The character of God in Christian preaching reveals His unchanging moral perfection and faithfulness, serving as the ultimate source and standard for human character (Exodus 34:6-7). Illustrations often use images of testing, such as fire refining metal, inner strength beneath storms, and the revealing nature of trials to show how divine character undergirds faith and endurance.
Long-term survival depends on the inner character of a person, not external grandeur.
Here is a spiritual insight from Charles A. Lindbergh: "Short term survival may depend on the knowledge of nuclear physicists and the performance of supersonic aircraft, but long term survival depends alone on the character of man. We must remember that it was not the outer grandeur of the Roman but the inner simplicity of the Christian that lived on through the ages."
God allows hardships to develop strong character, not just comfortable lives.
A young man who was trying to establish himself as a peach grower had worked hard and invested all his money in a peach orchard. It blossomed wonderfully but then came a killing frost. He didn't go to church the next Sunday, nor the next, nor the next. His minister went to see him to discover the reason. The young fellow exclaimed, "I'm not coming any more. Do you think I can worship a God who cares for me so little that He would let a frost kill all my peaches?" The old minister looked at him a few moments in silence, then said kindly, "God loves you better than He does your peaches. He knows that while peaches do better without frosts, it is impossible to grow the best men without frosts. His object is to grow men, not peaches." We are sometimes so concerned about our material possessions that we fail to realize that setting our hearts upon them can stunt our spiritual development. God often has to open our eyes to life's real values by taking from us its lesser ones.
True strength comes from deep, unseen foundations like an iceberg's bulk beneath the surface.
The iceberg is steadied because the great mass of its bulk is beneath the surface. So the life of the strong man must go deep. Underneath the surface lie the great principles that endure-truth and justice and rectitude and the things that make for wholesome life and character.
Your actions and choices reveal your true character more than your words.
You tell what you are by the friends you seek, By the very manner in which you speak, By the way you employ your leisure time, By the use you make of dollar and dime. You tell what you are by the things you wear, By the spirit in which you burdens bear, By the kind of things at which you laugh, By records you play on the phonograph. You tell what you are by the way you walk, By the things of which you delight to talk, By the manner in which you bear defeat, By so simple a thing as how you eat. By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf, In these ways and more, you tell on yourself, So there is really no particle of sense In an effort to keep up false pretense.
Only what is spiritually valuable endures trials; true servants show devoted faithfulness.
Pompeii in Italy and St. Pierre in Martinique can both teach us a lesson. On both of these, fire caused by a volcano brought unprecedented destruction. The museums that contain relics of these catastrophes display nothing that was made of wood. All that survived the fire were metallic objects. In Pompeii, pitchers, bowls, jewelry, and other ornaments survived the fire because they were composed of gold, silver, and precious stones. But no remains of wood, hay, and stubble have ever been discovered, for these things were completely destroyed in the heat of the catastrophe. A True Servant Someone asked an elderly Scotswoman what she thought of Robert Murray McCheyne's preaching. She hesitated for a moment, then replied, "He preaches as if he was a-dying to have you saved." Is that our spirit? Those who watch us will know. How appropriate was Spurgeon's advice to a young minister who complained of the smallness of his congregation: "It is as large a one as you will want to give account for in the Day of Judgment." The first thing others should discern in us, Paul says, is that we are servants of Christ-subservient, obedient to Him; that He is Master and we listen to what He says and do what He commands.
Prosperity reveals true character flaws, testing faith and humility.
"The unsoundness of a vessel is not seen when it is empty, but when it is filled with water, then we shall see whether it will leak or no." It is in our prosperity that we are tested. Men are not fully discovered to themselves till they are tried by fullness of success. Praise finds out the crack of pride, wealth reveals the flaw of selfishness, and learning discovers the leak of unbelief. David's besetting sin was little seen in the tracks of the wild goats, but it became conspicuous upon the terraces of his palace. Success is the crucible of character. Hence the prosperity which some welcome as an unmixed favour may far more rightly be regarded as an intense form of test. O Lord, preserve us when we are full as much as when we are empty.
Avarice grows strongest in those with few good qualities, like a weed in barren soil.
Avarice reigns most in those who have but few good qualities to recommend them. It is a weed that will grow in a barren soil. Hughes.
True beauty grows with scrutiny and is linked to virtue, unlike false beauty.
