15. Whatever you would make habitual, practice it.-EPICTETUS. 16. Habit, like a rolling stone upon a mountain top, A child may first set off, a giant cannot stop. -TRENCH. 15. Knowledge is now no more a fountain sealed; -ELIZABETH B. BROWNING. 18. Many men do not allow their good habits to take root, but pull them up every now and then, as children do flowers they have planted, to see if they are growing.-H. W. LONGFELLOW. INTRODUCTION: XXVII. FIDELITY. Horace relates that in the time of the Roman Empire the Carthagenians defeated the Roman army and took its illustrious commander, Regulus, prisoner, whom they subjected to all sorts of indignities and hardships. But later, under a more fortunate general, the Roman army retrieved the disaster and brought Carthage to the verge of defeat. So desperate was their condition that ambassadors were sent to Rome to arrange terms of peace. Regulus was a man of such character that the Carthagenians insisted upon his going also, believing that he could bring a greater influence upon the Roman senate. They promised him his liberty if successful in arranging peace, but threatened him with horrible tortures if he failed, and made him swear a solemn oath that he would return, even if he failed. When Regulus stood before the Roman senate, he refused to take his former seat as a senator, saying, "I am a slave of the Carthagenians, and am come to treat for peace." But the Carthagenians insisted upon his taking his place in the council, believing that thus he could better influence their decision. Regulus said, "Though I am a slave in Carthage, I am free in Rome, and I charge you not to make this peace, nor to exchange prisoners. Carthage is nearly exhausted. Continue the war with vigor; and as for me, I am useless, and not to be considered." The Roman senate was greatly affected by such magnanimity and contempt of life. To accept such advice meant cruel torture and death to Regulus upon his return. They begged him to break his oath, which they argued was not binding, having been extorted from him. But the noble Regulus dreaded less the torture of his enemies than the shame of a dishonorable act, and said, "It is my duty to return to Carthage; let the Gods take care of the rest" And amid the lamentations and tears of the whole city, Regulus returned to Carthage to torture and to death. Develop the word Fidelity. INTERPRETATION: 1. Fidelity is faithfulness in all things; when tasks are intrusted to us to perform them without shirking; when work must be done to accomplish it without delay; when responsibility is laid upon us to shoulder the load and fulfill the demand at any cost. Faithfulness carries out the small details of a duty, even when no one is looking. There is a story told of Praxiteles, who, when asked why he gave so much pains to the portions of his work which could not be seen, replied, "God sees." 2. Our study is life, and life is one; the virtues merge; they are but various aspects of the whole character. Truthfulness, Courage, Perseverance, and Obedience enter into the composition of Fidelity; but Fidelity has an additional distinct meaning. There is faith at the root of it. There is belief in the thing, or the person winning such allegiance. 3. Life is religious, and so are its virtues. With fidelity we are brought into a higher plane of living. But in its highest form the word faithfulness may be used without need of distinction 4. Fidelity is more than pluck; it is a devotion produced by conviction. It is more than truthfulness; it is honesty with loyalty added. It is more than perseverance; it is persistence for the sake of duty. It is more than blind obedience; it is intelligent obedience, into which is mixed pride of trust and self-respect. 5. Perhaps the greatest number of faults are comprised under thoughtlessness and carelessness, lack of vigilance. A captain of an ocean steamer goes down to dinner when the vessel is in a critical situation and needs his care. He becomes inter ested in other matters and forgets the peril of the ship until a disaster occurs. It is through just such heedlessness and lack of faithfulness that careers are ruined. 6. An English farmer sent his hired boy to prevent a party of gentlemen from riding over his fields. The leader of the huntsmen, a man of noble and dignified bearing, peremptorily ordered him to open the gate. Upon his refusal, he said shortly, "Boy, do you know who I am? I am the Duke of Wellington, and I am not accustomed to disobedience. I command you to open this gate." The boy lifted his cap and stood unawed before the "man of iron will," and said in a firm voice, "I am sure the Duke of Wellington would not wish me to disobey the orders of my employer, who tells me not to suffer any one to pass." The Duke sat his horse for a moment, and then looking steadfastly at the boy, lifted his own hat and replied, "I honor the man or boy who is faithful to his duty, and who can neither be bribed or frightened into doing wrong." He