Precept and Practice – SEPTEMBER 26 – Righteousness – A Direction

A young fellow comes up from school, or from some country home, to take his place in the great world, and the false glamour of it by-and-by begins to get hold of him.   But he does not mean to sin;  he has grace enough to shrink from that.   No – he won’t sin, he says;  but he begins to go with those who do;  he hears the talk and brag of the pleasures they have;  he half envies them the daring with which they sin;  he learns the trick of the loose tongue and the wanton eye – he will put on the air of being worse than he is and knowing all about it – and he will go to places where it is all about – and still when conscience comes in, in quiet hours, he tries to take some poor comfort by making believe with himself that he has not actually sinned.

Sinned?   Why, his whole attitude is sin.   His face and his heart are set towards sin all the time.

For that is the only real question – not just where are you – but, which way are you facing and living?

(Broke Herford – Anchors of the Soul)

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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