"It's wiser being good than bad;
It's safer being meek than fierce;
It's better being sane than mad."

On this voyage the young printer was thrust down into the depths and made
to wrestle with the powers of darkness; and in the remorse of soul that
came over him he made a liturgy to be repeated night and morning, and at
midday. There were many items in this ritual--all of which were corrected
and amended from time to time in after-years. Here are a few paragraphs
that represent the longings and trend of the lad's heart. His prayer was:

"That I may have tenderness for the meek; that I may be kind to my
neighbors, good-natured to my companions and hospitable to strangers. Help
me, O God!

"That I may be averse to craft and overreaching, abhor extortion and every
kind of weakness and wickedness. Help me, O God!

"That I may have constant regard to honor and probity; that I may possess
an innocent and good conscience, and at length become truly virtuous and
magnanimous. Help me, O God!

"That I may refrain from calumny and detraction; that I may abhor deceit,
and avoid lying, envy and fraud, flattery, hatred, malice and ingratitude.
Help me, O God!".

Then, in addition, he formed rules of conduct and wrote them out and
committed them to memory. The maxims he adopted are old as thought, yet
can never become antiquated, for in morals there is nothing either new or
old, neither can there be.