Part 10

"Nothing does reason more right than the coolness of those that offer it: For truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than from the arguments of its opposers."

WILLIAM PENN.

"Be calm in arguing: for fierceness makes Error a fault, and truth discourtesy."

GEORGE HERBERT.

"To speak wisely may not always be easy, but not to speak ill requires only silence."

Argument

JULY 16

"Prejudice is opinion without judgment."

"When a positive Man hath once begun to dispute anything, his Mind is barred up against all Light and better Information. Opposition provokes him, though there be never so good Ground for it, and he seems to be afraid of nothing more, than lest he should be convinced of the Truth."

LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

"In proportion as we love truth more and victory less, we shall become anxious to know what it is which leads our opponents to think as they do. We shall begin to suspect that the pertinacity of belief exhibited by them must result from a perception of something we have not perceived. And we shall aim to supplement the portion of truth we have found with the portion found by them."

HERBERT SPENCER.

An Open Mind

JULY 17

"He often thought that Dr. Arnold's maxim of being prepared each morning to consider everything an open question a good working rule. Not that one should readily change one's opinions, but should always have an open mind, never a closed one, on any question outside exact knowledge."

"He that never changed any of his opinions, never corrected any of his mistakes; and he who was never wise enough to find out any mistakes in himself, will not be charitable enough to excuse what he reckons mistakes in others."

WHICHCOTE.

"Narrow-mindedness is a cause of self-sufficiency. We are slow to believe what is beyond the scope of our vision."

LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

Tolerance

JULY 18

"Nothing, in our Lord's wisdom, strikes me more than His moderation with regard to error. What seems false to one man's mind may be true to that of another."

_Pastor Pastorum_, HENRY LATHAM.

"A genuine universal tolerance is most surely attained, if we do not quarrel with the peculiar characteristics of individual men and races, but only hold fast to the conviction, that what is truly excellent is distinguished by its belonging to all mankind."

GOETHE _to_ CARLYLE.

"New ideas want a little time to grow into shape: we know how easily a man is startled into shutting his mind against novelty when it is suddenly presented."

_Pastor Pastorum_, HENRY LATHAM.

Right Use of Speech

JULY 19

"There is no better way, I believe, in which to test the reality of our culture than by the self-discipline it teaches us to use in talk; and it may be that the chief service we can render, the chief outcome that God looks for from our higher education, is that in our homes, in the society around us, we should set a higher example of the right use of speech; the right tone and temper and reticence in conversation; the abhorrence of idle words. Neither let us think that this ever will be easy to us. We must not be affected or pedantic, we must not be always setting other people right; but we must be careful; we must keep our wishes and passions from colouring our view of things; we must take great pains to enter into the minds and feelings of others, to understand how things look to them, and we must remember that, whatever pains we take in that regard, the result is still sure to be imperfect; we must rule our moods, our likes and dislikes, with a firm hand; we must distrust our general impressions till we have frankly, faithfully examined them; we must resist the desire to say clever or surprising things; we must be resolute not to overstate our case; we must let nothing pass our lips that charity would check; we must be always ready to confess our ignorance, and to be silent.--Yes, it is a hard and long task; but it is for a high end, and in a noble service. It is that we may be able to help others; to possess our souls in days of confusion and vehemence and controversy; to grow in the rare grace of judgment; to be such that people may trust us, whether they agree with us or not. It is that we may somewhat detach ourselves from the stream of talk, and learn to listen for the voice of God, and to commit our ways to Him."

_Studies in the Christian Character_, Bishop PAGET.

Thoughts

JULY 20

"If we are not responsible for the thoughts that pass our doors, we are at least responsible for those we admit and entertain."

CHARLES B. NEWCOMB.

"The pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts, and the great art in life is to have as many of them as possible."

BOVÉE.

"We lose vigour through thinking continually the same set of thoughts. New thought is new life."

PRENTICE MULFORD.

