August 17

See then that ye walk circumspectly.—EPH. v, 15.

Miss not the occasion, by the forelock take

That subtle power, the never-halting time,

Lest a mere putting off should make

Mischance almost as heavy as a crime.

WORDSWORTH.

By putting off things beyond their proper times, one duty treads upon the heels of another, and all duties are felt as irksome obligations—a yoke beneath which we fret and lose our peace. In most cases the consequence of this is, that we have no time to do the work as it ought to be done. It is therefore done precipitately, with eagerness, with a greater desire simply to get it done than to do it well, and with very little thought of God throughout.

F. W. FABER.

How mankind defers from day to day the best it can do, and the most beautiful things it can enjoy, without thinking that every day may be the last one, and that lost time is lost eternity.

MAX MULLER.