When a person is down in the world, an ounce of help is better than a pound of preaching. What mankind wants is not talent; it is purpose. There is no man so friendless but what he can find a friend sincere enough to tell him disagreeable truths. Reading without purpose is sauntering not exercise. Power is so characteristically calm, that calmness in itself has the aspect of strength. It is not by the gray of the hair that one knows the age of the heart. It is astonishing how little one feels poverty when one loves. I would rather have five energetic and competent enemies than one fool friend. Happiness and virtue rest upon each other; the best are not only the happiest, but the happiest are usually the best. Fate is not the ruler, but the servant of Providence. |