ble things.

For out of the abundance of a man's heart, not only does his mouth
speak, but his whole body and soul behave. The man whose mind is
filled with low and bad thoughts will be sure, when he is tempted,
to do low and bad things. The man whose mind is filled with lofty
and good thoughts will do lofty and good things.

For thoughts are the food of a man's mind; and as the mind feeds, so
will it grow. If it feeds on coarse and foul food, coarse and foul
it will grow. If it feeds on pure and refined food, pure and
refined it will grow.

There are those who do not believe this. Provided they are
tolerably attentive to the duties of religion, it does not matter
much, they fancy, what they think of out of church. Their souls
will be saved at last, they suppose, and that is all that they need
care for. Saved? They do not see that by giving way to foul, mean,
foolish thoughts all the week they are losing their souls,
destroying their souls, defiling their souls, lowering their souls,
and making them so coarse and mean and poor that they are not worth
saving, and are no loss to heaven or earth, whatever loss they may
be to the man himself. One man thinks of nothing but money--how he
shall save a penny here and a penny there. I do not mean men of
business; for them there are great excuses; for it is by continual
saving here and there that their profits are made. I speak rather
of people who have no excuse, people of fixed incomes--people often
wealthy and comfortable, who yet will lower their minds by
continually thinking over their money. But this I say, and this I
am sure that you will find, that when a man in business or out of
business accustoms himself, as very many do, to think of nothing but
money, money, money from Monday morning to Saturday night, he thinks
of money a great part of Sunday likewise. And so, after a while,
the man lowers his soul, and makes it mean and covetous. He forgets
all that is lovely and of good report. He forgets virtue--that is
manliness; and praise--that is the just respect and admiration of
his fellow-men; and so he forgets at last things true, honest, and
just likewise. He lowers his soul; and therefore when he is
tempted, he does things mean and false and unjust, for the sake of
money, which he has made his idol.

Take another case, too common among men and women of all ranks, high
and low.

How many there are who love gossip and scandal; who always talk
about