,,short ,,studies ,,in ,,ethics ,,an ,,elementary ,,text-,,book ,,for ,,schools ,,by ,,rev4 ,j4 ,o4 ,,miller1 ,m4,a41 ,principal of ,bishop ,ridley ,college ,,toronto3 ,,the ,,bryant ,,press #ahie ,entered according to ,act of the ,parliament of ,canada1 in the office of the ,minister of ,agriculture1 by ,,rev4 ,j4 ,o4 ,,miller1 ,m4,a41 ,st4 ,catharines1 ,canada4 ,,table ,,of ,,contents ,i4 ,,duty #g ,,ii4 ,,obedience #ae ,,iii4 ,,truthfulness #ai ,,iv4 ,,courage #bd ,v4 ,,purity #cj ,,vi4 ,,unselfishness #ce ,,vii4 ,,honesty #dj ,,viii4 ,,faithfulness #de ,,ix4 ,,profanity #ej ,x4 ,,justice #ed ,,xi4 ,,benevolence #ei ,,xii4 ,,ambition #fc ,,xiii4 ,,patriotism #fh ,,xiv4 ,,bodily ,,exercise #gb ,,xv4 ,,habit #gg ,,xvi4 ,,industry #hb ,,xvii4 ,,self-,,control #hh ,,xviii4 ,,self-,,reliance #ia ,,xix4 ,,friendship #ie ,,xx4 ,,gentlemanliness #ajj ,,xxi4 ,,courtesy #aje ,,xxii4 ,,repentance #aaj ,,xxiii4 ,,character #aae ,,xxiv4 ,,conscience #abj ,,preface ,this little book has grown out of periodical addresses to my own pupils4 ,an experience of over ten years has convinced me of the necessity of teaching systematically the fundamental principles of ,morality4 ,the scarcity of books suitable as elementary texts is a sufficient proof that the subject is neglected in our schools4 ,it cannot be right that children should be left to master so wide a subject from incidental instruction and from example4 ,i should be sorry if any one thought1 from glancing at the topics ,i have treated1 that ,i seemed content to put lessons in practical ,morality in place of instruction in the ,scriptures and definite religious teaching4 ,nothing can take the place of the ,scriptures4 ,but ,i feel convinced that these two aspects of ,truth must go hand in hand4 ,the young mind requires the truth to be presented to it from all sides1 and nothing appeals to it so strongly as a modern example4 ,my own idea as to the use of such a book as this is that it should supplement ,bible instruction4 ,the lessons are short enough to be taught in half an hour4 ,if one topic is taken up each week1 and thoroughly explained1 and enlarged on by fresh examples from current life and history1 the whole book can be easily mastered in the school year1 and leave ample time for review and examination4 ,if it should prove helpful to other teachers1 my labour will be amply rewarded4 ,bishop ,ridley ,college1 ,st4 ,catharines1 ,feb4 #bhth1 #ahie4 ,greek3 ,megas gar ho agn1 megas1 ouch hosos dokei1 to chrston kakon genesthai4 --,plato4 ,no4 ,i4 ,,duty ,duty is something which is due1 and which1 therefore1 ought to be paid or performed4 ,it is something owed by everybody1 to ,god1 to self1 or to others4 ,no other word is more disliked by the slothful than the word ,duty4 ,the mention of the word itself causes weariness to a boy or man of that kind4 ,we can only get to like the word and the thing itself by accustoming ourselves to perform it regularly1 a little at a time4 ,a boy or girl with a fine ear and a natural talent for music hates1 at first1 the daily practising and the uninteresting lessons2 but1 as soon as the difficulties are mastered1 playing an instrument becomes a delight4 ,duty1 in itself1 is not a distasteful thing2 it is because we hate anything which gives us trouble that it seems unbearable4 ,we can teach ourselves to like taking pains4 ,duty is1 in one sense1 the great law which governs the universe4 ,the planets revolving about the sun1 the moon encircling the earth1 even the erratic comets1 in fulfilling the laws of their being1 perform the duties which they are set4 ,so1 too1 the plants and animals of the lower creation obey the laws under which they live4 ,even of inanimate things1 pieces of human mechanism1 may this be said4 ,the pendulum of the clock will tick until it is worn out1 if it receive the care necessary for its work4 ,we see what wonderful things a machine can be made to do for man in ,edison's marvellous inventions of the kinetoscope and the kinetograph4 ,human duties differ from those of the lower creation and of the inanimate world in this1 that in the latter the duties are performed by virtue of the great law of necessity1 whereas man is free4 ,that is what makes human duties moral--that is where the ought comes in4 ,if we love idleness1 and most of us do at first1 we naturally hate the idea of ,duty4 ,if we give way to our feelings and desires1 we shall only hate ,duty more intensely1 and we are in danger of becoming not much better than the brutes around us2 in fact1 we are giving way to the brute part of our nature4 ,human nature differs from brute nature in having a ,conscience1 which continually whispers in our hearts1 ,i must not1 and ,i ought4 ,it is our first duty to listen to ,conscience4 ,the longer we practise doing duties the easier they become4 ,a great man once said3 ,a man shall carry a bucket of water on his head and be very tired with the burden2 but that same man1 when he dives into the sea1 shall have the weight of a thousand buckets on his head without perceiving their weight1 because he is in the element1 and it entirely surrounds him4 ,after running two miles for the first time1 a boy feels great stiffness1 but after he has done it twenty times he feels nothing but the pleasure of good health arising from pleasant exercise4 ,in the same way1 he translates a single sentence in his ,latin grammar with great difficulty at first1 but when he can translate ,csar's campaigns without trouble the task becomes a delight4 ,most people think they are entitled to great credit for doing their ,duty1 and even to reward4 ,if some one owes you a dollar1 is he entitled to a reward for repaying you8 ,is he entitled to any special credit8 ,if a father sees his son drowning and jumps into the water to rescue him1 is he entitled to any special credit1 as a matter of right8 ,duty is something due2 therefore1 it is a debt4 ,when ye have done all the things that are commanded you1 say1 ,we are all bondservants2 we have done that which it was our duty to do4 7#a7 ,duty is something owing to ourselves4 ,character is made up of duties1 and by our character we must stand or fall4 ,we owe it to ourselves to take the greatest care of our bodies4 ,they should be cleansed and exercised every day of our lives4 ,many a man1 who would feel outraged if his favourite horse were not thoroughly groomed and otherwise cared for daily1 neglects his own body1 which needs grooming quite as much as that of the horse4 ,we owe it to ourselves to be careful as to what we eat1 and as to the right quantity4 ,if we give a dog too much meat or a horse too much grain1 we know the result4 ,we are not so careful about ourselves as about our animals4 ,we owe it to ourselves to be true in all things4 ,first to thine own self be true1 says the great poet4 ,we owe it to ourselves to be honest in the very smallest things as well as in the great2 to be afraid of nothing except evil2 to be clean in our thoughts and words2 to be modest2 to be kind2 to be gentle to the weak2 to be generous2 to be charitable2 to be modest about ourselves2 to be temperate4 7#b7 ,duty is something owing to others4 ,we owe our parents a return for their love and care for us at a time when we should have perished without it4 ,the return that is due them is that we should be a credit to them instead of a disgrace1 so that the world may say1 ,those parents have reason to be proud of their children4 ,god has said3 ,honour thy father and thy mother4 ,we owe it to them to be diligent in our lessons1 so that we may prepare to earn our own living1 and not to be dependent upon them all our days4 ,a boy may say3 ,i am not going to bother my head about this work4 ,my father is rich1 and ,i shall never have to work unless ,i like4 ,a few years hence1 men will say3 ,look at that idle fellow6 ,he is a disgrace to his parents4 ,he is fit for nothing2 he is going to the bad already4 ,we owe it to others to owe them nothing4 ,owe no man anything4 ,it is our duty to pay every debt in full1 at the earliest moment possible4 ,we owe it to others to keep as sacred every confidence reposed in us4 ,we owe it to others to say no evil of them4 ,de mortuis nil nisi bonum was a proverb of the ,romans4 ,it is wiser to speak evil of no one at all4 ,he slandereth not with his tongue1 ,nor doeth evil to his friend1 ,nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour4 7#c7 ,duty is something owing to one's country4 ,the names of the patriots will be the last to die from men's memories4 ,every man owes to his country his name1 his influence1 his strenuous labour1 his liberty1 his life itself1 should that be needed4 ,when ,nelson1 on the day of ,trafalgar1 gave to his ships the signal1 ,england expects every man to do his duty1 he spoke for all nations1 in all ages1 under all circumstances4 ,when ,pompey's friends tried to dissuade him from setting sail for ,rome in a storm1 telling him that he did so at the peril of his life1 he said1 ,it is necessary for me to go1 it is not necessary for me to live4 ,perhaps the greatest example of patriotism shown in a love of ,duty of modern times is that of ,wellington4 ,his greatness lay in doing thoroughly every duty that came in his way4 ,for that he would sacrifice everything else4 ,late in his life he was content to suffer a temporary loss of popularity through devotion to what he believed to be a duty4 ,he was even mobbed in the streets of ,london1 and had his windows smashed while his wife lay dead in the house4 ,the great motive power that underlay his whole career was whole-hearted devotion to ,duty4 ,he himself said that ,duty was his watchword4 ,there is little or nothing in this life worth living for1 said he2 but we can all of us go straight forward and do our duty4 ,nelson's last words were3 ,i have done my duty2 ,i praise ,god for it4 ,some years ago a troop-ship called the ,birkenhead was wrecked off the coast of ,africa4 ,the officers and men saw the women and children safely into the boats1 which sufficed for them alone4 ,those brave soldiers and sailors fired a salute as the ship went down1 and thus cheerfully gave up their lives to the watery grave4 ,upon which a great writer said3 ,goodness1 ,duty1 ,sacrifice--these are the qualities that ,england honours4 ,she knows how to teach her sons to sink like men amidst sharks and billows1 as if ,duty were the most natural thing in the world4 7#d7 ,duty is something owing to ,god4 ,the highest act of duty is to acknowledge that we owe everything to ,god1 except evil4 ,we owe our lives to ,god1 for from ,him they came4 ,we owe it to ,god that man is a human being1 and not merely a higher sort of lower animal4 ,god breathed into his nostrils the breath of life2 and man became a living soul4 ,we owe to ,god all that we have1 and especially all happiness that we enjoy4 ,it is from ,him that comes all the love that enters into our lives4 ,he is the great source of love to the human race4 ,that is why we call ,him our ,father2 ,he is the personification of the love of which our earthly parents' love is an example4 ,we owe to ,god gratitude for ,his love to us1 manifested at every step of our lives1 and we ought not merely to feel that gratitude1 but also to express it to ,him daily4 ,it is our duty1 therefore1 to pray4 ,the highest form of prayer is that ,god's will may be done in our lives4 ,if we are sincere in that1 and pray it with our hearts1 and not merely with our lips1 it will be found sufficient to cover every request that we can make1 because our supreme duty is to do ,god's will in every act and desire of life4 ,arising out of that prayer come the principal duties of life1 viz41 thankfulness for ,god's goodness to us1 the fight against evil in every form1 the showing to others by example how ,god's will may be done1 and1 lastly1 perfect trust in ,god in every circumstance of life4 ,no4 ,,ii4 ,,obedience ,obedience is doing promptly and cheerfully what is commanded by those in authority over us4 ,obedience is the first great law of life4 ,no nation could continue to exist if its citizens were not law-abiding4 ,the most highly civilized nations are those whose citizens yield loyal ,obedience to the laws1 and strive to make all men obey them4 ,every society has its rules which the members agree to obey1 and it can only exist so long as that obedience is observed voluntarily and faithfully4 ,no army could be successful against the enemy if the soldiers did not obey their officers4 ,unquestioning obedience to the commands of the captain is necessary for the safety of the ship and of the lives of the passengers4 ,those who are employed in business must obey the instructions of their employers if the business is to succeed4 ,the first lesson that a schoolboy is set to learn is the lesson of ,obedience4 ,what happiness could there be in our homes if the children did not obey their parents8 ,the greatest part of life is ,conduct1 and ,conduct can only be attained by practising ,obedience4 ,the little child learns it from its mother1 the boy from his father1 and from his master at school4 ,the young man must practise it at college1 or at business4 ,the older man continues to obey some one all through his life4 ,if he wish to govern others1 he must first obey himself4 ,if he will not obey himself1 he cannot rule others4 ,there is only ,one who is above ,obedience--that is ,god4 ,at the battle of ,balaklava1 a small brigade of cavalry was ordered to attack an immensely strong battery4 ,the order was a mistake1 as every one knew that such an attempt would mean certain death4 ,yet the officer commanding the cavalry did not hesitate for a moment to carry out the orders1 though he well knew what the result would be4 ,not a single soldier among those six hundred refused to obey4 ,theirs not to reason why2 ,theirs but to do and die4 ,and so the charge was made1 and out of the six hundred only one-quarter returned4 ,boys sometimes think it a manly thing to question the orders given them1 and even to assert their independence by refusing to obey4 ,brave men think it childish to stop to reason about the commands of those in authority4 ,the wisest men believe that disobedience is one of the strongest signs of radically bad character4 ,experience teaches us that disobedience will1 in time1 destroy the character altogether4 ,he that will not submit to authority must become1 in time1 not merely a useless1 but a dangerous1 member of society4 ,obedience1 to be worth anything in building up conduct1 must be given promptly and cheerfully4 ,obedience which is tardy1 or yielded through fear1 is not right ,obedience at all4 ,if a boy's father desires him to do a piece of work which is not agreeable1 or not very easy1 there is often a great temptation to put it off1 and do other things first4 ,a boy is told to cut the grass when he comes home from school4 ,he returns home1 and finds the afternoon warm1 and the prospect of grass-cutting uninviting1 and so he first feeds his pigeons2 and that reminds him that he is very anxious to make them some new nest-boxes4 ,the afternoon has nearly gone when he1 at length1 drags himself unwillingly to the lawn-mower2 and he has barely finished the work1 when he sees his father coming in at the gate4 ,perhaps the edges of the grass plot have not been clipped1 as a finish to the work1 because he did not begin soon enough4 ,that is a case of tardy ,obedience--not real ,obedience4 ,the work was done because the boy knew he must do it1 and not because he loved to obey his father4 ,real ,obedience is prompt ,obedience4 ,real ,obedience is always cheerfully given4 ,he who grumbles at an order1 and only does it through fear1 is not obedient4 ,a boy who will not cheerfully give up a game1 in order to carry out a command from one in authority1 must always be looked upon as one who is at heart disobedient4 ,if the officers of the cavalry1 mentioned above1 had chafed under the order to put their lives in peril1 and had sent the messenger back to find out if they were really to make the attack1 they would have lost their claim to our admiration as truly brave men4 ,if the troopers had grumbled when the order was given to advance into the valley of death1 and had made the attack in a half-hearted way1 they would never have gained the undying glory that is theirs1 and they would probably have sacrificed the lives of the few who did at last return in safety4 ,their ,obedience gained them immortal fame because it was prompt and cheerful4 ,he who would become a good citizen1 and a really useful member of society1 can only do so by practising ,obedience1 with great patience1 and with all his heart1 throughout the whole of his life4 ,to attain excellence in it1 as in many other things1 it must be begun very early in life4 ,above all1 it must be willingly given4 ,real ,obedience is prompt1 cheerful1 and from the heart4 ,no4 ,,iii4 ,,truthfulness ,truthfulness is speaking and acting in a perfectly straightforward way1 without any attempt to add to1 or take from1 the facts4 ,its opposite is ,lying or ,deception4 ,if ,lying were the rule and ,truthfulness the exception1 society would soon be destroyed4 ,men could not do business with each other if they could not be trusted to speak the truth1 and to keep faithfully a promise once made4 ,instead of trusting1 they