[Illustration: Engraved & Printed by Illman Brothers.
THE HOME CIRCLE.]
[Illustration: THE
GOLDEN GEMS
OF LIFE:]
OR,
[Illustration: Gathered Jewels for the Home Circle.]
BY
S. C. FERGUSON
AND
E. A. ALLEN.
[Illustration]
CENTRAL PUBLISHING HOUSE,
CINCINNATI.
1884
COPYRIGHT BY
S. C. FERGUSON AND E. A. ALLEN,
1880
[Illustration: PREFACE.]
[Illustration]
The design of this work is to rouse to honorable effort those who are
wasting their time and energies through indifference to life's prizes.
In the furtherance of this aim the authors have endeavored to gather
from all possible sources the thoughts of those wise and earnest men and
women who have used their pens to delineate life and its possibilities,
its joys and its sorrows. They do not claim to have furnished more than
the setting in which are placed these "GEMS" of thought gathered thus
from sources widely different.
Their hope is, that they may be able to rouse in the minds of the
careless a sense of the value of existence. To those who are striving
nobly for true manhood or womanhood, they would fain bring words of
encouragement. They trust that many may derive from its pages
inspirations which will serve to make real their hopes of success and
happiness.
CINCINNATI, _January 1, 1880_.
[Illustration: CONTENTS.]
Life.
Life ill spent—Life's Real Value—A Triumph or a Defeat—Power
over Life—What True Life Means—Prospective View of Life—The
Journey Laborious—Man does not live for himself—Failure of
Success—Possibilities of Life—Steady Aim Necessary—Life a
Struggle—Duty of Right Living, Page 21
Home.
Thoughts of Home—We never forget Home—Power of Home Thoughts—Home
Memories—Home the Fountain of Civilization—Influence of Home—Home
Experiences—Home a Sensitive Place—Qualifications of Home—Home
Affections—In what a Home consists—Home Happiness composed of
Little Things—Home a Type of Heaven, 29
Home Circle.
Home Circle a Delightful Place—The Nursery of Affection—The
Heart's Garden—Importance of Home Affections—Requisites of Home
Love—Importance of Home Language and Habits—Home Circle the Center
of Affection—Love an Important Element of Home Happiness—Children
in Home Circle—Influence emanating from Home Circle—Home Circle
soon broken, 39
Father and Mother.
Care of Parents for Children—Children should return Parents'
Love—Dangers of Forgetfulness on Part of Children—Duty of writing
to and visiting Parents—Children should try to make Parents
Comfortable and Happy—The Love of Mother to Son—Son's Duty to a
Mother—Loss of a Parent—The Grave of a Mother, 47
Infancy.
Infancy the Morning of Life—Parental Anxiety during
Infancy—Parental Responsibility—Parental Duty—Influence of
Infants—Infants the Poetry of the World—Infancy and Death—Graves
of Infants, 54
Childhood.
Childhood the Happiest Time—Child's Soul without Character—Power
of Imitation with Children—Children incited by Example—Praise of
Children—Reproving Children—Parents' Duty to make Childhood
Happy—Children the Ornament of Home—Fleeting Period of Childhood, 60
Brother and Sister.
Love between Brother and Sister Pleasing—Power of a Sister's
Love—Depths of a Sister's Love—Love for a Sister a Noble
Thing—Power of a Sister's Influence—Sister's Duty in this
Respect—Each Necessary to the Other's Welfare—The Ideal Girl—The
Ideal Boy, 67
Manhood.
Manhood the Isthmus between Two Extremes—Pursuits of Each Age—Early
Manhood Potential for Good—Claims of Society on Young Men—Young
Men's Duty in this Respect—Young Men should cultivate their
Intellect—Thinking makes True Manhood, 74
Womanhood.
True Womanhood a Noble Thing—Error Women make—Womanly Power—Woman's
Moral Influence—Source of Woman's Happiness—A Good Woman never grows
old, 80
Home Harmonies.
An Important Theme—Parents' Duty to make Happy Homes—Influence of a
Happy Home—In what a Happy Home consists—Business Man's
Home—Pictures in a Home—Conversation at Home—Parents should study
Children's Character, 89
Home Duties.
Duty ever at Hand—One Danger of Home Life—Children trained at
Home—Home Language—Happiness of Children—The Domestic
Seminary—Education of Children—Children's Duties to Parents, 97
Aim of Life.
An Aim Essential—Danger of an Aimless Life—Daily Need of Life—All
can accomplish Something—All must labor—Choice of an Occupation—Must
do your own deciding—A Second Profession—Manhood the Most Noble
Aim, 104
Success or Failure.
All Desirous of Success—The Two Ends of Life—Success only won by
Toil—Danger of overlooking this Fact—Earnestness the Secret of
Success—Traits of Character Necessary to Success—All can accomplish
Something—In what True Success consists, 111
Dignity of Labor.
Labor the Lot of All—Labor a Glory—Civilization the Result of
Labor—Life necessarily Routine—Labor not an End of Life—Victories
of Labor—All Honest Work Honorable, 118
Perseverance.
Value of Perseverance—One Man's Work Compared with the Total
Amount—All Excellence the Result of Perseverance—Example of
Gibbon—Results of Human Perseverance—Nature's Lesson—Perseverance
and Genius, 125
Enterprise.
Enterprise distinct from Energy—Seeks for Novelty—Necessity for
Enterprise—Enterprise an Inheritance—Value of Self-reliance—Demands
of the Hour, 132
Energy.
