Life's Problems Author:Life 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: LIFE'S PROGRESS AND INFLUENCES. fHACKERAY fays of one of his beft- drawn characters, — " Fate and circumftances had angered that originally friendly and... more » gentle difpofition; hate and fufpicion had maftered him, and if it cannot be faid that his new life had changed him, at leaft it had brought out faults for which there had hitherto been no occafion, and qualities latent before. Do we know ourfelves, or what good or evil circumftances may bring from us ? Thrice fortunate he to whom circumftances are made eafy; whom Fate vifits with gentle trial, and kindly heaven keeps out of temptation." Do fate and circumftances really determine the iflues of life ? Is this a truth, or a fiction for the novelift's ufe, to help out his ftory ? This queftion is one of vital concern. If a truth, and not a fiction, it is impoffible to conceive one of more abforbing intereft to every living being. The confines that feparate the vifible from the invifible world, the material from the fpiritual, muft be continually crofled in any attempt to folve this graveft of all Life's Problems, and to determine the influence of outward condition and circumftance upon the courfe we run. Certainly, events which we neither can forefee nor control feem to bring upon fome of us trials and temptations far beyond our ftrength to meet; while to others all their paths are made eafy and pleafant, by the fame myfterious difpenfation. But this is not all. Outward conditions, in their whole range, form but a part of the influences which determine our Fate ; and not always the moft decifive part. In what country, age, and circumftances of life we are born, may, indeed, be confidered the firft fteps in our Deftiny, and thofe on which all the reft, often, if not always, greatly depend ; yet the original conftitution an...« less