October Daily Inspirational Thoughts

October Daily Inspirational Thoughts

OCTOBER FIRST
Saint John Viscount Bolingbroke born 1678.
Pierre Corneille died 1684.
Rufus Choate born 1799.

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He speaks not well who doth his time deplore,

Naming it new and a little obscure,

Ignoble and unfit for lofty deeds.

All times were modern in the time of them,

And this no more than others. Do thy part

Here in the living day, as did the great

Who made old days immortal.

—Richard Watson Gilder.


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He who is false to present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and will find the flaw when he may have forgotten the cause.

—Henry Ward Beecher.


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For use almost can change the stamp of nature,

And master the devil, or throw him out

With wondrous potency.

—William Shakespeare.


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And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem;) and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

—Daniel 6. 10.


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Heavenly Father, help me to get away from doubt that leads to despair. Give me a vision of hope that is stayed on faith. May I be conscious and appreciative of my privileges while they come to me and make them immortal. Amen.


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OCTOBER SECOND
Aristotle died B. C. 322.
Major John Andre hanged 1780.
William Ellery Channing died 1842.

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I am not earth-born, though I here delay;

Hope's child, I summon infiniter powers,

And laugh to see the mild sunny day

Smile on the shrunk and thin autumnal hours;

I laugh, for hope hath a happy place for me—

If my bark sinks, 'tis to another sea.

—William E. Channing.


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The stars shall fade away, the sun himself

Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years;

But thou shall flourish in immortal youth,

Unhurt amidst the war of elements,

The wreck of matter and the crush of worlds.

—Thomas Addison.


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For with thee is the fountain of life:

In thy light shall we see light.

—Psalm 36. 9.


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My Father, I would pray that my sense of gloom may not be more than thy grace. May the glorious light of thy love break through my disheartened soul, and reveal the sincerity of thy promises, that I may be happy in thy care. Amen.


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OCTOBER THIRD
Robert Barclay died 1690.
George Bancroft born 1800.
William Morris died 1896.

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Come hither, lads, and harken,

For a tale there is to tell

Of the wonderful days a-coming,

When all shall be better than well.

Come, then, let us cast off fooling,

And put by ease and rest,

For the cause alone is worthy

Till the good days bring the best.

—William Morris.


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Man's life is but a working day

Whose tasks are set aright;

A time to work, a time to pray,

And then a quiet night.

And then, please God, a quiet night

Where palms are green and robes are white;

A long-drawn breath, a balm for sorrow,

And all things lovely on the morrow.

—Christina G. Rossetti.


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And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.

—Isaiah 61. 11.


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Heavenly Father, help me to see that before the night thou hadst planned the morning, and that thou hast never sent the night without the hope of the morning. Before I rest in the night may I be ready for the morning. Amen.


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OCTOBER FOURTH
Francis of Assisi died 1226.
Edmund Malone born 1741.
François Guizot born 1787.
Jean François Millet born 1814.
Rutherford B. Hayes, Ohio, nineteenth President United States, born 1822.
M. E. Braddon born 1837.

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We ought to rise day by day with a certain zest, a clear intention, a design to make the most of every hour; not to let the busy hours shoulder each other or tread on each other's heels, but to force every action to give up its strength and sweetness. There is work to be done, and there are empty hours to be filled as well.... But, most of all, there must be something to quicken, enliven, practice the soul.

—Arthur C. Benson.


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Men's souls ought to be left to see clearly; not jaundiced, blinded, twisted all awry, by revenge, moral abhorrence, and the like.

—Thomas Carlyle.


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But there is a spirit in man,

And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

—Job 32. 8.


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Spirit of life, I pray that thou wilt continually live within me. May my days be spent neither in waste nor idleness, but planned to use, with the best that is given me. Amen.


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OCTOBER FIFTH
Jonathan Edwards born 1703.
Denis Diderot born 1713.
Horace Walpole born 1717.
Nancy Hanks died 1818.
Chester A. Arthur, Vermont, twenty-first President United States, born 1830.
H. R. Guy de Maupassant born 1850.

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Earth gets its price for what earth gives us;

The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in,

The priest has his fee who comes and shrives us,

We bargain for the graves we lie in;

At the devil's booth are all things sold,

Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold;

For a cap and bells our lives we pay,

Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking;

'Tis heaven alone that is given away,

'Tis only God may be had for the asking.

—James Russell Lowell.


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The free gift of God is eternal life.

—Romans 6. 23.


