Character and Conduct Part 49

OCTOBER 27

"Be not anxious about to-morrow. Do to-day's duty, fight to-day's temptation, and do not weaken and distract yourself by looking forward to things which you cannot see, and could not understand, if you saw them."

CHARLES KINGSLEY.

"Do not disturb thyself by thinking of the whole of thy life. Let not thy thoughts at once embrace all the various troubles which thou mayest expect to befall thee: but on every occasion ask thyself, What is there in this which is intolerable and past bearing? for thou wilt be ashamed to confess. In the next place remember that neither the future nor the past pains thee, but only the present. But this is reduced to a very little, if thou only circ.u.mscribest it, and chidest thy mind, if it is unable to hold out against even this."

MARCUS AURELIUS.

"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could.

Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. To-morrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be c.u.mbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays."

EMERSON.

Day by Day

OCTOBER 28

"By trying to take in the idea of life as a whole we only give ourselves mental indigestion; a day at a time is as much as a man can healthily swallow."

EDNA LYALL.

"Think that this day will never dawn again.

The heavens are calling you and wheel around you, Displaying to you their eternal beauties, And still your eye is looking on the ground."

_The Divine Comedy_, DANTE.

"To-Day is a king in disguise: let us unmask the king as he pa.s.ses."

EMERSON.

Day by Day

OCTOBER 29

"Lo, here hath been dawning Another blue day; Think, wilt thou let it Slip useless away!"

CARLYLE.

"The perfection of moral character consists in this, in pa.s.sing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited, nor torpid, nor playing the hypocrite."

MARCUS AURELIUS.

"When night comes, list thy deeds; make plain the way 'Twixt heaven and thee; block it not with delays: But perfect all before thou sleep'st; then say, 'There's one Sun more strung on my Bead of days.'

What's good store up for Joy, the bad, well scann'd, Wash off with tears, and get thy Master's hand."

HENRY VAUGHAN.

Gaining or Losing Ground

OCTOBER 30

"Gaining or losing all the time is our condition, morally and spiritually. We cannot stand utterly still. If we are not improving we are losing ground. Outside forces compel that, in addition to the forces that are working within. We are pressing forward and being helped in that direction, or we are being pressed backward and are yielding to that pressure. Let us not deceive ourselves with the idea that even though we are making no progress we are at least holding our own. We can no more stand still than time can."

"Whose high endeavours are an inward light, That makes the path before him always bright.

"And through the heat of conflict, keeps the law In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw.

"Who, not content that former worth stand fast, Looks forward persevering to the last, From well to better, daily self-surpa.s.sed."

_The Happy Warrior_, WORDSWORTH.

Pressing Forward

OCTOBER 31

"Plutarch records that when Simonides offered to teach Themistocles the art of memory the latter said: 'Teach me rather the art of forgetting.'

How much the world needs to learn that art. Paul spoke of forgetting the things that are behind. We should forget our mistakes and failures, so far as these cause discouragement. We should forget our successes if they cause pride or preoccupy the mind. We should forget the slights that have been put upon us or the insults that have been given us. To remember these is to be weak and miserable, if not worse. He who says he can forgive but he cannot forget is deceived by the sound of words.

Forgiveness that is genuine involves forgetfulness of the injury. True forgiveness means a putting away of the wrong behind the back and remembering it no more. That is what G.o.d does when He forgives, and that is what we all must do if we truly forgive."

"... It is wise to forget past errors. There is a kind of temperament which, when indulged, greatly hinders growth in real G.o.dliness. It is that rueful, repentant, self-accusing temper, which is always looking back, and microscopically observing how that which is done might have been better done. Something of this we ought to have. A Christian ought to feel always that he has partially failed, but that ought not to be the only feeling. Faith ought ever to be a sanguine, cheerful thing; and perhaps in practical life we could not give a better account of faith than by saying, that it is, amidst much failure, having the heart to _try again_. Our best deeds are marked by imperfection; but if they really were our best, 'forget the things that are behind'--we shall do better next time."

F. W. ROBERTSON.

The Evil of Brooding

NOVEMBER 1

"Throughout the Gospel history we discern our Lord's care to keep men in a fit condition to serve G.o.d by active work. All that would impair their efficiency is to be shunned. Now, to repine and brood over some past error cuts the sinews of action; from this the Apostles therefore are always diverted, and they are to be watchful to prevent others from sinking into dejection and folding their hands in despair. A man who is hopeless has no heart for work, but when he is so far encouraged as to be able to exert himself his despondency soon disappears."

_Pastor Pastorum_, HENRY LATHAM.

"Disappointment should always be taken as a stimulant, and never viewed as a discouragement."

C. B. NEWCOMB.

"I always loved 'At evening time it shall be light,' and I am sure it comes true to many a young troubled soul, which in its youthful zeal and impatience cannot help eating its heart out over its own and other people's failings and imperfections, and has not yet learnt the patience which comes from realising that in this world we see but the beginning of things."