Saturday, September 20, 2008

Admire nobly


"Tell me who you admire," said Sainte-Beuve, "and I will tell you what you are, at least as regards your talents, tastes and character." So you admire mean men? -- your own nature is mean. Do you admire rich men? - you are of the earth, earthy. Do you admire men of title? -- you are a toad-eater, or a tuft-hunter. Do you admire honest, brave and manly men? --you are yourself of an honest, brave and manly spirit.
It was a fine trait in the character of Prince Albert that he was always so ready to express generous admiration of the good deeds of others. "He had the greatest delight," says the ablest delineater of his character, "in anybody else saying a fine saying, or doing a great deed. He would rejoice over it, and talk about it for days, and whether it was a thing nobly said or done by a little child, or by a veteran statesman, it gave him equal pleasure. He delighted in humanity doing well on any occasion and in any manner."
The picture of the older sibling attending to the younger, is a re-occurring sight. I suppose it gets to my heart as quick as anything. So many children, out of necessity, willingly give up their childhood. And in my culture there are many parents who are unwilling to do the same.
If you want an account of the above quote displayed, go to Joseph's blog and see his account of the hard-working poor where he lives in India; where brave and manly character is displayed year in and year out.
Samuel Smiles, Happy Homes and the Hearts That Make Them. - Photo by Darrin and Dana James.

4 comments:

Mel said...

To delight in genuinely "expressing generous admiration of the good deeds of others" is a gift from God, to be sure. I love being around people like that, and pray that God will change my heart so that I will become one of those people, too.

Regarding siblings caring for each other... My daughter Linnea has invested much of her young life in caring for her brothers and sisters. Last night we watched "War Dance" (which was excellent) and one of the 14-year-old girls (Nancy) reminded me of Linnea as she was caring for her younger siblings while her mother was working in another camp. I thank God for my daughter, and for the love He shows to our family through her.

I did read Joseph's blog post and was touched and humbled by it.

In Christ,

Mel

FCB said...

Hi Mel,
I think it is great that children share in the responsibilty for their siblings. It makes them better for it in so many ways. I'm afraid in some cultures it is more of a full time job, either because parents are off in search of necessities or they are orphaned. To see them participate is wonderful, to see them work through their childhood is so sad.

I'm glad you were able to watch War Dance, how did you compare it to Invisible Children?
God bless,
Fred

Mel said...

I enjoyed it more than "Invisible Children." It was beautiful, sensitive, haunting and artistic--I loved the way the filmmakers brought the stories of the individual children to life. The part that shows Nancy and her mother going to her dad's grave made me cry. The whole movie was inspiring and eye-opening.

Did you see that portion from "Fight Like a Girl" that I posted as a comment under your post called "The Sparrow"?

I hope everything is going well for you and yours, Fred. Blessings,
Mel

FCB said...

Hi Mel,
No, I missed that commment but went back and read it. Great quote, I wasn't sure what it would be when I read the title, "Fight like a girl", may I learn to fight that way.
Thanks for your insightful comments Mel,
Fred