This is the fourth part of Archibald Alexander’s Counsels to the Young.

“The reflections to which I have been led in speaking of consistency of Christian character suggest the importance of urging upon you the government of your passions. A man who has no control over his passions is justly compared to a ship at sea, which is driven by fierce winds, while she neither is governed by the rudder nor steered by the compass. By indulgence, the passions gain strength very rapidly; and when once the habit of indulgence is fixed, the moral condition of the sinner is most deplorable, and almost desperate. To preserve consistency, it is necessary to be well acquainted with the weak points in our own character, to know something of the strength of our own passions, and to guard beforehand against the occasions and temptations which would be likely to cause us to act inconsistently with our Christian profession. Many men have successfully contended with their own passions, and although naturally of a hasty and irritable temper, have, by constant discipline, brought themselves into a habitual state of equanimity; so that however they may be conscious of the strugglings of the natural passions, they are kept so completely under restraint, that to others they do not seem to exist… Learn then, my young friends, to bridle your passions, and govern your temper, from your earliest days.

8. Be contended with the station and circumstances in which Providence has placed you. Never repine at God’s dealings towards you, nor envy those who are above you in worldly advantages. Consider not so much what you lack, as what you have; and look less at those above you, than at those in inferior circumstances. Accustom yourselves to look on the bright rather than the dark side of the picture. Indulge not in unreasonable fears, nor give way to feelings of despondency. Exercise fortitude and maintain tranquility of mind… Place not your happiness at the disposal of every one who may be disposed to speak an unkind word, or do an unhandsome thing.

9. Let your intercourse with men be marked by a strict and conscientious regard to truth, honour, justice, kindness, and courtesy. We should certainly have recommended politeness, as a happy means of polishing social intercourse, and affording pleasure to those with whom you are conversant; but many are accustomed to connect an unpleasant idea with this word. But surely, genuine politeness, if not itself a virtue, spreads a charm and a beauty over that which is virtuous. And certainly there is no merit in awkwardness and clownishness. But our chief object under this particular is to urge upon you a constant and punctilious regard to the social virtues. Be honest, be upright, sincere, men of your word, faithful to every trust, kind to every body, respectful where respect is due, generous according to your ability, grateful for benefits received, and delicate in the mode of conferring favours…”

Part Four

G.M.

Part One, Two, Three

This is the third part of Archibald Alexander’s Counsels to the Young.

“6. Manage your worldly concerns with economy and discretion. Avoid the inconvenience, embarrassment, and vexation of being in debt [Once people saved for things they needed or desired, now we get all immediately on credit; thus we lose the discipline of saving and waiting, and increasingly fall into debt. G.M]… My counsel…is, that you commence and pursue business with prudence; and when unfortunate, that you so act as to preserve your integrity and reputation, by resorting to no equivocal means of relief; but resolve to act in conformity with the strictest rules of justice and honour.

7. Aim at consistency in your Christian character. There is a beauty in moral consistency which resembles the symmetry of a well-proportioned building, where nothing is deficient, nothing redundant. Consistency can only be acquired and maintained by cultivating every part of the Christian character. The circle of virtues must be complete, without chasms or obliquities. A character well proportioned and nicely balanced in all its parts, we are not very frequently permitted to witness; for, while in one branch there is vigour and even exuberance, in another there may be the appearance of feebleness and sterility. The man who is distinguished for virtues of a particular class is apt to be deficient in those that belong to a different class. This is so commonly the fact, that many entertain the opinion that the same person cannot excel in every virtue. Thus it is not expected that the man of remarkable firmness and intrepidity should at the same time be distinguished for meekness and gentleness. But after making due allowance for a difference of constitutional temperament, we must maintain that there is not, nor can there be, any incompatibility between the several virtues of the Christian life…

As all truth is harmonious, however it may, on a superficial and partial view, seem to be contradictory, so all the exercises of moral goodness are not only consistent, but assist and adorn each other. This is so much the case, that symmetry of Christian character has, by some distinguished casuistical writers, been laid down as a necessary evidence of genuineness; and it has been insisted on, as probable, that where one virtue seems to exist in great strength, while others are remarkable wanting [lacking], it is a mark of spuriousness.

There is much reason in this view of the subject; for men are frequently found whose zeal blazes out ardently and conspicuously, so as to leave most others far back in the shade, while they are totally destitute of that humility, meekness and brotherly kindness which form an essential part of the Christian character. Some men are conscientious and punctilious in the performance of all the rites and external duties connected with the worship of God, who are inattentive to the obligations of strict justice and veracity in their intercourse with men: and on the other hand, many boast of their morality, and yet are notoriously inattentive to the duties of religion.

Real Christians, too, are often chargeable with inconsistency, which arises from a want of clear discernment of the rule of moral conduct in its application to particular cases; for while the general principles of duty are plain, and easily understood by all, the ability to discriminate between right and wrong in many complicated cases is extremely rare… It is too commonly taken for granted that Christian morals are a subject so easy that all close study of it is unnecessary. This is an injurious mistake… On no subject will you find a greater diversity of opinion, than in regard to the lawfulness or unlawfulness of particular practices: and even good men are often thrown into difficulty and doubt respecting the proper course to be pursued.

But while many cases of inconsistency arise from ignorance of the exact standard of rectitude, more must be attributed to heedlessness and forgetfulness. Men do not act sufficiently from principle, but too much from custom, from fashion, and from habit… Another cause of inconsistency so commonly observed, is the prevalence which certain passions or appetites may obtain, in the time of temptation… As the venomous adder seems to be harmless while chilled with cold, but soon manifests his malignity when brought near the fire, so sin often lies hid in the bosom, as though it where dead, until some exciting cause draws it forth into exercise; and then the person himself is surprised to find the strength of his own passions, above anything which he had before conceived. Thus men often act, in certain circumstances, in a way altogether contrary to the general tenor of their conduct. It is by no means a fair inference from a single act of irregularity, that the person who is guilty of it has acted hypocritically in all the apparent good actions of his former life. The true explanation is, that principles of action which he has commonly been able to govern and restrain, acquire, in some unguarded moment, or under the power of some strong temptation, a force which his good principles are not at that moment strong enough to oppose. The man who is usually correct and orderly may thus be overtaken in a fault; and as all are liable to the same frailties, there should exist a disposition to receive and restore an offending brother, when he gives sufficient evidence of penitence…

Young persons ought, therefore, to begin early to exercise this vigilance, and to keep their hearts with all diligence, lest they be ensnared by their own passions, and overcome by the power of temptation. I counsel you then, my young friends, to aim at consistency. Cultivate assiduously every part of the Christian character, so that there may appear a beautiful proportion in your virtue.”

Part Three

G.M.

Part One, Two