying persons await this locking of those gates of life through which its airy angels have been coming and going from the moment of the first cry1 is familiar to those who have been often called upon to witness the last period of life4 ,almost always there is a preparation made by ,nature for unearthing a soul1 just as on the smaller scale there is for the removal of a milk tooth4 ,the roots which hold human life to earth are absorbed before it is lifted from its place4 ,some of the dying are weary1 and want rest1 the idea of which is almost inseparable1 in the universal mind1 from death4 ,some are in pain1 and want to be rid of it1 even though the anodyne be dropped1 as in the legend1 from the sword of the ,death-,angel4 ,and some are strong in faith and hope1 so that1 as they draw near the next world1 they would fain hurry toward it1 as the caravan moves faster over the sands when the foremost travellers send word along the file that water is in sight4 ,though each little party that follows in a foot-track of its own will have it that the water to which others think they are hastening is a mirage1 not the less has it been true in all ages1 and for human beings of every creed which recognised a future1 that those who have fallen1 worn out by their march through the ,desert1 have dreamed at least of a ,river of ,life1 and thought they heard its murmurs as they lay dying4 ,the ,professor at the ,breakfast ,table1 ,o4 ,w4 ,,holmes4 ,crossing the ,bar ,september #aa ,sunset and evening star1 ,and one clear call for me6 ,and may there be no moaning of the bar1 ,when ,i put out to sea4 ,but such a tide as moving seems asleep1 ,too full for sound and foam1 ,when that which drew from out the boundless deep ,turns again home4 ,twilight and evening bell1 ,and after that the dark6 ,and may there be no sadness of farewell ,when ,i embark2 ,for1 tho' from out our bourne of ,time and ,place ,the flood may bear me far1 ,i hope to see my ,pilot face to face ,when ,i have crost the bar4 ,,tennyson4 ,life after ,death ,,september #ab ,if the immediate life after death be only sleep1 and the spirit between this life and the next should be folded like a flower in a night slumber1 then the remembrance of the past might remain1 as the smell and colour do in the sleeping flower2 and in that case the memory of our love would last as true1 and would live pure and whole within the spirit of my friend until after it was unfolded at the breaking of the morn1 when the sleep was over4 ,tennyson--a ,memoir1 by his ,son4 ,life6 ,i know not what thou art1 ,but know that thou and ,i must part2 ,and when1 or how1 or where we met1 ,i own to me's a secret yet4 ,life6 we have been long together1 ,through pleasant and through cloudy weather2 ',tis hard to part when friends are dear2 ,perhaps 'twill cost a sigh1 a tear2-- ,then steal away1 give little warning1 ,choose thine own time2 ,say not ,good ,night1 but in some brighter clime ,bid me ,good ,morning6 ,a4 ,l4 ,,barbauld4 ,bearing ,sorrow ,,september #ac ,it is dangerous to abandon oneself to the luxury of grief2 it deprives one of courage1 and even of the wish for recovery4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,its way of suffering is the witness which a soul bears to itself4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,we must bury our dead joys ,and live above them with a living world4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,bearing ,sorrow ,,september #ad ,sorrow brings also a temptation to exactingness4 ,it may be that friends are very helpful to us4 ,let us take care that no selfishness mingles with our love for their companionship1 with our claims for their sympathy4 ,what1 for the time1 at any rate1 is all the world to us1 can only be a small part of another's life4 ,and one must struggle1 as time goes on1 to take what comes in one's way of sympathy1 of kindness1 of companionship1 but one must also try never to exact sympathy1 to allow ourselves to feel neglected1 or slighted1 or forgotten4 ,this is a hard lesson--sometimes4 ,the whole of one's nature becomes sensitive1 easily wounded1 easily depressed4 ,canon ,,scott ,,holland4 ,bearing ,sorrow ,,september #ae ,selfishness in ,sorrow is another temptation4 ,one is so apt to become absorbed in one's ,sorrow4 ,it is quite possible to become almost selfish in one's spiritual life under the stress of great ,sorrow4 ,to see everything1 every lesson1 every allusion1 solely from one's own point of view1 to grow too fond of thinking of one's burden4444 ,the hard path of daily duty is the only path to tread1 not because one is thinking of oneself1 but because one wishes to forget oneself1 and to think only of ,god1 and of those that remain4 ,self-denial3 to put self last1 not out of sight1 but last1 that is what one is always called to do1 and it is a sad bit of disloyalty to ,god's grace if one becomes more selfish in ,sorrow4 ,canon ,,scott ,,holland4 ,bearing ,sorrow ,,september #af ,a great ,sorrow which changes life altogether is apt to produce a certain irritability1 a sort of nervous jar4 ,very often this is an affair of nerves1 of physical health1 but it is well to watch--'watch and pray4' ,all sorts of things will jar and hurt us4 ,people will do and say things with perfect unconsciousness that they are wounding us to the quick4 ,some careless allusion1 some chance speech1 will set our nerves quivering4444 ,the worries1 the jarring incidents1 the introduction of discordant topics in the very presence of death1 the disappointments1 are all to lead us upwards4 ,it is a rough bit of road on which we are set to walk1 and the sharp stones cut our feet1 but every step brings us nearer ,god4 ,do not let temper mar the days of ,sorrow4 ,there most probably will be something to try our temper4 ,who does not know the trials which seem peculiar to a break-up1 a change in our outward life8 ,who has not seen real ,christians giving way to peevishness1 fretfulness1 petty dislikes1 petty jealousies of near relations1 of those who may be taking the place of the one they mourn8 ,perhaps there is nothing which so mars and spoils the religious life as bad temper and selfishness4 ,nothing which is so apt to make outsiders shrug their shoulders at those who make frequent ,communions1 and go much to ,church1 and who1 especially in dark hours1 give way to crossness4 ,there is no better name4 ,canon ,,scott ,,holland4 ,the ,meaning of ,religion ,,september #ag ,the meaning of religion is a rule of life2 it is an obligation to do well2 if that rule1 that obligation1 is not seen1 your thousand texts will be to you like the thousand lanterns to the blind man4 ,as he goes about the house in the night of his blindness1 he will only break the glass and burn his feet and fingers3 and so you1 as you go through life in the night of your ignorance1 will only break and hurt yourselves on broken laws4 ,before ,christ came1 the ,jewish religion had forbidden many evil things2 it was a religion that a man could fulfil1 ,i had almost said1 in idleness2 all he had to do was to pray and to sing psalms1 and to refrain from things forbidden4 ,do not deceive yourselves2 when ,christ came1 all was changed4 ,the injunction was then laid upon us not to refrain from doing1 but to do4 ,at the last day ,he is to ask us not what sins we have avoided1 but what righteousness we have done1 what we have done for others1 how we have helped good and hindered evil3 what difference has it made to this world and to our country and our family and our friends1 that we have lived4 ,the man who has been only pious and not useful will stand with a long face on that great day1 when ,christ puts to him ,his questions4 ,but this is not all that we must learn3 we must beware everywhere of the letter that kills1 seek everywhere for the spirit that makes glad and strong4 ,for example1 these questions that we have just read are again only the letter4 ,we must study what they mean1 not what they are4 ,we are told to visit them that are in prison4 ,a good thing1 but it were better if we could save them going there4 ,we are told to visit the sick2 it were better still1 and we should so better have fulfilled the law1 if we could have saved some of them from falling sick4 ,the ,life of ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson1 ,,graham ,,balfour4 ,pure ,religion ,,september #ah ,righteousness in the ,old ,testament is not a theological1 but an ethical word1 and has to do not with a person's creed1 but with a person's character4 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,in those days men were working their passage to ,heaven by keeping the ,ten ,commandments1 and the hundred and ten other commandments which they had manufactured out of them4 ,christ said1 ,i will show you a more simple way4 ,if you do one thing1 you will do these hundred and ten things1 without ever thinking about them4 ,if you love1 you will unconsciously fulfil the whole law4444 ,love is the rule for fulfilling all rules1 the new commandment for keeping all the old commandments1 ,christ's one secret of the ,christian life4 ,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,pure religion as taught by ,jesus ,christ is a life1 a growth1 a divine spirit within1 coming out in love and sympathy1 and helpfulness to our fellow-men4 ,h4 ,w4 ,,thomas4 ,the ,christian ,law ,,september #ai ,we are often reminded that ,christ left no code of commandments4 ,it is in ,him--in ,his ,person and ,his work--the ,law lies4 ,he has given indeed for our instruction some applications of the negative precepts of the ,decalogue to the ,new ,order4 ,he has added some illustrations of positive duties1 almsgiving1 prayer1 fasting4 ,he has set up an ideal and a motive for life2 and1 at the same time1 ,he has endowed ,his ,church with spiritual power1 and has promised that the ,paraclete1 sent in ,his ,name1 shall guide it into all the ,truth4 7,the fundamental principle of the ,christian ,social ,union is to claim for the ,christian ,law the ultimate authority to rule social practice47 ,the ,christian ,law1 then1 is the embodiment of the ,truth for action in forms answering to the conditions of society from age to age4 ,the embodiment takes place slowly1 and it can never be complete4 ,it is impossible for us to rest indolently in the conclusions of the past4 ,in each generation the obligation is laid on ,christians to bring new problems of conduct and duty into the ,divine light1 and to find their solution under the teaching of the ,spirit4 ,the unceasing effort to fulfil the obligation establishes the highest prerogative of man1 and manifests the life of the ,church4 ,from this effort there can be no release2 and the effort itself becomes more difficult as human relations grow fuller1 wider1 more complex4 ,christian ,social ,union ,addresses1 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,the ,christian ,law ,,september #bj ,the sanction of this ,law 7the ,christian ,law7 is not fear of punishment1 but that self-surrender to an ever-present ,lord1 of those who are ,his slaves at once and ,his friends1 which is perfect freedom4 ,this ,law animates the heart of him who receives it with the invigorating truth that character is formed rather by what we do than by what we refrain from doing4 ,it requires that every personal gift and possession should minister to the common welfare1 not in the way of ransom1 or as a forced loan1 but as an offering of love4 ,it reaches to the springs of action1 and gives to the most mechanical toil the dignity of a divine service4 ,it makes the strong arm co-operate in one work with the warm heart and the creative brain4 ,it constrains the poet and the artist to concentrate their magnificent powers on things lovely and of good report1 to introduce us to characters whom to know is a purifying discipline1 and to fill the souls of common men with visions of hidden beauty and memories of heroic deeds4 ,it enables us to lift up our eyes to a pattern of human society which we have not yet dared to contemplate1 a pattern which answers to the constitution of man as he was made in the ,divine image to gain the ,divine likeness4 ,it forbids us to seek repose till1 as far as lies in us1 all labour is seen to be not a provision for living1 but a true human life2 all education a preparation for the vision of ,god here and hereafter2 all political enterprise a conscious hastening of the time when the many nations shall walk in the light of the holy city1 and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it4 ,christian ,social ,union ,addresses1 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,trustees ,,september #ba ,for the ,christian there can be but one ideal1 the perfect development of every man for the occupation of his appointed place1 for the fulfilment of his peculiar office in the ',body of ,christ'2 and as a first step towards this1 we are all bound as ,christians to bring to our country the offering of our individual service in return for the opportunities of culture and labour which we receive from its organisation4 ,we are all as ,christians trustees and stewards of everything which we possess1 of our time1 our intellect1 our influence1 no less than of our riches4 ,we ourselves are not our own3 still less can we say of that which we inherit or acquire1 ',it is my own4' ,we all belong1 in the fulness of life 'in ,christ1' to our fellow-citizens1 and our nation belongs to mankind4 ,what we hold for a time is to be administered for the relief of distresses1 and for the elevation of those among whom we are placed4 ,personal and social egoism are equally at variance with this conception of humanity4 ,the repression of individuality and the individual appropriation of the fruits of special vigour and insight equally tend to impoverish the race4 ,service always ready to become sacrifice is the condition of our growth1 and the condition of our joy4 ,christian ,social ,union ,addresses1 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,not to ,destroy1 but to ,fulfil ,,september #bb ,christ took the world as ,he found it1 ,he left it as it was4 ,he had no quarrel with existing institutions4 ,he did not overthrow the ,church--,he went to ,church4 ,he said nothing against politics--,he supported the government of the country4 ,he did not denounce society--,his first public action was to go to a marriage4 ,his great aim1 in fact1 outwardly1 and all along1 was to be as normal1 as little eccentric as possible4 ,the true fanatic always tries the opposite4 ,the spirit alone was singular in ,jesus2 a fanatic always spoils his cause by extending it to the letter4 ,christ came not to destroy1 but to fulfil4 ,a fanatic comes not to fulfil1 but to destroy4 ,if we would follow the eccentricity of our ,master1 let it not be in asceticism1 in denunciation1 in punctiliousness1 and scruples about trifles1 but in largeness of heart1 singleness of eye1 true breadth of character1 true love to men1 and heroism for ,christ4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,religion has been treated as if it were a special exercise of a special power1 not as if it were the