Culture

JULY 21

"Culture is not an accident of birth, although our surroundings advance or retard it; it is always a matter of individual education."

HAMILTON W. MABIE.

"The secret of culture is to learn that a few great points steadily reappear, alike in the poverty of the obscurest farm, and in the miscellany of metropolitan life, and that these few are alone to be regarded:--the escape from all false ties; courage to be what we are; and the love of what is simple and beautiful,--these, and the wish to serve, to add somewhat to the well-being of men."

EMERSON.

"The highest we can attain to is not knowledge, but sympathy with intelligence."

THOREAU.

Courtesy

JULY 22

"Courtesy is really doing unto others as you would be done unto, and the heart of it lies in a careful consideration for the feelings of other people. It comes from putting one's self in his neighbour's place, and trying to enter into his mind, and it demands a certain suppression of one's self, and a certain delicate sympathy with one's neighbour."

Dr. JOHN WATSON.

"Even as one tries thus to think out the quality and work of courtesy, to understand the skill and power which it wields so quietly, to see the issues upon which it tells in the lives that are affected by it, one may begin to feel that its place is really with the great forces of character that ennoble and redeem the world; that, simply and lightly as it moves, it rests on deep self-discipline and deals with a real task; that it is far more than a decoration or luxury of leisurely excellence. But it is in contact with those who are growing perfect in it, those who never fail in it, that one may more nearly realise its greatness. In seeing how every part of life is lit and hallowed by it; how common incidents, daily duties, chance meetings, come to be avenues of brightness, and even means of grace; how points of light come quivering out upon the dull routine of business, or the conventionality of pleasure; how God is served through every hour of the day;--it is in seeing this that one may come to think it far from strange that for His beginning of miracles our Saviour chose an act of courtesy."

_Studies in the Christian Character_, Bishop PAGET.

Courtesy

JULY 23

"Courtesy. This is Love in society, Love in relation to etiquette. 'Love doth not behave itself unseemly.' Politeness has been defined as love in trifles. Courtesy is said to be love in little things. And the one secret of politeness is to love. Love _cannot_ behave itself unseemly."

_The Greatest Thing in the World_, HENRY DRUMMOND.

"The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become."

O. W. HOLMES.

"Kindness is the principle of tact, and respect for others the condition of 'savoir-vivre.'"

_Amiel's Journal._

"Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy."

EMERSON.

Courtesy

JULY 24

"True politeness arises from the heart, not the head."

"... The machinery of life is so apt to be heated, one keenly appreciates those who are ever deftly pouring in the cooling oil, by their patience and their tact, their sweetness and their sympathy. And one resents keenly that class of people who are honest and well meaning, but who are persistently discourteous and are not ashamed--I mean the man who is credited with what is called a bluff, blunt manner, and who credits himself with a special quality of downrightness and straightforwardness. He considers it far better to say what he thinks, and boasts that he never minces his words, and people make all kinds of excuses for him, and rather talk as if he were a very fine fellow, beside whom civil-spoken persons are little better than hypocrites. As a matter of fact, no one can calculate the pain this outspoken gentleman causes in a single day, both in his family and outside."

Dr. JOHN WATSON.

"There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. From it springs the purest courtesy in the outward behaviour."

GOETHE.

Manners

JULY 25

"Manners are the happy ways of doing things. If they are superficial, so are the dew-drops, which give such a depth to the morning meadows."

EMERSON.

"Love's perfect blossom only blows Where noble manners veil defect."

C. PATMORE.

"The gentle minde by gentle deeds is knowne; For a man by nothing is so well bewrayed As by his manners."

SPENSER.

"True politeness is perfect ease and freedom. It simply consists in treating others just as you love to be treated yourself."

Lord CHESTERFIELD.

Manners

JULY 26

"Manners aim to facilitate life, to get rid of all impediments. They aid our dealings and conversation, as a railway aids travelling, by getting rid of all the obstructions on the road."

