" (2) Next to music, if not before it, Luther loved
children and flowers. The great gnarled man had a heart as
tender as a woman's.
Cheerfulness is also an excellent wearing quality. It has been
called the bright weather of the heart. It gives harmony of soul,
and is a perpetual song without words. It is tantamount to
repose. It enables nature to recruit its strength; whereas worry
and discontent debilitate it, involving constant wear-and-tear.
How is it that we see such men as Lord Palmerston growing old in
harness, working on vigorously to the end? Mainly through
equanimity of temper and habitual cheerfulness. They have
educated themselves in the habit of endurance, of not being easily
provoked, of bearing and forbearing, of hearing harsh and even
unjust things said of them without indulging in undue resentment,
and avoiding worreting, petty, and self-tormenting cares. An
intimate friend of Lord Palmerston, who observed him closely for
twenty years, has said that he never saw him angry, with perhaps
one exception; and that was when the ministry responsible for the
calamity in Affghanistan, of which he was one, were unjustly
accused by their opponents of falsehood, perjury, and wilful
mutilation of public documents.
So far as can be learnt from biography, men of the greatest genius
have been for the most part cheerful, contented men--not eager
for reputation, money, or power--but relishing life, and keenly
susceptible of enjoyment, as we find reflected in their works.
Pages:
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295