Thoughts on Life/Miscellaneous
MISCELLANEOUS.
MISCELLANEOUS.
1. To some is the heavenly vision given to see beyond the blinding mists of earth, into the clear shining of God’s love and mercy directing all the affairs of men, and evolving out of this present chaos the surpassing beauty of eternal order.
2. Because angels sometimes come to us in homely guise, we know them not until they are beyond recall.
3. Oh, foolish man who fearest the eyes of the world upon thine earthly affairs, but art unmindful of the eye of God penetrating the innermost recesses of thy soul!
4. Unless thou merit thine own esteem, how canst thou look for that of the world?
5. Having built thine house upon the sand thou canst not murmur at its fall.
6. If thou canst make much of small things then art thou rich indeed, for thou canst increase thy store at will.
7. May Heaven forgive us for the wounds we unwittingly inflict upon hearts already bleeding!
8. Where sweetest roses blow,
There sharpest thorns do grow.
9. “No” hath often proved a kindness where “yes” would have been an unkindness.
10. Alas, that closing the eyes doth not always shut out what we would not wish to see!
11. Unto the strong souls are the heaviest burdens allotted in life.
12. Selfishness is one of the most far-reaching of sins, destroying not only his happiness who yieldeth himself unto it, but also that of all around him.
13. The world is ever quick to blame, but slow to praise.
14. Men unthinkingly assume responsibilities at which the angels might well tremble.
15. Who doth not respect the honest hand of toil?
16. Slander wieldeth a deadly weapon, cutting down alike both guilty and innocent.
17. The best gifts are those which cost us something in the giving.
18. Judgment followeth swiftly in the footsteps of crime.
19. Since thou canst not divine the heart of thy friend, surely art thou but ill suited to judge his actions of whom thou knowest but little.
20. Love, labor, duty, kindness, patience,—this way lieth peace.
Selfishness, idleness, enviousness, repining, distrust,—this way lieth unrest.
21. A wise man storeth up fuel for the winter of old age, when the fires of youth will have burned themselves out.
22. To make the best of things is one of the most important lessons we have to learn in life, and one from which the results will be the largest in the end. Thou wilt do well, then, to accommodate thyself to circumstances which thou canst not over-rule.
23. Moderation is the beautiful fruit of the fair tree of wisdom.
24. There is no more deadly dart for slaying the peace of home than an imperious temper; yet, strange to say, men seldom set out to conquer it, but let it continue to blight to the end the lives of those whose happiness has been committed to them as a sacred trust in life.
25. If thy soul be noble thou wilt not stoop to do an ignoble deed.
26. Though thou mayest not always be able to choose thine associates from among the strong and wise, yet mayest thou often lead thy weaker companions on to strength and wisdom, if thou possess these attributes thyself.
27. If, in this distracting world, thou canst at night record one worthy deed for each day, thou hast done well.
28. A dauntless soul soareth high towards heaven, while a timid soul scarce riseth above the earth.
29. The strong curb of self-control alone can guide the dangerous steed of impulse.
30. Words spoken merely for the sake of speaking were better left unsaid.
31. A tender memory keeps the heart green; where it dwells, there reigns eternal youth.
32. Much insistence placeth thy friend in a difficult pass, and one from which he would fain escape.
33. Art thou true and noble? Thou art kith and kin to truth and nobility everywhere.
34. Perfection is a flower of heavenly birth; thou wilt seek it here in vain, for upon all things earthly wilt thou find the blight of incompleteness.
35. A large nature soareth above the restricting bonds of prejudice.
36. The establishing of a home upon God’s earth is one of the most solemn and important acts of a man’s life.
37. A happy home is the nearest approach to heaven we will ever be permitted to make upon earth.
38. An injudicious man will often ruin the cause he seeks to further.
39. Success represents much diligent toil.
40. Diligence knoweth no night; it waketh ever.
41. Tolerance doth ever increase with knowledge.
42. Wisdom is ever a mighty friend for thee to have at the Court of the World.
43. There are so many overwhelming miseries in life that it seems a pity men should devote so much time to inventing trivial ones.
44. Perhaps the blinding tears of remorse are the most bitter of all that mortals shed upon earth.
45. The man without resources is usually as much of a bore to himself as he is to others.
46. Time will show of what stuff thou art made.
47. The past dieth not; it liveth in us to-day, and such as we are it hath made us.
48. That thou hast not ten talents is nothing to thy discredit, but that thou dost not employ the one talent which hath been apportioned thee.
49. Joy passeth us with flying feet, but Sorrow hath a lingering step.
50. Man, upon thy knees! this is woman, Mother of Our Lord.
51. To the woman who realizes the tragedy of her existence it is simply overwhelming.
52. A man of good intentions who fails to carry them out is one of the greatest of failures, his failure being in proportion to the good he purposed to do.
53. Every soul possesseth treasures of some kind, if, perchance, thou canst succeed in calling them forth.
54. The sordid struggle for existence hath blighted many a flower of heavenly promise.
55. There are times when our souls are very near to the unseen,—rare moments when glimpses into the blessed beyond are accorded us. From such holy contemplation, we return to our walk among men with hearts attuned to heavenly lays, and find the earthly song the sweeter in the singing.
56. A well-ordered mind is an inestimable gift; its value is beyond computing.
57. In the battle of life nothing tells more than character. In view of this fact, which we all know, it is surprising how little attention is paid to the forming of character in the rearing of the young.
58. Though we may not all arrive at greatness, yet may we all accomplish something worthy in life.
59. The man who is courteous in the world, but neglects to be so at home, is far from being admirable, though the short-sighted world may deem him so.
60. The Christian religion is sufficient for every exigency of life, did we but realize this stupendous fact.
61. We can rise above bodily pain; it is the soul’s agony that kills.
62. It is the beauty of thy soul that matters, not that of thy body.
63. Through reading are we admitted to the companionship of noble souls of the past, who though dead to earth yet live for us again in the sweet communion our spirits hold with theirs.
64. There is a place in the world awaiting thee, but thou must prove thy claim to it.
65. To be good is the highest of aims and within the reach of us all; but how few of us are really striving towards that great end.
66. With thy heart’s blood, it may be, wilt thou be called upon to purchase thine experience in life.
67. Courage will guide thy steps safely through many a difficult pass in the mountains of duty.
68. We are the guardians of our fate; in our own hands we carry it day by day, unconscious of the solemn responsibility with which we are laden.
69. Thy place in the world, having been apportioned thee of God, is undoubtedly the right place for thee to fill. Cease, then, to repine that thy station in life be not other than it is, but stretch forth thine hand to avail thyself of the noble possibilities it still hath in store for thee, and which, it may be, thy tears have thus far hidden from thy sight.
70. Thou wilt find occupation a cure for many ills thou art inclined to deem incurable.
71. Though thou mayest not be able to lighten thine own burden in life, yet canst thou surely refrain from adding anything to the weight of thy neighbor’s.
72. It is a magnificent thing to identify thyself with the cause of the Right in life.
73. It rests with thee to make thy life a power either for good or for evil.
74. God will be our judge at last, and such as these our jurors: wasted opportunities, neglected admonitions, unheeded promptings towards the right, noble aims left to languish, kind words unsaid, kind deeds undone, the weeping train of ill-spent days, the silenced voice of conscience, the stifled longings of the soul for the good and the true, the empty hands we might have filled, the loving hearts we might have blessed, the worthy lives we failed to live.
75. The utmost thou canst do for Christianity is to show men what it hath done for thee.