Energy is Force of Character—Resolution and Energy—Energy and
Wisdom—Man's Duty—Value of Energy—Success the Result of Energy, 138
Punctuality.
Value of Punctuality—Punctuality a Positive Virtue—Punctuality the
Life of the Universe—The Value of Time—Punctuality gives Force to
Character, 145
Concentration.
Necessity of Concentration—Must concentrate Energy for Success—Evil
of Dissipation—Concentration not One-sidedness—You must pay the
Price of Success, 151
Decision.
Quality of Decision—Necessity of Decision—Courageous Action
necessary—Foster's Remarks on Decision—Unhappy Results of
Indecision—Decision of Character a Necessity of the Present
Age—Decision not Undue Haste, 159
Self-Confidence.
Value of Self-confidence—Difficulties a Positive Blessing—Reliance
on Good Name—Great Men have been Self-reliant—We admire
Self-reliant men, 166
Practical Talents.
What is meant by Practical Talents—Difference between Practical and
Speculative Ability—Knowledge of Men Indispensable—Intellectual
Knowledge—Education—Perfect Knowledge of Few Things, 172
Education.
Value of Intellect—Education a Development—Education covers the
Whole of Life—Education Right or Wrong—A Just Appreciation of
Wisdom—Importance of Exact Knowledge, 179
Mental Training.
Necessity of Mental Culture—Power of Trained Intellect—Mental
Training Pleasant and within Reach of All—Importance of
Reading—Train the Judgment—Thought, 187
Self-Culture.
In what Self-culture consists—Necessity of Physical
Culture—Necessity of Mental Culture—Educating Influence of
Every-day Life—Moral Culture—Self-culture ever pressing its Claims, 194
Literature.
Influence of Literature—Literature and Encouragement—Consolation of
Literature—Literature the Soul of Action—How to choose
Books—Influence of Reading on Personal Character—Power of the
Press, 201
Mental Power.
Intellectual Triumphs—How shown—What Necessary for its
Attainment—Best Results obtained by training All the
Faculties—Obtained by Years of Exertion, 207
Choice of Companions.
Influence of Associates—Character shown by the Company you keep—No
One can afford to associate with Bad Company—Power of Bad Associates
to debase you—Persons whom Society has most to fear—Why Evil
Associates debase us—Influence of Good Company—Rank in Society
determined by Choice of Companions, 211
Friends.
Value of Friendship—Language of Friendship a Varied One—All need
Friends—Test of Friendship—Friendship a Tender Sentiment—Poverty a
Test of Friendship—Death of a Friendship—Old Friends, 217
Power of Custom.
Power of Custom—Likes and Dislikes—Creatures of Custom—Habit man's
Best Friend or Worst Enemy—How Habits grow—Evil Habits must be
conquered—Importance of Good Habits—How to form Good Habits, 223
Influence.
Nature of Influence—Influence Immortal—Solemn Thought—Every Thing
exerts Influence—Examples from Nature—Influence of Great Men—Your
Influence for Good or for Evil—Influence of Human Actions—Duty of
exerting a Good Influence—Responsibility for our Influence, 229
Character.
Character a Great Motive Power—Value of Good Character—Character is
Power—Difference between Character and Reputation—Character of Slow
Growth—Character our Own—Character always acting—Character a Grand
Thing, 237
Prudence.
Value of Prudence—Difficulty of defining Prudence—The Tongue of
Prudence, 244
Temperance.
Beauty of Temperance—Danger of Impulse—Temperance and
Health—Temperance dwells in the Heart—Temperance consists in
Self-Control—Must be Temperate to make the Most of Life, 247
Frugality.
In what Frugality consists—Frugality and Liberality—Frugality
necessary to Acquisition of Wealth—The Danger of going beyond the
Income—Influence of Economy on the Other Emotions, 252
Patience.
Patience the Ballast of the Soul—Necessity of Patience—Examples of
Eminent Men—Patience an Element of Home Happiness, 259
Self-Control.
Self-control a Form of Courage—Importance of Mental
Faculties—Government and Progress—Composure Highest Form of
Power—Strong Temper not always a Bad One—Man born for Dominion, 264
Courage.
In what Courage consists—Courage not confined to the
Battlefield—Occasion for Courage in Domestic Life—Courage of
Endurance for Conscience's Sake, 270
Charity.
Charity like Dew from Heaven—Charity a Lovable Trait—The Spirit of
Charity always doing Good—Universal Charity—Death and Charity, 275
Kindness.
Kindness the Music of Good-will—Kindness makes Sunshine—Should
never feel ashamed of Kindness—Kindness not necessarily shown in
Gifts—Kindness shown in Little Things—Influence of Unnoticed
Kindness—Showing Kindness a Noble Revenge—Kind Words and their
influence, 280
Benevolence.
Doing Good a Happy Act—No Excess of Good Deeds—Benevolence
necessary to a Perfect Life—Liberality not Profuseness—Benevolence
during Life, 286
Veracity.
Truth always Consistent—Falsehood Perplexing—Strict Veracity has
regard to Looks and Actions—Lying a Cowardly Trait—Danger of too
close Adherence to Truth due to Lack of Caution, 292
Honor.
Honor a Glorious Trait of Character—Honor shown in Little
Acts—Honor and Virtue not the Same, 296
Policy.
Policy of the Nature of Cunning—Extent of this Principle—A
Characteristic Trait of the Age—Policy not Prudence or
Caution—Policy not Discretion—Danger of judging from Appearance, 299
Egotism.
Egotism a Disagreeable Trait—Egotism, how shown—Why We dislike
Egotism in Others—Danger of Self-love—The True Line between Egotism
and Self-conceit, 303
Vanity.
