B J 1581 Class ^1 __ Book._L OopightN? COPYRIGHT DEPOSnV LIFE'S COMMON WAY MARGARET GOODRICH *0?\ ,ff ^^# ^ w^j^ ia»feti)a&tefe^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY COMPILED BY MARGARET GOODRICH NEW YORK Dodge Publishing Company 214-220 East 23d Street .^P^^P^j^^ i&s&aafe^ v.. Copyright, 1915, bt Dodge Publishing Company [life's common way] II.A4 18795 *M f. m FOREWORD The compiler issues this little vol- ume in the hope that it may help along "Life's Common Way" some wayfarers who are tired with the heat and burden of the day. The aim of the thoughts presented is to act in some degree, however slight, as a medium for impersonal truth; let it but stimulate our faith and prove a tonic to our indifference, herein lies its use, should it attain the dignity of usefulness, that it shall arouse some deeper note, some higher octave than is perchance commonly sounded ; so may it awake the echoes and set % fr» Wfl»!^ .i >^^^fff^ ^saik^iiSii&iiii^iasdisai^t-s, , ww^ft^aasHiaa FOREWORD us vibrating, so attune our Eolian harp that there too shall the winds of heaven call forth some faint di- vine melodies. FEB 12 1916 !| 4 H|PP^T^^ W '- w -i^*'^^^-^^- ' * 7*&m>& «k&a^^tttt!^^ ,. .O . > , ■ ...v- ^^fe&a^i^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY The commonest life may be full of perfection. Every lot is happy to a person who bears it with tranquility. In our own sphere, it is not the most active people to whom we owe the most. To be silent, to pray when we cannot act, is acceptable to God. Accustom yourself to much calmness and an indifference to events. |P %^W^«}J8y^ LIFE'S COMMON W A ^ Opportunities of doing a kindness are often lost from mere want of thought. Little obediences lead into great. You can live a beautiful life in the midst of your present circumstances. Happiness is not a matter of events, it depends upon the tides of mind. Love is the only service that power cannot command and money cannot buy. The first thing you should procure, after faith, is a good friend. to&A&suMtstek****^-.,,..,.* ^y^aadffi^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY A man's true wealth hereafter is the good he has done in the world to his fellow-men. The wise man's tongue is in his heart, and the foolish man's heart is in his mouth. Occasions, like clouds, pass away. Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory ; the other perpetual. Real graciousness is a virtue exer- cised, not a virtue assumed. Manners act on morals, and hy their quality manners aid or destroy them. 3ffift^^flWy0jj8^ m .-..►• u*. — BD LIFE'S COMMON WAY Unless we keep our standard of man- ners high, we forget our responsibil- ity to others. Attractive people are kind, consider- ate, courteous, simple, straightfor- ward, generous-minded. These are among the great marks of character. The loss of time is the most hopeless and absolute loss we can sustain. The vice of envy is not only a danger- ous but a mean vice, for it is always a confession of inferiority. Death and Love are two wings which bear men from earth to Heaven. j &BffiUjj^t^.W^.ya;!^ ^y&ri#nfti%f^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY The consciousness of duty performed gives us music at midnight. Live greatly, so that you may enjoy unknown capacities of joy. Gather roses while they blossom; to- morrow is not today! Procrastination of a good deed has often brought repentance. Hard frost, like hard times, brings noble works into prominence. Envy is like the rust of iron: it wears away the envious. PW**w^ff-^j^^^ g^aa^^^frvfe^^^^^-ja'^ : ^^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY The cross is no longer a cross when there is no self to suffer under it. Silence is a great peacemaker. To persist in doing good is to become ennobled. To believe and go forward is the key to success and happiness. How many a solitary place would be made glad if love were there. How many a knot of mystery and misunderstanding would be untied by one word spoken in simple confiding truth of heart. S j tyMHSg^^j j y^^ ai&a£ffiBaife»iM^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Aim as high as possible. Demand everything of yourself and resolve to deliver the greatest measure possible every day. The good Samaritan saves his sermon until after the work of succor. A little everyday help is worth a lot of Sunday holiness. Though humanity transgress as one man, Divine Law remains immuta- ble. Think all you speak, but speak not all you think. flPMWWfifflW^^ aaa3£&&ffiSidRfc^^ ^ ^^'ffliiU LIFE'S COMMON WAY Bread cast upon the waters returns the sweeter; and to return love for hate is to pay the highest deference to the soul. To love truth because of the truth is the essence of refinement; and to be true to one's self is to be moral. Every man is worth just as much as the things are worth about which he busies himself. Real necessity requires only the work of men and not the toil of slaves. Better internal forces than external incumbrances. ' IPiif^Wif fj WI^^ a^a^afe^S^i2afcfa^^^^^!^M, LIFE'S COMMON WAY A sound body implies a mind free from fear and anger, from negation and weakness. Self-unfoldment is the path to wis- dom and the destined way of human life. Values are not always apparent, and a hasty judgment would often over- look that which is best. Never tell all you know, for he who tells everything he knows often tells more than he knows. Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes a necessity. #! ■- ■^WffJ^^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Over the inner world we have con- trol ; but open the door to one annoy- ance and a score rush in. Sense perversion leads to mental dis- integration. To be loved we must love; to be blessed we must bless. Character enjoins independence of thought and action; it is never de- ceived by numbers — is never a time- server. Close the ears and eyes to what is not good to hear and see; we shall choose food for the mind no less than for the stomach. ^^^^^^^^.g^^^^^^ y ^^ " Eaaa^&&&^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Peace does not dwell in outward things, but within the soul. Composure is often the highest result of power. Accustom yourself gradually to carry prayer into all your daily occupation. He is the best who wins the most splendid victories by retrieval of mis- takes. Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might, and all your worth and constancy. Dread above all things bitterness and irritation. Arrange things in order of their importance, and act accord- ingly. y ' ^^^yy^'fl^ ^^saaaaai^iteiM^^^M^^^x^^M^^ ***»*.i«dt*tiKum LIFE'S COMMON WAY Genius is only entitled to respect when it promotes the peace and im- proves the happiness of mankind. He who possesses worth and intelli- gence, who is just, speaks the truth, and does what is his own business, him the world will hold dear. We become optimists or pessimists according to the harmony or inhar- mony of our own minds. To have grown wise and kind is the real success. The duties of home are a discipline for the ministries of heaven. OTW^f^f"' ■^WaswWWBSSBB COMMON WA It is rare when injustice or slights patiently borne, do not leave the heart at the close of the day filled with mar- vellous joy and peace. Two payments are made for all hon- est work ; the first is in money and is counted, the second is in patience, in dexterity, in tact, experience and courage, and is not counted. f A merry heart will ever remain the best medicine and sweet thoughts are angels, and gentle smiles a benedic- tion. To live divinely is not to ignore the commonplace, but to ennoble it. ^ mf^m^miff^^^.^^^^ itehfiMJiiMfa- ,V. j ■ : ■ , ■ i ■ i • LIFE'S COMMON WAY Love is the key to the universe, which unlocks all doors. The spirit in which we act is the high- est matter. Patience is the noblest form of cour- age. Knowledge is a steep, which few may climb ; while duty is a path which all may tread. To live for others is the inevitable condition of our being. To accept the situation gladly is to find it crowned with its own joy. LIFE'S COMMON W A Y H One act of charity will teach us more of the love of God than a thousand sermons. Manners are of more importance than laws ; upon them, in a great measure., law depends. No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth. To get up immediately when we stumble, face again to the light and travel on without wasting a moment in regret. ifi^ffi^^yffE^ >r^fi»fri#irt^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY It is your duty oftentimes to do what you would not, your duty, too, to leave undone what you would do. We must learn to live in a beauty, an earnestness, that shall have become part of ourselves. Charity is a virtue of the heart, not of the hands. Never at any single moment are you given anything but what you have put forth. Thought is the power that builds up character. ^'y^r^Wffgffi * ^ LIFE'S COMMON WA^i To every man there come noble thoughts that pass across his heart, like great white birds. There is no silence more docile than the silence of love, and it is indeed the only one that we may claim for ourselves alone. Between dreaming of tomorrow and regretting yesterday, there is no time for doing anything new. We have to live but one day at a time, but we are living for eternity in that one day. LIFE'S COMMON To think with sympathy of others is to grow ; you take in their experience and add it to your own development. Life is an education for eternal friendships. Life, if properly understood, would enable us "to acquiesce in the present without repining, to remember the past with thankfulness, and to meet the future hopefully and cheerfully, without fear or suspicion." It is a beautiful idea that every man has with him a Guardian Angel ; and it is true, too, for Conscience is ever on the watch, ever ready to warn us of danger. LIFE'S COMMON WAY Foresight is very wise, but foresor- row is very foolish ; and castles are at any rate better than dungeons in the air. What the superior man seeks in him- self, that the small man seeks in oth- ers. Friendship is at bottom a spiritual alliance. Solitude is a strain upon the soul. And yet the noblest souls have re- quired much solitude. Death is as natural as birth and doubtless as much a necessity for the human soul. grip* 07pc. y '- v : "" - ' 'W*ff*^|%£?^;^^^ 'LIFE'S COMMON WA1 The love of God blooms in the lilac ; murmurs in the brook; shines in the dawn ; sings in the bird. The love of God is the truest key of knowledge. Great battles are really won before they are actually fought. To control our passions, we must govern our habits, and keep watch over ourselves in the small details of everyday life. We ought not to picture Duty to our- selves, or to others, as a stern task- mistress. She is rather a kind and sympathetic mother, ever ready to shelter us from the cares and anxie- ties of this world, and to guide us in the paths of peace. ^^^y^m^^w^^m^^-^^^^^W^^^^ 1 ^ E'S COMMON WA^ To be good company for ourselves, we must store our minds well; fill them with happy and pure thoughts, with pleasant memories of the past, and reasonable hopes for the future. Time spent in innocent and rational enjoyments, in social and family in- tercourse, in healthy games, is well and wisely spent. Every moment you now lose, is so much character and advantage lost; every moment you employ usefully, is so much time wisely laid out, at pro- digious interest. Joy hovers about the head of the man who loves his own occupation. »g ^^/^j Wjj P J g !S ftWl^^ff flw s i ag.«flqP » j^.^-VW^! ? ^wWTO --.a ^^.