Character

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CHAPTER I.--INFLUENCE OF CHARACTER.

"Unless above himself he can
Erect himself, how poor a thing is man"--DANIEL.

"Character is moral order seen through the medium, of an
individual nature.... Men of character are the conscience of
the society to which they belong."--EMERSON.

"The prosperity of a country depends, not on the abundance of its
revenues, nor on the strength of its fortifications, nor on the
beauty of its public buildings; but it consists in the number of
its cultivated citizens, in its men of education, enlightenment,
and character; here are to be found its true interest, its chief
strength, its real power."--MARTIN LUTHER.

Character is one of the greatest motive powers in the world. In
its noblest embodiments, it exemplifies human nature in its
highest forms, for it exhibits man at his best.

Men of genuine excellence, in every station of life--men of
industry, of integrity, of high principle, of sterling honesty of
purpose--command the spontaneous homage of mankind. It is
natural to believe in such men, to have confidence in them, and to
imitate them. All that is good in the world is upheld by them,
and without their presence in it the world would not be worth
living in.

Although genius always commands admiration, character most secures
respect. The former is more the product of brain-power, the
latter of heart-power; and in the long run it is the heart that
rules in life. Men of genius stand to society in the relation of
its intellect, as men of character of its conscience; and while
the former are admired, the latter are followed.

Great men are always exceptional men; and greatness itself is but
comparative. Indeed, the range of most men in life is so limited,
that very few have the opportunity of being great. But each man
can act his part honestly and honourably, and to the best of his
ability. He can use his gifts, and not abuse them. He can strive
to make the best of life. He can be true, just, honest, and
faithful, even in small things. In a word, he can do his Duty in
that sphere in which Providence has placed him.

Commonplace though it may appear, this doing of one's Duty
embodies the highest ideal of life and character. There may be
nothing heroic about it; but the common lot of men is not heroic.
And though the abiding sense of Duty upholds man in his highest
attitudes, it also equally sustains him in the transaction of the
ordinary affairs of everyday existence. Man's life is "centred in
the sphere of common duties." The most influential of all the
virtues are those which are the most in request for daily use.
They wear the best, and last the longest. Superfine virtues, which
are above the standard of common men, may only be sources of
temptation and danger. Burke has truly said that "the human
system which rests for its basis on the heroic virtues is sure to
have a superstructure of weakness or of profligacy."

When Dr. Abbot, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, drew the
character of his deceased friend Thomas Sackville, (1) he did not
dwell upon his merits as a statesman, or his genius as a poet, but
upon his virtues as a man in relation to the ordinary duties of
life. "How many rare things were in him!" said he. "Who more
loving unto his wife? Who more kind unto his children?--Who more
fast unto his friend?--Who more moderate unto his enemy?--Who
more true to his word?" Indeed, we can always better understand
and appreciate a man's real character by the manner in which he
conducts himself towards those who are the most nearly related to
him, and by his transaction of the seemingly commonplace details
of daily duty, than by his public exhibition of himself as an
author, an orator, or a statesman.

At the same time, while Duty, for the most part, applies to the
conduct of affairs in common life by the average of common men, it
is also a sustaining power to men of the very highest standard of
character. They may not have either money, or property, or
learning, or power; and yet they may be strong in heart and rich
in spirit--honest, truthful, dutiful. And whoever strives to do
his duty faithfully is fulfilling the purpose for which he was
created, and building up in himself the principles of a manly
character. There are many persons of whom it may be said that
they have no other possession in the world but their character,
and yet they stand as firmly upon it as any crowned king.

Intellectual culture has no necessary relation to purity or
excellence of character. In the New Testament, appeals are
constantly made to the heart of man and to "the spirit we are of,"
whilst allusions to the intellect are of very rare occurrence. "A
handful of good life," says George Herbert, "is worth a bushel of
learning." Not that learning is to be despised, but that it must
be allied to goodness. Intellectual capacity is sometimes found
associated with the meanest moral character with abject servility
to those in high places, and arrogance to those of low estate. A
man may be accomplished in art, literature, and science, and yet,
in honesty, virtue, truthfulness, and the spirit of duty, be
entitled to take rank after many a poor and illiterate peasant.