Vanity requires Skill in the Management—Danger of Love of
Applause—Vanity attacks Every Thing—Deception of Vanity—Vanity not
wholly Bad—Vanity ever present, 307
Selfishness.
Nature of Selfishness—Selfishness destructive of
Happiness—Selfishness a Narrow Quality—Selfishness contracts the
Mind—Selfishness shows itself in Many Ways—Last Hours of a Selfish
Life, 311
Obstinacy.
Obstinacy a Trait of Low Minds—Peculiar Property of
Obstinacy—Obstinacy a Barrier to Improvement—Obstinacy not
Firmness—Necessity of sometimes yielding—Be not in a Hurry to
change Opinion, 315
Slander.
Nature of Calumny—Slander never tired—Slander loved only by the
Base—Slander can not injure a Good Man—Slander easily started—Your
Own Character shown in describing Another's—Speak kindly of the
Absent, 319
Irritability.
Irritability an Unpleasant Quality—The Source of Envy and
Discontent—Sin of fretting—Fretting easy to indulge—Evidence of a
Moral Weakness—Evidence of Littleness of Soul, 324
Envy.
Envy Born of Pride—Envy a Foolish Trait—Envy destroys One's Own
Happiness—Envy seeks to pull down Others—Envy Cruel in pursuit—Envy
grows in All Hearts, 328
Discontent.
A Discontented Man wretched—Discontent at Times wicked—Universality
of Discontent—Contentment Felicity—Duty to enjoy God's
Blessing—Contentment abides with Little Things—Contentment not
Supine Satisfaction—Folly of Discontent, 332
Deception.
Deceit an Obstacle to Happiness—Deceit in Friendship Most
Detestable—Deceit Inimical to Society—Deception and
Hypocrisy—Deception assumes Many Forms, 338
Intermeddling.
A Busybody disliked by All—Allied to Envy and Slander—The Source of
Many Troubles—Mischief wrought by an Intermeddler—Beware of
Curiosity—A Meddler not moved by the Spirit of Charity, 342
Anger.
Anger an Impotent Quality—Anger unmans a Man—Fit Occasions for
Indignation—Anger always Terrible or Ridiculous—Strong Temper not
of Necessity a Bad One, 346
Ambition.
Ambition a Deceptive Quality—Ambition fatal to Happiness—Ambition
fatal to Friendship—Ambition a Shadowy Quality—Ambition not
Aspiration—Ambition an Excessive Quality—Ambitious of True Honor a
Grand Thing, 350
Politeness.
Importance of Politeness—Manner influences Worldly
Opinion—Fascinating Manners not Politeness—Politeness does not
depend on National Peculiarities—Politeness is Kindness—Description
of a Gentleman—Politeness comes of Sincerity—Politeness a Noble
Trait of Character—Business Value of Politeness—Good Manners can
not be laid aside, 354
Sociability.
Mutual Intercourse necessary to Happiness—Society the Balm of
Life—Duty of doing Something for Society—All Social Duties
Reciprocal—Society the Spirit of Life—Anomalies of Society
explained—Happy Influence of Society, 361
Dignity.
Dignity defined—Dignity not Dependent on Place—Dignity the
Ennobling Quality of Politeness—Three Kinds of Dignity—Dignity not
Conceit—Dignity not Hauteur and Pride, 367
Affability.
Affability an Ornament—Affability of Value—Why Affability promotes
Success—Not well enough acquainted with Each Other—Duty of
cultivating Affability—Whom to be Affable with, 371
The Toilet.
Dress denotes the Man—Duty of Dressing—Love of Beauty right—Mental
Qualities shown by the Toilet—Beauty of Simplicity—The Style of
Dress—Dress need not be Costly—Dress of a Gentleman—Dandies
Ridiculous, 375
Gentleness.
Gentleness a Pleasing Quality—We do not sufficiently value
Gentleness—Power of Gentleness—Gentleness belongs to Virtue—Great
Power always Gentle in Expression—Power in Gentle Words—Foundation
of True Gentleness, 382
Modesty.
Modesty a Mark of Wisdom—Modesty a Beautiful Setting to Talents—All
Great Events complete themselves in Silence—Modesty not
Bashfulness—Modesty Different from Reserve—Modesty Crowning
Ornament of Woman, 387
Love.
Love a Ruling Element—Love a Need of the Heart—Power of Love—Love
a Proof of Moral Excellence—Love elevates Life—Duty to study the
Nature of Love—Love founded on Esteem and Respect—Love Dependent on
Etiquette—Woman's Love Stronger than Man's—Love purifies the Heart, 391
Courtship.
Importance of the Question—Mistaken Notions as to Time—Courtship
and Wedded Love—Happiness Dependent on Love—All Jest out of
Place—Duty of Careful Thought on Courtship—Marriage should be made
a Study—Courtship a Voyage of Discovery—The True Companion must be
sought for—A Critical Point in a Woman's Life—Must be an
Equal—Courtship Beautiful, 400
Marriage.
Marriage a Solemn Spectacle—Human Happiness ever accompanied by
Sorrow—Loving Trust of Woman—Importance of the Act—Marriage the
Entrance to a New World—Influence of a Wife's Moral
Character—Discipline of the Affections—Marriage a
Necessity—Marriage should be made a Study—Why Disappointments
arise—Marriage a Real and Earnest Affair, 408
Single Life.