^^a^^V^sft^fli^sv „ -.ftey Afc LIFE'S COMMON WAY Happiness is a by-product of self- forgetful service. We are guests in God's world. Life is a treat, not a task. We ought to move through life not like glaciers, but like a band of music. Your destiny is shaped in the land of brooding. Cultivate the thankful spirit, it will be to thee a perpetual feast. There is, or ought to be, with us no such things as small mercies. A really thankful heart will extract motive for gratitude from everything, making the most even of scanty blessings. '■gaw^ft;^ aiigiaBasdfe&i£^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY It is the common and simple and uni- versal gifts that make men happy; it is health, the glance of sunshine in the morning ; it is the fresh air ; the kind- liness that meets us on the journey; it may be only a word, a smile, a look; it is these and not any rarity of bless- ing that are God's gentle art of mak- ing happy. In order to love mankind, expect but little from them ; in order to view their faults without bitterness is a justice which frail humanity has a right to demand from wisdom. If we take the good we find, asking no questions, we shall have heaping ^ '■ w 1 ^^^ «s^&flSa*fiWdi^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY measures. The great gifts are not by analysis. Everything good is on the highway. No man can afford to spend upon himself more than is needful; none can afford luxuries where others lack necessities. He is the richer who is content with less, not he who having much needs more. But prudence lies not in spending little, but in spending wisely, and it is a poor economy that saves money and lets go generosity. Would that we knew more of the beauty of simplicity and of the value of a stern and frugal way of life, for high living ever discourages high thinking, and when most lavish to the body we are penurious to the soul. . ' -^=-tr-"y":2?' , - , 7&-*?T" £&zsp«sidii*^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Half the misery of human life might be extinguished by mutual offices of compassion, benevolence and hu- manity. Good temper is like a sunny day, it sheds its brightness upon everything. Sweet are the thoughts that savor of content ; the quiet mind is richer than a crown. He only is advancing in life whose heart is getting softer, whose blood warmer, whose pulse quicker, whose spirit is entering into living peace. When thou wishest to delight thyself, think of the virtues of those who live with thee. i ' ^^ - ^^^m^m^ 9 !^f^ i ^ i. *&&M?^iflito^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY A faithful friend is a strong defence, and he that hath found such an one hath found a treasure. One who has true inward greatness thinks little of, and cares less for, what we term fame. For truly "Fame means nothing to those who take an inward view of life, for they see that at best it is but the symbol of intrinsic worth." To love the fields and wild flowers, the stars, the far open sea, the soft, warm earth, and to live much with them alone; but to love struggling and weary men and women and every pulsing, living creature better. Mak- ing others happy is the best happi- ness. [32] SPfflftlW* 1 ^ - B&a*jgSw^ft^fr^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY £- To do our duty as we see it, regard- less of the opinions of others — seem- ing gain or loss, temporary blame or praise. To know that work, occupation, something definite and useful to do, is one of the established conditions of happiness in life. To recognize the good lying at the heart of all people, of all things, wait- ing for expression all in its own good way and time. It may be true that a rolling stone gathers no moss, but who desires to become moss-covered, anyway? ^^W^^ r v T ^wasikW^qw^ iftiassfctoifo^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY If calamity, disgrace, or poverty- come to your friends, then is the time they need you. God never shuts one door but He opens another. The goal of evolution is self-con- quest. Seldom is the message of the eye or ear wholly trustworthy; and to obey it implicitly is to follow a "will-o'-the- wisp" over the quagmires of illusion. gj ^BtffiW ' Wff^ s&aasaa^^^ "EXCELSIOR" Every man is set upon an ascending line of human life. You never find God calling a man downwards, di- minishing the volume of his manhood, checking his good aspirations, put- ting him down in the scale of his be- ing. All the divine movement is an upward movement. An honest man's the noblest work of God. Making life as honest as possible, and calmly doing our duty in the present as the hour and the act require, and ^ l :I y« w ., ^^^ 'Vttil(l#toi®at^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY not too curiously considering the fu- ture beyond us; standing ever erect, believing that God is just, we may make our passage through this life no dishonor to the power that placeth us there. Joy is happiness of love ; it is love ex- ulting; it is love aware of its own fe- licity, and resting in riches which it has no fear of exhausting; it is love taking a view of its treasure and sur- rendering itself to bliss without fore- boding. ■yspiQ&wmw^ &i ^ tJ&&tl£itiiiuU)i*t •:;■:; ' "g/W^P.J) l !^^ ;, ; ^i^a^^^ t ^; LIFE'S COMMON WAY is it borne when a cheerful optimism and fortitude take the place of sullen and gloomy thoughts! Truly the blessing of cheerfulness is not to be under-valued. In the heart's great struggle what we want is sympathy, not companion- ship. He must be alone, yet not so alone as to lose the sense of love at hand. Love is the radiant point for all vir- tues, and to live in accordance with it is to obey all moral laws. But to be benevolent for fear of criticism, to be virtuous for fear of consequences, honest for fear of magistrate, or re- ^ ^ ^ y '^^^^ Mw ^ y ff ? ^^^.^^^^^ k^i&aa^attfos^^ ^k^v^^fefoflfc, LIFE'S COMMON WA spectable for fear of society, is not morality but cowardice. Love is cosmic, not personal; it is metaphysical, not emotional. It is the substance as well as the aroma of life. It is for the home and the club, the street and the counting house. It is the only practical basis for all phases of social life. It is not a senti- ment of youth, but is for all men and women, all nations and created things. Love is the best business pol- icy and the best national policy. It is the only diplomacy that does not fail. To see men as they appear to be shows a lack of understanding; but to jg^.!