mandments, giving a thinking time after each, to see if one has committed the small sins that, while they are not mentioned by words, are yet really included in the Commandments. True, you may not have stolen anything, but have you been quite just? Certainly you have not killed anybody, but have you been cruel in act or word? You have not been unchaste, but have you looked at or listened to anything that you would not like to tell God about? Have you by a quick word, a sullen temper, or an ungracious manner shown lack of respect to your elders and superiors? Have you, even by innuendo, or by a silence that spoke louder than words, borne false witness against your neighbor? And have you with that question of "who is my neighbor?" neglected to do a kindness? Do you know that in a beautiful garden where the rose-trees grow there sometimes comes one poisonous plant that kills their beauty at once? But this seldom happens. Much oftener, when no attention is given to it, thousands of little weeds spring up and choke off the growth of the roses so that they wither and lose their loveliness little by little. Now, if you will only recognize the little sins and pull them up every day you will be in condition, if the great one comes, to hew it down with the sharp battleaxe of religious strength, so that it will not hurt you.