possible loftiness of everything that a man could think or be or do4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,religion in ,daily ,life ,,september #bc ,if we want to get religion into life1 or anything whatever in us into life1 we are bound to have no contentment1 no rest1 no dreaming1 no delays1 till we get thought into shape1 feeling into labour1 some conviction1 some belief1 some idea1 into form without us1 among the world of men4 ,this is the main principle1 and it applies to every sphere of human effort4 ,so much for the habit whereby we gain power to bring religion into daily life4 ,righteousness1 shaped from within to without in the world of men1 is justice1 and the doing of justice4 ,this is the first need of commonwealths1 the first duty of individuals1 and the practical religion of both4 ,a still higher form into which we may put our religion in life is in doing the things which belong to love2 and love is the higher form because it secures justice4 ,these are the things we should shape into life because we love them4 ,to be faithful always to that which we believe to be true2 to be faithful to our principles and our conscience when trial comes1 or when we are tempted to sacrifice them for place or pelf2 to be faithful to our given word2 to keep our promises when we might win favour by eluding or breaking them2 to cling to intellectual as well as to moral truth2 to so live among men that they may know where we are2 to fly our flag in the storm as well as in the calm4 ,it is to pass by with contempt the dark cavern where men worship ,mammon2 to fix our thought and effort on the attainment of righteousness in public and in private homes1 to have the courage to attempt what seems impossible through love of the ideals of truth and beauty1 and to prefer to die on the field of work and self-devotion rather than to live in idleness and luxury4 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,unfelt ,creeds ,,september #bd ,there are also some who forget that the laws of the spiritual world are no less inflexible and inviolable than those of the physical world2 that conduct is everything2 and that the faith which saves1 and which1 working by love1 makes conduct1 is something much deeper and more substantial than the muttering of an unfelt creed1 or than the melancholy presumption that to think ourselves saved is by itself a passport into the everlasting habitations4 ,bishop ,,thorold4 ,holiness is an infinite compassion for others3 ,greatness is to take the common things of life and walk truly among them3 ,happiness is a great love and much serving4 ,heaven does not make holiness1 but holiness makes heaven4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,fasting ,,september #be ,it makes me half afraid1 half angry1 to see the formal1 mechanical way in which people do what they call their ',lenten ,penances1' and then rush off1 only with increased ardour1 to their ,easter festivities4 ,literal fasting does not suit me--it makes me irritable and uncomfortable1 and certainly does not spiritualise me2 so ,i have always tried to keep my ,lents in the nobler and more healthful spirit of ,isaiah lviii4 ,i have kept them but poorly1 after all2 still1 ,i am sure that is the true way of keeping them4 ,letters from ,bishop ,fraser's ,lancashire ,life1 ,archdeacon ,,diggle4 ,god does not call us to give up some sin or some harmful self-indulgence in ,lent that we may resume it at ,easter4 ,the ,guided ,life1 ,canon ,,body4 ,fasting ,,september #bf ,fasting comes by nature when a man is sad1 and it is in consequence the natural token of sadness3 when a man is very sad1 for the loss of relations or the like1 he loses all inclination for food4 ,but every outward sign that can be displayed at will is liable to abuse1 and so men sometimes fasted when they were not really sad1 but when it was decorous to appear so4 ,moreover a kind of merit came to be attached to fasting as betokening sorrow for transgressions2 and at last it came to be regarded as a sort of self-punishment which it was thought the ,almighty would accept in lieu of inflicting punishment ,himself4 ,our ,lord does not decry stated fasts or any other ,jewish practices1 they had their uses and would last their times2 only ,he points men to the underlying truth which was at the bottom of the ordinance4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,the ,great ,law of ,love ,,september #bg ,those who go to ,christ and not to custom for their view of that which is essential in religion1 know the infinitesimal value of profession and ceremonies1 beside the great law of love to our neighbour4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,farrar4 ,not only the happiness but the efficiency of the passive virtues1 love as a power1 as a practical success in the world1 is coming to be recognised4 ,the fact that ,christ led no army1 that ,he wrote no book1 built no church1 spent no money1 but that ,he loved1 and so conquered1 this is beginning to strike men4 ,and ,paul's argument is gaining adherents1 that when all prophecies are fulfilled1 and all our knowledge is obsolete1 and all tongues grow unintelligible1 this thing1 ,love1 will abide and see them all out one by one into the oblivious past4 ,this is the hope for the world1 that we shall learn to love1 and in learning that1 unlearn all anger and wrath and evil-speaking and malice and bitterness4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,soldiers of the same ,army ,,september #bh ,to him1 as to so many1 truth is so infinitely great that all we can do with our poor human utterances is to try and clothe it in such language as will make it clear to ourselves1 and clear to those to whom ,god sends us with a message2 but meanwhile above us and our thoughts--above our broken lights--,god in ,his mercy1 ,god in ,his love1 ,god in ,his infinite nature is greater than all4 ,tennyson--a ,memoir1 by his ,son4 ,are not all true men that live1 or that ever lived1 soldiers of the same army1 enlisted under heaven's captaincy1 to do battle against the same enemy--the empire of darkness and wrong8 ,why should we mis-know one another1 fight not against the enemy1 but against ourselves1 from mere difference of uniform8 ,,carlyle4 ,by their ,works ,,september #bi ,call him not heretic whose works attest ,his faith in goodness by no creed confessed4 ,whatever in love's name is truly done ,to free the bound and lift the fallen one ,is done to ,christ4 ,whoso in deed and word ,is not against ,him labours for our ,lord4 ,when ,he1 who1 sad and weary1 longing sore ,for love's sweet service1 sought the sisters' door1 ,one saw the heavenly1 one the human guest1 ,but who shall say which loved the ,master best8 ,,whittier4 ,hast thou made much of words1 and forms1 and tests1 ,and thought but little of the peace and love1-- ,his ,gospel to the poor8 ,dost thou condemn ,thy brother1 looking down1 in pride of heart1 ,on each poor wanderer from the fold of ,truth8444 ,go thy way6-- ,take ,heaven's own armour for the heavenly strife1 ,welcome all helpers in thy war with sin 444 ,and learn through all the future of thy years ,to form thy life in likeness of thy ,lord's6 ,,plumptre4 ,faith ,,september #cj ,faith is the communication of the ,divine ,spirit by which ,christ as the revealed ,god dwells in our heart4 ,it is the awakening of the ,spirit of ,adoption whereby we cry1 ',abba ,father4' ,t4 ,h4 ,,green4 ,he thought with ,arthur ,hallam1 that 'the essential feelings of religion subsist in the utmost diversity of forms1' that 'different language does not always imply different opinions1 nor different opinions any difference in real faith4' ',it is impossible1' he said1 'to imagine that the ,almighty will ask you1 when you come before ,him in the next life1 what your particular form of creed was2 but the question will rather be1 ,have you been true to yourself and given in ,my name a cup of cold water to one of these little ones8' ,tennyson--a ,memoir1 by his ,son4 ,religion consists not in knowledge1 but in a holy life4 ,bishop ,,taylor4 ,a ,new ,creed ,october #a ,imagine a body of ,christians who should take their stand on the ,sermon of ,jesus1 and conceive their creed on ,his lines4 ,imagine how it would read1 ',i believe in the ,fatherhood of ,god2 ,i believe in the words of ,jesus2 ,i believe in the clean heart2 ,i believe in the service of love2 ,i believe in the unworldly life2 ,i believe in the ,beatitudes2 ,i promise to trust ,god and follow ,christ1 to forgive my enemies1 and to seek after the righteousness of ,god4' ,could any form of words be more elevated1 more persuasive1 more alluring8 ,do they not thrill the heart and strengthen the conscience8 ,liberty of thought is allowed2 liberty of sinning is alone denied4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,,the ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,mount has been called ,the text-book of duty4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,the ,magna ,charta of the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,,neander4 ,christ's manifesto1 and the constitution of ,christianity4 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,the great proclamation1 which by one effort lifted mankind on to that new and higher ground on which it has been painfully struggling ever since1 but on the whole with sure but slow success1 to plant itself1 and maintain sure foothold4 ,t4 ,,hughes4 ,the ,programme of ,christianity ,,october #b ,there may be ,worship without ,words4 ,,longfellow4 ,all the world is the temple of ,god4 ,its worship is ministration4 ,the commonest service is ,divine service4 ,,george ,,macdonald4 ,,the ,,programme ,,of ,,christianity4 ,to preach good tidings unto the meek3 ,to build up the broken-hearted3 ,to proclaim liberty to the captives1 and the opening of the prison to them that are bound3 ,to proclaim the acceptable year of the ,lord1 and the day of vengeance of our ,god3 ,to comfort all that mourn3 ,to appoint unto them that mourn in ,zion1 to give unto them-- ,beauty for ,ashes1 ,the ,oil of ,joy for ,mourning1 ,the ,garment of ,praise for the ,spirit of ,heaviness4 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,the ,lord's ,supper ,,october #c ,the ,lord's ,supper1 the right and need of every man to feed on ,god1 the bread of divine sustenance1 the wine of divine inspiration offered to every man1 and turned by every man into what form of spiritual force the duty and the nature of each man required1 how grand and glorious its mission might become6 ,no longer the mystic source of unintelligible influence2 no longer1 certainly1 the test of arbitrary orthodoxy2 no longer the initiation rite of a selected brotherhood2 but the great sacrament of man6444 ,there is no other rallying place for all the good activity and worthy hopes of man4 ,it is in the power of the great ,christian ,sacrament1 the great human sacrament1 to become that rallying place4 ,think how it would be1 if some morning all the men1 women1 and children in this city who mean well1 from the reformer meaning to meet some giant evil at the peril of his life to the school-boy meaning to learn his day's lesson with all his strength1 were to meet in a great host at the table of the ,lord1 and own themselves ,his children1 and claim the strength of ,his bread and wine1 and then go out with calm1 strong1 earnest faces to their work4 ,how the communion service would lift up its voice and sing itself in triumph1 the great anthem of dedicated human life6 ,ah1 my friends1 that1 nothing less than that1 is the real ,holy ,communion of the ,church of the living ,god4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,nominal ,christians ,,october #d ,the bane of the ,church of ,god1 the dishonour of ,christ1 the laughing-stock of the world1 is in that far too numerous body of half-alive ,christians who choose their own cross1 and shape their own standard1 and regulate their own sacrifices1 and measure their own devotions2 whose cross is very unlike the ,saviour's1 whose standard is not that of as much holiness as they can attain1 but of as little holiness as they can safely be content with to be saved2 whose sacrifices do not deprive them from one year's end to another of a single comfort1 or even a real luxury1 and whose devotions can never make their dull hearts burn with love of ,christ4 ,bishop ,,thorold4 ,men find ,christ through their fellow-men1 and every glimpse they get of ,him is a direct message from ,himself4 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,manifestations of ,god ,,october #e ,the distinguishing mark of religion is not so much liberty as obedience1 and its value is measured by the sacrifices which it can extract from the individual4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,there is perhaps no human soul which never hungers after ,god4 ,men's unbelief in lies is often quoted against them1 by the liar especially4 ,but we believe--not when we are told about1 but when we are shown--,christ4 ,turkish ,bonds1 ,,may ,,kendall4 ,let your lives preach4 ,,george ,,fox4 ,manifestations of ,god ,,october #f ,for how1 as a matter of fact1 do we grow to know ,god8 ,let me refer you to ,professor ,flint's book on ,theism for the best answer ,i know4 ,we begin to know ,god as we begin to know our fellow-man--through ,his manifestations4 ,we may be tempted to think that we cannot know what we cannot see1 but in a perfectly true sense we never see our fellow-man3 we see his manifestations2 we see his outward appearance4 ,we hear what he says2 we notice what he does1 and we infer from all this what his unseen character is like1 what the man is in himself2 so similarly and as surely we learn to know ,god4 ,we see what ,he has done in nature and in history2 we see what ,he is doing to-day2 we read what ,he has conveyed to us for our instruction 'in sundry times and in divers manners'2 and so we learn to listen for and to love 'the still small voice' in which ,he speaks to our hearts4 ,one knowledge is as gradual and yet as sure and certain and logical as the other4 ,work in ,great ,cities1 ,bishop ,,winnington ,,ingram4 ,manifestations of ,god ,,october #g ,it is human character or developed humanity that conducts us to our notion of the character ,divine4444 ,in proportion as the mysteries of man's goodness unfold themselves to us1 in that proportion do we obtain an insight into ,god's4 ,j4 ,b4 ,,mozley4 ,if you want your neighbour to know what the ,christ spirit will do for him1 let him see what it has done for you4 ,,henry ,,ward ,,beecher4 ,when a man lives with ,god1 his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn4 ,,emerson4 ,prayer ,,october #h ',we do not present our supplications before ,thee for our righteousness1 but for ,thy great mercies4 ,o ,lord1 hear2 ,o ,lord1 forgive2 ,o ,lord1 hearken and do4'--,dan4 ix4 #ah1 #ai4 ,every true prayer has its background and its foreground4 ,the foreground of prayer is the intense1 immediate desire for a certain blessing which seems to be absolutely necessary for the soul to have2 the background of prayer is the quiet earnest desire