Moral and
religious character is a feature of man's personality, and our
personality is moulded mainly by the men and women with whom we
associate. A man is not only "known by the company which he keeps;"
he is usually fashioned by and conforms to it. As President Seelye
has well said, "The only motive which can move a will is either a
will itself, or something into which a will enters. It is not a
thought, but only a sentiment, a deed, or a person, by which we
become truly inspired. It is not the intellect, but the heart and
will, through which and by which we are controlled. It is not the
precepts of life, but life itself, by which alone we are begotten
and born unto life.
"Now, there are two ways in which living power, personal power, the
power of a will, may enter a soul and give it life; the one is when
God's will works upon us, and the other when our wills work upon one
another. God's will may directly penetrate ours, enabling us to will
and to do of his good pleasure; and our own wills, thus inspired,
may be the torch to kindle other wills with the same inspiration. It
is in only one of these two ways that a human soul can be truly
inspired; and, without a true inspiration, no amount of instruction,
whether in duty, or life, or anything else, will change a single
moral propensity.
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