The Elements of Character by Mary G. Chandler

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Infants who pass into the spiritual world before they are touched by a
taint of earth are, probably, through the absence of all evil in those
who are suffered to approach them, trained into a purity of Affection
that fills their whole being with its genial warmth, descending, or
raying out, into all the imaginations of the soul and all the thoughts
of the mind. Thus they serve God in the order which the Saviour
commanded, with all the heart, and soul, and mind. They, however, who
remain long on earth, almost without exception, have the order of their
nature so reversed, that their powers must be converted to the right,
in the order of St. Paul, ascending from the lowest to the highest; or,
which is the same thing, passing from the outmost to the inmost. The
lowest and most external part of the being must be made obedient to the
laws of Divine Order, and on this as a foundation must the higher and
internal nature be built up, until it forms a sanctuary; and upon its
altar shall fire from heaven descend so often as a gift is offered.

The practice of external vice, just in proportion to its grossness,
incapacitates us for perceiving what is true or loving what is good. By
vice is not meant crime such as exposes us to punishment by the law
of the land, but sins against the laws of God, that bring their own
punishment with them, by defacing the image of God in the soul. There is
always need of searching the heart to find if we have committed crimes
against the soul; for the laws of the land deal only with the excessive
derelictions from right which we cannot ignorantly commit. We may,
however, go on unconsciously in the commission of great sins until our
hearts become hardened against all emotions of heavenly affection, and
our eyes blinded so that we cannot distinguish the difference between
darkness and light. If we would avoid this fearful condition, we must
often go to the Gospels, and place the words of the Lord, in their
various teachings, especially as they come to us from the Mount, as it
were in judgment over against us, and reading verse by verse, fathom the
depths of our hearts, and confess whether we are guilty or no. Would we
escape such guilt, we must study these instructions again and again,
until, as Moses commanded of the laws of the elder Scripture, "they
shall be with us when we sit in our homes, or walk by the way, or lie
down, or rise up. And we shall bind them for a sign upon our hands, and
they shall be as frontlets between our eyes. And we shall write them
upon the posts of our houses, and upon our gates."

When we place the words of the Lord in judgment over against us, and
feel compelled to acknowledge our unfaithfulness to their requirements,
there is danger of our falling into despair through the consciousness
that is thus forced upon us of our want of love for the law of the Lord.
The indulgence of our own wills is so sweet to us, that we cannot see
how it is possible that the yoke of the Lord can ever become easy to our
stiffened necks. We feel as though an obedience that did not spring from
true love could not be called obedience, nay, was almost a sin; for it
seems to savor of hypocrisy. In this state of mind, our only refuge is
in that faith which St. Paul tells us "is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things unseen"; and then, unless this faith be
strong enough to make us obey, though not from love, yet from a simple
belief that at any rate obedience is better than disobedience, our state
is wretched indeed. Our rationality tells us that obedience is naught
unless we love to obey, but an inward conviction of the soul--may we not
call it the voice of God?--entreats us, saying, "this do, and thou shalt
live." If, in the ardor of our faith, we can forget our rationality, and
cry, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief"; and if we force
ourselves to do that which we are commanded, though at first it may
appear to us an act purely external and dead, we shall soon find, that,
if planted in darkness, it is still a living seed, and the Lord will
water it till it shall spring into a growth of beauty that our hearts
will cleave to with delight.

The first obedience of the soul that has entered upon the way of
regeneration is hardly less ignorant than that of the little child who
obeys his parent without comprehending the use or propriety of his
commands; and, like that of the little child, it consists in abstaining
from doing that which is wrong, rather than in doing that which is
right. As the child grows older, he can look back upon those commands
and understand them; and then he is filled with gratitude and love
towards his parent for putting them upon him. So he who seeks to love
the Lord must obey first, and understand afterward,--must keep the
commandments ere he can know the doctrines,--must abstain from doing
wrong before the Lord can implant in his heart the love of doing right.