Marriage universally expected—Happiness of Single Life—Matrimony
brings Cares as well as Joys—Marriage not the Chief End of
Life—Marriage the More Preferable State—Jeremy Taylor's Contrast of
the Two States—Early Marriages Injudicious—Why Some remain Single, 416
Married Life.
Marriage the Bond of Social Order—Influence of a Good Wife—Nature
of the Marriage Tie—Gold can not purchase Love—Unhappy
Marriages—Human to see the Good Side of Things past—Happiness found
in consulting the Happiness of Others—Elevating Influence of
Marriage, 422
Duties of Married Life.
Duty of Married Life can not be shaken off—Marriage does not change
human Nature—Love not the Only Requisite of Domestic Felicity—Chance
to make or mar Life—Danger from Familiarity—Patience demanded—Must
expect Imperfections—Must seek the Happiness of Others—Duty of
forgetting Self, 429
Trials of Married Life.
Trials to be expected—Death of Wedded Love—Daily Life the Test of
Married Love—Domestic Happiness reached through Trials—Must learn
to bear with the Faults of Each Other—Imperfections of Character
make the Strongest Claims on our Love—Many Trials arise from
Mistaken Notions as to Economy—Necessity of having a Home, 436
Husband and Wife.
True Marriage the Growth of Years—There must be a Mutual
Self-sacrifice—Keep Faults to yourself—Constant Tenderness and Care
necessary—Proofs of Affection should be granted—Duty of Husbands—Duty
of Wives—Man desires Woman's Sympathy and Love—Wives should consult
Husbands' Taste, 443
Jealousy.
Baseness of this Passion—Distinction between Jealousy and
Envy—Jealousy preferable to Envy—Jealousy assumes Many Forms—No
One willing to Acknowledge Jealousy—Jealousy a Deadly
Thing—Suspicion an Enemy to Happiness, 449
Regret.
Regret a Sad Word—All have felt it—The Profoundest Sorrows
self-wrought—Death an Occasion of Much Regret—Shadowed Lives—How
to escape regret, 454
Memory.
Memory the Noblest Gift of Providence—Memory the Golden
Cord—Treasure of a Good Memory—Memory of Past Days—Slight Things
suffice to recall Past Memories—The Reminiscences of Youth—Memory
sometimes Painful—Memory crowds Years into Moments, 458
Hope.
Hope accomplishes All Things—Moderate Hope Helpful—Sustaining Power
of Hope—Should only hope for Probable Things—Hope ever with
us—Hope lives in the Future—The Morality of Hope—A True Hope ever
Present—Hopes and Fears—Rise above Trouble, 465
Prosperity.
Prosperity the Test of Character—A Degree of Prosperity to be
reasonably hoped for—Continuous Prosperity not a Good Thing—How to
prosper—Prosperity and Happiness not Identical—Early Adversity the
Foundation of Future Prosperity—Hardships a Good Thing, 472
Trifles.
Details Important—Trifles make Success—No Such Thing as Trifles in
Life—Trifles make the Difference between First and Second Class
Work—Unhappiness of Life caused by Trifles—Trifles make an Influence, 477
Leisure.
Spare Moments the Gold-dust of Time—Time our Estate—What can be
done in Leisure Time—Busiest Persons have always the Most Time—Time
can not be recalled—Effort required to employ Time Rightly—Death
teaches the Value of Time, 482
Happiness.
Happiness the Principal Thing—Deceitfulness of Happiness—Happiness
like To-morrow—Wealth and Fame not Necessary to Happiness—Can not
control our Outward Surroundings—Circumstances not essential to
Happiness—Disposition to enjoy Life what is wanted—Enjoy Present
Surroundings—Content is Happiness—Must seek for Happiness in the
Right Way, 488
True Nobility.
True Nobility often counterfeited—Man not rated by his
Possessions—Greatness often Obscure—Some Great in Evil—Influence
of Noble Principles—True Nobility Modest in Expression—Nobility of
Character Reverential—True Nobility within Reach of All, 494
A Good Name.
A Good Name the Richest Possession—Based on Permanent
Excellence—The Result of Individual Exertion—Influence of Youth on
Life—Rewards of possessing a Good Name—Evil of being devoid of it, 501
Meditation.
Meditation the Soul's Perspective Glass—Must learn to subdue the
Impulses—Meditation the Counselor of the Mental Powers—Guard
against Impure Thoughts—Duty of Thinking, 507
Principles.
Principles the Springs of our Actions—Danger of Loose
Principles—Good Principles ever acting—False Principles, 512
Opportunity.
Must Rightly use Small Opportunities—Opportunity and Ability—All
have a Few Opportunities—Must not wait for Opportunity, 516
Duty.
Duty ever Present with us—Duty based on Justice—We must will to do
our Duty—Duty and Might—Duty does not fear Censure, 520
Trials.
Life Full of Trials—Joy and Sorrow near together—Trials sent for
our Good—Wisdom won by Trials—Man like a Sword—Never meet Trouble
Half Way—Sorrow should remind us of God, 524
Sickness.
Sickness draws us near to God—Sickness softens the Heart—Sickness
renders us All Equals—The Blessings of Sickness—Sickness and
Health—Discipline of a Sick-bed, 529
Sorrow.
Sorrows gather around Great Souls—Sorrows make the Mind Genial—Life
abounds in Sorrowful Scenes—Sorrow the Noblest of
Discipline—Christianity a Religion of Sorrow—Suffering must be
patiently submitted to—Sorrow sometimes too Sacred to be spoken
of—Must not give way to Causeless Sorrow, 532
Poverty.
