—­John Watson.

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If this be one of our chief duties—­promoting the happiness of our neighbors—­most certainly there is nothing which so entirely runs counter to it, and makes it impossible, as an undisciplined temper.  For of all the things that are to be met with here on earth, there is nothing which can give such continual, such cutting, such useless pain.  The touchy and sensitive temper, which takes offence at a word; the irritable temper, which finds offence in everything whether intended or not; the violent temper, which breaks through all bounds of reason when once roused; the jealous or sullen temper, which wears a cloud on the face all day, and never utters a word of complaint; the discontented temper, brooding over its own wrongs; the severe temper, which always looks at the worst side of whatever is done; the wilful temper, which overrides every scruple to gratify a whim,—­what an amount of pain have these caused in the hearts of men, if we could but sum up their results!  How many a soul have they stirred to evil impulses; how many a prayer have they stifled; how many an emotion of true affection have they turned to bitterness!  How hard they sometimes make all duties!  How painful they make all daily life!  How they kill the sweetest and warmest of domestic charities!  The misery caused by other sins is often much deeper and much keener, more disastrous, more terrible to the sight; but the accumulated pain caused by ill-temper must, I verily believe, if added together, outweigh all other pains that men have to bear from one another.

—­Bishop Temple.

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Wicked is the slander which gossips away a character in an afternoon, and runs lightly over a whole series of acquaintances, leaving a drop of poison on them all, some suspicion, or some ominous silence—­“Have you not heard?”—­“No one would believe it, but—!” and then silence; while the shake of the head, or the shrug of the shoulders, finishes the sentence with a mute meaning worse than words.  Do you ever think of the irrevocable nature of speech?  The things you say are often said forever.  You may find, years after your light word was spoken, that it has made a whole life unhappy, or ruined the peace of a household.  It was well said by St. James, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, that man’s religion is vain.”

—­Stopford Brooke.

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There are three kinds of silence.  Silence from words is good, because inordinate speaking tends to evil.  Silence, or rest from desires and passions, is still better, because it promotes quietness of spirit.  But the best of all is silence from unnecessary and wandering thoughts, because that is essential to internal recollection, and because it lays a foundation for a proper regulation and silence in other respects.