#ww^ff^^$^ ■■*p3*M*iiito#K^*^xy^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY hold them up to their divine preroga- tives is the essence of true nobleness. To be fearless is to be godlike. It re- quires an ordinary and savage cour- age to face a cannon, but it takes a re- fined and gracious courage to face our impressions and dispel them. Our delusions, these are our enemies; our idle thoughts, these our insidious foes. We go into battle with colors flying and drums beating; we meet our delusions in silence, hearing no plaudits, spurred by no music. To come forth superior to all delusions, that the fear of death, of disease and poverty shall be swallowed in the vic- tory of love, — this is indeed to be a victor and wear the laurel. To fear ^W^'^ ' ^&^^^y? ' :^ - ~ T ^' ' ^H S gfo &^&&^i&^^^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY work, or idleness, ridicule or praise, opinion or indifference, society or solitude, is to be a slave to one or all of these. Believe in yourself and you will turn more of yourself to practical use. The increase of self-confidence there- fore will increase your capacity and make you a much larger man. Stately is Service accepted, but love- lier is Service rendered. Usually the greatest boosters are the smallest workers. The deep rivers pay a larger tribute to the sea than the shallow brooks, and yet empty themselves with less noise. tt^ywwtw '■' ~ ,:"5T;~ '":"';';V---, ^ks&^as*^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Real worth requires no interpreter, its every-day deeds form its blazonry. The habit of viewing things cheerful- ly and of thinking about life hope- fully may be made to grow up in us like any other habit. From the idealistic point of view all things are good, but some are better, and a few are extraordinary. The secret of getting what is wanted is found in moving forward continu- ously, for all things desired lie on ahead. a&agft^ft&^iv^^ "TRUE AIMS" Opportunities for public heroism are few, and even so are cheapened and made theatric by their very publicity. But it is left to every man to be he- roic, if he will, in his private life ; there is no bar to private heroism. And why should we have an audience for our acts — why make a spectacle of virtue? There is an inner sanction, a silent approval, which is heard be- yond all plaudits ; and this suffices to self-reliance. When the world is be- come our mentor we have no longer any Spartan virtue left. Men hesi- tate to open an account with God, ^w ^ m ffi . ; ^fiii»»i^A^feH^JAWirtVfflL^^i^«^ .v^s ; ^^wi^^k^aatifei; ^LIFE'S COMMON WAY forgetful that Spirit writes down every act, and strikes a balance on their faces. Poise implies self-reliance, and the true self-reliance is a reliance upon the Divinity within. Be not provoked by injuries to com- mit them. Whatever glory you lose in the eyes of men you will find again with God. They who have loved together have been drawn very close ; they who have struggled together are forever linked ; but they who have suffered together have known the most sacred bond of all. ffii^^K^ft.^!^^^ atei*«aak3^^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Development is only possible through experience; and experience is an un- bending teacher ; she flogs her lessons home, but graduates of her school are thoroughly taught. jpj-^^p^g^ aaas^^^&^^t^t^j^ "CHARACTER" It requires character to read charac- ter. Superficially we are all things to all men despite ourselves. One considers us taciturn, another loqua- cious ; to some we have seemed clever and to others dull. Because of these ideals we have cherished, one calls us visionary, another wise and prophetic. Every man gages us by himself. A rogue believes all men are rascals; and moral weakness excuses mankind on the same ground. But a Parsifal sees no rascality in any one, for the pure see all things purely. In our own eyes we are every one a chro- nometer to other men's watches. "PRAISE" If you see anything that is worthy of praise, speak of it. Even if you can- not do a worthy deed yourself, com- mend one who does. Praise is a power for good; both God and man prize it. No prayer is complete without praise. The best worker, if his fel- lows fail to praise, fails doing as well as he can. Praise is sunshine, blame is the rain- storm that beats down and bedraggles even though at times necessary. Opportunities should never be lost because they can hardly be regained. ■ ffipft^^^ff^ i&&gisa*£^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire. In this is youth most wonderful: That it knows not fear. They that love beyond the world can- not be separated by it; death cannot kill what never dies. Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present that love and live in that which is Omnipo- tent. In this Divine glass they see face to face, and their converse is free as well as pure. W^.^0^1 ! ^!^ 1 ^^^ x&^ja!