that the will of ,god1 whatever it may be1 should be done4 ,what a picture is the perfect prayer of ,jesus in ,gethsemane6 ,in front burns the strong desire to escape death and to live2 but1 behind1 there stands1 calm and strong1 the craving of the whole life for the doing of the will of ,god4444 ,leave out the foreground--let there be no expression of the wish of him who prays--and there is left a pure submission which is almost fatalism4 ,leave out the background--let there be no acceptance of the will of ,god--and the prayer is only an expression of self-will1 a petulant claiming of the uncorrected choice of him who prays4 ,only when the two1 foreground and background1 are there together1--the special desire resting on the universal submission1 the universal submission opening into the special desire1--only then is the picture perfect and the prayer complete6 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,prayer ,,october #i ,about prayer he said3 ',the reason why men find it hard to regard prayer in the same light in which it was formerly regarded is that we seem to know more of the unchangeableness of ,law4 ,but ,i believe that ,god reveals ,himself in each individual soul4 ,prayer is1 to take a mundane simile1 like opening a sluice between the great ocean and our little channels when the great sea gathers itself together and flows in at full tide4' ',prayer on our part is the highest aspiration of the soul4' ,a ,breath that fleets beyond this iron world ,and touches ,him who made it4 ,speak to ,him1 thou1 for ,he hears1 and ,spirit with ,spirit can meet-- ,closer is ,he than breathing1 and nearer than hands and feet4 ,and ,more things are wrought by prayer ,than this world dreams of4 ,tennyson--a ,memoir1 by his ,son4 ,prayer ,,october #aj ,there can be no objection to praying for certain special things4 ,god forbid6 ,i cannot help doing it1 any more than a child in the dark can help calling for its mother4 ,only it seems to me that when we pray1 ',grant this day that we run into no kind of danger1' we ought to lay our stress on the 'run' rather than on the 'danger1' to ask ,god not to take away the danger by altering the course of nature1 but to give us light and guidance whereby to avoid it4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,special prayer is based upon a fundamental instinct of our nature4 ,and in the fellowship which is established in prayer between man and ,god1 we are brought into personal union with ,him in ,whom all things have their being4 ,in this lies the possibility of boundless power2 for when the connection is once formed1 who can lay down the limits of what man can do in virtue of the communion of his spirit with the ,infinite ,spirit8 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,prayer ,october #aa ,it is abundantly clear that answered prayer encourages faith and personal relations in a way which broad principles only cannot effect4 ,as the ,spectator put it many years ago1 much that would be positively bad for us if given without prayer1 is good if sent in answer4 ,we feel 7do we not87 that all the evil of the world springs from mistrust of ,god4 ,nothing can recover us from this state of alienated unrest like answered prayer4 ,life of ,f4 ,w4 ,crossley1 ,,rendel ,,harris4 ,prayer will in time make the human countenance its own divinest altar2 years upon years of true thoughts1 like ceaseless music shut up within1 will vibrate along the nerves of expression until the lines of the living instrument are drawn into correspondence1 and the harmony of visible form matches the unheard harmonies of the mind4 ,the ,choir ,invisible1 ,,james ,,lane ,,allen4 ,prayer ,,october #ab ,pray1 till prayer makes you forget your own wish1 and leave it or merge it in ,god's will4 ,the divine wisdom has given us prayer1 not as a means whereby to obtain the good things of earth1 but as a means by which we learn to do without them2 not as a means whereby we escape evil1 but as a means whereby we become strong to meet it4 ',there appeared an angel unto ,him from heaven1 strengthening ,him4' ,this was the true reply to the prayer of ,christ4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,never let us get into the common trick of calling unbelief--resignation2 of asking1 and then because we have not faith to believe1 putting in a ',thy will be done' at the end4 ,let us make ,god's ,will our will1 and so say ',thy will be done4' ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,prayer ,,october #ac ,accustom yourself gradually to let your mental prayer spread over all your daily external occupations4 ,speak1 act1 work quietly1 as though you were praying1 as indeed you ought to be4 ,do everything without excitement1 simply in the spirit of grace4 ,so soon as you perceive natural activity gliding in1 recall yourself quietly into the ,presence of ,god4 ,hearken to what the leadings of grace prompt1 and say and do nothing but what ,god's ,holy ,spirit teaches4 ,you will find yourself infinitely more quiet1 your words will be fewer and more effectual1 and while doing less1 what you do will be more profitable4 ,it is not a question of a hopeless mental activity1 but a question of acquiring a quietude and peace in which you readily advise with your ,beloved as to all you have to do4 ,,fenelon4 ,a blessing such as this our hearts might reap1 ,the freshness of the garden they might share1 ,through the long day an heavenly freshness keep1 ,if1 knowing how the day and the day's glare ,must beat upon them1 we would largely steep ,and water them betimes with dews of ,prayer4 ,,trench4 ,self-examination ,,october #ad ,it is my custom every night to run all over the words and actions of the past day2 for why should ,i fear the sight of my errors when ,i can admonish and forgive myself8 ,i was a little too hot in such a dispute3 my opinion might have been as well spared1 for it gave offence1 and did no good at all4 ,the thing was true2 but all truths are not to be spoken at all times4 ,,seneca4 ,,resolves4 ,to try to be thoroughly poor in spirit1 meek1 and to be ready to be silent when others speak4 ,to learn from every one4 ,to try to feel my own insignificance4 ,to believe in myself and the powers with which ,i am entrusted4 ,to try to make conversation more useful1 and therefore to store my mind with facts1 but to guard against a wish to shine4 ,to try to despise the principle of the day 'every man his own trumpeter1' and to feel it a degradation to speak of my own doings1 as a poor braggart4 ,to speak less of self and to think less4 ,to contend one by one against evil thoughts4 ,to try to fix my thoughts in prayer without distraction4 ,to watch over a growing habit of uncharitable judgment4 ,f4 ,w4 ,robertson's ,life4 ,confession of ,sin ,,october #ae ,an immense quantity of modern confession of sin1 even when honest1 is merely a sickly egotism which will rather gloat over its own evil than lose the centralisation of its interest in itself4 ,ethics of the ,dust1 ,,john ,,ruskin4 ,the fit of low spirits which comes to us when we find ourselves overtaken in a fault1 though we flatter ourselves to reckon it a certain sign of penitence1 and a set-off to the sin itself which ,god will surely take into account1 is often nothing more than vexation and annoyance with ourselves1 that1 after all our good resolutions and attempts at reformation1 we have broken down again4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,and be you sure that sorrow without resolute effort at amendment is one of the most contemptible of all human frailties2 deserving to be despised by men1 and certain to be rejected by ,god4 ,bishop ,,temple4 ,morbid ,introspectiveness ,,october #af ,plainly there is one danger in all self-discipline which has to be most carefully watched and guarded against1 that1 namely1 of valuing the means at the expense of the end1 and so falling into either self-righteousness or formalism1 and very probably into uncharitableness also4 ,if we esteem our obedience to rule1 and self-imposed restraints1 for their own sake1 we effectually destroy their power to train and elevate4 ,i suppose this is the real mistake of a false asceticism1 which sees the merit rather in the amount of discipline undergone than in the character and self-conquest to be gained by it4 ,bishop ,,walsham ,,how4 444 ,it is a clear view of higher motives1 which at once reveals and defeats our meaner impulses2 which assists the discipline of proper self-searching1 by making it healthy and hopeful2 and resists any habit of morbid introspectiveness with its fatal tendency to paralyse activity of character4 ,canon ,,knox ,,little4 ,introspection ,,october #ag ,beware of despairing about yourself4 ,,st4 ,,augustine4 ,any man who is good for anything1 if he is always thinking about himself1 will come to think himself good for nothing very soon4 ,it is only a fop or a fool who can bear to look at himself all day long1 without disgust4 ,and so the first thing for a man to do1 who wants to use his best powers at their best1 is to get rid of self-consciousness1 to stop thinking about himself and how he is working1 altogether4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,on somehow4 ,to go back ,were to lose all4 ,,tennyson4 ,our ,true ,selves and ,our ,traditional ,selves ,,october #ah ,i have sometimes thought that this facility of men in believing that they are still what they once meant to be--this undisturbed appropriation of a traditional character which is often but a melancholy relic of early resolutions1 like the worn and soiled testimonial to soberness and honesty carried in the pocket of a tippler whom the need of a dram has driven into peculation--may sometimes diminish the turpitude of what seems a flat1 barefaced falsehood4 ,it is notorious that a man may go on uttering false assertions about his own acts till he at last believes in them3 is it not possible that sometimes in the very first utterance there may be a shade of creed-reciting belief1 a reproduction of a traditional self which is clung to against all evidence8 ,there is no knowing all the disguises of the lying serpent4 ,when we come to examine in detail what is the sane mind in the sane body1 the final test of completeness seems to be a security of distinction between what we have professed and what we have done2 what we have aimed at and what we have achieved2 what we have invented and what we have witnessed or had evidenced to us2 what we think and feel in the present and what we thought and felt in the past4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,un-self-consciousness ,,october #ai ,an unconscious1 easy1 selfish person shocks less and is more easily loved than one who is laboriously and egotistically unselfish4 ,there is at least no fuss about the first2 but the other parades his sacrifices1 and so sells his favours too dear4 ,selfishness is calm1 a force of nature3 you might say the trees are selfish4 ,but egoism is a piece of vanity2 it must always take you into its confidence2 it is uneasy1 troublesome1 searching2 it can do good1 but not handsomely2 it is uglier1 because less dignified1 than selfishness itself4 ,if a man has self-surrender pressed incessantly upon him1 this keeps the idea of self ever before his view4 ,christ does not cry down self1 but ,he puts it out of a man's sight by giving him something better to care for1 something which shall take full and rightful possession of his soul4 ,the ,apostles1 without ever having any consciousness of sacrificing self1 were brought into a habit of self-sacrifice by merging all thoughts for themselves in devotion to a ,master and a cause1 and in thinking what they could do to serve it themselves4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,un-self-consciousness ,,october #bj ,think as little as possible about any good in yourself2 turn your eyes resolutely from any view of your acquirement1 your influence1 your plan1 your success1 your following3 above all1 speak as little as possible about yourself4 ,the inordinateness of our self-love makes speech about ourselves like the putting of the lighted torch to the dried wood which has been laid in order for the burning4 ,nothing but duty should open our lips upon this dangerous theme1 except it be in humble confession of our sinfulness before our ,god4 ,again1 be specially upon the watch against those little tricks by which the vain man seeks to bring round the conversation to himself1 and gain the praise or notice which the thirsty ears drink in so greedily2 and even if praise comes unsought1 it is well1 whilst men are uttering it1 to guard yourself by thinking of some secret cause for humbling yourself inwardly to ,god2 thinking into what these pleasant accents would be changed if all that is known to ,god1 and even to yourself1 stood suddenly revealed to man4 ,bishop ,,wilberforce4 ,those who have never sought to attain true humility 444 have yet to learn how it lies at the root of all our dear ,lord's teaching4444 ,the first step towards the inner life is to attain a childlike spirit in ,heavenly things4444 ,it is solely ,god's gift4 ,,grou4 ,love the ,destroyer of ,sin ,,october #ba ,it is quite idle1 by force of will1 to seek to empty the angry passions out of our life4 ,who has not made a thousand resolutions in this direction1 only and with unutterable mortification to behold them dashed to pieces with the first temptation8 ,the soul is to be made sweet not by taking the acidulous fluids out1 but by putting something in--a great love1 ,god's great love4 ,this is to work a chemical change upon them1 to renovate and regenerate them1 to dissolve them in its own rich fragrant substance4 ,if a man let this into his life1 his cure is complete2 if not1 it is hopeless4 ,the ,ideal ,life1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,the secret of success consists not in the habit of making numerous resolutions about various faults and sins1 but in one great1 absorbing1 controlling purpose to serve ,god and do ,his will6 ,if this be the controlling motive of life1 all other motives will be swept into the force of its mighty current and guided aright4 ,love the ,destroyer of ,sin ,,october #bb ,for the most of us the more hopeful plan is to overcome our passions by thinking of something else4 ,this something else need by no means be a serious thing4 ,for it happens sometimes that ideas that do not soar above trivialities may nevertheless have sent down such roots into a man's life1 and become so fruitful of suggestion1 that they prove more effective allies than more imposing and pretentious resources4 ,whence it comes that a sport1 or a pastime1 have before now weaned many from cares and sorrows which seemed proof against even the consolations of religion4 ,be it granted that1 severely construed1 this is a proof of the frivolity of human nature4 ,but it is none the less an illustration of the expulsive power of ideas4 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,he proposed to make sin impossible by replacing it with love4 ,if sin be an act of self-will1 each person making himself the centre1 then ,love is the destruction of sin1 because ,love connects instead of isolating4 ,no one can be envious1 avaricious1 hard-hearted2 no one can be gross1 sensual1 unclean1 if he loves4 ,love is the death of all bitter and unholy moods of the soul1 because ,love lifts the man out of himself and teaches him to live in another4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,mental ,hygiene ,,october #bc ,it is poor strategy to wage against evil feelings or propulsions a war of mere repression4 ,we have seen that this is so in educational control of others4 ,it is not less so in control of ourselves4 ,if we would really oust our evil proclivities1 we must cultivate others that are positively good4 ,it is not enough to hate our failings or our vices with a perfect hatred4 ,we must love something else4 ,in other words1 we must contrive to open mind and heart to tenants in whose presence unwelcome intruders1 unable to find a home1 will torment us only for a season and at last take their departure4 ',there is a mental just as much as a bodily hygiene4' ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,moses said1 ',do this or do that4' ,jesus refrained from regulations--,he proposed that we should love4 ,jesus1 while hardly mentioning the word1 planted the idea in ,his disciples' minds1 that ,love was ,law4 ,for three years ,he exhibited and enforced ,love as the principle of life1 until1 before ,he died1 they understood that all duty to ,god and man was summed up in ,love4 ,progress in the moral world is ever from complexity to simplicity4 ,first one hundred duties2 afterwards they are gathered into ten commandments2 then they are reduced to two3 love of ,god and love of man2 and1 finally1 ,jesus says ,his last word3 ',this is ,my commandment1 that ye love one another1 as ,i have loved you4' ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,as ,night ,enters1 ,darkness ,departs ,,october #bd ,if sin be a principle in a man's life1 then it is evident that it cannot be affected by the most pathetic act in history exhibited from without2 it must be met by an opposite principle working from within4 ,if sin be selfishness1 as ,jesus taught1 then it can only be overcome by the introduction of a spirit of self-renunciation4 ,jesus did not denounce sin3 negative religion is always impotent4 ,he replaced sin by virtue1 which is a silent revolution4 ,as the light enters1 the darkness departs1 and as soon as one renounced himself1 he had ceased from sin4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ',why could not we cast him out8' ,let ,his love fill you with love1 and then the conquering of your sins by ,his help shall be in its course one long enthusiasm and at the end a glorious success4 ,that is your hope2 and that hope1 if you will1 you may seize to-day4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,stepping-stones ,,october #be ,the block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak1 becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong4 ,,carlyle4 ,out of difficulties grow miracles4 ,i hold it truth with him who sings ,to one clear harp in divers tones1 ,that men may rise on stepping stones ,of their dead selves to higher things4 ,,tennyson4 ,why wilt thou defer thy good purpose from day to day8 ,arise and begin this very instant1 and say1 ',now is the time to be doing1 now is the time to be striving1 now is the fit time to amend myself4' ,,thomas ,a ,,kempis4 ,never ,lose a ,battle ,,october #bf ,a fourth maxim is 'never if possible to lose a battle4' ,and none can be sounder4 ,for it is always to be remembered that a single lapse involves here something worse than a simple failure4 ,the alternative is not between good habit or no habit1 but between good habit and bad4 ,for1 as ,professor ,bain points out1 the characteristic difficulty here lies in the fact that in the moral life rival tendencies are in constant competition for mastery over us4 ,the loss of a battle here is therefore worse than a defeat4 ,it strengthens the enemy1 whether this enemy be some powerful passion1 or nothing more than the allurements of an easy life4 ,it has worse effects still4 ,for if by persistence in well-doing we all of us create a moral tradition for our individual selves1 so do we by every failure hang in the memory a humiliating and paralysing record of defeat4 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,if one surrender himself to ,jesus1 and is crucified on ,his cross1 there is no sin he will not overcome1 no service he will not render1 no virtue to which he will not attain4 ,the ,mind of the ,master1 ,dr4 ,,john ,,watson4 ,living in the ,present ,,october #bg ,be not anxious about to-morrow4 ,do to-day's duty1 fight to-day's temptation1 and do not weaken and distract yourself by looking forward to things which you cannot see1 and could not understand1 if you saw them4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,do not disturb thyself by thinking of the whole of thy life4 ,let not thy thoughts at once embrace all the various troubles which thou mayest expect to befall thee3 but on every occasion ask thyself1 ,what is there in this which is intolerable and past bearing8 for thou wilt be ashamed to confess4 ,in the next place remember that neither the future nor the past pains thee1 but only the present4 ,but this is reduced to a very little1 if thou only circumscribest it1 and chidest thy mind1 if it is unable to hold out against even this4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,finish every day and be done with it4 ,you have done what you could4 ,some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in2 forget them as soon as you can4 ,to-morrow is a new day2 begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense4 ,this day is all that is good and fair4 ,it is too dear1 with its hopes and invitations1 to waste a moment on the yesterdays4 ,,emerson4 ,day by ,day ,,october #bh ,by trying to take in the idea of life as a whole we only give ourselves mental indigestion2 a day at a time is as much as a man can healthily swallow4 ,,edna ,,lyall4 ,think that this day will never dawn again4 ,the heavens are calling you and wheel around you1 ,displaying to you their eternal beauties1 ,and still your eye is looking on the ground4 ,the ,divine ,comedy1 ,,dante4 ,to-,day is a king in disguise3 let us unmask the king as he passes4 ,,emerson4 ,day by ,day ,,october #bi ,lo1 here hath been dawning ,another blue day2 ,think1 wilt thou let it ,slip useless away6 ,,carlyle4 ,the perfection of moral character consists in this1 in passing every day as the last1 and in being neither violently excited1 nor torpid1 nor playing the hypocrite4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,when night comes1 list thy deeds2 make plain the way ',twixt heaven and thee2 block it not with delays3 ,but perfect all before thou sleep'st2 then say1 ',there's one ,sun more strung on my ,bead of days4' ,what's good store up for ,joy1 the bad1 well scann'd1 ,wash off with tears1 and get thy ,master's hand4 ,,henry ,,vaughan4 ,gaining or ,losing ,ground ,,october #cj ,gaining or losing all the time is our condition1 morally and spiritually4 ,we cannot stand utterly still4 ,if we are not improving we are losing ground4 ,outside forces compel that1 in addition to the forces that are working within4 ,we are pressing forward and being helped in that direction1 or we are being pressed backward and are yielding to that pressure4 ,let us not deceive ourselves with the idea that even though we are making no progress we are at least holding our own4 ,we can no more stand still than time can4 ,whose high endeavours are an inward light1 ,that makes the path before him always bright4 ,and through the heat of conflict1 keeps the law ,in calmness made1 and sees what he foresaw4 ,who1 not content that former worth stand fast1 ,looks forward persevering to the last1 ,from well to better1 daily self-surpassed4 ,the ,happy ,warrior1 ,,wordsworth4 ,pressing ,forward ,,october #ca ,plutarch records that when ,simonides offered to teach ,themistocles the art of memory the latter said3 ',teach me rather the art of forgetting4' ,how much the world needs to learn that art4 ,paul spoke of forgetting the things that are behind4 ,we should forget our mistakes and failures1 so far as these cause discouragement4 ,we should forget our successes if they cause pride or preoccupy the mind4 ,we should forget the slights that have been put upon us or the insults that have been given us4 ,to remember these is to be weak and miserable1 if not worse4 ,he who says he can forgive but he cannot forget is deceived by the sound of words4 ,forgiveness that is genuine involves forgetfulness of the injury4 ,true forgiveness means a putting away of the wrong behind the back and remembering it no more4 ,that is what ,god does when ,he forgives1 and that is what we all must do if we truly forgive4 444 ,it is wise to forget past errors4 ,there is a kind of temperament which1 when indulged1 greatly hinders growth in real godliness4 ,it is that rueful1 repentant1 self-accusing temper1 which is always looking back1 and microscopically observing how that which is done might have been better done4 ,something of this we ought to have4 ,a ,christian ought to feel always that he has partially failed1 but that ought not to be the only feeling4 ,faith ought ever to be a sanguine1 cheerful thing2 and perhaps in practical life we could not give a better account of faith than by saying1 that it is1 amidst much failure1 having the heart to try again4 ,our best deeds are marked by imperfection2 but if they really were our best1 'forget the things that are behind'--we shall do better next time4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,the ,evil of ,brooding ,,november #a ,throughout the ,gospel history we discern our ,lord's care to keep men in a fit condition to serve ,god by active work4 ,all that would impair their efficiency is to be shunned4 ,now1 to repine and brood over some past error cuts the sinews of action2 from this the ,apostles therefore are always diverted1 and they are to be watchful to prevent others from sinking into dejection and folding their hands in despair4 ,a man who is hopeless has no heart for work1 but when he is so far encouraged as to be able to exert himself his despondency soon disappears4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,disappointment should always be taken as a stimulant1 and never viewed as a discouragement4 ,c4 ,b4 ,,newcomb4 ,i always loved ',at evening time it shall be light1' and ,i am sure it comes true to many a young troubled soul1 which in its youthful zeal and impatience cannot help eating its heart out over its own and other people's failings and imperfections1 and has not yet learnt the patience which comes from realising that in this world we see but the beginning of things4 ,aspiration ,,november #b ,if a man constantly aspires1 is he not elevated8 ,,thoreau4 ,the thing we long for1--,that we are ,for one transcendent moment6 ,before the ,present1 poor and bare1 ,can make its sneering comment6 99 99 99 99 99 ,longing is ,god's fresh heavenward will ,with our poor earthward striving2 ,we quench it that we may be still ,content with merely living2 ,but would we learn that heart's full scope ,which we are hourly wronging1 ,our lives must climb from hope to hope ,and realise our longing6 99 99 99 99 99 ,ah6 let us hope that to our praise ,good ,god not only reckons ,the moments when we tread ,his ways1 ,but when the spirit beckons-- ,that some slight good is also wrought ,beyond self-satisfaction1 ,when we are simply good in thought1 ,howe'er we fail in action4 ,,lowell4 ,there shall never be one ,lost ,good ,,november #c ,therefore to whom turn ,i but to ,thee1 the ineffable ,name8 ,builder and ,maker1 ,thou1 of houses not made with hands6 ,what1 have fear of change from ,thee ,who art ever the same8 ,doubt that ,thy power can fill the heart that ,thy power expands8 ,there shall never be one lost good6 ,what was shall live as before2 ,the evil is null1 is nought1 is silence implying sound2 ,what was good1 shall be good1 with1 for evil1 so much good more2 ,on the earth the broken arcs2 in the heaven a perfect round4 ,all we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good1 shall exist1 ,not its semblance1 but itself2 no beauty1 nor good1 nor power ,whose voice has gone forth1 but each survives for the melodist1 ,when eternity confirms the conception of an hour4 ,the high that proved too high1 the heroic for earth too hard1 ,the passion that left the ground to lose itself in the sky1 ,are music sent up to ,god by the lover and the bard2 ,enough that ,he heard it once2 we shall hear it by-and-bye4 ,abt ,vogler1 ,,robert ,,browning4 ,struggling ,,november #d ,if what shone afar so grand ,turn to nothing in thy hand1 ,on again1 the virtue lies ,in the struggle1 not the prize4 ,r4 ,m4 ,,milnes4 ,one would like one's own failures to be one's friends' stepping stones4444 ,i am trying to teach myself that if one has been working1 one has not necessarily been working to good purpose1 and that one may waste strength and forces of all sorts1 as well as time4 ,mrs4 ,ewing's ,letters4 ,rise 444 as children learn1 be thou ,wiser for falling4 ,,tennyson4 ,true ,patience ,,november #e ,there are those who think it is ,christian patience to sit down by the wayside to endure the storm1 crying in themselves1 ',god is hard on me1 but ,i will bear ,his smiting'2 but their endurance is only idleness which is ignoble1 and hiding from the battle which is cowardice4 ,or they cry1 ',i am the victim of ,fate1 but ,i will be patient'--as if any one could be a victim if ,god be love1 or as if there were such a thing as blind fate1 when the order of the world is to lead men into righteousness2 when to be victor and not victim is the main word of that order4 ,no1 the severity of the battle is to force us into self-forgetfulness2 and this lazy resignation1 this wailing patience1 is mere self-remembrance4 ,the true patience is activity of faith and hope and righteousness in the cause of men for the sake of ,god's love of them2 is in glad proclamation of the gospel2 is in wielding the sword of the ,truth of ,god against all that injures mankind4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,wise men ne'er sit and wail their loss1 ,but cheerly seek how to redress their harms4 ,what though the mast be now blown overboard1 ,the cable broke1 the holding anchor lost1 ,and half our sailors swallowed in the flood-- ,yet lives our ,pilot still4 ,,shakespeare4 ,the ,appetite for ,condolence ,,november #f ,it is right to exercise a great deal of self-restraint in speaking of our troubles1 and not to let the appetite for condolence grow on us4 ,studies in the ,christian ,character1 ,bishop ,,paget4 ,carlyle says1 ',my father had one virtue which ,i should try to imitate--he never spoke of what was disagreeable and past1' and my mother was the same2 she turned her back at once upon the last months1 which she put away for ever like a sealed volume4 ,the ,story of my ,life1 ,,augustus ,,hare4 ,hacket's motto1 ',serve ,god and be cheerful4' ,the ,sharp ,ferule of ,calamity ,,november #g ,it is to keep a man awake1 to keep him alive to his own soul and its fixed design of righteousness1 that the better part of moral and religious education is directed2 not only that of words and doctors1 but the sharp ferule of calamity under which we are all ,god's scholars till we die4 ,the ,life of ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson1 ,,graham ,,balfour4 ,the best help is not to bear the troubles of others for them1 but to inspire them with courage and energy to bear their burdens for themselves and meet the difficulties of life bravely4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,the ,essentials of ,happiness ,,november #h ,we weigh ourselves down with burdens of sorrow which are the results of our selfish thoughts and selfish desires2 and every one of these burdens lessens our power to live righteously in ourselves1 and to live usefully for others4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,when you find yourself overpowered1 as it were by melancholy1 the best way is to go out1 and do something kind to somebody or other4 ,letters of ,spiritual ,counsel1 ,,keble4 ,the grand essentials of happiness are1 something to do1 something to love1 and something to hope for4 ,,chalmers4 ,happiness is easy when we have learnt to renounce4 ,,mme4 ,,de ,,stael4 ,unrest ,,november #i ,self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us4 ,humanity only begins for man with self-surrender4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,what are the chief causes of ,unrest8 ,if you know yourself1 you will answer ,pride1 ,selfishness1 ,ambition4 ,as you look back upon the past years of your life1 is it not true that its unhappiness has chiefly come from the succession of personal mortifications and almost trivial disappointments which the intercourse of life has brought you8 ,great trials come at lengthened intervals1 and we rise to breast them2 but it is the petty friction of our everyday life with one another1 the jar of business or of work1 the discord of the domestic circle1 the collapse of our ambition1 the crossing of our will1 the taking down of our conceit1 which make inward peace impossible4 ,wounded vanity1 then1 disappointed hopes1 unsatisfied selfishness--these are the old1 vulgar1 universal sources of man's unrest4 ,pax ,vobiscum1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,rest ,,november #aj ,now1 what is the first step towards the winning of that rest8 ,it is the giving up of self-will and the receiving of ,god's will as our own--and what that means is clear4 ,it is to make our life at one with ,god's character1 with justice and purity1 with truth and love1 with mercy and joy4 ,it is the surrender of our own pleasure and the making of ,god's desire for us the master of our life4 ,that is the first step--a direction of the soul to ,god4 ,the second has to do with mankind4 ,it is the replacing of all self-love by the love of our fellow-men2 a direction of the soul to ,god through man4 ,these two ways are in reality one2 and there is no other way1 if we search the whole world over1 in which we may attain rest4 ,simple as it sounds1 it is the very last way many of us seek4 ,we fight against this truth1 and it has to be beaten into us by pain4 ,clear as it seems1 it is a secret which is as difficult to discover as the ,elixir of ,life1 but it is so difficult because we do not will to discover it4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,the ,duty of ,happiness ,,november #aa ,i cannot think but that the world would be better and brighter if our teachers would dwell on the ,duty of ,happiness as well as the ,happiness of ,duty4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,reflect upon your present blessings1 of which every man has many2 not on your past misfortunes1 of which all men have some4 ,,dickens4 ,half the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness4 ,they think it consists in having and getting1 and in being served by others4 ,it consists in giving and in serving others4 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,discontent ,,november #ab ,he or she that is idle1 be they of what condition they will1 never so rich1 so well allied1 fortunate1 happy--let them have all things in abundance and felicity that heart can wish and desire1--all contentment--so long as he1 or she1 or they are idle1 they shall never be pleased1 never well in mind or body1 but weary still1 sickly still1 vexed still1 loathing still1 weeping1 sighing1 grieving1 suspecting1 offended with the world1 with every object1 wishing themselves gone or dead1 or else carried away with some foolish phantasy or other4 ,,burton4 ,we are never more discontented with others than when we are discontented with ourselves4 ,the consciousness of wrong-doing makes us irritable1 and our heart in its cunning quarrels with what is outside it1 in order that it may deafen the clamour within4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,look within4 ,within is the fountain of good1 and it will ever bubble up1 if thou wilt ever dig4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,self-centred ,people ,,november #ac ,it is self-centred people that are lonely--the richer the gift1 the richer the giver4 ,no one was ever the worse for giving4 ,f4 ,f4 ,,montresor4 ,misanthropy is always traceable to some vicious experience or imperception--to some false reading in the lore of right and wrong1 or it proceeds from positive defects in ourselves1 from a departure from things simple and pure1 whereby we forfeit happiness without losing the sense of the proper basis on which it rests2 yet even thus perverted by the prejudices of the world1 we still find a soothing pleasure in contemplating that happiness which belongs to simplicity and virtue4 ,,acton4 ,the largest and most comprehensive natures are generally the most cheerful1 the most loving1 the most hopeful1 the most trustful4 ,it is the wise man1 of large vision1 who is the quickest to discern the moral sunshine gleaming through the darkest cloud4 ,contentment ,,november #ad ,contentment comes neither by culture nor by wishing2 it is reconciliation with our lot1 growing out of an inward superiority to our surroundings4 ,j4 ,k4 ,,mclean4 ,if you wish to be miserable1 think about yourself1 about what you want1 what you like1 what respect people ought to pay you2 and then to you nothing will be pure4 ,you will spoil everything you touch1 you will make misery for yourself out of everything which ,god sends you3 you will be as wretched as you choose4 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,do not let your head run upon that which is none of your own1 but pick out some of the best of your circumstances1 and consider how eagerly you would wish for them1 were they not in your possession4 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,contentment ,,november #ae ,man seeks pleasure and self--great unforeseen results follow4 ,man seeks ,god and others--and there follows pleasure4 ,,arnold ,,toynbee4 ,the true felicity of life is to be free from perturbations2 to understand our duties towards ,god and man2 to enjoy the present without any serious dependence upon the future4 ,not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears1 but to rest satisfied with what we have4 ,the great blessings of mankind are within our reach2 but we shut our eyes1 and1 like people in the dark1 we fall foul upon the very thing we search for1 without finding it4 ,tranquillity is the state of human perfection1 it raises us as high as we can go1 and makes every man his own supporter2 whereas he that is borne up by anything else may fall4 ,he that judges right and perseveres in it1 enjoys a perpetual calm2 he takes a true prospect of things2 he observes an order1 measure1 a decorum in all his actions2 he has a benevolence in his nature2 and squares his life according to reason1 and draws to himself love and admiration4 ,without a certain and unchangeable judgment1 all the rest is but fluctuation4 ,liberty and serenity of mind must necessarily ensue upon the mastering of those things which either allure or affright us1 when1 instead of those flashy pleasures we shall find ourselves possessed of joys transporting and everlasting4 ,,seneca4 ,nothing can bring you peace but yourself1 nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principle4 ,,emerson4 ,discontent ,,november #af ,discontent is want of self-reliance2 it is infirmity of will4 ,,emerson4 ,to repel one's cross is to make it heavier4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,she had that rare sense which discerns what is unalterable2 and submits to it without murmuring4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,but for me1 ,what good ,i see1 humbly ,i seek to do1 ,and live obedient to the ,law1 in trust ,that what will come and shall come1 must come well4 ,the ,light of ,asia1 ,e4 ,,arnold4 ,magnifying ,troubles ,,november #ag ,another weight is the cares of life4 ,we keep so many which we might shake off1 that it is more than pitiful4 ,we encourage fears for our life1 our future1 our wealth1 till all our days are harassed out of peace1 till the very notion of trust in ,god is an absurdity4 ,we waste life away in petty details1 spending infinite trouble on transient things1 magnifying the gnats of life into elephants1 tormenting ourselves and others over household disturbances1 children1 servants1 little losses1 foolish presentiments1 our state of health1 our finances1--till every one around us is infected with our disease of fret and worry4 ,this is indeed to weight our soul4 ,our life with ,god1 our work for man1 are dragged to earth4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,i pack my troubles in as little compass as ,i can for myself1 and never let them annoy others4 ,,southey4 ,bearing ,trouble ,,november #ah ,once open the door to trouble1 and its visits are three-fold2 first1 anticipation2 second1 in actual presence2 third1 in living it over again4 ,therefore never anticipate trouble1 make as little of its presence as possible1 forget it as soon as past4 ,it is better to employ our minds in bearing the ills we have1 than in providing against those which may never befall us4 ,,la ,,rochefoucauld4 ,let us be of good cheer1 remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come4 ,,lowell4 ,if you want to be cheerful1 jes' set yer mind on it an' do it4 ,can't none of us help what traits we start out in life with1 but we kin help what we end up with4 ,when things first got to goin' wrong with me1 ,i says1 ',oh1 ,lord1 whatever comes1 keep me from gettin' sour4'444 ,since then ,i've made it a practice to put all my worries down in the bottom of my heart1 then set on the lid an' smile4 ,lovey ,mary1 ,,alice ,,hegan ,,rice4 ,the ,secret of the ,joy of ,living ,,november #ai ,we live not in our moments or our years-- ,the ,present we fling from us like the rind ,of some sweet ,future1 which we after find ,bitter to taste1 or bind that in with fears1 ,and water it beforehand with our tears-- ,vain tears for that which never may arrive3 ,meanwhile the joy whereby we ought to live1 ,neglected or unheeded1 disappears4 ,wiser it were to welcome and make ours ,whate'er of good1 tho' small1 the present brings-- ,kind greetings1 sunshine1 song of birds1 and flowers1 ,with a child's pure delight in little things2 ,and of the griefs unborn to rest secure1 ,knowing that mercy ever will endure4 ,archbishop ,,trench4 ,the secret of the joy of living is the proper appreciation of what we actually possess4 ,causes of ,thankfulness ,,november #bj ,i sleep1 ,i eat and drink1 ,i read and meditate1 ,i walk in my neighbour's pleasant fields1 and see the varieties of natural beauties1 and delight in all that in which ,god delights--that is1 in virtue and wisdom1 in the whole creation1 and in ,god ,himself4 ,and he that hath so many causes of joy1 and so great1 is very much in love with sorrow and peevishness1 who loses all these pleasures1 and chooses to sit down upon his little handful of thorns4 ,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,where much is given1 much shall be required4 ,there are never privileges to enjoy without corresponding duties to fulfil in return4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,thou that hast given so much to me1 ,give one thing more--a grateful heart4 ,,george ,,herbert4 ,causes of ,thankfulness ,,november #ba ,,on ,,leaving ,a ,,home ,,for ,,incurables ,it didn't seem much to be able to walk away1 to look back1 to remember what we had seen2 and yet how is it that we are not on our knees in gratitude and thankfulness for every active motion of the body1 every word we speak1 every intelligent experience and interest that passes through our minds8 ,miss ,,thackeray4 ,nothing raises the price of a blessing like its removal2 whereas1 it was its continuance which should have taught us its value4 ,,hannah ,,more4 ,o ,god1 animate us to cheerfulness6 ,may we have a joyful sense of our blessings1 learn to look on the bright circumstances of our lot1 and maintain a perpetual contentedness4 ,,channing4 ,grumbling ,,november #bb ,his eyes were bright with intelligence and trained powers of observation2 and they were beautiful with kindliness1 and with the well-bred habit of giving complete attention to other people and their affairs when he talked with them4 ,he had a rare smile 444 but the real beauty of such mouths as his comes from the lips being restrained into firm and sensitive lines1 through years of self-control and fine sympathies4444 ,under-bred and ill-educated women are1 as a general rule1 much less good-looking than well-bred and highly-educated ones1 especially in middle life2 not because good features and pretty complexions belong to one class more than to another1 but because nicer personal habits and stricter discipline of the mind do4444 ,and if1 into the bargain1 a woman has nothing to talk about but her own and her neighbour's everyday affairs1 and nothing to think about to keep her from continually talking1 life1 my dear child1 is so full of little rubs1 that constant chatter of this kind must almost certainly be constant grumbling4 ,and constant grumbling makes an ugly under-lip1 a forehead wrinkled with frowning1 and dull eyes that see nothing but grievances4 ,a ,bad ,habit1 ,mrs4 ,,ewing4 ,grumbling ,,november #bc ,cultivate the habit of never putting disagreeables into words1 even if it be only the weather which is in question2 also of never drawing other people's attention to words or things which will irritate them4 ,,lucy ,,soulsby4 ,a cucumber is bitter--,throw it away4--,there are briars in the road--,turn aside from them4--,this is enough4 ,do not add1 ,and why were such things made in the world8 ,,marcus ,,aurelius4 ,patience under adverse circumstances will often bring about favourable results1 while complaint only accentuates and fixes the cause of complaint4 ,avoid mention of the disagreeable things that may come into your life4 ,if you cannot be patient