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MARCH EIGHTEENTH

    * William Byrd died 1674.
    * John C. Calhoun born 1782.
    * Grover Cleveland, New Jersey, twenty-second President United States, born 1837.


Almighty God, grant that I may never succumb to the controlling influences of the body, and lose the power of my mind. May I guard the dictates of my heart and keep my mind in command to obey thy will. Amen.

MARCH NINETEENTH

 

    * David Livingstone born 1813.
    * Alice French (Octave Thanet) born 1850.
    * William Jennings Bryan born 1860.

Isn't it interesting to get blamed for everything? But I must be thankful in feeling that I would rather perish than blame another for my misdeeds and deficiencies.

--David Livingstone.

Criticism is helpful. If a man makes a mistake, criticism enables him to correct it; if he is unjustly criticized, the criticism helps him. I have had my share of criticism since I have been in public life, but it has not prevented me from doing what I thought proper to do.

--William Jennings Bryan.

For himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.

--Hebrews 13. 5, 6.

Loving Father, I thank thee that thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and I am glad I cannot receive from thee the slights and wounds that I may give or receive from my friends. May I be considerate and more forgiving, and by my sincerity be worthy of the purpose which I pursue. Amen.

MARCH TWENTIETH

    * Publius Ovidius (Ovid) born B. C. 43.
    * Sir Isaac Newton died 1727.
    * Karl August Nicander born 1799.
    * Henrik Ibsen born 1828.

Whoever is not with me in the essential things of life, him I no longer know--I owe him no consideration.

--Henrik Ibsen.

Only he who lives in truth finds it. The deepest truth is not born of conscious striving, but comes in the quiet hour when a noble nature gives itself into the keeping of life, to suffer, to feel, to think, and to act as it is moved by a wisdom not its own.

--Hamilton Mabie.

Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God.

--Philippians 3. 13, 14.

Lord God, I thank thee for the silent ways of revelation which bring hopeful communion with thee. Help me to be composed, that my life may not create a noise and my soul miss the messages that come from the depths of truth and love. Amen.

MARCH TWENTY-SECOND

    * Sir Anthony Vandyke born 1599.
    * Caroline Sheridan Norton born 1808.
    * Johann Goethe died 1832.
    * Dr. Farrar, Dean of Canterbury, died 1903.
    * Rosa Bonheur born 1822.

Red Love still rules the day, white Faith enfolds the night,
And hope, green-mantled, leads the way by the walls of the City of Light.
Therefore I walk as one who sees the joy shine through
Of the other Life behind our life, like the stars behind the blue.
--Dean Farrar.

There can be no greater delight than is experienced by a man who, by his own unaided resources, frees himself from the consequences of error: Heaven looks down with satisfaction upon such a spectacle.

--Goethe.

Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a land that reacheth afar.

--Isaiah 33. 17.

Lord God, help me to remember that I may not only be forgiven for my transgression, but with thy help I may be led away from the wrong. May I be content to follow where thou dost lead. Amen.

MARCH TWENTY-THIRD

    * Pierre Savant La Place born 1749.
    * Schuyler Colfax born 1823.
    * Richard A. Proctor born 1837.

Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together; that at length they may emerge, full-formed and majestic, into the daylight of life.... Nay, in thy own mean perplexities, do thou thyself but hold thy tongue for one day; on the morrow how much clearer are thy purposes and duties!

--Thomas Carlyle.

Deliberate much before you say and do anything; for it will not be in your power to recall what is said or done.

--Epictetus.
Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth;
Keep the door of my lips.
--Psalm 141. 3.

My Lord, make me a lover of the truth. Make me careful of my thoughts, and the words I would speak, that I may not think selfishly and speak cruelly, but keep myself holy unto thee. Amen.

MARCH TWENTY-FOURTH

    * Queen Elizabeth died 1603.
    * Fanny Crosby born 1820.
    * Henry W. Longfellow died 1882.
    * Sir Edwin Arnold died 1904.


Almighty God, make me conscious of my weaknesses, and make me ashamed of my indulgences. Give me a victory over self; and may I consider more what I put in my life. May I be eager for that which will inspire me for greater aspirations. Amen.

