h.

It is certainly the great sphere in which our affections are to be
cultivated. Of course I do not mean that this is the limit of their
cultivation. But here they are nurtured, and out of this they grow. As
love is the Infinite Nature itself, so is it the prevalent sentiment of
all life. It has been ordained that this great element should flow
through every form of being, linking them together by a common feeling,
and lending some interest to the most insignificant. And man has been
set in the family relation that this sentiment might be developed.
There is no one in whose heart it does not exist. You cannot find me a
being so defaced, so alienated from the common stock of humanity, as to
cherish in his bosom no secret fount of love, no fibril of affection
linking him to something else. But of this love there are numerous
degrees; and the highest forms of it, that go forth in expressions of
self-sacrifice and worldwide sympathy, are only developed by culture.
And for this culture there are rich opportunities amidst the relations
and sanctities of Home.

And there is opportunity among these relations also, for active duty,
and in its daily tasks and responsibilities, is often illustrated that
practical lesson which society so much needs--the lesson of mutual help.
It is a school where we may learn endurance and charity. Out of its
trials is developed the sense of religious need; and under the shadow of
its bereavements we appreciate the glorious vision of Faith. There are
other issues in life, where we need these divine helps; none where we
feel the need of them more. Those who have stood by the sick-bed and
taken the last look of the dearest earthly objects, and yet have lifted
hearts of trust, and eyes of transcendent hope, are able to meet the
intensest sorrows of the world, and to come out like refined gold. Home,
then, should be regarded especially in this light, as a sphere where the
richest elements of our moral culture are supplied.

Finally, if at home we find the most essential happiness or misery of
life, of course each should do his best to make it the most _attractive_
of all places. He should bring not his worst, but his best temper there.
How many are there who bottle up their wrath all the day long, and
uncork it when they get home! They had better reverse the process. If
you must chafe under disappointment, and indulge angry passion, let it
out in the excitement of the world, where the rough frictio