But if you fail to apply it to things worthy of
your sublime calling it will soon escape from your control, and,
flitting from one trifle to another, it will meddle with objects that
might become dangerous to the peace of your soul. It will soon become
preoccupied by puerile fears, unfounded apprehensions, vague sadness,
which, when constantly indulged in, will deliver your soul over to
melancholy which never fails to tarnish the purity of the heart and
enervate the energy of the will.
The pain that many suffer from their imaginary ills robs them of the
noble and generous love of compassionating the real and painful
griefs of others. Egotism is nurtured and fortified in those ravings
which attach the soul's energies to the consideration of our own ills
or sorrows; the heart grows cold and hardened in a deplorable
insensibility which estranges it to every sentiment of pity and
compassion for others.
There is, I am aware, a sorrow that is salutary to the soul, and
conformable to the spirit of Christianity, as also to man's condition
in this vale of tears.
Pages:
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203