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Gracious Father, may the world speak to me of thy gifts, and of the peace and power which it freely offers. May I not pass by thy great appeals, and prefer to purchase at a great cost my indolence and dissipation. Amen.


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OCTOBER SIXTH
Jenny Lind Goldschmidt born 1820.
Harriet G. Hosmer born 1830.
Charles Stewart Parnell died 1891.
Alfred Tennyson died 1892.

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The heart which boldly faces death

Upon the battlefield, and dares

Cannon and bayonet, faints beneath

The needle-points of frets and cares.

The stoutest spirits they dismay—

The tiny stings of every day.

Ah! more than martyr's aureole

And more than hero's heart of fire,

We need the humble strength of soul

Which daily toils and ills require.

Sweet patience, grant us, if you may

An added grace for every day.

—Adelaide A. Procter.


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Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea.

—Alfred Tennyson.


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Fret not thyself.

—Proverbs 24. 19.


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My Father, I pray that I may not be dismayed over life, and its trifles. Help me to master difficulties great and small, and give me patience through all until I reach the untroubled way. Amen.


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OCTOBER SEVENTH
Sir Philip Sidney died 1586.
Edgar Allan Poe died 1849.
Oliver Wendell Holmes died 1894.
Mary J. Holmes died 1907.

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Yet in opinions look not always back;

Your wake is nothing, mind the coming track;

Leave what you've done for what you have to do;

Don't be "consistent," but be simply true.

—Oliver Wendell Holmes.


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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has nothing to do.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson.


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Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.

—Exodus 14. 15.


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Heavenly Father, I pray that I may not be so consistent in the small things of life that I will lose the great inspirations that come to the soul. Broaden my life, that I may have the freedom of heart and mind to pass over the failures and interruptions, and with vigorous energy continue in the progress of life. Amen.


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OCTOBER EIGHTH
Caroline Howard Gilman born 1794.
Edmund Clarence Stedman born 1833.
John Hay born 1838.

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He weren't no saint; them engineers

Is pretty much alike—

One wife in Natchez-under-the-Hill,

Another one here in Pike;

A keerless man in his talk was Jim,

And an awkward hand in a row,

But he never flunked, and he never lied—

I reckon he never knowed how.

—John Hay.


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He is brave whose tongue is silent

Of the trophies of his word.

He is great whose quiet bearing

Marks his greatness well assured.

—Edwin Arnold.


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The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men.

—Luke 18. 11.


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Lord God, thou knowest what I am and where I belong. Have mercy upon me and strengthen me, that I may not through weakness stay in the darkness. Lead me out into the light; and may I find my way and be contented with it. Amen.


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OCTOBER NINTH
Michael Cervantes born 1547.
Jacques Auguste de Thuanus (De Thou) born 1553.
Charles Camilla Saint-Saëns born 1835.

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I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea

Come drifting home with broken masts and sails;

I shall believe the Hand which never fails

From seeming evil worketh good for me;

And though I weep because those sails are battered,

Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered,

"I trust in Thee."

—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.[1]


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Cease every joy to glimmer on my mind.

But leave, O leave the light of hope behind.

—Thomas Campbell.


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Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

—Proverbs 13. 12.


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Loving Father, help me to pass by my discouragements of yesterday and look into the hope of to-day. Make me more careful of my strength, and less forgetful of thy promises and of my trust. Amen.

[1] Special permission W. B. Conkey, Hammond, Indiana. Copyright 1912.


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OCTOBER TENTH
Henry Cavendish born 1731.
Benjamin West born 1738.
Hugh Miller born 1802.
Giuseppe Verdi born 1813.
Fridtjof Nansen born 1861.

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We cannot make bargains for blisses,

Nor catch them like fishes in nets;

And sometimes the thing our life misses

Helps more than the thing which it gets.

For good lieth not in pursuing,

Nor gaining of great nor small,

But just in the doing and doing

As we would be done by is all.

—Alice Gary.


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True, it is most painful not to meet the kindness and affection you feel you have deserved, and have a right to expect from others; but it is a mistake to complain, for it is no use; you cannot extort friendship with a cocked pistol.

—Sydney Smith.


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Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

—Matthew 22. 39.


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Lord God, help me to understand that true affection is not that which as it gives feels it merits return. May I avoid being selfish and stubborn; and with my affections give peace and joy. Amen.


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OCTOBER ELEVENTH
Sir Thomas Wyatt died 1542.
Dr. Samuel Clarke born 1675.
James Barry born 1741.