"You insist," wrote Perthes to a friend, "on respect for learned
men. I say, Amen! But, at the same time, don't forget that
largeness of mind, depth of thought, appreciation of the lofty,
experience of the world, delicacy of manner, tact and energy in
action, love of truth, honesty, and amiability--that all these
may be wanting in a man who may yet be very learned." (2)

When some one, in Sir Walter Scott's hearing, made a remark as to
the value of literary talents and accomplishments, as if they were
above all things to be esteemed and honoured, he observed, "God
help us! what a poor world this would be if that were the true
doctrine! I have read books enough, and observed and conversed
with enough of eminent and splendidly-cultured minds, too, in my
time; but I assure you, I have heard higher sentiments from the
lips of poor UNEDUCATED men and women, when exerting the spirit of
severe yet gentle heroism under difficulties and afflictions, or
speaking their simple thoughts as to circumstances in the lot of
friends and neighbours, than I ever yet met with out of the Bible.
We shall never learn to feel and respect our real calling and
destiny, unless we have taught ourselves to consider everything as
moonshine, compared with the education of the heart." (3)

Still less has wealth any necessary connection with elevation of
character. On the contrary, it is much more frequently the cause
of its corruption and degradation. Wealth and corruption, luxury
and vice, have very close affinities to each other. Wealth, in
the hands of men of weak purpose, of deficient self-control, or of
ill-regulated passions, is only a temptation and a snare--the
source, it may be, of infinite mischief to themselves, and often
to others.

On the contrary, a condition of comparative poverty is compatible
with character in its highest form. A man may possess only his
industry, his frugality, his integrity, and yet stand high in the
rank of true manhood. The advice which Burns's father gave him
was the best:

"He bade me act a manly part, though I had ne'er a farthing,
For without an honest manly heart no man was worth regarding."

One of the purest and noblest characters the writer ever knew was
a labouring man in a northern county, who brought up his family
respectably on an income never amounting to more than ten
shillings a week. Though possessed of only the rudiments of
common education, obtained at an ordinary parish school, he was a
man full of wisdom and thoughtfulness. His library consisted of
the Bible, 'Flavel,' and 'Boston'--books which, excepting the
first, probably few readers have ever heard of. This good man
might have sat for the portrait of Wordsworth's well-known
'Wanderer.' When he had lived his modest life of work and worship,
and finally went to his rest, he left behind him a reputation for
practical wisdom, for genuine goodness, and for helpfulness in
every good work, which greater and richer men might have envied.

When Luther died, he left behind him, as set forth in his will,
"no ready money, no treasure of coin of any description." He was
so poor at one part of his life, that he was under the necessity
of earning his bread by turning, gardening, and clockmaking. Yet,
at the very time when he was thus working with his hands, he was
moulding the character of his country; and he was morally
stronger, and vastly more honoured and followed, than all the
princes of Germany.

Character is property. It is the noblest of possessions. It is
an estate in the general goodwill and respect of men; and they who
invest in it--though they may not become rich in this world's
goods--will find their reward in esteem and reputation fairly and
honourably won. And it is right that in life good qualities
should tell--that industry, virtue, and goodness should rank the
highest--and that the really best men should be foremost.

Simple honesty of purpose in a man goes a long way in life, if
founded on a just estimate of himself and a steady obedience to
the rule he knows and feels to be right. It holds a man straight,
gives him strength and sustenance, and forms a mainspring of
vigorous action. 'No man," once said Sir Benjamin Rudyard, "is
bound to be rich or great,--no, nor to be wise; but every man is
bound to be honest." (4)

But the purpose, besides being honest, must be inspired by sound
principles, and pursued with undeviating adherence to truth,
integrity, and uprightness. Without principles, a man is like a
ship without rudder or compass, left to drift hither and thither
with every wind that blows. He is as one without law, or rule, or
order, or government. "Moral principles," says Hume, "are social
and universal. They form, in a manner, the PARTY of humankind
against vice and disorder, its common enemy."