Poverty a Valued Discipline—Evils of Poverty Imaginary—Genius a
Gift of Poverty—The Advantages of struggling with Poverty—Poverty
the Test of Civility—Real Wants of Mankind but Few—Misfortune of
beginning Life Rich—Poverty of the Mind Most Deplorable, 539
Affliction.
The Elasticity of the Human Mind—Affliction a School of
Virtue—Adversity the Touchstone of Character—The Uncertainty of
Human Life—Suffering Divinely appointed—Thought when Death comes, 545
Disappointments.
Disappointments Divinely appointed—Disappointments the Lot of
Man—Shadowed Lives—Many disappointed because they do not look for
Happiness in the Right Way—Must meet Disappointments Bravely—Must
be accepted with Resignation—Disappointments sometimes arise from
Undue Expectations—Time disappoints our Cherished plans—Life a
Variegated Scene, 552
Failure.
Ultimate Success attained through Present Failure—Failures for our
Own Good—The True Hero perseveres in Spite of Failure—Do not give
Way to Despair—No One succeeds in All his Undertakings—Many ruined
by Early Success—How to view Past Mistakes—Sorrows of Mankind
traced to Blighted Hopes—The Brave-hearted Man rises Superior to
Present Difficulties, 557
Despondency.
Dark Hours as well as Bright Ones—Dire Effects of Despair—Influence
of Hope—Duty of resisting Despondency—Despondency a Failure of
Duty—To give Way to Despair not Manly—Lesson from Nature—Causeless
Depression of Spirits—Human Nature to see the Dark Side, 565
Faith.
Faith the Prophet of the Soul—Faith a Necessity—Faith a Reasonable
Thing—Faith ever with us—Difference between Morality and
Faith—Faith expands the Intellect—Must not judge the Outward
Manifestations of Faith—Faith and Works, 570
Worship.
Necessity of Prayer—Prayer arises from the Heart—Prayer and Outward
Action—Prayer the Password to Heaven—Family Worship—Necessity of
Daily Worship—Family Prayers knit together the Home—We often pray
Improperly—What God looketh at in Prayers—The Lord's Prayer, 575
Religion.
Religion binds Man to God—True Religion a Noble Thing—Effect of
Religion—Religion Full of Joys—Religion a Natural Thing—Religion
not established by Reason—Sorrow for Sin—Three Modes of bearing
Ills of Life—Surrounded by Motives to Religion—Religion a Refining
Influence—Religion teaches the Dignity of Common Life—Religion
enforces the doing of Common Duties, 581
God in Nature.
"The Heavens proclaim the Glory of God"—The Gospel written on
Nature—Distinguishing Features of God's Works—Study of Nature leads
to True Religion—Plan running through Nature's Works—Wondrous
Natural Scenes conduce to a Proper View of God, 588
The Bible.
Eulogy of the Bible—The Bible the Oldest Monument Extant—The Bible
Adapted to Every Condition—The Bible the Foundation of our Religious
Faith—The Bible our Constant Attendant—The Bible a Tried Book—The
Scriptures Adapted to All Times of Life—The Bible gives us a Sure
Foundation to stand upon, 592
Future Life.
Importance of this Question—Changes of the Seasons proving Future
Life—Men at All Times have pondered the Question of Death—Tenable
Ground for the Hope of Future Life—Visions on Death-beds, 596
Time and Eternity.
Insignificance of Man as compared to Eternity—The Hour-glass
Emblematical of the World—The Closing Year of our Life—Transitory
Period of Human Life—The Vanities and Contentions of Life viewed
from the Stand-point of Eternity, 599
The Evening of Life.
The Beauty of Age—Different Ages of Life contrasted—In the
Realities of Life we lose Sight of the Dreams of Youth—Age should
present the Grandest Thoughts—Age has no Terror to those who see it
near—The True Man does not wish to be a Child again—Death the
Transition Stage to a More Glorious and Perfect Life—In Death we are
All Equal—Should Cultivate Cheerful Thoughts about Death—Poem on
Death, 602
[Illustration: Golden Gems of Life]
[Illustration: LIFE.]
[Illustration]
We can conceive of no spectacle better calculated to lead the mind to
serious reflections than that of an aged person, who has misspent a long
life, and who, when standing near the end of life's journey, looks down
the long vista of his years, only to recall opportunities unimproved.
Now that it is all too late, he can plainly see where he passed by in
heedless haste the real "gems of life" in pursuit of the glittering
gewgaws of pleasure, but which, when gained, like the apples of Sodom,
turned to ashes in his very grasp. What a different course would he
pursue would time but turn backwards in his flight and he be allowed to
commence anew to weave the "tangled web of life." But this is not
vouchsafed him. Regrets are useless, save when they awaken in the minds
of youth a wish to avoid errors and a desire to gather only the true
"jewels of life."
Life, with its thousand voices wailing and exulting, reproving and
exalting, is calling upon you. Arouse, and gird yourself for the race.
Up and onward, and
"Waking,
Be awake to sleep no more."
Not alone by its ultimate destiny, but by its immediate obligations,
uses, enjoyment, and advantages, must be estimated the infinite and
untold value of life. It is a great mission on which you are sent. It is
the choicest gift in the bounty of heaven committed to your wise and
diligent keeping, and is associated with countless benefits and
priceless boons which heaven alone has power to bestow. But, alas! its
possibilities for woe are equal to those of weal.
It is a crowning triumph or a disastrous defeat, garlands or chains, a
prison or a prize. We need the eloquence of Ulysses to plead in our
behalf, the arrows of Hercules to do battle on our side. It is of the
utmost importance to you to make the journey of life a successful one.
