"Whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn or writing epics, so only it be honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to the senses as well as to the thought; no matter how often defeated, you are born to victory. The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." EMERSON. Doing our Best MARCH 5 "It is not the quantity of our work that He regards, but the quality of it. He is less anxious that we should fulfil our task--for He can make up for our deficiencies--than that we should do our best; for what He desires is the improvement of our characters, and that requires the co-operation of our own wills with His." _Life Here and Hereafter_, Canon MACCOLL. "Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal. The winner is he who gives himself to his work, body and soul." CHARLES BUXTON. "Life is too short to waste, * * * * * 'Twill soon be dark; Up! mind thine own aim, and God speed the mark!" EMERSON. Work--Effective Reforms MARCH 6 "We must be careful not to undermine independence in our anxiety to relieve distress. There is always the initial difficulty that whatever is done for men takes from them a great stimulus to work, and weakens the feeling of independence; all creatures which depend on others tend to become mere parasites. It is important therefore, as far as possible, not so much to give a man bread, as to put him in the way of earning it for himself; not to give direct aid, but to help others to help themselves. The world is so complex that we must all inevitably owe much to our neighbours; but, as far as possible, every man should stand on his own feet." Lord AVEBURY. "We are now generally agreed upon our aims: nobility of character and not only outward prosperity; victory over evil at its source, and not in its consequences; reforms which shall regard the welfare of future generations, who are 'the greatest number.'" Bishop WESTCOTT. "We fall under the temptation of seeking material solutions for spiritual problems; material remedies for spiritual maladies. The thought of spiritual poverty, of spiritual destitution, is crowded out. We treat the symptoms and neglect the disease itself." Bishop WESTCOTT. Work--Effective Reforms MARCH 7 "If you are moved with a vague desire to help men be better men, you must know that you can do it not by belabouring the evil but by training the good that there is in them." PHILLIPS BROOKS.