Epictetus once received a visit from a certain magnificent orator
going to Rome on a lawsuit, who wished to learn from the stoic
something of his philosophy. Epictetus received his visitor
coolly, not believing in his sincerity. "You will only criticise
my style," said he; "not really wishing to learn principles."--
"Well, but," said the orator, "if I attend to that sort of thing;
I shall be a mere pauper, like you, with no plate, nor equipage,
nor land."--"I don't WANT such things," replied Epictetus; "and
besides, you are poorer than I am, after all. Patron or no
patron, what care I? You DO care. I am richer than you. I don't
care what Caesar thinks of me. I flatter no one. This is what I
have, instead of your gold and silver plate. You have silver
vessels, but earthenware reasons, principles, appetites. My mind
to me a kingdom is, and it furnishes me with abundant and happy
occupation in lieu of your restless idleness. All your
possessions seem small to you; mine seem great to me. Your desire
is insatiate--mine is satisfied." (5)

Talent is by no means rare in the world; nor is even genius. But
can the talent be trusted?--can the genius? Not unless based on
truthfulness--on veracity. It is this quality more than any
other that commands the esteem and respect, and secures the
confidence of others. Truthfulness is at the foundation of all
personal excellence. It exhibits itself in conduct. It is
rectitude--truth in action, and shines through every word and
deed. It means reliableness, and convinces other men that it can
be trusted. And a man is already of consequence in the world when
it is known that he can be relied on,--that when he says he knows
a thing, he does know it,--that when be says he will do a thing,
he can do, and does it. Thus reliableness becomes a passport to
the general esteem and confidence of mankind.

In the affairs of life or of business, it is not intellect that
tells so much as character,--not brains so much as heart,--not
genius so much as self-control, patience, and discipline,
regulated by judgment. Hence there is no better provision for the
uses of either private or public life, than a fair share of
ordinary good sense guided by rectitude. Good sense, disciplined
by experience and inspired by goodness, issues in practical
wisdom. Indeed, goodness in a measure implies wisdom--the
highest wisdom--the union of the worldly with the spiritual.
"The correspondences of wisdom and goodness," says Sir Henry
Taylor, "are manifold; and that they will accompany each other is
to be inferred, not only because men's wisdom makes them good, but
because their goodness makes them wise." (6)

It is because of this controlling power of character in life that
we often see men exercise an amount of influence apparently out of
all proportion to their intellectual endowments. They appear to
act by means of some latent power, some reserved force, which acts
secretly, by mere presence. As Burke said of a powerful nobleman
of the last century, "his virtues were his means." The secret is,
that the aims of such men are felt to be pure and noble, and they
act upon others with a constraining power.

Though the reputation of men of genuine character may be of slow
growth, their true qualities cannot be wholly concealed. They may
be misrepresented by some, and misunderstood by others; misfortune
and adversity may, for a time, overtake them but, with patience
and endurance, they will eventually inspire the respect and
command the confidence which they really deserve.

It has been said of Sheridan that, had he possessed reliableness
of character, he might have ruled the world; whereas, for want of
it, his splendid gifts were comparatively useless. He dazzled and
amused, but was without weight or influence in life or politics.
Even the poor pantomimist of Drury Lane felt himself his superior.
Thus, when Delpini one day pressed the manager for arrears of
salary, Sheridan sharply reproved him, telling him he had
forgotten his station. "No, indeed, Monsieur Sheridan, I have
not," retorted Delpini; "I know the difference between us
perfectly well. In birth, parentage, and education, you are
superior to me; but in life, character, and behaviour, I am
superior to you."

Unlike Sheridan, Burke, his countryman, was a great man of
character. He was thirty-five before be gained a seat in
Parliament, yet he found time to carve his name deep in the
political history of England. He was a man of great gifts, and of
transcendent force of character. Yet he had a weakness, which
proved a serious defect--it was his want of temper; his genius
was sacrificed to his irritability. And without this apparently
minor gift of temper, the most splendid endowments may be
comparatively valueless to their possessor.

