Sublime

good blood and a good disposition. One

Such was Lydgate’s plan of his future: to do good small work for Middlemarch, and great work for the world. He was certainly a happy fellow at this time: to be seven-and-twenty, without any fixed vices, with a generous resolution that his action should be beneficent, and with ideas in his brain that made life interesting quite apart from the cultus

There’s a difference between what makes for a good boyfriend and what makes for a good husband. Over the years, stability and dependability outrank fireworks and witty banter.

Industry—Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. • Sincerity—Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. • Justice—Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. • Moderation—Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as

He retired the belief that it was the pastor’s duty, particularly in the sermon, to prod the people into obedience. “Henry realized [that] the point was not to outline ‘correct’ doctrine but to motivate the audience psychologically.”18