Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1871-08-24
To Young MCn-Liye Honestly.

Jne course WHICH he Will pursue. IlG
should ask himself, "Will | enter upon
. course in which I can render q fair
equivalent for everything that obtain
u will 1 enter upon course in which,
for the things that l receive, I shall
render an equivalent where / must, and
palm off empty appearances where [ can?"
1t is a glorious ambition, q manly pur-
pose, with which person begins life,
when he goes forth saying, 81 mean to
make my fortune, to be sure, and to
pluck honor from the highest boughs of
the tree of life but am determined
not to go one step in honor or wealth OF
power that is not a real step. What
have, will pay for 1 will not take any
thing without giving fair equivalent
for it," And what a contrast there is
between this and the ambition and pur-
pose of those who set out in life with
to make their fortune and
gain honor at all hazards, by whatever
means it may be necessary to employ,
and without regard to whether they
render all equivalent for that which they
receive no not?
A young man, delicately reared, is sent
into life, and he goes into shop where
he finds many companions, and where,
unfortunately, the strongest-minded men
are not the sweetest-hearted. And all
around about him the conversation is
low ; the illusions are coarse, the express
sions are vulgar. The things that in
home life he never dared to shape into
words, or hints even, are freely handled
for the purpose of exciting laughter.
Now, under such circumstances, a man
may lose sensibility to these things. At
first he is shocked and sick. / have
known persons of an organization so
delicate that this violence done to their
moral and social feelings amounted to
absolute sickness of body. But that
cannot continue. In the course of a
month young man will get used to
obscenity in one of two ways If he
sets his heart against it if he calls the
memory of all that he loves to his help ;
if his whole conscience bears witness if
he makes covenant with his lips, and
sets his heart to watch over its issues,
then little by little he will come to a
state in which he will hear obscene talk
as though he did not hear it. And he
comes out better than he went in,
although he suffers less by the outward
contact of corruption than in the begin
ming. He has carried himself in such a
way with reference to it, that it has
worked out in moral purity.
I was called once to a consultation in
reference to a young man belonging to a
large establishment, who was detected in
some criminal act and in a confidential
interview that | had with him, he told
me that it was not because he was in need
that he yielded to the temptation, but
because he wanted property. His dis
honesty was simply the result Of avarice.
And if young man abuses his trust and
is dishonest, there is not word to be
said in his justification.
There are temptations to dishonesty,
then, that spring from extravaganza.
Our society is very vicious in its whole
structure in this regard. We make nc
provision for the responsibility of people
who are in humble circumstances. We
hold out inducements to them to live be-
You'd their means.
Young people want to begin further
along than they are able to. They wan
to keep house as twenty years of success
full and fruitful industry have enabled
other men to do it. They measure every
thing on the pattern of somebody else
There are many young men who have
enough to support them but that is no
all that they want. They have bad com
panions with whom they associate. These
companions are not very temperate
They smoke and so, of course, they
drink. | do not mean that among al
men that smoke, drinking is a handmade
vice; but I say that smoking leads, o.
tends to lead, to the other vice. Ant
smoking and drinking are very expen
sive.
Young men are very apt to reason thu
question of dishonesty with themselves
and to justify themselves by the example
which they see around about them o
men who stand eminent, trusted, and o
good reputation, and who yet do dis
honest things. A young man is apt t.
say, cit is no worse for me to folloN
such and such courses, than it is TO
others and many that do follow then
stand high, and are prospered and re
spected."
[ will admit that there are many mel
who stand high, and for time have
certain kind of responsibility and pros
perity, though they do dishonest things
but say this You cannot afford to b
like them. There is nothing else in thi
world that is of so much consequence t.
you, as that you should keep peace wit
your own self Blessed be the man tina
can say, as the apostle did, &" [ trust tina
[ have q good conscience. Blessed b
the man that has lived till he is thirt
years of age, and can say, 81 have a goo
conscience )" that is, 81 never willingl
do anything that violates my conscience
God knows that it is my purpose to liv
at peace with my conscience.
A man cannot afford to throw ava,
the blessing of a good conscience. Ant
it makes no difference that your neigh
Dor is prospecting by dishonesty, AM
people have not found him out If yo1
are dishonest you know it yourself, AM
that is enough. And there ought to b
principle of honor with every youn
| man that should lead him to say, GIVE
; if God could not see me when l di
wrong, 1 should see myself, and sell
respect and manhood require that
! should do right. "-Henry Ward Beeche'
HEALTHY CHILDREN raise health
children give them an abundance of on
door exercise, fun and frolic ; make thel
regular in their habits, and feed them o