enjoyment perfectly compatible, so that in pursuing the pathway of the
former, we almost inevitably make sure of the latter; and it is also
equally remarkable, if not an equally strong proof of benevolence, that
in seeking enjoyment, as such, without seeking it in the path of duty,
we seldom find it--or if found, it is but half enjoyed.

There is nothing in this world--or hardly any thing, to say the least--
which should be done for the mere sake of doing it. We labor not for
the sake of laboring, alone; we eat not, and we drink not, for the
sake, merely, of eating and drinking--at least we should not, would we
obtain the whole benefit of eating and drinking; nor should we even
amuse ourselves for the sake alone of the amusement. Double ends are
often secured by single means; nay, almost always so. I speak now of
the woman, and not of the infant or the child.

Social visits among friends and neighbors, for the mere sake of the
passive enjoyment they afford in the earliest years of infancy, may do
exceedingly well as a preparation for the more active and more truly
Christian visits of maturer years and later life. They are useful in
elevating ourselves and others to a state where such visiting is not so
needful to our happiness.

As to many forms of visiting current among us--such as morning calls,
evening parties, and calls of any sort which answer none of the real
purposes of visiting--tending neither to make ourselves or any body
else wiser or better, but, on the contrary, to make society worse,
indirectly--I have never found any apology for them which seemed to me
sufficient to satisfy a rational, intelligent, immortal spirit. To come
together late in the evening, just to eat and drink together that which
ought not to be eaten and drunk at all--or if at all, certainly not at