of things, then its praise and blame would in its place
be valuable too. Did the world admire what God admires; did it account
humility, for instance, a great virtue, and pride a great sin; did it
condemn that spirit of self-importance and sensitiveness of disgrace,
which calls itself a love of honour; did it think little of temporal
prosperity, wealth, rank, grandeur, and power, did it condemn arrogant
and irreverent disputing, the noisy, turbulent spirit of ambition, the
love of war and conquest, and the perverse temper which leads to
jealousy and hatred; did it prefer goodness and truth to gifts of the
intellect; did it think little of quickness, wit, shrewdness, power of
speech and general acquirements, and much of patience, meekness,
gentleness, firmness, faith, conscientiousness, purity, forgiveness of
injuries,--then there would be no sin in our seeking the world's
praise; and though we still ought to love God's praise above all, yet
we might love the praise of the world in its degree, for it would be
nothing more nor less than the praise of good men. But since, alas!
the contrary is the case, since the world (as Scripture tells us)
"lieth in wickedness," and the principles and practices which prevail
on all sides of us are not those which the All-holy God sanctions, we
cannot lawfully seek the world's praise. We cannot serve two masters
who are enemies the one to the other. We are forbidden to love the
world or any thing that is of the world, for it is not of the Father,
but passeth away.

This is the reason why it is wrong to pursue the world's praise; viz.
because we cannot have it and God's praise too. And yet, as the
pursuit of it is wrong, so is it common,--for this reason: because God
is unseen, and the world is seen; because God's praise and blame are
future, the world's are present; because God's praise and blame are
inward, and come quietly and without keenness, whereas the world's are
very plain and intelligible, and make themselves felt.

Take, for instance, the case of the young, on (what is called) entering
into life. Very many, indeed, there are, whether in a higher or lower
station, who enter into the mixed society of others early; so early,
that it might be thought they had hardly had time to acquire any
previous knowledge of right and wrong, any standard of right and wrong,
other than the world gives, any principles by which to fight against
the world. And yet it cannot quite be so. Wha