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Ask God to give thee skill

In comfort's art,

That thou may'st consecrated be

And set apart,

Unto a life of sympathy;

For heavy is the weight of ill

In every heart;

And comforters are needed much

Of Christlike touch.

—Alexander Hamilton.


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The man who melts

With social sympathy though not allied,

Is than a thousand kinsmen of more worth.

—Euripides.


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Who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

—2 Corinthians 1. 4.


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Heavenly Father, thou hast made sympathy divine. May I never make it commonplace. Grant that as thou dost bless and comfort me I may be willing to comfort others, and do whatsoever thou wouldst have me do. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWELFTH
Columbus discovered America 1492.
Lyman Beecher born 1775.
George W. Cable born 1844.
Helena Modjeska born 1844.

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One poor day!

Remember whose and how short it is!

It is God's day, it is Columbus's.

One day with life and heart is more than time enough to found a world.

—James Russell Lowell.


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An illusion haunts us, that a long duration, as a year, a decade, a century, is valuable. But an old French sentence says, "God works in moments." We ask for long life, but 'tis deep life or grand moments that signify. Let the measure of Time be spiritual, not mechanical. Life is unnecessarily long. Moments of insight, of fine personal relation, a smile, a glance—what ample borrowers of eternity they are!

—Ralph Waldo Emerson.


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One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

—2 Peter 3. 8.


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My Father, I pray that when the "sun sets to-day my hope may not set with it." Be with me earlier than the dawn, that I may plan with thee a new day. I pray that thou wilt release me from anything that keeps me from reaching the highest. Amen.


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OCTOBER THIRTEENTH
Theodore Beza died 1605.
Murat, King of Naples, shot 1815.
Elizabeth Fry died 1845.

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What stronger breast-plate than a heart untainted! Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just, And he but naked, though locked up in steel, Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted.

—William Shakespeare.


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A man's accusations of himself are always believed, his praises never.

—Montaigne.


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Justice needs that two be heard.

—From Goethe's Autobiography.


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That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live.

—Deuteronomy 16. 20.


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Lord of justice, if I may be influenced this morning by doubt and am inclined to be resentful, wilt thou cause me to have a generous spirit and keep my faith. May I never descend to anything base or deceitful, but may I remember that if I lay down my life, I may have the power to take it up again. Amen.


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OCTOBER FOURTEENTH
William Penn born 1644.
James Fenimore Cooper died 1851.
Duke of Wellington died 1852.

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Do good with what thou hast, or it will do thee no good. If thou wouldst be happy, bring thy mind to thy condition, and have an indifferency for more than what is sufficient.

—William Penn.


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The finest fruit earth holds up to its Maker is a finished man.

—Humboldt.


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I considered Napoleon's presence in the field equal to forty men in the balance.

—Duke of Wellington.


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What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him but little lower than God, And crownest him with glory and honor.

—Psalm 8. 4, 5.


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Eternal God, may I know the value of the gift of life. May I think seriously of it, and not through abuse or neglect cripple it, remembering that it is mine to sow, to grow, and to reap. I pray that I may care more for the food and raiment of my soul than I care for the food and raiment of my body. Amen.


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OCTOBER FIFTEENTH
Virgil born B. C. 70.
Evangelista Torricelli born 1608.
Edward Fitzgerald born 1763.

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Being not unacquainted with woe, I learned to help the unfortunate.

—Virgil.


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There are some hearts like wells green-mossed and deep

As ever summer saw,

And cool their water is, yea, cool and sweet;

But you must come to draw.

They hoard not, yet they rest in calm content,

And not unsought will give;

They can be quiet with their wealth unspent,

So self-contained they live.

—Author unknown.


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For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.

—2 Corinthians 2. 4.


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Gracious Father, help me to understand that while I may be content to rest with what I have gathered, I cannot preserve the strength of my soul unless I share my possessions. Give me a passion for humanity that will advance gifts through love, and offer service without the need of an appeal. Amen.


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OCTOBER SIXTEENTH
Bishop Hugh Latimer burned at Oxford 1555.
Albrecht von Haller born 1708.
Noah Webster born 1758.
Robert Stephenson born 1803.

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As ships meet at sea—a moment together, when words of greeting must be spoken, and then away upon the deep—so men meet in this world; and I think we should cross no man's path without hailing him, and if he needs, giving him supplies.

—Henry Ward Beecher.


