William Romain The Life, Walk, and Triumph of Faith

and cause light to arise out of darkness. And who can object to
sameness, and to reiteration, in such a case as this?
The same position brought forward again and again, for the mere
didactic purpose to convince or to inform, might, however important,
soon cease to interest the understanding; and the same image, however
beautiful, might, if often presented, soon cease to interest or to affect
the imagination—but the affirmation of a friendship that is dear to
your heart, may be repeated as often as is necessary to raise and to
prolong the sense of it within you—and, although the theme of every
day, still, instead of being grievous on that account, may it be felt like
the renewed application of balsam to the soul, with as lively a sense of
enjoyment as before, and with a delight that is utterly inexhaustible.
The same holds true of a moral principle. The announcement of it needs
not to be repeated with a view to inform; but it may be repeated with a
view to influence—and that on every occurrence of temptation or
necessity. Were it our only business with virtue to learn what it is, it
were superfluous to be told oftener than once, that anger degrades and
discomposes him who is carried away by it, and ought to be resisted as
alike a violation of duty and of dignity. But as our main business with
virtue is to practice it, the very same thing of which by one utterance we
have been sufficiently informed—might be often uttered, with
propriety and effect, in order that we should be reminded of it.
And, accordingly, in some hour of great and sudden provocation, when
another's fraud, or another's ingratitude would take full possession of
the feelings, and shut out from the mind's regard every element that
had influence to still or to arrest the coming storm, were it not well, if
some friendly monitor were standing by, and bidding him be calm?
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