It is true that "as a man thinketh in his heart so is he."
It is proper to warn men against harboring secret sin. It is
right to turn the eyes of men in upon themselves that they may
see what manner of men they are; but no moral teacher, who
remembers the effect of the external act upon the man himself,
will ever be found telling men that it is just as bad to think,
feel, or wish an evil thing as to do it. Such doctrine is philo-
sophical error and might well be considered religious heresy,
more mischievous than some things which pass under that name.
3. The external actions manifest the purposes. Let any
great purpose be formed and a man is at once impelled to make
it known. So strong is this impulse that nothing save poUtic
reasons can, suppress it. True "he that doeth evil" (or even
that which is considered evil) may hate the light, but "he that
doeth truth cometh to the Hght that his deeds may be made
manifest. " Now there is no way to manifest a purpose except
in some external activity. Hence the importance of making
the bodily activities, such as may manifest appropriately the
purposes which have been formed. Indeed it is only as an act
is interpreted as manifesting a purpose that it can be said to
have moral quality at all; that is that it can be considered as
indicating the character of the actor. The very same external



THE EXTERNAL ACTIONS , 77

act, even when voluntary, has very different moral quaUties,
as in diverse circumstances it manifests diverse purposes.