The criterion of true beauty is, that it increases on examination; of false, that it lessens. — Lord Greville Beauty unaccompanied by virtue is a flower without perfume. — Beauty is like an almanac if it last a year, it is well. T. Adams
Homer's Iliad influenced great conquerors but also led to much evil and suffering.
Homer's Iliad was the favorite volume of Alexander. He used to say it was "the most perfect human production, and the best medicine of the warrior." In all his travels, he carried a copy with him, encased in a richly jewelled casket of gold, and at night he laid it with his sword beneath his pillow. The fascinating manner in which it recounts the bloody deeds of its real and imaginary heroes tended largely to mould the character of this great robber and murderer. Again: the life of Alexander incited to similar deeds two other warriors, scarcely less noted. It is said to have been Caesar's highest ambition to walk in the steps of Alexander; and Charles the Twelfth of Sweden longed from his boyhood to imitate the great Macedonian conqueror. The character of Caesar was the ideal of the Turkish Emperor Selymus. In his endeavors to follow such an example, he arrayed himself against his own father, and, after defeating and then poisoning him, he carried his merciless wars into Egypt and Persia. Oh, what millions of hearts have been crushed in the march of those four great conquerors! Whatever of pure and elevated enjoyment may have been afforded by this enchanting poem of the old blind singer, a torrent of evil has flowed from it, which only eternity can fully reveal.
Innate nature shapes character and destiny beyond external circumstances or training.
Deeper than the judgment, deeper than the feelings, lies the seat of human character, — in that which is the mystery of all beings and all things, in what we call their "nature," without knowing where it lies, what it is, or how it wields its power. All we know is, that it does exert a power over external circumstances, bending them all in its own direction, or breaking its instruments against what it cannot bend. The nature of an acorn turns dows, air, soils, and sunbeams to oak; and, though circumstances may destroy its power, they cannot divert it while it survives. It defies man, beast, earth, and sky, to make it produce elm. Cultivation may affect its quality, and training its form; but whether it shall produce oak, ash, or elm, is a matter into which no force from without can enter, — a matter not of circumstances, but purely of nature. To turn nature belongs to the Power which originally fixed nature.
— W. Arthur
True character is revealed when outward masks are removed, exposing inner reality.
A nobleman once gave a great supper. While the guests were at the table, two maskers came into the hall, who were no larger than children of five or six years old: one personated a lord; the other a lady. Their dress was as splendid as could be, and they danced very skilfully, to the great diversion of the guests. Everybody said they could not admire the dexterity of those polite children enough. Then an old officer took an apple, and threw it between the dancing couple. Suddenly the lord and lady rushed after the apple as though frantic. In the struggle, they tore off each other's masks, and, behold! instead of children, a couple of monkeys. All the company at the table laughed heartily; but the old officer said very gravely, "Monkeys and fools may dress themselves splendidly; but the day soon comes when it is known who they are."
Some hide their true intentions while spying on others, like tyrants behind translucent windows.
There are minerals, such as gypsum and quartz, through which objects may be seen, but with no distinctness of outline. Gypsum was used, under the name of phengites, by some of the most hateful of the Roman emperors (Nero. for example), for windows of their palaces. So nearly transparent was it, that these tyrants could look out and see what the people were doing, while the latter could not look in and see what was going on there. This is just what jealous and cruel despots, and others of like disposition, desire. Others they wish to scrutinize with eagle's eyes; while they themselves keep in the dark, and from thence give the assassin's stab. Dr. Thomas.
People adopt manners and character traits of those they live closely with from infancy onward.
For many years of our life we are forming ourselves upon what we observe in those about us. We learn not only their phrases, but their manners. The civility and courtesy, which, in a well-ordered family, are constantly seen by its younger members, cannot fail to influence their deportment, and, whatever their natural vulgarity may be, will dispose them to check its appearance. Let the descendant of the meanest cottager be placed from his infancy where he perceives every one mindful of decorum, the marks of his extraction are soon obliterated; at least, his carriage does not discover it. And, were the heir of a dukedom to be continually in the kitchen or stable, the young lord would soon be recognized only by his clothes and title: in other respects, he might be taken for the son of a groom or the scullion. Dean Bolton.
One's words, deeds, and life reflect their inner affections and character.
Such as thy words are, such will thy conversation be esteemed; and such will thy deeds as thy affections; and such thy life as thy deeds. Socrates.
