Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/179

 a mischievous  one,  which  pervades  the  nation like some  haunting  ghost. Can this  spirit, which teaches  men  to  deny  and  withstand  lawful authority,  can  it  be  overcome  by  force,  by blood  and  iron? We see  how  this  means  is employed,  alike  in  great  and  in  petty  States,  but how unsatisfactory  and  short-lived  are  the results!

No, such  means  are  futile. Faith, religion, constitutes the  real  power,  the  main  source, whence for  the  individual  and  for  the  nation stability, prosperity,  and  happiness  are  derived. Keep this  faith  firmly  rooted,  ever  alive  within your heart.

HIS word  "freedom"  is  understood by many  young  people  in  a  totally false sense,  and  frequently  interpreted  to their  own  destruction;  hence  it  is  that  good, conscientious parents  and  zealous  pastors  of souls  are  in  constant  dread  with  regard  to the  young  men  of  the  rising  generation.

You desire  freedom,  and  you  are  not  to  be blamed  for  so  doing. But do  not  confuse true freedom  with  absence  of  all  restraint For this  is  for  the  most  part  fraught  with dangers, and  its  results  not  unfrequently prove disastrous  in  the  case  of  young  people. I wish  to  warn  you  beforehand  against  these dangers and  disastrous  results  by  pointing out to  you  how  you  ought  to  employ  your freedom, if  you  desire  to  be  truly  free.

2. How  ought  you  to  employ  it? Listen