The light of the match, which
but a little effort of the breath would have extinguished at first, has
imparted a flame that is raging through the entire building, and now it
is almost, if not quite impossible to conquer it.
Shall we notice another concrete case? a trite case, perhaps, but one in
which we can see how habit is formed, and also how the same habit can be
unformed. Here is a young man, he may be the son of poor parents, or he
may be the son of rich parents; one in the ordinary ranks of life, or
one of high social standing, whatever that means. He is good-hearted,
one of good impulses, generally speaking,--a good fellow. He is out with
some companions, companions of the same general type. They are out for a
pleasant evening, out for a good time. They are apt at times to be
thoughtless, even careless. The suggestion is made by one of the
company, not that they get drunk, no, not at all; but merely that they
go and have something to drink together. The young man whom we first
mentioned, wanting to be genial, scarcely listens to the suggestion that
comes to his inner consciousness--that it will be better for him not to
fall in with the others in this. He does not stop long enough to realize
the fact that the greatest strength and nobility of character lies
always in taking a firm stand on the side of the right, and allow
himself to be influenced by nothing that will weaken this stand.
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