The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-06
MASTER OF YOURSELF.

He that ruleth his spirit is better than
he that taketh a city."-Proverbs xviS2.
In order to capture a city several
things are necessary The general must
be conscious of the fact that the victory
will be worth the struggle; he must have
confidence in his men, their endurance
and courage, and he must be so deter
mined to succeed that he would rather
die than fail. Under such conditions he
will be sure TO hoist his flag on the CON
quered walls.
There is. however, a larger and a more
honorable task than even this. The sur
render of a city brings renown to a
small number whose names are set with
gems in the coronet of history. The sur
render of the wild passions, the fierce
and all consuming ambitions, the I'M
hridIed selffshness of human nature to
that moral principle, that noble purpose,
that high and holy aim which is conse-
Grated by the baptism of Gods approval.
brings something far better than re-
nown, namely, peace, content, self-rc-
spect, the consciousness of integrity,
against which the gates of hell cannot
prevail, and the name of the victor is
written in the Book of Life.
If the captain of a vessel has no port
which he hopes to reach he is the victim
of circumstance. Wind and storm and
wave are his masters The pole star
shines in vain and his compass is an
unheeded guide He drifts. forever
drifts. and comes to anchor-never. But
with eve on compass and star. with a
chart on which to mark his progress,
and above all a stout heart to achieve,
he faces all contingencies and though
w ether beaten and bruised he safely
reaches his destination at last
So a soul that neither knows why 1t IS
here nor whittier it is going, which is
not near enough to God TO hear the
warning or the guiding voice. which has
no religion for encouragement and good
cheer. takes little satisfaction in life ana
breads the approach of death. With
nothing to do in the present except TO
pass the time as pleasantly as possible,
and nothing to hope for in the future,
existence is not a boon to be highly
priced
The first necessity, then. of your spirit
ual career is the conviction that you are
not an accident, but part of the great
plan. The next necessity Is such perfect
mastery of yourself that you can make
the best of the worst, and find in every
incident. whether 1t be laugh or a sob,
new rung in the ladder on which you
climb out of darkness into light
II you NOuiu 40 wen, pepln Dy II VIC
tory over yoursedlf Curb your pas
sions, bride your untamed thoughts,
live with an object constantly in view,
keep Yourself well under control, like
the man who has his hand on the tiller
and guides his craft. The truly religious
life is a calm life, a life of charity; of
Judgment, kindly life and life of good
will toward all.
We spend too much time in fretting, as
though God had given the responsibility
into unskilled hands. If what you antic
ipate of i'll can he avoided, then avoid
it: but If this Is impossible, then face
it and use It for your souls benefit. There
is nothing. which will not contribute tc
the strength and breadth of your char
acter II you are wise enough to master
it
We lose half the joys that lie in our
path by our i'll temper; we are easily dis
turbed when our poise should be perfect
we are irritated by a word. a look, ar
unattended affront; and, behold, the sur
creeps behind cloud, and the whole day
is spoiled. Instead of meeting i'll temper
with good nature, and so rendering 1t In
nocuous. we add to 1t Ill temper of oul
own and the very heavens become lur'
i'd The blood I'm our veins is poisoned
by our bad mood. and aches and pains