登陆注册
4720600000145

第145章

The true character acts rightly, whether in secret or in the sight of men. That boy was well trained who, when asked why he did not pocket some pears, for nobody was there to see, replied, "Yes, there was: I was there to see myself; and I don't intend ever to see myself do a dishonest thing." - This is a simple but not inappropriate illustration of principle, or conscience, dominating in the character, and exercising a noble protectorate over it; not merely a passive influence, but an active power regulating the life. Such a principle goes on moulding the character hourly and daily, growing with a force that operates every moment. Without this dominating influence, character has no protection, but is constantly liable to fall away before temptation; and every such temptation succumbed to, every act of meanness or dishonesty, however slight, causes self-degradation. It matters not whether the act be successful or not, discovered or concealed; the culprit is no longer the same, but another person; and he is pursued by a secret uneasiness, by self-reproach, or the workings of what we call conscience, which is the inevitable doom of the guilty.

And here it may be observed how greatly the character may be strengthened and supported by the cultivation of good habits. Man, it has been said, is a bundle of habits; and habit is second nature. Metastasio entertained so strong an opinion as to the power of repetition in act and thought, that he said, "All is habit in mankind, even virtue itself." Butler, in his 'Analogy,'

impresses the importance of careful self-discipline and firm resistance to temptation, as tending to make virtue habitual, so that at length it may become more easy to be good than to give way to sin. "As habits belonging to the body," he says, "are produced by external acts, so habits of the mind are produced by the execution of inward practical purposes, i.e., carrying them into act, or acting upon them - the principles of obedience, veracity, justice, and charity." And again, Lord Brougham says, when enforcing the immense importance of training and example in youth, "I trust everything under God to habit, on which, in all ages, the lawgiver, as well as the schoolmaster, has mainly placed his reliance; habit, which makes everything easy, and casts the difficulties upon the deviation from a wonted course." Thus, make sobriety a habit, and intemperance will be hateful; make prudence a habit, and reckless profligacy will become revolting to every principle of conduct which regulates the life of the individual.

Hence the necessity for the greatest care and watchfulness against the inroad of any evil habit; for the character is always weakest at that point at which it has once given way; and it is long before a principle restored can become so firm as one that has never been moved. It is a fine remark of a Russian writer, that "Habits are a necklace of pearls: untie the knot, and the whole unthreads."Wherever formed, habit acts involuntarily, and without effort; and, it is only when you oppose it, that you find how powerful it has become. What is done once and again, soon gives facility and proneness. The habit at first may seem to have no more strength than a spider's web; but, once formed, it binds as with a chain of iron. The small events of life, taken singly, may seem exceedingly unimportant, like snow that falls silently, flake by flake; yet accumulated, these snow-flakes form the avalanche.

Self-respect, self-help, application, industry, integrity - all are of the nature of habits, not beliefs. Principles, in fact, are but the names which we assign to habits; for the principles are words, but the habits are the things themselves: benefactors or tyrants, according as they are good or evil. It thus happens that as we grow older, a portion of our free activity and individuality becomes suspended in habit; our actions become of the nature of fate; and we are bound by the chains which we have woven around ourselves.

It is indeed scarcely possible to over-estimate the importance of training the young to virtuous habits. In them they are the easiest formed, and when formed they last for life; like letters cut on the bark of a tree they grow and widen with age. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." The beginning holds within it the end; the first start on the road of life determines the direction and the destination of the journey; CE N'EST QUE LE PREMIER PAS QUI COUTE.

"Remember," said Lord Collingwood to a young man whom he loved, "before you are five-and-twenty you must establish a character that will serve you all your life." As habit strengthens with age, and character becomes formed, any turning into a new path becomes more and more difficult. Hence, it is often harder to unlearn than to learn; and for this reason the Grecian flute-player was justified who charged double fees to those pupils who had been taught by an inferior master. To uproot an old habit is sometimes a more painful thing, and vastly more difficult, than to wrench out a tooth. Try and reform a habitually indolent, or improvident, or drunken person, and in a large majority of cases you will fail.

For the habit in each case has wound itself in and through the life until it has become an integral part of it, and cannot be uprooted.

