m of mind and body, and his freedom is
limited just in so far as he allows those tendencies to control him. If
he controls them by external repression, they are then working havoc
within him, no matter how thoroughly he may appear to be master of
himself. If he acknowledges his mistaken tendencies fully and willingly
and then refuses to act, speak, or think from them, he is taking a
straight path toward freedom of life and action.

One great difficulty in the way of self-control is that we do not want
to get free from our anger. In such cases we can only want to want to,
and if we use the strength of will that is given us to drop our
resistance in spite of our desire to be angry we shall be working
toward our freedom and our real self-control.

There is always a capacity for unselfish will, the will of the better
self, behind the personal selfish will, ready and waiting for us to use
it, and it grows with use until finally it overrules the personal
selfish will with a higher quality of power. It is only false strength
that supports the personal will,--a false appearance of strength which
might be called wilfulness and which leads ultimately to the
destruction of its owner. Any true observer of human nature will
recognize the weakness of mere selfish wilfulness in another, and will
keep entirely free from its trammels by refusing to meet it in a spirit
of resentment or retaliation.

Real self-control, as compared to repression, is delightful in its
physical results, when we have any difficult experience to anticipate
or to go through. Take, for instance, a surgical operation. If I
control myself by yielding, by relaxing the nervous tension which is
the result of MY fear, true self-control then becomes possible, and
brings a helpful freedom from, reaction after the trouble is over. Or
the same principle can be applied if I have to go through a hard trial
with a friend and must control myself for his sake,--dropping
resistance in my mind and in my body, dropping resistance to his
suffering, yielding my will to the necessities of the situation,--this
attitude will leave me much more clear to help him, will show him how
to help himself, and will relieve him from the reaction that inevitably
follows severe nervous strain. The power of use to others is increased
immeasurably when we control ourselves interiorly, and do not merely
outwardly repress.

It often happens that a drunkard who is supposed to be "cured," returns
t