A magnet does not attract iron, as iron. It must first
convert the iron into another magnet before it can attract it. It is
useless for a parent to try to teach gentleness to her children when
she herself is cross and irritable. The child who is told to be
truthful and who hears a parent lie cleverly to escape some little
social unpleasantness is not going to cling very zealously to truth.
The parent's words say "don't lie," the influence of the parent's life
says "do lie."
No man can ever isolate himself to evade this constant power of
influence, as no single corpuscle can rebel and escape from the general
course of the blood. No individual is so insignificant as to be without
influence. The changes in our varying moods are all recorded in the
delicate barometers of the lives of others. We should ever let our
influence filter through human love and sympathy. We should not be
merely an influence,--we should be an inspiration. By our very presence
we should be a tower of strength to the hungering human souls around
us.
IV
The Dignity of Self-Reliance
Self-confidence, without self-reliance, is as useless as a cooking
recipe,--without food.
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