EMERSON.

"Defect in manners is usually the defect of fine perceptions."

EMERSON.

"He is beautiful in face, in port, in manners, who is absorbed in objects which he truly believes to be superior to himself."

EMERSON.

"Familiar acts are beautiful through love."

Manners

JULY 27

"Manners impress as they indicate real power. A man who is sure of his point, carries a broad and contented expression, which everybody reads. And you cannot rightly train one to an air and manner, except by making him the kind of man of whom that manner is the natural expression. Nature forever puts a premium on reality."

EMERSON.

"A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners."

CHESTERFIELD.

"Manners are the ornament of action, and there is a way of speaking a kind word, or of doing a kind thing, which greatly enhances its value. What seems to be done with a grudge, or as an act of condescension, is scarcely accepted as a favour."

S. SMILES.

Manners

JULY 28

"There are many tests by which a gentleman may be known;--but there is one that never fails--How does he exercise power over those subordinate to him? How does he conduct himself towards women and children?... He who bullies those who are not in a position to resist, may be a snob, but cannot be a gentleman. He who tyrannises over the weak and helpless may be a coward, but no true man."

S. SMILES.

"Our servants never seem to leave us; they are paid what many people would call absurdly high wages, but I do not think that is the attraction. My mother does not see very much of them, and finds fault, when rarely necessary, with a simple directness which I have in vain tried to emulate; but her displeasure is so impersonal that there seems to be no sting in it. It is not that they have failed in their duty to herself, but they have been untrue to the larger duty to which she is herself obedient."

_The House of Quiet._

Influence

JULY 29

"And just as we may ruin our own characters without knowing it, so we may ruin the characters of others. We are always influencing each other--a truth which I have often impressed upon you, because I feel its deep importance. We cannot help ourselves. And this influence, which we thus unconsciously exercise by our mere presence, by look, gesture, expression of face, is probably all the more potent for being unconscious. There are germs of moral health or disease continually passing from us and infecting for good or ill those about us. We read that when our Lord was on earth virtue went out of Him sometimes, and healed the bodies of those who came in contact with it. His Divine humanity was always diffusing a spiritual atmosphere of purity around Him, which attracted, they knew not how, those who came within the sphere of His influence. So it must be with us in so far as our characters are pure and unselfish and Christlike. Our very presence will influence for good all who are near us, making them purer and nobler and more unselfish, and shaming what is mean and base out of them. If, on the other hand, our characters are ignoble and impure, we shall exude, without knowing or intending it, a poisonous influence on all who come near us. Have we not sometimes felt this mysterious influence--a presence attracting, perhaps awing, us by some sort of spiritual magnetism; or, on the other hand, repelling us as by the presage of impending danger? Let us endeavour to keep this inalienable responsibility of ours always in our thoughts. And it will be a great help to test ourselves now and then by the example of our Divine Master."

_Life Here and Hereafter_, Canon MACCOLL.

Influence

JULY 30

"Let us reflect that the highest path is pointed out by the pure Ideal of those who look up to us, and who, if we tread less loftily, may never look so high again. Remembering this, let it suggest one generous motive for walking heedfully amid the defilements of earthly ways."

N. HAWTHORNE.

"Others are affected by what I am, and say, and do. And these others have also their sphere of influence. So that a single act of mine may spread in widening circles through a nation or humanity."

CHANNING.

"A man who lives right, and is right, has more power in his silence than another has by his words. Character is like bells which ring out sweet music, and which, when touched accidentally even, resound with sweet music."

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

"Quench not the Smoking Flax"

JULY 31

"Make a great deal more of your right to praise the good than of your right to blame the bad. Never let a brave and serious struggle after truth and goodness, however weak it may be, pass unrecognised. Do not be chary of appreciation. Hearts are unconsciously hungry for it. There is little danger that appreciation shall be given too abundantly. Here and there, perhaps, in your shops and schools and households, there is some one who has too lazily sunk down upon the praise he has received for some good work, and rested in sluggish satisfaction on it; but such disasters hardly count among the unfulfilled lives which have lived meagrely and stuntedly for the lack of some simple cordial human approval of what they have honestly, however blunderingly, tried to do."

