I'll tell thee ; for thy sake I will lay hold

That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night; Of all good aims, and consecrate to thee,

And that shall lend a kind of easiness In worthy deeds, each moment that is told

To the next abstinence; the next more easy : While thou, beloved one! art far from me.

For use can almost change the stamp of nature,

And either curb the devil, or throw him out For thee I will arouse my thoughts to try

With wondrous potency.-Shakespeare.
All heavenward Alights, all high and holy strains ;
For thy dear sake I will walk patiently

15. ABSTINENCE: its Rewards. Through these long hours, nor call their minutes

AGAINST diseases here the strongest fence pains.

Is the defensive virtue abstinence. I will this dreary blank of absence make

Robert Herrick. A noble task-time ; and will therein strive To follow excellence, and to o'ertake

Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty: More good than I have won since yet I live.

For in my youth I never did apply

Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood. So may this doomed time build up in me

Shakespeare. A thousand graces, which shall thus be thine ; So may my love and longing hallow'd be,

16. ABSTINENCE. Labour for And thy dear thought an influence divine.

Wait, abstainers, every year
Frances Anne Kemble.

Vindicates the glorious plan,

Time rewards each pioneer 12. ABSENCE. Similes of

Who clears a higher path for man.
A BOAT at midnight sent alone

Faster, faster, true men gather
To drift upon the moonless sea,

Round the standard all unfurl'd,
A lute whose leading chord is gone,

Youthful son and hoary father
A wounded bird that hath but one

Haste to bear it round the world.
Imperfect wing to soar upon,
Are like what I am, without thee !

17. ABSTINENCE. Resolution of
Thomas Moore.

Thou sparkling bowl ! thou sparkling bowl! 13. ABSTINENCE. Battle of

Though lips of bards thy brim may press,

And eyes of beauty o'er thee roll, STAND up for the cold-water fight

And songs and dance thy power confess'Gainst doctor and lawyer and priest;

I will not touch thee ; for there clings Stand up and do battle for right

A scorpion to thy side that stings. 'Gainst foes from the West or the East;

John Pierpont. 'Gainst foes from the North and the South; 18. ACCLAMATIONS. 'Gainst foes from above or beneath ;

It is a note Speak out every man with a mouth

Of upstart greatness to observe and watch
The watchword of 'FREEDOM OR DEATH!' For those poor trifles, which the noble mind

Neglects and scorns.-- Johnson.
Away with your moderate' drink!
Your infamous pleading for wine!

19. ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
The tempter that lures to the brink
Of perdition! The demon malign!

ACCOMPLISHMENTS were native to her mind,

Like precious pearls within a clasping shell, The treacherous, venomous thing

And winning grace her every act refined,
That blushes and laughs in the bowl !

Like sunshine shedding beauty where it fell. The mocker! The adder whose sting

Mrs Hale.
Strikes mortal through body and soul !
George Lansing Taylor.

20. ACQUIESCENCE. Confiding

I KNOW not what will befall me! God hangs a mist 14. ABSTINENCE. Habit of

o'er my eyes, That monster, Custom, who all sense doth eat And o'er each step of my onward path He makes Of habit's devil, is angel yet in this:

new scenes to rise, That to the use of actions fair and good And every joy He sends me comes as a sweet and He likewise gives a frock, or livery

glad surprise.

I see not a step before me as I tread the days of the 22. ACTION. Appointment of year,

What are we set on earth for? Say, to toilBut the past is still in God's keeping, the future His

Nor seek to leave thy tending of the vines, mercy shall clear,

For all the heat o' day, till it declines, And what looks dark in the distance, may brighten

And Death's mild curfew shall from work assoil. as I draw near.

God did anoint thee with His odorous oil,

To wrestle, not to reign ; and He assigns For perhaps the dreaded future has less bitterness

All thy tears over, like pure crystallines, than I think,

For younger fellow-workers of the soil The Lord may sweeten the water before I stoop to

To wear for amulets. So others shall drink.

| Take patience, labour, to their heart and hand, Or, if Marah must be Marah, He will stand beside

From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer, its brink.

And God's grace fructify through thee to all. It may be there is waiting for the coming of my feet,

The least flower, with a brimming cup, may stand Some gift of such rare blessedness, some joy so

And share its dew-drop with another near.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning: strangely sweet, That my lips can only tremble with the thanks I cannot speak.

