THE DEMORALIZATION OF DEBT.
By Talmage
DEBT! There is no worse demoralizer of character. The sad records of defaulting, embezzling, and dishonest failure which we meet with so constantly in the daily press are often, indeed most frequently, the result of the demoralization10of debt, and consequent desperate efforts at extrication. The financial props have given way. The little debt which at first was as small as a grain of mustard seed, like the rolling snowball, has gathered weight and multiplied itself a hundred-fold. And still it grows, and, like the fabulous hydra which Hercules was sent to kill, you no sooner strike off one head than two shoot up in its place. The struggle is severe, but the end is decisive; either confession is made of hopeless bankruptcy, which might and should have been avoided, or integrity is sacrificed to the temptation of the moment. Debt ruins as many households and destroys as many fine characters as rum; it is the devil’s mortgage on the soul, and he is always ready to foreclose. Pay all your bills. Look every man in the face, conscious that you owe the world no more than it owes you. Be indebted for nothing but love, and even that be sure you pay in kind, and that payments are frequent.—Talmage.