>ii*&LuZii*l&. :,. LIFE'S COMMON WAY itfi»iftrtfchWrii fraafct This is the comfort of friends : That though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are in the best sense ever present, because im- mortal. Between a man and his wife nothing ought to rule but love. Authority is for children and servants, yet not without sweetness. A good rule for everybody: Do not stay up late two nights in succession. I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have than to have things I am not able to appreciate. Nothing is difficult when you put your heart into it. ■ppwn^wjgj^ J^^iMt^^^^i^^f^^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY If you have not known poverty, heart-hunger and misunderstanding, God has overlooked you, and you are to be pitied. Patience and steadfastness, and withal happiness and much laughter, mingled with whatever tears there may be along the way, will make even the most humble life the highest that can be lived. Whatever is mine I shall have, and shall keep. Nothing that is truly mine can ever be taken from me. And what isn't mine, I don't want. A man proclaims his religion in his life and shows it in his face ; worships ^^m^^'^^^^w^^ 3 IFE'S COMMON God in the nobleness of his life, and shows his reverence in the love of men and of animals; reveals it in tol- erance, kindness, gentleness and strength. Our love of mankind is the measure of our love of God; our faith in the eternal goodness, eternal progress, is the test of our religion. He that does good to another, does also good to himself; not only in the consequence, but in the very act of doing it; for the conscience of well- doing is an ample reward. Not they who have studied much, but they who have suffered much, are the deliverers of mankind. LIFE'S COMMON WAY ■ ■ There are those who have learned sympathy through harshest suffer- ing; there are those in whose souls God instilled it ere they were born. Forgive weakness as far as possible; and make it your religion to praise and encourage strength at every op- portunity. The increase of health, strength and vigor in the body invariably follows the increase of peace, harmony and joy in the mind. Never despair — life is long, oppor- tunities are many, and to all who work in faith there will surely come a glorious morn. ^■ w ^Vg^ ff ^JSP^^^ a&&S&ieJij^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Delays have been more injurious than direct injustice. They too often starve those they dare not deny. Mix kindness with authority; and rule more by discretion than rigor. Wear none of thine own chains, but keep free whilst thou art free. Good words will do more than harsh speeches. The sunshine without any noise made the traveller cast off his coat, which all the blustering of the wind could not do, but made him bind it the tighter. Change of labor is to a great extent the healthiest form of recreation. ^&&&«st*^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY A friend may well be reckoned a mas- terpiece of nature. Expression is action; beauty is re- pose. Sabbath days, when rightly observed, are to Time what the mountains are to the earth — eminences from which we may survey glorious prospects, while the earth is beneath our feet. Good thoughts are the noblest com- panions. Crosses borne with patience are like storms at sea which seem to swamp the ship they are really bearing to- wards the shore. Life without a cross is the heaviest cross of all. awH" ! jtiw.w «w.ATft. ws wv ? 4kb g%w -wi T fyjJn f ^f^f^ s ^i^'j^^ .Jfo*^*^™^^^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAYf Great blessings that are won with prayer are worn by thankfulness. Prayer and thanks are like the dou- ble motion of the lungs. The air that is inhaled in prayer is breathed forth again by thanks. Criticism is seldom worth consider- ing. Those who know more than you do know better than to criticize; they would rather encourage; and the criti- cism of those who know less than you do is not worth while. See to it that your trials, disappoint- ments and the things which for the time overthrow you compel you to be a better man — a stronger soul. Some people never climb the heights, un- ^.i^W^^T^0^^^^ l ^W^J^JI^W^ LIFE'S COMMON less forced to the top by fire or blood. Find the high places; mountains are better than meadows. I know no real worth but that tran- quil firmness, which seeks dangers by- duty, and braves them without rash- ness. Human law can make no provision as to what we shall think of people; but divine law is very searching. Touch life with the wand of cheer- fulness and the dull and common- place become instinct with vitality and interest. There is no limit to the power of cheerfulness in reconstruct- ing and smoothing the path of every- day life. n'jjv w wpwv 'ff i ' . •&}&> • && if^ !K* v - ' *vy"**-* **#*i!j?r ~ >->L\ix' y i.--iw w-g-yys ^^^BakiaiSih^J^tiiA^&^^if^Ji- ■^*&£&*miS&&U& LIFE'S COMMON WAY It is in the nature of love that we shall have only in proportion as we give. The daisy is as perfect as the flower that blossoms only once a decade. The small life need not be less beau- tiful than the great. The history of every Christian reform is the history of toil and watching through long discouragements. God tests his people before He blesses them. Trust through the dark brings triumph in the dawn. If you wish for success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, ex- perience your wise counsellor, caution ^^^y^ ' ^y^^i* ^^^^^ ' {aw^w^.^ ' ^?^ " ^**r$$-®Q LIFE'S COMMON your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius. A more glorious victory cannot be gained over another man than this, that when the injury began on his part, the kindness should begin on ours. The rewards of life depend upon dili- gence. Because we love wife or child let us not hold them so close that they are stifled. A complete love is without fear, and the perfect love for the creature implies a corresponding love for the Creator. Whenever we show f earf ulness we betray a lack of trust ; and to that extent is our love imper- I # ^^v!v^n- 9 ^^i^i^^r^- - LIFE'S COMMON W A ^ feet — to that degree is it less than love. We may never reckon with- out God, try as we will. If you would read character, be kind, for love is the stone which reveals the gold in human nature. Give according to your means, or God will make your means according to your giving. He who takes his tonic from the air of mountains and of the sea where it is always on draught laughs at pills and lotions. The drug shop is Nature's standing joke. Health is neither bought nor sold but is free to healthy minds, as free as air and water and sunshine; LIFE'S COMMON WA^ and