The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1880-08-12
HONESTY.

that it is that principle which makes
a person prefer his promise or duty
to his passion or interest. This be
ing true, how many of us of the
present day are truly honestY Is
this the governing principle of our
lives 7 Is justice between men, or
from man to man, the reigning, gov
erning principle of the day 7 (for we
hold that honesty and justice go
hand in hand J Justice we hold is
an exact and INSCRIPTIONS regard to
the rights of others, with deliber-
ate purpose to presevere it on all oc
casions sacred and inviolate.
Then the fret step toward great
ness is to be honest, says the pro>
verb, but the proverb fails to state
the case strong enough Honesty is
not only the first step toward great
ness-it is greatness itself.
1t will not do to say there are no
honest men, for we believe there are
possibly as many as at any age of
the world neither will it do to say
that our late unpleaSantness is the
cause of men being dishonest, for
honesty is principle, and he ShO is
honest, is SO from principle, and it
only requires the surroundings to be
much as to bring out what has been
all the while lying latent in the heart.
A man who is now dishonest, has
been so all the while, and only need :
ed circumstances to bring tito light
The truth of the good old maxim
that Honesty is the best policy
will not do, for the man who is
strictly honest, is so, because homes
ty is right-no policy about it, for
the one who lie honest only for the
sake of policy, is not honest. No
man can be upright, amid the va
rious temptations of life unless he is
honest for the rights sake. The lat
ter will hold him fast let the element
set as it will, let storms blow ever
so fercely. The former is only made
of pack thread which will snap
apart. Lay the foundations of char
acter broad and deep. Build them
on rock, and not on sand. The
rains then may come, the floods rise
and the winds blow, but the fabric
will stand. But establish character
for loose dealing, and some great
tempest will sweep it away.
We have heard tradesmen COM
plain that their strict honesty was a
hinderance to their success that the
tide of custom pours into the doors
of the less scrupulOus neighbors in
the same business, while they wait
hours idle. Let such but remember,
that God is going to reward honor,
integrity and highmindedness, but
He may not do so with this worlds
coin. We should consider the price
that men often pay for success in
this life. Often it is mental degra-
Gation and inward dishonor. Sow
that mans seeds, and you will reap
his harvest. Cheat, lie, be unscru~
pulous in your assertions, and Gus
tom will come to you; but if the
price is too dear, let him have his
harvest, and take yours. Yours a
clear conscience, pure mind, rec
titude within and without. Will
you part with that for his Then
why do you complain ? He has
paid his price you do not choose to
pay it.
Some, in their passion for sudden
accumulation, practice secret frauds,
and imagine there is no dishonor in
it, so they be not detected. But in
vain, will they cover up their trans
gressions: for God sees it to the
bottom, and they cannot always
keep it from man even. Be sure
your sin will find you out.
He who is carrying on secret corr
ruption and dishonesty, De he presi-
dent of the Union, or engaged only
in private transactions, is sailing in
a ship like that tabled one of old,
which ever come nearer and nearer
to a magnetic mountain, that will at
last draw every nail out of it.