This maxim, as my father informed me, was carefully and
humbly practised by HIS father, whose sincerity, as a plain and
honest man, thereby became the principal feature of his character,
both in public and private life." Every man who respects himself,
and values the respect of others, will carry out the maxim in act--
doing honestly what he proposes to do--putting the highest
character into his work, scamping nothing, but priding himself upon
his integrity and conscientiousness. Once Cromwell said to
Bernard,--a clever but somewhat unscrupulous lawyer, "I understand
that you have lately been vastly wary in your conduct; do not be
too confident of this; subtlety may deceive you, integrity never
will." Men whose acts are at direct variance with their words,
command no respect, and what they say has but little weight; even
truths, when uttered by them, seem to come blasted from their lips.
The true character acts rightly, whether in secret or in the sight
of men. That boy was well trained who, when asked why he did not
pocket some pears, for nobody was there to see, replied, "Yes,
there was: I was there to see myself; and I don't intend ever to
see myself do a dishonest thing."--This is a simple but not
inappropriate illustration of principle, or conscience, dominating
in the character, and exercising a noble protectorate over it; not
merely a passive influence, but an active power regulating the
life.
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