Sake

“ Am I to give up a hundred pleasant things for conscience’ sake, and get nothing in return?’ Yes: there is a reward for righteousness, even in this life. God repays those who make sacrifices for conscience’ sake, I verily believe, in most cases, a hundred fold in this life. ”

“ Good Lord, for his sainted father's sake (who is now, we trust, with Thee) , for my puir sake, who am unworthy to ask the favour, and, far aboon and above a', for thine own well-beloved Son's sake, do Thou be pleased to keep, counsel, and support my puir helpless wean, when mine eyes shall be closed, and my lips shall be shut, and my hands shall have ceased to labour. ”

“ And in the second division we may distinguish between the habitual tendency to be actuated by one motive, namely, the desire to do duty for duty’s sake, and all other motives, such as love, benevolence, etc. ”

“ Or is it this: To feed on the acorns and grass of knowledge, and for the sake of truth to suffer hunger of soul? ”

“ Is this different with moral love? Does it love the man, this man for this man's sake, or for morality's sake, for Man's sake, and so—for homo homini Deus—for God's sake? ”

“ I may here, in passing, and for the sake of illustration merely, express the fundamental principle of morality in the following formula: “So act that thou mayest look upon the dictate of thy will as an eternal law to thyself.”
The ultimate vocation of every finite, rational being is thus absolute unity, constant identity, perfect harmony with himself. ”

“ True devotion will rather ask to be allowed to give, and will count as loss all which may not be given up for the Lord's sake—"I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." ”

“ This formula, it is said, empties poetry of its meaning: it is really a doctrine of form for form’s sake.
‘It matters not what a poet says, so long as he says the thing well. The what is poetically indifferent: it is the how that counts. Matter, subject, content, substance, determines nothing; there is no subject with which poetry may not deal: the form, the treatment, is everything. ”

“ No doubt the upholders of ‘Art for art’s sake’ will generally be in favour of the courageous course, of refusing to sacrifice the better or stronger part of the public to the weaker or worse; but their maxim in no way binds them to this view. Dante Rossetti suppressed one of the best of his sonnets, a sonnet chosen for admiration by Tennyson, himself extremely sensitive about the moral effect of poetry ”

“ The few hamlets we passed are of farm-houses only, the deep-eaved roofs covering in one sweep dwelling-house, barn, and stable. In every barn unclothed people were pursuing various industries. We met strings of pack-mares, tied head and tail, loaded with rice and sake, and men and women carrying large creels full of mulberry leaves. The ravine grew more and more beautiful, and an ascent through a dark wood of arrowy cryptomeria brought us to this village exquisitely situated, where a number of miniature ravines, industriously terraced for rice, come down upon the great chasm of the Kinugawa. ”

“ Mrs. Walling’s household was astir. They were to have an early family breakfast before dressing to go to church.
Mrs. Walling and her young protégée met in the breakfast room. Judy was pale and nervous.
“Good-morning, my dear. Do you see that the clouds have gone with the night? A good omen for you, according to the folklore—‘Blessed is the bride that the sun shines on,’” said the lady as she drew the girl to her bosom and pressed a kiss on her brow.
“Oh, ma’am, I have prayed the Lord to bless the day for Ran’s sake, but my heart misgives me, ma’am,” sighed Judy. ”

“ Of course this imaginative experience—if I may use the phrase for brevity—differs with every reader and every time of reading: a poem exists in innumerable degrees. But that insurmountable fact lies in the nature of things and does not concern us now.
What then does the formula 'Poetry for poetry's sake' tell us about this experience? It says, as I understand it, these things. First, this experience is an end [Pg 8] in itself, is worth having on its own account, has an intrinsic value. Next, its poetic value is this intrinsic worth alone. ”

“ Whereupon then can I hope, or wherein ought I to trust, save in the great mercy of God alone, and in the only hope of heavenly grace?
For whether I have either religious brethren, or faithful friends; whether holy books, or beautiful treatises, or sweet chants and hymns; all these help but little, and have but little savour, when grace forsaketh me, and I am left in mine own poverty. ”

