Mastery

"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.
The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil."  Proverbs 19: 17-23 (KJV)

    "Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasurable," says Walter Scott, "and you create for the world a destiny more sublime than ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer."

  Seneca, one of the greatest of the ancient philosophers, said that "we should every night call ourselves to account. What infirmity have I mastered to-day? what passion opposed? what temptation resisted?  what virtue acquired?" and then he follows with the profound truth that "our vices will gradually be conquered if they are controlled and avoided every day."

   If you cannot at first control your anger, learn to control your tongue, which, like fire, is a good servant, but a hard master.  

Thomas A. Edison was once asked why  he was a total abstainer. He said, "I thought I had a better use for my head."