King Cyrus exemplifies diligence by personally working despite his royal status.
When Lysander, a Lacedemonian general, brought magnificent presents to Cyrus, he was shown, and much admired, the royal gardens. Cyrus told him, in answer to his inquiries, that he had himself drawn and entirely marked out the plan of the gardens, and had planted many of the trees with his own hands. "What!" exclaimed Lysander with astonishment, and viewing Cyrus from head to foot: "is it possible, that with those purple robes and splendid vestments, those strings of jewels and bracelets of gold, those buskins so richly embroidered, —is it possible that you could play the gardener, and employ your royal hands in planting trees?"—"Does that surprise you?" said Cyrus: "I assure you, that, when my health permits, I never sit down to my table without having fatigued myself either in military exercise, rural labor, or some other toilsome employment; to which I apply myself with pleasure." Lysander, still more amazed, pressed Cyrus by the hand, and said, "You are truly happy, and deserve your high fortune, since you unite it with virtue."
True education forms mind, heart, and principles beyond mere knowledge and manners.
Instruction and breeding are to education as parts to whole: the instruction respects the communication of knowledge, and breeding respects the manners or outward conduct; but education comprehends not only both these, but the formation of the mind, the regulation of the heart, and the establishment of the principles. Good instruction makes one wiser; good breeding makes one more polished and agreeable; good education makes one really good. A want of education will always be to the injury if not to the ruin of the sufferer; a want of instruction is of more or less inconvenience, according to circumstances; a want of breeding only unfits a man for the society of the cultivated. Education belongs to the period of childhood and youth; instruction may be given at different ages; good breeding is best learned in the early part of life. G. Crabb.
True education focuses on developing character and wisdom, not just social polish.
It is observed that education is generally the worse in proportion to the wealth of the parents. Many are apt to think that to dance, fence, speak French, and to know how to behave among great persons, comprehends the whole duty of a gentleman; which opinion is enough to destroy all the seeds of knowledge, honor, wisdom, and virtue among us. To be prudent, honest, and good, are infinitely higher accomplishments than the being nice, florid, learned, or the possessors of all those showy qualifications for which the world will bestow on us the appellations of great scholars and fine gentlemen. Agesilaus, being asked what he thought most proper for boys to learn, answered, What they ought to do when they become men. L. M. Stretch.
Energy and determination characterize great men in various callings of life.
Dr. Arnold, the Rugby schoolmaster; Dr. Chalmers, the mighty preacher and social reformer; Robert Hall, the eloquent minister of the gospel; Thomas Clarkson and W. Wilberforce, champions of negro emancipation; John Howard, philanthropist; Samuel Budget and A. T. Stewart, merchants; Cornelius Vanderbilt and Daniel Drew, speculators,—are noble specimens of modern energy in the pursuits of the great callings of life.
Experience shapes character and prepares one for noble service through trials.
God sends Experience to paint men's portraits. Does some longing youth look at the settled face of a Washington, whose lineaments have been transmitted to us by the artist's skill, and strive to wear as noble a mien? That look — the winds of the Alleghanies, the trials of the Jersey winter, the sufferings at Cambridge, the conflicts with Congress, wrought it out; and he who would gain it must pass through as stern a school. Beecher.
Hypocrisy in parents undermines teaching children truth and honesty.
"Father tells wrong stories; don't he, Emery? Didn't you hear him say to Mr. Ballard, yesterday morning, that he paid two hundred dollars for the new horse, when he told mother the night before it only cost him one hundred and twenty-five? And don't you know he told him, too, he should be obliged to ask him sixty dollars per acre for that farm land, which was just what it cost him a year ago; when I saw father pay money for it, and know it was only forty? And then to shut us up here because I told him we came directly from school, when he happened to see us stopping to play by the wayside! Oh! didn't he look stern when he said he would not have any lying boys about him? I wanted to ask him why he told Mr. Welles, this morning, he was such a faithful friend to him, and would do any thing to favor him, and then turn right around, the moment he was gone, and say he despised the man, and would not do him a good turn to save his life; and, when mother remonstrated a little, he said, 'Oh! policy, my dear: Mr. Welles is a man of influence.'
A child learns God does not scold, fostering love rather than fear.
