Part 76

"Do not disturb thyself by thinking of the whole of thy life. Let not thy thoughts at once embrace all the various troubles which thou mayest expect to befall thee: but on every occasion ask thyself, What is there in this which is intolerable and past bearing? for thou wilt be ashamed to confess. In the next place remember that neither the future nor the past pains thee, but only the present. But this is reduced to a very little, if thou only circumscribest it, and chidest thy mind, if it is unable to hold out against even this."

MARCUS AURELIUS.

"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. To-morrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays."

EMERSON.

Day by Day

OCTOBER 28

"By trying to take in the idea of life as a whole we only give ourselves mental indigestion; a day at a time is as much as a man can healthily swallow."

EDNA LYALL.

"Think that this day will never dawn again. The heavens are calling you and wheel around you, Displaying to you their eternal beauties, And still your eye is looking on the ground."

The Divine Comedy, DANTE.

"To-Day is a king in disguise: let us unmask the king as he passes."

EMERSON.

Day by Day

OCTOBER 29

"Lo, here hath been dawning Another blue day; Think, wilt thou let it Slip useless away!"

CARLYLE.

"The perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited, nor torpid, nor playing the hypocrite."

MARCUS AURELIUS.

"When night comes, list thy deeds; make plain the way 'Twixt heaven and thee; block it not with delays: But perfect all before thou sleep'st; then say, 'There's one Sun more strung on my Bead of days.' What's good store up for Joy, the bad, well scann'd, Wash off with tears, and get thy Master's hand."

HENRY VAUGHAN.

Gaining or Losing Ground

OCTOBER 30

"Gaining or losing all the time is our condition, morally and spiritually. We cannot stand utterly still. If we are not improving we are losing ground. Outside forces compel that, in addition to the forces that are working within. We are pressing forward and being helped in that direction, or we are being pressed backward and are yielding to that pressure. Let us not deceive ourselves with the idea that even though we are making no progress we are at least holding our own. We can no more stand still than time can."

"Whose high endeavours are an inward light, That makes the path before him always bright.

"And through the heat of conflict, keeps the law In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw.

"Who, not content that former worth stand fast, Looks forward persevering to the last, From well to better, daily self-surpassed."

The Happy Warrior, WORDSWORTH.

Pressing Forward