The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1902-08-29
QUOD SCRIPSl SCRlPSl.
The IndeIibIe Lines of Character.

IHE lHuSIDiG LiHGS VI NIidTdItSTs
A mans character is what he is; it is n
fixed quantity, not variable, like X, V, Z
in Algebra. He may stand in the public
eve for more than he is, or for less than
is; but before the eye of God his real
worth is more clearly seen than that OF
a Jewell under the eye of an expert. The
former is reputation, the latter is charac-
ter. Reputation is, as it WERE promis-
sorry note; but character is the genuine
coin with its value stamped upon it.
There is hard line that runs through
the intellect, which gives US the right I'M
preston of the person. AS a man
thinketh, SO is he, is true, not only of the
moral man, but indicates his mental
calibre and marks him down as belong
ing to one class or another. 1t is said OF
George Washington, he deliberated
slowly, but decided surely; and when his
decision was once formed, he seldom
reversed it, and never relaxed from the
execution of measure till it was COM
pleted. That means that the father ofhfs
country, while he may not have been the
most brilliant of men, was a capable
thinker, and knew what he wanted, and
what he believed was best for the nation.
1t is always the distinguishing mark OF
an inferior character when you can never
know where to find its possessor, the
fact is. many people do not know where
to find themselves; they lack conference in
their intellectual operations, and just
when you expect them to reach some
thing definite. they fly to pieces, and it is
impossible to pick up the fragments and
put them together again At one time,
they think this is grand country, ana
are willing to join Fourth OfJuly orators
in their widest flights and most fervid
periods; but at another time England is
far superior in every way, and Germany
outrivals US. And if we leave the field OF
politics and government and pass over
into the domain of religion and morals,
it is the same story of Inconsistency and
lack of fixedness Today the Bible is an
inspired book, with its every page glow
ing with the most enlightening thought
tomorrow you would imagine that there
had been kind of mental earthquake,
all their ideas are torn asunder and put
into unutterable confusion. 1t is not
however, that there has been any special
or extraordinary eruption Of a noted
Skeptical volcano; not at ALL it is simply
the breaking out of character, which is
liable to surprise you at any moment.
The intellect lacks stability, there is no
harmony, no great central power to hold
it down to certain normal conditions
And still the line of character is Just as
indelible as it is in the case of the robust
mind, that is what that person has been
and that is what he is going to be And
the same indelible line runs through the
moral constitution. Some people, we
must admit, are better than their peculiar
way of thinking would lead US to believe.
We express the thought in this manner;
it is a mistake of the head and not of the
heart. 1t is said, not seldom, l know
that man holds strange opinions; but
you would not believe what a lovely
person he is: he would do anything for
YOU, he has a splendid disposition; he is
very charitable and public spirited. In
this case the goodness of the heart over
comes the lack of equipose of head, and
prevents break down. But there are
some individuals that you cannot get to
agree with you about anything, under
the sun; you must let them have their
own way; even that will not answer, as
their own way demands concessions from
you to the point of evaporation, though
you were an angel just came down from
Heaven. Such people may finally reach
Paradise; but we would fancy it would
only be by fire, as a Paul would say.
Here head and heart are both abnormal
and present us with a dismal product
The heart has its quality deeply marked
as well as the intellect. But we do not
mean, by all this, that we cannot hope
for any change in the moral man; it were
sad indeed, if we could not entertain any
bright vision OF better things where the
heart has gone astray. And yet our own
ability is limited, and our best intentions
fail of accomplishment because ofthe hard
lines running through these hearts ofours.
The poet expresses the thought.
Tin vain [ charge my thoughts to stay,
And chidc cartl's vanities away;
There's naught beneath ;spowcr divine
That can this rowing heart coniinc."
We must invoke the Higher Power, if
we would be transformed.
Turn, turn us, mighty God,
And mold our souls atresh
Break, Sovereign Grace, these hearts OF
stone,
And give us hearts OF flesh.
The will also is affected by these indeli-
bic lines, that run through the inner man,
and make character one thing or the
other. Reuben of old was unstable as
water, so we are told in Sacred Writ.
lie may have been clear-sighted; he may
have been kind enough of heart; but that
wavering nature, inclination to go
according to the feeling of the hour
proved his great undoing. Shakespere's
Hamlet is stalwart thinker, and he
draws moral distinctions with the accur-
acy of genius; but the driving power is
totally inadequate for such a man, his
will is weak, and he dies without per-
forming any notable deed. The men and
women, who do things, are marked by
strong will. We are whipped before we
enter battle, if we have no persever-
ance, no determine ton to endure to the
end. These three combine to form
character; namely, the intellect the heart,
the will. Plate spoke more wisely than
he knew, when he said, Quod Scripsi,
Scripsi-What l have written, | have
written. He had been, all his life long,
writing daily what ultimately made him
a plant tool in the hands of the I'M
scrupulous rulers of the Jews; his loose
ideas of justice, and his looser moral
nature helped furnish a weak will with
its compliant decisions. We must know
ourselves better; and we must stand out
against wrong with the pertinacity of a
hero, if we would please Heaven and dc
serve well of our fellow men. God will help
us to evolve out of our broken and imper-
feet life something more manly and round
ed in form, even these indelible lines may be
softened down and our character nodded
into more glorious proportions, provided