would fear one another2 every time they were assured of anything they would doubt1 and perhaps suspect a trap4 ,if all men resorted to lying1 they would soon begin to destroy each other1 because it is an instinct of human nature to preserve one's self from the attack of enemies4 ,the liar is the enemy of mankind4 ,a great man was once asked3 ,do the devils lie8 ,no1 was his answer2 for then even hell could no longer exist4 7#a7 ,regard for ,truthfulness forbids us to tell1 as truth1 what we know to be false4 ,this is the worst form of lying4 ,only the most hardened will lie deliberately2 no one who has not had long practice in this vice can tell a deliberate falsehood without despising himself4 ,that can only be done when the ,conscience is at last asleep1 and when the character has become vicious4 7#b7 ,another form of lying is telling1 as truth1 what we do not know to be true4 ,people often assert things which they cannot possibly know to be true2 for instance1 the motives of other persons4 ,there are also things which are only probable1 and of which we cannot be certain4 ,to state as absolutely true what we cannot know to be true is falsehood4 ,again1 there are things which are merely matters of opinion1 and upon which vastly different opinions may be held4 ,if we would be strictly truthful1 we must be careful to state as true only what can be proved to be facts4 7#c7 ,another form of deceit is telling what may be true in fact1 but telling it in such a way as to convey a false impression4 ,this may be done by 7a7 exaggerating1 or adding to1 the facts2 or 7b7 by withholding some important part of the facts4 ,many a character has been ruined by some enemy who wilfully overstated1 or understated1 facts of the highest importance to the person's reputation4 ,many a man has ruined his own character by allowing himself to acquire the habit of exaggeration4 7#d7 ,untruthfulness shows itself in other ways4 ,a lie may be acted as well as spoken4 ,for example1 when a boy allows himself to be praised for some action he never performed and does not give the praise to the right person1 or at least disown it for himself1 he acts a lie4 ,the boy who tries to make his master believe him to be obedient and studious when he is not acts a lie4 ,the boy who brings up as his own work an exercise which he has cribbed1 or in which he has been assisted1 acts a lie4 7#e7 ,concealment of the truth may be an unspoken lie4 ,there is an old ,latin motto which says3 ,the suppression of the truth is the suggestion of an untruth4 ,by keeping back a necessary part of the truth one may give a totally wrong impression of the facts1 and this is just as much a lie as absolute misstatement4 7#f7 ,trickery1 or underhand dealing of any kind1 is a kind of lying4 ,a ,london merchant had business with another in a foreign country4 ,the latter asked the former to send out certain packages of goods marked less than the real weight1 so as to escape the customs duty4 ,i can't do it1 said the ,english merchant4 ,very well1 said the foreigner1 if you won't1 there are plenty of others who will1 and ,i shall take my business away from you--which he did1 causing the other firm a heavy loss4 ,a few years afterwards the foreigner wrote to the ,english merchant3 ,enclosed is a draft for so much1 which please put to my credit4 ,i am sending my son to ,england to learn your way of business4 ,there is nobody in whom ,i have such confidence as ,i have in you4 ,will you take him into your office and make him the same sort of man that you are yourself8 7#g7 ,truthfulness lays upon us the most solemn obligation to keep our promises1 no matter how small may be the matter concerned4 ,he who makes a promise1 not intending to keep it1 is guilty of gross deception4 ,in making a promise it is our duty to express our intention in the plainest terms1 and we must then consider ourselves under obligation to carry out that intention faithfully and fully4 ,when ,blcher was hastening with his army over bad roads to the help of ,wellington at the battle of ,waterloo1 he encouraged his troops by calling out frequently1 ,forward1 children1 forward4 ,it is impossible2 it can't be done1 was the answer4 ,again and again he urged them4 ,children1 we must get on2 you may say it can't be done1 but it must be done6 ,i have promised my brother ,wellington--promised1 do you hear8 ,you wouldn't have me break my word6 ,lord ,chesterfield once said3 ,it is truth that makes the success of the gentleman4 ,those words should be taken to heart by every boy who wishes to honour truth4 ,clarendon said of ,falkland1 one of the noblest and purest of men1 that he was so severe an adorer of truth that he could as easily have given himself leave to steal as to dissemble4 ,shakespeare said3 ,this above all3 to thine own self be true1 ,and it must follow as the night the day ,thou canst not then be false to any man4 ,no4 ,,iv4 ,,courage ,courage is that disposition which enables us to meet danger or difficulties firmly and without fear4 ,there are two kinds of ,courage3 ,physical and ,moral2 and it has two aspects3 ,fearlessness and ,boldness4 ,the opposite of ,courage is ,cowardice1 and no greater insult can be offered a man than to call him a coward4 ,courage has always been looked upon as one of the greatest virtues4 ,men may be willing to forfeit purity1 truth1 and honour1 but they cling to ,courage to the very end4 ,courage is a quality that boys love and respect1 because it is a manly virtue4 ,physical ,courage appeals most to the young4 ,nothing so excites their admiration as a feat of daring4 ,physical ,courage is a splendid thing1 a thing to be prized by every one4 ,as a rule1 it is something that every one may possess a good share of4 ,physical ,courage depends very largely upon bodily vigour and strength of muscle4 ,it is when we are nervous and feel our limbs to be weak that our ,courage is small4 ,the boy or man who exercises his muscles regularly is sure to store up a large amount of physical ,courage--enough1 at least1 to develop its first stage--,fearlessness4 ,he who possesses a good constitution and a body whose strength he has tested by repeated trials is not apt to turn tail at small fears1 as are the weak and delicate4 ,he is able to present to difficulties1 or1 it may be1 to danger1 a steadfast mind and a calm exterior4 ,it is this sort of ,courage which makes the ,english soldier renowned in war4 ,had it not been for the dogged persistence of his soldiers in holding their ground1 in spite of a hurricane of shot and shell1 ,wellington could never have held ,napoleon at bay at ,waterloo4 ,but1 while this ,fearlessness is much to be admired1 it is1 after all1 the least heroic form of ,courage1 because so much of it is purely physical4 ,fighting1 as a test of ,courage1 is greatly overestimated4 ,experienced soldiers tell us that it requires a good deal of ,courage to go into battle for the first time4 ,you look pale1 said one officer to another1 as he came within range of the enemy's guns for the first time2 are you afraid8 ,yes1 answered the other2 if you were half as much afraid1 you would turn tail4 ,but1 with most soldiers1 the feeling of fear soon wears off1 and where there is no fear there is not much trial of ,courage4 ,the physical ,courage that we all covet is that which leads a man to do what others dare not4 ,in #ahib1 a young clergyman1 on a visit to this country1 was crossing the foot-bridge at ,niagara ,falls4 ,when about one-third of the way across1 he saw a lady stepping up from the carriage path to the sidewalk4 ,she caught her toe against the edge1 stumbled forward1 and fell through the open iron work at the side of the bridge4 ,she happened to be over the place where the broken rocks line the edge of the water4 ,in her swift descent1 she struck her head against one of the girders and was stunned2 her body then turned over and fell across another girder4 ,at this moment the clergyman came up4 ,looking over1 he saw her body swaying gently1 and evidently about to drop very soon to the awful rocks1 over two hundred feet below4 ,without a moment's hesitation1 he sprang out over the edge of the bridge1 and1 seizing one of the iron rods that supported the girder1 he slid down1 and then crept along the narrow girder till he reached the lady4 ,bracing himself with immense difficulty1 he kept her from plunging into the abyss until help arrived1 death beckoning to him from below1 if he should lose his head for a single moment4 ,at length a rope was lowered to him1 and they were soon drawn up4 ,that is a splendid example of physical ,courage4 ,a higher type of ,courage is that which enables us to endure pain4 ,endurance is a rarer quality than dashing ,fearlessness4 ,it was said that in the ,franco-,prussian war1 in #ahgj1 the ,french soldiers were more brilliant in the on-rush than the ,prussians1 but they lacked endurance1 and could not stand for long before artillery fire4 ,this type of ,courage is best seen in bearing pain4 ,when ,epictetus was a slave1 his master was one day beating him4 ,the poor slave said3 ,if you do not look out1 you will break my leg4 ,presently the bone snapped4 ,there1 said ,epictetus1 as calmly as before1 ,i told you you would break it4 ,one of the most remarkable instances of the ,courage of endurance is that of the defence of ,cawnpore1 in the days of the ,indian ,mutiny1 by a handful of ,english troops1 with their wives and children4 ,for twenty-one days they endured untold agonies of exposure by a never-ceasing fire1 of hunger1 of thirst 7sharp-shooters picking off any one who dared approach the single well in the camp71 of the midsummer sun1 of sickness1 and of the unutterable foulness of their surroundings4 ,the soldiers' wives showed even greater endurance than the men4 ,women generally have greater courage than men in the matter of bearing pain4 ,the highest type of ,courage is that which is called ,moral ,courage1 and is exercised about matters of right and wrong as they affect us individually4 ,it is shown by the man who pays his debts1 who does without when he cannot afford1 who speaks his mind when necessary1 but who can be silent when it is better not to speak4 ,it requires ,moral ,courage to admit that we have been wrong4 ,it requires ,moral ,courage to stand being laughed at1 although it is the sign of a wise man to be able to enjoy a laugh at his own expense4 ,it requires ,moral ,courage to run the risk of losing one's popularity4 ,socrates was the greatest teacher of ancient times1 and he was beloved by many of his pupils2 but because his lofty teaching ran beyond the attainments and spirit of his age1 he was condemned to drink the deadly hemlock4 ,he died calmly1 even joyfully1 discoursing to his judges of the immortality of the soul4 ,galileo was imprisoned when seventy years of age1 and1 probably1 tortured4 ,he was content to suffer it1 and refused to retract what he had proved to be scientific truth4 ,when we are laughed at or threatened with persecution of any kind1 ,courage bids us stand by our principles4 ,as the crackling of thorns under a pot1 ,so is the laughter of a fool1 said ,solomon4 ,it is the part of wisdom to disregard being laughed at4 ,when a boy lacks backbone1 we say he is easily led1 which means1 easily led wrong4 ,how we pity such a boy6 ,the highest ,courage is that which leads men to sacrifice their lives of their own free will4 ,such was the courage of the soldiers and sailors of the ,birkenhead4 ,in one of the battles of the ,peninsular ,war1 a sergeant named ,robert ,m',quaide saw two ,french soldiers aim their muskets against a very young officer1 sixteen years old4 ,m',quaide pulled him back behind him1 saying3 ,you are too young1 sir1 to be killed1 and then fell dead1 pierced by both balls4 ,courage is a very different thing from ,recklessness1 or ,foolhardiness4 ,an old proverb says3 ,courage is the wisdom of manhood2 foolhardiness the folly of youth4 ,and ,carlyle said3 ,the courage that dares only die is1 on the whole1 no sublime affair4444 ,the ,courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently1 but to live manfully4 ,no4 ,v4 ,,purity ,by ,purity we mean that state of mind which is possessed by him who fights against foul thoughts1 drives them away1 and who never allows himself to perform an unclean action1 or to use filthy1 or obscene1 language4 ,purity involves three things3 7#a7 ,clean language1 7#b7 clean thoughts1 7#c7 clean actions4 ,they are put in this order because it generally happens among the young that impurity begins with hearing unclean language1 and by imitating it4 ,a little boy hearing others use foul language soon begins to use it himself1 though he may not know its real meaning4 ,alas6 it does not take long for him to learn the meaning of it also2 and it is but a short step from foul language to impure thoughts and filthy actions4 ,purity is one of the three heroic virtues2 the others are ,truth and ,courage4 ,in the age of chivalry men valued ,purity above all things except ,truth and ,courage4 ,tennyson makes his hero say3 ,my good blade carves the casques of men1 ,my tough lance thrusteth sure2 ,my strength is as the strength of ten1 ,because my heart is pure4 ,purity is one of the most manly virtues4 ,impurity marks the coward and the sneak1 because it is nearly always directed in thought or action secretly against those weaker than ourselves4 ,in ,tom ,brown at ,oxford1 one of ,tom ,brown's friends says3 ,i have been taught ever since ,i could speak that the crown of all real manliness is ,purity4 ,you may ask3 ,why is it manly8 ,it is manly because it cannot be got without a hard struggle2 the temptation to be impure in thought1 if not in language1 is one of the hardest temptations to overcome4 ,a little boy may not feel it1 but the older he grows the harder he has to fight against impurity in his heart1 and in his life4 ,we must1 first of all1 guard against unclean language4 ,there are some words which are merely filthy1 without being immoral2 both are bad1 and the one leads to the other4 ,little boys often long to have other words to put into their language than they have learned at home1 because they think the home language not strong enough or manly enough4 ,in order to satisfy themselves that they are no longer children1 they begin at school to copy the strong words of the boldest and most reckless of the boys they meet1 and they quickly add to their vocabulary unclean and even immoral words1 because such words seem to be the mark of manliness1 and of personal independence of character4 ,by the time that a boy begins to realize what such words really mean1 he has already formed the habit of using unclean language1 and a bad habit is the hardest thing in the world to get rid of4 ,any one who thinks about the matter for a moment will admit that filthy language is not only not manly1 but that it is degrading to the mind and character4 ,one of the most manly characters of modern times was ,coleridge ,patteson1 ,bishop of ,melanesia1 who died in #ahgd1 by the clubs of savage islanders1 who1 when he was dead1 placed him in a boat with his hands crossed1 and set him adrift upon the ,pacific4 ,we are told by an old schoolmate of his that once1 when he was captain of the cricket eleven at ,eton1 some boys at the cricket dinner began to sing a coarse song4 ,coley ,patteson had said that he would leave the room if such a song were sung1 and as soon as they began it he quietly got up and went out4 ,the result of his action was that the bad custom was stopped entirely4 ,the old poet of ,israel sang3 ,o ,lord1 keep the door of my lips4 ,we all need to make that request4 ,another of the most manly men of modern times was ,general ,grant1 ,president of the ,united ,states4 ,we are told of him that on one occasion1 when a number of gentlemen were dining together1 some one began to tell an indecent story4 ,he commenced by saying3 ,i have a first-class story which ,i may tell1 seeing that there are no ladies present4 ,no6 but there are gentlemen present1 said ,general ,grant1 and the story was not told4 ,the use of unclean words leads to impure thoughts and to filthy actions4 ,it is difficult to speak plainly about this matter of personal ,purity4 ,every boy when he reaches a certain age is tempted by the ,devil in the way of impure thoughts4 ,these are first presented by unclean things which come into the imagination4 ,if they are not fought against1 and driven out by force of strong will1 in a short time the imagination1 naturally one of the purest and most beautiful faculties of the human mind1 will become tainted1 and at last foul and degraded4 ,unclean words do harm1 first1 to the individual character1 by destroying its early purity and delicacy1 just as we spoil the beauty of a grape by rubbing off its bloom2 and1 secondly1 to those who hear and may learn to use them4 ,but unclean thoughts1 the evil imaginations1 injure the soul1 and the mind1 and the body4 ,they injure the soul by making it take delight in that which is foul and base1 and which belongs to the brutes4 ,they hurt the mind by destroying its power to concentrate itself on work1 or on anything that lies outside of self4 ,they injure the body1 because he who is given up to foul thoughts soon becomes capable of nothing else4 ,he avoids companions1 