Items of Interest.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 506, 31 January 1906, Page 7

Items of Interest.

I NOT to know only, but to act aeoording to your knowledge is your duty ; for your action and your aotion only, tests your worth.—Fichte. If some being of another world desoended among us and asked for the supreme power of our soul, and the title of earth's nobility what should we give to him.—Maeterlinok. Good-breeding.—A kind of artificial humanity ; an imitation and mimiory of good-nature, or in other terms, affability, complaisance; and easiness of temper reduced to art, —' Spectator.' Oh, yet we trust that somahow good Will bo the final goal of ill, To pangs of nature, sins of will, Defeats of doubt, and taints of blood. —Tennyson. Ho man can be thoroughly miserable who has work to do. The direst misery is the result cf a self-centred life. Unhappiness cannot exist in its keenest form when self is forgotten,—Hugh Blaok. By desiring what is perfeotly good, even when we do not know what it is and cannot do what we would, we are part of the di vine power against evil widening the skirts of light and making the struggle with darkness narrower.—George Eliot, There is one sorrow which will be forgiven thee, and for whioh there is recompense : it is sorrow for thy dead. For thid sweet sorrow for thy Inst ones is, in truth but another form of consolation ; when we long for them, this is but a sadder way of loving them still: and when we think of their departure we shed tears, as well as when we pioture to ourselves our happy meeting with them again. And perhaps these tears differ not.—Riohter. Everyone on this earth should believe, amid whatever madness or moral failure, that his life and temperament have some objaot on earth. Everyone on the earth sbould believe that he has something to give to the world whioh cannot otherwise be given. Everyone should, for the good of men and the saving of his own soul, believe that it is possible, even if we are the enemies of the human raee, to be the fiiends of God k —G. K, Chesterton.

How often people pride themselves on their imperfeotions 1 Harshly a man says, • No, sir ; I am not one of the forgiving kind.' Arrogantly the purse-proud one cries, ' What dc you suppose I care for the opinion of poor folks?' Recklessly the bravado sneers, ' Do you think I am one to stop when a thing is a bit dangerous ?.' Yet to be one of the forgiving kind, to be wise enough to know and sensible enough to consider even the opinion of the humblest, to estimate dangers and oount the oost before engaging—these are great and worthy qualities. It is a question whether most of the things about which we pride ourselves are not usually our frailties and ignoranoe. A sage was cnoe asked why sages were seen at the door of kings, and not kings at th 3 door of sages, and replied that that was because sages knew what wa3 good for them, and kings did not. Conoeit and pride keep us away from many wonderful openings in oharaoter and soul. Dr. Farkhurst ones said that 'the Gates of the Kingdom were never entered by one driving a coach and four; they were only high enough to admit a little child, and one like unto such a one.' He that is wise will distrust nothing so muoh in himself SB that about which he is proud.