Subdue your passions,
master your evil thoughts, observe the laws of temperance and purity, be
truthful, be firm, be honest, and keep ever before you the law of Christ
as the law of your daily work, and you will make _your_ life noble. We
cannot all be great commanders or daring captains, we cannot all be
distinguished men of science; but we can all be righteously-living men,
endeavouring to raise others by our example, and it is a higher aim to
live purely than to live successfully. We cannot all command the
success, just as we do not all enjoy the intellectual powers, of a
Herschel; but we can emulate the industry and perseverance of the
astronomer, we can copy the devoted affection and self-denial of his
sister. The sorriest mistake of which men can be guilty,--yet it is a
mistake which has clouded many lives,--is to suppose that duty is less
imperative in its claims on the humble and unknown than on men raised or
born to eminent position. Let it be understood and remembered that each
one of us can rise to a standard of true heroism, by cultivating the
graces of the Christian character, and doing the work which God has
appointed.
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