Unless the heart be kept peaceable, the life will not be happy. If calm
doth not reign over that inner lake within the soul, which feeds the
rivers of our life, the rivers themselves will always be in storm. Our
outward acts will always tell that they were born in tempests, by being
tempestuous themselves. We all desire to lead a joyous life; the bright
eye and the elastic foot are things which we each of us desire; to carry
about a contented mind is that to which most men are continually
aspiring. Let us remember, that the only way to keep our life peaceful
and happy, is to keep the heart at rest; for come poverty, come wealth,
come honor, come shame, come plenty, or come scarcity, if the heart be
quiet, there will be happiness anywhere. But whatever the sunshine and
the brightness, if the heart be troubled, the whole life must be
troubled too.