he desires to be alone1 that he may take delight in foul images of the mind1 and so the body is neglected and loses its strength4 ,there is even a worse stage1 when the foul imagination results in secret acts of filthiness1 which eventually will destroy body1 mind1 and soul4 ,the poor wretch who has learned such horrible habits may live on1 but not many years can pass until he shall become an idiot1 and must be confined in an asylum1 away from his fellow-men4 ,terrible1 indeed1 is the fate of such a person4 ,how significant are the words of the great ,teacher1 ,blessed are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god6 ,another great teacher once said that pure religion was3 ,to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction1 and to keep himself unspotted from the world4 ,no4 ,,vi4 ,,unselfishness ,unselfishness is the giving up personal gain or advantage4 ,it is the desire to do the will of another rather than our own4 ,it is making a sacrifice to please some one else4 ,truth1 ,purity1 and ,courage are called the heroic virtues2 ,unselfishness is greater than any of them4 ,it is like the ,christian virtue of ,charity or ,love2 it makes people forget their own interests for the sake of others4 ,unselfishness is the great lesson we learn from studying the life of ,jesus2 ,he is the great example to the world of absolute self-forgetfulness4 ,we admire notable examples of this virtue4 ,one of the members of the ,light ,brigade tells us that in that terrible charge he was wounded in the knee1 and also in the shin4 ,he could not possibly get back from the scene of the fight4 ,another soldier passing by said3 ,get on my back1 chum4 ,he did so1 and then discovered from the flowing blood that his rescuer had been shot through the back of the head4 ,when told of it1 he said3 ,oh1 never mind that2 it's not much1 ,i don't think4 ,but he died of that wound a few days later4 ,the brave fellow thought not of his own wound1 but only how he might help another1 though he belonged to a different squadron and was unknown to him4 ,unselfishness is one of the hardest things to learn4 ,a boy may be naturally brave and even generous1 but no one is naturally unselfish4 ,we are apt to confuse generosity with unselfishness2 really they are quite different4 ,a generous person gives out of his abundance1 liberally2 an unselfish person of what seems necessary to his happiness4 ,a generous boy shares his weekly purchases with his friends2 an unselfish boy1 out of pity at some distressful case1 gives away all his allowance for that week1 and cheerfully goes without4 ,the selfish boy spends his money upon himself alone4 ,it is hard to neglect ,self4 ,even the selfish make sacrifices occasionally4 ,but there is not much virtue in being unselfish now and then1 if1 in the meantime1 we think of nothing but gratifying our own desires4 ,real ,unselfishness is a habit1 and needs to be acquired as does any other habit4 ,we have to begin practising it1 and to go on practising it1 in the little things of life as well as the great1 for a long time before we are finally able to forget self and think of others first4 ,it is perhaps impossible to forget self altogether2 but ,unselfishness aims to that4 ,a boy is going down town for some amusement4 ,his sister asks him to take a parcel for her to the house of a friend1 who lives considerably out of the way4 ,he says he can't be bothered1 or that he will miss some of his fun2 he is selfish4 ,another boy is next at bat1 and the ,pro4 is going to bowl4 ,a friend asks him to exchange places on the list1 as he has to meet his father at the train later on1 and he is near the foot of the list4 ,the first boy consents1 though he knows he will not get nearly so good a practice2 he is unselfish4 ,the unselfish person is constantly trying to lighten the burdens of others4 ,if you wish to tell a thoroughly selfish person1 watch his conversation4 ,he talks constantly of himself1 of what he has done1 or will do1 or can do4 ,his belongings are better than those of another1 merely because they are his4 ,he loves himself more than any one else2 and it is natural to talk of what we love best4 ,lord ,bacon said3 ,it is a poor centre of a man's actions1 himself4 ,it is right earth4 ,he also said3 ,the referring of all to a man's self is a desperate evil in a citizen of a republic4 ,wisdom for a man's self is1 in many branches thereof1 a depraved thing4 ,it is the wisdom of rats1 that will be sure to leave a house before it fall4 ,it is the wisdom of the fox1 that thrusts out the badger who digged and made room him4 ,it is the wisdom of crocodiles1 that shed tears when they would devour4 ,an old proverb says3 ,love thyself1 and many will hate thee4 ,unselfishness is hard to practise1 because it brings no reward in this life4 ,the unselfish man1 indeed1 is often imposed on by the self-seeking1 and more often still simply because he is unselfish1 and never ceases to think of others4 ,a ,christian man in the city of ,toronto1 widely known for his charities1 subscribed #ejj to a deserving object4 ,the committee in charge of the matter appointed collectors to go about and ask help from the public4 ,a lady called upon this gentleman1 not knowing that he had already given largely4 ,he was about to tell her of his first subscription1 when he noticed her face fall at the expected refusal4 ,he immediately took her little book and put down his name for a second amount4 ,he could not bear to send her empty away4 ,his first subscription was generosity2 his second1 ,unselfishness4 ,there is a reward here for ,unselfishness--the approval of one's own ,conscience1 and1 after all1 that is of greater permanent value than the praise of men4 ,in an age when there is so much grasping after personal gain1 it is refreshing to read of great instances of forgetfulness of self4 ,when the ,victoria1 after her collision with the ,camperdown1 was found to be sinking1 ,admiral ,sir ,george ,tryon ordered the sick and the prisoners to be brought up from below1 and then gave the usual order1 always the last to be given on a ship3 ,all hands for themselves4 ,not a man broke ranks until that order was given4 ,even then the chaplain stayed to help the sick1 and so lost his life4 ,the ,admiral himself went down1 standing on the bridge2 and1 most notable of all1 young ,lanyon1 a junior midshipman1 refused to leave the ,admiral's side1 though told to jump1 and they went down together4 ,he that loseth his life shall find it4 ,no4 ,,vii4 ,,honesty ,honesty is ,truth practically applied to questions about the property of others4 ,it is the principle of dealing with others as we would desire others to deal with us4 ,the sole guide in fulfilling this obligation is not what the ,law may be1 but what our ,conscience tells us4 7#a7 ,honesty is a form of ,truthfulness4 ,it is that form of it which is concerned with our dealings with others1 especially as to their possessions4 ,the opposite of it is called ,dishonesty1 and the worst form of ,dishonesty is ,stealing4 ,the thief is hated1 and feared1 and despised more than any other sort of criminal4 ,men fear him as they do poisonous snakes2 because the thief is a creeping creature1 hiding himself and his actions from the light of day4 ,he watches you until you feel secure1 and are less careful than usual of your possessions2 then he sneaks about1 waiting for a favourable moment when no one is near to observe or suspect him before snatching your property4 ,a man may commit a very grievous offence against another in a moment of passion2 and1 though we acknowledge the justice of his punishment1 we do not hate him4 ,but men hate a thief because he is a sneak1 and because his offence is done in cold blood1 not in the heat of anger2 in an underhand way1 not openly and above board4 ,the confirmed thief is one who has yielded his soul to the ,devil4 ,he deliberately sacrifices his character2 he surrenders himself of his own free will to a life of evil4 ,stealing inevitably leads to lying1 and these two things degrade the character more quickly than any other evils that touch it4 ,not only does he destroy the purity of his soul2 before long he must yield up his body for punishment4 ,not one thief in a hundred goes long unpunished4 7#b7 ,there are other forms of dishonesty not so open as stealing1 and1 in some cases1 not so harmful1 but generally degrading and destructive of high character4 ,one of these is ,cheating4 ,if a coal dealer is paid for a ton of coal and delivers only nineteen hundred pounds1 he is guilty of stealing4 ,if1 however1 he gives full weight1 but sells the coal as first-class1 when it contains shale or other impurities1 and is really of a cheap grade1 then he is cheating4 ,the schoolboy who copies his night-work from another1 or gets help1 and then presents the exercise as his own1 is guilty of cheating4 ,this form of cheating is made worse when it is done in examinations1 because the result affects not only the standing of the person who cheats1 but deprives others of fairly won advantage4 7#c7 ,another form of dishonesty is that by which one person takes advantage of another in a bargain1 through his ignorance or helplessness1 even though nothing is actually misrepresented4 ,for example1 ,a4 asks ,b4 to lend him ten cents for a month4 ,b4 knows that ,a4 is in a tight place1 and must have the money2 and so he offers it on condition that ,a4 will pay him twenty cents at the end of the month4 ,b4 is dishonest1 because he takes unlawful advantage of ,a4's necessity4 7#d7 ,there is a kind of cheating not referred to above--that is cheating in games4 ,apart from the effect of this kind of cheating upon the character1 the game itself is spoiled4 ,there is a tendency1 nowadays1 to play games for the sake of the victory alone1 and to take no interest in games that one cannot win4 ,we should play the game for its own sake1 and frown down all attempts to win it by going just a little outside of what we know to be the rules4 ,he who allows himself to cheat at games is forming a habit which will lead him to cheat later on in serious business4 7#e7 ,another form of dishonesty is that relating to property lost and found4 ,a boy finds a sum of money in a room1 or hall1 or playground1 or even on the street4 ,money is a thing not easily identified1 and there is1 therefore1 a temptation to pocket it and say nothing about it4 ,this is dishonest4 ,the duty in such a case is plain1 to try to find the owner1 and1 if that cannot be done1 then to put the money to some useful or charitable purpose1 and not into one's own pocket4 7#f7 ,still another form of dishonesty is that in which one person takes to himself the praise belonging to another2 or allows another to bear blame belonging to himself4 ,we often see boys letting others suffer1 in one way or another1 for what they have done4 ,nothing can be meaner or more contemptible4 ,it is not uncommon to see people eager to take the credit1 or praise1 or even rewards1 which properly belong to others1 who have been thrust aside1 or forgotten1 for the moment4 ,it is a form of dishonesty4 ,honesty has another side also4 ,when practised according to the voice of ,conscience1 without regard to what the law may be1 it is the sign of a noble character4 ,a young man's father fails in business1 and dies suddenly1 leaving many debts behind him unpaid4 ,the young man makes a solemn resolution that he will save and save1 and work his hardest1 to pay off those debts1 though he did not make them2 that is the ,honesty of the truly noble character4 ,a very striking example of this sort of ,honesty is that of ,sir ,walter ,scott1 who applied himself1 though nearly sixty years of age1 to the enormous task of paying off1 by the sale of his stories1 a debt of #fjj1jjj1 which he did not actually incur1 and from which he could have got free1 according to the letter of the law4 ,but his inflexible ,honesty forced him into making an effort which doubtless shortened his life4 ,no4 ,,viii4 ,,faithfulness ,faithfulness is being true to our word1 and to our friends1 fulfilling our obligations1 and doing what we see is our duty1 at all costs4 ,of the honest man we say3 ,his word is as good as his bond4 ,of the faithful man we say3 ,he was never known to desert a friend or neglect an important duty4 ,faithfulness is one of the strongest evidences of fine character4 ,the boy who is sent on an errand by his mother1 and resists the temptations of some playmates he meets on the way1 to stop and have a game1 is ,faithful4 ,two boys going for a walk in the country decide to cross a field of ripe grain1 and run the risk of being seen by the farmer in the next field4 ,they are seen and chased4 ,one can run much faster than the other2 in fact1 he can escape if he likes to leave the other4 ,but he doesn't2 and both are caught1 and have their ears cuffed4 ,that is an example of the ,faithfulness of a friend4 ,as the gentleman's psalm puts it1 ,he sweareth to his own hurt1 and changeth not2 or1 as it is otherwise translated1 ,he sweareth to his friend1 and changeth not4 ,in the history of ,napoleon we are told that1 after his burial at ,st4 ,helena1 his household sadly embarked for ,europe4 ,one of their number1 however1 ,sergeant ,hubert1 refused to abandon even the grave of the ,emperor4 ,for nineteen years he continued at ,st4 ,helena1 daily guarding the solitary tomb1 and when the remains were at length removed to ,france the faithful old servant followed them home4 ,how often we see people professing the utmost friendship and loyalty to one who has wealth and influence2 but as soon as his money is gone1 his faithless friends depart also4 ,is not that the case sometimes1 even with schoolboys8 ,we should be faithful in performing obligations4 ,it is said of ,thomas ,brassey1 who has been called a great captain of industry1 and who was one of the first to undertake great railway contracts1 that the reason of his success lay in the fact that he was faithful in all obligations1 and trusted his men as they trusted him4 ,on one occasion1 when he was building a railway in ,spain1 a man who had agreed to make a cutting through a hill found that it turned out to be a rock cutting1 though the price was to be for a sand cutting4 ,if there had not been perfect trust between the two men1 the work would have stopped1 and ,mr4 ,brassey would have lost a large sum through delay4 ,the sub-contractor went steadily on with the work1 and had it almost finished1 when ,mr4 ,brassey arrived from ,england to inspect the works4 ,when he came to the hill1 the sub-contractor told him what he had done4 ,some men would have taken advantage of the sub-contractor2 but ,mr4 ,brassey allowed him double the price agreed upon1 and kept a faithful servant by practising ,faithfulness himself4 ,a merchant fails in business4 ,he agrees with his creditors to pay them fifty cents in the dollar1 and they then discharge him from his liabilities1 and he begins business again4 ,in a few years he makes a good deal of money4 ,he determines to pay back to his old creditors the other fifty cents in the dollar1 from payment of which they had released4 ,that is a case of ,faithfulness to one's obligations4 ,the moral obligations to pay back everything remained1 though his creditors had let him off4 ,there are such men in the business world1 and all honour to them6 ,horace says3 ,fidelity is the sister of ,justice4 ,we should be especially careful to be faithful in the performance of our promises4 ,a promise is a sacred thing4 ,it is an obligation undertaken of our own free will1 and for which we have pledged our honour4 ,that is what the sacred poet means in saying3 ,he sweareth to his own hurt1 and changeth not4 ,nothing can turn him from his promise1 even though he is sure to suffer by it4 ,there is a proverb which says3 ,promises may get friends1 but it is performance that must keep them4 ,faithfulness is most difficult in the daily round and common task of life4 ,yet it is precisely there that ,character is formed and built up4 ,a reputation for ,faithfulness cannot be made by being strictly faithful a few times1 or in a few important things4 ,we have to practise at it1 and grow into the character of a faithful man after years of effort4 ,a boy is given ten words to parse for next day4 ,he does five carefully2 and then1 longing to get out to play1 he does the others anyhow1 just to be able to show the exercise1 and escape detention2 he is unfaithful4 ,or1 he is given four stanzas of poetry to learn4 ,he learns three1 and takes his chance of being asked one of the three1 and not the fourth2 he is unfaithful4 ,he is expected by his parents to watch over his younger brother who goes with him to school1 but he lets the little fellow fight his own way2 he is unfaithful4 ,he listens without protest1 or without moving away1 to bad1 or1 perhaps1 obscene1 language4 ,he is unfaithful to ,god1 and to his father and mother4 ,the late ,czar of ,russia1 ,alexander ,,iii41 was many times in danger of his life1 and his father had been assassinated by ,nihilists4 ,yet he refused to flinch from the path of duty4 ,he was faithful to his great position and responsibilities1 and was called the ,peace-keeper of ,europe4 ,when he was fresh from a hair-breadth escape from the hand of an assassin1 he said3 ,i