Page:Moral Pieces in Prose and Verse.pdf/112

 the spirit of this beautiful comparison animate us to greater diligence in the pursuit of useful knowledge, and to greater perseverance in vanquishing opposing difficulties. Recollect also that habits are now most easily formed. The youthful mind, where discordant passions are not suffered to predominate, is like wax to the soft impression of the seal. Take care to stamp upon it only the images of virtue and of piety. Strive to lay the foundation of an amiable and an useful character. Endeavour to gain a spirit of meekness, of gentleness, and of sincerity. Accustom yourselves to condescension and forbearance. Let each of you look carefully into her own character, and reform what she there finds amiss, remembering that every error, in which she persists, removes her still farther from the path of duty. Above all, never practise dissimulation. It strikes at the root of every virtue, and undermines the foundations of all happiness. Cultivate candour and sincerity; they will endear you to the good and to the judicious. Endeavour to realize the importance of establishing good habits; of forsaking errors; and of acquiring those sources of intellectual pleasure which will continue unimpaired, when the enjoyments of youth are departed, and its bloom forever gone.

You have gained as it were a little eminence in the journey of your life. Behind you are the