The Choice of Every Hour January 4, 1959
One of the easiest answers to anything we don’t want to do, is to say we don’t have time. Sometimes this is true. Sometimes it isn’t. It is deeply and desperately true that we...
Concerning Inner Resources… January 11, 1959
Because so much is done for so many of us, both by men and machines, because we have become accustomed to so much service, the use of hands and feet, and even of minds, has, in many instances, been...
Out of the Best Books… January 18, 1959
Today we should like to turn to rich rewards of reading — not reading merely for the purpose of passing time, but for the purpose of discovering truth, of discovering what thoughtful men think....
Reading--and Character and Wisdom January 25, 1959
Seldom in life do we find ourselves living or working under ideal conditions. There are delays and distractions. There are times of waiting — waiting for people, for appointments — waiting for many...
The Total Hours of Time… February 1, 1959
In a writing of half a century or so ago, Arnold Bennett said: “Philosophers have explained space. They have not explained time. It is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all...
The Torment of Intentions… February 8, 1959
We have talked before of beginning to be what we want to be, and of the uneasy feelings that linger inside ourselves when we leave what we should have done not only undone, but also unstarted. We...
Whoso Neglects Learning in His Youth… February 15, 1959
In some thoughtful lines on life, Samuel Johnson said: “Reflect that life, life every other blessing, derives its value from its use alone.”1 Last week we spoke somewhat of the uses of...
If Washington Were Here… February 22, 1959
Our problems seem very different in some ways from those that Washington faced at Valley Forge, but the principles that pertain to people basically, are constant. And if George Washington were here...
What Will It Do to the Man? March 1, 1959
Whenever policies or products or principles, or actions or attitudes were under consideration, a certain thoughtful observer often asked this challenging, this compelling question: “What will...
Your Name Is Safe in Our Home March 8, 1959
“Your name is safe in our home.”1 Do we speak as well of our friends when they are absent as when they are with us? It would sometimes seem hazardous to be absent from some kinds of...
The Weediness of Words March 15, 1959
Sometimes we little seem to realize how much of hurt there is in irresponsible utterance, and how much of time is used in triviality of talk. On this subject Sir John Lubbock said: “One is...
The Unfulfilled Future March 29, 1959
People… Principles… and Popularity April 5, 1959
In a moving and most meaningful utterance, the Master of mankind thus prayed for those whom the Lord God had given him: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that...
Never Make Life Smaller April 12, 1959
Decisions can be exceedingly difficult, and in one sense, there are no unimportant decisions, for even small decisions often indicate character and judgement. Any expression of preference may...
To Undermine Self-Respect Is a Sin April 19, 1959
These quoted sentences suggest a subject: “I have no right, by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of...
Principles… and Personal Peace April 26, 1959
As to people and principles and personal peace, we recall this quotation accredited to a significant source: “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for...
Health… Happiness… and Physical Fitness May 3, 1959
In a few sentences we should like to share some thoughts on physical fitness, on health and happiness. People may perform well despite physical frailties, despite impairments, despite ill health,...
Home Is Yet Wherever She Is May 10, 1959
In speaking to an occasion a century or so ago, Rufus Choate left some lines on love of country that seem to have as much of meaning for love of home: “There is a love,” he said,...
Of Mothers, of Daughters, of Wives… May 17, 1959
In speaking of mothers, of daughters, of wives, we should like to turn a moment or two to the place of women in the world. Of course in some respects it has so greatly shifted—so greatly that...
Whatever Else She Is… May 24, 1959
In considering ideals and objectives, and the sometimes overemphasis on social considerations, and appeals merely to appearance, Ruskin wrote: “The courage or sincerity [of girls is hardly]...