106 OSCILLATIONS OK VIBRATIONS, ETC. 



position. By honorable, right-angled or upright behavior, we 

 may awaken sympathy in the bosom of the wise, the just, and 

 the benevolent. We may impress them favorably, and they 

 will necessarily become our friends. It is a law of Nature, 

 that virtue and integrity shall have their reward. Is not this 

 a plain indication of that pathway through life over which 

 men ought to travel ? 



And let us never forget that we mutually impress each 

 other by every action of our lives. If we violate a contract 

 made with another, we produce a bad impression, and we 

 injure not only the man but the community. That unfavor- 

 able impression is retained, and it may be a generous and 

 confiding man has been rendered, for life, penurious and dis- 

 trustful. But if we keep our contract, we produce a good 

 impression, which is quite as permanent the man has con- 

 fidence in us, and we impel him to increased confidence in 

 his species. He meets us with a bright smile because we 

 have done well. If men only reflected thoroughly on the 

 power of external circumstances and individual laws of 

 organization, they would act with greater wisdom and justice 

 toward each other. 



Far be it from me to insinuate in these pages that man is 

 ever carried to any line of conduct by physical impulse or 

 necessity. If we suppose this, then man becomes a mere 

 machine; and no longer responsible for his conduct, he is 

 unworthy of either praise or blame. Virtue becomes a fig- 

 ment. Every action of his life is the result of choice, and 

 that choice connects itself with a degree of moral responsi- 

 bility proportioned to the extent to which he has a clear and 

 adequate perception of his obligations. The very idea of 

 virtue implies resistance to temptation and an enlightened 

 and willing fulfillment of duty. 