it is the mortar of the mind with the pestle of thought that we shall compound the elixir of trust, of kind- ness and cheerfulness. To be happy is no less a duty to be performed than an ideal to be ob- tained. If our philosophy makes us pessi- mists, if our religion produces melan- choly, we had better have done with them both, for true religion and real philosophy produces no such bitter fruit. The virtue lies not so much in enduring, but in enduring cheerfully; not so much in work done or obstacles overcome; but rather in having done this while retaining still the blessings of cheerfulness and equanimity. LIFE'S COMMON WAY Do not neglect anyone at any time. You do not know who may have the power to serve you in the future. So, therefore, be at peace with all and prove your real worth. The man who can continue to be brimful of courage and enthusiasm, even when everything is against him, is the man who is going to win, and win splendidly. All the world loves the great-hearted man whose love is as deep as human- ity and as broad as creation. He is at the earnest call of mankind; Wherever men and women work; wherever men and women wait; wherever lives seem poor and barren; where they are joyless and unevent- ?^»%B ^ yy g ^^j^fN » < * ji. * «fgg^5aj»Sg^gy5g"- J ^^ p V » ^? jy -^ e * g V J * J T^ * w ^y- T r^ ^-^- -K^ J ?^^- " LIFE'S COMMON WAY ful; where the crises seem too great; — there he heeds them and obeys. He goes to whisper courage, goes to give his strong right hand, goes to take a light into the darkness. Prayers are not spoken, they are lived. Our lives are our prayers and they are answered each after its own kind, be the seeking for worldliness or for wisdom. It is love in the heart and correspond- ing thoughts in the mind that shall bring peace on earth. We are as noble today as our ideals, and tomorrow it may be we shall transcend these. We are as great as our idea of God, — and just as little. yr^jj^gqjftsw*^^ LIFE'S COMMON WA In the life of self-will the day comes when one by one every expedient shall have failed. Then we turn our thoughts within. "When matter is exhausted, spirit enters.' ' When we shall give free course to the love, the power, the wisdom which are around and within us, we shall be ir- resistibly impelled to all good ends. To cultivate the mind without the heart is to turn an arid soil that shall produce only sage-brush. A truly cultivated mind has learned first the virtue of the heart, for love is the ba- sis of a true culture. Be not diverted from your duty by any idle reflections the silly world may make upon you; for their cen- i^^^^^n^^-^m^^^f: iy&gSafesa^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY sures are not in your powers, and consequently should not be any part of your concern. Kindness of heart occupies a larger space than the wide field of justice. Mortal wounds give the least pain. Recreate with the fellows who give you laughter. A gloomy matey is worse than a gray November day. Respect for human life, and tender- ness towards every form of human suffering, is one of the most marked features of the best modern culture. It is not wealth or ancestry, but hon- orable conduct and a noble disposi- tion, that makes men great. i iTt iilif JVitiTiTti^lfliliftt-ife tf ffiitriiYirii i^n >f r 11 f rrh"^iiiri¥a'ifinfrfriTi'Tr r^- IFE'S C O MM ON A simple system of etiquette: Be kind to everybody and give all the pleasure you can to those you love. We take God's gifts most complete- ly for ourselves when we realize that He sends them to us for the benefit of other men who stand beyond us need- ing them. Man's greatest friend is his knowl- edge ; his greatest enemy is his ignor- ance. To doubt the goodness of God is to belie mother and father. Appreciation on good accomplished helps more than much advice on the good yet to come. g8P|B w » w*iP ! M^^ ttsm^tobSsMt^'^ii :*i;,Ja!te.ffVto^< LIFE'S COMMON WAY was there a serene moment but it bore the fruit of serenity ; never a moment of courage but was productive of courage. The presence of poverty softens the heart, the presence of death renders it humble. The most difficult of arts is that of companionship to a loved one who is ill. Devotion alone is not enough. You must possess the tact of self-con- trol to show thoughtfulness without solicitude, attention without anxiety, you must exhibit sympathy, but hide all worry. Only one man in a hun- dred can fill the trying position, and only one woman in ten. *£&H&m^™^~^^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY The most unfortunate being is he who has no one depending upon him for support. However poor such a man may be, he is wise if he takes a cat, a dog, or a blind beggar to care for. In order that he may get out of himself. We must neither drift nor permit anyone else to drift if we can possibly help it. But to prevent others from drifting we must continue to preach greater achievements, to everybody, thus intensifying, at least to some de- gree, that current in human life that is ever tending towards better things. Return the civilities thou receivest, and be ever grateful for favors. LIFE'S COMMON WAY Never esteem any man or thyself the more for money, nor think the mean- er of thyself or another for want of it. Virtue being the just reason of respecting, and the want of it of slighting, any one. To live up to the mark is to live up to your expectations of yourself. Men of the noblest dispositions think themselves happiest when others share their happiness with them. Love of reading enables a man to exchange the weary hours which come to every one for hours of delight. Patience is not passive. On the con- trary, it is active, it is concentrated strength. ¥^!^^^^^J!^^^'if^!!^^\^.