Character is formed by a variety of minute circumstances, more or
less under the regulation and control of the individual. Not a
day passes without its discipline, whether for good or for evil.
There is no act, however trivial, but has its train of
consequences, as there is no hair so small but casts its shadow.
It was a wise saying of Mrs. Schimmelpenninck's mother, never to
give way to what is little; or by that little, however you may
despise it, you will be practically governed.

Every action, every thought, every feeling, contributes to the
education of the temper, the habits, and understanding; and
exercises an inevitable influence upon all the acts of our future
life. Thus character is undergoing constant change, for better or
for worse--either being elevated on the one hand, or degraded on
the other. "There is no fault nor folly of my life," says Mr.
Ruskin, "that does not rise up against me, and take away my joy,
and shorten my power of possession, of sight, of understanding.
And every past effort of my life, every gleam of rightness or good
in it, is with me now, to help me in my grasp of this art and its
vision." (7)

The mechanical law, that action and reaction are equal, holds true
also in morals. Good deeds act and react on the doers of them;
and so do evil. Not only so: they produce like effects, by the
influence of example, on those who are the subjects of them. But
man is not the creature, so much as he is the creator, of
circumstances: (8) and, by the exercise of his freewill, he can
direct his actions so that they shall be productive of good rather
than evil. "Nothing can work me damage but myself," said St.
Bernard; "the harm that I sustain I carry about with me; and I am
never a real sufferer but by my own fault."

The best sort of character, however, cannot be formed without
effort. There needs the exercise of constant self-watchfulness,
self-discipline, and self-control. There may be much faltering,
stumbling, and temporary defeat; difficulties and temptations
manifold to be battled with and overcome; but if the spirit be
strong and the heart be upright, no one need despair of ultimate
success. The very effort to advance--to arrive at a higher
standard of character than we have reached--is inspiring and
invigorating; and even though we may fall short of it, we cannot
fail to be improved by every, honest effort made in an upward
direction.

And with the light of great examples to guide us--representatives
of humanity in its best forms--every one is not only justified,
but bound in duty, to aim at reaching the highest standard of
character: not to become the richest in means, but in spirit; not
the greatest in worldly position, but in true honour; not the most
intellectual, but the most virtuous; not the most powerful and
influential, but the most truthful, upright, and honest.

It was very characteristic of the late Prince Consort--a man
himself of the purest mind, who powerfully impressed and
influenced others by the sheer force of his own benevolent nature
--when drawing up the conditions of the annual prize to be given
by Her Majesty at Wellington College, to determine that it should
be awarded, not to the cleverest boy, nor to the most bookish boy,
nor to the most precise, diligent, and prudent boy,--but to the
noblest boy, to the boy who should show the most promise of
becoming a large-hearted, high-motived man. (9)

Character exhibits itself in conduct, guided and inspired by
principle, integrity, and practical wisdom. In its highest form,
it is the individual will acting energetically under the influence
of religion, morality, and reason. It chooses its way
considerately, and pursues it steadfastly; esteeming duty above
reputation, and the approval of conscience more than the world's
praise. While respecting the personality of others, it preserves
its own individuality and independence; and has the courage to be
morally honest, though it may be unpopular, trusting tranquilly to
time and experience for recognition.

Although the force of example will always exercise great influence
upon the formation of character, the self-originating and
sustaining force of one's own spirit must be the mainstay. This
alone can hold up the life, and give individual independence and
energy. "Unless man can erect himself above himself," said
Daniel, a poet of the Elizabethan era, "how poor a thing is man!"
Without a certain degree of practical efficient force--compounded
of will, which is the root, and wisdom, which is the stem of
character--life will be indefinite and purposeless--like a body
of stagnant water, instead of a running stream doing useful work
and keeping the machinery of a district in motion.

When the elements of character are brought into action by
determinate will, and, influenced by high purpose, man enters upon
and courageously perseveres in the path of duty, at whatever cost
of worldly interest, he may be said to approach the summit of his
being. He then exhibits character in its most intrepid form, and
embodies the highest idea of manliness. The acts of such a man
become repeated in the life and action of others. His very words
live and become actions. Thus every word of Luther's rang through
Germany like a trumpet. As Richter said of him, "His words were
half-battles." And thus Luther's life became transfused into the
life of his country, and still lives in the character of modern
Germany.

