Duty is not a sentiment, but a principle pervading the life: and it exhibits itself in conduct and in acts, which are mainly determined by man's conscience and freewill.
The voice of conscience speaks in duty done; and without its regulating and controlling influence, the brightest and greatest intellect may be merely as a light that leads astray.

Conscience sets a man upon his feet, while his will holds him upright.

Conscience is the moral governor of the heart--the governor of right action, of right thought, of right faith, of right life--and only through its dominating influence can the noble and upright character be fully developed.
The conscience, however, may speak never so loudly, but without energetic will it may speak in vain.

The will is free to choose between the right course and the wrong one, but the choice is nothing unless followed by immediate and decisive action.

If the sense of duty be strong, and the course of action clear, the courageous will, upheld by the conscience, enables a man to proceed on his course bravely, and to accomplish his purposes in the face of all opposition and difficulty.
And should failure be the issue, there will remain at least this satisfaction, that it has been in the cause of duty.
"Be and continue poor, young man," said Heinzelmann, "while others around you grow rich by fraud and disloyalty; be without place or power while others beg their way upwards; bear the pain of disappointed hopes, while others gain the accomplishment of theirs by flattery; forego the gracious pressure of the hand, for which others cringe and crawl.