The evil influence exercised by wicked parents on their families;
by wicked companions upon their fellows; by wicked books upon their
readers; by wicked persecutors and tyrants upon the world--needs
neither proof nor illustration. Yet let us remember, for our strength
and comfort, that because we are not things but persons, it is
impossible to compel any man, from whatever influence, to prefer the
darkness to light, or to choose the evil instead of the good. Hence
the power which was designed to lead us into evil may be converted
by ourselves into a power for good, while it strengthens our moral
principles, demands a firmer faith in God, and prompts more earnest
desires and efforts to overcome the evil by the good. It is thus too,
in the wonderful providence of God, that while evil remains evil, it
has nevertheless been the indirect means of calling forth the noblest
efforts on the part of man, and on God's part the most glorious
revelations of His character in conquering it, and such as, without
evil in the universe, could not, as far as we can see, have been
possible.

But no less real is the influence upon others of a _holy_ character.
"The evil men do lives after them;" but we do not believe that "the
good is oft interred with their bones." No, it is as immortal as the
Divine Being in whom it originates. The good must ever live, and "walk
up and down the earth," like a living spirit guided by the living God,
to convey blessings to the children of men, and is more powerful,
diffusive, and eternal than the power of evil. It lives in humanity,
in some form or other, like the subtile substance of material things,
which though ever changing never perishes, but adds to the stability,
the beauty, and the grandeur of the universe. The influence of the
holy character passes even beyond the stars, giving joy to our angel