you can at least be silent4 ,the secret of success lies not so much in knowing what to say as in what to avoid saying4 ,grumbling ,,november #bd ,if you have not slept1 or if you have slept1 or if you have a headache1 or sciatica1 or leprosy1 or thunder-stroke1 ,i beseech you by all the angels to hold your peace1 and not pollute the morning1 to which all the housemates bring serene and pleasant thoughts1 by corruptions and groans4 ,,emerson4 ,walk thy way greatly6 ,so do thou endure ,thy small1 thy narrow1 dwarfed and cankered life1 ,that soothing ,patience shall be half the cure ,for ills that lesser souls keep sore with strife4 ,c4 ,,greene4 ,our personal interests1 by the force of their importunity1 exclude all larger sympathies if these are not already matured before the conflict begins4 ,in the press of the world we lose sight of life1 if the life is not within us4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,grumblers ,,november #be ,there is a sect1 unfortunately known to most in this land1 under the denomination of ,grumblers1 whose fundamental maxim is--whatever is1 is wrong4 ,wherever they are found1 and they are found almost everywhere1 they operate as a social poison2 and though they contrive to embitter the enjoyments of everybody about them1 they perpetually assume that themselves are the only aggrieved persons1 and with such art as to be believed1 till thoroughly known4 ,they have often some excellent qualities1 and the appearance of many amiable ones2 but rank selfishness is their chief characteristic1 accompanied by inordinate pride and vanity4 ,they have a habit of laying the consequences of their own sins1 whether of omission or of commission1 upon others2 and1 covered with faults1 they flatter themselves they 'walk blameless4' ,where their selfishness1 pride1 or vanity are interested1 they exhibit signs of boundless zeal1 attention1 and affection1 to which those who are not aware of their motives1 are the dupes2 but the very moment their predominant feelings are offended1 they change from ,april to ,december4 ,they have smiles and tears at command for their holiday humour2 but in 'the winter of their discontent1' there is no safety from the bitterest blasts4 ,their grievances are seldom real1 or if real1 are grossly exaggerated1 and are generally attributed to themselves2 for1 absorbed in their own feelings1 they are wonderful losers of opportunities4 ,in conclusion1 ,i think it would be for their advantage1 as it certainly would be for that of the rest of the world1 if they were made subject to some severe discipline2 and ,i would suggest for the first1 second1 and third offence1 bread and water and the treadmill1 for one1 two1 and three months respectively2 for the fourth offence1 transportation for seven years to ,boothia ,felix1 or some such climate2 and any subsequent delinquency ,i would make capital1 and cause the criminal to be shut up with some offender in equal degree1 there to grumble each other to death4 ,the ,original1 ,,thomas ,,walker4 ,cheerfulness ,,november #bf ',tis a ,dutch proverb that 'paint costs nothing1' such are its preserving qualities in damp climates4 ,well1 sunshine costs less1 yet is finer pigment4 ,and so of cheerfulness1 or a good temper1 the more it is spent1 the more of it remains4 ,,emerson4 ,mirth is like a flash of lightning that breaks through a gloom of clouds and glitters for a moment4 ,cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity4 ,,addison4 ,always laugh when you can2 it is a cheap medicine4 ,merriment is a philosophy not well understood4 ,it is the sunny side of existence4 ,,byron4 ,fortune will call at the smiling gate4 ,japanese ,proverb4 ,humour ,,november #bg ,the sense of humour is the oil of life's engine4 ,without it1 the machinery creaks and groans4 ,no lot is so hard1 no aspect of things is so grim1 but it relaxes before a hearty laugh4 ,g4 ,s4 ,,merriam4 ,it was a novel with a purpose1 and its purpose was to show that it is only by righteousness that men and nations prevail2 also that there is much that is humorous in life as well as much that is holy1 and that healing virtue lies in laughter as well as in prayers and tears4 ,isabel ,carnaby1 ,,ellen ,,thorneycroft ,,fowler4 ,i dare not tell you how high ,i rate humour1 which is generally most fruitful in the highest and most solemn human spirits4 ,dante is full of it1 ,shakespeare1 ,cervantes1 and almost all the greatest have been pregnant with this glorious power4 ,you will find it even in the ,gospel of ,christ4 ,tennyson--a ,memoir1 by his ,son4 ,humour ,,november #bh ,gird up the loins of your mind1 be sober4 #a ,,peter i4 #ac4 ,a merry heart doeth good like a medicine4 ,,prov4 xvii4 #bb4 ,gravity 444 ,i mean simply that grave and serious way of looking at life which1 while it never repels the true light-heartedness of pure and trustful hearts1 welcomes into a manifest sympathy the souls of men who are oppressed and burdened1 anxious and full of questions which for the time at least have banished all laughter from their faces4444 ,gravity has a delicate power of discrimination4 ,it attracts all that it can help1 and it repels all that could harm it or be harmed by it4 ,it admits the earnest and simple with a cordial welcome4 ,it shuts out the impertinent and insincere inexorably4 ,the gravity of which ,i speak is not inconsistent with the keenest perception of the ludicrous side of things4 ,it is more than consistent with--it is even necessary to--humour4 ,humour involves the perception of the true proportions of life4444 ,it has softened the bitterness of controversy a thousand times4 ,you cannot encourage it too much4 ,you cannot grow too familiar with the books of all ages which have in them the truest humour1 for the truest humour is the bloom of the highest life4 ,read ,george ,eliot and ,thackeray1 and1 above all1 ,shakespeare4 ,they will help you to keep from extravagances without fading into insipidity4 ,they will preserve your gravity while they save you from pompous solemnity4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,beauties of ,nature ,,november #bi ,there are few of us that are not rather ashamed of our sins and follies as we look out on the blessed morning sunlight1 which comes to us like a bright-winged angel beckoning us to quit the old path of vanity that stretches its dreary length behind us4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,that man is blessed who every day is permitted to behold anything so pure and serene as the western sky at sunset1 while revolutions vex the world4 ,,thoreau4 ,so then believe that every bird that sings1 ,and every flower that stars the elastic sod1 ,and every thought the happy summer brings ,to the pure spirit is a word of ,god4 ,,coleridge4 ,sense of the ,beautiful ,,november #cj ,no man receives the true culture of a man in whom the sensibility to the beautiful is not cherished2 and ,i know of no condition in life from which it should be excluded4 ,of all luxuries this is cheapest and the most to hand2 and it seems to me to be the most important to those conditions where coarse labour tends to give a grossness to the mind4 ,from the diffusion of the sense of beauty in ancient ,greece1 and of the taste for music in modern ,germany1 we learn that the people at large may partake of refined gratifications which have hitherto been thought to be necessarily restricted to a few4 ,,channing4 ,music--there is something very wonderful in music4 ,words are wonderful enough1 but music is more wonderful4 ,it speaks not to our thoughts as words do1 it speaks straight to our hearts and spirits1 to the very core and root of our souls4 ,music soothes us1 stirs us up2 it puts noble feelings into us2 it melts us to tears1 we know not how2 it is a language by itself1 just as perfect1 in its way1 as speech1 as words2 just as divine1 just as blessed4 ,music has been called the speech of angels2 ,i will go farther1 and call it the speech of ,god ,himself4 ,the old ,greeks1 the wisest of all the heathen1 made a point of teaching their children music1 because1 they said1 it taught them not to be self-willed and fanciful1 but to see the beauty of order1 the usefulness of rule1 the divineness of law4 ,good ,news of ,god ,sermons1 ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,the ,gospel of ,beauty ,,december #a ,beauty is far too much neglected4 ,it never belongs to criticism2 it ought by right to be always bound up with creation4 ,what it is1 is hard to define2 but1 whenever anything in nature or in the thoughts and doings of man awakens a noble desire of seeing more of it2 kindles pure love of it2 seems to open out before us an infinite of it which allures us into an endless pursuit2 stimulates reverence1 and makes the heart leap with joy--there is beauty1 and with it always is imagination1 the shaping power4 ,the capacity for seeing beauty with the heart is one of the first necessities for such a life in a living world as ,i now urge upon you4 ,when you see it1 you always see more and more of it4 ,and the more you see it1 the more love and reverence you will feel in your heart2 and the less you will care to criticise1 and the more you will care to create4 ,the world needs it now1 and the glory of it1 more almost than anything else1 for nearly all the world has lost the power of seeing it4 ,the monied men want it2 the scientific men want it2 the artists themselves have of late betrayed it2 the business men want it4 ,the middle-class and the aristocracy are almost destitute of it2 the working men abide in conditions in which its outward forms are absent4 ,to give them the power to see all that is lovely in nature1 in human thought1 in art1 and in the noble acts of men--that is a great part of your work1 and you should realise it1 and shape it day by day4 ,the ,gospel of ,joy1 ,,stopford ,,brooke4 ,nature ,,december #b ,to the body and mind which have been cramped by noxious work or company1 nature is medicinal1 and restores their tone4 ,the tradesman1 the attorney1 comes out of the din and craft of the street1 and sees the sky and the woods1 and is a man again4 ,in their eternal calm1 he finds himself4 ,,emerson4 ,nature is loved by what is best in us4 ,,emerson4 ,rest is not idleness1 and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day1 listening to the murmur of water1 or watching the clouds float across the sky1 is by no means waste of time4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,nature ,,december #c ,the unobtrusive influences of earth1 sea1 and sky do their work4 ,they pass imperceptibly and unsought into the soul4 444 ,outdoor sights ,sweep gradual gospels in4 ,bid me work1 but may no tie ,keep me from the open sky 7,barnes74 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,the cheerfulness of heart which springs up in us from the survey of ,nature's works1 is an admirable preparation for gratitude4 ,the mind has gone a great way towards praise and thanksgiving that is filled with such a secret gladness3 a grateful reflection on the ,supreme ,cause who produces it1 sanctifies the soul1 and gives it its proper value4 ,such an habitual disposition of mind consecrates every field and wood1 turns an ordinary walk into a morning or evening sacrifice1 and will improve those transient gleams of joy1 which naturally brighten up and refresh the soul on such occasions1 into an inviolable and perpetual state of bliss and happiness4 ,,addison4 ,holidays ,,december #d ,there are only two rules for a successful holiday2 the first is to earn it1 the second is to have just enough holiday to make the prospect of work pleasant4 ,periods of rest we all need1 but labour and not rest is the synonym of life4 ,from these periods of rest we should return with a new appetite for the duties of common life4 ,if we return dissatisfied1 enervated1 without heart for work1 we may be sure our holiday has been a failure4 ,if we return with the feeling that it is good to plunge into the mid-stream of life again1 we may know by this sign that we are morally braced and strengthened by our exodus4 ,the wise man will never allow his holiday to be a time of mere idleness4 ,he will turn again to the books that interest him1 he will touch the fringe of some science for which his holiday gives him opportunity1 or he will plunge into physical recreation1 and shake off the evil humours of the body in active exercise4 ,the failure of holidays lies very much in the fact that nothing of this sort is attempted4 ,the holiday is simply a series of aimless days1 and the natural result is ennui4 ,the supreme purpose of a holiday should be to regain possession of ourselves4 ,he who does this comes back from his holiday as from a sanctuary4 ,w4 ,j4 ,,dawson4 ,books ,,december #e ,but what strange art1 what magic can dispose ,the troubled mind to change its native woes8 ,or lead us willing from ourselves1 to see ,others more wretched1 more undone than we8 ,this1 ,books can do2--nor this alone1 they give ,new views to life1 and teach us how to live2 ,they soothe the grieved1 the stubborn they chastise1 ,fools they admonish1 and confirm the wise3 ,their aid they yield to all3 they never shun ,the man of sorrow1 nor the wretch undone3 ,unlike the hard1 the selfish and the proud1 ,they fly not sullen from the suppliant crowd2 ,nor tell to various people various things1 ,but show to subjects1 what they show to kings4 ,the ,library1 ,,crabbe4 ,books ,,december #f ,narrowness may be met by recourse to the larger life revealed in ,literature4 ,there is no stronger plea for ,biography1 ,drama1 or ,romance1 or for any imaginative expansion of interests1 than that founded upon the need for them as counteractives of the pitiable contractedness of outlook begotten of ,division of ,labour4 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,when ,i consider what some books have done for the world1 and what they are doing1 how they keep up our hope1 awaken new courage and faith1 soothe pain1 give an ideal life to those whose hours are cold and hard1 bind together distant ages and foreign lands1 create new worlds of beauty1 bring down truth from heaven2 ,i give eternal blessings for this gift1 and thank ,god for books4 ,,james ,,freeman ,,clarke4 ,reading ,,december #g ,reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge2 it is thinking makes what we read ours4 ,we are of the ruminating kind1 and it is not enough to cram ourselves with a great load of collections2 unless we chew them over again they will not give us strength and nourishment4 ,,locke4 ,in the course of our reading we should lay up in our minds a store of goodly thoughts in well-wrought words1 which should be a living treasure of knowledge always with us1 and from which1 at various times1 and amidst all the shifting of circumstances1 we might be sure of drawing some comfort1 guidance1 and sympathy4 ,,helps4 ,the ,object of ,education ,,december #h ,we shall be agreed1 ,i assume1 that the object of ,education is to train for life1 and not for a special occupation2 to train the whole man for all life1 for life seen and unseen1 for the unseen through the seen