MARCH TWENTY-FIFTH

    * Archbishop John Williams born 1582.
    * Joachim Murat born 1771.
    * Anna Seward died 1809.

How awful is the thought of the wonders underground,
Of the mystic changes wrought in the silent, dark profound!
How each thing upward tends by necessity decreed,
And the world's support depends on the shooting of a seed!
The summer's in her ark, and this sunny-pinioned day
Is commissioned to remark whether Winter holds her sway:
Go back, thou dove of peace, with myrtle on thy wing,
Say that floods and tempests cease, and the world is ripe for Spring.
--Horace Smith.

I should never have made my success in life if I had not bestowed upon the least thing I have ever undertaken the same attention and care that I have bestowed upon the greatest.

--Charles Dickens.

Gather up the broken pieces which remain over, that nothing be lost.

--John 6. 12.

Loving Father, cause me to learn from nature that to have perfection I must be attentive at the beginning of growth. Help me to select with care the soil wherein I plant; and to weed and cultivate my life that it may grow to beauty and usefulness. Amen.

MARCH TWENTY-SIXTH

    * Konrad von Gesner born 1516.
    * W. E. H. Lecky born 1838.
    * Gustave Guillaumet born 1840.
    * Walt Whitman died 1892.

Every man takes care that his neighbor shall not cheat him, but a day comes when he begins to care that he do not cheat his neighbor. Then all goes well. He has changed his market-cart into a chariot of the sun.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

He that is unacquainted with the nature of the world must be at a loss to know where he is. And he that cannot tell the ends he was made for is ignorant both of himself and the world too.

--Marcus Aurelius.

Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.

--2 Timothy 2. 15.

Almighty God, may I not only approve of justice and kindness, but practice it. Grant that I may be attentive to the call of work and steadfast in completing it. May I be sincere to those who are dear to me, and never falter in my support to those who are dependent upon me. Amen.

MARCH TWENTY-SEVENTH

    * Alfred Vigny born 1799.
    * General A. W. Greely born 1847.
    * Sir Gilbert Scott died 1878.

It takes great strength to bring your life up square
With your accepted thought and hold it there:
Resisting the inertia that drags it back
From new attempts, to the old habit's track.
It is so easy to drift back, to sink.
So hard to live abreast of what you think.
--Charlotte Perkins Stetson.

If a person had delivered up your body to anyone whom he met in his way, you would certainly be angry. And do you feel no shame in delivering up your own mind to be disconcerted and confounded by anyone who happens to give you ill language.

--Epictetus.
Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.

--Acts 26. 19.

My Father, my soul sinks with shame when I think of the great moments that I have given over to mean little things. Help me that I may reckon more on the value of time, and live not to tolerate life, but to have a great need for it, that day by day I may have a deeper consciousness of its appropriate use. Amen.

MARCH TWENTY-EIGHTH

    * Santi d'Urbino Raphael born 1483.
    * Sir Thomas Smith born 1514.
    * Margaret (Peg) Woffington died 1760.

They may not need me,
Yet they might;
I'll let my heart be
Just in sight--
A smile so small
As mine might be
Precisely their
Necessity.
--Unknown.
You hear that boy laughing?--you think he's all fun;
But the angels laugh too at the good he has done;
The children laugh loud as they troop to his call,
And the poor man that knows him laughs loudest of all.
--Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other.

--Ephesians 4. 31.

Lord God, I pray that I may be fair, and not pass judgment on those whom I like or those whom I dislike, and so bring unhappy regrets. May I remember that, though hasty judgment often may be temporary, the gain or loss of a friend may be permanent. Amen.

MARCH TWENTY-NINTH

    * Dr. John Lightfoot born 1602.
    * John Tyler, Virginia, tenth President United States, born 1790.
    * Amelia Barr born 1831.


In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.

--Isaiah 30. 15.

Lord God, I beseech thee to give me the strength which endures. Grant that I may have the ceaseless content which is secured by choosing and continuing in the right way. From the wealth of each day renew my hope, and quiet my soul with the calm of thy peace. Amen.

MARCH THIRTIETH

    * Sir Henry Wotton born 1568.
    * Archbishop Somner born 1606.
    * John Fiske born 1842.
    * John Constable died 1837.


Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Jehovah your God.

--Jeremiah 26. 13.