handed a bright new sovereign to the boy, who had done what Napoleon could not do; he had kept back the Duke of Wellington. At a critical hour for England, Lord Nelson appealed to the hearts of his blue-jackets, "England expects every man to do his duty." So it is to-day; Life "expects every man to do his duty." 7. Unfaithfulness to duty demoralizes oneself. You cheat yourself more than your employer. A large part of the best work that has been done in the world has only been half paid for. Make your employer ashamed of the disproportion between work. your salary and your 8. Akin to fidelity is accuracy, both in statement and in action. A lack of accuracy is a lack of vigilance to oneself. One who is never quite sure imagines, without being quite certain, of the amount or the distance; who comes somewhere nearrarely gets very far in the world. The boy who is not punctual, half learns his lessons, skims carelessly through a subject, is almost sure to be a failure. The slipshod habits of youth will characterize the man, and will reappear in business affairs. A large business concern reports that nine-tenths of applications for employment are misspelled, or carelessly written, and some even have no address. Incompleteness is the cause of inevitable failure. 9. Other phases of fidelity are punctuality and promptness, which are valuable business assets. A business man emplying a boy will invariably choose one with a reputation for promptness and punctuality. over another more brilliant, who shows carelessness in the matter of minutes. John B. Gough said the trouble with most people is they have a superfluity of hands-a right hand, and a left hand-and a little behind hand. 10. There is a practical flavor in fidelity. It G. W. Child is essential in friendship. In a life in God's world, fidelity is a necessary virtue. Its best expressions are faithfulness to a high ideal of life and work, and faithfulness in the noble way of friendship. II. Faithfulness to high ideals finds its best exercise in fidelity to the service of the state, which is our best inspiration for moral responsibility, fraternal obligation and personal consecration. The stability of the state rests upon the fidelity with which each performs his allotted work. Every individual has a duty to the State, and each is under obligation to perform his individual duty with absolute fidelity. Even the child owes the fidelity of faithful study, for the state provides the opportunity for an education without cost. ELUCIDATION AND TRAINING: 1. Maintain that fidelity is not influenced by every change, like a straw by the wind, but that it wears a bold independence, begot of fearlessness in right-doing, which supports it in all difficulties, and leads to a good life, or a life well spent. Admit that a person of integrity may be circumspect without sacrificing his fidelity, for he regards an unblemished reputation before everything-his fidelity is his responsibility. Illustration-Gazing steadfastly with purpose of heart at a pure object, we become changed, as it were, into the same image. Allow that sometimes fidelity meets with due recognition from others, although this is not what it labors for or seeks. It is ever brave, and never deterred in its right-doing by what the world may say or think. Show how late comers at school each day, who delay the first lesson, or break in upon it, are distracting attention and wasting the time of the teacher and the other children. Washington would not allow his time to be wasted by others, for when his secretary excused his lateness by blaming his watch, he said, "You must get another watch, or I another secretary." Give the following illustration: Of the Roman, Fabricius it was publicly declared by his enemy, King Pyrrhus, that it was easier to turn the sun from its course than Fabricius from the path of honor, for with him the seductions of bribe, threat, and flattery had been all unavailing. 2. There are certain phases of faithfulness which have such determining effect upon our characters that special attention should be given to acquiring them. Punctuality: being exactly on time with everything. In applying the saying that "the early bird gathers the worm, say that punctuality frequently confers the privilege of priority of claim to any advantage, as it is sometimes the rule, "First come, first served." "Punctuality is the soul of business." Show that by arriving a few minutes before time at school or at work we may avoid hurry, bustle and confusion. Nelson attributed his success to always being a few minutes before time. Infer that one who is particular about his seconds will probably be precise in other matters, both great and small-that he will be minutely punctual and punctiliously minute. Infer that as age advances it will be found hard to unlearn habits of tardiness: Punctuality was a confirmed habit with Lord Brougham. Quote the say, ing of Louis XIV., that "Punctuality is the politeness of kings." Insist that it is a matter both of courtesy and of conscience; and that if one observes punctuality in the service of another, it doubles the obligation. 