To do so you must begin with right ideas. If you are mistaken in your
present estimates it is best to be undeceived at the first, even though
it cast a shadow on your brow. It is true, that life is not mean, but it
is grand. It is also a real and earnest thing. It has homely details,
painful passages, and a crown of care for every brow.
We seek to inspire you with a wish and a will to meet it with a brave
spirit. We seek to point you to its nobler meanings and its higher
results. The tinsel with which your imagination has invested it will all
fall off of itself so soon as you have fairly entered on its experience.
So we say to you, take up life's duties now, learn something of what
life is before you take upon yourself its great responsibilities.
Great destinies lie shrouded in your swiftly passing hours; great
responsibilities stand in the passages of every-day life; great dangers
lie hidden in the by-paths of life's great highway; great uncertainty
hangs over your future history. God has given you existence, with full
power and opportunity to improve it and be happy; he has given you equal
power to despise the gift and be wretched; which you will do is the
great problem to be solved by your choice and conduct. Your bliss or
misery in two worlds hangs pivoted in the balance.
With God and a wish to do right in human life it becomes essentially a
noble and beautiful thing. Every youth should form at the outset of his
career the solemn purpose to make the most and the best of the powers
which God has given him, and to turn to the best possible account every
outward advantage within his reach. This purpose must carry with it the
assent of the reason, the approval of the conscience, the sober judgment
of the intellect. It should thus embody within itself whatever is
vehement in desire, inspiring in hope, thrilling in enthusiasm, and
intense in desperate resolve. To live a life with such a purpose is a
peerless privilege, no matter at what cost of transient pain or
unremitting toil.
It is a thing above professions, callings, and creeds. It is a thing
which brings to its nourishment all good, and appropriates to its
development of power all evil. It is the greatest and best thing under
the whole heavens. Place can not enhance its honor; wealth can not add
to its value. Its course lies through true manhood and womanhood;
through true fatherhood and motherhood; through true friendship and
relationship of all legitimate kinds—of all natural sorts whatever. It
lies through sorrow and pain and poverty and all earthly discipline. It
lies through unswerving trust in God and man. It lies through patient
and self-denying heroism. It lies through all heaven prescribed and
conscientious duty; and it leads as straight to heaven's brightest gate
as the path of a sunbeam leads to the bosom of a flower.
Many of you to-day are just starting on the duties of active life. The
volume of the future lies unopened before you. Its covers are
illuminated by the pictures of fancy, and its edges are gleaming with
the golden tints of hope. Vainly you strive to loosen its wondrous
clasp; 'tis a task which none but the hand of Time can accomplish. Life
is before you—not earthly life alone, but life; a thread running
interminably through the warp of eternity. It is a sweet as well as a
great and wondrous thing. Man may make life what he pleases and give it
as much worth, both for himself and others, as he has energy for.
The journey is a laborious one, and you must not expect to find the road
all smooth. And whether rich or poor, high or low, you will be
disappointed if you build on any other foundation. Take life like a man;
take it just as though it was as it is—an earnest, vital, essential
affair. Take it just as though you personally were born to the task of
performing a merry part in it—as though the world had waited for your
coming. Live for something, and for something worthy of life and its
capabilities and opportunities, for noble deeds and achievements. Every
man and every woman has his or her assignments in the duties and
responsibilities of daily life. We are in the world to make the world
better, to lift it up to higher levels of enjoyment and progress, to
make the hearts and homes brighter and happier by devoting to our
fellows our best thoughts, activities, and influences.
It is the motto of every true heart and the genius of every noble life
that no man liveth to himself—lives chiefly for his own selfish good.
It is a law of our intellectual and moral being that we promote our own
real happiness in the exact proportions we contribute to the comfort and
happiness of others. Nothing worthy the name of happiness is the
experience of those who live only for themselves, all oblivious to the
welfare of their fellows. That only is the true philosophy which
recognizes and works out the principle in daily life that—
"Life was lent for noble deeds."
Life embraces in its comprehensiveness a just return of failure and
success as the result of individual perseverance and labor. Live for
something definite and practical; take hold of things with a will, and
they will yield to you and become the ministers of your own happiness
and that of others. Nothing within the realm of the possible can
withstand the man or woman who is intelligently bent on success. Every
person carries within the key that unlocks either door of success or
failure. Which shall it be? All desire success; the problem of life is
its winning.
Strength, bravery, dexterity, and unfaltering nerve and resolution must
be the portion and attribute of those who resolve to pursue fortune
along the rugged road of life. Their path will often lie amid rocks and
crags, and not on lawns and among lilies. A great action is always
preceded by a great purpose. History and daily life are full of examples
to show us that the measure of human achievements has always been
proportional to the amount of human daring and doing. Deal with
questions and facts of life as they really are. What can be done, and is
worth doing, do with dispatch; what can not be done, or would be
worthless when done, leave for the idlers and dreamers along life's
highway.
Life often presents us with a choice of evils instead of good; and if
any one would get through life honorably and peacefully he must learn to
bear as well as forbear, to hold the temper in subjection to the
judgment, and to practice self-denial in small as well as great things.
Human life is a watch-tower. It is the clear purpose of God that every
one—the young especially—should take their stand on this tower, to
look, listen, learn, wherever they go and wherever they tarry. Life is
short, and yet for you it may be long enough to lose your character,
your constitution, or your estate; or, on the other hand, by diligence
you can accomplish much within its limits.