and in the seen2 to train men in a word and not craftsmen1 to train citizens for the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,as we believe in ,god and the world to come1 these must be master thoughts4 ,we shall be agreed further that with this object in view1 education must be so ordered as to awaken1 to call into play1 to develop1 to direct1 to strengthen powers of sense and intellect and spirit1 not of one but of all3 to give alertness and accuracy to observation3 to supply fulness and precision to language3 to arouse intelligent sympathy with every form of study and occupation3 to set the many parts and aspects of the world before the growing scholar in their unity3 to open the eyes of the heart to the eternal of which the temporal is the transitory sign4 ,we shall be agreed again that the elements of restraint alike and of personal development which enter into education will be used to harmonise the social and individual instincts1 and to inspire the young1 when impressions are most easy and most enduring1 with the sense of fellowship and the passion for service4 ,we shall be agreed once more that the noblest fruit of education is character1 and not acquirements3 character which makes the simplest life rich and beneficent1 character which for a ,christian is determined by a true vision of ,god1 of whom1 through whom1 unto whom1 are all things4 ,christian ,social ,union ,addresses1 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,the ,object of ,education ,,december #i ,the entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things1 but enjoy the right things--not merely industrious1 but to love industry--not merely learned1 but to love knowledge--not merely pure1 but to love purity--not merely just1 but to hunger and thirst after justice4 ,the ,crown of ,wild ,olive1 ,,john ,,ruskin4 ,our great mistake in education is1 as it seems to me1 the worship of book-learning--the confusion of instruction and education4 ,we strain the memory instead of cultivating the mind4444 ,the important thing is not so much that every child should be taught1 as that every child should be given the wish to learn4444 ,if we succeed in giving the love of learning1 the learning itself is sure to follow4 ,lord ,,avebury4 ,a ,happy ,childhood ,,december #aj ,a happy childhood is one of the best gifts that parents have it in their power to bestow2 second only to implanting the habit of obedience which puts the child in training for the habit of obeying himself1 later on4 ,diana ,tempest1 ,,mary ,,cholmondeley4 ,the main duty of those who care for the young is to secure their wholesome1 their entire growth2 for health is just the development of the whole nature in its due sequences and proportions3 first the blade--then the ear--then1 and not till then1 the full corn in the ear2 and thus1 as ,dr4 ,temple wisely says1 'not to forget wisdom in teaching knowledge4' ,if the blade be forced1 and usurp the capital it inherits2 if it be robbed by you1 its guardian1 of its birthright1 or squandered like a spendthrift1 then there is not any ear1 much less any corn2 if the blade be blasted or dwarfed in our haste and greed for the full shock and its price1 we spoil all three4 ,it is not easy to keep this always before one's mind1 that the young 'idea' is in a young body1 and that healthy growth and harmless passing of the time are more to be cared for than what is vainly called accomplishment4 ,dr4 ,,john ,,brown4 ,moral ,education ,december #aa ,remember that the aim of your discipline should be to produce a self-governing being1 not to produce a being to be governed by others4 ,were your children fated to pass their lives as slaves1 you could not too much accustom them to slavery during their childhood2 but as they are by-and-by to be free men1 with no one to control their daily conduct1 you cannot too much accustom them to self-control while they are still under your eye4 ,this is it which makes the system of discipline by natural consequences so especially appropriate to the social state which we in ,england have now reached4 ,in feudal times1 when one of the chief evils the citizen had to fear was the anger of his superiors1 it was well that during childhood parental vengeance should be a chief means of government4 ,but now that the citizen has little to fear from any one--now that the good or evil which he experiences is mainly that which in the order of things results from his own conduct1 he should from his first years begin to learn1 experimentally1 the good or evil consequences which naturally follow this or that conduct4 ,aim1 therefore1 to diminish the parental government1 as fast as you can substitute for it in your child's mind that self-government arising from a foresight of results4444 ,all transitions are dangerous2 and the most dangerous is the transition from the restraint of the family circle to the non-restraint of the world4 ,hence the importance of pursuing the policy we advocate1 which1 by cultivating a boy's faculty of self-restraint1 by continually increasing the degree in which he is left to his self-restraint1 and by so bringing him1 step by step1 to a state of unaided self-restraint1 obliterates the ordinary sudden and hazardous change from externally-governed youth to internally-governed maturity4 ,let the history of your domestic rule typify1 in little1 the history of our political rule4 ,at the outset1 autocratic control1 where control is really needful2 by-and-by an incipient constitutionalism1 in which the liberty of the subject gains some express recognition2 successive extensions of this liberty of the subject1 gradually ending in parental abdication4 ,education1 ,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,moral ,education ,,december #ab ,self-government with tenderness1--here you have the condition of all authority over children4 ,the child must discover in us no passion1 no weakness of which he can make use2 he must feel himself powerless to deceive or to trouble us2 then he will recognise in us his natural superiors1 and he will attach a special value to our kindness1 because he will respect it4 ,the child who can rouse in us anger1 or impatience1 or excitement1 feels himself stronger than we1 and a child only respects strength4 ,the mother should consider herself as her child's sun1 a changeless and ever radiant world1 whither the small restless creature1 quick at tears and laughter1 light1 fickle1 passionate1 full of storms1 may come for fresh stores of light1 warmth and electricity1 of calm and of courage4 ,the mother represents goodness1 providence1 law2 that is to say1 the divinity under that form of it which is accessible to childhood4 ,if she is herself passionate1 she will inculcate on her child a capricious and despotic ,god1 or even several discordant gods4 ,the religion of a child depends on what its mother and its father are1 and not on what they say4 ,the inner and unconscious ideal which guides their life is precisely what touches the child2 their words1 their remonstrances1 their punishments1 their bursts of feeling1 even1 are for him merely thunder and comedy2 what they worship--this it is which his instinct divines and reflects4 ,the child sees what we are1 behind what we wish to be4 ,hence his reputation as a physiognomist4 ,he extends his power as far as he can with each of us2 he is the most subtle of diplomatists4 ,unconsciously he passes under the influence of each person about him1 and reflects it while transforming it after his own nature4 ,he is a magnifying mirror4 ,this is why the first principle of education is3 train yourself2 and the first rule to follow if you wish to possess yourself of a child's will is3 master your own4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,moral ,education ,,december #ac ,all wise teachers1 ,i believe1 recognise now that the best way of dealing with naughty children is to absorb their whole attention with some interest1 which will not only leave no energy to spare for naughtiness1 but will of itself tend to organise their minds1 to subordinate mental elements to a purpose1 and so to develop character4 ,the ,standard of ,life1 ,mrs4 ,,bernard ,,bosanquet4 ,discipline1 like the bridle in the hand of a good rider1 should exercise its influence without appearing to do so1 should be ever active1 both as a support and as a restraint1 yet seem to lie easily in hand4 ,it must be always ready to check or to pull up1 as occasion may require2 and only when the horse is a runaway1 should the action of the curb be perceptible4 ,guesses at ,truth1 edited by ,archdeacon ,,hare4 ,if ',pas trop gouverner' is the best rule in politics1 it is equally true of discipline4 ,children's ,rights1 ,,kate ,,douglas ,,wiggin4 ,punishment ,,december #ad ,punishments1 then1 must in the first place be proportionate to the offence1 lest1 by an undiscriminating severity or an undiscriminating leniency1 distinctions of moral desert be blurred or effaced4 ,secondly1 they must be analogous to the offence4 ,the greedy must be starved1 the insolent humbled1 the idle compelled to work4 ,otherwise the imposition will not effectually go home to the offender4 ,thirdly1 punishments ought to be exemplary4 ,since they needs must come1 it is not enough that they should simply open the eyes of the culprit1 by giving him his deserts4 ,they must be utilised as object-lessons for the behoof of that large class1 the culprits in potentiality4 ,fourthly1 they ought to be economical4 ',it is good that they should suffer1' we sometimes say2 and so it is1 so long as suffering1 in itself always an evil1 do not exceed the quantum that is lamentably needful1 needful1 that is1 to vindicate authority1 to stigmatise the offence1 and to impress the offender4 ,fifthly1 punishments ought to be reformatory4 ,not only must they never1 by vindictiveness in him who gives1 and degradation in him who receives1 impair the instincts and resolves for a better life2 they must be devised in the belief1 or at least in the hope1 that these instincts and resolves exist1 though they may be inhibited by the evil proclivities which punishment is meant to crush4 ,the killing of what is bad must always look to the liberation of what is good4 ,finally1 punishments ought to insist upon1 and to define indemnity1 so that the wrong-doer1 in things small or great1 may be forced to repair1 so far as this is possible1 the irreparable mischief which offence implies4 ,the ,making of ,character1 ,professor ,,maccunn4 ,rebuking ,,december #ae ,the gentleness of our ,lord in rebuking1 has an effect which gentleness often has1 it awakens compunctions in those to whom it is shown4 ,a child1 who by severity is set on its defence or drawn into falsehood1 is often melted into full confession by being loved and trusted more than it deserves4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,our ,lord's reply is again gentle2 to be hard on a fault that was confessed would have dried up that confidence which flowed so freely4 ,pastor ,pastorum1 ,,henry ,,latham4 ,better make penitents by gentleness than hypocrites by severity4 ,s4 ,,francis ,,de ,,sales4 ,example ,,december #af ,children have more need of models than of critics4 ,,joubert4 ,it is by imitation1 far more than by precept1 that we learn everything2 and what we learn thus we acquire not only more effectually1 but more pleasantly4 ,this forms our manners1 our opinions1 our lives4 ,,burke4 ,meanwhile there is much that we can do4 ,it need not be said that home is the most effective school of character4 ,on the duties of home ,i cannot dwell now4 ,but there is a more general influence of common tone and habits of which serious account ought to be taken4 ,we are at all times unconsciously educating others by our own example4 ,our standard of duty in the discharge of business and in the use of leisure necessarily influences the desires and the actions of those who look to us for guidance4 ,the young are quick-eyed critics1 and the sight of quiet devotion to work1 of pleasure sought in common things--and all truly precious things are common--will enforce surely and silently some great lessons of school4 ,we do not1 as far as ,i can judge1 rate highly enough our responsibility for the customary practices of society4 ,not infrequently we neutralise our teaching through want of imagination by failing to follow out the consequences of some traditional custom4 ,we seem to be inconsiderate when we are only ignorant4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,wealth ,,december #ag ,christ did not denounce wealth any more than ,he denounced pauperism4 ,he did not abhor money2 ,he used it4 ,he did not abhor the company of rich men2 ,he sought it4 ,he did not invariably scorn or even resent a certain profuseness of expenditure4 ,with a fine discrimination1 ,he1 while habitually discouraging it1 yet recognised that1 here and there1 there was place for it4 ,what he denounced was the love of1 the lust of riches2 the vulgar snobbishness that chose exclusively the fellowship or the ways of rich men2 the habit of extravagance2 in one word1 greed and luxury and self-indulgence4 ,he taught men1 first of all and last of all1 that they were stewards1 that in the final analysis of men and things neither they nor theirs were their own4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we must not only affirm the brotherhood of man3 we must live it4 ,for then the ,state1 and in the ,state1 the home1 the ,church1 and the individual shall become the incarnation of a regenerated humanity1 and earth1 this earth1 our earth1 here and to-day1 the vestibule of heaven6 ,the ,citizen in ,relation to the ,industrial ,situation1 ,bishop ,,potter4 ,the ,limit of ,luxury ,,december #ah ,the expenditure of money is no easy matter4 ,it is wrong to let the poor want4 ,it is wrong to starve the nature which asks for other things than food4 ,there is only one principle of guidance4 ,whatever is done must be done in thought for others1 and not in thought for ourselves4 ,money on luxuries which end in ourselves is wrongly spent2 money spent on luxuries--on scents1 sounds and sights--which directly or indirectly pass on to others is rightly spent4 ,the limit of luxury is the power of sharing4 ,the ,service of ,god1 ,canon ,,barnett4 ,all that depends on individual choice--our recreations1 our expenditure--can be brought to one test1 which we are generally able to apply3 ,does this or that help me to do my work more effectively8 ,to us most literally1 even if the confession overwhelms us with shame1 whatsoever is not of faith is sin4 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,imitate a little child4444 ,while you gather and use this world's goods with one hand1 always let your other be fast in your ,heavenly ,father's hand1 and look round from time to time1 and make sure that ,he is satisfied4 ,s4 ,,francis ,,de ,,sales4 ,expenditure ,,december #ai ,i will take heart to lay down what ,i hold to be a fundamental rule1 that1 while we endeavour to gain the largest and keenest power of appreciating all that is noblest in nature and art and literature1 we must seek to