THE LAW OF HABIT. 55 



trained is put into faithful exercise, and brought to the state desired, 

 by being vigorously and frequently 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 the general 

 result brought about by the course of action an individual has 

 habitually chosen. A weak charactei', a strong character, a good or 

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

 ment which an individual has reached through habitual action. 

 Each of the conquests, as also each of the failures mad(3 by him, 

 stamps itself indelibly upon him, and the tendency at every step is 

 toward a final fixed and immo.vable 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 forges, 

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

 on the other the moral 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. Theoiy and 

 doctrine, and the inculcation of precepts, are no doubt well enough, 

 they are in fact necessary 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 has 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 (?|jc), 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 powei's 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- 



