Precept and Practice – JULY 8 – Unconscious Influence

But great as is this power (influence) for evil or good, which every man exercises over his fellow-men, yet it is not, for the most part, a conscious power;  since it is not either by speaking or acting that we influence others nearly so much as by being.   It is the man himself – that very strong, yet silent and subtle, force called character – which is the source of his mightiest influence over his fellow-men.   Not by premeditated words, or ostentatious actions, but by the unconscious power of character, we mould others into the likeness of ourselves.   Words are great in their influence, actions are greater, but character is greatest.   A single stone dropped per-adventure in a little brook has sometimes changed its whole after-course;  and many a time the turning-point of a man’s career has been the unconscious influence of some strong character met once, and never again. In the crowded ways of life we are constantly meeting and passing our fellow-travellers;  and in our meeting, we leave each day some trace of contact…..   In a single hour a new turn has been often given to the course of life by the unconscious influence of a strong character met only once.

(Bishop Diggle – Sermons for Daily Life)

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From the Introduction to Precept and Practice

The kindly welcome given to my other little books, ‘Being and Doing’ and ‘Character and Conduct,’ must be my excuse for adding another collection of extracts to the number now in circulation.

The quotations are gathered from the books of many earnest thinkers, and deal with Life in all its length and breadth, with ourselves, our characters, our plain unvarnished faults and weaknesses, our often untoward circumstances, and with all that drags us down;-  with our purposes, our religion, our love and friendships, and with all that uplifts us;-  with our relation to others, our influence and responsibilities, and finally with those stages of our journey which bring us to the Road’s Last Turn and to the Silent Land.

CONSTANCE  M. WHISHAW