"Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn."
And again: He opened men's eyes to the cruelty and injustice of harsh judgment, seen oftenest perhaps in people judging, or misjudging others, who have yielded to temptations, or sunk under debasing influences, to which they themselves have never been exposed. Where has Christian charity and kindly consideration for others been more nobly taught than in these lines:
"Who made the heart, 'tis He alone
Decidedly can try us;
He knows each chord, its various tone,
Each spring, its various bias.
Then, at the balance, let's be mute,
We never can adjust it;
What's done we partly may compute,
But know not what's resisted."
He opened many eyes when he wrote the following:
"O, wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
And foolish notion;
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
And even Devotion!"
164
We all, according as our business prospers or fails, are elated or cast down.
165
I'll give money to any well deserving friend, but in the matter of business, I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair.
—Shakespeare.