^r^* ^^^4,^^^^^^^^^^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love; pleasure bestowed upon a grateful mind was never sterile, but gener- ally gratitude begets reward. If there is a virtue in the world at which we should always aim, it is cheerfulness. A cheerful temper joined with inno- cence will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good- natured. It will lighten sickness, poverty, and affliction; convert ignor- ance into an amiable simplicity; and render deformity itself agreeable. g gP^^-w^ ' g*^^ s^^aa«i*i^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY He is not so much to be pitied who has misfortunes as he that is unable to turn them to account, or bear them with patience. To a child nothing is dead or inani- mate. All things speak a language that its ears are tuned to understand. Whoever studies just one child, stud- ies all human kind. Not the most radiant of Yesterday's jewels is worth the gift Today be- stows unasked — life. yet to live. Who shall despair while the fields of earth are sown with flowers and the fields of heaven blossom with stars. Though we should be grateful for ^^i^*^!^*^^|^W4*^^^' JKMiliiliMatf friftri itfrrS Wi^TB.iWaffew LIFE'S COMMON WAY good homes, there is no house like God's Out-of-doors. Auspicious Hope! in thy sweet gar- den grow wreaths for each toil, a charm for every woe. Repentance is God's fire for refining Souls. What a home of follies the heart would be did not one drive out an- other. How few the friendships that endure when to be faithful is to incur re- proach and shame. Years dim the eyes of those that love, that age may see no wrinkles in the dear familiar face. j^w^wwy ** tyw&^wg&wg ii^^irtifoftfitolft^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Influence in the world is a capital which it is necessary to regard that it should not vanish. Theory is what a man thinks of a certain subject, and practice is what he does. How wise we would be, could we but recall upon occasion the thoughts we have forgotten. Dislike what deserves it — but never hate. For that is of the nature of malice; which is almost ever to per- sons, not things, and is one of the blackest qualities sin begets in the soul. ^mmo^& t ^^ u&XZl^^^*^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Show is not substance; realities gov- ern wise men. A man's life is half over, before he learns how to live. Belief is love for the invisible, con- fidence in the improbable. Believe nothing against another but upon good authority; nor report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to others to conceal it. Silence is a great peace-maker. He that lives in love, lives in God. He that lives to live ever never fears dying. The truest end of life is to know the life that never ends. Mjjfcl^j^.y^*ffi^W^V r ' «^^ a&a&aa^fc^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY Give if thou canst, in alms ; if not, af- ford instead of that a sweet and gen- tle word. Kindness in woman, not their beau- teous looks, shall win love. All the world is the temple of God. Its worship is ministration. The commonest service is divine. Let every minister while he is preach- ing remember that God makes one of his hearers. He who loves not others lives unblest. Let us not mow, and shear, and prune until the landscape has become a mush of propriety, and the eye of ^Wl ! ffi%^¥^ ■a^assa^*^^ - ■• -■ LIFE'S COMMON WAY character finds nowhere a dear, rug- ged spot on which to rest. Let a man preserve his love of the wild; let him cherish the savage and solitary as- pects — tamarack swamp, and rush- ing stream, the granite dome rising above forest of spruce. Society will never restore the lost vir- tues of the savage. When we can stand and watch the black bear dis- consolate in his pitiless cage, or the eagle fierce and defiant in his solitary confinement, and feel no regret, a vir- tue has surely gone from us. Let us seek the stern companionship of the stars which fails not, and grap- ple with hooks of steel the solemn friendship of mountain range and en- circling ocean. There is poetry in the LIFE'S COMMON sky, rich, varied and endless, the im- measurable soul projected before us and made visible. There is sweet sol- ace in the clouds and jovial good-fel- lowship in the tried and trusty sun. "ADMIRATION" It is a good thing to admire. By con- tinually looking upwards our minds will themselves grow upwards. And as a man, by indulging in habits of scorn and contempt for others, is sure to descend to the level of what he despises, so the opposite habit of ad- miration and enthusiastic reverence for excellence impart in ourselves a portion of the qualities we admire. There are some men and women in whose company we are always at our best. All the best stops in our nature are drawn out by their intercourse, LIFE'S COMMON WAY and we find a music in our souls never there before. The honest, earnest man must stand and work; the woman also. If you are sincere and decent and do- ing the best you can, the majority will like you, which is consoling, in- deed, especially at those times when "The better-than-thou-class" seem to misunderstand nearly every move you make. The true idea of non-resistance is not to become submissive or indifferent, but to cease wasting time trying to drive out darkness, and use all time and energy instead trying to increase d&S /{Sgf&^/'i^y^ffiffi /3& j&jf.