THE PROBLEM OF THE WILL 



79 



into unchastity do so as the result of an impulse 

 which is inherited, and which is as much a part 

 of their being as the power of thought itself. 

 Why does some woman you know outrage de- 

 cency ? Let me answer by asking, Do you know 

 how her mother lived ? When you know that, 

 whether you blame her less or more, you will no 

 longer wonder. A few boys were playing in a 

 vacant lot in an eastern town. A quarrel arose, 

 and soon they were throwing stones. One was 

 hit, and ran home for his older brother. That 

 young man, a manly. Christian fellow, came to 

 where the little boys were, and, when one of them 

 made what seemed to him an insulting remark, 

 quick as thought knocked the little fellow down, 

 injuring him severely. Afterward, the young 

 man, deeply and really penitent, said, " I am so 

 quick tempered." He was indeed, but where did 

 he get his temper ? Did he coolly go to a shop 

 and purchase it .-• Such commodities are not on 

 sale. The father and mother of the youth sup- 

 ply the explanation. Two hands really struck 

 down the little boy : the visible hand of the 

 ■ youth, and the unseen hand which reached out 

 of the past. The blame was laid on the former 

 alone ; but was he alone blameworthy } A slight 

 study of human life tends to make most persons 