“ Remove the veil from mine eyes, O my Lord, that I may recognize what Thou hast desired for Thy creatures, and discover, in all the manifestations of Thy handiwork, the revelations of Thine almighty power. Enrapture my soul, O my Lord, with Thy most mighty signs, and draw me out of the depths of my corrupt and evil desires. Write down, then, for me the good of this world and of the world to come. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. No God is there but Thee, the All-Glorious, Whose help is sought by all men. ”

“ Sages well-skilled in work, intelligent, drain out the stalk that roars, the Sage, the Everlasting One. The milk, the hymns unite them with him in the place of sacrifice, his seat who is produced anew. ”

“ We admired the fervor with which they poured forth their devotions, their looks of pious mortification, their deadness to the pleasures of the world and the flesh, and in the settled composure of their countenances, the outward sign of an approving conscience within.
While making these observations, we fell into a train of thought which became like manna to the hungry and thirsty soul: we compared our habits of life with the employments of these holy men, and the wide difference between our spiritual conditions filled us with confusion and affright. ”

“ Always faithful, weeping, appealing—never rebuking. God! was not this insatiable hunger in him enough anguish, without the eternal memory of that fruit, which he had plucked in his wanton appetite, and thrown away, just tasted, for the shadow of a sweeter! ”

“ Not the saint, but the sinner that repenteth, is he to whom the full length and breadth, and height and depth, of life's meaning is revealed. Not the absence of vice, but vice there, and virtue holding her by the throat, seems the ideal human state. ”

“ Therefore the rules of propriety are for man what the yeast is for liquor [42] . The superior man by (his use of them) becomes better and greater. The small man by his neglect of them becomes meaner and worse.
8. Therefore the sage kings cultivated and fashioned the lever of righteousness and the ordering of ceremonial usages, in order to regulate the feelings of men. Those feelings were the field (to be cultivated by) the sage kings. They fashioned the rules of ceremony to plough it. They set forth the principles of righteousness with which to plant it. ”

“ Who can guarantee a harvest to the sower, a harbour to the sailor, victory to the soldier, a modest wife to the husband, dutiful children to the father? We proceed in the way in which reason, not absolute truth, directs us. Wait, do nothing that will not turn out well, form no opinion until you have searched but the truth, and your life will pass in absolute in action. ”

“ Thus saith the Lord, ‘Though you now drink the cup of adversity, and eat the bread of affliction, and are trampled upon, as though you were not worthy to live upon the earth, yet notwithstanding all the fury of men, you are resolved in the strength of my Spirit for ever to be deprived of the sweet enjoyments of wife, husband, tender children, parents, and outward possessions, liberty, and life, before you deny the testimony of my name before the sons of men. ”

“ Yet, at the same time, he insists that there is in every soul "both a yes and a no," a vision of the good and a contrarium, a hunger for the universal will of God and a hunger for the particular will of self. ”

“ But wait till you obtain the means before you begin to seek in earnest the benefit of others, and, unless Divine Grace powerfully interpose, by the time, in your own judgments, the means are procured, your hearts will have become like the nether millstone. ”

“ Thou hast given me wisdom without wealth; tell me then, what can wisdom do without wealth? Take thou a part of my wisdom and give me some of thy wealth. Do not make me suffer such want that its hardships will bring disgrace upon me'. ”

“ Ought they to approve the same fruits and follow the same leadings? Are they so like in their inner needs that, for hard and soft, for proud and humble, for strenuous and lazy, for healthy-minded and despairing, exactly the same religious incentives are required? ”

“ If the intercourse of mankind in some instances be introductive of vice, the want of it as certainly excludes the exertion of the noblest virtues; and, if the seeds of virtue are indeed in the heart, they often lie dormant, and even unknown to the savage possessor. ”

“ When once you admit the principle that it is noble and virtuous to sacrifice the greater for the less, the desirable for the undesirable, the corn for the weeds, the god for the mob, you necessarily invite the condition which we find around us to-day. ”

