Norwich bulletin., 1917-05-05
Sunday Morning Talk
r-- P KNOW ' THINE ENEMY.


 Sir Douglas Haig, GomnandeF in
 Chief of the British, -foreese long aga chose for himself a motto-''KnoW thine enemy?F It is reported that, years before the present war, he had thoroughly studied the military tac- ties of nations that are now battling against him in the field. What is equally important, withal, he had studied the- character and temporal
 ment of soldiers whom the British Tommy might some day have to op7 pose. One reason s-i is here suggested why the heraIded German, advance on Paris has now? for some time, been moving in the direction of Berlin. N e.
 Let us take a leaf from the Gon1- mander's book. 1t is excellent wisdom for any of us to know his enemy, The study of family trees is Justified, if for no other reason than to discover one's inherited charact ter istfcs. The sooner sonal weakness. the better. If it proves that our Grandfather Jenkins, had. a taste for alcohol, or. that our Great Grandmother. Jones suffered from rheuma tism, we have. simply -diseov- cred points at which to set guards for our own defensess- r-lv :;
 Forewarned- IS foEtearmed,. An en- emy known. is- arready half. defeated. One way for a man. to. come hale and hearty to the age of S5 is te discover . stance. a weakheart, Then he will spend the rest of. his days taking, care of himself and aEoiding- strain. ss-
 An inherited mental twist such as. is liable to trip one up in, countless, sit uations should likewise, be recognized. If one realizes sthat. he has an especi-I ally faulty memory f.an, 4nduly quick temper, markedly aeficient tact in dealing with people. or any similar handicap, he can often make up for it by habit of prem meditations He can. be on his guard lest the. occasion take him uuawaEes. .-Ide can guard himself to meet an approaching situa ton be- fore it is actually upon him. After thought is common enough and i've. may regret for days. or5 even, years, deeds and words into which we were huTrfed.s But sforethought that takes account of stock in advance Gencies is rarer than -its ought to. be. Yet such safeguard is possible for us all. =,
 Ships carry searchlights to disclose the threatening destroyers.3 lowering near. It is exactly. what people ought to do-cultiVates the attitude of ,antic- ipation and preparation that. will de- fend against the sudden attacks, of easily besetting sins 9a.-:c How many of us talk about tenapta- tion in the abstract, when we ought to talk, about concrete temptations. It Is generally some particular fault that works the mischief. In the old Greek story. Thetis immersed her son, A chilles. in the liver 7Styx to make him invulnerable. The water covered every part Of the lads anatomy ex- cept the heel by1whfch His parent held him. There alone he was left defense less; and it was finally an arrow shot by the Trojan Paris to the heel of the Grecian hero that killed him ''s-@
 All the sons, of men are Vulnerable at some one point, at least: often at several times one. Deplorab1y. weak spots exist in our moral arn1or, and they are always targets for the enemy. It is better to mass all our resources at the crucial place than to string out forces along a front that needs no defense. It might be unhecessary for me to take up arms against some foes But there are others that can be de- feated only by .unwearying vigilance and hard fighting.
 It takes a bit of study to know ones enemy. Foes do not seneraly come to. introduce themselves and explain titesr methods. The world is ful4i'of cock-eure people who are being defeated by faults they take no ac- count of. Let him that thinketh he standeth take, heed lest he faH.'' It is on record that when Goliath met the striplipg David, S he B. '.dfsdained him" Any man is as. foolish as, that when he ignores some apperentlx in significarl .,fz ..fz sin that if uncheeked;t is .anabie oa malsing havoc of his char acter and sareers ,r1,.,;, rs,,