A little girl said, "Mother, does God ever fret or scold?" The query arrested the mother's attention, almost with a shock. "Why, Lizzie? what makes you ask that question?"—"Why, God is good: you know you used to call him the 'Good Man,' when I was little; and I should like to know if he ever scolds."—"No, child: no."—"Well, I'm glad he don't; for scolding always makes me feel so bad, even if it is not my fault. I don't think that I could love God much if he scolded."
God will not allow anyone to bear His name who does not reflect His image and character.
The Roman censors took a ring off the finger of the son of Africanus, in which his father's image was engraven, because he was degenerated from the noble qualities of his father; not allowing him to wear on his finger what he did not bear in his mind. Neither will God suffer any to bear his name who do not bear his image. Spencer.
God's life is self-sacrificing love, exemplified supremely in Christ's sacrifice.
To me this is the profoundest of all truths, — that the whole of the life of God is the sacrifice of self. God is love: love is sacrifice, — to give rather than to receive, — the blessedness of self-giving. If the life of God were not such, it would be falsehood to say that God is love; for, even in our human nature, that which seeks to enjoy all, instead of giving all, is known by a very different name from that of love. All the life of God is a flow of this divine self-giving charity. Creation itself is sacrifice, — the self-importation of the Divine Being. Redemption, too, is sacrifice, else it could not be love; for which reason we will not surrender one iota of the truth that the death of Christ was the sacrifice of God. F. W. Robertson.
Human hearts reflect different aspects of God based on their own nature and conscience.
The beautiful rays coming from the face of God, and shining in such loveliness around us, are reflected and refracted when they come in contact with the human heart. Each heart is apt to receive only such as please it, and to reject the others; hence the many-colored aspects, some of them hideous in the extreme, in which God is presented to different nations and individuals; hence the room for each man fashioning a god after his own heart. An evil conscience, reflecting only the red rays, calls up a god who delights in blood; the man of fine sentiment, reflecting only the softer rays, paints from the hues of his own feelings a god of mere sensibility, tender as that of the hero of a modern romance; the man of glowing imagination will array in gorgeous but delusive coloring, and in the flowing drapery of majesty and grandeur; beneath which, however, there is little or no reality; the observer of laws will represent him as the embodiment of order, as blank and as black as the sun looks when we have gazed upon him till we are no longer sensible of his brightness. McCash.
A good name is a deserved reputation for virtue until forfeited by sin.
A good name is properly that reputation of virtue that every man may challenge as his right and due in the opinions of others, till he has made forfeit of it by the viciousness of his actions. Dr. South.
A good name is precious and endures longer than fleeting pleasures or beauty.
"A good name is like precious ointment;" it filleth all round about, and will not easily away; for the odors of ointments are more durable than those of flowers. Lord Bacon.
A good name grows from small beginnings to wide influence through virtue and usefulness.
As a rill from a fountain increases as it flows, rises into a stream, swells into a river, so, symbolically, are the origin and course of a good name. At first, its beginning is small; it takes its rise from home, its natural source; extends to the neighborhood; stretches through the community; and, finally, takes a range proportioned to the qualities by which it is supported — its talents, virtue, and usefulness the surest basis of an honorable reputation. W. Mackenzie.
Preserving a good name requires avoiding even the appearance of evil to protect conscience.
'Twas good counsel the moralist gave, when he said, "Whatsoever commodity you lose, be sure yet to preserve that jewel of a good name." "A good renown is better than a golden girdle," say some. "And a man's eye, and his good name, can bear no jests," say others. "And, if I may but keep a good name, I have wealth enough," said the naturalist." O friends! as ever you would keep a good name, keep off from the very appearance of evil; for the very appearance of evil will both eclipse and wound a man's name and his conscience at once. Certainly, a man were better not to live than to outlive his good name. A man's good name is like a piece of white paper, which, if once blotted, will very hardly be got out again so as to leave no trace of it behind. It is like a fair structure a long time n-rearing, but quickly ruined; or like a merchant's estate, long a-getting, but lost in a moment. And therefore how much does it concern every Christian to keep his name as he would keep his life! and this he can never do, except he keep off from the appearance of evil. 'Tis his name only that shall be kept green and flourishing like the rod of Aaron, that was laid up in the tabernacle, who keeps off from the appearance of evil. He takes the best and wisest course under heaven to preserve his good name in the world, and to maintain the peace of his conscience, who is most studious and industrious to abstain from all appearance of evil.
