hty all."

CHAPTER XVI.

SELF-MASTERY.

Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart.
SHAKESPEARE.

Strength of character consists of two things,--power of will and power
of self-restraint. It requires two things, therefore, for its
existence,--strong feelings and strong command over them.--F. W.
ROBERTSON.

"Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
These three alone lead life to sovereign power."

The bravest trophy ever man obtained
Is that which o'er himself himself hath gained.
EARL OF STIRLING.

Real glory springs from the conquest of ourselves; and without that the
conqueror is naught but the veriest slave.--THOMSON.

Whatever day makes man a slave takes half his worth away.--ODYSSEY.

Chain up the unruly legion of thy breast. Lead thine own captivity
captive, and be Caesar within thyself.--THOMAS BROWNE.

He who reigns within himself, and rules passions, desires, and fears,
is more than a king.--MILTON.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty: and he that ruleth
his spirit than he that taketh a city.--BIBLE.

Self-trust is of the essence of heroism.--EMERSON.

Man who man would be
Must rule the empire of himself.
P. B. SHELLEY.

"Ah! Diamond, you little know the mischief you have wrought," said Sir
Isaac Newton, returning from supper to find that his dog had upset a
lighted taper upon the laborious calculations of years, which lay in
ashes before him. Then he went calmly to work to reproduce them. The
man who thus excelled in self-mastery surpassed all his predecessors
and contemporaries in mastering the laws of nature.

* * * * * *

[Illustration: JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL]

"We rise by the things that are under our feet;
By what we have mastered of good or gain:
By the pride deposed and the passion slain,
And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet."

* * * * * *

The sun was high in the heavens when a man called at the house of
Pericles to abuse him. The man's anger knew no bounds. He vented his
spite in violent language until he paused from sheer exhaustion, and
saw that it was quite dark without. He turned to go home, when
Pericles calmly called a servant, and said, "Bring a lamp and attend
this man home." Is any argument needed to show the superiority of
Pericles?