If you lose heart about your work, remember that none of it is _lost_--that the good of every good deed remains and breeds and works on for ever, and that all that fails and is lost is the outside shell of the thing, which, perhaps, might have been better done; but better or worse has nothing to do with the real spiritual good which you have done to men's hearts. _Letters and Memories_. 1862. True Temperance. November 24. What we all want is inward rest; rest of heart and brain; the calm, strong, self-contained, self-denying character, which needs no stimulants, for it has no fits of depression; which needs no narcotics, for it has no fits of excitement; which needs no ascetic restraints, for it is strong enough to use God's gifts without abusing them; the character, in a word, which is truly temperate, not in drink and food merely, but in all desires, thoughts, and actions. _Essays_. 1873. A Present Veil. November 25. What is there in this world worth having without religion? Do you not feel that true religion, even in its most imperfect stage, is not merely an escape from hell after death but the only _real state_ for a man--the only position to live in in this world--the only frame of mind which will give anything like happiness here. I cannot help feeling at moments--if there were _no Christ_, everything, even the very flowers and insects, and every beautiful object, would be hell _now_--dark, blank, hopeless. _MS. Letter_. 1843. Cowardice. November 26. There is but one thing which you have to fear in earth or heaven--being untrue to your better selves, and therefore untrue to God. If you will not do the thing you know to be right, and say the thing you know to be true, then indeed you are weak. You are a coward; you desert God. _True Words for Brave Men_. Blind Faith. November 27. In Him--"The Father"--I can trust, in spite of the horrible things I see happen, in spite of the fact that my own prayers are not answered. I believe that He makes all things work together for the good of the human race, and of me among the rest, as long as I obey His will. I believe He will answer my prayer, not according to the letter, but according to the spirit of it; that if I desire good, I shall find good, though not _the_ good I longed for. _MS. Letter_. 1862. Small and Great. November 28. Begin with small things--you cannot enter into the presence of another human being without finding there more to do than you or I or any soul will ever learn to do perfectly before we die. Let us be content to do little if God sets us little tasks. It is but pride and self-will which says, "Give me something huge to fight and I shall enjoy that--but why make me sweep the dust?" _Letters and Memories_. 1854. True and False. November 29.