Excerpt from Studies in Character Present, therefore, predicts and predestines the character of the future. The eternal now of eter nity bids us live one day at a time and look above, not backward, nor beneath, nor speculatively for ward, but heavenward and Godward, for there alone is life and blessedness. Vain regrets for the past are of no avail, nor is chronic penitence and sorrow for erring action or wrong living, reason able or helpful. To regret one's errors to the point of not repeating them is true repentance. Emotional reactionary habits of thought are not conducive to stability of character, nor to the evo lution of ideal manhood and womanhood. Our ideals are glimpses of our own divine individualities which reflect the infinite perfection that we call God. To know the future with prophetic foresight is to be mentally in advance of the average mind, to enter some promised land of spiritual discern ment before the masses gain its borders, or to live on the heights of sinless thought viewing the great. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.