Harvey Newcomb

“ You cannot help thinking meanly of yourself after having broken out in a sudden gust of anger, or given indulgence to a peevish, fretful spirit. To be ill-humored, peevish, or cross, is to be unhappy, and to make others unhappy. But a sweet temper will not only make you happy, but, like the balmy breezes of a summer evening, it will shed a sweet fragrance all around you. Nothing will render your character more unlovely than ill-temper. ”

“ Beware, then, how you excite a passion for gaming, by playing for amusement. I am afraid of all games; but, especially, all games of chance. I think there is a strong tendency in them all to excite a passion for gaming, which will not be satisfied without something more stimulating than mere amusement. If I see a boy rolling marbles, or a young man shuffling cards, I think he is in the high road to ruin. Marbles is a dirty play. It treads on the heels of low company and gambling. ”

“ Has my love increased? Do I feel more delight in contemplating the divine character, in reading his word, in prayer, in the ordinances of his house, &c.? Do I feel more intense longings of soul after conformity to his image? Have I any deeper sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin? Do my own sins in particular appear more aggravated? Do I think less of myself? Does a sense of my own vileness and unworthiness humble me low before God? Does this lead me to see my need of just such a Saviour as Jesus? Am I now disposed to cast my all upon him? Has my love for Christians increased? ”

“ If any of her companions seem to take more notice of some other one than of herself, she begins to be jealous that their professions of friendship are not real; and if any one happens not to notice her for once, she considers it a slight; and so her feelings are perpetually disturbed. She is never happy. Sometimes she will weep, as if her heart would break, for some fancied slight; when, in reality, she has no occasion for trouble, and might just as well laugh as cry. She will be unhappy as long as she lives, and perhaps crazy before she dies, if she does not overcome this passion. ”

“ Is it possible for a person to exercise a feeling "as strong as death," and yet not be sensible of it? Love takes hold of every faculty of soul and body. It must, then, be no very dull feeling. Again; the warmth and the settled and abiding nature of love are represented by such strong language as this: "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it." Surely this can be no fitful feeling, which comes and goes at extraordinary seasons. It must be a settled and abiding principle of the soul; though it may not always be accompanied with strong emotions. ”

“ When I was a boy, I had to study the Latin grammar; but it was dull, and I hated it. My father was anxious to send me to college, and therefore I studied the grammar, till I could bear it no longer; and going to my father, I told him I did not like study, and asked for some other employment. It was opposing his wishes, and he was quick in his answer. ‘Well, John, if Latin grammar does not suit you, you may try ditching; perhaps that will; my meadow yonder needs a ditch, and you may put by Latin and try that.’ ”

“ But the proper cultivation of the memory is indispensable, in order to render your knowledge available. Nor will it do for you to adopt the notion that nothing is to be committed to the keeping of the memory which is not fully understood. The memory is a servant, which must consent to do some things without knowing the reason why. The imagination is the beautiful flower that crowns the top of the plant. But if forced out too early, or out of due proportion, it will cover the stalk with false blossoms, which, in a little time, will wither, and leave it dry and useless. ”

“ The will of God, as made known in his word, is like a lantern, which sheds a light on our path, and directs the steps of our feet. The sincere Christian will search after a knowledge of God's will, with more eagerness than he would search for hidden treasures of gold and silver. He will set his heart to the work. This is what God commands. After Moses had given the law of God to the children of Israel, he said unto them, "Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day." ”

“ Colbert’s first step to distinction was an act of honor and honesty which deprived him of the means of earning his daily bread. If there was ever a case, which, to human appearance, would seem to contradict the old proverb, and show that honesty was not the best policy, one would think his was such a case. But the event proved its truth. And to this single trait in his character may be traced all his greatness. His honesty and integrity made him faithful to his employers. ”

“ There are a multitude of books, pamphlets, periodicals, and newspapers, in circulation at the present day, which cannot be read, especially by the young, without great injury, both to the mind and heart. If any one should propose to you to associate with men and women of the lowest and most abandoned character, you would shrink from the thought—you would be indignant at the proposition. But it is not the mere bodily presence of such characters that makes their society dangerous. It is the communion which you have with their minds and hearts, in their conduct and conversation. ”