23. ACTION. Call to

Dare to do right ! dare to be true ! O restful, blissful ignorance ! 'Tis blessed not to

You have a work that no other can do ; know,

Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well, It keeps me quiet in those arms which will not let

Angels will hasten the story to tell. me go, And hushes my soul to rest on the bosom which

Dare to do right! dare to be true ! loves me so.

Other men's failures can never save you.

Stand by your conscience, your honour, your faith ; So I go on not knowing. I would not if I might;

Stand like a hero and battle till death. I would rather walk on in the dark with God, than go alone in the light;

Dare to do right ! dare to be true! I would rather walk with Him by faith than walk

Cannot Omnipotence carry you through ? alone by sight.

City and mansion and throne all in sight,

Can you not dare to be true and be right? My heart shrinks back from trials which the future may disclose,

Dare to do right ! dare to be true ! Yet I never had a sorrow but what the dear Lord

Keep the great judgment-seat always in view; chose ;

Look at your work as you'll look at it then, So I send the coming tears back, with the whisper'd

Scann'd by Jehovah and angels and men. word 'He knows.'

Dare to do right ! dare to be true ! 21. ACQUIESCENCE. Entire

Prayerfully, lovingly, firmly pursue

The path by apostles and martyrs once trod,
To do, or not to do; to have,

The path of the just to the city of God.
Or not to have, I leave to Thee;

George Lansing Taylor.
To be, or not to be, I leave;
Thy only will be done in me!

24. ACTION. Duty of
All my requests are lost in one,
* Father, Thy only will be done !'

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,

Life is but an empty dream !
Welcome alike the crown or cross :

For the soul is dead that slumbers,
Trouble I cannot ask, nor peace,

And things are not what they seem.
Nor toil, nor rest ; nor gain, nor loss;
Nor joy, nor grief ; nor pain, nor ease ;

Life is real! Life is earnest !
Nor life, nor death; but ever groan,

And the grave is not its goal ;
* Father, Thy only will be done!'

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Charles Wesley.

Was not spoken of the soul.

28. ACTION. Life in

30. ACTION. Quality of Festus. The value of a thought cannot be told ; REDEEM we time-its loss we dearly buy. But it is clearly worth a thousand lives,

No blank, no trifle, nature made or meant. Like many men's. And yet men love to live, Virtue, or purposed virtue, still be thine : As if mere life were worth their living for.

This cancels thy complaint at once ; this leaves What but perdition will it be to most ?

In act no trifle, and no blank in time.
Life's more than breath and the quick round of blood. This greatens, fills, immortalizes all ;
It is a great spirit and a busy heart.

This, the bless'd art of turning all to gold ;
The coward and the small in soul scarce do live. | This, the good heart's prerogative, to raise
One generous feeling-one great thought--one deed | A royal tribute from the poorest hours :
Of good, ere night, would make life longer seem Immense revenue ! every moment pays.
Than if each year might number a thousand days If nothing more than purpose is thy power,
Spent as is this by nations of mankind.

Thy purpose firm is equal to the deed ;
We live in deeds, not years ; in thoughts, not breaths; Who does the best his circumstance allows
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.

Does well, acts nobly; angels could no more. We should count time by heart-throbs. He most

Young. lives Who thinks most,-feels the noblest,-acts the best. 31. ACTION. Record of

Philip James Bailey.

Though history, on her faded scrolls,

Fragments of facts and wrecks of names enrolls, 29. ACTION. Present

Time's indefatigable finger writes
HEART gazing mournfully

Men's meanest actions on their souls,
Back through past years-

In lines which not himself can blot :
Bringing sad memories,

These the last day shall bring to light,
Laden with tears-

Though through long centuries forgot,
Life's hours wasted,

When hearts and sepulchres are bared to sight.
Talents abused,

Ah! then shall each of Adam's race,
Bright opportunities.

In that concentred instant, trace,
Blindly refused-

Upon the tablet of his mind,
Close up the record

His whole existence in a thought combined,
Fraught with such pain ;

Thenceforth to part no more, but be
Years that have vanish'd

Impictured on his memory ;
Return not again.

- As in the image-chamber of the eye,
Grasp thou the Present,

Seen at a glance, in clear perspective, lie
Be earnest and bold-

Myriads of forms of ocean, earth, and sky.
Fleeting its moments,

James Montgomery.
More precious than gold.