“ In this way, recognize those in the first place so that you may understand vices themselves as if are were certain sicknesses of the soul, or wounds of the inner person. The very person, indeed, is like a patient, and God the physician. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are the remedy. The virtues are healthiness. The beatitudes are the joy of happiness. There are, accordingly, seven capital or principal vices, and from these rise all evils. ”

“ Consider, you must be brought to judgment. Think upon Lazarus and Dives; the one fared sumptuously every day; the other a beggar; and now you have time, prize it, while you have it. Would you have me to be bound to my good behaviour? I am bound to my good behaviour, and do cry for good behaviour of all people, to turn from the vanities, pleasures, and oppression, and from the deceits of this world: and there will come a time, that you shall know it. Therefore take heed of pleasures, and deceits, and pride: and look not at man, but at the Lord ”

“ In my exposition you find nothing but natural religion; strange that we should need more! How shall I become aware of this need? What guilt can be mine so long as I serve God according to the knowledge he has given to my mind, and the feelings he has put into my heart? ”

“ Alas! (replied he, laughing, and walking towards the gate) , ’tis easily seen that you understand but little what philosophy is. The Sages eat but for their pleasure, and never for necessity. I had a quite contrary idea of Wisdom (answered I) , I had thought that you wise men should never eat but to satisfy nature. You are abused (said the Count) . How long think you, that our Sages can subsist without eating? How can I tell? (answered I) , Moses and Elias, you know, fasted forty days: you Sages, I make no doubt, may do it, some days less. ”

“ Penllwyd, Penglaslyn, and Glyder Garmon, those lofty peaks like three strong Welsh giants, seemed to guard the entrance to the enchanted valley, and to keep it a place apart, a last fortress of nature, a sanctuary for birds and flowers, a paradise of green shade and leaping waters, and a breathing-space for body and soul. ”

“ How do you distinguish between great and small sins? and how do you intend to determine, or do you in practice of daily life determine, on what occasions you should compel people to do right, and on what occasions you should leave them the option of doing wrong? ”

“ Here we are in the plainest manner directed to ask, in order to, or as a means of, receiving; to seek, in order to find, the grace of God, the pearl of great price; and to knock, to continue asking and seeking, if we would enter into his kingdom.
2. That no doubt might remain, our Lord labours this point in a more peculiar manner. He appeals to every man’s own heart: “What man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? ”

“ They enquire for any good, not for the chief good; all they want is outward good, present good, partial good, good meat, good drink, a good trade, and a good estate; and what are all these worth without a good God and a good heart? Any good will serve the turn of most men, but a gracious soul will not be put off so. This way, this wish, of carnal worldlings is their folly, yet many there be that join in it; and their doom will be accordingly. ”

“ In matters that affect us personally, let us acquiesce in God's will. For example, in hunger, thirst, poverty, desolation, loss of reputation, let us always say: "Do thou build up or tear down, O Lord, as seems good in thy sight. ”

“ Such a womanish cry does no credit to a man. Consider in what attitude you shall receive this prayer of mine (I offer it not only in a good, but in a noble spirit) : "May gods and goddesses alike forbid that Fortune keep you in luxury!" 5. Ask yourself voluntarily which you would choose if some god gave you the choice – life in a café or life in a camp. ”

“ Note, The consideration of the mercies we receive from God, both past and present, should make us receive our afflictions with a suitable disposition of spirit. If we receive our share of the common good in the seven years of plenty, shall we not receive our share of the common evil in the years of famine? ”

“ Moved by thine example to the practice of solid virtue, filled with hope at the view of the rewards bestowed upon thee, I resolve to imitate thee in the avoidance of all evil, and in the fulfilment of God's holy will. ”

“ Things good and evil, honourable and disgraceful, just and unjust, dutiful and undutiful, the virtues and their practice, the possession of comforts, worth and respect, health, strength, beauty, keenness of the senses – all these qualities call for one who is able to appraise them. ”

“ The scope and design of this discourse is to convince the men of this world of their sin and folly in setting their hearts upon the things of this world, and so to persuade them to seek the things of a better world; as also to comfort the people of God, in reference to their own troubles and the grief that arises from the prosperity of the wicked. ”