Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/14

 conditions of  modern  life,  and  to  call  his  particular attention  to  the  forces  and  influences that are  inimical  to  the  preservation  of  his faith and  innocence;  it  admonishes  the  young man, on  his  entrance  into  the  busy  world,  to put  on  the  'armatura  Dei'  (Eph.  vi.  11), the 'armor  of  God';  namely,  to  acquire,  to  cultivate, and  practise  various  virtues,  such  as faith,  hope,  charity,  the  fear  of  God,  sobriety, humility, obedience,  fidelity,  and  perseverance; it  instructs  him,  especially,  how  to fight,  how  to  conquer,  in  the  hardest  of  battles — that  which  must  be  fought  in  behalf  of  the virtue of  chastity.

"In the  second  place,  our  'Guide'  is  intended  to  be  a  support  and  encouragement  to the  young  man  in  all  the  circumstances  of  his life,  and,  in  particular,  to  stand  by  his  side  at the  parting  of  the  ways,  when  he  has  to  choose a  definite  state  of  life  —  to  give  him  needful suggestions  and  counsels  at  this  important period  of  his  career  in  regard  to  his  vocation. By  the  grace  of  God,  may  this  little  volume be  to  our  young  men  truly  a  lighthouse  amid the  darkness  of  unbelief  and  heresy,  a  bulwark against  the  ever  increasing  flood  of  immorality, an  anchor  of  salvation  when  the soul  is  threatened  with  shipwreck,  and  a  star of  hope  in  the  gloom  of  life."

To enhance  the  practical  value  of  this  work, we have  added  to  the  Counsels  and  Reflections  a  compilation  of  Prayers  and  Devotions, which, though  short,  will  be  found  satis-