ived his outburst of
ill-temper in silence. Being afterwards ashamed of himself, he asked
the other how he was able to show such patience. "Friend," replied the
Quaker, "I will tell thee. I was naturally as hot and violent as thou
art. I knew that to indulge temper was sinful, and I found it was
imprudent. I observed that men in a passion always spoke loud, and I
thought if I could control my voice I should repress my passion. I
have therefore made it a rule never to allow my voice to be above a
certain key, and by a careful observance of this rule I have, by the
blessing of God, mastered my natural temper." Strong resolution can do
much. "If the pot boils," says the proverb, "take it off the fire." A
little care, a word swallowed, a rising sentence struck down in us by a
simple rule, may save us humiliation. "By reflection, by restraint and
control a wise man can make himself an island which no floods can
overwhelm. He who is tolerant with the intolerant, mild with the
fault-finders, and free from passion with the passionate, him I indeed
call a wise man."--Buddhist saying.

III. But while an act of self-control can restore the proper temper
and balance to the mind when it is in danger, _the best way is to keep
it so that it will not go off the balance_. You know that if a clock
stops, we may perhaps make it go again by a shake; if it does not keep
time, we can often put the hands right; but the best way is to keep the
machinery always so well balanced and adjusted that it will not stop or
go wrong. We may watch and control the temper when it breaks out; but
the better way is to keep it so well balanced that it will not break
out. The soul that is in harmony with God, that is full of the spirit
of Christ, will ever be peaceful and serene. If ill-temper is our
besetting sin, God's grace, if we ask it, will give us power to conquer
it While we watch against it, we should pray against it also. The
beautiful words of Thomas a Kempis point out to us the secret of the
well-tempered and well-balanced mind: "First keep thyself in peace, and
then thou wilt be able to bring others to peace." If "the peace of God
which passeth all understanding" keep our hearts and minds, through
Christ Jesus, our life will never have its serenity disturbed by
ill-temper.

[1] I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness for some hints in this
chapter to an interesting work on "Self-Culture," by James Freeman
Clarke.

CH