"
To become perfect it is not required that we should be born without any
animal desires. Such a person would not be much above an idiot; he
would be rightly despised and laughed at by every true man and woman;
but we must obtain the power to control our desires, instead of being
controlled by them; and here lies the true philosophy of temptation.
If a man has no higher aim in life than to eat and drink and propagate
his species; if all his aspirations and desires are centred in a wish
of living a happy life in the bosom of his family; there can be no
wrong if he follows the dictates of his nature and is satisfied with his
lot. When he dies, his family will mourn, his friends will say he was a
good fellow; they will give him a first-class funeral, and they will
perhaps write on his tombstone something like what I once saw in a
certain churchyard:
Here is the grave of John McBride,
He lived, got married, and died.
And that will be the end of Mr. John McBride, until in another
incarnation he will wake up again perhaps as Mr.
Pages:
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197