am ready2 ,i will do my duty at any cost4 ,the highest examples of faithfulness are to be found in the history of the ,christian martyrs1 who gave up their lives joyfully1 rather than be found unfaithful4 ,in the terrible persecution of the early ,christians in ,a4,d4 #cjc1 a young ,roman noble1 named ,andronicus1 was brought before the governor of the province4 ,he was very bold in professing his faith in ,god4 ,the judge said3 ,youth makes you insolent2 ,i have my torments ready4 ,andronicus replied3 ,i am prepared for whatever may happen4 ,he was tortured upon the rack1 scraped with broken tiles1 and salt rubbed into his wounds1 but remained immovable4 ,three times the torture was repeated4 ,but with seared and scarred flesh1 members cut off1 teeth smashed in1 and tongue cut out1 he maintained his fidelity to the end4 ,at last he was thrown to the wild beasts in the amphitheatre of ,anazarbus4 ,be thou faithful unto death1 and ,i will give thee a crown of life4 ,no4 ,,ix4 ,,profanity ,profanity is using the name of ,god1 or of anything sacred1 in a disrespectful or light and careless way4 ,there is no vice which has so little excuse for existence as the vice of ,profanity1 commonly called swearing or cursing4 ,every other vice we can think of has some appearance of reason in it4 ,thieving is done because of the temptation to gratify some desire4 ,in the case of the young thief1 who is just learning the evil practice1 this desire completely overcomes him4 ,the enjoyment which he thinks he will get from the coveted thing forms an overwhelming temptation4 ,lying is generally resorted to by the young in order to get them out of scrapes1 or to avoid immediate punishment2 and we might thus enumerate other vices1 and the reasons for their existence4 ,but ,profanity can plead no excuse whatever4 ,it is merely a vicious habit acquired without sense or reason4 ,boys learn it from each other1 and in many cases from men1 who are doubly guilty in allowing the young to overhear evil words4 ,boys think it manly to swear because they hear their elders doing it4 ,but there is nothing manly about swearing4 ,the things that are truly manly are such things as ,fearlessness1 ,moral ,courage1 ,endurance1 ,steadfastness1 ,loyalty1 ,honour1 ,faithfulness4 ,profanity cannot rank with any of these4 ,placed beside them1 it is at once seen to be low and vicious4 7#a7 ,the worst form of ,profanity is that which is made use of when any one uses ,god's name in a disrespectful way4 ,we see this when one person curses another in the name of ,god4 ,this worst form of ,profanity generally arises from giving way to ungovernable passion4 7#b7 ,a less evil form of it arises from allowing one's self to form the habit of swearing2 not from a bad motive1 but because of the tendency in most of us to imitate others1 or from carelessness in watching the words we use4 ,boys should be as careful of their words as young ladies are of their steps4 ,it is easy to acquire a habit2 it is exceedingly difficult to get rid of it4 7#c7 ,a little boy asks3 ,is it ,profanity to say damn1 or to use lightly the name of the ,devil8 ,it is just as profane to use either of these words as it is to use the name of ,god carelessly4 ,the power of damn1 as we now understand that word1 belongs to ,god alone2 it is a sacred thing2 therefore1 it is profane to speak of it lightly4 ,the devil is the ruling spirit of evil1 and of the souls of those who are entirely given up to evil4 ,the destiny of the human soul in such a state is one of the most solemn thoughts that can come to men2 to speak lightly of the matter is to profane it4 7#d7 ,to scoff at religious things is ,profanity4 ,if a boy so behaves in church as to show that he has no respect for the reading of the ,bible1 or for the singing of sacred songs1 or for the act of prayer1 he is guilty of ,profanity4 ,if one person wilfully interferes with another when engaged in any sacred exercise1 meaning to bring the person or the act into disrepute1 he is guilty of ,profanity4 ,we see1 then1 that ,profanity covers a much wider field than the mere disrespectful use of ,god's name1 with an evil purpose in the mind4 ,the use of profane words is the mark of a coarse and vulgar mind4 ,many a man has been weaned of the habit which he learnt as a boy solely on account of its coarseness and vulgarity4 ,that is not a very high ground on which to give up a vice2 yet it is sufficient to show us that ,profanity tends to degrade him who practises it4 ,the man who prides himself on being a gentleman1 and yet uses bad language1 is by no means altogether a gentleman4 ,the use of coarse language destroys the fine and delicate texture of the mind1 and blunts the finer perceptions4 ,he who would keep his very highest faculties uninjured cannot afford to indulge in any habit which tends to coarseness4 ,washington once asked a number of his officers to dine with him4 ,in one of the pauses of conversation1 he heard one of them at the far end of the table utter an oath in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone4 ,the ,general looked quietly at his guests1 and then said3 ,i really thought ,i had invited none but gentlemen to dine with me4 ,plutarch said3 ,if any man think it a small matter to bridle his tongue1 he is much mistaken4 ,st4 ,james said3 ,if any man offend not in word1 the same is a perfect man1 and able also to bridle the whole body4 ,no4 ,x4 ,,justice ,justice is the principle of awarding to all men1 including ourselves1 what we believe to be their just rights4 ,we are morally bound to be just even to our enemies1 not only in our actions1 but also in our words and thoughts4 ,justice is said to be truth in action1 that is1 truth carried into practical operation4 ,two brothers at school have a hamper sent them from home4 ,it is directed to the elder1 but the letter says it is for both4 ,the elder takes charge of it1 and1 while enjoying its contents freely with his friends1 has the power to allow his brother to partake of the good things very sparingly1 and only occasionally4 ,but he allows his brother free access to the basket1 that both may share alike4 ,that is a simple case of ,justice4 ,a boy going out to steal apples from an orchard forced a younger and smaller boy to accompany him for the purpose of keeping a lookout4 ,while the bigger boy was in the middle of the orchard the younger lad was caught1 and taken back to school to be punished4 ,the real thief1 having escaped1 returned in time to see the little boy punished for the offence4 ,instead of bravely coming forward to take the place of his companion1 who was really his victim1 he laughed it off1 and promised him some candy at the end of the week4 ,that is a case of gross injustice4 ,the converse of this form of injustice is also common2 when one person takes the praise1 or reward1 that is really due to another4 ,we see injustice of that kind in business1 and1 indeed1 in every walk of life4 ,it has happened over and over again that the maker of some great invention has been obliged to sell it for bread1 while the man who bought it has taken advantage of his fellow-man's distress and made a fortune1 and the other was left in poverty4 ,render1 therefore1 to all their dues2 tribute to whom tribute is due2 custom to whom custom2 fear to whom fear2 honour to whom honour4 ,the ,thebans represented ,justice as having neither hands nor eyes2 their idea being to picture the just judge1 who would neither receive a bribe1 nor respect persons from their appearance4 ,for a similar reason the ,english people picture her with eyes bandaged1 and having a sword in one hand and a pair of scales in the other4 ,the ,emperor ,maximilian's motto was ,fiat justitia1 ruat coelum2 ,let justice be done1 though the heavens fall4 ,mahomet said3 ,one hour in the execution of justice is worth seventy years of prayer4 ,though the mills of ,god grind slowly1 yet they grind exceeding small2 ,though with patience ,he stands waiting1 with exactness grinds ,he all4 ,though man's justice fail1 ,god's justice can never fail in the end4 ,grievous injustice is often done by the exaggerations of enemies1 or careless busybodies4 ,two friends fall out1 and one1 feeling bitter against the other1 repeats something which the other has confessed in confidence1 taking care to add a little--just enough to save the story from absolute misrepresentation1 but enough to do his former friend an injury which1 perhaps1 can never be undone4 ,gossip about the failings of others almost always ends in injustice4 ,let every man be swift to hear2 slow to speak2 slow to wrath1 if he wish to become a just man4 ,one of the most harmful of the smaller sins1 and most difficult to get rid of1 is the sin of exaggeration4 ,it is fatal to the growth of ,justice in the character4 ,if we would be just to others1 it is well to practise the rule of silence unless we have something favourable to say4 ,the love of ,justice should lead us1 whenever we hear anything to a man's discredit about which there is no absolute certainty1 to give him the benefit of the doubt4 ,when a prisoner is being tried for an offence1 the judge always tells the jury that if there be any reasonable doubt about the evidence the prisoner must have the benefit of it4 ,it is better that the guilty go free than that the innocent should suffer4 ,we can be unjust in our thoughts of others1 as well as in our actions and in what we say4 ,we are constantly warned by the best and wisest men about the folly of rash judgments4 ,these words1 from the ,sermon on the ,mount1 are an example of many similar warnings3 ,judge not1 that ye be not judged2 for with what judgment ye judge1 ye shall be judged4 ,it is possible to be guilty of the gravest injustice to others1 by forming harsh opinions of them in our own minds for which we have not sufficient ground4 ,it is not necessary to utter our judgment in order to be unjust2 we can harm people merely by thinking evil of them1 because a harsh judgment in the mind affects all our dealings with them1 and may thus injure them in the opinion of others4 ,in seeking to be just men1 our grand guide should be the ,golden ,rule3 ,as ye would that men should do to you1 do to them likewise4 ,if1 when about to do1 or say1 or think1 anything unjust of any one1 we could get into the way of asking ourselves how we should look upon the matter if the positions of the persons were reversed1 there would be far less injustice in the world4 ,justice is one of the great virtues1 and it is worth striving after4 ,it is a virtue that we can only possess in a marked degree by constant practice in doing just acts1 in speaking just words1 and in thinking just thoughts4 ,no4 ,,xi4 ,,benevolence ,benevolence is good will4 ,the benevolent man has kind thoughts of everyone1 kind words for everyone1 and a helping hand for those who need it4 ,goldsmith's biographer tells us that when the poet was taking a stroll one evening1 he met a woman with five children1 who implored his charity4 ,her husband was in the hospital1 and she was from the country1 and had neither food nor shelter for her helpless offspring4 ,goldsmith's kind heart melted at the story4 ,he was almost as poor as herself1 and had no money in his pocket1 but he took her to the college gate1 and brought out to her the blankets from his bed to cover the children1 and part of his clothes to sell for food4 ,in the night he found himself cold1 and so he cut open his bed and buried himself among the feathers1 where he was found next morning by a college friend1 with whom he had promised to breakfast4 ,one boy has a feeling of spite against another1 owing to some trivial quarrel4 ,to vent it1 he goes to his enemy's room1 and1 in his absence1 slashes the gut of his tennis racket with a knife4 ,that is an example of ,malevolence1 or evil will1 or1 as it is commonly called1 ,malice4 ,the benevolent man is he who calls the whole world kin1 and refuses to harbour an evil intention against any one4 ,to have a mind like that requires long practise in patience1 charity1 fortitude1 forgiveness1 and self-denial4 ,st4 ,paul1 in one of his most famous letters1 says that ,benevolence is made up of these very things2 so that in this matter we have not only our own experience1 but a great authority to corroborate it4 ,shakespeare1 too1 says3 ,deep malice makes too deep incision2 ,forget1 forgive2 conclude1 and be agreed4 ,the saying of another poet1 ,to err is human1 to forgive divine1 might well read1 ,to avenge is human1 to forgive divine4 ,every one who gives way to malicious anger usurps the place of ,god1 and says to himself1 ,vengeance is mine4 ,but who ever got any lasting satisfaction out of revenge1 when wrath has died away1 and the injury he has suffered begins to look smaller8 ,sir ,john ,lubbock well says3 ,revenge does us more harm than the injury itself2 and no one ever intended to hurt another1 but did at the same time a greater harm to himself1 'as the bee shall perish if she stings angrily4' ,the vulture1 we are told1 scents nothing but carrion1 and the snapping turtle is said to bite before it leaves the egg1 and after it is dead4 ,if a little boy is hurt1 how kind the big boy becomes in his help and in his words6 ,and yet1 when he gets well again1 perhaps the same big boy will make his life miserable1 through unkindnesses which really amount to bullying4 ,it is difficult to say kind things of those whom we do not like1 and it is far harder to think kind thoughts about them2 but1 if we wish to be really men of good will1 we shall have to make the effort to do both4 ,difficult as it may be1 it is quite certain that the trial is worth making4 ,the benevolent man is the happiest man in the world4 ,happiness is thus brought to us by striving to do what we think we shall hate doing4 ,there is an old proverb which says3 ,pursue happiness1 and she will flee2 avoid her1 and she will pursue4 ,the distinctive feature of ,benevolence is willingness to lend a helping hand to those in need of it4 ,one great name in this respect is that of ,william ,wilberforce1 who gave up his time and energies to abolishing the slave trade4 ,no other human being ever did a greater work than that1 and no other name will live longer in history than his4 ,another great name is that of ,john ,howard1 who gave the best years of his life to improving the condition of prisons1 not only in ,england1 but in other countries1 too4 ,in three years he personally inspected every prison in the three kingdoms that presented any peculiarity4 ,he travelled ten thousand miles at his own expense1 and delivered from prison a large number of poor debtors by paying their debts4 ,wherever he went he brought some alleviation to the lot of the prisoner by gifts of money1 bread1 meat1 or tea1 and by remonstrating with jailers1 surgeons1 chaplains1 and magistrates4 ,several prisons underwent a complete renovation and reformation1 solely in consequence of his conversations with county magistrates and circuit judges4 ,we may not all be able to do great deeds of ,benevolence2 but we can all get into the habit of lending a hand whenever it is needed--not merely when a great occasion demands1 but habitually4 ,a handful of good life is worth a bushel of learning4 ,we can all practise keeping cheerful tempers1 and saying kind words1 and doing small acts of kindness1 even to enemies4 ,what distinguished ,christ1 as a teacher1 from all other teachers that went before him1 was ,his treatment of this subject of ,benevolence4 ,the old and well-established law was3 ,an eye for an eye1 and a tooth for a tooth4 ,he laid down a new law1 the principle of ,benevolence3 ,if thine enemy hunger1 feed him3 if he thirst1 give him drink4 ,no4 ,,xii4 ,,ambition ,ambition is that longing for pre-eminence which urges men to intense and long-sustained exertions4 ,ambition is good or evil1 according as it is selfish1 or seeks the good of mankind4 ,ambition is the putting forth of immense energy with a definite purpose in view4 ,nearly all the great achievements of the human race have been accomplished by means of the ambition of individuals1 ,alexander the ,great1 ,csar1 ,st4 ,paul1 ,henry ,,iv4 of ,france1 ,raleigh1 ,gustavus ,adolphus1 ,richelieu1 ,warren ,hastings1 ,clive1 ,napoleon1 ,wellington1 ,nelson1 ,faraday1 ,pallissy1 ,livingstone1 ,gordon1 ,edison1 all achieved great deeds through ambition4 ,but as the names represent types of good and bad character1 so there are two kinds of ambition1 noble and selfish1 good and bad4 ,it must be confessed that ,ambition is apt to lead men astray4 ,it is hard to be ambitious without being at the same time selfish1 proud1 and covetous4 ,ambition is a dangerous possession to the young man whose character is not well grounded1 and who has not learned to put the good of his fellow-men above his own personal advancement2 and these two things always clash in questions of right and wrong4 ,we are told that when the ,russian engineers were consulting the ,czar about the line of a railway from ,st4 ,petersburg to ,moscow1 he refused to listen to a statement of difficulties1 but took a ruler1 and1 laying it on a map of ,russia1 drew a straight line between the two cities1 and ordered the engineers to disregard towns1 and private homes1 and obstacles of any other kind4 ,napoleon literally waded