ery large percentage of criminals began
their downfall through the fatal contagion of impurity communicated
from various associations.

Remember that you can not tell what may come to you in the future, what
honor or promotion; and you can not afford to take chances upon having
anything in your history which can come up to embarrass you or to keep
you back. A thing which you now look upon as a bit of pleasure may
come up in the future to hamper your progress. The thing you do to-day
while trying to have a good time may come up to block your progress
years afterwards.

I know men who have been thrust into positions of honor and public
trust who would give anything in the world if they could blot out some
of the unclean experiences of their youth. Things in their early
history, which they had forgotten all about and which they never
expected to hear from again, are raked up when they become candidates
for office or positions of trust. These forgotten bits of so-called
pleasure loom up in after-life as insurmountable bars across their
pathway.

I know a very rich young man who thought he was just having a good time
in his youth--sowing his wild oats--who would give a large part of his
vast wealth to-day if he could blot out a few years of his folly.

It seems strange that men will work hard to build a reputation, and
then throw it all away by some weakness in their character. How many
men there are in this country with great brain power, men who are kings
in their specialties, men who have worked like slaves to achieve their
aims, whose reputations have been practically ruined by the flaw of
impurity!

Character is a record of our thoughts and acts. That which we think
about most, the ideals and motives uppermost in our mind, are
constantly solidifying into character. What we are constantly thinking
about, and aiming toward and trying to obtain becomes a permanent part
of the life.

The man whose thoughts are low and impure, very quickly gives this bent
and tendency to his character.

The character levels itself with the thought, whether high or low. No
man can have a pure, clean character who does not habitually have pure,
clean thoughts. The immoral man is invariably an impure
thinker--whatever we harbor in the mind out-pictures itself in the body.

In Eastern countries the leper is compelled to cry, "Unclean, unclean,"
upon the approach of any one not so cursed. What a blessing to
humanity if our mo