32. ACTION. Resolution in
Watch and fight bravely
Against sloth and sin ;

Be just in all thy actions, and if join'd
Pray for the Spirit,

With those that are not, never change thy mind;
The victory to win.

If aught obstruct thy course, yet stand not still,
Cometh the future

But wind about till thou hast topp'd the hill.
Veiled and slow?

Denham.
Go forth to greet her,

33. ACTION. Room for
For weal or for woe.
Bringeth she gladness ?

THROUGH the blue Immense
Praise thou the Lord.

Strike out, all swimmers ! cling not in the way
Bringeth she sadness?

Of one another, so to sink, but learn
Bow to His word.

The strong man's impulse, catch the fresh'ning spray
O'er Past and o'er Future

He throws up in his motions, and discern
Dim shadows recline.

By his clear, westering eye, the time of day.
Heart, be thou manful ;

Thou, God, hast set us worthy gifts to earn,
The Present is thine !

Besides Thy heaven and Thee! and when I say

There's room here for the weakest man alive Balm wouldst thou gather for corroding grief?
To live and die,--there's room too, I repeat, Pour blessings round thee like a shower of gold.
For all the strongest to live well and strive, 'Tis when the rose is wrapt in many a fold,
Their own way, by their individual heat,

Close to its heart, the worm is wasting there
Like a new bee-swarm leaving the old hive, Its life and beauty; not when, all unrollid,
Despite the wax which tempts so violet-sweet. Leaf after leaf, its bosom, rich and fair,
Then let the living live, the dead retain

Breathes freely its perfumes throughout the ambient Their grave-cold flowers ! through honour's best sup air. plied,

Wake, thou that sleepest in enchanted bowers, By bringing actions to prove theirs not vain.

Lest these lost years should haunt thee on the night Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

When death is waiting for thy number'd hours

To take their swift and everlasting flight; 34. ACTIONS. Good

Wake ere the earth-born charm unnerve thee quite, Good actions crown themselves with lasting bays, And be thy thoughts to work divine address'd : Who deserves well needs not another's praise. Do something-do it soon-with all thy might;

Heath. An angel's wing would droop if long at rest, If thou doest ill, the joy fades, not the pains ;

And God himself, inactive, were no longer blest. If well, the pain doth fade, the joy remains.

Some high or humble enterprise of good
George Herbert. Contemplate till it shall possess thy mind,

Become thy study, pastime, rest, and food, 35. ACTIONS: how their moral quality is to be

And kindle in thy heart a flame refined. determined.

Pray Heaven for firmness thy whole soul to bind
The body sins not, 'tis the will

To this thy purpose—to begin, pursue,
That makes the action good or ill.

With thoughts all fix'd and feelings purely kind;
Herrick. Strength to complete, and with delight review,

And grace to give the praise where all is ever due.
Of every noble action, the intent
Is to give worth reward, -vice punishment.

Rouse to some work of high and holy love,
Beaumont and Fletcher. | And thou an angel's happiness shalt know,

Shalt bless the earth while in the world above : 36. ACTIONS: must not be indiscreet.

The good begun by thee shall onward flow For good and well must in our actions meet;

In many a branching stream, and wider grow;

The seed that, in these few and fleeting hours,
Wicked is not much worse than indiscreet.

Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow,
Donne.

Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers, 37. ACTIONS. Sudden

And yield thee fruits divine in heaven's immortal ACTIONS rare and sudden, do commonly

bowers.—Carlos Wilcox. Proceed from fierce necessity : or else From some oblique design, which is ashamed

41. ACTIVITY : how much it accomplishes. To show itself in the public road.

The keen spirit
Sir William Davenant. Seizes the prompt occasion, --makes the thought

Start into instant action, and at once 38. ACTIVITY: admired.

Plans and performs, resolves and executes ! CELERITY is never more admired

Hannah More. Than by the negligent. — Ben Jonson.

42. ACTIVITY. Incentives to 39. ACTIVITY : characteristic of the wise.

MAKE haste, O man, to live, Wise men ne'er sit and wail their loss,

For thou so soon must die;

Time hurries past thee like the breeze; But cheerly seek how to redress their harm.

How swift its moments fly!

Shakespeare. 40. ACTIVITY. Christian

To breathe, and wake, and sleep,

To smile, to sigh, to grieve; Wouldst thou from sorrow find a sweet relief ?

To move in idleness through earth, Or is thy heart oppress'd with woes untold?

This, this is not to live !