In the first stages of regenerating life we think we love the Lord,
although we know that we do not love our fellow-beings as we ought; and
we cannot comprehend the truth, that he who does not love his brother,
whom he has seen, cannot love the Lord, whom he has not seen; and we
think it is much easier to be pious towards God than to be charitable
towards men. If our faith is strong enough to induce us to obey the
external commandment of doing as we would be done by, the affection of
true brotherly love by degrees grows up within us, we know not how, for
the spirit of God has breathed upon us when we were not aware; and then
we perceive how imperfect was the love we bore to the Lord, when we had
not learned to feel that the attribute which awakens true love for him
is the perfect love he bears towards each one of us, and that we can
appreciate this love only so far as we imitate it by feeling willing to
do all the good we can to every neighbor, without distinction of person,
after the manner in which he causes the sun to shine and the rain to
fall alike upon the evil and upon the good.

To live thus in charity with all men is not to do external acts of
benevolence indiscriminately to all, without respect of person. There
is a common, but erroneous, idea in the world, that simply to give is
charity. To live what many esteem a life of charity, that is a life
of indiscriminate giving, is often to pay a bounty upon idleness and
improvidence, and to furnish the means of vicious indulgence. While
remembering the command to give to those who ask, we must not forget the
prohibition against casting pearls before swine. To give good things
to those we have reason to suppose will abuse them is as wrong as to
withhold our gifts from those who would use them. To give ignorantly,
when we know not the value of the claim upon our benevolence, is at best
but a negative virtue, and we should bear in mind that everything we
bestow upon the unworthy is so much abridged from our means of aiding
the worthy. Many persons seem to suppose that charity consists entirely
in alms-giving, while this is only its lowest form. Kind deeds and kind
words are as truly works of charity as pecuniary gifts, and we do not
lead lives of charity unless we are as ready with those in the home
circle and in our social relations as with these among the poor. God
shows his love to his children by providing them with sustenance for
the body, for the intellect, and for the affections, and if we would
resemble him, we must show our love to the neighbor by being always
ready to minister to the wants of those around us, in whatever form they
may arise.

We are told to give even as we receive, and we are also told that we are
stewards of the Lord; that is, that all our gifts are held in trust from
him; and we must use them in such a way that at his coming he may
find his own with usury. True charity never impoverishes. In outward
possessions it would be hard to find a man who has made himself poor by
acts of benevolence, for a just and wise benevolence is almost sure to
be accompanied by an orderly development of the faculties such as in our
country makes prosperity almost certain. In intellectual attainments
most persons are familiar with the fact, that there is no way by which
we can so thoroughly confirm and make clear in our own minds anything
that we know, as by imparting it to another. In all that relates to the
affectional part of our being, none can doubt that we grow by giving.
The more we love, the more we find that is lovely; and it is only in
proportion as we love that we can learn to comprehend that God is
infinitely powerful by reason of his infinite love. If we would make our
one talent two, or our five talents ten, the best way to do it is by
giving of all that we have to those who are poorer than ourselves.

Every person has within him three planes of life, which constitute his
being, and which, during the progress of regeneration, are successively
developed; viz., the natural, the spiritual, and the heavenly. With
those who lead an externally good life on the natural plane, that
is, who act more from the impulses of a kind disposition or a blind
obedience than from the light of Christian truth, charity consists
merely in supplying the natural wants of the neighbor by making him more
comfortable in his external condition; and this is well, for there is
little, if any, use in trying to improve the inner man while the outer
is bowed down with want or squalid with impurity. This is the basis
of the higher planes of charity, the first in time, though lowest in
degree. There are those who think lightly of this form of charity,
because it is lowest in degree, forgetting that it is absolutely
essential as a basis for everything that is higher. This truth may be
illustrated by the duties of the parents of a family. It is easy to
perceive that the highest duty of parents is the spiritual training
of their children, that the second is to give them an intellectual
education, while the third and lowest is to feed and clothe and shelter
their bodies. This duty towards the body, although lowest in degree, is
first in time; and ministering to the wants of the natural bodies of
their children, that they may grow up strong and healthy, is the
first duty to be performed in order to insure, so far as possible,
a trustworthy basis on which to build up their spiritual bodies. It
should, however, be distinctly kept in mind that this is only the lowest
plane of parental duty, and that to rise no higher is, as it were, to
lay a solid foundation with labor and expense, and then leave it with no
superstructure, a monument of folly.

