Part 4

People have generally three epochs in their confidence in man. In the first they believe him to be everything that is good, and they are lavish with their friendship and confidence. In the next, they have had experience, which has smitten down their confidence, and they then have to be careful not to mistrust every one, and to put the worst construction upon everything. Later in life, they learn that the greater number of men have much more good in them than bad, and that even when there is cause to blame, there is more reason to pity than condemn; and then a spirit of confidence again awakens within them. --FREDRIKA BREMER.

Trust him little who praises all, him less who censures all, and him least who is indifferent about all.--LAVATER.

CONSCIENCE.--Conscience is a clock which, in one man, strikes aloud and gives warning; in another, the hand points silently to the figure, but strikes not. Meantime, hours pass away, and death hastens, and after death comes judgment.--JEREMY TAYLOR.

Oh! Conscience! Conscience! Man's most faithful friend, Him canst thou comfort, ease, relieve, defend: But if he will thy friendly checks forego, Thou art, oh! wo for me, his deadliest foe! --CRABBE.

In the commission of evil, fear no man so much as thyself; another is but one witness against thee, thou art a thousand; another thou mayest avoid, thyself thou canst not. Wickedness is its own punishment. --QUARLES.

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.--FRANKLIN.

Be mine that silent calm repast, A conscience cheerful to the last: That tree which bears immortal fruit, Without a canker at the root; That friend which never fails the just, When other friends desert their trust. --DR. COTTON.

No man ever offended his own conscience, but first or last it was revenged upon him for it.--SOUTH.

He that loses his conscience has nothing left that is worth keeping. Therefore be sure you look to that, and in the next place look to your health; and if you have it praise God and value it next to a good conscience.--IZAAK WALTON.

Our secret thoughts are rarely heard except in secret. No man knows what conscience is until he understands what solitude can teach him concerning it.--JOSEPH COOK.

A man never outlives his conscience, and that, for this cause only, he cannot outlive himself.--SOUTH.

Rules of society are nothing, one's conscience is the umpire.--MADAME DUDEVANT.

A man, so to speak, who is not able to bow to his own conscience every morning is hardly in a condition to respectfully salute the world at any other time of the day.--DOUGLAS JERROLD.

In matters of conscience first thoughts are best; in matters of prudence last thoughts are best--REV. ROBERT HALL.

A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next, to escape the censures of the world. If the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it gives itself seconded by the applause of the public.--ADDISON.

Conscience raises its voice in the breast of every man, a witness for his Creator.

We should have all our communications with men, as in the presence of God; and with God, as in the presence of men.--COLTON.

I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, self.--LUTHER.

The most reckless sinner against his own conscience has always in the background the consolation that he will go on in this course only this time, or only so long, but that at such a time he will amend. We may be assured that we do not stand clear with our own consciences so long as we determine or project, or even hold it possible, at some future time to alter our course of action.--FICHTE.

There is one court whose "findings" are incontrovertible, and whose sessions are held in the chambers of our own breast.--HOSEA BALLOU.

Trust that man in nothing who has not a conscience in everything. --STERNE.

He that hath a blind conscience which sees nothing, a dead conscience which feels nothing, and a dumb conscience which says nothing, is in as miserable a condition as a man can be on this side of hell. --PATRICK HENRY.

Conscience is its own readiest accuser.--CHAPIN.

If thou wouldst be informed what God has written concerning thee in Heaven look into thine own bosom, and see what graces He hath there wrought in thee.--FULLER.

Yet still there whispers the small voice within, Heard thro' gain's silence, and o'er glory's din; Whatever creed be taught or land be trod, Man's conscience is the oracle of God! --BYRON.

The world will never be in any manner of order or tranquillity until men are firmly convinced that conscience, honor and credit are all in one interest; and that without the concurrence of the former the latter are but impositions upon ourselves and others.--STEELE.

CONTENTMENT.--To secure a contented spirit, measure your desires by your fortune, and not your fortune by your desires.--JEREMY TAYLOR.

I press to bear no haughty sway; I wish no more than may suffice: I do no more than well I may, Look what I lack, my mind supplies; Lo, thus I triumph like a king, My mind's content with anything. --BYRD.

Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another.--CONDORCET.

To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible.--MARIE EBNER-ESCHENBACH.

My God, give me neither poverty nor riches; but whatsoever it may be Thy will to give, give me with it a heart which knows humbly to acquiesce in what is Thy will.--GOTTHOLD.

One who is contented with what he has done will never become famous for what he will do. He has lain down to die. The grass is already growing over him.--BOVEE.

Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of ten thousand desires makes a wise and a happy purchase.--BALGUY.