“ Now, the great principle which I would here establish is, as I have elsewhere remarked, that the obligation of duty rests upon the present moment. No principle can be of greater importance in practical life than this. It lies at the foundation of all Christian effort. It is the neglect of it which has ruined thousands of immortal souls, who have sat under the sound of the gospel. It is the neglect of it which keeps the church so low. If it is the duty of a sinner to repent, it is his duty to do it now; and every moment's delay is a new act of rebellion against God. ”

“ Let your religion be neither of that spurious kind which expends itself in sighs, and tears, and gloomy feelings, nor that which makes you insensible to all feeling. But while you are alive to your own sins and imperfections, exercising godly sorrow for them, and while you feel a deep and earnest sympathy for those who have no interest in Christ, let your faith in the atoning blood of Jesus, and your confidence in God, avail to keep you from sinking into melancholy and gloom, and make you cheerful and happy, while you rest in God. ”

“ But, if any one suffers his religious feelings to concentrate on one point, as though the whole of religion consisted in zeal, or devotional feeling, or sympathy, or the promotion of some favorite scheme of benevolence, you will find an exhibition of character as unlovely and repulsive as though the seven colors of the rainbow should concentrate in one, of livid hue, or pale blue, or sombre gray ”

“ But I know of no place, this side heaven, so sweet and attractive as the home of a family of brothers and sisters, always smiling and happy, [41] full of kindness and love, delighting in each other’s happiness, and striving how much each can oblige the other. If you would have your home such a place, you must not be selfish; you must not be too particular about maintaining your own rights; but be ready always to yield rather than to contend. This will generally have the effect to produce the same disposition in your brothers and sisters; and then the strife will be, which can be most generous. ”

“ Have the fruits of the Spirit increased in my heart and life? Have I been more faithful in all the relations of life? Do I perceive any growing deadness to the world? Does my relish for spiritual things increase, while my taste for earthly delights diminishes? Do I see more and more my own weakness, and feel a more steady dependence upon Christ? Do I feel increasing spirituality in religious duties? Do I feel increasing tenderness of conscience, and maintain more watchfulness against sin? Do I feel greater concern for the prosperity of the church and the conversion of the world? ”

“ Who should be cheerful and happy, if not one who is delivered from the terrors of hell and the fear of death,—who is raised to the dignity of a child of God,—who has the hope of eternal life—the prospect of dwelling forever in the presence of God, in the society of the blessed, and in the enjoyment of perfect felicity? But no one would associate these things with that peculiar kind of mirth, which is the delight of the pleasure-loving world. Your sense of propriety recoils from the idea of associating things of such high import with rudeness, frolicking, and mirth. ”

“ Prayer is an intimate communion with God, by which we unbosom our hearts to him, and receive communications of his grace, and fresh tokens of his love. What Christian, then, whose soul burns with divine love, will be disposed to apply to this holy employment the cold appellation of duty? Yet, God sees so much the importance of prayer, that he has not only permitted, but commanded us to pray. Our Lord frequently directed his disciples, and us through them, to "watch and pray." He also teaches us to persevere in prayer: "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint." ”

“ Equally necessary is it for a man of learning, or a professional man, to know how to do with his own hands the most common things. If dependent on his own earnings for a support, he will not be able to hire every thing done to his hand; or, if able, he will not always find any one to do it. And as to the merchant, his life, from the very first, is a life of incessant toil and labor. The lazy boy, who goes into a store as a clerk, with such notions in his head about work, will be served as the working bees serve their drones—he will be dragged out of the hive. ”

“ Some people mistake a rash and heedless spirit for genuine zeal; and this puffs them up with pride and vain-glory, and sets them to railing at their betters in age, experience, or wisdom, because they will not fall into their views and measures. There is scarcely any trait of character more unlovely, especially in a young person, than self-conceit. If the youth who is puffed up with a sense of his own consequence could but see the mingled emotions of pity and disgust which his conduct excites in the bosom of age and wisdom, he would be filled with confusion and shame. ”