ETERNAL REST GIVE UNTO THEM, O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM. AMEN.
Magnanimity is a virtue by which men aspire to great things, form great designs, and carry them out with spirit and success. This rare and admirable virtue is closely allied to Fortitude. In the natural order there are few really great souls. Gigantic figures stand out here and there in history, men of brilliant intelligence or of wonderful achievements, god-like in some respects, who have however in other respects proved themselves to be mean, or sensual, or vile, or contemptible. True Christian souls are always magnanimous. Their infused virtues cause them to aspire to the sublimest heights, to heaven and to God; and they cannot lower themselves to unworthy objects, or use any disgraceful methods. There are many such, who perform the noblest deeds of beneficence and abnegation without a suspicion of their grandeur, without self-consciousness or self-advertisement, never seeking the applause of men and seldom finding it. There are many others full of magnanimous desires and capable of carrying them out, but God does not require such service from them. He is glorified however by having such ministers of His will ready at hand; they are not without their uses in the kingdom of God, and they will be rewarded according to their aspirations as if they had really achieved. Seek always the highest ideal; do always what is most perfect before God; do not trouble yourself about trifles; indulge no selfish motives; and do not degrade a noble aim by seeking to attain it by any unworthy methods.
