詹姆斯·艾倫/James Allen
The aphorism,"As a man thinketh in his heart so is he",not only embraces the whole of a man's being,but is so comprehensive as to reac h out to every condition and circumstance of his life.A man is literall y what he thinks,his character being the complete sum of all his though ts.
As the plant springs from,and could not be without the seed,so eve ry act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought,and could not have appeared without them.This applies equally to those acts called "spontaneous" and "unpremeditated" as to those,which are deliberately executed.
Act is the blossom of thought,and joy and suffering are its fruits;thus does a man garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husba ndry.
"Thought in the mind has made us,what we are by thought was wrough t and built.If a man's mind hath evil thoughts,pain comes on him as comes the wheel the ox behind...If one endures in purity of thought,jo y follows him as his own shadow--sure."
Man is a growth by law,and not a creation by artifice,and cause an d effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought a s in the world of visible and material things.A noble and Godlike chara cter is not a thing of favour or chance,but is the natural result of co ntinued effort in right thinking,the effect of long-cherished associati on with Godlike thoughts.An ignoble and bestial character,by the same process,is the result of the continued harboring of groveling thoughts.
Man is made or unmade by himself;in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself;he also fashions the tools wit h which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.By the right choice and true application of thought,man ascends to the Divine Perfection;by the abuse and wrong application of thought,he descends below the level of the beast.Between these two extremes are all the grades of character,and man is their maker and master.