If the sculptor's chisel can make impressions on marble in a few hours
which distant eyes shall read and admire, if the man of genius can
create work in life that shall speak the triumph of mind a thousand
years hence, then may true men and women, alive to the duty and
obligations of existence, do infinitely more. Working on human hearts
and destinies, it is their prerogative to do imperishable work, to build
within life's fleeting hours monuments that shall last forever. If such
grand possibilities lie within the reach of our personal actions in the
world how important that we live for something every hour of our
existence, and for something that is harmonious with the dignity of our
present being and the grandeur of our future destiny!
A steady aim, with a strong arm, willing hands, and a resolute will, are
the necessary requisites to the conflict which begins anew each day and
writes upon the scroll of yesterday the actions that form one mighty
column wherefrom true worth is estimated. One day's work left undone
causes a break in the great chain that years of toil may not be able to
repair. Yesterday was ours, but it is gone; today is all we possess, for
to-morrow we may never see; therefore, in the golden hour of the present
the seeds are planted whereby the harvest for good or evil is to be
reaped.
To endure with cheerfulness, hoping for little, asking for much, is,
perhaps, the true plan. Decide at once upon a noble purpose, then take
it up bravely, bear it off joyfully, lay it down triumphantly. Be
industrious, be frugal, be honest, deal with kindness with all who come
in your way, and if you do not prosper as rapidly as you would wish
depend upon it you will be happy.
The web of life is drawn into the loom for us, but we weave it
ourselves. We throw our own shuttle and work our own treadle. The warp
is given us, but the woof we furnish—find our own materials, and color
and figure it to suit ourselves. Every man is the architect of his own
house, his own temple of fame. If he builds one great, glorious, and
honorable, the merit and the bliss are his; if he rears a polluted,
unsightly, vice-haunted den, to himself the shame and misery belongs.
Life is often but a bitter struggle from first to last with many who
wear smiling faces and are ever ready with a cheerful word, when there
is scarcely a shred left of the hopes and opportunities which for years
promised happiness and content. But it is human still to strive and
yearn and grope for some unknown good that shall send all unrest and
troubles to the winds and settle down over one's life with a halo of
peace and satisfaction. The rainbow of hope is always visible in the
future. Life is like a winding lane—on either side bright flowers and
tempting fruits, which we scarcely pause to admire or taste, so eager
are we to pass to an opening in the distance, which we imagine will be
more beautiful; but, alas! we find we have only hastened by these
tempting scenes to arrive at a desert waste.
We creep into childhood, bound into youth, sober into manhood, and
totter into old age. But through all let us so live that when in the
evening of life the golden clouds rest sweetly and invitingly upon the
golden mountains, and the light of heaven streams down through the
gathering mists of death, we may have a peaceful and joyous entrance
into that world of blessedness, where the great riddle of life, whose
meaning we can only guess at here below, will be unfolded to us in the
quick consciousness of a soul redeemed and purified.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: HOME.]
"Home is the resort
Of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where,
Supporting and supported, polished friends
And dear relations mingle into bliss."
[Illustration]
Home! That word touches every fiber of the soul, and strikes every chord
of the human heart with its angelic fingers. Nothing but death can break
its spell. What tender associations are linked with home! What pleasing
images and deep emotions it awakens! It calls up the fondest memories of
life, and opens in our nature the purest, deepest, richest gush of
consecrated thought and feeling.
To the little child, home is his world—he knows no other. The father's
love, the mother's smile, the sister's embrace, the brother's welcome,
throw about his home a heavenly halo, and make it as attractive to him
as the home of angels. Home is the spot where the child pours out all
his complaint, and it is the grave of all his sorrows. Childhood has its
sorrows and its grievances; but home is the place where these are
soothed and banished by the sweet lullaby of a fond mother's voice.
Ask the man of mature years, whose brow is furrowed by care, whose mind
is engrossed in business,—ask him what is home. He will tell you: "It
is a place of rest, a haven of content, where loved ones relieve him of
the burden of every-day life, too heavy to be continuously borne, from
whence, refreshed and invigorated, he goes forth to do battle again."
Ask the lone wanderer as he plods his weary way, bent with the weight of
years and white with the frosts of age,—ask him what is home. He will
tell you: "It is a green spot in memory, an oasis in the desert, a
center about which the fondest recollection of his grief-oppressed heart
clings with all the tenacity of youth's first love. It was once a
glorious, a happy reality; but now it rests only as an image of the
mind."
Wherever the heart wanders it carries the thought of home with it.
Wherever by the rivers of Babylon the heart feels its loss and
loneliness, it hangs its harp upon the willows, and weeps. It prefers
home to its chief joy. It will never forget it; for there swelled its
first throb, there were developed its first affections. There a mother's
eye looked into it, there a father's prayer blessed it, there the love
of parents and brothers and sisters gave it precious entertainment.
There bubbled up, from unseen fountains, life's first effervescing
hopes. There life took form and consistence. From that center went out
all its young ambition. Towards that focus return its concentrating
memories. There it took form and fitted itself to loving natures; and it
will carry that impress wherever it may go, unless it becomes polluted
by sin or makes to itself another home sanctified by a new and more
precious affection.
There is one vision that never fades from the soul, and that is the
vision of mother and of home. No man in all his weary wanderings ever
goes out beyond the overshadowing arch of home. Let him stand on the
surf-beaten coast of the Atlantic, or roam over western wilds, and every
dash of the wave or murmur of the breeze will whisper home, sweet home!