From this class of charitable persons come those who found institutions
and lead reforms having in view the amelioration of the physical
condition of the human race. In regarding this as the lowest class, no
disrespect towards it is intended, for it is absolutely essential as a
basis to the higher; but this foundation should be recognized as such by
the founder in order that he may adapt it to the superstructure, and
not elaborate the former at the expense of the latter. The parent may
squander his means upon fine clothes and sumptuous fare until he has
nothing left for the intellectual education of his children; the State
may build palaces for the physical comfort of its paupers and criminals,
until there is nothing left in the treasury to construct schoolhouses
and colleges for the mental training of its virtuous children; the
philanthropist may so bestow his charities that the recipient will learn
to feel that it is the duty of the rich to support the poor, and so
become a pauper when he might have been a useful citizen.

With those whose brotherly love is of the second, or spiritual, degree,
charity is founded on the love of right, the love of giving to all their
just due. Those of the first class will, perhaps, deem those of the
second cold, yet a close observation will show that in the end more good
is done to society through the efforts of the latter than of the former.
Where the generosity of the first would reform the condition of a
miserable neighborhood, by giving the sufferers food and raiment and
shelter, the justice of the second would say all men should have the
means of acquiring a support for themselves, and his efforts would be
turned to providing employment, and encouraging a spirit of industry
among the poor. Where the first would build almshouses and hospitals,
the second would build factories and workshops. The first would lavish
all that he had in direct gifts to the poor, and then have nothing
more in his power to do for them, while the second, by husbanding his
resources at first, would be able presently to place them beyond the
need of aid. The first will be so generous today that it will be hard
for him to be just tomorrow, while the second, by doing only justice
now, gains power to bring about the most generous results hereafter.

This second degree of charity or brotherly love should not ignore or
contemn the first, but build itself upon it. Justice must not forget
mercy. The poor must not be suffered to starve before work can be
provided for them, or they be taught to do it. One Christian virtue does
not destroy that which lies beneath it, but rises to its true height by
standing upon it. We do not pull away the base of a structure because we
wish its top to be more elevated.

The third, or heavenly, degree of charity results from love to the
Lord. This is the highest possible form of charity, and through its
development man is brought into connection with the highest heavens. The
first form of charity comes in great measure from a love of self. We
obey its impulses because of our own personal distress at witnessing the
distress of others; and where unrestrained by higher principle,
these impulses often compel us to be unjust today because we were
over-generous yesterday. The second form of charity results from true
brotherly love, that leads us to restrain impulse because principle puts
it in our power to do so much more for those who need our aid. The third
form is the fruit of love to the Lord. It is warmer than the first and
wiser than the second. It develops the whole power of man, both rational
and affectional, by leading him to the eternal source of all power,
whence cometh down to us all capacity to think and to love. Quickened by
love to the Lord, we shall perpetually feel that we are his stewards,
and while we are filled with gratitude towards him, as the giver of
every good thing we possess, we shall equally be filled with desire to
give even as we have received, good measure, running over, and shaken
together. Then we shall feel, that, if we would lead lives of true
charity, it must be by imitating the Lord, who showed forth his love
towards his children, first by giving them the earth and all that it
contained as an inheritance; secondly, by giving them the Word of his
divine truth to teach them the way in which they should walk; and
thirdly, by coming in person to show them the reality of a divine
life. Finitely imitating this infinite example, as we advance in the
regeneration of our Affections, we shall first give of our external
possessions from the love of giving, and from a desire to make ourselves
happy by seeing others so. Next, we shall give from the knowledge of
truth that is in us, working with such wisdom as we possess, to help
others to make themselves happy. Finally, love to God will lead us to
perceive that charity in the highest degree is the leading a good life;
and that he who is pure and holy and faithful is a living form of
charity. While this state does not destroy, but fills full the two
preceding ones it will perhaps diminish rather than increase the general
action of the life upon society, because its tendency is to increase our
earnestness in the performance of the immediate duties of life that are
included in the family circle, and in all that relates to the particular
occupation of the individual. This is the natural result of an interior
love to the Lord; for this makes us feel his immediate presence in all
the circumstances of daily life, and so causes us to look upon the duty
that lies nearest as that one which the Lord wishes us to perform first;
and till that is done, prevents our seeking out duties more remote and
less apparent.

