r is the murderer of
reputations, the destroyer of domestic peace, the insuperable obstacle
to the mutual friendliness of neighborhoods. This "rejoicing in
iniquity" is the besetting sin of idle people. The man or woman who
delights in this gratuitous and uncalled-for criticism of neighbors
thereby puts himself below the moral level of the ones whose faults he
criticises. Martineau, in his scale of the springs of action, rightly
ranks censoriousness, with vindictiveness and suspiciousness, at the
very bottom of the list. Unless there is some positive good to be gained
by bringing wrong to light and offenders to justice we should know as
little as possible of the failings of our fellow-men, and keep that
little strictly to ourselves.

THE PENALTY.

+Falsehood undermines the foundations of social order.+--Universal
falsehood would bring social chaos. The liar takes advantage of the
opportunity which his position as a member of society gives him to
strike a deadly blow at the heart of the social order on which he
depends for his existence, and without whose aid his arm would be
powerless to strike.

+The liar likewise loses confidence in himself.+--He cannot distinguish
truth from falsehood, he has so frequently confounded them. He is caught
in his own meshes. A good liar must have a long memory. Having no
recognized standard to go by, he cannot remember whether he said one
thing or another about a given fact; and so he hangs himself by the rope
of his own contradictions. Worse than these outward consequences is the
loss of confidence in his own integrity and manhood. In Kant's words, "A
lie is the abandonment, or, as it were, the annihilation of the dignity
of man."

CHAPTER VIII.

Time.

Every act we do, every thought we think, every feeling we cherish exists
in time. Our life is a succession of flying moments. Once gone, they can
never be recalled. As they are employed, so our character becomes. To
use time wisely is a good part of the art of living well, for "time is
the stuff life is made of."

THE DUTY.

+The duty of making life a consistent whole.+--Life is not merely a
succession of separate moments. It is an organic whole. The way in which
we spend one moment affects the next, and all that follow; just as the
condition of one part of the body affects the well-being of all the
rest. As we have seen, dissipation to-day means disease to-morrow. Work
to-day means property to-morrow. Wastefulnes