^^fe&^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY the power and the brilliancy of the light. When we speak of thought we do not refer to ordinary thinking; we refer to that class of thought which chal- lenges the spirit and opens the door to the inmost soul. It is the heart which makes the home, whether the eye rests upon a potato patch or a flower garden. Heart makes home precious, and it is the only thing that can. "QUALITIES OF A FRIEND" A true friend unbosoms freely, ad- vises justly, assists readily, adven- tures boldly, takes all patiently, de- fends courageously, and remains a friend unchangeably. These being the qualities of a friend, we are to find them before we choose one. True joy is a serene and sober mo- tion, and they are miserably out that take laughing for rejoicing. The seat of it is within, and there is no cheerfulness like the resolution of a brave mind. / ^ ^^^l^^^^^^W^^^W r [ ^ r ^ "P7~ ^4^/W a&a&Sffiasuefc^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY If you do not enjoy your life your living is wrong. There are four things that come not back: The spoken word; the sped arrow ; the past life ; and the neglect- ed opportunity. Always say a kind word if you can, if only that it may come in perhaps with singular opportuneness, enter- ing some mournful man's darkened room like a beautiful firefly, whose happy convolutions he cannot but watch, forgetting his many troubles. He is tenderest, not who has sinned, as is sometimes vainly thought — but he who has known best the power of sin by overcoming it. lg8E£ga ^y- u Wfo! f ^ i4^FrV^i^^^WiU/fW,-Wli ^c.^ Hi n, , V^^i -,"-ir^h.',->i m& LIFE'S COMMON WAY Prosperity is a great teacher; but ad- versity is a greater. Possession pam- pers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it. The still small voice is not in the small mind. It's finer being a very small piece of sunshine than a very large bank of fog. The strength and sweetness of friend- ship depend on sincerity tempered by sympathy. The contemplation of celestial things will make a man speak and think more sublimely and magnificently when he descends to human affairs. ww^^y^'fti^^ fe^*i3s&^i&^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY It is worth a thousand pounds a year to have the habit of looking on the bright side of things. The poor are God's receivers, and the Angels are his auditors. We need the thinker in business as well as the doer. To be a doer alone is to finally become a mere machine. But when thinking and doing are combined then we have material for the really big man. Let us help the fallen though they never repay us; and let us lend with- out exacting the usury of gratitude. ffffff^-yywi ff ^ LIFE'S COMMON It is part of my religion to look well after the cheerfulness of life and let the dismals shift for themselves. fcttitas»foaa^^ "RIDICULE" It is an immense blessing to be per- fectly callous to ridicule, or, which comes to the same thing, to be con- scious thoroughly that what we have in us of noble and delicate is not ri- diculous, to any but fools — and that if fools will laugh, wise men will do well to let them. The noblest vengeance is to forgive. Books are men's hearts — in other men's hands. ^eiii^mM'&ti^iv^iiiim^^^ "CHARACTER" To possess character is to be useful, and to be useful is to be independent and happy, even in the midst of sor- row. For sorrow is not necessarily unhap- piness. The man who has made the development of a noble and harmoni- ous character the business of his life, accepts his sorrow as means of greater growth, and finds in them an exalta- tion of spirit which is closely allied to happiness. To such a nature abso- lute wretchedness would only be pos- sible through the loss of self-respect, the lowering of an ideal of a prin- ciple. ^ %^jw#^^ff ir ^ LIFE'S COMMON W A Y " Would you be happy and success- ful? Then set yourself to build char- acter. Seek to be worthy of your own highest commendation. There is something vitally wrong with the blood of a man who reveals the same unhealed wound, year after year. For it is the impulse of a healthful nature to heal wounds. So is there something radically wrong in the makeup of the person who shows you the same cankering sorrow, year after year, for it is also the wish and purpose of progressive nature that we should outgrow our griefs. He who does not has a right to our pity but not our admiration. ^ .^' ^ » * 7 yvy3ff^^ &*&^fci^^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY No man is so rich he can afford to lose friends, nor so poor he needs to buy them. Whether ye be men or women, you will never do anything in the world without courage. It is the greatest quality — next to honor. Learn to endure — if you wish to suc- ceed. A life here, in which you fail of every end you seek, yet which disciplines you for a better, is assuredly not a failure. Everything has two handles — one by which it can be borne, and one by which it cannot. If your brother is ^^J^^^^l^w ai^iiatoSi^^tattafea&tt LIFE'S COMMON WAY unjust to you, do not take it up by the handle of his injustice, but by the handle that he is your brother and brought up with you. Kindness is the music of good will to men, and on this harp the smallest fingers may play Heaven's sweetest tunes on earth. ^^^^^.^i r ^A^ ' y^^ym^^u^wMu^^^ju^ . ^ »ftM^,^;saada&ii^^ "GOODNESS" Consider this, your goodness is of no use if you are not good to others. The good of goodness is that you can wrap others inside it. It ought to be like a big cloak that you have on a cold night, while the shivering per- son next to you has none. If you don't make use of your goodness, what is the good of it? I hold myself indebted to any one from whose enlightened understand- ing another ray of knowledge com- municates to mine. Really to inform the mind is to correct and to en- lighten the heart. ig pppy^wp ! ^^^ pi&4&iv^^a5te^Si^&^ LIFE'S COMMON WAY It is not difficult to get away into re- tirement, and there live upon your own conviction; nor is it difficult to mix with men and follow their con- victions; but to enter into the world, and there live firmly and fearlessly according to your own conscience, that is Christian greatness. The cross spells fatherhood, and be- cause it spells fatherhood, it also spells brotherhood. It is God think- ing and feeling for all. It is God sending his son to be the brother to every one of us, and showing us how to be the brother to every other man. It is to help men not to live an apart life, but to live for one another. Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Dec. 2004 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111