4.  THE HIGHEST IDEAL OF LIFE AND CHARACTER.—­Common-place though it may appear, this doing of one’s duty embodies the highest ideal of life and character.  There may be nothing heroic about it; but the common lot of men is not heroic.  And though the abiding sense of duty upholds man in his highest attitudes, it also equally sustains him in the transaction of the ordinary affairs of every-day existence.  Man’s life is “centered in the sphere of common duties.”  The most influential of all the virtues are those which are the most in request for daily use.  They wear the best, and last the longest.

5.  WEALTH.—­Wealth in the hands of men of weak purpose, or deficient self-control, or of ill regulated passions is only a temptation and a snare—­the source, it may be, of infinite mischief to themselves, and often to others.

On the contrary, a condition of comparative poverty is compatible with character in its highest form.  A man may possess only his industry, his frugality, his integrity, and yet stand high in the rank of true manhood.  The advice which Burns’ father gave him was the best: 

  “He bade me act a manly part, though I had ne’er a farthing,
  For without an honest, manly heart no man was worth regarding.”

6.  CHARACTER IS PROPERTY.—­It is the noblest of possessions.  It is an estate in the general good-will and respect of men; they who invest in it—­though they may not become rich in this world’s goods—­will find their reward in esteem and reputation fairly and honorably won.  And it is right that in life good qualities should tell—­that industry, virtue, and goodness should rank the highest—­and that the really best men should be foremost.

7.  SIMPLE HONESTY OF PURPOSE.—­This in a man goes a long way in life, if founded on a just estimate of himself and a steady obedience to the rule he knows and feels to be right.  It holds a man straight, gives him strength and sustenance, and forms a mainspring of vigorous action.  No man is bound to be rich or great—­no, nor to be wise—­but every man is bound to be honest and virtuous.

[Illustration]

[Illustration:  HOME AMUSEMENTS.]

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FAMILY GOVERNMENT.

1.  GENTLENESS MUST CHARACTERIZE EVERY ACT OF AUTHORITY.—­The storm of excitement that may make the child start, bears no relation to actual obedience.  The inner firmness, that sees and feels a moral conviction and expects obedience, is only disguised and defeated by bluster.  The more calm and direct it is, the greater certainty it has of dominion.

2.  FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF SMALL CHILDREN.—­For the government of small children speak only in the authority of love, yet authority, loving and to be obeyed.  The most important lesson to impart is obedience to authority as authority.  The question of salvation with most children will be settled as soon as they learn to obey parental authority.  It establishes a habit and order of mind that is ready to accept divine authority.  This precludes skepticism and disobedience, and induces that childlike trust and spirit set forth as a necessary state of salvation.  Children that are never made to obey are left to drift into the sea of passion where the pressure for surrender only tends to drive them at greater speed from the haven of safety.