1. ESSENCE OF CHARACTER.--Self-control is only courage under another
form. It may also be regarded as the primary essence of character. It
is in virtue of this quality that Shakespeare defines man as a being
"looking before and after." It forms the chief distinction between man
and the mere animal; and, indeed, there can be no true manhood
without it.

[Illustration: RESULT OF BAD COMPANY.]

2. ROOT OF ALL THE VIRTUES.--Self-control is at the root of all the
virtues. Let a man give the reins to his impulses and passions, and
from that moment he yields up his moral freedom. He is carried along
the current of life, and becomes the slave of his strongest desire for
the time being.

3. RESIST INSTINCTIVE IMPULSE.--To be morally free--to be more than an
animal--man must be able to resist instinctive impulse, and this can
only be done by exercise of self-control. Thus it is this power which
constitutes the real distinction between a physical and a moral life,
and that forms the primary basis of individual character.

4. A STRONG MAN RULETH HIS OWN SPIRIT.--In the Bible praise is given,
not to a strong man who "taketh a city," but to the stronger man who
"ruleth his own spirit." This stronger man is he who, by discipline,
exercises a constant control over his thoughts, his speech, and his
acts. Nine-tenths of the vicious desires that degrade society, and
which, when indulged, swell into the crimes that disgrace it,
would shrink into insignificance before the advance of valiant