ual and eternal things, is an indispensable element of all true greatness. No action can be called great, unless the effect of a great design. To have your enemy in your power, and yet do him good, is the genuine heroism. The man who can receive a tornado of calumny and insult with serenity, and instead of resolving upon personal revenge, devises methods of returning good for evil, is a greater prodigy than the son of Manoah. Bp. Hall. He is wealthy enough, that wanteth not; great enough, that is his own master; happy enough, that so lives as to die well. [See 235.] 410. GRIEF, SORROW. Sh. Every one can master a grief, but he that has it. Grief makes one hour ten. Young. Some weep in earnest, and yet weep in vain, Passion, blind passion, impotently pours Tears, that deserve more tears, while reason sleeps. Small griefs are loud, great ones generally silent. Silence the orator of overwhelming grief. Sorrow's best antidote is employment. Sorrow, carried to extreme excess, destroys both mind and body. Ed. Ambrosial is that tear which is godly, and the perfume rises quick to heaven. [See 919.] 411. GUILT, BLAMEWORTHINESS. Henry. It is a sign of guilt to be impatient of reproofs; and it is often easier to persuade the injured to bear the pain of taking wrong, than to persuade the injurer to bear the conviction of having done wrong. lb. Time does not wear out the guilt of sin. Ed. Guilt is so closely allied with woe, that a conviction of it is accompanied with painful forebodings, however spurious our faith. lb. It is possible for guilt to increase, but not to diminish. Guilt is always suspicious and fearful. 412. GUILT, MEASURE OF. Em. One may design to take away a man's property; another may design to take away a man's life; and another may design to destroy a nation. These are all bad designs; but the second is worse than the first, and the third is worse than the second. Ill desert is always in proportion to the ill design of the agent ; and the ill design of the agent is always in proportion to the magnitude of the evil he designs to do. The evil intention of a sinful agent, is the exact measure of his guilt, or ill desert. And, according to this measure, the guilt of one person may be much greater than the guilt of another. There is a great difference in the views and designs of sinners. Some act upon a smaller, and some upon a larger, scale. The sins of some men are much more heinous in the sight of God, than others. This doctrine, Christ abundantly taught. He represented some sins as motes, and others as beams. He said, "the servant, that knows his master's will, and does it not, shall be beaten with many stripes." Ed. There are three things, at least, that measure guilt: the nature and amount of evil intended, the light or knowledge of the transgressor, in reference to the probable or certain evil consequences of the sin, and the perceptible obligations which will be violated by the act. 413. HABIT. Man is a bundle of habits. Cowper. Habits are soon assumed; but when we strive Em. Few men will change for the better, after they are forty. Habit is the best of servants, or the worst of masters. Plato. A custom or habit of life frequently alters the natural inclination, either to good or evil. Ed. Our principles give us rules our habits govern us. Ib. It requires as many helps to correct a bad habit, as there are letters in the words persevering, indomitable resolution. HABITUAL PIETY, HAPPINESS. 231 Ib. The conquest of evil habits is more difficult, desperate, and glorious, than Cesar's conquests. My habits. I must think forever: would an eternal train of my usual thoughts, be either worthy of me, or useful to me? I must feel forever: would an eternal reign of my present spirit and desires, please or satisfy me? I must act forever: would an eternal course of my habitual conduct, bring happiness, or even bear reflection? Edwards, (Tryon). Charity should be the habit of our estimates; kindness the habit of our feelings; benevolence the habit of our affections; cheerfulness the habit of our social intercourse; generosity the habit of our living; improvement the habit of our progress; prayer the habit of our desires; fidelity the habit of our self-examination; being and doing good the habit of our entire life. [See 193.] 414. HABITUAL PIETY. Payson's Memoirs. No finite mind can trace all the happy consequences which flow from the habit of associating religion with all the intercourse and concerns of life. Ed. Habitual piety is the most honest, reasonable, and beautiful thing among men, and ought to be the most honorable. It is surprising that the kings and nobles of the earth make nothing of this pearl of great price, whose lustre will only have begun to attract the admiration of the universe, when the idols of the world shall have vanished away. [See 904.] 415. HAPPINESS. True happiness is a road-side flower, growing on the highways of usefulness. A man who finds his happiness in doing good, always has the means of happiness at command. Performing duty makes persons happy. As God is known to be righteous, right-doing inspires trust in him, and creates fellowship. Hence the Psalmist-"In keeping thy commandments, there is great reward." Happiness can never be attained by pursuing it as a chief and. How happy they, who know their joys are true. 232 HAPPINESS, EARTHLY. True happiness is at our side, and we pass her by; while misfortune is far off, and we rush to meet her. Em. If saints will never lose a sense of the grace of God in their salvation, they will be the happiest creatures in the universe. For a sense of Divine mercy affords greater pleasure and delight to a rational being, than a bare sense of Divine goodness. Ib. The pleasures of the heart are the highest and most refined pleasures of the soul. When love, joy, gratitude, and admiration fill the mind, they completely satisfy it, because they gratify all its powers and capacities at once, and leave no painful void. Pope. O happiness! our being's end and aim. Ed. The Poet perhaps never carefully considered the words of the Great Teacher, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these [happy] things shall be added unto you," - thus exalting righteousness supremely above mere happiness or pleasure. - Ed. To be happy in sensual enjoyments, we must not overdo, nor do amiss. To be happy in doing good, we must not underdo. To be happy in spiritual enjoyments, we must not cease to do - right. To be happy in our feelings, we must feel our utter unworthiness, and triumph in Divine grace. To be happy in God, we must be heartily united in his design and fellowship. To be happy in ourselves, we must ourselves be supremely devoted to the true happiness of others. To be happy in this world, we must live above it. To be greatly happy we must seek and enjoy the good of others, as if it were our own. Something like this is the riddle or secret of true happiness. [See 115, 422.] 416. HAPPINESS, EARTHLY. HASTE, HATRED. Which he should ne'er too fondly clasp, And yet may view, and wisely love, Young. Beware what earth calls happiness: beware There's nothing here, but what as nothing weighs; Loose, then, from earth the grasp of fond desire, Weigh anchor, and some happier clime explore. Haste makes waste, and waste brings want. Haste is a slow performer. Make haste slowly. Sh. Haste is needful in a desperate case. 233 The progress of some men is so rapid, that they outstrip their wisdom and prudence, and make a shipwreck. Ed. Why is a man, who talks in haste, like a mint? Ans. Because he is apt to coin his words. And why is a person who eats in haste, like a crazy grist-mill? Ans. Because he eats faster than he grinds. Ib. Make haste to perform good actions, lest the precious opportunity or disposition should fail, and the reward in performing, and for performing them be forever lost. Such haste, is expedient and wise. Cherish no more haste, than you can make good speed. Wesley. Be always in haste- never in a hurry. 418. HATRED, AVERSION. Malice can always find a mark to shoot at, and a pretence to fire. Cowper. Lands intersected by a narrow frith, Abhor each other. Some people's sensibility is a mere bundle of aversions, and they display it habitually, in telling you about things and persons they cannot bear. |