MARCH THIRTY-FIRST

    * Ludwig von Beethoven died 1827.
    * Joseph Francis Haydn born 1732.
    * Andrew Lang born 1844.
    * Charlotte Brontë died 1855.

The Great Being unseen, but all-present, who in his beneficence desires only our welfare, watches the struggle between good and evil in our hearts, and waits to see whether we obey his voice, heard in the whispers of conscience, or lend an ear to the Spirit Evil, which seeks to lead us astray. Rough and steep is the path indicated by divine suggestion; mossy and declining the green way along which temptation strews flowers. Then conscience whispers, "Do what you feel is right, obey me, and I will plant for you firm footing."

--Charlotte Brontë.
God help us do our duty, and not shrink,
And trust in heaven humbly for the rest.
--Owen Meredith.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life.

--Deuteronomy 30. 19.

My Father, as I review my life I am impressed how accurately my deeds have copied my thoughts. And though I have failed the so often, yet I pray that thou wilt accept my yearnings, to think and work for the best in every day. Amen.

APRIL FIRST

    * All Fools' Day.
    * William Harvey born 1578.
    * Prince von Bismarck born 1815.
    * Edwin A. Abbey born 1852.
    * Agnes Repplier born 1858.

It is a peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others, and to forget his own.

--Cicero.

A man may be as much a fool from the want of sensibility as the want of sense.

--Mrs. Jameson.

He that knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool: shun him.

--Arabian Maxim.
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?
There is more hope of a fool than of him.
--Proverbs 26. 12.

Almighty God, grant that I may be spared the allurements of deceptive happiness which leaves weary days. I ask for wisdom that I may not speak foolishly, think foolishly, or act foolishly; and may I not be detained by the foolishness of others, but pursue my work, whether it be far or near. Amen.

APRIL SECOND

    * Charlemagne born 742.
    * Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, third President United States, born 1743.
    * Hans Andersen born 1805.
    * Frederic A. Bartholdi born 1834.
    * Emile Zola born 1840.

When a man assumes a public trust he should consider himself public property.

--Thomas Jefferson.

We hold these truths to be self-evident--that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

--Declaration of Independence.
Breathes there the man with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?
--Sir Walter Scott.

Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

--Matthew 22. 21.

My Lord, I thank thee for the wisdom and love that is spoken through the lives of strong men and women. Grant that I may be willing to learn of them, and gladly serve where I am needed, remembering that thou art Lord of all. Amen.

APRIL THIRD

    * George Herbert born 1593.
    * Washington Irving born 1783.
    * Edward Everett Hale born 1822.
    * John Burroughs born 1837.


There is a healthy hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble.

--Washington Irving.

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me:
My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
--Job 29. 14.

My Lord, I pray that I may always be found clothed in love and kindness. Make me worthy to minister to those who may be dependent on me, and whether they be rich or poor, high or low, may I try to help them. Amen.

APRIL FOURTH

    *
      Oliver Goldsmith died 1774.A
    *
      Dorothea Dix born 1802.
    *
      James Freeman Clarke born 1810.

"The greatest object in the universe," said a certain philosopher, "is a good man struggling with adversity"; yet there is still a greater, which is the good man who comes to relieve it.

--Oliver Goldsmith.


But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?

--1 John 3. 17.

Almighty God, may I have a liberal heart. Grant that I may feel the needs of thy children in all lands; and may I be willing to give of thy blessings, as I am ready to receive them. May my tribute be not only of tender thoughts and kind words, but may I give of myself, and of what I have, as thou hast through love and wisdom done for me. Amen.

APRIL FIFTH

    * Elihu Yale born 1648.
    * Sir Henry Havelock born 1795.
    * Frank Stockton (Francis) born 1834.
    * Algernon Charles Swinburne born 1837.


I came from God, and I'm going back to God, and I won't have any gaps of death in the middle of my life.

--George MacDonald.

The hope of the righteous shall be gladness;
But the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
--Proverbs 10. 28.

Lord God, teach me the way and show me the light of the eternal day; and may the vision fill my soul as I take courage and follow it. May I not be fearful of what may be provided, but remember that before the creation of life thou didst have a purpose in death. May I be trustful. Amen.

