Page:Advice to young ladies on their duties and conduct in life - Arthur - 1849.djvu/209

Rh duty to perform, which she will fail to do, unless governed by a religious principle. It is a very easy thing, in our associations with others, to think only of ourselves. To this we are all naturally inclined. But to do so, is to be unjust; for when we think only of our own pleasures and our own interests, we are sure to seek them at the expense of the pleasures and interests of others. This is the inevitable result of all selfish action. It is impossible for us to act in society without in some way affecting others, and according to the ends which govern us will be the quality of our acts. If we have a generous regard for others in what we do, we shall be sure to make others happy; but if only a regard for ourselves, we shall as certainly, in something, trespass upon the rights or feelings of others. In the society of her light-hearted friends, a young lady will often find herself tempted to say, or respond affirmatively to, a disparaging word of an absent one; or she will feel disposed, from not wishing to disturb the self-complacency of a friend, to hear unfavorable things said of another that she knows are untrue, and which a single remark from her can correct; or she may have an eager desire to secure some good to herself, at the expense of bitter disappointment in one less able to bear it than herself. In fact, there are a hundred ways in which the well-being, good name, or happiness