through slaughter to a throne1 and cared nothing for the sacrifice of his soldiers or the tears of a whole nation4 ,ambition is bad when it leads men to seek power to gratify personal ends4 ,csar's ambition was evil because he thirsted for personal power for his own gratification and pride4 ,the thirst for money is a bad ,ambition4 ,it nearly always ends in making man a miser1 than whom there is no man more contemptible and pitiable4 ,it is seldom a man amasses a very great fortune without depriving other people of their rights4 ,the wise man said3 ,he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent4 ,ambition often destroys the character of the man who gives way to it4 ,macbeth was a great general1 and a brave and honest man4 ,in thinking over the murder of the king1 which his wife proposed to him1 he said3 ,i have no spur ,to prick the sides of my intent1 but only ,vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself1 ,and falls on the other2 meaning that he had no motive whatever for killing ,duncan except the ambition to occupy his throne4 ,ambition destroyed him4 ,frederick the ,great bound himself to befriend and support the young ruler of ,austria1 yet he violated his oath1 robbed his ally1 and plunged ,europe into a long and desolating war4 ,to quote his own words3 ,ambition1 interest1 the desire of making people talk about me1 carried the day1 and ,i decided for war4 ,he sacrificed his own soul for the sake of the glory arising out of victorious war4 ,the danger of ,ambition to young men is that it leads to discontent with their present lot in life4 ,many a young man has been utterly ruined by giving way to discontent because of ,ambition4 ,a young man in a bank1 filled with ,ambition1 wishes to improve his position4 ,his salary is small1 and he feels cramped4 ,he begins to speculate through brokers1 paying a little cash down4 ,perhaps he is successful at first4 ,then he hears of some railway shares that are going up in price every day4 ,if he can only get some money to buy he can repay it in a week1 and make a great profit for himself4 ,he takes the bank's money4 ,he does this several times1 until at last the crash comes1 as it always does1 and the young man is sent to spend some of the best years of his life in gaol4 ,ambition has destroyed his reputation1 and has cost him his liberty and his friends4 ,to excel in his present calling1 is a lawful ,ambition for a young man1 leaving it to the future1 to his reputation1 and to ,god1 to lift him higher4 ,how much wiser and happier ,macbeth would have been if he had kept to his first resolution3 ,if chance will have me king1 why1 chance may crown me4 ,it is quite possible for ,ambition and ,contentment to go together1 and to produce the very greatest results in the long run4 ,this was the ambition of ,general ,gordon1 that he might excel others as a soldier1 and yet be content with a position humble as men count such things4 ,he refused repeated offers of money from the ,emperor of ,china4 ,he accepted the ,peacock ,feather and ,yellow ,jacket to give pleasure to his mother1 and to enable him to exert the necessary influence upon the ,chinese in settling the country after the horrors of war4 ,this was the kind of ,ambition held by ,livingstone1 by ,palissy the potter1 and1 above all men in modern times1 by ,faraday4 ,when ,faraday made known some of his discoveries1 he was offered large sums to make experiments for merchants1 and he might soon have become very rich1 but it would have taken all his time4 ,he refused2 he remained poor2 he gave himself up to scientific research1 and he made the name of ,england great in the scientific world1 as it had never been before4 ,the highest ,ambition a man can have is to be able to make a sacrifice of his inclinations1 and to give himself up to some noble work for the good of mankind1 without any thought of profit or pride1 or place or power1 or any other form of selfishness4 ,no4 ,,xiii4 ,,patriotism ,patriotism is love of and devotion to one's country4 ,it is the spirit that prompts us from love of our country to obey its laws1 to support and defend its existence and its rights1 and to promote its welfare4 ,maurice once said1 very truly1 that man is most just1 on the whole1 to every other nation who has the strongest feeling of attachment to his own4 ,love of one's country1 if it be real and deeply rooted in the heart1 is a sacred thing4 ,there are few nobler feelings1 if only they are genuine4 ,a boy's patriotism is generally associated with fireworks and brass bands1 and it is right enough that he should make merry on his country's great days4 ,but we should guard against thinking that there is nothing more in ,patriotism than fireworks and bragging and brass bands4 ,the show1 the display1 should be only the mark of a real love and respect within the breast4 ,it is natural to be proud of one's country4 ,if a stranger should abuse it in our hearing1 we should feel indignant1 and a natural feeling of pride would urge us to refute his statements4 ,there are many things to be proud of1 even in a country by no means great in arms or in territory4 ,he would be a very small-minded man who refused to acknowledge the right of every country to the devotion of its children4 ,but1 as ,maurice said1 he is most just to others who has the deepest attachment to his own4 ,it is not boasting to say that we belong to the greatest race that the world has ever seen4 ,the growth of our race1 not only in the little mother island1 but also in every continent of the world1 has not been paralleled by any other people4 ,no other nation in history has retained so long its supremacy among the nations of the earth4 ,when the great nations of ,greece and ,rome reached the height of their power1 they maintained it for a time by means of slaves1 and gave themselves up to luxury and vice4 ,but1 as soon as they became effeminate through loss of vigour and the idleness of their citizens1 their power1 and even their national existence1 were destroyed4 ,instead of maintaining its power and wealth by slave armies and slave labour1 the ,english people abolished slavery off the face of the civilized world4 ,england paid ,portugal #a1ejj1jjj1 ,spain #b1jjj1jjj1 to induce them to give up the slave trade4 ,for fifty years ,england kept a squadron on the west coast of ,africa to keep down the slave trade1 at a cost of #c1ejj1jjj a year4 ,she paid the ,west ,indies and ,mauritius #ajj1jjj1jjj to free their slaves4 ,the sum which it cost the ,english-speaking people of ,america to put down the slave trade cannot be calculated4 ,the ancient nations of ,greece and ,rome derived immense sums of money from their colonies4 ,they made the colonies pay for the support of all the armies and the general expense of government4 ,england has never taxed a colony with any great burden4 ,it is estimated by ,sir ,john ,lubbock that in ten years1 from #ahei to #ahfi1 #baj1jjj1jjj was spent by the mother country upon her colonies4 ,it is the glory of ,canadians to belong to such a race4 ,the old land from which we came is worthy of our deepest love and veneration and pride4 ,as ,tennyson patriotically says3 ,there is no land like ,england1 ,where'er the light of day be2 ,there are no hearts like ,english hearts1 ,such hearts of oak as they be4 ,and this new land1 too1 claims our love and loyalty4 ,no boy ever grew to manhood with a fairer heritage than the young ,canadian possesses4 ,but if his privileges are many1 so1 too1 are the duties of citizenship4 ,after all1 the best patriot is the best citizen4 ,it is easy to cheer with the crowd1 even when its cry is ,our country1 right or wrong4 ,that can never be the cry of the true patriot4 ,in fact1 real ,patriotism concerns itself not with cries1 but with deeds4 ,he is said to be the truest patriot who can make two blades of corn grow where only one grew before4 ,how true that is for ,canadians6 ,our country does not at this stage of its history require the partisan1 or the politician2 we have too many of them4 ,it needs men who love her as men love their homes and families2 thinking it an honour and a pride to labour for them4 ,patriotism is a sacred thing1 a sacred duty4 ,ruskin says1 ,nothing is permanently helpful to any race or condition of men but the spirit that is in their own hearts1 kindled by the love of their native land4 ,it is our duty to cultivate the love of our country1 to do everything in our power to make that love stronger as we grow older4 ,if we love our country1 if we see that in her which calls forth our enthusiasm1 then we are ready to make any sacrifice for her that she may demand1 even to shedding our blood4 ,ruskin also says3 ,it is precisely in accepting death as the end of all1 and in laying down his life for his friends1 that the hero and patriot of all time has become the glory and safety of his country4 ,no4 ,,xiv4 ,,bodily ,,exercise ,mens sana in corpore sano4 ,the glory of young men is their strength4 ,he that hath clean hands waxeth stronger and stronger4 ,dr4 ,hall tells the following true story3 ,two friends are in a canoe in the ,mozambique channel4 ,a flaw of wind upsets the boat1 which fills and sinks1 and the men are left to swim for their lives4 ,one says to the other3 ,it is a long pull to the shore1 but the water is warm and we are strong4 ,we will hold by each other1 and all will be well4 ,no1 says his friend1 ,i have lost my breath already2 each wave that strikes us knocks it from my body4 ,in a moment he is gone4 ,his friend can do nothing2 only swim1 and then float1 and rest himself1 and breathe2 to swim again1 and then float1 and rest again2 hour after hour to swim and float with that calm determination that he will go home2 hour after hour1 till at last the palm trees show distinct upon the shore1 and then the figures of animals4 ,and then1 at last1 his foot touches the coral1 and he is safe4 ,that is an example of the difference wrought in two men merely by exercise1 or the steadiness of training4 ,exercise makes the body strong4 ,many a man has reason to bless the memory of his father or teacher1 who1 when he was a weak boy1 with flabby muscles1 and without energy or strength of will1 made him take regular exercise4 ,a young man who was threatened by weak lungs was ordered to take regular ,exercise every day with clubs and dumb-bells and a vigorous walk in the open air4 ,after a few months' steady practice he found that he could1 with his hands1 lift his elder brother1 lying flat on the ground1 by the clothes and elevate him above his own head4 ,neglect of ,exercise keeps the muscles weak1 makes the blood impure1 and renders the body liable to the diseases which are ever ready to attack him4 ,we now know that diseases enter the human body by means of minute living germs1 which float unseen in the atmosphere4 ,practically1 no people living in towns escape these germs2 but the strong body is able to throw them off1 while the weak succumbs4 ,there are in the blood thousands of little bodies which act as scavengers1 and are continually fighting against foreign invaders that get into the system4 ,if the body becomes weak through lack of ,exercise1 the blood suffers1 the number of scavengers becomes lessened1 and disease more easily fastens upon it4 ,not only is the body weakened by lack of ,exercise1 but the brain is even more so4 ,if a stream of pure blood be necessary for the strength of the body1 it is far more necessary for the health of the brain4 ,parents often complain that their sons are stupid1 and are not able to see through things1 and have poor memories1 when the trouble lies chiefly in the fact that the blood is unable to carry off the worn-out elements of the brain1 because it is not kept pure by regular ,exercise and fresh air4 ,the secret of mental activity is complete bodily health4 ,the boy who is subject to headaches cannot study hard2 nine-tenths of the headaches arise from giving the stomach too much hard work1 and the brain too little4 ,the stomach is capable of an immense amount of labour if the other members of the body will only work1 too2 but if they get idle1 it is apt to break down under its burdens1 and then the brain suffers4 ,the ,english race has always been characterized by immense energy4 ,probably no other race has ever been so distinguished for enterprise and energy4 ,it is the energy of the race which has led to the growth of its vast colonies1 and to the maintenance of empire over less civilized peoples4 ,it has made the ,united ,states the great nation that it is4 ,energy makes the man1 as it makes the nation4 ,the vast majority of people depend for energy upon ,exercise4 ,loafing destroys energy4 ,mental energy depends very largely upon physical energy1 except in the case of the sick4 ,physical energy depends upon taut muscles and supple joints4 ,the relation of ,exercise to morality is very close4 ,if a young man fills up his spare time with ,exercise1 he runs no risk of going to the bad morally4 ,after a day's work1 and active ,exercise to end it1 he needs a great deal of sleep2 and his sleep is sound and refreshing4 ,the sleeplessness that arises from loafing causes an immense amount of mischief to the moral nature--impure thoughts1 or half-waking dreams1 with1 perhaps1 degrading habits growing out of them4 ,when the body is in a good state of health1 man's faith in ,god1 and in truth1 purity1 and honour1 is bright and steadfast4 ,when his body is run down1 through neglect1 everything looks gloomy4 ,an important part of ,exercise is the work of keeping the body clean4 ,it is just as necessary to keep the outside of the body clean and sweet as the inside2 and as the inside is being continuously cleansed by pure blood1 the outside should be cleansed regularly with water4 ,the decayed matter in the body1 carried off by the blood1 escapes chiefly in one way--that is1 through the pores of the skin1 and if these pores are allowed to get choked by neglect the dead matter remains in the system and pollutes it1 and the body soon gets out of order4 ,it is a duty to take sufficient exercise every day to incite perspiration1 and then a cold plunge or sponge bath1 or1 at least1 a vigorous rub-down4 ,if we could only get into the habit of doing that1 we might snap our fingers at most kinds of disease4 ,these things depend largely upon daily ,exercise3 ,bodily ,strength1 ,mental ,activity1 ,energy1 the ,moral ,life4 ,no4 ,,xv4 ,,habit ,by ,habit is meant accustoming ourselves to do certain things regularly4 ,habit is a tendency of the mind and body resulting from frequent repetition of the same acts4 ,an old man who had very deformed fingers said3 ,for over fifty years ,i used to drive a stage1 and these bent fingers show the effect of holding the reins for so many years4 ,carlyle said3 ,habit is the deepest law of human nature4 ,it is our supreme strength1 and also1 in certain circumstances1 our miserablest weakness4 ,in the life of the young1 especially1 the two greatest laws are ,habit and ,imitation4 ,there is nothing a boy's parents fear so much as that he will imitate bad things in the characters of others1 and so learn bad habits4 ,when a boy has learnt a great many bad habits1 it is almost impossible to get rid of their effects1 even though he should change his habits4 ,they leave marks upon the character1 just as smallpox does upon the face4 ,it is easy to learn bad habits4 ,it is just like the old game of ,follow your ,leader4 ,unless the leader is a very clever athlete1 most boys have no difficulty in following and imitating what he does4 ,when once a boy makes up his mind that he is not going to be very particular about his language1 it is astonishing how easily he will learn to swear1 and to use unclean words4 ,but if he should become ashamed of such a habit1 how hard it is to drop it6 ,he may make the strongest resolutions1 and try his best to put them in practice2 but he will find himself dropping into profane language when he gets excited1 or loses his temper1 or at other times when it is particularly necessary for him to be careful4 ,with many people to do a thing once is to form the ,habit4 ,it is well known that the taste for wine and spirits is often inherited by a boy from his parents4 ,for that boy1 or young man1 to drink once is to form a ,habit1 though he may be quite unconscious of it4 ,we always do form habits unconsciously1 and we often know nothing of them until they are fully formed and have nearly mastered us4 ,if some kind friend warn the youth1 he may drop the habit at once2 but1 if not1 drinking will soon be a positive pleasure1 and1 before he knows it1 he will be on the primrose way4 ,let a young man give way a few times to impure imaginations and thoughts1 and he will soon be in danger of a habit that will destroy him1 body and soul4 ,the curse of the human race is the tendency to form bad habits4 ,the surest way to avoid bad habits is to form good ones before the former become established4 ,and the first good ,habit that will help us to avoid or conquer bad ones is never to be idle4 ,an idle man is like the housekeeper who keeps the door open for any burglar4 ,i do not mean by not being idle that we should never cease from work4 ,but ,i do mean that as soon as work ceases play should begin4 ,idleness is loafing2 and nothing so surely