you to keep it, never, if possible,
to lie down at night without being able to say, I have made one human
being at least a little wiser, a little happier, or a little better this
day. You will find it easier than you think, and pleasanter.

_Sermons for the Times_. 1855.

Self-control. April 13.

A well-educated moral sense, a well-educated character, saves from
idleness and ennui, alternating with sentimentality and excitement, those
tenderer emotions, those deeper passions, those nobler aspirations of
humanity, which are the heritage of the woman far more than of the man,
and which are potent in her, for evil or for good, in proportion as they
are left to run wild and undisciplined, or are trained and developed into
graceful, harmonious, self-restraining strength, beautiful in themselves,
and a blessing to all who come under their influence.

_Lecture on Thrift_. 1869.

Women and Novels. April 14.

Novels will be read; but that is all the more reason why women should be
trained, by the perusal of a higher, broader, deeper literature, to
distinguish the good novel from the bad, the moral from the immoral, the
noble from the base, the true work of art from the sham which hides its
shallowness and vulgarity under a tangled plot and a melodramatic
situation. They should learn--and that they can only learn by
cultivation--to discern with joy and drink in with reverence, the good,
the beautiful, and the true, and to turn with the fine scorn of a pure
and strong womanhood from the bad, the ugly, and the false.

_Lecture on Thrift_. 1869.

Expect Much. April 15.

Expect great things from God, and also expect the least things, for the
great test of faith is shown about the least matters. People will
believe their soul is sure to be saved who have not the heart to expect
that God will take away some small burden.

_MS. Letter_. 1842.

What is Theology? April 16.

Theology signifies the knowledge of God as He is. And it is dying out
among us in these days. Much of what is called theology now is nothing
but experimental religion, which is most important and useful when it is
founded on the right knowledge of God, but which is not itself theology.
For theology begins with God, but experimental religion, right or wrong,
begins with a man's own soul.

_Discipline and other Sermons_.

Sweetness and Light. April 17.

Ah, that we could believe that God is love, and that he