Character and Conduct – 5 May – Selfishness
ANY man – with the heart of a man and not of a mouse – is more likely than not to behave well at a pinch; but no man who is habitually selfish can be sure that he will,
ANY man – with the heart of a man and not of a mouse – is more likely than not to behave well at a pinch; but no man who is habitually selfish can be sure that he will,
We are sure to go on closing doors of sympathy, and narrowing in the interests and opportunities of work around us, if we let ourselves imagine that we can quickly measure the capacities and sift the characters of our fellow-men.
Nothing but the Infinite pity is sufficient for the infinite pathos of human life.
to be eager to give pity to men, and forgiveness to their wrong; to desire with thirst to bind up the broken heart of man, and to realise our desire in act – this is to thirst for God as Love.
Our social insolences, our irritating manners, our censorious judgment, our venomous letters, our pinpricks in conversation, are all forms of deliberate unkindness, and are all evidences of an ill-conditioned nature.
If for every outburst of hasty temper, and for every rudeness that wounds us in our daily path, we were to demand an apology, require an explanation, or resent it by retaliation, daily intercourse would be impossible.
HOW is ill-nature to be met and overcome? First, by humility: when a man knows his own weaknesses, why should he be angry with others for pointing them out?
OF all mortals none are so awfully self-deluded as the unamiable.
WHEN it is our duty to do an act of justice it should be done promptly. To delay is injustice.
What am I brother for, but to forgive?