The Beauty of Selfcontrol Author:James Russell Miller Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: victory. The best answer to sneers, scoffs, and abuse is a life of persistent patience and gentleness. It is in Jesus that we have the finest illustrations of... more » self-control, as of all noble qualities. The tongue is the hardest of all the members of the body to control. No man can tame it, says St. James. Yet Jesus had perfect mastery over his tongue. He never said a word that he would better not have said. He never spoke unadvisedly. When bitterly assailed by enemies, when they sought to catch him in his words, when they tried by false accusations to make him speak angrily, he held his peace and said not a word. Not only did he refrain from hasty and ill- tempered speech, but he kept his spirit in control. Some men can keep silence with their lips though in their hearts the fire burns hotly ; but Jesus kept love in his heart under all provocation. He was master of his thoughts and feelings. He never grew angry or bitter. When he was reviled he reviled not again; when he was hated he loved on; Peaut? of when nails were driven through his hands the blood from his wounds became the blood of redemption. Nor was it weakness in Jesus that kept him silent under men's reproaches and revilings, and under all injuries and insults. There was no moment when he could not have summoned legions of angels to defend him and to strike down his persecutors. He voluntarily accepted wrong when he could have resisted. He never lifted a finger on his own behalf, though he could have crushed his enemies. He returned kindness for un- kindness. Thus he set us the example of patient endurance of wrong, of silent suffering, rather than angry accusation. In his words, also, Christ teaches us this lesson of self-control. Meekness is one of the Beatitudes. It is the ripe fruit of restraint under ins...« less