3. Accuracy is doing things with exactness. Children are expected to use eyes and ears; to refrain from guessing and all guess-work; to observe how certain effects invariably follow certain causes. Mention how sciences have been built up from this accuracy of observation. Without trenching too far upon this class of inaccuracies, show that error through mere carelessness would sometimes be disastrous: in commanders-illustrate by the fatal blunder at Balaclava; in statesmen and public speakers; in teachers and professors; in legal witnesses. To prove how little accuracy of speech is cultivated, let the class try to define some common object, as a chair. Now as a definition should be a description of the essentials, it may easily be shown, from the attempted definition on the part of the scholars (the proffered definition may perhaps have been "a thing to sit upon"), that such description would embrace a sofa, a bench, or a stool equally well. Arrive at the fact that few can define accurately, and that lucidity of expression is not a very common acquirement. Mention that in great trials every word uttered by a witness is considered so important that it is taken down by a shorthand writer for future reference. Illustrations: (1) Charles James Fox, when Secretary of State, was told his writing was bad. He was so piqued that he went to a writing school and wrote copies like a boy till his handwriting had improved. It was by this habit of neglecting no detail that he made his reputation. (2) Michel Angelo was one day explaining to a visitor at his studio what he had been doing to a statue since a previous visit. "I have retouched this part, polished that, softened this feature, brought out that muscle, given some expression to this lip, and more energy to that limb." "But these are trifles," remarked the visitor. "It may be so," said the sculptor; "but recollect that trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle." (3) Wellington in India specified the exact speed at which the bullocks were to be driven, and in Spain he directed the precise way in which soldiers were to cook certain provisions, and ever by his careful attention to details he insured efficiency. From illustrations (1) and (3) emphasize the statement that "the painstaking become the rulers of the world," and remark that Napoleon always paid minute attention to details. Sum up the whole gist of the matter by again quoting the last sentence of (2). "The proverb has it, 'A straw best shows how the wind blows'; and the most ordinary and unimportant actions of a man's life will often show more of his natural character and his habits than more important actions, which are done deliberately, and sometimes against his natural inclinations." Impress that in any undertaking preparation is an important factor in arriving at accuracy; that this preparation is equivalent to painstaking. It may be laid down as an axiom that error will surely be detected sooner or later; therefore loss of reputation may be demonstrated from the previous division. for consideration the following contrast: The faithful worker-marked by sedulous attention and painstaking industry. The untrustworthy worker-inattentive and careless of everything but getting to the Offer end. Impatience, hurry, and haste may also be shown as characteristics of the untrustworthy. Therefore carelessness and inaccuracy injure character, just as carefulness and accuracy are marks of good training. To advanced classes give the Latin proverb "Festina lente," 'Hasten slowly." Explain this; and also Lord Bacon's saying, "Stay a little, that we may make an end the sooner." Illustrate how the careless and the inaccurate worker gives more trouble to himself and to others by his negligence. For instance, the scholar who has most errors in dictation gives most trouble to the teacher who has to detect the mistakes, and more trouble to himself in correcting them; whereas, if he had been more attentive to the previous preparation, or if he had "stayed a little," he would the "sooner have made an end." Impress as deeply as possible the axiom that "a little done well is better than a lot done badly." Give instances from school work. Insist that the children take pains and arrive at accuracy by doing a thing "over and over again." 