" To change the
inclination of a full-grown tree, requires a great deal of
determination.
In the case of human character, it may occasionally be done, through a
great inspiration of the heart, or the soul. For a deep, ennobling love,
or a new-born, exalted faith, the spirit and will are capable of almost
any transformation. But usually good intentions, whose origin is
confined to the reason and which are at variance with an established
inclination, don't persist very long.
The natural inference and expectation should be therefore, that most
people of mature years, however much they might approve of other
people's mending their ways, or even of mending their own, will be found
to limit their effort principally to talk.
In the absence of a great inspiration, the chief influence which keeps
acting on them is the example and standards of their associates--the
prevailing style and custom. Most people are very susceptible to
this--women especially. For the sake of being in the fashion--or for the
sake of not being considered out-of-date--many a nice woman may be led
to do things which her instincts tell her are not nice at all.
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