If men knew what felicity dwells in the cottage of a godly man, how sound he sleeps, how quiet his rest, how composed his mind, how free from care, how easy his position, how moist his mouth, how joyful his heart, they would never admire the noises, the diseases, the throngs of passions, and the violence of unnatural appetites that fill the house of the luxurious and the heart of the ambitious.--JEREMY TAYLOR.

He is richest who is content with the least; for content is the wealth of nature.--SOCRATES.

Poor and content, is rich and rich enough; But riches, fineless, is as poor as winter, To him that ever fears he shall be poor. --SHAKESPEARE.

Learn to be pleased with everything, with wealth so far as it makes us beneficial to others; with poverty, for not having much to care for; and with obscurity, for being unenvied.--PLUTARCH.

It is right to be contented with what we have, but never with what we are.--SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH.

Without content, we shall find it almost as difficult to please others as ourselves.--GREVILLE.

True contentment depends not upon what we have; a tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander.--COLTON.

Content with poverty my soul I arm; And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm. --DRYDEN.

Unless we find repose within ourselves, it is vain to seek it elsewhere.--HOSEA BALLOU.

The noblest mind the best contentment has.--SPENSER.

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. --PHILIPPIANS 4:11.

CONVERSATION.--The pith of conversation does not consist in exhibiting your own superior knowledge on matters of small consequence, but in enlarging, improving and correcting the information you possess by the authority of others.--SIR WALTER SCOTT.

There are three things in speech that ought to be considered before some things are spoken--the manner, the place and the time.--SOUTHEY.

The secret of tiring is to say everything that can be said on the subject.--VOLTAIRE.

Speak little and well if you wish to be considered as possessing merit.--FROM THE FRENCH.

The less men think, the more they talk.--MONTESQUIEU.

He who sedulously attends, pointedly asks, calmly speaks, coolly answers, and ceases when he has no more to say, is in possession of some of the best requisites of man.--LAVATER.

Amongst such as out of cunning hear all and talk little, be sure to talk less; or if you must talk, say little.--LA BRUYÈRE.

Not only to say the right thing in the right place, but, far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.--G.A. SALA.

When we are in the company of sensible men, we ought to be doubly cautious of talking too much, lest we lose two good things, their good opinion and our own improvement; for what we have to say we know, but what they have to say we know not.--COLTON.

Never hold any one by the button or the hand in order to be heard out; for if people are unwilling to hear you, you had better hold your tongue than them.--CHESTERFIELD.

There is speaking well, speaking easily, speaking justly and speaking seasonably: It is offending against the last, to speak of entertainments before the indigent; of sound limbs and health before the infirm; of houses and lands before one who has not so much as a dwelling; in a word, to speak of your prosperity before the miserable; this conversation is cruel, and the comparison which naturally arises in them betwixt their condition and yours is excruciating. --LA BRUYÈRE.

Egotists cannot converse, they talk to themselves only.--A. BRONSON ALCOTT.

The extreme pleasure we take in talking of ourselves should make us fear that we give very little to those who listen to us. --LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

Many can argue, not many converse.--A. BRONSON ALCOTT.

One thing which makes us find so few people who appear reasonable and agreeable in conversation is, that there is scarcely any one who does not think more of what he is about to say than of answering precisely what is said to him.--LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

The first ingredient in conversation is truth, the next good sense, the third good humor, and the fourth wit.

It is a secret known but to few, yet of no small use in the conduct of life, that when you fall into a man's conversation, the first thing you should consider is, whether he has a greater inclination to hear you, or that you should hear him.--STEELE.

In my whole life I have only known ten or twelve persons with whom it was pleasant to speak--_i.e._, who keep to the subject, do not repeat themselves, and do not talk of themselves; men who do not listen to their own voice, who are cultivated enough not to lose themselves in commonplaces, and, lastly, who possess tact and good taste enough not to elevate their own persons above their subjects.--METTERNICH.

COUNSEL.--I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.--SHAKESPEARE.

The best receipt--best to work and best to take--is the admonition of a friend.--BACON.

Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful, where your own self-love might impair your judgment.--SENECA.

Let no man value at little price a virtuous woman's counsel.--GEORGE CHAPMAN.

COURAGE.--The conscience of every man recognizes courage as the foundation of manliness, and manliness as the perfection of human character.--THOMAS HUGHES.

To struggle when hope is banished! To live when life's salt is gone! To dwell in a dream that's vanished! To endure, and go calmly on!

The brave man is not he who feels no fear, For that were stupid and irrational; But he, whose noble soul its fear subdues, And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from. --JOANNA BAILLIE.

A valiant man Ought not to undergo or tempt a danger, But worthily, and by selected ways; He undertakes by reason, not by chance. --BEN JONSON.