同类推荐
  • 洞真太上仓元上录

    洞真太上仓元上录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 不空罥索心咒王经

    不空罥索心咒王经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明伦汇编宫闱典宦寺部

    明伦汇编宫闱典宦寺部

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 儒效

    儒效

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 净名玄论

    净名玄论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 白沙语录

    白沙语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 极光下的爱丽丝

    极光下的爱丽丝

    《极光下的爱丽丝》的女主人公是个擅长泰拳,也狂爱绘画的多面美少女,为了一个梦境预言,她坚持不懈追寻着命中注定的丈夫,而一次假扮歌迷,却让那梦境预言产生无法成真的危险。现实中的感情线,是否能如梦中预言那般清晰浪漫?故事背景从校园到社会,从梦幻到疼痛,从青春蜕变为成熟,文字纯熟,充满梦幻色彩。如果手中缘分红线的另一端没有被你爱的人牵起,你是否会不顾一切与命运抗争到底……
  • 想要宠你

    想要宠你

    他虽然残疾但有钱,而且仍然很英俊。她不仅不缺钱,而且美貌聪慧。两个人的温馨治愈故事。
  • 每天读一点哲学常识

    每天读一点哲学常识

    本书从哲学本体、哲学流派、哲学术语、哲学名家、哲学名著、经典命题、名家名言、哲人轶事八个方面普及与哲学有关的常识。《每天读一点哲学常识》将指导读者爬上思想阶梯,从异彩纷呈的哲人流派中体会博大精深的哲学内涵,力图给读者提供一部了解中西哲学的基础常识,使大家在轻松愉悦的状态下畅游哲学的乐园。
  • 燎剑

    燎剑

    故事从悲情展开:我是一只在北京光华寺长大的哑猫,生来听得懂人语却从不会叫,是年早春被仙华山圆觉寺的方丈通觉大和尚从北京带到江南古刹。在寺里,我遇到了为情所困,对分手三年的爱人求不得放不下、绝望之际欲求出家的男子海剑。我与他的不期而遇,似曾相识的目光对视,同悲同喜的心灵感应,让故事进入一个求解的过程——我们将共同揭开圆觉寺三百年来不为人知的秘密……当海剑带着一把青铜剑同我毅然闭关的时候,尘世的喧嚣恍然隔世,而属于我们的传奇才刚刚开始。
  • 孔庙历史沿革与祭孔文化

    孔庙历史沿革与祭孔文化

    孔庙建筑历史悠久,已有近二千五百年的历史。公元前478年,孔子死后的第二年,鲁哀公就在孔子故乡曲阜陬邑(今山东曲阜东南)立庙,内藏孔子生前用过的衣、冠、琴、车、书等,“岁时奉祀”。这是中国最早的孔庙。
  • 世界帝国史话:波斯帝国

    世界帝国史话:波斯帝国

    本书包括:波斯帝国的兴起;波斯帝国的强盛;希波战争;波斯帝国的衰亡等四部分内容。波斯帝国是世界历史上第一个横跨亚、非、欧三大洲的世界性大帝国,是世界帝国的领头雁。本书介绍了波斯帝国的文化和辉煌的历史。本书力求客观地反映波斯帝国由兴到衰的历史全貌,全书分为4章,用20多万字对波斯帝国整个兴衰史作了简明系统的全面叙述。
  • 网游之永恒幻想

    网游之永恒幻想

    “不管多狼狈,不管变什么模样,我都不会向命运低头!我一定要拿回属于我的东西!”一名少年曾这么哭喊著,在别人的陷害下,他失去了所有东西,也失去了相依为命的妹妹。在他不得不放弃的时候,一道清脆的声音响起。“那么,我就给你一个机会吧!”
  • 荒火大侠客

    荒火大侠客

    剑圣徐日日,无聊的看着天启图,心中很是很开心,因为这本书他已经看过了,哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈。
  • 他与星辰皆璀璨

    他与星辰皆璀璨

    【出版书名《他与星辰皆璀璨》,当当网签名版开售】一场意外,她怀孕了。进了医院要拿掉孩子,全国上下却无人敢给她动手术,害她不得不把孩子生下。五年后,孩子忽然被抢走,而后,一个尊贵的男人霸道的闯进她的世界里。什么?他就是孩子的爸爸?不但如此,而且,他还是万人之上的一国总统?!所以……这真的不是自己在做梦么?……【推荐自己的新书:《Hello,傲娇霍少!》】