Inspiring Quotes

John Angell James
An Address to the Children (1855)

(posted by Lance Johnson)

Take the following maxims for your guide:

1. True piety will be your best friend--for both worlds!

2. The eye of God is always upon you, and He is present when no one else is near!

3. Godliness is the best of all things, for it makes bitter things sweet--and sweet things sweeter!

4. What a boy would be as a man, let him seek to be that while a boy. The boy is the father of the man!

5. Sin is deceitful as well as wicked, leading you to commit great sins by first tempting you to little ones; and leading you into habits of sin by asking for only one sin at a time. "Only this once!" is Satan's way of beguiling you into a course of sin. What ought not to be done at all--should not be done once!

6. Avoid the first wrong step!

7. There are three things, which if lost, can never be recovered--time, opportunity, and the soul!

8. A holy and useful life is more to be desired than a long or a prosperous one!

9. To live wholly for ourselves is a poor, base, contemptible life!

10. "When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)