This will be putting in
practice the advice of the wise man: Give not up thy soul to sadness
and afflict not thyself in thy own counsel. The joyfulness of the
heart is the life of man and a never-failing treasure of holiness,
and the joy of man is length of life. Have pity on thy own soul,
pleasing God and contain thyself; gather up thy heart in his holiness
and drive away sadness far from thee. For sadness hath killed many
and there is no profit in it. Envy and anger shorten a man's days,
and pensiveness will bring old age before the time. A cheerful and
good heart is always feasting, for his banquets are prepared with
diligence. Eccl. xxx. 22-27.
CHAPTER XXI.
ON READING.
If the wisdom of nations, which loves to find expression in the
proverbs, teaches us that a man may be known by knowing the company
that he frequents; we can say with the same assurance that his
character and dispositions may be known from the books which he
constantly reads. Of all friends, the most intimate are the books
that we constantly read, hence there is nothing more important for a
young person, as there is nothing that entails such grave
consequences for the moral culture, than the selection of proper and
suitable books.
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