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Nothing is more unaccountable than the spell that often lurks in a spoken word. A thought may be present to the mind, and two minds conscious of the same thought, but as long as it remains unspoken their familiar talk flows quietly over the hidden idea.

—Nathaniel Hawthorne.


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And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?

—Matthew 5. 47.


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Heavenly Father, I pray that thou wilt give me a generous heart. May I not lose sight of the truth, that thou hast made others to have the same needs and wants that I may have. May I not through pride or egoism fail to help, and neglecting to speak, miss an opportunity to assist. May I be self-forgetful in friendly service. Amen.


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OCTOBER SEVENTEENTH
Andreas Osiander died 1552.
Frederic Chopin died 1849.

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Good name, in man or woman, dear my Lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls; Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.

—William Shakespeare.


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Keep back your tears when a soul is untrue;

"Sorrow is shallow"; and one can wade through

The mud and the marshes, and still endure

If he finds he has kept his spirit pure.

The rose near died when it fell to its lot

To break its heart for forget-me-not;

But after its heart was healed by the dew,

Right by its side a sweet violet grew!

—M. B. S.


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A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favor rather than silver and gold.

—Proverbs 22. 1.


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My Father, teach me the value of the possessions that can neither be handled nor seen; and may I not take them away from others. Help me to keep thy commandment "Thou shalt not steal," and interpret it in all its relations to life. Amen.


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OCTOBER EIGHTEENTH
Matthew Henry born 1662.
Margaret (Peg) Woffington born 1720.
Helen Hunt Jackson born 1831.
Frederick Harrison born 1831.

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Yet I argue not against heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot of heart of hope;, but still bear up and steer right onward.

—John Milton.


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Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day is doomsday.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson.


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He mourns that day so soon has glided by:

E'en like the passage of an angel's tear

That falls through the clear ether silently.

—John Keats.


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I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee.

—Psalm 32. 8.


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My Father, if I may be living in bad habits, help me to get out of them. If I may be neglectful of good deeds, help me to get at them. May I reach for the highest purposes as I search for the realities, and may I not delay, but start to-day. Amen.


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OCTOBER NINETEENTH
Dean (Jonathan) Swift died 1745.
Leigh Hunt born 1784.
Henry Kirke White died 1806.

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Don't look too hard except for something agreeable; we can find all the disagreeable things we want, between our own hats and boots.

—Leigh Hunt.


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Instead of a gem or a flower, cast the gift of a lovely thought into the heart of a friend.

—George Macdonald.


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For the want of common discretion the very end of good breeding is wholly perverted; and civility, intended to make us easy, is employed in laying chains and fetters upon us, in debarring our wishes, and in crossing our most reasonable desires and inclinations.

—Jonathan Swift.


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If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.

—Romans 12. 18.


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My Lord, help me to adjust my life to what I ought to be, rather than be content in what I am. May I not spend my time in dreaming of obstacles, or searching for things that hurt, but may I be gentle and kind, and as I see the truth speak for it and follow it. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTIETH
Sir Christopher Wren born 1632.
Thomas Hughes born 1823.
Charles Dudley Warner died 1900.

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There has always seemed to me something impious in the neglect of health. I could not do half the good I do if it were not for the strength and activity some consider coarse and degrading.

—Charles Kingsley.


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To keep well drink often, but water;

Eat not that which makes life shorter;

But first, with all your might and skill,

Just chain your habits to your will.

—M. B. S.


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I will be lord over myself. No one who cannot master himself is worthy to rule, and only he can rule.

—Goethe.


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Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God?

—1 Corinthians 6. 19.


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Lord God, may I not wait until I am afflicted and cannot use them to thank thee for my blessings. Guard me against infirmities that are brought on through indulgences, and help me to control my life. May I never forget that regret will not retrieve the life that is spent, even if it brings forgiveness and hope for the days to come. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-FIRST
Samuel Taylor Coleridge born 1772.
Alphonse Lamartine born 1790.
Samuel F. Smith born 1808.
Will Carleton born 1845.

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He prayeth best who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge.


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We thank thee, O Father, for all that is bright—

The gleam of the day and the stars of the night,

The flowers of our youth and the fruits of our prime,

And the blessings that march down the pathway of time.

—Will Carleton.


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Thanklessness is a parching wind, drying up the fountain of pity, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace. For doth not that rightly seem to be lost which is given to one ungrateful?

—Saint Bernard.


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O give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.

—Psalm 136. 1.