True courage is cool and calm. The bravest of men have the least of a brutal bullying insolence, and in the very time of danger are found the most serene and free. Rage, we know, can make a coward forget himself and fight. But what is done in fury or anger can never be placed to the account of courage.--SHAFTESBURY.

Much danger makes great hearts most resolute.--MARSTON.

Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in seeing it and conquering it.--RICHTER.

The truest courage is always mixed with circumspection; this being the quality which distinguishes the courage of the wise from the hardiness of the rash and foolish.--JONES OF NAYLAND.

Physical courage, which despises all danger, will make a man brave in one way; and moral courage, which despises all opinion, will make a man brave in another. The former would seem most necessary for the camp, the latter for council; but to constitute a great man, both are necessary.--COLTON.

He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he that loses his courage loses all.--CERVANTES.

COURTSHIP.--Every man ought to be in love a few times in his life, and to have a smart attack of the fever. You are better for it when it is over: the better for your misfortune, if you endure it with a manly heart; how much the better for success, if you win it and a good wife into the bargain!--THACKERAY.

Men dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake!--POPE.

With women worth the being won, The softest lover ever best succeeds. --HILL.

The pleasantest part of a man's life is generally that which passes in courtship, provided his passion be sincere, and the party beloved kind with discretion. Love, desire, hope, all the pleasing emotions of the soul, rise in the pursuit.--ADDISON.

How would that excellent mystery, wedded life, irradiate the world with its blessed influences, were the generous impulses and sentiments of courtship but perpetuated in all their exuberant fullness during the sequel of marriage!--FREDERIC SAUNDERS.

Rejected lovers need never despair! There are four-and-twenty hours in a day, and not a moment in the twenty-four in which a woman may not change her mind.--DE FINOD.

Courtship consists in a number of quiet attentions, not so pointed as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood.--STERNE.

COVETOUSNESS.--Covetousness, like a candle ill made, smothers the splendor of a happy fortune in its own grease.--F. OSBORN.

The only instance of a despairing sinner left upon record in the New Testament is that of a treacherous and greedy Judas.

He deservedly loses his own property who covets that of another. --PHAEDRUS.

Covetousness, which is idolatry.--COLOSSIANS 3:5.

There is not a vice which more effectually contracts and deadens the feelings, which more completely makes a man's affections centre in himself, and excludes all others from partaking in them, than the desire of accumulating possessions. When the desire has once gotten hold on the heart, it shuts out all other considerations, but such as may promote its views. In its zeal for the attainment of its end, it is not delicate in the choice of means. As it closes the heart, so also it clouds the understanding. It cannot discern between right and wrong; it takes evil for good, and good for evil; it calls darkness light, and light darkness. Beware, then, of the beginning of covetousness, for you know not where it will end.--BISHOP MANT.

The covetous person lives as if the world were made altogether for him, and not he for the world; to take in everything, and part with nothing.--SOUTH.

Covetous men are fools, miserable wretches, buzzards, madmen, who live by themselves, in perpetual slavery, fear, suspicion, sorrow, discontent, with more of gall than honey in their enjoyments; who are rather possessed by their money than possessors of it.--BURTON.

Why are we so blind? That which we improve, we have, that which we hoard is not for ourselves.--MADAME DELUZY.

If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that it may be said to possess him.--BACON.

Those who give not till they die show that they would not then if they could keep it any longer.--BISHOP HALL.

CRITICISM.--He whose first emotion, on the view of an excellent production, is to undervalue it, will never have one of his own to show.--AIKEN.

Neither praise nor blame is the object of true criticism. Justly to discriminate, firmly to establish, wisely to prescribe and honestly to award--these are the true aims and duties of criticism.--SIMMS.

Censure and criticism never hurt anybody. If false, they can't hurt you unless you are wanting in manly character; and if true, they show a man his weak points, and forewarn him against failure and trouble.--GLADSTONE.

It is easy to criticise an author, but it is difficult to appreciate him.--VAUVENARGUES.

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.--BEACONSFIELD.

There is a certain meddlesome spirit, which, in the garb of learned research, goes prying about the traces of history, casting down its monuments, and marring and mutilating its fairest trophies. Care should be taken to vindicate great names from such pernicious erudition.--WASHINGTON IRVING.

He who would reproach an author for obscurity should look into his own mind to see whether it is quite clear there. In the dusk the plainest writing is illegible.--GOETHE.

A man must serve his time to ev'ry trade, Save censure; critics all are ready-made.

CUNNING.--In a great business there is nothing so fatal as cunning management.--JUNIUS.

Cunning leads to knavery; it is but a step from one to the other, and that very slippery; lying only makes the difference; add that to cunning, and it is knavery.--LA BRUYÈRE.

Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects, and discovering other people's weaknesses.--HAZLITT.

A cunning man overreaches no one half as much as himself.--BEECHER.

The animals to whom nature has given the faculty we call cunning know always when to use it, and use it wisely; but when man descends to cunning, he blunders and betrays.--THOMAS PAINE.

The most sure method of subjecting yourself to be deceived, is to consider yourself more cunning than others.--LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

DEATH.--God's finger touch'd him, and he slept.--TENNYSON.

But no! that look is not the last; We yet may meet where seraphs dwell, Where love no more deplores the past, Nor breathes that withering word--Farewell! --PEABODY.

How beautiful it is for a man to die on the walls of Zion! to be called like a watch-worn and weary sentinel, to put his armor off, and rest in heaven.--N.P. WILLIS.

I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death.--REVELATION 6:8.

When we see our enemies and friends gliding away before us, let us not forget that we are subject to the general law of mortality, and shall soon be where our doom will be fixed forever.--DR. JOHNSON.

I have seen those who have arrived at a fearless contemplation of the future, from faith in the doctrine which our religion teaches. Such men were not only calm and supported, but cheerful in the hour of death; and I never quitted such a sick chamber without a hope that my last end might be like theirs.--SIR HENRY HALFORD.

One may live as a conqueror, a king or a magistrate; but he must die as a man. The bed of death brings every human being to his pure individuality; to the intense contemplation of that deepest and most solemn of all relations, the relation between the creature and his Creator. Here it is that fame and renown cannot assist us; that all external things must fail to aid us; that even friends, affection and human love and devotedness cannot succor us.--WEBSTER.

There is no death. The thing that we call death Is but another, sadder name for life. --STODDARD.

To die,--to sleep,-- No more;--and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to. --SHAKESPEARE.

All that nature has prescribed must be good; and as death is natural to us, it is absurdity to fear it. Fear loses its purpose when we are sure it cannot preserve us, and we should draw resolution to meet it, from the impossibility to escape it.--STEELE.

There is nothing certain in man's life but this, that he must lose it.--OWEN MEREDITH.

Death robs the rich and relieves the poor.--J.L. BASFORD.

Death is the liberator of him whom freedom cannot release, the physician of him whom medicine cannot cure, and the comforter of him whom time cannot console.--COLTON.

Death, so called, is a thing that makes men weep, And yet a third of life is pass'd in sleep. --BYRON.

The finest day of life is that on which one quits it.--FREDERICK THE GREAT.

Death is delightful. Death is dawn-- The waking from a weary night Of fevers unto truth and light. --JOAQUIN MILLER.

The hour conceal'd and so remote the fear, Death still draws nearer, never seeming near. --POPE.

All that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity. --SHAKESPEARE.

Death gives us sleep, eternal youth, and immortality.--RICHTER.

You should not fear, nor yet should you wish for your last day. --MARTIAL.

No man but knows that he must die; he knows that in whatever quarter of the world he abides--whatever be his circumstances--however strong his present hold of life--however unlike the prey of death he looks--that it is his doom beyond reverse to die.--STEBBING.

It is by no means a fact that death is the worst of all evils; when it comes, it is an alleviation to mortals who are worn out with sufferings.--METASTASIO.

God giveth quietness at last.--WHITTIER.

Death hath ten thousand several doors For men to take their exits. --JOHN WEBSTER.

Death will have his day.--SHAKESPEARE.

Death comes but once.--BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER.

It is not I who die, when I die, but my sin and misery.--GOTTHOLD.

Death is the crown of life.--YOUNG.

So live, that, when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan, that moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon; but sustain'd and sooth'd By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one that draws the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. --BRYANT.

DEBT.--Who goes a-borrowing goeth a-sorrowing.--TUSSER.

Creditors have better memories than debtors; and creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times.--FRANKLIN.

Man hazards the condition and loses the virtues of freeman, in proportion as he accustoms his thoughts to view without anguish or shame his lapse into the bondage of debtor.--LYTTON.

Paying of debts is, next to the grace of God, the best means in the world to deliver you from a thousand temptations to sin and vanity. --DELANY.

Run not into debt, either for wares sold, or money borrowed; be content to want things that are not of absolute necessity, rather than to run up the score.--SIR M. HALE.

Debt is the worst poverty.--M.G. LICHTWER.

DELICACY.--Delicacy is the genuine tint of virtue.--MARGUERITE DE VALOIS.

Many things are too delicate to be thought; many more, to be spoken. --NOVALIS.

An appearance of delicacy is inseparable from sweetness and gentleness of character.--MRS. SIGOURNEY.

True delicacy, that most beautiful heart-leaf of humanity, exhibits itself most significantly in little things.--MARY HOWITT.