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.

Let any one set himself to the cultivation of this virtue of meekness
and self-restraint, and he will find that it cannot be secured by one or
a few efforts, however resolute; by a few struggles, however severe. It
requires industrious culture; it requires that he improve every little
occasion to quench strife and fan concord, till a constant sweetness
smooths the face of domestic life, and kindness and tenderness become
the very expression of the countenance. This virtue of self-control
must grow by degrees. It must grow by a succession of abstinences from
returning evil for evil, by a succession of leaving off contention
before the first angry word escapes.

It may help to cultivate this