THE LAW OF HABIT. 55 



tr.ained is put into faithful exercise, and brought to the state desired, 

 by being vigorously and fi-equently exerted. The powers of our 

 higher nature are trained in the same way. Our emotional tenden- 

 cies, our reasoning powers, our virtues, are developed through faith- 

 ful exercise. Character itself is nothing other than tlie general 

 result brought about by the course of action an individual has 

 habitually chosen. A weak character, a sti'ong character, a good or 

 bad character, all these express merely different states of develop- 

 ment whicli an individual has reached through habitual action. 

 Each of the conquests, as also each of the failures made by him, 

 stamps itself indeliy)ly upon him, and the tendency at every step is 

 toward a final fixed and immovable state. " The Battle of Life " 

 has become almost a proverb, and its truth comes home to every 

 heart in the consciousness of the inner struggle of contending forces, 

 on the one hand the lower empirical instigations of the fiesh, and 

 on the other the inoral ideal. In spite of all intelligent perception 

 of the excellency of the moral law, in spite of approval, determina- 

 tion, and endeavour toward the right, the sori-y absurdity of good 

 opinions and bad life is often seen. 



The rebellious organism and the insurgent passions may defeat all 

 virtuous resolution. Knowledge alone is not sufficient. Theory and 

 doctrine, and the inculcation of pi-ecepts, are no doubt well enough, 

 they are in fact necessaiy in their place, but they are of no use unless 

 supplemented by a practical training. They can never of themselves 

 lead to the uniform habit of right action, and, unless aided by the 

 practice of virtue, will be totally barren of results. There are many 

 who approve of one course, and yet follow another. Their lives are 

 truly battle fields where the struggle of opposing tendencies is still 

 going on, and the struggle will cease only when frequent victory on 

 either side lias weakened and dissipated the resisting force, or brought 

 it into regular submission. This necessity of a practical training in 

 order to the attainment of the fixed state (e'ltT), called a virtuous 

 character, is clearly expressed by Aristotle in the second book of the 

 Nicomachean Ethics, where he speaks of men learning to be virtuous 

 by practising virtue, just as they learn to build houses by building 

 them, and to play on the harp by playing thereon. 



The education of our voluntary powers of virtuous or vicious action 

 is certainly of far greater importance as determining the destiny of 

 the individual, than the education of the intellect. It is by over- 



