Character and Conduct Part 26

JUNE 10

"There are two states or conditions of pride. The first is one of self-approval, the second one of self-contempt. Pride is seen probably at its purest in the last."

_Amiel's Journal._

"The foundation of pride is the wish to respect one's self, whatever others may think; the mainspring of vanity is the craving for the admiration of others, no matter at what cost to one's self-respect."

_The Heart of Rome_, F. MARION CRAWFORD.

"Any revelation of greatness overwhelms petty thoughts.... The presence of death turns enemies into friends. In the same way the petty feelings of pride and vanity would lose much of their power if people had the overwhelming feeling which comes from the contemplation of Almightiness, All-goodness, and All-love. There would be a marked change in all human relations if men turned from the presence of the Thrice Holy to face one another; if thoughts of self and for self were driven out of their minds by wors.h.i.+p."

_The Service of G.o.d_, Canon BARNETT.

Conceit

JUNE 11

"It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors."

PLUTARCH.

"Conceit spoils many an excellency. Some persons are so proud of their goodness, or of their attainments, or of their position, or of their character, or of their family, that they become offensive to many who would otherwise be won by their merit. Pride mars, blights, and withers whatever it touches. It begets a.s.sumptions that are very belittling as well as hard to bear. A man weakens his influence and r.e.t.a.r.ds his personal and public interests by giving it full control. Its exhibition may be natural; but n.o.ble manhood, high moral character, regard to the feelings of others and Christianity all demand its suppression."

Humility

JUNE 12

"What hypocrites we seem to be, whenever we talk of ourselves! Our words sound so humble, while our hearts are so proud."

_Guesses at Truth_, edited by Archdeacon HARE.

"By despising himself too much a man comes to be worthy of his own contempt."

_Amiel's Journal._

"Just as criticism alone ministers to pride and then to death, so creation, even of the smallest kind, ministers to humility. And that stands to reason: the slightest act of shaping instantly opens before you an ever-expanding sea, and the vision of the infinite is the death of vanity and pride."

_The Gospel of Joy_, STOPFORD BROOKE.

"Humility is the hall-mark of wisdom."

JEREMY COLLIER.

Egotism

JUNE 13

"We ought to have this measure of charity for egotistical people--a willingness to suppose that they actually believe themselves to be what they a.s.sume to be. It is quite possible for a person to be in such a fog of misapprehension that everything about him--his little world, his personal interest--will loom abnormally large. When the fog is dispelled, he will see things as they are, and estimate them and himself accordingly.

"Egotism of this kind is pardonable; and there is a great deal of it which is peculiar to the mists and strange refractions of youth. When the sun of a clearer and larger knowledge chases away the fog, a right-minded young person emerges from this egotistical, too self-conscious period of his life, and finds a new adjustment for himself in the great and serious world."

"He who is always enquiring what people will say, will never give them opportunity to say anything great about him."

"Reputation is in itself only a farthing candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out; but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit."

LOWELL.

The Code of Society

JUNE 14

"'Freedom' is not the power to do what we like, but to be what we ought to be."

CHARLES GORE.

"There is no commoner danger than that of accepting the code of the society in which you live as the rule of right."

Bishop TEMPLE.

"Strive all your life to free men from the bondage of custom and self, the two great elements of the world that lieth in wickedness."

CHARLES KINGSLEY.

"What I _must_ do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.

This rule ... is harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than _you_ know it."

EMERSON.

Public Opinion

JUNE 15

"It is not the many who reform the world; but the few who rise superior to that Public Opinion which crucified our Lord many years ago."

CHARLES KINGSLEY.

"We are tempted to measure ourselves by others, to acquiesce in an average standard and an average attainment. We forget that while we are not required to judge our neighbours, we are required to judge ourselves."