* * * * * We cannot really understand a religion unless we have believed it. * * * * * We ought to cultivate strength of will by doing what we have once decided to do. Subsequent reasons for not doing it may appear plausible, but it will generally be better to adhere to our first resolution. The advantage gained by change will not be equal to that derived from persistence. * * * * * Never be afraid of being commonplace. Never turn aside from the truth because it is commonplace. * * * * * A nightmare is not scattered while we are asleep. It disappears simply by—_waking_. * * * * * _Cursed temperament_.—A long drought broke up. The grass had been burnt, and the cattle were dying for want of water. In one week two inches of rain fell. _A._ ‘What a blessing this rain is!’ _B._ ‘Yes, but a reaction is sure to follow. I’ve noticed that after weather like this we always have a spell of dry, northerly winds.’ * * * * * The prompter which urges us on from one point to another, never discouraged by failure to see in the present moment what it seemed to possess when we pursued it, or rather, not permitting us to stop to find out if there be any failure—this it is by which we live. When it departs it is time to die. * * * * * _January_.—The wind is north-west after yesterday’s fog and rain from the south. Suddenly and silently, just after sunset, the whole south-western sky has blazed up, passing from glowing flame-colour on the horizon to carmine on the zenith. Between the promontories of cloud are lakes and gulfs of the tenderest green and blue. What magnificent pomp, fit to celebrate the death of a god for the world’s salvation! But there is nothing below to explain it. It must be a spectacle displayed for celestial reasons altogether hidden. * * * * * Much misunderstanding would be prevented if we were to say exactly what we believe and not modify it to suit, as we suppose, the person to whom we speak. * * * * * Humour people sometimes in what you do, but not in the expression of your convictions. Go a mile out of your way to please an obstinate friend, but utter with precision what you believe. It is in the sharpness and finish that its value lies. * * * * * Everybody in these civilised, intercommunicative days seems arrested: everybody is a compromise. It is rare that we meet with a person who has been let alone, whose own particular self has been developed free from intrusion. * * * * * People believe the truth more readily if something difficult of belief or incredible is mixed with it. * * * * *