| Share page |
|
222 |
FIRESIDE EDUCATION. |
||
|
conquer his passions. Caesar triumphed in a hundred battles, but he fell a victim to the desire of being a king. Bonaparte vanquished nearly the whole of Europe, but he could not vanquish his own ambition. And in humbler life, nearer home, in our own every-day a flairs, most of us are often drawn aside from the path of duty and discretion, because we cannot resist some temptation or overcome some prejudice.
If we consider that self-government requires two things: first, whenever we are tempted to deviate from the path of rectitude or to act imprudently, or whenever we are tempted to neglect any duty, that we should possess and exercise the power to check ourselves in the one case, and to compel ourselves to the required action in the other, we shall see that it is the great regulator of conduct, the very balance-wheel of life. Without it, a person is almost sure to miss happiness, however great may be his gifts, however high his fortune; with it, the humblest individual may command not merely the world's wealth, but the world's respect; and, what is better, peace of mind and the consciousness of Heaven's approbation.
If parents would not trust a child upon the back of a wild horse without bit or bridle, let |
|||