live on as little as will support the full vigour of our life and work4 ,the standard cannot be fixed4 ,it will necessarily vary1 within certain limits1 according to the nature and office of each man4 ,but generally we shall strive diligently to suppress all wants which do not tend through their satisfaction to create a nobler type of manhood1 and individually we shall recognise no wants which do not express what is required for the due cultivation of our own powers and the fulfilment of that which we owe to others4 ,we shall guard ourselves against the temptations of artificial wants which the ingenuity of producers offers in seductive forms4 ,we shall refuse to admit that the caprice of fashion represents any valuable element in our constitution1 or calls into play any faculties which would otherwise be unused1 or encourages industry4 ,on the contrary1 we shall see in the dignity and changelessness of ,eastern dress a typical condemnation of our restless inconstancy4 ,we shall perceive1 and act as perceiving1 that the passion for novelty is morally and materially wasteful3 that it distracts and confuses our power of appreciating true beauty3 that it tends to the constant displacement of labour3 that it produces instability both in the manufacture and in the sale of goods to the detriment of economy4 ,we shall1 to sum up all in one master-principle1 estimate value and costs in terms of life1 as ,mr4 ,ruskin has taught us2 and1 accepting this principle1 we shall seek nothing of which the cost to the producer so measured exceeds the gain to ourselves4 ,christian ,social ,union ,addresses1 ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,money ,,december #bj ,if money be not thy servant1 it will be thy master4 ,the covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth1 as that wealth may be said to possess him4 ,,bacon4 ,the covetous man is like the camel1 with a great haunch on his back2 heaven's gate must be made higher and broader1 or he will hardly get in4 ,,adams4 ,who shuts his hand hath lost his gold1 ,who opens it hath it twice told4 ,,george ,,herbert4 ,wealth in every form1 material1 intellectual1 moral1 has to be administered for the common good4 ,god only can say of any possession ',my own4' ,bishop ,,westcott4 ,courage to be ,poor ,,december #ba ,how the sting of poverty1 or small means1 is gone when one keeps house for one's own comfort1 and not for the comfort of one's neighbours4 ,,dinah ,,maria ,,muloch4 ,i wish that more of us had the courage to be poor2 that the world had not gone mad after fashion and display2 but so it is1 and the blessings we might have are lost in the effort to get those which lie outside the possible4 ,,alice ,,carey4 ,to have what we want is riches2 but to be able to do without is power4 ,,george ,,macdonald4 ,hospitality ,,december #bb ,the truest hospitality is shown not in the effort to entertain1 but in the depth of welcome4 ,what a guest loves to come for1 and come again1 is not the meal1 but those who sit at the meal4 ,if we remembered this1 more homes would be habitually thrown open to win the benedictions upon hospitality4 ,it is our ceremony1 not our poverty1 it is self-consciousness oftener than inability to be agreeable that makes us willing to live cloistered4 ,seldom is it that pleasantest homes to visit are the richest4 ,the real compliment is not to apologise for the simple fare4 ,that means trust1 and trust is better than fried oysters4 ,w4 ,c4 ,,gannett4 ,hospitality must be for service1 and not for show1 or it pulls down the host4 ,,emerson4 ,hospitality ,,december #bc ,i pray you1 ,o excellent wife1 not to cumber yourself and me to get a rich dinner for this man or this woman who has alighted at our gate1 nor a bedchamber made ready at too great a cost4 ,these things1 if they are curious in1 they can get for a dollar at any village4 ,but let this stranger1 if he will1 in your looks1 in your accent and behaviour1 read in your heart and earnestness1 your thought and will1 which he cannot buy at any price in any village or city1 and which he may well travel fifty miles and dine sparely and sleep hard in order to behold4 ,certainly1 let the board be spread and let the bed be dressed for the traveller2 but let not the emphasis of hospitality lie in these things4 ,honour to the house where they are simple to the verge of hardship1 so that there the intellect is awake and reads the laws of the universe4 ,,emerson4 ,i should count myself fortunate if my home were remembered for some inspiring quality of faith1 charity and aspiring intelligence4 ,,hamilton ,w4 ,,mabie4 ,christmas ,eve ,,december #bd ,a ,,christmas ,,carol ,it chanced upon the merry1 merry ,christmas ,eve1 ,i went sighing past the church across the moorland dreary-- ',oh6 never sin and want and woe this earth will leave1 ,and the bells but mock the wailing rounds1 they sing so cheery4 ,how long1 ,o ,lord6 how long before ,thou come again6 ,still in cellar1 and in garret1 and on moorland dreary ,the orphans moan1 and widows weep1 and poor men toil in vain1 ,till earth is sick of hope deferred1 though ,christmas bells be cheery4' ,then arose a joyous clamour from the wild-fowl on the mere1 ,beneath the stars1 across the snow1 like clear bells ringing1 ,and a voice within cried1--',listen6 ,christmas carols even here6 ,tho' thou be dumb1 yet o'er their work the stars and snows are singing4 ,blind6 ,i live1 ,i love1 ,i reign2 and all the nations through1 ,with the thunder of my judgments even now are ringing2 ,do thou fulfil thy work but as yon wild-fowl do1 ,thou wilt heed no less the wailing1 yet hear through it angels singing4' ,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,christmas ,day ,,december #be ,and now once more comes ,christmas ,day4 ,once more1 borne abroad on the words of simple-minded shepherds1 runs the story4 ,god and man have met1 in visible1 actual union1 in a life which is both human and divine4444 ,lift up yourselves to the great meaning of the ,day1 and dare to think of your ,humanity as something so sublimely precious that it is worthy of being made an offering to ,god4 ,count it a privilege to make that offering as complete as possible1 keeping nothing back1 and then go out to the pleasures and duties of your life1 having been truly born anew into ,his ,divinity1 as ,he was born into our ,humanity1 on ,christmas ,day4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,let not the hearts1 whose sorrow cannot call ,this ,christmas merry1 slight the festival2 ,let us be merry that may merry be1 ,but let us not forget that many mourn2 ,the smiling ,baby came to give us glee1 ,but for the weepers was the ,saviour born4 ,,coleridge4 ,mile-marks ,,december #bf ,but ,christmas is not only the mile-mark of another year1 moving us to thoughts of self-examination3 it is a season1 from all its associations1 whether domestic or religious1 suggesting thoughts of joy4 ,a man dissatisfied with his endeavours is a man tempted to sadness4 ,and in the midst of the winter1 when his life runs lowest and he is reminded of the empty chairs of his beloved1 it is well he should be condemned to this fashion of the smiling face4 ,noble disappointment1 noble self-denial1 are not to be admired1 not even to be pardoned1 if they bring bitterness4 ,it is one thing to enter the kingdom of heaven maimed2 another to maim yourself and stay without4 ,and the kingdom of heaven is of the childlike1 of those who are easy to please1 who love and who give pleasure4 ,across the ,plains1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,growing ,old ,,december #bg ,to grow old is more difficult than to die1 because to renounce a good once and for all1 costs less than to renew the sacrifice day by day and in detail4 ,to bear with one's own decay1 to accept one's own lessening capacity1 is a harder and rarer virtue than to face death4 ,there is a halo round tragic and premature death2 there is but a long sadness in declining strength4 ,but look closer3 so studied1 a resigned and religious old age will often move us more than the heroic ardour of young years4 ,the maturity of the soul is worth more than the first brilliance of its faculties1 or the plenitude of its strength1 and the eternal in us can but profit from all the ravages made by time4 ,there is comfort in this thought4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,to know how to grow old is the master-work of wisdom1 and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,old ,age ,,december #bh ,we must not take the faults of our youth into our old age2 for old age brings with it its own faults4 ,,goethe4 ,it is only to the finest natures that age gives an added beauty and distinction2 for the most persistent self has then worked its way to the surface1 having modified the expression1 and to some extent1 the features1 to its own likeness4 ,,mathilde ,,blind4 ,the most beautiful existence1 it seems to me1 would be that of a river which should get through all its rapids and waterfalls not far from its rising1 and should then in its widening course form a succession of rich valleys1 and in each of them a lake equally but diversely beautiful1 to end1 after the plains of age were past1 in the ocean where all that is weary and heavy-laden comes to seek for rest4 ,amiel's ,journal4 ,the ,love and ,grace and ,tenderness of ,life ,,december #bi ,neither toil1 nor the end of toil in oneself or in the world1 is all vanity1 in spite of the preacher2 but there is enough vanity in both to make one sit loose to them4 ,what seems to grow fairer to me as life goes by is the love and grace and tenderness of it2 not its wit and cleverness and grandeur of knowledge--grand as knowledge is--but just the laughter of little children and the friendship of friends1 the cosy talk by the fireside1 the sight of flowers and the sound of music4 ,j4 ,r4 ,,green4 ,life is sweet1 brother4444 ,there's night and day1 brother1 both sweet things2 sun1 moon and stars1 brother1 all sweet things2 there's likewise the wind on the heath4 ,life is very sweet1 brother2 who would wish to die8 ,,borrow4 ,a ,prayer ,,december #cj ,be patient still2 suffer us yet a while longer2 with our broken purposes of good1 with our idle endeavours against evil1 suffer us a while longer to endure1 and 7if it may be7 help us to do better4 ,bless to us our extraordinary mercies2 if the day come when these must be taken1 brace us to play the man under affliction4 ,be with our friends2 be with ourselves4 ,go with each of us to rest2 if any dream1 be their dreams quiet2 if any awake1 temper to them the dark hours of watching2 and when the day returns1 return to us our sun and comforter1 and call us up with morning faces and with morning hearts--eager to labour--eager to be happy1 if happiness shall be our portion--and if the day be marked for sorrow1 strong to endure it4 ,vailima ,prayers1 ,r4 ,l4 ,,stevenson4 ,new ,year's ,eve ,,december #ca ,ring out1 wild bells1 to the wild sky ,the flying cloud1 the frosty light3 ,the year is dying in the night2 ,ring out1 wild bells1 and let him die4 ,ring out the old1 ring in the new1 ,ring1 happy bells1 across the snow3 ,the year is going1 let him go2 ,ring out the false1 ring in the true4 ,ring out the grief that saps the mind1 ,for those that here we see no more2 ,ring out the feud of rich and poor1 ,ring in redress to all mankind4 ,ring out a slowly dying cause1 ,and ancient forms of party strife2 ,ring in the nobler modes of life1 ,with sweeter manners1 purer laws4 ,ring out the want1 the care1 the sin1 ,the faithless coldness of the times2 ,ring out1 ring out my mournful rhymes1 ,but ring the fuller minstrel in4 ,ring out false pride in place and blood1 ,the civic slander and the spite2 ,ring in the love of truth and right1 ,ring in the common love of good4 ,ring out old shapes of foul disease2 ,ring out the narrowing lust of gold2 ,ring out the thousand wars of old1 ,ring in the thousand years of peace4 ,ring in the valiant man and free1 ,the larger heart1 the kindlier hand2 ,ring out the darkness of the land1 ,ring in the ,christ that is to be4 ,,tennyson4 ,,index ,,of ,,subjects ,accidie1 #ie1 #if1 #ig1 #ih1 #ii1 #ajj ,accuracy1 #ahe ,age1 #cfa1 #cfb ,appetite for ,condolence1 ,the1 #caj ,argument1 #aie1 #aif1 #aig ,art of ,being ,quiet1 ,the1 #cj1 #ca ,as ,light enters ,darkness departs1 #big ,aspiration1 #cjf ,back-biting1 #aij ,balance1 #agj1 #aga ,bearing ,criticism1 #aee ,bearing ,sorrow1 #bef1 #beg1 #beh1 #bei ,bearing ,trouble1 #cbb ,beauties of ,nature1 #ccc ,beautiful1 ,sense of1 #ccd ,beauty1 ,the ,gospel of1 #cce ,being and ,doing1 #bd1 #be ,bereavement1 #bdf1 #bdg ,blessed are the ,happiness-makers1 #acd ,books1 #cci1 #cdj ,business-like ,habits1 #cf ,by their ,works1 #bgb ,calamity1 ,sharp ,ferule of1 #caa ,calumny1 #aeh1 #aei ,causes of ,thankfulness1 #cbd1 #cbe ,celestial ,surgeon1 ,the1 #ah ,character1 #ach ,character-- ,childlike-ness1 #acf ,negative ,virtues1 #acg ,our ,echoes roll from ,soul to ,soul1 #aci ,the ,right ,atmosphere1 #ace ,character and ,service1 #aa ,character of ,henry ,drummond1 #bb ---- ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson1 #bc ,cheerfulness1 #ccj ,childhood1 ,a ,happy1 #cdd ,christian ,law1 ,the1 #bfb1 #bfc ,christianity1 ,programme of1 #bge ,christmas ,day1 #cei ,christmas ,eve1 #ceh ,circumstances1 #ab1 #ac ,code of ,society1 ,the1 #afe ,comfort's ,art1 #ib ,commune with your own ,heart and be ,still1 #cc ,conceit1 #afb ,concentration1 #ch1 #ci ,condolence1 ,appetite for1 #caj ,confession of ,sin1 #bhh ,conscience1 #aej ,contemptuousness1 #aha ,contentment1 #cah1 #cai ,conversation1 #aic1 #aid ,courage1 #eh ,courage to be ,poor1 #cee ,courtesy1 #bjc1 #bjd1 #bje ,creed1 ,a ,new1 #bgd ,creeds1 #bfg ,criticism1 #aee ,crossing the ,bar1 #bed ,culture1 #bjb ,day by ,day1 #cja1 #cjb ,dead1 ,the1 #bdi1 #bej1 #bea1 #beb ,death1 #bec ,death of ,young ,children1 #bdh ,discontent1 #caf1 #cbj ,dissension1 #bdb ,doing more than ,feeling1 #fb ,doing our ,best1 #fd ,duty1 #df1 #dg1 #dh ,duty of ,giving ,happiness1 #acb1 #acc ,duty of ,happiness1 ,the1 #cae ,duty of ,physical ,health1 ,the1 #hd1 #he ,duty to my ,neighbour1 #aca ,education1 ,the ,object of1 #cdb1 #cdc ---- ,moral1 #cde1 #cdf1 #cdg ,egotism1 #afd1 #aib ,endurance1 #dc ,essentials of ,happiness1 ,the1 #cab ,evil is ,wrought by ,want of ,thought1 #fi ,evil of ,brooding1 ,the1 #cje ,example1 #cej ,expenditure1 #cec ,faith1 #bgc ,false ,impressions1 #ahb ,falterers1 #eg ,family ,life1 #abh ,fasting1 #bfh1 #bfi ,faults1 #aef ,fear of ,failure1 #ee1 #ef ,flattery1 #afj ,foot-path to ,peace1 ,the1 #h ,forgiveness1 #aae ,friendship1 #baf-bce ,gaining or ,losing ,ground1 #cjc ,god1 ,manifestations of1 #bgh1 #bgi1 #bhj ,god's ,children1 #gg ,gossip1 #ahi1 #aia ,growing ,old1 #cfa ,grumblers1 #cbi ,grumbling1 #cbf1 #cbg1 #cbh ,habit1 #adj1 #ada ,habit of ,admiration1 ,the1 #ba ,hallowing of ,work1 ,the1 #gj ,happiness1 #acb1 #acc1 #acd1 #cab1 #cae ,happiness ,makers1 #acd ,harmony1 #ae1 #af ,health1 ,duty of1 #hd1 #he ,heart1 ,commune with1 #cc ,heredity1 #aeb1 #aec1 #aed ,holidays1 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