Letters from a Father to His Son

So it is, however, and you and I cannot alter that state of things,
nor is it likely to be altered in our time.
Whatever party you may espouse, always treat your opponents
with kindness and candor. Believe that their views may be
sincere, though widely different from your own; recollect that
humanity is fallible and prone to error and mistake, and that you
may be the one in the wrong. Be not, therefore, a violent
propounder of your own views, nor vehement denouncer of the
views of others. Moderate in your opinions, temperate in your
language, and courteous in your demeanor—you will win golden
opinions from all sides. You may, like an amiable and estimable
judge and excellent lawyer now on the bench, to be promoted to
the highest honors of your profession by people entertaining
political opinions somewhat at variance with your own.
I am, my dear son,
Your affectionate father
MORALITY
London, May 2nd, 1849.
My dear son,
It seems to me that there is no subject with which I can more
properly conclude the present series of letters which I have been
writing to you than that of morality. I might, perhaps, have
coupled religion with it as being intimately connected; but I
prefer postponing that to some future occasion, recommending
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