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

"It is a great sign of mediocrity to be always praising moderately."

VAUVENARGUES.

"'Quench not the smoking flax'--to which I add, 'Never give unnecessary pain.' The cricket is not the nightingale; why tell him so? Throw yourself into the mind of the cricket--the process is newer and more ingenious; and it is what charity commands."

_Amiel's Journal._

"Quench not the Smoking Flax"

AUGUST 1

"Christians are very often liable not, perhaps, to put obstacles into the way of efforts to do right so much as to refuse them the needful help, without which they have little chance of succeeding. To look coldly on while our fellows are struggling in the waves of this evil sea and never to hold out a hand or to say a word of encouragement, is very often most cruelly to depress all energy of repentance. The strong virtue that can go on its own way without being shaken by any ordinary temptation too often forgets the duty due to the weakness close to its side. By stern treatment of faults which were yet much struggled against, by cold refusal to acknowledge any except plainly successful efforts, by rejecting the approaches of those who have not yet learnt the right way, but are really wishing in their secret hearts to learn it, those who are strong not unfrequently do much harm to those who are weak."

Bishop TEMPLE.

"The best we can do for each other is to remove unnecessary obstacles, and the worst--to weaken any of the motives which urge us to strive."

_The Standard of Life_, Mrs. BERNARD BOSANQUET.

Influence

AUGUST 2

"Even in ordinary life, contact with nobler natures arouses the feeling of unused power and quickens the consciousness of responsibility."

Bishop WESTCOTT.

"Do we not all know how apt we are to become like those whom we see, with whom we spend our hours, and, above all, like those whom we admire and honour? For good and for evil, alas! For evil--for those who associate with evil or frivolous persons are too apt to catch not only their low tone, but their very manner, their very expression of face, speaking and thinking and acting.... But thank God, ... just in the same way does good company tend to make them high-minded.... I have lived long enough to see more than one man of real genius stamp his own character, thought, even his very manner of speaking, for good or for evil, on a whole school or party of his disciples. It has been said, and truly, I believe, that children cannot be brought up among beautiful pictures,--I believe, even among any beautiful sights and sounds--without the very expression of their faces becoming more beautiful, purer, gentler, nobler."

CHARLES KINGSLEY.

Influence

AUGUST 3

"Throw a stone into the stream, and the circles that propagate themselves are the beautiful type of all influence."

EMERSON.

"It requires but little knowledge of society and history to assure us of the strong permeating invisible influence upon society at large of any body of men of clear thought, strong conviction, and disciplined conduct. At once many things respond to the magnetism; many are put on their mettle who would not for the world own it: many recognise their own best things more clearly in the new light shed upon them; there is instinctive moral competition. Such influences travel fast and far.... I have always myself believed that the later thought of the Roman world--the mellow stoicism of Aurelius and Epictetus in the second century, with its strong unexplained instinct for a personal and fatherly God, with its gentle and self-denying ethics, shews the tincture of the influence diffused through the thoughts and prayers, the quiet conversations or the dropped words and overheard phrases--or the bearing and countenance of a slave here or a friend there, known or perhaps not known to belong to that strange new body of people with their foolish yet arresting faith, with their practices everywhere spoken against yet of such pure and winning charm--who bore the name of the Nazarene."

_The Church's Failures and the Work of Christ_, Bishop TALBOT.

Friendship

AUGUST 4

"We should ever have it fixed in our memories, that by the characters of those whom we choose for our friends, our own is likely to be formed, and will certainly be judged of by the world. We ought, therefore, to be slow and cautious in contracting intimacy; but when a virtuous friendship is once established, we must ever consider it as a sacred engagement."