On the other hand, energy, without integrity and a soul of
goodness, may only represent the embodied principle of evil. It
is observed by Novalis, in his 'Thoughts on Morals,' that the
ideal of moral perfection has no more dangerous rival to contend
with than the ideal of the highest strength and the most energetic
life, the maximum of the barbarian--which needs only a due
admixture of pride, ambition, and selfishness, to be a perfect
ideal of the devil. Amongst men of such stamp are found the
greatest scourges and devastators of the world--those elect
scoundrels whom Providence, in its inscrutable designs, permits to
fulfil their mission of destruction upon earth. (10)

Very different is the man of energetic character inspired by a
noble spirit, whose actions are governed by rectitude, and the law
of whose life is duty. He is just and upright,--in his business
dealings, in his public action, and in his family life--justice
being as essential in the government of a home as of a nation. He
will be honest in all things--in his words and in his work. He
will be generous and merciful to his opponents, as well as to
those who are weaker than himself. It was truly said of Sheridan
--who, with all his improvidence, was generous, and never gave
pain--that

"His wit in the combat, as gentle as bright,
Never carried a heart-stain away on its blade."

Such also was the character of Fox, who commanded the affection
and service of others by his uniform heartiness and sympathy. He
was a man who could always be most easily touched on the side of
his honour. Thus, the story is told of a tradesman calling upon
him one day for the payment of a promissory note which he
presented. Fox was engaged at the time in counting out gold. The
tradesman asked to be paid from the money before him. "No," said
Fox, "I owe this money to Sheridan; it is a debt of honour; if any
accident happened to me, he would have nothing to show." "Then,"
said the tradesman, "I change MY debt into one of honour;" and he
tore up the note. Fox was conquered by the act: he thanked the
man for his confidence, and paid him, saying, "Then Sheridan must
wait; yours is the debt of older standing."

The man of character is conscientious. He puts his conscience
into his work, into his words, into his every action. When
Cromwell asked the Parliament for soldiers in lieu of the decayed
serving-men and tapsters who filled the Commonwealth's army, he
required that they should be men "who made some conscience of what
they did;" and such were the men of which his celebrated regiment
of "Ironsides" was composed.

The man of character is also reverential. The possession of this
quality marks the noblest, and highest type of manhood and
womanhood: reverence for things consecrated by the homage of
generations--for high objects, pure thoughts, and noble aims--
for the great men of former times, and the highminded workers
amongst our contemporaries. Reverence is alike indispensable to
the happiness of individuals, of families, and of nations.
Without it there can be no trust, no faith, no confidence, either
in man or God--neither social peace nor social progress. For
reverence is but another word for religion, which binds men to
each other, and all to God.

"The man of noble spirit," says Sir Thomas Overbury, "converts all
occurrences into experience, between which experience and his
reason there is marriage, and the issue are his actions. He moves
by affection, not for affection; he loves glory, scorns shame, and
governeth and obeyeth with one countenance, for it comes from one
consideration. Knowing reason to be no idle gift of nature, he is
the steersman of his own destiny. Truth is his goddess, and he
takes pains to get her, not to look like her. Unto the society of
men he is a sun, whose clearness directs their steps in a regular
motion. He is the wise man's friend, the example of the
indifferent, the medicine of the vicious. Thus time goeth not
from him, but with him, and he feels age more by the strength of
his soul than by the weakness of his body. Thus feels he no pain,
but esteems all such things as friends, that desire to file off
his fetters, and help him out of prison." (11)

Energy of will--self-originating force--is the soul of every
great character. Where it is, there is life; where it is not,
there is faintness, helplessness, and despondency. "The strong
man and the waterfall," says the proverb, "channel their own
path." The energetic leader of noble spirit not only wins a way
for himself, but carries others with him. His every act has a
personal significance, indicating vigour, independence, and self-
reliance, and unconsciously commands respect, admiration, and
homage. Such intrepidity of character characterised Luther,
Cromwell, Washington, Pitt, Wellington, and all great leaders
of men.

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