2.

There is nothing more important to the youthful, or that should
receive more serious consideration at their hands, than the
selection of Associates. We are by nature social beings. We desire,
we seek, and enjoy, the society of our fellow-creatures. This trait
is strongly developed in the young. They yearn for each other's
companionship, and they must have it, or they pine away, and sink
into misanthropy. This disposition may properly be indulged; but
great care and prudence should be exercised in regard to it.

While mingling in each other's society, it is natural, almost
unavoidable, that the youthful should imbibe much of the leading
characteristics of their associates. Being highly imitative in our
nature, it is impossible to be on social and familiar terms with
others, for any great length of time, without copying somewhat of
their dispositions, ways, and habits.

Let a young man, however upright and pure, associate habitually with
those who are profane, Sabbath-breaking, intemperate, and
unprincipled--who are given to gambling, licentiousness, and every
low, brutal and wicked practice--and but a brief space of time will
elapse before he will fall into like habits himself, and become as
great an adept in iniquitous proceedings as the most thorough-paced
profligate among them. When a young woman associates with girls who
are idle, disrespectful and disobedient to parents--who are vulgar,
brazen-faced, loud talkers and laughers--whose chief occupation and
delight is to spin street-yarn, to run from house to house and store
to store, and walk the streets in the evening, instead of being at
home engaged in some useful occupation--whose whole conversation,
and thoughts, and dreams, relate to dress, and fashion, and gewgaws,
and trinkets, to adorn the person, utterly negligent of the
ornaments of the mind and heart--whose reading never extends to
instructive and useful books, but is confined exclusively to sickly
novels and silly love-stories;--how long will it be before she will
become as careless and good-for-nothing as they?

This predisposition of the young to imitate the characteristics of
those with whom they associate, has been so well and so long known,
that it has given rise to the old proverb--"Show me your company,
and I will show you your character." So perfectly did Solomon
understand this, that he uttered the wise maxim--"Make no friendship
with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not