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My Father, help me to understand that I cannot have self-development unless the spirit of truth drills my character. Cleanse my heart from all impurity, and strengthen me for all usefulness: help me to daily live this prayer. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-SECOND
Charles Martel died 741.
Franz Liszt born 1811.
George Eliot born 1819.
Sarah Bernhardt born 1844.

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O may I join the choir invisible

Of those immortal dead who live again

In minds made better by their presence: live

In pulses stirred to generosity,

In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn

For miserable aims that end with self,

In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars,

And with their mild persistence urge man's search

To vaster issues.

This is life to come,

Which martyred men have made more glorious

For us to strive to follow. May I reach

That purest heaven, be to other souls

The cup of strength in some great agony,

Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,

Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,

Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,

And in diffusion ever more intense!

So shall I join the choir invisible

Whose music is the gladness of the world.

—George Eliot.


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And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.

—John 10. 28.


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My Father, I pray that I may be more generous with my smiles and gladness, and more saving with my tears and sadness. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-THIRD
Anne Oldfield died 1730.
Robert Bridges born 1844.
Mollie Elliot Seawell born 1860.

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O youth whose hope is high,

Who doth to truth aspire,

Whether thou live or die,

O look not back nor tire.

Thou that art bold to fly

Through tempest, flood and fire,

Nor dost not shrink to try

Thy heart in torments dire—

If thou canst Death defy,

If thy faith is entire,

Press onward, for thine eye

Shall see thy heart's desire.

—Robert Bridges.


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Doubt indulged becomes doubt realized. To determine to do anything is half the battle. Courage is victory, timidity is defeat.

—Nelson.


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And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions.

—Ezekiel 2. 6.


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Gracious Father, try me again by the courage I have to-day, if thou art judging me by the fear I held yesterday. Help me to see that wavering is misleading and temperament is deceptive. May I learn self-control. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-FOURTH
Hugh Capet died 996.
Sir Moses Montefiore born 1784.
Daniel Webster died 1852.

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Exceeding peace made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the presence in the room he said,

"What writest thou?" The vision raised its head,

And, with a look made of all sweet accord,

Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."

"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"

Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,

But cheerily still; and said, "I pray thee, then,

Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night

It came again, with a great awakening light,

And showed the names whom love of God had blessed—

And, lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest!

—Leigh Hunt.


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Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things.

—Jeremiah 33. 3.


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Lord God, may I keep within my heart that secret sympathy that adds to the power of life. Help me to seek the things that are real, and not be deceived by the things which only appear to be. May all with whom I have to do feel the better for my companionship. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-FIFTH
Geoffrey Chaucer died 1400.
William Hogarth died 1764.
George W. Faber born 1773.
Thomas B. Macaulay born 1800.

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Wav'ring as winds the breath of fortune blows,

No power can turn it, and no prayers compose.

Deep in some hermit's solitary cell,

Repose, and ease, and contemplation dwell.

Let conscience guide thee in the days of need,

Judge well thy own, and then thy neighbor's deed.

—Geoffrey Chaucer.


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To every man upon this earth

Death cometh soon or late;

And how can man die better

Than facing fearful odds,

For the ashes of his fathers

And the temples of his gods.

—Thomas B. Macaulay.


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Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

—Matthew 20. 28.


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Heavenly Father, help me to remember that I am to cover life's journey, even though I may go the way carelessly and aimlessly. May I make an estimate of what I am losing, by waiting so long at the resting places, "For the road winds up hill all the way to the end, and the journey takes the whole day long, from morn to night." Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-SIXTH
Dr. Philip Doddridge died 1751.
Count Von Moltke born 1800.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton died 1902.

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One of the notable eddies of the present-day world currents is what has been loosely called the "Woman Movement." The sensitive and vicarious spirit of womanhood has been enlisted for service in behalf of those who have been denied a fair chance, or who are the victims of oppression, greed, and ignorance.

—William T. Ellis.


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And whether consciously or not, you must be in many a heart enthroned: queens you must always be: queens to your lovers; queens to your husbands and sons; queens of higher mystery to the world beyond, which bows itself, and will forever bow, before the myrtle crown, and the stainless scepter of womanhood.

—John Ruskin.


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O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt.

—Matthew 15. 28.


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Lord and Master of all, I pray that thou wilt make me see through my prejudices and beyond my desires to the very "top of my condition." May I not wait for places or circumstances that are dimly in the distance or that are near at hand, but accomplish the work I should do to-day. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-SEVENTH
James Cook born 1728.
Nicolo Paganini born 1782.
Theodore Roosevelt, New York, twenty-fifth President United States, born 1858.