Let him down amid the glaciers of the north, and even there thoughts of
home, too warm to be chilled by the eternal frosts, will float in upon
him. Let him rove through the green, waving groves and over the sunny
slopes of the south, and in the smile of the soft skies, and in the kiss
of the balmy breeze, home will live again. Let prosperity reward his
every exertion, and wealth and affluence bring round him all the luxury
of the earth, yet in his marble palace will rise unforbidden the vision
of his childhood's home. Let misfortune overtake him; let poverty be his
portion, and hunger press him; still in troubled dreams will his
thoughts revert to his olden home.
If you wanted to gather up all tender memories, all lights and shadows
of the heart, all banquetings and reunions, all filial, fraternal,
paternal, conjugal affections, and had only just four letters to spell
out all height and depth, and length and breadth, and magnitude and
eternity of meaning, you would write it all out with the four letters
that spell Home.
What beautiful and tender associations cluster thick around that word!
Compared with it, wealth, mansion, palace, are cold, heartless terms.
But home,—that word quickens every pulse, warms the heart, stirs the
soul to its depths, makes age feel young again, rouses apathy into
energy, sustains the sailor in his midnight watch, inspires the soldier
with courage on the field of battle, and imparts patient endurance to
the worn-out sons of toil.
The thought of it has proved a sevenfold shield to virtue; the very name
of it has a spell to call back the wanderer from the path of vice; and,
far away where myrtles bloom and palm-trees wave, and the ocean sleeps
upon coral strands, to the exile's fond fancy it clothes the naked rock,
or stormy shore, or barren moor, or wild height and mountain, with
charms he weeps to think of, and longs once more to see.
Every home should be as a city set on a hill, that can not be hid. Into
it should flock friends and friendship, bringing the light of the world,
the stimulus and the modifying power of contact with various natures,
the fresh flowers of feeling gathered from wide fields. Out of it should
flow benign charities, pleasant amenities, and all those influences
which are the natural offspring of a high and harmonious home-life.
The home is the fountain of civilization. Our laws are made in the home.
The things said there give bias to character far more than do sermons
and lectures, newspapers and books. No other audience are so susceptible
and receptive as those gathered about the table and fireside; no other
teachers have the acknowledged and divine right to instruct that is
granted without challenge to parents. The foundation of our national
life is under their hand. They can make it send forth waters bitter or
sweet, for the death or the healing of the people.
The influences of home perpetuate themselves. The gentle graces of the
mother live in the daughter long after her head is pillowed in the dust
of death; and the fatherly kindness finds its echoes in the nobility and
character of sons who come to wear his mantle and fill his place. While,
on the other hand, from an unhappy, misgoverned, and ill-ordered home,
go forth persons who shall make other homes miserable, and perpetuate
the sorrows and sadness, the contentions and strifes, which have made
their own early lives miserable. In every proper sense in which home can
be considered, it is a powerful stimulant to noble actions and a high
and pure morality. So valuable is this love of home that every man
should cherish it as the apple of his eye. As he values his own moral
worth, as he prizes his country, the peace and happiness of the world;
yea, more, as he values the immortal interests of man, he should cherish
and cultivate a strong and abiding love of home.
Home has voices of experience and hearts of genuine holy love, to
instruct you in the way of life, and to save you from a sense of
loneliness as you gradually discover the selfishness of mankind. Home
has its trials, in which are imaged forth the stern struggles of your
after years, that your character may gain strength and manifestation,
for which purpose they are necessary; they open the portals of his
heart, that the jewels otherwise concealed in its hidden depths may
shine forth and shed their luster on the world. Home has its duties, to
teach you how to act on your own responsibilities. Home gradually and
greatly increases its burdens, so that you may acquire strength to
endure without being overtasked. Home is a little world, in which the
duties of the great world are daily rehearsed.
He who has no home has not the sweetest pleasures of life. He feels not
the thousand endearments that cluster around that hallowed spot, to fill
the void of his aching heart, and while away his leisure moments in the
sweetest of life's enjoyments. Is misfortune your lot, you will find a
friendly welcome from hearts beating true to your own. The chosen
partner of your toil has a smile of approbation when others have
deserted you, a hand of hope when all others refuse, and a heart to feel
your sorrows as her own. No matter how humble that home may be, how
destitute its stores, or how poorly its inmates may be clad, if true
hearts dwell there, it is still a home.
Of all places on earth, home is the most delicate and sensitive. Its
springs of action are subtle and secret. Its chords move with a breath.
Its fires are kindled with a spark. Its flowers are bruised with the
least rudeness. The influences of our homes strike so directly on our
hearts that they make sharp impressions. In our intercourse with the
world we are barricaded, and the arrows let fly at our hearts are warded
off; but not so with us at home. Here our hearts wear no covering, no
armor. Every arrow strikes them; every cold wind blows full upon them;
every storm beats against them. What, in the world, we would pass by in
sport, in our homes would wound us to the quick. Very little can we bear
at home, for it is a sensitive place.
If we would have a true home, we must guard well our thoughts and
actions. A single bitter word may disquiet the home for a whole day;
but, like unexpected flowers which spring up along our path full of
freshness, fragrance, and beauty, so do kind words and gentle acts and
sweet disposition make glad the home where peace and blessing dwell. No
matter how humble the abode, if it be thus garnished with grace and
sweetened by kindness and smiles, the heart will turn lovingly towards
it from all the tumults of the world, and home, "be it ever so humble,"
will be the dearest spot under the sun.
There is no happiness in life, there is no misery, like that growing out
of the disposition which consecrates or desecrates a home. "He is
happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace at home." Home should
be made so truly home that the weary, tempted heart could turn towards
it anywhere on the dusty highways of life, and receive light and
strength. It should be the sacred refuge of our lives, whether rich or
poor.