more to this inward reality, and is less and less swayed
by passion and grief, pleasure and pain, and lives a
steadfast and virtuous life, manifesting manly strength and
fortitude. The restraining of the passions, however, is
merely the initial stage in self-discipline, and is
immediately followed by the process of Purification. By this
a man so purifies himself as to take passion out of the heart

and mind altogether; not merely restraining it when it rises
within him, but preventing it from rising altogether. By
merely restraining his passions a man can never arrive at
peace, can never actualise his ideal; he must purify those
passions.

It is in the purification of his lower nature that a man
becomes strong and god-like, standing firmly upon the ideal
centre within, and rendering all temptations powerless and
ineffectual. This purification is effected by thoughtful
care, earnest meditation, and holy aspiration; and as success
is achieved confusion of mind and life pass away, and calmness
of mind and spiritualized conduct ensure.

True strength and power and usefulness are born of self-
purification, for the lower animal forces are not lost, but
are transmuted into intellectual and spiritual energy. The
pure life (Pure in thought and deed) is a life of conservation
of energy; the impure life (even should the impurity not
extent beyond thought) is a life of dissipation of energy. The
pure man is more capable, and therefore more fit to succeed in
his plans and to accomplish his purposes than the impure.
Where the impure man fails, the pure man will step in and be
victorious, because he directs his energies with a calmer mind
and a greater definiteness and strength of purpose.

With the growth in purity; all the elements which constitute a
strong and virtuous manhood are developed in an increasing
degree of power, and as a man brings his lower nature into
subjection, and makes his passions do his bidding, just so much
will he mould the outer circumstances of his life, and influence
thers for good. The third stage of self-discipline, that of
Relinquishment, is a process of letting the lower desires and
all impure and unworthy thoughts drop out of the mind, and also
refusing to give them any admittance, leaving them to perish. As
a man grows purer, he perceives that all evil is powerless,
unless it receives his encouragement, and so he ignores it, and
lets it pass out of his life. It is by pursuing this aspect of
self-discipline that a man enters into and realises the divine
life, and manifests those qualities which are distinctly divine,
such as wisdom, patience, non-resistance, compassion, and love.
It is here, also, where a man becomes consciously immortal,
rising above all the fluctuations and uncertainties of life, and
living in and intelligent and unchangeable peace.

By self-discipline a man attains to every degree of virtue and
holiness, and finally becomes a purified son of God, realising
his oneness with the central heart of all things. Without
self-discipline a man drifts lower and lower, approximating more
and more nearly to the beast, until at last he grovels, a lost
creature, in the mire of his own befoulment. By self-discipline
a man rises higher and higher, approximating more and more nearly
to the divine, until at last he stands erect in his divine
dignity, a saved soul, glorified by the radiance of his purity.
Let a man discipline himself, and he will live; let a man cease
to discipline himself, and he will perish. As a tree grows in
beauty, health, and fruitfulness by being carefully pruned and
tended, so a man grows in grace and beauty of life by cutting
away all the branches of evil from his mind, and as he tends and
develops the good by constant and unfailing effort.

As a man by practice acquires proficiency in his craft, so the
earnest man acquires proficiency in goodness and wisdom. Men
shrink from self-discipline because in its early stages it is
painful and repellent, and the yielding to desire is, at first,
sweet and inviting; but the end of desire is darkness and
unrest, whereas the fruits of discipline are immortality and
peace.

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