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The vice of envy is not only a dangerous, but a mean vice; for it is always a confession of inferiority. It may promote conduct which will be fruitful of wrong to others, and it must cause misery to the man who feels it.

—Theodore Roosevelt.


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Of all the passions, jealousy is that which exacts the hardest service, and pays the bitterest wages. Its service is to watch the success of one's enemy; its wages to be sure of it.

—C. C. Colton.


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Dear to me is the friend, yet I can also make use of an enemy. The friend shows me what I can do, the foe teaches me what I should.

—Schiller.


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Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another.

—Galatians 5. 26.


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Almighty God, I would ask thee that my days be filled with aspiration, and that my heart may know no envy. Help me to love humanity. May I be so glad of the success of others that I may never know what it is to be envious. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-EIGHTH
Desiderius Erasmus born 1465.
John Locke died 1704.
Georges Jacques Danton born 1759.

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Not so in haste, my heart!

Have faith in God and wait;

Although he linger long,

He never comes too late.

Until he cometh, rest,

Nor grudge the hours that roll;

The feet that wait for God

Are soonest at the goal;

Are soonest at the goal

That is not gained by speed;

Then hold thee still, my heart,

For I shall wait his lead.

—Bayard Taylor.


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It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah.

—Lamentations 3. 26.


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Lord of life, may I pause to remember that rest may not be obtained with wretched thoughts, nor can it be enjoyed in discontent. In my moments of rest wilt thou show me how to relax, and with tranquillity may I gather hope for renewed ambition. Amen.


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OCTOBER TWENTY-NINTH
Sir Walter Raleigh beheaded 1618.
James Boswell born 1740.
John Keats born 1795.
Thomas Bayard born 1828.
Thomas Edward Brown died 1897.

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Rise, O my soul, with thy desires to heaven,

And with divinest contemplation use

Thy time where time's eternity is given,

And let vain thoughts no more thy thoughts abuse;

But down in darkness let them lie:

So live thy better, let thy worse thoughts die!

—Sir Walter Raleigh.


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The great elements we know of are no mean comforters; the open sky sits upon our senses like a sapphire crown—the air is our robe of state, the Earth is our throne, and the Sea a mighty minstrel playing before it.

—John Keats.


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Ah Lord Jehovah! behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for thee.

—Jeremiah 32. 17.


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Almighty God, I thank thee for the power that gives me the breath of life. May I be willing to be controlled by its guiding care. Amen.


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OCTOBER THIRTIETH
Rev. John Whitaker died 1808.
John Adams, Massachusetts, second President United States, born 1735.
Adelaide Anne Procter born 1825.

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And yet thou canst know,

And yet thou canst not see;

Wisdom and sight are slow

In poor humanity.

If thou couldst trust, poor soul,

In Him who rules the whole,

Thou wouldst find peace and rest;

Wisdom and right are well, but trust is best.

—Adelaide Anne Procter.


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The heart to speak in vain essayed,

Nor could his purpose reach—

His will nor voice nor tongue obeyed,

His silence was his speech.

—John Quincy Adams.


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But still believe that story wrong

Which ought not to be true.

—Richard Brinsley Sheridan.


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Blessed is the man that maketh Jehovah his trust.

—Psalm 40. 4.


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My Father, may I not be given to unkindly speech. Deliver me from a critical spirit; and may I not encourage mistrust, but cultivate the kindly considerations in which life abounds. Amen.


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OCTOBER THIRTY-FIRST
All Hallow's Eve.
John Evelyn born 1620.
Christopher Anstey born 1724.

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Ere, in the northern gale

The summer tresses of the trees are gone,

The woods of autumn, all around our vale,

Have put their glory on.

The mountains that unfold,

In their wide sweep, the colored landscape round,

Seem groups of giant kings, in purple and gold,

That guard the enchanted ground.

Ah! 'twere a lot too blessed

Forever in thy colored shades to stray;

Amid the kisses of the soft southwest

To rove and dream for aye;

And leave the vain low strife

That makes men mad; the tug for wealth and power,

The passions and the cares that wither life,

And waste its little hour.

—William Cullen Bryant.


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Let the field exult, and all that is therein; Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy.

—Psalm 96. 12.


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My Father, may I have an appreciation of the wonderful creations of the earth. Give me a discriminating eye, that I may know the precious things that thou art growing; and throughout my life may I love the beautiful, and choose that which will make my life worthy of growth. Amen.