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SENTENCE
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SERMONS
«•> REMARKABLE REMARKS GATHERED FOR BUST READERS
is the first step tow ard tru e life. The pessim ist looks, backward; the optim ist forward, the th eo rist inward; the practical man outw ard; th e good man and wise man, upward. Death is not the g reatest ill; life not the g reatest good nor happiness the noblest end. The g reatest ill is to die w ithout having lived; th e g reatest good to live only a f te r . having died. The g reatest earth ly boon is to be righ tly employed. A necessity is w hat we cannot afford to m iss; a luxury is w hat we can afford to lose. Only he is free who is a slave to duty. Folk th ink themselves fiddlers de signed to improve by playing. ■ They are only fiddles designed to improve by being played upon. The righteous are called stars in Scripture, never comets. They are meant to Shine and be steady, not to be drag ging a giant ta il behind a pigmy head. Thé small soul lives itself in ;. the g reat soul lives itself out. The te st of greatness is how it deals w ith littleness. Two m arks of a royal soul:, to be never in a hurry, to be ever on time. Avarice is th rift gone to waste. “ I cannot” on the tongue means most-: ly “ I will n o t” in the heart. Doubt is the tax paid for useless knowledge. Obstinacy is the mask under which weakness hides its lack of strength. The rainbow is only rain permeated w ith sunshine. T rue resignation is streng th of soul yielding w ith a smile. Selfishness is only another name for short-sightedness.
WO things are equally hard: to speak of one’s m erits in his presence w ith discretion; to speak of one’s fau lts in his absence w ith lore. There is a hesitation of speech more eloquent th an
many a passionate outburst. Don’t cross your bridge before you come to it and maybe you won’t have„to burn it behind you. The meek shall in h erit the earth and th ere shall be no inheritance tax. Some men sell themselves to the devil; others merely ren t themselves out by the day. Only those who have stru ck the deep est note of penitence can reach the highest note of praise'. Some men chew up, smoke up and spit out a dollar a day in tobacco but have nothing for the church. Know all you say: say no t all you know. We make as many enemies by our virtues as by our vices. If we have no enem ies we had b e tte r'lo o k to our v ir tues. A neglected bu t highly profitable study-r-the virtues of those we dislike. We cannot live on la st year’s food, nor rem ain virtuous on last year’s vir tue. A common blunder—m istaking its platform for virtue itself. W hat is tru ly done is beautifully done. If it is not beautifully done, it is because it is not y et tru ly done. To learn from all is wisdom; to over come self is streng th ; to be content w ith w hat you have is riches; to believe what you' cannot see is faith. There is one remedy for all ills— time. T o recognize the vanity of th is life
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