BLAIR.

"Might I give counsel to any young hearer, I would say unto him: Try to frequent the company of your betters. In books and life is the most wholesome society; learn to admire rightly; the great pleasure of life is that. Note what the great men admired--they admired great things; narrow spirits admire basely, and worship meanly."

THACKERAY.

"Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant."

SOCRATES.

Friendship

AUGUST 5

"There is nothing so bad for man or woman as to live always with their inferiors. It is a truth so important, that one might well wish to turn aside a moment and urge it, even in its lower aspects, upon the young people who are just making their associations and friendships. Many a temptation of laziness or pride induces us to draw towards those who do not know as much or are not in some way as strong as we are. It is a smaller tax upon our powers to be in their society. But it is bad for us. I am sure that I have known men, intellectually and morally very strong, the whole development of whose intellectual and moral life has suffered and been dwarfed, because they have only accompanied with their inferiors, because they have not lived with men greater than themselves. Whatever else they lose, they surely must lose some culture of humility. If I could choose a young man's companions, some should be weaker than himself, that he might learn patience and charity; many should be as nearly as possible his equals, that he might have the full freedom of friendship; but most should be stronger than he was, that he might for ever be thinking humbly of himself and be tempted to higher things."

PHILLIPS BROOKS.

Friendship

AUGUST 6

"For good or evil a man's moral and spiritual outlook is altered by the outlook of his comrade. It is inevitable, and in all true comradeship it makes for truth, and generosity, and freedom. It is an incalculable enlargement of human responsibility, because it constitutes us, in a measure, guardians each of the other's soul. And yet, it is never the suppression of a weak individuality by a strong one. That is not even true discipleship, but spiritual tyranny. What the play of two personalities brings about is a fuller, deeper self-realisation on either side. The experience of comradeship, with all the new knowledge and insight that it brings into a life, can leave no ideal unchanged, but the change is not of the nature of a substitution, but of continuous growth. It is not mental or moral bondage, but deliverance from both.

"And it is the deliverance from bondage to ourselves. It is our refuge from pride. More than all else, comradeship teaches us to walk humbly with God. For while God's trivial gifts may allow us to grow vain and self-complacent, His great gifts, if we once recognise them, make us own our deep unworthiness, and bow our heads in unspeakable gratitude. We may have rated our deserts high, and taken flattery as our just due; we may have competed for the world's prizes, and been filled with gratified ambition at securing them. But however high we rate ourselves, in the hour in which the soul is conscious of its spiritual comrades, we know that God's great infinite gift of human love is something we have never earned, could never earn by merit or achievement, by toil, or prayer, or fasting. It has come to us straight out of the heart of the eternal Fatherhood; and all our pride and vanity fall away, and our lives come again to us as the lives of little children."

_Comradeship_, MAY KENDALL.

Friendship

AUGUST 7

"Friendship is a plant which cannot be forced. True friendship is no gourd, springing in a night and withering in a day."

CHARLOTTE BRONTË.

"Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of God's best gifts. It involves many things, but, above all, the power of going out of one's self, and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another."

THOMAS HUGHES.

"Friendship cannot be permanent unless it becomes spiritual. There must be fellowship in the deepest things of the soul, community in the highest thoughts, sympathy with the best endeavours."

HUGH BLACK.

Friendship

AUGUST 8

"Our chief want in life is, somebody who shall make us do what we can. This is the service of a friend."

EMERSON.

"The end of friendship is for aid and comfort through all the passages of life and death."

EMERSON.

"Every man rejoices twice when he has a partner of his joy. A friend shares my sorrow, and makes it but a moiety; but he swells my joy, and makes it double."

JEREMY TAYLOR.

"He that is thy friend indeed, He will help thee in thy need. If thou sorrow, he will weep. If thou wake, he cannot sleep. Thus in every grief in heart He with thee doth bear a part."

SHAKESPEARE.

Friendship

AUGUST 9