4. Practice. Let every child make up his mind to stand by his duty until death. EXAMPLES: Alexander Hamilton, APPLICATION: Daniel Webster spent $50 for law books required in a case of a poor blacksmith, whom he charged only a fee of $15. George W. Childs said: "I did not do merely what was required of me, I did all that I could." President Roosevelt said: "It is better to be faithful than famous." Charles Sumner gave his life to the good of mankind. He forgot self and all personal consequences. Melville's devotion in returning to rescue De Long is not surpassed in history. Schley persisted in his attempt to rescue Greeley against almost insurmountable obstacles, and in the face of the appealing demand of his officers to return. Henry Knox paid $1,000 on claims for which he was not responsible, and spurned the bribes of loyalists. Salmon P. Chase defended a colored man against the advice of friends who jeered at him, as a man who had just ruined himself. Joseph Reed refused a bribe of £10,000, saying he was not worth purchasing; but if he was, the King of Great Britain was not rich enough to do it. Charles Sumner, to whom inspiration was duty, says: "In serving man, there are nobler fields than those in which a Bayard ever conquered." Jefferson administered the government in exact accordance with the principles of the Declaration, which was the work of his pen, and upon his retirement found himself impoverished-practically a bankrupt. Jefferson is also a fine example of justice, for upon his election to the presidency after an acrimonious campaign, he resisted powerful appeals to remove from office competent men simply because they had been inimical to him. Gen. Robert E. Lee was a Union man; but when his native state seceded he felt obliged to go with it. Benton opposed J. C. Fremont's election even though he was his own son-in-law. Gov. Stephens was a remarkable man, his entire life being a sort of miracle. His career was a wonder. That a mind so powerful and a spirit so knightly should tenant a body so diseased and frail was nothing less than miraculous. At any time during his hardworking and distinguished life his death would have been no surprise; yet his physical weakness never impaired his public usefulness, and for forty-five years he held a foremost place in state and nation. His name and fame reached even the old world, thereby rendering him illustrious and illustrating Georgia. His purity, public spirit, spotless honesty, loyalty to principle, worship of truth, simplicity, boundless charity, exalted patriotism, freedom from prejudice, sincerity of conviction, invincible courage, supreme eloquence, and powerful statesmanship were continually appearing in his long, valuable and brilliant public career. Perhaps his strongest excellence was his moral intrepidity. No public opinion could terrify, no majority daunt him. He was insensible to popular clamor or frenzy. His entire political course exemplified his nerve and integrity. LITERATURE: FOR YOUNG CHILDREN Read to the children "Seven Times One," by Jean Ingelow; "Cumberland," a poem by Whittier, written in honor of Morris; "Alma Mater's Roll," by E. E. Hale; Psalm XI. INSPIRATION: 1. Faithfulness in the humblest part 2. Is better at last than proud success; 3. Faithfulness can feed on suffering, and knows no disappointment.-GEORGE ELIOT. 4. He who is false to a present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and will find the flaw, when he may have forgotten the cause.-BEECHER. 5. There has never been a great or beautiful character which has not become so by filling well ordinary and small offices, appointed by God.-HORACE BUSHNELL. 6. Chance will not do the work. Chance sends breeze; But if the pilot slumbers at the helm, The very wind that wafts us toward the port May dash us on the shoals. The steersman's part Is vigilance, or blow it rough or smooth. -BEN JONSON. 87 Lillian Frordica 7. There is only one real failure possible; and that is, not to be true to the best one knows.-F. W. FARRAR. 8. To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.-GEORGE MACDONALD, 9. The fountain of beauty is the heart, and every generous thought illustrates the walls of your chamber. -EMERSON. 10. The mariner of old prayed "O Neptune, Thou mayst save me if thou will, as thou mayst destroy me; but whether or no, I will steer my rudder true." MONTAIGNE. 11. Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.-ST. JOHN. 12. It is the song, the world remembers; What if the singer be forgot! -J. T. W. 13. He who is faithful over a few things is lord over cities. It does not matter whether you preach in Westminster, or teach a ragged class, so you be faithful. The faithfulness is all.-GEORGE MACDONALD 14. Green through all the winter's gray, What does the steadfast fir tree say? -UNIDENTIFIED. 15. Fidelity is the sister of justice.-HORACE. 16. It goes far towards making a man faithful to let him understand that you think him so; and he that does but suspect I will deceive him, gives me a sort of right to do it.-SENECA. 17. Trust reposed in noble natures obliges them the more.-DRYDEN. 18. Constant as the Northern Star, of whose true fixed and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament.-SHAKESPEARE. 19. Fidelity is seven-tenths of business success. -PARTON. 20. To God, thy country, and thy friends be true, then thou wilt ne'er be false to any one.VAUGHAN. 21. Life may be given in many ways, And loyalty to Truth be sealed As bravely in the closet as the field. To front a lie in arms and not to yield! This shows, methinks, God's plan And measure of a stalwart man. 