produces other bad habits as the habit of loafing4 ,the boy who has a game in view the moment his work ceases is not in very great danger of forming bad habits4 ,the boy who is in danger is he who1 having done the least possible amount of work in school hours1 is tired by the effort to do nothing1 and so would rather lie upon his bed than take exercise4 ,the ,habit of exercise is a sacred duty4 ,all feel the effects of systematic neglect of fresh air and muscular training1 and most young men and boys do take exercise spasmodically--one day a great deal1 and the next1 perhaps1 none at all4 ,the bodily system can no more flourish under that sort of treatment than it could if one were to over-eat on one day1 and go absolutely without on the next4 ,the only way to bring the body to a high state of cultivation and to keep it there is to form the habit of exercise1 and let nothing interfere with it4 ,it need not be always the same2 it should be varied2 but it should always be active4 ,if a boy does not care for very violent exercise1 he can substitute for it light gymnasium work1 or club and dumb-bell exercise4 ,the great ,sandow says that he keeps his strength up to the point of efficiency by clubs and dumb-bells1 and open-air exercise4 ,the great thing about it is regularity2 that is to say1 ,habit4 ,another great factor of success in life is the ,habit of early rising4 ,we all love to lie in bed a little longer than we ought2 but we should fight against it4 ,mr4 ,gladstone1 throughout his years of vigour1 took seven hours sleep1 and he said to a friend3 ,i should like to have eight2 ,i hate getting up in the morning1 and ,i hate it the same every morning4 ,but one can do anything by habit1 and when ,i have had my seven hours sleep my habit is to get up4 ,king ,george ,,iii4 was an early riser4 ,he once said to a man who came late3 ,six hours sleep enough for a man1 seven for a woman1 and eight for a fool4 ,dickens use to rise at seven1 have a cold bath1 and then blaze away till three o'clock4 ,kant1 the greatest philosopher of modern times1 used to retire at ten1 and his servant had strict orders never to allow him to sleep later than five1 no matter how strongly he might plead for rest4 ,sir ,walter ,scott said3 ,god bless that habit of getting up at seven4 ,i could do nothing without it4 ,the ,duke of ,wellington said that when we turn in bed it is time to turn out4 ,the wise boy will form habits of reading good books regularly1 especially the ,bible2 of exact and strict punctuality in all his engagements1 great or small2 of neatness in his appearance2 of personal cleanliness2 of politeness of speech4 ,a ,habit once learned will stick to one1 whether good or bad4 ,habit at first is but a silken thread4444 ,beware6 that thread may bind thee as a chain4 ,no4 ,,xvi4 ,,industry ,industry is the fully formed habit of work4 ,it is that which prevents us from wasting time1 and strength1 and the powers of mind4 ,its opposite is ,indolence1 or ,laziness4 ,work is a fundamental law of life4 ,he who does not work must suffer1 whether he be rich or poor1 because man cannot break any law of nature without paying the penalty4 ,if a man deliberately sin against nature1 that is1 against ,god1 he may be forgiven1 but he cannot escape the result1 or1 in other words1 the punishment4 ,but all work is not ,industry4 ,if we are compelled to work against our will1 that is not ,industry4 ,there must be the habit1 and no habit can be fully formed without the mind's consent4 ,industry is work done with a will2 not at odd moments1 with wide spaces of idleness between1 but regularly as a habit1 which is as much the business of life as eating and sleeping4 ,in the history of mankind1 ,industry has been a far greater power than ,genius4 ,genius1 indeed1 has been called the power of taking pains2 that is1 immense perseverance4 ,the amount of good done to mankind by men of genius who have had no ,industry is hardly worth counting up4 ,nearly all the world's great men have been men of great diligence4 ,as ,cicero said3 ,diligence is the one virtue that includes all the rest4 ,solomon has the same thought3 ,the soul of the diligent shall be made fat4 ,it is astonishing what a large number of great men have risen by their own industry to positions of the highest authority and influence4 ,faraday was the greatest chemist of modern times4 ,his father was a village blacksmith1 and he himself was first a newsboy1 and then learnt the trade of bookbinding4 ,he became interested in books through making their covers4 ,turner1 the greatest modern landscape painter1 was the son of a barber4 ,he left school when he was thirteen2 and from that time earned his own living4 ,sir ,william ,jones1 the great oriental scholar1 was a man of enormous ,industry4 ,before he was twenty years old1 he had mastered ,greek1 ,latin1 ,italian1 ,spanish1 and ,portuguese1 and had made great progress in ,arabic and ,persian4 ,he divided his day as follows3 ,seven hours to law1 to soothing slumber seven1 ,ten to the world allot1 and all to heaven4 ,hugh ,miller1 the great geologist1 began life as a stonemason4 ,elihu ,burritt1 a blacksmith1 mastered eighteen languages and twenty-two dialects4 ,such perseverance and diligence should make us feel ashamed of neglected opportunities4 ,the main thing to keep in mind about ,industry is that it is a habit1 and1 like most good habits1 somewhat difficult to acquire4 ,a boy is given a piece of work by his father4 ,he goes at it with great vigour2 but1 in a short time1 his attention is attracted by his dog1 or birds1 and he leaves the work for something more pleasant2 he is not ,industrious4 ,a boy begins his night lessons and works five minutes1 and then remembers something that happened that afternoon at play2 he returns to his book for five minutes more1 and then thinks of the next half-holiday--and so on4 ,industry means concentration1 and he has not learnt anything about that yet4 ,at the beginning of the lesson1 a boy pays close attention2 but he soon sees that his nails require attention1 or his pencil a finer point1 or the nearness of his neighbour suggests a small trick4 ,perhaps his head is heavy and requires to be held up by one hand1 or the hero of the latest story persists in thrusting himself upon the mind1 or he wishes he were out camping4 ,industry is attention2 and he has not yet learned how to keep his mind on his work4 ,most boys suffer from lack of power to pay attention for a considerable time4 ,with some it is a disease arising from physical causes4 ,if a boy has got into the habit of imagining impure things1 his power of attention is in danger of being destroyed2 if he has learned to practise secret vice1 his brain is being destroyed4 ,some boys possess marvellous power of concentration4 ,macaulay's mother tells us that he wrote a fairly complete history of the world1 occupying twelve pages1 when he was seven years old4 ,but the average boy needs to have his power of attention cultivated1 as any other faculty is trained4 ,he can do this1 first1 by striving to take an interest in everything that presents itself to his mind1 no matter how dry2 and1 secondly1 by practising attention4 ,he can do this by keeping a watch open1 and seeing how long he can work without thinking of outside things4 ,there is no more notable example of industry in our own day than that of ,edison4 ,he is said to sleep only three or four hours in the twenty-four for months at a time4 ,those who live with him say that his ,industry is the most remarkable thing about him4 ,some one once asked him how to succeed in life4 ,his answer was3 ,don't look at the clock6 ,attention produces the habit of ,industry1 that is1 of wasting not a moment in idleness4 ,lord ,nelson said that he attributed his success in life to a habit he formed of being fifteen minutes ahead of time for all his engagements4 ,imagine a boy being fifteen minutes ahead of time in rising1 and at meals1 lessons1 and prayers6 ,the habitual late comer is destroying his faculty for ,industry4 ,no one can afford to waste time2 and there would be less time wasted if we could only remember that idleness is ,suffering1 if not now1 then later on4 ,the great ,cobbet said3 ,i learned grammar when ,i was a private soldier on the pay of sixpence a day4 ,the edge of my berth was my seat2 my knapsack was my bookcase2 a bit of board on my lap was my writing table4 ,i had no money for candles2 in the winter time it was rarely that ,i could get any evening light but that of the fire1 and only my turn at that4 ,sir ,john ,lubbock says3 ,industry brings its own reward4 ,columbus discovered ,america while searching for a western passage to ,india2 and1 as ,goethe pointed out1 ,saul found a kingdom while he was looking for his father's asses4 ,there is1 for a boy1 no motto grander than ,luther's ,nulla dies sine linea4 ,an old sun-dial in a churchyard in ,scotland has these words engraved on it3 ,i am a shadow1 ,so art thou2 ,i mark time1 ,dost thou8 ,no4 ,,xvii4 ,,self-,,control ,self-control is the power a man exercises over himself--the power to check his desires and passions2 the power to deny himself present pleasures for the sake of a great purpose2 the power to concentrate his energies on a single object in life4 ,self-control is the basis of all ,character1 and the root of all the virtues4 ,without it1 man is like a ship that has lost its rudder1 and tosses helpless upon the waves4 ,self-control is one of the hardest things to learn1 though no one can succeed in life without it4 ,we say of the poor drunkard3 ,he could never say no6 ,the young man who can say no to his friends1 when his ,conscience tells him he should1 has learned one of the hardest lessons of his life1 and is in no danger of many of the worst pitfalls of early manhood4 ,tennyson says3 ,self-reverence1 self-knowledge1 self-control1 ,these three alone lead life to sovereign power4 ,the wise man said3 ,he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty2 and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city4 ,a boy at school finds the greatest difficulty in paying attention4 ,his mind keeps wandering away from his work4 ,he makes good resolutions1 but finds that1 in spite of them1 he cannot fix his attention4 ,after a time1 he despairs of himself1 and gives up his chance1 and perhaps bitterly disappoints his parents4 ,the trouble was lack of ,self-control4 ,he had never learned how to master himself4 ,he who can master himself can master almost any difficulty4 ,he must learn what ,concentration means4 ,it is a habit1 and can only be acquired little by little1 by earnest effort1 and a strict watch upon self4 ,a good plan is to keep a watch open1 and see how long the mind can be kept at work without suffering any interruption4 ,if we learn to control self in one way1 it becomes easier to do so in others4 ,if a boy is given to flying into a rage1 and practises checking himself1 until the habit is controlled1 it will not be nearly so hard to control himself in other ways4 ,one of the hardest things to conquer is the habit of exaggeration2 it is so easy to overstate a thing1 so hard to keep to the exact truth4 ,the boy who conquers a habit like that is on the road to thorough ,self-control4 ,control of the appetite is1 perhaps1 the most difficult form of ,self-control for boys to practise4 ,he who gives way to his appetite yields the reins to a reckless driver4 ,there is no vice more disgusting or more dangerous than gluttony4 ,it is the vestibule to all the other vices4 ,it is quite as important a duty to control one's stomach as to check one's tongue4 ,the best things are apt to come to him who has learned to do without2 though ,self-control for its own sake is the herald of happiness4 ,in the life of ,general ,gordon1 we are told that he once offered a native of the ,soudan a drink of water4 ,the man declined the water1 saying that he had had a drink the day before4 ,a drink every other day was enough for him2 he had learned ,self-control4 ,history is full of examples of the failure of men and nations through the loss of ,self-control4 ,the ,greek nation was destroyed because the people gave themselves up to idleness and the gratification of their desires4 ,so were the ,romans1 who were conquered by the savage ,goths1 who possessed the virtue of ,self-restraint4 ,no man ever yet became great who did not practise the great virtue of ,self-denial4 ,st4 ,paul said3 ,i keep under my body1 and bring it into subjection4 ,no4 ,,xviii4 ,,self-,,reliance ,self-reliance is the power to help one's self4 ,it is personal independence4 ,it is that which makes labour enjoyable4 ,it is that which adds ,zest to a man's pursuits in life1 and produces the highest success4 ,he who learns the great lesson of ,self-reliance will never lack the means of livelihood or the opportunity for usefulness4 ,it is the duty of every boy to learn to depend upon himself4 ,his father may be a rich man now1 but it is far easier to lose wealth than to create it1 and the day may come when his father may have to depend upon him4 ,that every man should earn his own bread is one of the fundamental duties of life4 ,st4 ,paul laid it down as a law for the ,christians in ,thessaly that if any would not work1 neither should he eat4 ,most people have the stern necessity to labour laid upon them2 but there are some who have inherited1 or expect to inherit1 wealth1 and who see no need to employ their abilities in active1 steady1 persistent labour1 and yet it is just these who have the power to confer special benefits and blessings upon their fellow-men4 ,he who has no cares about the earning of his daily bread has a great opportunity to devote himself to some special line of labour which will result in a lasting benefit to the community in which he lives1 and which requires leisure for its proper development4 ,the rich man is a curse to his country1 instead of a blessing1 if he keeps his capital from active employment1 and at the same time neglects to use for the good of his fellows that higher sort of capital--his personal abilities4 ,if the schoolboy wish to make real progress1 he must learn to depend upon himself alone4 ,he will never master a subject thoroughly if he go constantly to the master1 or to another boy1 for help4 ,he who gets another to do his lessons for him cheats not only the master1 but himself also4 ,the boy who loves to overcome difficulties1 whether they be in the gymnasium1 or the class-room1 or the cricket field1 is sure to succeed in the struggles of after life4 ,self-reliance comes naturally to some people1 especially to those who have bodies trained by vigorous exercise4 ,to others it becomes a habit only after long effort1 but it is beyond the reach of no one4 ,two things are required for its attainment3 determination and practice4 ,we need not expect to attain any good habit without failure at first4 ,but1 as has been wisely said3 ,perseverance1 self-reliance1 energetic effort1 are doubly strengthened when you rise from failure to battle again4 ,emerson said3 ,self-trust is the first secret of success2 and in another place3 ,self-trust is the essence of heroism4 ,it would be easy to give a great many examples of the virtue of ,self-reliance4 ,one of the greatest in modern times was that of ,lord ,beaconsfield1 ,prime ,minister of ,england4 ,he tried many times before he at last got a seat in parliament4 ,the first time he tried to speak in that great assembly1 he was received with shouts of laughter1 when he said3 ,gentlemen1 ,i now sit down1 but a day will come when you shall hear me4 ,all will remember the wonderful ,self-reliance of the ,black ,prince at the battle of ,crey4 ,at the close of his life1 ,jean ,paul said3 ,i have made as much out of myself as could be made of the stuff1 and no man should require more4 ,lord ,bacon said3 ,men seem neither to understand their riches nor their strength3 of the former they believe greater things than they should1 of the latter much less4 ,self-reliance and ,self-control will teach a man to drink out of his own cistern1 and eat his own sweet bread1 and to learn and labour truly to get his living1 and carefully to expend the good things committed to his trust4 ,self-reliance does not mean ,self-assertion4 ,the truly self-reliant man is modest in his language and manners4 ,the boaster has usually very little backbone to his character4 ,self-reliance is a deeply-rooted feeling of reserve power1 which makes a man strong under all circumstances4 ,it carries with it an equally strong feeling of self-respect4 ,the old ,french proverb says that a man is rated by others as he rates himself4 ,goethe's advice to young men was3 ,make good thy standing place1 and move the world4 ,no4 ,,xix4 ,,friendship ,friendship is that feeling between people which leads them to trust each other entirely1 to tell each other of their difficulties1 hopes1 and fears2 to share with each other pleasures and sorrows2 to help each other when need arises1 even though it involves a sacrifice4 ,cicero thought ,friendship of so much importance in life that he wrote a treatise on it4 ,he said3 ,of all the things which wisdom provides for the happiness of a lifetime1 by far the greatest is friendship4 ,certainly1 it is a thing for which human nature seems to cry out4 ,lord ,bacon quotes an old saying3 ,whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god4 ,just as we all desire to be liked rather than to be hated1 so we long to have1 at least1 one friend to whom we can tell everything1 and who will stand by us4 ,we envy him who has many friends4 ,we may set it down as a truth1 that if we have no friends the fault lies in ourselves4 ,there is something lacking in us1 or there is some horrid thing in our character that others cannot like4 ,real ,friendship must be based on admiration1 or liking for some quality that he who is desired as a friend possesses4 ,the boy who lacks friends1 but longs for them1 must search his own heart and character to see if he cannot find out what is the matter with him4 ,it is better to have one or two friends than to be popular with the crowd4 ,some boys will do anything to be popular1 even to sacrificing ,friendship4 ,it is quite a common thing for boys to make themselves out to be much worse than they really are in order to gain admiration4 ,they will pretend to be guilty of all sorts of things in order to get others to think them more daring than themselves4 ,the worst of it is that a boy of that kind often becomes thoroughly bad at heart4 ,it is in the power of every one to have at least one sincere friend2 if we are willing to be unselfish1 to forget ourselves1 and to try to help others1 we can have many4 ,there is nothing that makes the daily life so pleasant as the companionship of a friend present1 or the thought of a friend absent4 ,cicero said3 ,a true friend is he who is1 as it were1 a second self4 ,but1 if we wish to keep our friends1 we must be prepared to make sacrifices sometimes4 ,no man ever kept a friend for a long time without occasionally doing something to prove the warmth of his feeling for that friend4 ,friendships are generally broken because one or the other partner turns out selfish4 ,boyish ,friendships would be much more lasting than they are1 except for the great difficulty most boys have in giving up to others4 ,if ,friendship is a sacred thing1 how necessary it is to use care in making a friend6 ,it is the sign of wisdom to have many companions1 but few friends4 ,to have many companions is to knock off our own rough corners1 and to teach us the principle of give and take4 ,in dealing with a real friend1 it should be mostly give and very little take4 ,he who tries to make a friend should begin by giving his ,friendship1 and give it with all his heart4 ,but if he does that to one who is morally below his own standard1 the result will be disastrous4 ,the old ,romans had a saying1 taken from their poet ,virgil1 ,facilis descensus ,averno est1 which means that it is wonderfully easy to lower one's standard of right and wrong4 ,the poet went on to say3 ,but to retrace your steps1 and escape to the upper air1 this is a work1 this is a toil4 ,there is nothing truer than the saying that a man is known by his friends4 ,a man's ,friendships are the test of his character4 ,a ,spanish proverb says3 ,tell me whom you live with1 and ,i will tell you who you are4 ,when a boy leaves school to go into a bank1 or other business house1 his employers watch to see what friends he has4 ,if they are not what they should be1 the young man is looked upon with suspicion2 he is not put into a position of trust2 he may1 some day1 be told that his services are no longer wanted4 ,in buying an article which we intend to last a long time1 we are careful to choose the very best that can be had for the money4 ,if a man is going to buy a horse1 how careful he is to see that there is no blemish in him1 and how particular he is to secure a thoroughly reliable man to look after him6 ,and yet the same person is perhaps quite careless about the choice of his friends1 though their power to yield him the greatest pleasures in life1 or to bring to him the greatest sorrows1 cannot be measured4 ,wise is he who heeds the words of the wise man3 ,enter not into the path of the wicked1 ,and go not in the way of evil men4 ,avoid it1 pass not by it1 ,turn from it1 and pass away4 ,for they sleep not1 ,except they have done mischief2 ,and their sleep is taken away1 ,unless they cause some to fall4 ,for they eat the bread of wickedness1 ,and drink the wine of violence4 ,but the path of the just ,is as the shining light1 ,that shineth more and more ,unto the perfect day4 ,if you possess a friend who satisfies your heart and conscience1 cling to him under all circumstances4 ,if he find fault with you1 be patient4 ,faithful are the wounds of a friend4 ,if he give way to wrath1 give back the soft answer that turns it away4 ,if you cannot have the ,friendship of the illustrious living1 it is easy to obtain that of the illustrious dead4 ,the ,friendship of good books is one of the greatest pleasures of life4 ,to win it1 it is only necessary to form the habit of reading regularly1 no matter how little at a time4 ,the best guide for a boy in forming ,friendships is to choose none for his friend whom his father or mother would disapprove of1 if they knew all about him4 ,no4 ,,xx4 ,,gentlemanliness ,the four chief marks of a gentleman are3 ,honesty1 ,gentleness1 ,generosity1 ,modesty4 ,thackeray1 who is noted among great ,english writers as a hater of shams1 said3 ,perhaps a gentleman is a rarer man than some of us think for4 ,which of us can point out many such in his circle--men whose aims are generous1 whose truth is constant1 whose want of meanness makes them simple1 who can look the world honestly in the face with an equal manly sympathy for the great and small8 ,we all know a hundred whose coats are very well made1 and a score who have excellent manners1 and one or two happy beings who are what they call in the inner circles1 and have shot into the very centre of fashion2 but of gentlemen1 how many8 ,these four qualities of the gentleman include more than might appear at a single glance4 ,honesty means far more than not stealing4 ,the gentleman's psalm tells us as one of his characteristics that he speaketh the truth in his heart4 ,he who does that is honest in his words1 in his deeds1 and in his thoughts4 ,he so hates dishonesty that honesty has become part of his life--it is in his heart4 ,such a man can look the world in the face without flinching4 ,he is the most fearless of men1 because he has nothing to hide from the light of day4 ,as one great man once said of another1 ,he has the ten commandments stamped upon his countenance4 ,here1 then1 to be honest is to be brave also2 we cannot imagine a true gentleman as a coward4 ,the second quality is ,gentleness4 ,it is hard for a boy to be gentle1 because he spends most of the time during which he controls his own actions with other boys1 and gentleness is not much called for4 ,some boys look upon this quality as womanish1 the mark of a coward1 a thing to be avoided4 ,but what should we say of a boy who roughly handled a bird with a broken wing8 ,all boys possess this quality of ,gentleness1 because it is founded on sympathy with the sufferings of the weak4 ,if a small boy falls and breaks his arm1 how eagerly the bigger boys come to his assistance1 and how careful they are to touch the broken limb with all tenderness6 ,the feeling of sympathy makes them gentle4 ,no boy is without this ,god-given faculty4 ,it is there to begin with1 and if a boy wish to become a gentleman he must cultivate it1 as he does his other powers4 ,it is a faculty soon lost if we neglect it2 it is easy to learn to be rough and loud-mouthed1 and roughness soon leads to cruelty4 ,the true gentleman practises ,gentleness towards the weak at all times1 whether they are suffering or not4 ,the boy should learn it in his own home2 that is the best and easiest place to learn it4 ,it is easy to be gentle with one's mother2 it is a bad-hearted boy who suffers himself to be rough in his speech1 or rude in his manner1 to her4 ,the same rule of ,gentleness should be steadily observed towards his sisters and younger and weaker brothers4 ,he who has thus practised gentleness in his home will go out into the world a character actually trained to be gentle to those weaker than himself1 and to be sympathetic towards the sorrows and sufferings of the unfortunate4 ,the third mark of a gentleman is ,generosity4 ,by this ,i do not mean open-handedness about money4 ,lavish liberality may be only another name for careless imprudence4 ,by ,generosity is meant the utter absence of selfishness4 ,aristotle called his true gentleman the magnanimous man4 ,generosity is large-heartedness4 ,it involves the absence of all thought of self1 and a never-failing consideration for the feelings of others4 ,such a man was ,sir ,james ,outram4 ,when the ,english army was marching to the relief of ,lucknow1 ,sir ,james1 who was the senior officer1 allowed ,havelock to take command1 and to win the glory of the siege1 and himself went in a subordinate position4 ,of him it was said that he was one of the bravest1 and yet gentlest1 of men2 respectful and reverent to women1 tender to children1 helpful to the weak1 stern to the corrupt1 honest as day1 and pure as virtue4 ,when ,edward the ,black ,prince took the ,french king and his son prisoners at the battle of ,poictiers1 he gave a banquet for them in the evening1 and he insisted on waiting upon and serving them at the table4 ,at the battle of ,dettingen a squadron of ,french cavalry charged an ,english regiment1 and the two leaders found themselves opposed to each other4 ,the young ,french officer raised his sword to attack his opponent1 when he saw that he had only one arm1 with which he held his bridle4 ,instead of cutting him down1 the ,frenchman saluted him with his sword1 and passed on4 ,the fourth mark of a gentleman is ,modesty about his actions and opinions4 ,nothing more surely marks his opposite in society than self-assertiveness and bragging4 ,the true gentleman never boasts of what he has done4 ,on the other hand1 he does not seek to belittle a good action for which he is praised4 ,if such an action comes to general notice1 he accepts the praise justly offered1 and then seeks by silence1 or by changing the topic of conversation1 to withdraw particular notice from himself4 ,he is content to do and let others talk4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton was one of the most modest men4 ,he kept secret for a long time some of his greatest discoveries for fear of the notoriety they would bring him4 ,he did not publish his marvellous discoveries of the ,binomial ,theorem and the ,law of ,gravitation for years1 and when he published his solution of the theory of the moon's rotation round the earth he forbade the publisher to insert his name4 ,the true gentleman is modest about his opinions4 ,comparatively few have deeds to boast about2 but all have opinions to advance4 ,we should guard against asserting them too strongly1 or attempting to force them down people's throats4 ,if an opinion is true or valuable1 it is sure to make its own way by reason of its own force2 it is only weakened by the loud assertion of the man of rude manner and coarse nature4 ,it is a wise saying of the great apostle3 ,not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think4 ,the old ,hebrew poet thought the highest type of gentleman him that walketh uprightly1 and worketh righteousness1 and speaketh the truth in his heart4 ,no4 ,,xxi4 ,,courtesy ,courtesy is kindness of heart1 combined with good manners4 ,it is the special mark of a gentleman1 particularly in his treatment of those in a humbler position than himself4 ,one of the most famous schools in ,england1 founded by ,william of ,wykeham1 in the reign of ,henry ,,iii41 has for its motto the words1 ,manners maketh the man4 ,though this does not express the whole truth1 it is1 nevertheless1 undoubtedly true that many a man owes his success in life to his good manners4 ,two boys leaving school desire to enter a bank4 ,one is a boy of very pleasing manners2 the other1 though1 perhaps1 possessing greater ability1 is unpolished in appearance1 and gruff in manner4 ,if the bank manager has reason to believe them fairly equal in knowledge and ability1 he will take the pleasant-mannered youth in preference to the other1 because he believes in securing a clerk who will be civil to customers1 and obliging to all with whom he comes in contact4 ,it is worth while1 then1 to cultivate politeness in speech and manner4 ,a famous woman once said3 ,civility costs nothing1 and buys everything4 ,we must be careful to distinguish between ,politeness and ,courtesy4 ,any one can learn certain rules of ,politeness1 even though he be coarse at heart4 ,some men put on ,politeness with their evening coats1 but are the reverse of polite in their everyday garb4 ,to such men ,politeness is like varnish or veneer2 scratch them on the surface1 or merely rub them the wrong way1 and their real nature comes out4 ,politeness is an excellent thing when it is joined to genuine kindness of heart4 ,it then becomes ,courtesy4 ,courtesy is ,kindness and ,politeness joined together and exhibited at all times to all persons1 no matter what their rank in life4 ,the man who is kind to his servant1 and speaks politely to him at one time1 and at another gets into a furious temper and abuses him1 has not learned ,courtesy4 ,courtesy implies a certain gentleness in dealing with other people4 ,it is a mistake to think that ,manliness and ,gentleness do not go together4 ,the strongest and most manly men are noted for their quietness of disposition4 ,not only are they not self-assertive1 but they are actually gentle to the weak4 ,courtesy comes easily to some people2 to others it is difficult4 ,some persons are naturally open and unreserved in their nature2 others are reserved and shy1 and it is hard to get at them4 ,boys and young men often suffer far more than people think on account of shyness1 which keeps them from being openly friendly with people whom they do not know well4 ,this shyness is sometimes put down to bad temper1 or moroseness1 or sometimes even to a desire to be rude4 ,how earnestly should the boy or young man strive to get rid of a failing which may be the unfortunate cause of doing him so much harm in the eyes of others6 ,bacon says3 ,if a man be gracious and courteous to strangers1 it shows he is a citizen of the world1 and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands1 but a continent that joins to them4 ,if you wish to be known as a courteous man1 begin at once to do little acts of kindness to others4 ,acts of kindness form the basis of true ,courtesy4 ,lord ,chesterfield said3 ,the desire to please is1 at least1 half the art of doing it4 ,if we wish to learn how to get a reputation for ,courtesy1 we must make an effort to do what others like1 though we may not care about it ourselves4 ,many a man owes his success in life to doing pleasant things in a pleasant way4 ,the headmaster of one of the greatest public schools in ,england said3 ,courtesy begets ,courtesy2 it is a passport to popularity4 ,the way in which things are done is often more important than the things themselves4 ,another writer has said3 ,a good deed is never lost4 ,he who sows ,courtesy reaps friendship4 ,to be ,courteous1 we must not only do kindnesses2 we must do them in a pleasing manner4 ,manner will do everything4 ,give a young fellow on setting out in life a good manner1 and he will want neither meat1 drink1 nor clothes4 ',i like that lad1' some one says1 'he has such nice off-hand manners4' ,sir ,walter ,raleigh was every inch a man1 a brave soldier1 a brilliant courtier1 and yet a mirror of ,courtesy4 ,nobody would accuse ,sir ,philip ,sidney of having been deficient in manliness1 yet his fine manners were proverbial4 ,it is the ,courtesy of ,bayard1 the knight1 sans peur et sans reproche1 which has immortalized him quite as much as his valour4 ,burke said3 ,manners are of more importance than laws4 ,upon them1 in a great measure1 the laws depend4 ,manners are what vex1 soothe1 corrupt or purify1 exalt or debase1 barbarize or refine us1 by a constant1 steady insensible operation1 like that of the air we breathe in4 ,dr4 ,johnson once said3 ,sir1 a man has no more right to say an uncivil thing than to act one--no more right to say a rude thing to another than to knock him down4 ,we should be especially courteous to servants and those below us in the world4 ,a great man returned the salute of a negro who had bowed to him4 ,some one told him that what he had done was very unusual4 ,perhaps so1 said he1 but ,i would not be outdone in good manners by a negro4 ,the truly courteous man is never caught napping4 ,he is courteous not only in crowds1 where every one can see him1 or in social life1 among his equals2 but also in little things1 at odd moments1 when no one of importance is by1 and to the poor and ignorant4 ,he is courteous1 too1 in his own home4 ,that1 perhaps1 is the final and hardest test of all4 ,it is easy to be polite when we are out at a party of friends1 though even there it is sometimes hard to show real ,courtesy4 ,in giving advice to young men1 ,thackeray said3 ,ah1 my dear fellow1 take this counsel3 ,always dance with the old ladies1 always dance with the governesses6 ,he meant3 show your gentlehood by being kind to those who have not many friends4 ,but