— T. Brooks
Great men appear awe-inspiring from afar but reveal human limitations up close.
It is with great men as with high mountains. They oppress with awe when we stand under them; they disappoint our insatiable imaginations when we are nigh, but not quite close to them; and then, the farther we recede from them, the more astonishing they appear, until their bases being concealed by intervening objects, they at one moment seem miraculously lifted above the earth, and the next strike our fancies as let down from heaven. Hare.
Greatness is marked by doing unprecedented works and raising human excellence.
A great man is one who has done such works as none other man has done before him; who has in any way considerably exalted the standard of excellence which he found existing; who has heightened for us our idea of the capabilities of our common nature. To see things hitherto invisible to others, and so to embody them, as that, henceforth, others shall see them too; to attempt things heretofore impossible to others, and so to realize them, as that, henceforth, others shall do them too,— either of those things is the token of a great man. The greatest men have been able both to see and to do: they have combined in their characters, equally, insight and energy, elevation of mind and decision of will.
— Myers
True greatness leaves others with a good opinion of you, mediocrity leaves them with a good opinion of themselves.
I think it is Warburton who draws a very just distinction between a man of true greatness and a mediocrist. "If," says he, "you want to recommend yourself to the former, take care that he quits your society with a good opinion of you: if your object is to please the latter, take care that he leaves you with a good opinion of himself."
— Colton
Great men rise above others by nobler thoughts, purer inspiration, and higher character.
Just as the traveller whom we see on yonder mountain height began his ascent from the plain, so the greatest man of whom the world can boast is but one of ourselves, standing on higher ground, and in virtue of his wider intelligence, his nobler thoughts, his loftier character, his purer inspiration, or his more manly doing, claiming the empire as his right.
— Hare
True greatness is shown by humble, unseen accomplishments like Samson's.
He only is great who has the habits of greatness; who, after performing what none in ten thousand could accomplish, passes on like Samson, and "tells neither father nor mother of it."
Greatness is choosing right with unwavering resolve and trusting God above all.
The greatest man is he who chooses the right with invincible resolution; who resists the sorest temptations from within and without; who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully; who is the calmest in storms, and whose reliance on truth, on virtue, on God, is the most unfaltering.
Channing.
# 2725. GREATNESS, Supreme.
A certain pacha, dead five thousand years, Once upon his harem fled in sudden tears, And had this sentence on the city's gate Deeply engraved: "Only God is Great." So these four words above the city's noise Hung like the accents of an angel's voice, And evermore from the high barbican Saluted each returning caravan.
Lost is that city's glory. Every gust Lifts, with crisp leaves, the unknown pacha's dust; And all is ruin, save one wrinkled gate, Whereon is written, "ONLY GOD IS GREAT."
True greatness seeks God's approval and a clear conscience before man's opinion.
The truly great consider, first how they may gain the approbation of God, and, secondly, that of their own conscience; having done this, they would willingly conciliate the good opinion of their fellow-men. Colton.
Peter the Great exemplified diligence by personally engaging in and learning manual labor.
Peter the Great deserves to be made the patron-saint of industry. It was his custom to visit the different workshops and manufactories, not only to encourage them, but also to judge what other useful establishments might be formed in his dominions. Among the places he visited frequently were the forges of Muller at Istia, ninety versts from Moscow. The czar once passed a whole month there; during which time, after giving due attention to the affairs of state, which he never neglected, he amused himself with seeing and examining every thing in the most minute manner; and even employed himself in learning the business of a blacksmith. He succeeded so well, that, on one of the last days of his remaining there, he forged eighteen poods of iron, and put his own particular mark on each bar. A contrast to this is the case of Dionysius the tyrant, who, being at an entertainment given to him by the Lacedemonians, expressed some disgust at their black-broth. "No wonder," said one of them; "for it wants seasoning." — "What seasoning?" asked the tyrant. "Labor," replied the citizen, "joined with hunger and thirst."
Injustice impoverishes the soul more than material poverty does.
Artibaranes, an officer of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, begged his Majesty to confer a favor upon him, which, if complied with, would be an act of injustice. The king, being informed that the promise of a considerable sum of money was the only motive that induced the officer to so unreasonable a request, ordered his treasurer to give him thirty thousand dariuses, being a present of equal value with that which he was to have received. Giving him the order for the money, "Here, take," says the king, "this token of my friendship for you. A gift of this nature cannot make me poor: but complying with your request would make me poor indeed; for it would make me unjust."
