Therefore, I say, never hurt any one's self-respect. Never trample
on any soul, though it may be lying in the veriest mire; for that
last spark of self-respect is as its only hope, its only chance; the
last seed of a new and better life; the voice of God which still
whispers to it, 'You are not what you ought to be, and you are not
what you can be. You are still God's child, still an immortal soul:
you may rise yet, and fight a good fight yet, and conquer yet, and be
a man once more, after the likeness of God who made you, and Christ
who died for you!' Oh, why crush that voice in any heart? If you
do, the poor creature is lost, and lies where he or she falls, and
never tries to rise again. Rather bear and forbear; hope all things,
believe all things, endure all things; so you will, as St. John tells
you in the Epistle, know that you are of the truth, in the true and
right road, and will assure your hearts before God. For this is his
commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus
Christ, and believe really that he is now what he always was, the
friend of publicans and sinners, and love one another as he gave us
commandment.
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