Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert

“ Every one of us knows how painful it is to be called by malicious names, to have his character undermined by false insinuations, to be overreached in a bargain, to be neglected by those who rise in life, to be thrust on one side by those who have stronger wills and stouter hearts. ”

“ If thou knewest the whole Bible by heart, and the sayings of all the philosophers, what would it profit thee without the love of God and without grace?
—Thomas à Kempis. What a man knows should find its expression in what he does. The value of superior knowledge is chiefly in that it leads to a performing manhood. ”

“ Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindnesses and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart, and secure comfort. ”

“ Knowledge is folly unless grace guide it.
—George Herbert. An uneducated population may be degraded: a population educated, but not in righteousness, will be ungovernable. The one may be slaves, the other must be tyrants.
—Henry Melvill. Every increase of knowledge may possibly render depravity more depraved, as well as it may increase the strength of virtue. It is in itself only power ”

“ The essential difference between that knowledge which is, and that which is not conclusive evidence of Christian character, lies in this: the object of the one is the agreement of the several parts of a theological proposition; the object of the other is moral beauty, the intrinsic loveliness of God and Divine things. The sinner sees and hates; the saint sees and loves. ”

“ The art of saying appropriate words in a kindly way is one that never goes out of fashion, never ceases to please, and is within the reach of the humblest.
If you consider that the constant tenor of the gospel precepts is to promote love, peace, and good-will amongst men, you will not doubt that the cultivation of an amiable disposition is a great part of your religious duty; since nothing leads more directly to the breach of charity, and to the injury and molestation of our fellow-creatures than the indulgence of an ill-temper. ”