Character is not like a garment which can be put on or taken off at pleasure, but a part of our very being, in wrought into every fiber of our nature. That every man is the architect of his own fortune is no more true than that he is the architect of his own char acter. Sometimes a fortune may be made suddenly, the re sult of an accident, but never is this true of character. It is not transferrable from father to child, by the law of heredity as many may suppose, neither can it be bought or sold, for the very effort to make merchandise of it destroys the com modity. It is better than gold, for it lifts men higher; purer than culture, for it never deserts principle; and more lasting than fame for its brightest movements stand near the throne of God. The great demand of the present age is for more well rounded, full-orbed cultured characters; and such an acquisi tion is a matter of primary importance to every man. Be cause character has been wanting, it has walked through scenes of blood to an ignoble grave; the petted child of fortune has gone from the princely palace to the hovel and the work-shop, the sharp and whetted intellect of the promising young student, soiled and blasted by the self in viting torture of remorse, has excavated the grave for its own interment. Character will prove to every man, either an Eden where the spirit of beauty will appear in endless forms of enchantment, and goodness cluster in richest fruits; or a Hinnom “whose corruptions poison the air, feed the worm that dieth not and the fire that is never quenched.' ’ In the building of character the foundation forms the most important part. If it be bad, no subsequent care, toil or expense can avail. If it is determined to erect a monu ment, care is taken and rightly taken that the foundation be without defect. The foundation of character should be strong and staunch so as not to bend and sway with every wave that dashes against the sands of time. Character is the result of small actions, the accumula-
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