In studying the material manifestations of the Divine Love and Wisdom,
we find that the perfection of each minutest part is a type of the
perfection of the great whole. So in the material works of man, every
whole thing approaches perfection just in the degree that its several
parts are perfect; and it is vain to labor for great results while we
overlook minute details. So in life, society can never be a virtuous
and happy whole until each individual, in his special vocation, fulfils
every duty pertaining to his station. If we would perform our quota of
the great whole, we must, each in his place, fulfil the duties that lie
around us; and we must beware how we go out of our way in pursuit of
duty, unless we are confident that we are not neglecting, or perhaps
trampling upon, a duty that lies directly in our path.

There is especial danger, at the present day, that many of us may need
to be warned like the scribe of old, wearied with his task-work, not
to seek great things for ourselves. As Baruch murmured because he must
again and again write out the words of Jeremiah, so we cry out wearily
at the daily recurring duties of life, and would fain seek some great
thing whereby to show forth our devotion to the truth. This is because
our love to the Lord is not yet strong enough to regenerate our
Affections. In proportion as this is accomplished, duty will become
lovely to us, because it is what the Lord sets before us to do. We all
know how pleasant it is to do the will of those whom we most love on
earth, and so would it be supremely delightful to us to do our duty if
we had a similar love for our Father in Heaven.

As the little coral insect, obeying the blind instinct of its nature,
adds particle to particle, and builds a house for itself at the same
time that it helps to construct a continent; so we, obeying the voice of
God, in every little duty, performed not grudgingly, but with the heart,
are adding something to our eternal mansions, and helping to enlarge the
bounds of heaven.

LIFE

"Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person
of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy
neighbor."--LEVITICUS xix. 15.

"There is but one thing of which I am afraid, and that is
_fear_."--MONTAIGNE.

"Work! and thou shalt bless the day,
Ere thy task be done;
They that work not, cannot pray,
Cannot feel the sun.

"Worlds thou mayst possess with health
And unslumbering powers;
Industry alone is wealth--
What we do is ours."

* * * * *

Thought, Imagination, and Affection, combined harmoniously, constitute
a symmetrical Character, and they should manifest themselves in an
external Life of corresponding symmetry. The external Life will always
fall short of the internal, because we can always imagine a degree of
excellence beyond that which we have reached, let our efforts be earnest
and active as they may; and the more we advance in Christian progress,
the wider will the vista open before us of that which we may yet attain.
As we ascend the heights of worldly knowledge, in whatever department,
the horizon widens at every step; and we always know that the horizon,
distant as it may seem, is only an imaginary limit to that which may be
known. The shallow student, in the inflation of self-conceit, may fancy
that his own narrow valley is the limit of the universe; but the wise
man knows that limitation belongs only to his own organization, and not
to the universe of God. So in the training of Character, we may go on in
our progress, not only through time, but through the measureless periods
of eternity, and yet we know that we can never reach that perfection of
development which belongs to the All-perfect.

Among the insane dreamers of the earth, those are found who deem
themselves enjoying light sufficient to live lives of perfection, even
in this dim morning twilight that lies around us on earth; but it is
their bat-like vision which takes for noonday that which, were their
eyes couched, would seem to them but darkness visible. He who fancies
that he leads a perfect life is but a dreamer concerning things of which
he has no true knowledge.

