Were this virtue more duly appreciated, and the admonition of the Wise Man more extensively heeded, what a change would be effected in human life!  How many of its keenest sufferings would be annihilated!  The spark which kindles many great fires would be withheld; and, great as are the evils and sufferings caused by war, they are not as great, probably, as those originating in impatience and want of temper.  The fretfulness of human life, it seems not hard to believe, is a greater evil, and destroys more happiness, than all the bloody scenes of the, battle-field.  The evils of war have generally something to lighten the burden of them in a sense of necessity, or of rights or honour invaded; but there is nothing of like importance to alleviate the sufferings caused by fretfulness, impatience, want of temper.  The excitable peevishness which kindles at trifles, that roughens the daily experience of a million families, that scatters its little stings at the table and by the hearth-stone, what does this but unmixed harm?  What ingredient does it furnish but of gall?  Its fine wounding may be of petty consequence in any given case, and its tiny darts easily extracted; but, when habitually carried into the whole texture of life, it destroys more peace than plague and famine and the sword.  It is a deeper anguish than grief; it is a sharper pang than the afflicted moan with; it is a heavier pressure from human hands than when affliction lays her hand upon you.  All this deduction from human comfort, all this addition to human suffering, may be saved, by heeding the admonition of wisdom given by one of her sons.  When provoked by the follies or the passions, the offences or neglects, the angry words or evil-speaking of others, restrain your propensity to complain or contend; leave off contention before you take the first step towards it.  You will then be greater than he that taketh a city.  You will be a genial companion in your family and among your neighbours.  You will be loved at home and blessed abroad.  You will be a source of comfort to others, and carry a consciousness of praiseworthiness in your own bosom.  On the contrary, an acrid disposition, a readiness to enter into contention, is like vinegar to the teeth, like caustic to an open sore.  It eats out all the beauty, tenderness, and affection of domestic and social life.  For all this the remedy is simple.  Put a restraint upon your feelings; give up a little; take less than belongs to you; endure more than should be put upon you; make allowance for another’s judgment or educational defects; consider circumstances and constitution; leave off contention before it be meddled with.  If you do otherwise, quick resentment and stiff maintenance of your position will breed endless disputes and bitterness.  But happy will be the results of the opposite course, accomplished every day and every hour in the family, with friends, with companions, with all with whom you have any dealings or any commerce in life.