APRIL SIXTH

    * Albert Dürer died 1528.
    * James Mill born 1773.
    * Jean Baptiste Rousseau born 1669.

Even if the sacrifices which are made to duty and virtue are painful to make, they are well repaid by the sweet recollections which they leave at the bottom of the heart.

--Jean B. Rousseau.




Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.

--Revelation 2. 10.

Loving Father, I bless thee for thy love and ministry. May I enter into a broader conception of sharing thy gifts. May I not seek thy blessings to keep, but to use for renewed inspiration. Amen.

APRIL SEVENTH

    * Saint Francis Xavier born 1506.
    * William Wordsworth born 1770.
    * William Ellery Channing born 1780.


A self-controlled mind is a free mind, and freedom is power. I call that mind free which jealously guards its intellectual rights and powers. I call that mind free which resists the bondage of habit, which does not live on its old virtues, but forgets what is behind, and rejoices to pour itself forth in fresh and higher exertions.

--William Ellery Channing.

That ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.

--Ephesians 4. 23, 24.

Lord God, give me the power to control my mind and heart, that I may not be a slave to habits that may keep me from eternal love and blessedness. May I have sympathy and compassion for others, and cherish thy tenderness and mercy as I hold it in my daily life. Amen.

APRIL EIGHTH

    * Petrarch crowned 1341.
    * William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, born 1580.
    * David Rittenhouse born 1732.

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life from aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
--Emily Dickinson.

The most solid comfort one can fall back upon is the thought that the business of one's life is to help in some small way to reduce the sum of ignorance, degradation, and misery on the face of this beautiful earth.

--George Eliot.

Make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself.

--Philippians 2. 2, 3.

My Father, take away the spirit, if I may be inclined to keep the best, and to be always seeking my portion. May I have the desire to share with those who have less, and to give to those who may have more, whether it be of bread or love. Amen.

APRIL NINTH

    * Fisher Ames born 1758.
    * John Opie died 1807.
    * Dante Gabriel Rossetti died 1882.



Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

--Romans 15. 13.

Almighty God, may I ever know the generous glow that comes with an overwhelming desire to cultivate the soul. With hope may I find the way through the darkness that leads to immortality, even if I may have to experience the weariness that may accompany it. Amen.

APRIL TENTH

    * Hugo Grotius born 1583.
    * William Hazlitt born 1778.
    * General Lew Wallace born 1827.
    * General William Booth born 1829.

The essence of happy living is never to find life dull, never to feel the ugly weariness which comes of overstrain; to be fresh, cheerful, leisurely, sociable, unhurried, well-balanced. It seems to me impossible to be these things unless we have time to consider life a little, to deliberate, to select, to abstain.

--Arthur C. Benson.

Four things come not back--the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, the neglected opportunity.

--William Hazlitt.

Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure.

--2 Peter 1. 10.

My Father, may I not miss my work through indifference and feel it is thy neglect of me. May I be reminded that the enrichment of life comes through persistency and being consistent, and may not be found on the idle paths of extravagant ways. Help me to take up my work with a willing spirit and give my best to it. Amen.

APRIL ELEVENTH

    * George Canning born 1770.
    * Edward Everett born 1794.
    * Donald G. Mitchell (Ik Marvel) born 1822.

The safe path to excellence and success in every calling, is that of appropriate preliminary education, diligent application to learn the art of assiduity and practicing it.

--Edward Everett.


And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fullness of hope even to the end: that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

--Hebrews 6. 11, 12.

Lord God, help me in all my circumstances, and be with me in my daily work. Help me in my efforts, as I endeavor to attain, and may my will be hid in thine. Amen.

APRIL TWELFTH

    * Edward Young died 1765.
    * Edward Bird born 1772.
    * Henry Clay born 1777.

I would rather be right than be President.

--Henry Clay.


Pedigree has no more to do in making a man actually greater than he is than a peacock's feather in his hat has in making him actually taller. When the world stands in need of an aristocrat, nature pitches one into it, and furnishes him papers without any flaw in them.

--Josh Billings.

Cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.

--Hebrews 10. 35, 36.

Lord God, help me to select with care the site, the plans, and the foundation of my life. May I use the best material; and may it be worthy of a permanent home. Amen.