Perfection is, nevertheless, the object at which we should patiently and
steadfastly aim, and the loftiness of the mark, unattainable though it
be, will shed an ennobling influence on those who strive. The mass of
human beings aim at nothing higher than to be as virtuous as, or a very
little more so than, their neighbors; and are often more than contented
when they think they have reached the low mark at which they aim. To
compare ourselves with our fellow-beings is always dangerous, and leads
to envyings, rivalries, pride, and vainglory. In all our aims, the
absolute should be our only mark. If in intellectual pursuits we strive
only to know as much as our neighbors for the sake of decency, or to
know more than they for the gratification of pride, or for the pursuit
of wealth or honor, we shall never reach so high a point as if we
studied without ever stopping to compare ourselves with any one; but
worked right on, incited simply by the desire of knowing all that our
capacities and opportunities would enable us to acquire. Working thus,
we should go on our way rejoicing, our hearts embittered by no envyings,
inflated by no conceit. Comparing what we know with that which we do not
know, we could never become vain of our acquirements, for we must always
feel that what we know is but the beginning of that which remains to be
learned.

So in Life, if we compare our own lives with the lives of our neighbors,
we shall be envious and jealous, or else self-conceited and proud; and
our efforts will probably soon slacken, and then cease; and then we
shall begin to go down hill, at the very moment, perhaps, when we are
taking credit to ourselves for our rapid, or our finished, ascent. If,
on the other hand, we compare our lives with that absolute perfection
which the Lord sets before us as our model, we shall incur the danger of
none of these vices; and though the greatness of our task may well cause
us to "work in fear and trembling," we shall ever be cheered by the
consciousness that "the Lord worketh within us both to will and to do."

When our characters take form in external Life, Thought must give us
discrimination, Imagination must give us courage, and Affection must
give us earnestness; then our external nature will be the transparent
medium through which the internal nature will shine, with a lustre
undiminished by the opacity which is sure to dim its radiance when
dulness, fearfulness, or indolence inheres with the external nature;
for then it forms a husk to hide, instead of a medium to display, the
workings of the inner being.

The powers that have been treated of in the preceding essays are
sometimes found to work well so long as they work upon abstractions; but
so soon as they are required to work upon the daily Life, they fail of
reaching so high a point of excellence as we think we had reason to
anticipate. This results from the want of either discrimination,
courage, or earnestness; and the inner nature cannot be thoroughly
trained until these faculties are so developed by its life-giving power,
that their weakness ceases to interfere with its movements when it seeks
to manifest itself in external Life.

Thought can discriminate abstractions long before it can discriminate
facts in their relations with Life. It can reason logically of the true
and the false in the realms of the mind long before it can tell the
right from the wrong with correctness and readiness in the daily
ongoings of events. To discriminate justly here, we must be able to
dissipate the mists with which the love of self and the love of the
world obscure the way in which we tread; hiding that which we _ought_
to love, and displaying in enlarged proportions the things that we _do_
love, until reason loses all just data, and accepts whatever passion
offers as foundation for its judgments. Persons thus misled, often think
they really meant to walk steadfastly in the right path, and that they
are not responsible for having wandered into the wrong. They call what
they have done an error of judgment, and rest content in the belief that
their intentions were good, and therefore they are not to blame. This
may be true, for "to err is human," and none but the All-wise can be
sure of always judging rightly. Still, when we know that we have done
wrong through an error of judgment, we should carefully examine and see
if we might not have avoided this mistake had we been more careful
in our investigation of facts,--more conscientious in our process of
adopting our opinions. If we thus catechized our past errors, we should
probably find, that, in a large proportion of cases, our error sprang
from some cause we might have prevented,--from carelessness, from
blindness caused by the desire to gratify our own wishes, or from
indolence; in fact, that what we fancied sprang from an error of
judgment only, had a much deeper root, and drew its nourishment from
undisciplined Affections.

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