— Stretch
Life’s end is about character, not happiness; this world is a place of preparation.
Happiness is not the end of life; character is. This world is not a platform where you will hear Thalberg-piano-playing. It is a piano manufactory, where are dust and shavings and boards, and saws and files and rasps and sand-papers. The perfect instrument and the music will be hereafter.
— Beecher
True manhood is rare, as many lack genuine character and faith.
Once, at midday, Diogenes went through the streets, lantern in hand, as if searching for something. A citizen asked him for what he was seeking; and he replied, "A man!" He said he had found children in Sparta, and women in Athens; but a man he had never seen.
Great minds require depth and freedom to carry significant influence and service.
As islands stand in grand solitude in the midst of swelling seas, so great minds dwell alone amid the crowds of little souls which fill the circles of life. A great mind, like a great ship, cannot move in shallow water. Give it sea-depth and sea-room, and it shall bear cargoes to serve the nations. Dr. Thomas.
Guarding money can corrupt a person, as Alexander feared becoming infected by it.
Alexander was asked why he did not gather money, and lay it up in a public treasury; and replied, "For fear, lest, being the keeper thereof, I should be infected and corrupted."
A good name reflects virtuous character and inspires others through genuine excellence.
A name truly good is the aroma from virtuous character. It is a spontaneous emanation from genuine excellence. It is a reputation for whatsoever things are honest and lovely, and of good report. It is such a name as is not only remembered on earth, but written in heaven. Just as a box of spikenard is not only valuable to its possessor, but pre-eminently precious in its diffusion; so, when a name is really good, it is of unspeakable service to all who are capable of feeling its inspiration. Dr. J. Hamilton.
God values character and conduct over noble birth or status for advancement.
A German lieutenant gained admittance to the late Pres. Lincoln, and, by reason of his winning deportment and intelligent appearance, was promised a lieutenant's commission in a cavalry regiment. He was so enmatured with his success, that he deemed it a duty to inform the President that he belonged to one of the oldest noble houses in Germany. "Oh! never mind that," said Mr. Lincoln: "you will not find that to be an obstacle to your advancement."
Those with little substance often make the most noise, revealing their emptiness.
It is with narrow-sooled people as with narrow-necked bottles;—the less they have in them, the more noise they make in pouring out. Pope.
Advancement can change friendships, revealing true character and loyalty.
It is said to be the saying of Frederick the Emperor, concerning Siginbird Flisk, afterwards called Innocent the Fourth, advanced by him to the Popedom, "I have lost a cardinal a friend and have gotten a pope a foe." Spencer
Prosperity reveals a person's true character and spiritual condition under pressure.
It is said of Pius Quintus, so called, because that, when he was a mean man, he was looked on as a good man, that, when he came to be a cardinal, he doubted of his salvation, and, when a pope, he despaired of it. So hard a thing is it for a good man to use a prosperous estate well. Prosperity is that which will tell you what a man is, it will soon find him out: give him power, and he will soon show what grace is in him; put him into an office, and he will presently be seen in it.
— Spencer
The quality of work reflects the character and condition of the worker.
The work savors of the workman. If the poet sickens, his verse sickens; if black, venous blood flows to an author's brain, it beclouds his pages; and the devotions of a consumptive man scent of his disease as Lord Byron's obscenities smell of gin. Not only "lying lips," but a dyspeptic stomach, is an abomination to the Lord.
— H. Mann
A minister values public good and integrity over personal thanks or reward from others.
A person whose talents had raised him to a high station went to return his thanks to the minister by whom he had been elevated. The minister remarked, "You have no thanks to return to me. I had but the public good in view; and you would not have had my approbation if I had found anybody more deserving of it than yourself."
— Whitecross
Weak foundations in youth cause inevitable character cracks in later life.
No matter how good the walls and the materials are, if the foundations are not strong, the building will not stand. By and by, in some upper room, a crack will appear; and men will say, "There is the crack; but the cause is in the foundation." So if, in youth, you lay the foundations of your character wrongly, the penalty will be sure to follow. The crack may be far down in old age; but somewhere it will certainly appear. Beecher.
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