it is hard to be ,courteous in the home when things do not please us1 and we are out with the world4 ,yet it is there we must begin to practise ,courtesy4 ,it is there we must learn that kindness1 and cheerfulness1 and good manners which will earn for us the epitaph of ,tennyson's friend3 ,and thus he bore without abuse ,the grand old name of gentleman4 ,no4 ,,xxii4 ,,repentance ,we are often sorry when we do wrong2 this is the first step towards ,repentance2 but ,repentance itself is more than being sorry2 it is ceasing to do wrong1 and beginning to do right4 ,man differs from the most intelligent of the lower animals in having a moral nature1 called a soul2 that is1 he is responsible for his actions4 ,one great evidence of this is to be found in the fact that1 after he has done evil1 his conscience generally reproaches him sharply1 and he feels remorse1 which is the keen pain brought about by the memory of wrongdoing4 ,but we must not mistake this pain of remorse for ,repentance4 ,it should be the beginning of ,repentance2 but ,repentance itself must go much further than that4 ,two men with evil-looking faces were seen to enter a great church in ,rome one day1 where1 in little chapels attached to the church1 people were making confession of their sins to the priests1 and obtaining absolution from them4 ,these two men looked as though something very serious was weighing on their minds1 as they searched for a priest to whom to confess4 ,a short time after they had found one1 they were again seen1 coming down the aisle of the church1 laughing together1 and looking as jolly as possible4 ,next day they were arrested for attacking a traveller on the highway and almost murdering him4 ,probably those two men felt the pangs of remorse when they were in the church seeking to confess their sins4 ,but there was no ,repentance1 because they went back at once to their evil courses4 ,a sick man was said by his doctor to be dying4 ,his clergyman came to see him1 and begged him to be reconciled to a neighbour with whom he had had a serious quarrel4 ,at last he consented1 and when the neighbour was brought to his bedside they had a short1 friendly conversation1 and shook hands4 ,but as the neighbour was leaving the room1 the sick man called out3 ,but you must remember this stands for nothing if ,i get better again4 ,there was no real ,repentance in the sick man's heart4 ,a man who had been living a very careless and sinful life went to hear a great man preach4 ,the sermon had such an effect upon him that his conscience became very uneasy1 and he felt keen remorse for the evil of his life1 and determined to stop it all and begin again in a different way4 ,he first went to see a neighbour who scoffed at religious things1 and who1 the moment he went in1 began to ask him about the great preacher1 and to make fun of him for paying much attention to what was absurd1 and all a lie4 ,the man replied3 ,never mind the preacher just now2 ,i want to tell you about a very serious matter4 ,four years ago you lost two fine sheep out of your flock1 and though you searched everywhere you could not find them4 ,those sheep came into my pasture field1 and ,i caught them1 and marked my brand on top of yours1 and so they were not discovered4 ,but ,i have now come to tell you of the matter1 and to put myself in your hands4 ,you can1 if you like1 have me arrested1 or ,i will pay you whatever you ask4 ,the neighbour was astonished1 but at last said he would take the value of the sheep1 with interest on the money from the time they were stolen4 ,the man paid this down1 and then doubled the amount4 ,after he had gone his neighbour began to think that the sort of religion which made a man confess a sin long past1 and which no one could ever find out1 must have some reality about it1 and he scoffed no more4 ,that is a case of genuine ,repentance4 ,happy is the man who repents while there is yet the opportunity to undo1 to some extent1 the evil he has done4 ,some men repent when it is too late to undo the mischief4 ,henry ,,ii41 ,king of ,england1 rode from ,london to ,canterbury in the night1 and when he came to the gates he dismounted1 and walked barefooted to the shrine of the martyr4 ,he there made public confession of his sin1 and was scourged with a knotted cord before the people1 though he was then king4 ,imagine the ,emperor of ,germany being publicly scourged6 ,though ,henry repented1 he could not bring ,becket back to life again4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher told the story of a young man who came to ,indianapolis1 when ,mr4 ,beecher was minister there1 on his way to settle in the west4 ,while there he was robbed in a gambling saloon of fifteen hundred dollars1 all that he had4 ,it led to his suicide4 ,i know the man who committed the foul deed2 he used to walk up and down the street4 ,now1 suppose this man should repent8 ,can he ever call back that suicide8 ,can he ever wipe off the taint and disgrace that he has brought on the escutcheon of that young man's family8 ,everybody has need of practising ,repentance1 because no one can live a perfect life4 ,goldsmith said3 ,our greatest glory consists not in never falling1 but in rising every time we fall4 ,if we rise again every time we fall1 there is but little danger that we ever fall so low that we cannot rise at all1 or of doing that which we cannot1 to some extent1 put right4 ,confess yourself to ,heaven2 ,repent what's past1 avoid what is to come4 ,it is unwise to put off ,repentance4 ,it should be done now4 ,the opportunity may slip away from us altogether4 ,as a wise man once said3 ,i know that a man1 going--swept down that great ,niagara--if his little skiff be driven near to one shore1 he can make one great bound and reach the solid ground--,i know he may be saved from destruction3 but it is an awful risk to run4 ,we can best learn the value of ,repentance by practising it in little things4 ,if a boy is guilty of rudeness to any one1 and especially to a lady1 he should go at once and1 in a manly way1 acknowledge it4 ,the fact that he has begged her pardon will keep him from committing the same offence again4 ,if we practise ,repentance in the small matters of daily life1 it will be easier for us to practise it in things of great and serious moment4 ,no4 ,,xxiii4 ,,character ,the word ,character comes from a ,greek word meaning to cut1 or engrave4 ,by ,character we mean the peculiar qualities impressed by ,nature or ,habit on a person2 in other words1 what he really is4 ,character is the crown of life2 to the evil it is a crown of infamy2 to the good1 a crown of glory4 ,some scientists believe that all the facts of knowledge which we acquire are stamped upon the brain1 making many grooves and creases upon its surface4 ,our actions and thoughts and words and habits being impressed upon the soul form its ,character4 ,the formation of good ,character takes many years1 and is a very gradual process2 but every action has its part in the final result1 and every habit binds the parts together4 ,bad ,character is developed in the same way as good character2 but the process is easy and rapid4 ,a boy begins by stealing something2 soon he is led on to lie about it4 ,one lie leads to another1 and the success of the bad experiment leads to another theft and more lying4 ,bad companions soon gather round him1 and the sprouting plant of evil grows like a weed4 ,ere long it has fastened its thousand roots in the depths of his soul4 ,gibbon said3 ,every man has two educations--one which he receives from others1 and one1 more important1 which he gives himself4 ,in the business world1 the men of highest reputation value their ,character above everything else1 because no one can take it from them1 unless they deliberately yield it4 ,it is valued highly1 because it has been earned by never-wavering effort through long years4 ,they have educated themselves by unceasing practice to put ,truth and ,honour1 ,chastity and ,courtesy1 ,industry and ,temperance1 ,self-,reliance and ,self-,control1 ,modesty and ,charity1 ,justice and ,benevolence above ,cleverness and ,love of ,gain1 which so often make a man unscrupulous in dealing with his fellows4 ,in the studies which have gone before1 we have seen what these qualities mean4 ,they go to make up ,character4 ,but ,character cannot be produced by learning lessons about it in books4 ,character is the education which a man gives himself4 ,in reading the lives of great men1 we see very clearly that they began to acquire the qualities which afterwards distinguished them when they were boys4 ,a great writer has said that ,conduct is three-fourths of life4 ,if we wish to be distinguished for ,character1 we must begin to practise those things which produce it while we are schoolboys4 ,the grand thing about ,character is that it is independent of circumstances4 ,the man who values ,honour above all things cannot be put into any position where there is any real danger of losing it4 ,after the great battle of ,assaye1 the native prince sent his prime minister to the ,duke of ,wellington to find out privately what territory and other advantages would be secured to his master in the treaty with the ,indian nabobs4 ,they offered ,wellington five hundred thousand dollars for the secret information4 ,the great general looked at him quietly for a few seconds1 and then said3 ,it appears1 then1 that you are capable of keeping a secret4 ,yes1 certainly1 replied the minister4 ,then1 so am ,i1 said ,wellington1 smiling1 and bowed him out of the room4 ,take another instance1 in humble life4 ,once1 when the ,adige was in flood1 the bridge of ,verona was carried away1 only the centre arch standing4 ,on this was a house whose inmates called loudly for help1 as this arch was slowly giving way4 ,a nobleman called out1 ,i will give a hundred ,french louis to any one who will go to the rescue4 ,a young peasant seized a boat1 managed with great difficulty to reach the pier1 and1 at the risk of his life1 rescued the family just in time4 ,when they reached the shore1 the count handed the promised money to the young man4 ,no1 said he1 ,i do not sell my life2 give the money to these poor people1 who need it4 ,the man of noble ,character values1 above all other things1 these3 ,truth1 personal ,honour1 ,moral ,courage1 ,unselfishness1 the ,voice of ,conscience4 ,chaucer1 the father of ,english poetry1 said3 ,truth is the highest thing that man may keep4 ,in the days of chivalry1 the noble-hearted soldier sang to her who wept at his going3 ,i could not love thee1 dear1 so much1 ,loved ,i not honour more4 ,of ,courage1 ,addison said3 ,unbounded courage and compassion joined1 ,tempting each other in the victor's mind1 ,alternately proclaim him good and great1 ,and make the hero and the man complete4 ,of ,selfishness1 ,shelley said3 ,how vainly seek ,the selfish for that happiness denied ,to aught but virtue6 ,the voice of ,conscience is the voice of ,god1 ,that voice was never yet disregarded without suffering2 to reject ,conscience is to incur retribution4 ,the wise man cultivates his ,conscience2 that is1 he listens for its warnings and suggestions1 and yields his desires at its call4 ,the man of ,character seeks its advice at every important movement of his life4 ,it is impossible to build up a noble ,character without a model4 ,before beginning to erect a magnificent building1 the architect must provide a plan for the workman to follow4 ,the shipbuilder requires a model for the construction of a beautiful racing yacht4 ,before making a new and intricate machine1 the craftsman must have a working model4 ,in the building of ,character1 the working model is ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,he is the example to the human race of all the traits of true manliness which men admire4 ,he is the model of willing ,obedience1 of undaunted ,courage1 of absolute ,truthfulness1 of ,generosity1 of ,gentleness to the weak and suffering4 ,he is the model of all the virtues4 ,an old poet said of ,jesus1 with the greatest reverence1 that ,he was ,the first true gentleman that ever lived4 ,he who sincerely wishes to build up his life into noble ,character will be helped by nothing so much as by the study of the actions and words of ,jesus1 the model of nobleness to all men1 in all ages1 since ,he came into the world4 ,no4 ,,xxiv4 ,,conscience ,conscience is that faculty of the mind which teaches us to distinguish between right and wrong4 ,it often warns us when we are about to do wrong1 and reproaches us for the wrong we have done4 ,a great man once said that when he was a small boy he was walking one day by the side of a pond1 when he saw a turtle creeping out of the water4 ,he had never yet killed anything1 and he felt a great temptation to kill it with his stick1 when some one seemed to whisper to him3 ,it is wrong4 ,he went home and asked his mother what it was4 ,she told him that men called it ,conscience2 but she called it the voice of ,god1 speaking in his heart4 ,he said that he often afterwards tried to listen for the voice1 and it kept him from much wrong that he would otherwise have done4 ,conscience has been compared to the needle in the sailor's compass2 by its means the ship is kept upon her proper course4 ,if we consult ,conscience1 we cannot go far astray4 ,a boy is about to steal some money for the first time4 ,just as his hand is upon it1 he fancies he hears steps approaching4 ,he hastily drops the money1 and turns away with a beating heart4 ,but he finds he is mistaken1 and1 perhaps1 thinks it was only imagination4 ,he is wrong2 the beating heart and the imaginary noises are ,conscience warning him that he is about to do wrong4 ,if he is an unthinking boy1 he merely laughs at his fears1 and next day goes back again4 ,this time he listens for the sound of steps1 but he does not hear them4 ,the fact that he listened shows that ,conscience has been at him again2 but this time the warning is fainter1 and he commits the theft4 ,it is possible to stifle ,conscience altogether4 ,according to an ,eastern tale1 a great magician presented his prince with a ring of great value4 ,its value did not consist in the precious stones it contained1 but in a peculiar property of the metal4 ,whenever the prince had a bad or lustful thought1 or meditated a bad action1 or was about to say a wicked1 or cruel1 or unjust thing1 the ring contracted1 and the pain caused by the pressure on the finger warned him against the evil4 ,the poorest person may possess and wear such a ring as that1 for the ring of the fable is just that ,conscience which is the voice of ,god in our hearts4 ,when ,macbeth was on his way to murder ,king ,duncan1 he had a frightful vision of what he was about to do1 and he saw an imaginary dagger beckoning him the way that he was going2 the handle was towards his hand1 and had gouts of blood upon it4 ,that was ,conscience calling upon him to stop before it was too late4 ,conscience sometimes speaks to us while we are actually doing evil4 ,while ,conscience speaks to us about what are1 for us1 great wrongs1 it seldom does so about little wrongs until they are over and passed away4 ,a boy says3 ,i do many things of which ,i am ashamed1 and which ,i would not have done had ,conscience warned me4 ,that shows us very plainly that ,conscience is a thing we must cultivate if it is to be of any real service to us in the way of preventing us from the doing of evil4 ,a4 says to ,b43 ,i am going across to the corner store for some candy4 ,if that master over there should see me1 you tell him ,i have just gone over the fence after something4 ,b4 thinks for a moment1 and says3 ,can't do it2 it's not straight4 ,a4 then asks ,c41 who agrees to do it4 ,b4 consults ,conscience2 ,c4 does not4 ,if they go on thus1 in a few years ,b4 will meet some great temptation and overcome it2 ,c4 will meet some great temptation1 and fall under it4 ,if we do not form the habit of looking to ,conscience for guidance1 the time will come when its voice will be heard reproaching us for the evil that we have done1 and that we can never undo4 ,so common is it for men to think of ,conscience only when the harm is done that it has been called the awful compulsion to think4 ,half the grief that people suffer is through their own sins in the past1 and it is ,conscience pricking them that causes the grief4 ,sometimes this grief is so terrible that men1 and even women1 are led to take their own lives4 ,he who listens to ,conscience will never leave this world with the red blot of suicide staining his character4 ,dr4 ,johnson said3 ,conscience is the sentinel of virtue4 ,the wise captain never lets his men sleep on the field without posting one or more sentinels4 ,the young man going out into the world is going on to the battlefield of his life1 and to be caught napping is to fall into the enemy's hands4 ,he needs all his forces1 and1 above all1 the sentinel1 ,conscience1 to keep guard when the enemy is lying in ambush1 and danger seems far away4 ,st4 ,paul tells us that if we wish to war a good warfare we must have two things1 ,faith1 and a good ,conscience4 ,no whip cuts so sharply as the lash of ,conscience4 ,the voice of ,conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it2 but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it4