Page:About people (IA aboutpeople00well).pdf/80
able loneliness, stands pathetic and majestic before us.
Character is something beyond what we see in a man. It resists circumstances, is self-sufficient; it grows. It is an assemblage of qualities which distinguish one person from another; it is a particular constitution of the mind; the name by which we are known; the name, when a noble one, at which all gates swing wide; the name that shames and greatens.
The germ of character is constantly developing until it rises into immortality, to unfold there into full strength and beauty. The slight selfishness, that yet is justified in seeking heavenly rest as a panacea, is forgotten in the intensity with which, while living, we work for those on earth and pray for the loved ones above.
In a great character there will always be found two elements, the ideal and the impersonal: the ideal keeps it ever advancing; the