'Tis not the grapes of Canaan that repay, But the high faith that failed not by the way; Virtue treads paths that end not in the INTRODUCTION: XXVIII. DETERMINATION. When Rowan was sent with the message to Garcia (see Obedience) there was something in him more that mere obedience to orders. It was a dedication of all his powers to the fulfillment of his duty to the requirement of obedience. It required energy of mind, will force, a compelling power that would suffer no interference, no obstacle, no defeat. Repeat the story of the message to Garcia. This same dedication of energy is found to particularly underlie Fortitude, Courage, Heroism and Consecration to Duty. Obtain from the children the word "Determination." DEFINITION: Determination is the dedication of will to the fulfillment of any work or duty. INTERPRETATION: 1. This trait is really the keystone of the arch of character. It is the insisting upon fidelity to one's convictions. It is the ability to enforce upon the habit of life the practice of courage, self-reliance obedience, patriotism, and indeed, all the phases of conscious action. It is absolutely essential to successful practice of all the foregoing traits of character. 2. Determination whips every faculty to the front, and forces success. It is the spirit which says, "Where there is a will there is a way." It is determination that makes a youth proof against temptations that undermine uprightness and virtue. Determination is more of the head, while energy is more of the heart. It is the force that reduces decision to practice, and supplements it. It is the backbone of perseverance. It is "Voltage under control." 3. It is the groundwork of responsibility. The demand of responsibility is that a man shall grasp the situation with comprehensive view, and then act with promptness and determined resolution. Responsibility knows no little or large opportunities. Small matters may prove large in results. We are beginning to learn that each one in the republic has some responsibility. A government cannot go on as it ought if there is any shirking. The humblest citizen must see to it that his part is well done. "A government of the people, by the people, for the people," calls for eternal vigilance, and that means responsibility. A person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his possibilities. 4. The mastery of self is the one great object and end of education. Huxley says that, perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not. It is the first lesson that ought to be learned, and, however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly. 5. The way to use the iron in one's will power is to make up one's mind. It is not the daring deed; it is the making up one's mind to do the deed, the control of oneself, that compels the decision, is the thing to acquire. When we make up our minds, our minds do the rest. The earlier we form this purpose, the shorter the way. Goethe says the important thing in life is to have a great aim, and to possess the aptitude and perseverance to attain it. 6. The secret of power and success is to enlist the coöperation of the thought force of the mind -the will of the higher self. Determine resolutely to expect what you desire. The thought must be focussed upon belief. Expectation continually held to, becomes a force-a drawing power that is irresistible and absolute. 7. In the commercial world nine-tenths of business depends upon the influence, persuasion, and personality of the interested advocate. Paradoxical as it may appear, to win success in this direction, more thought and will power must be employed upon one's own self than upon the person to be influenced. The secret of force and influence is to fill oneself with an overwhelming confidence in one's own power; to concentrate all one's mental faculties into one tremendous belief in the other's acquiescence. Expect concurrence and assent. It is the mental attitude you take that determines the effect. No attainment is impossible to the man with a strong will, but he must "Keep his will on an object, just as a machinist keeps his chisel on the hard metal, letting it bite deeper and deeper until the desired impression is obtained." 8. "Great minds have purposes; others have wishes." The most successful people are those who have but one object and pursue it with untiring persistence. Henry Ward Beecher says: "When working for others, sink yourself out of sight; seek their interest. Make yourself necessary to those who employ you, by industry, fidelity, and scrupulous integrity. Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Keep your own standard high. Never excuse yourself to yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself, but lenient to everybody else. Concentrate your force on your own business; do not turn off. Be constant, steadfast, persevering." 9. The pathos about the death of Waring points another lesson. The responsibility of the explorer, |