,mental ,efficiency ,series    ,,poise3 
,,how ,,to ,,attain ,,it    by    ,d4   
,,starke    ,translated by ,francis     
,medhurst1 ,d4,litt4    #aiaf           
,,poise ,,is ,a ,,power ,,derived ,,from
 ,,the ,,mastery ,,of ,,self            
,,preface      ,all efforts directed    
toward the correcting of temperamental  
or mental  blemishes or defects and     
nervous conditions are of benefit to    
humanity4  ,in producing this book the  
,author's purpose was to help mankind to
  overcome these weaknesses1 which are a
 serious impediment to mental           
development1 and hinder personal        
advancement and general progress4 ,the  
aim of the ,publishers in issuing this  
translation is to put into the  hands of
 those who wish to overcome their       
failings1 become masters of  themselves1
 and command the attention and respect  
of others1 a work that  has been        
thoroughly tested abroad and one that   
will be found of  exceptional service in
 attaining the end in view--the securing

 of a  perfect balance4    ,this book is
 written in two parts4 ,the first points
 to the need of ,poise  in daily life1  
indicates the obstacles to be overcome1 
and discusses the  effects of ,poise on 
personal efficiency4 ,the second        
instructs the reader  how to secure that
 evenness of temperament which is the   
chief  characteristic of ,poise4 ,it    
includes1 in addition1 a series of      
practical  physical exercises to be used
 in acquiring ,poise4    ,if such a work
 as this is to do good1 if the reader   
really wishes to  benefit by the advice 
that it gives him1 it must be read      
thoughtfully  and diligently1 not       
fitfully and forgetfully1 and the reader
 most  steadfastly keep before him the  
maxim of the ,author--,poise is a power 
derived from the ,mastery of ,self4     
,,the ,,publishers4          ,,contents 
,preface    ,,part ,,one  ,,poise3 ,,its
 ,,need1 ,,its ,,enemies1 ,,its ,,effect
        ,i4 ,the ,need of ,poise in     
,life     ,,ii4 ,the ,enemies of ,poise 

,,iii4 ,war on ,timidity    ,,part ,,two
  ,,how ,,to ,,acquire ,,poise          
,i4 ,modesty and ,effrontery ,contrasted
     ,,ii4 ,physical ,exercises to      
,acquire ,poise    ,,iii4 ,four ,series 
of ,physical ,exercises     ,,iv4       
,practical ,exercises for ,obtaining    
,poise      ,v4 ,the ,supreme           
,achievement          ,,part ,i         
,,poise3 ,,its ,,need1 ,,its ,,enemies1 
,,its ,,effect      ,,chapter ,i        
,,the ,,need ,,of ,,poise ,,in ,,life   
,lack of poise has always been an       
obstacle to those who are imbued with   
the desire to succeed4    ,in every age 
the awkwardness born of timidity has    
served to keep back  those who suffered 
from it1 but this defect has never been 
so great a  drawback as in the life of  
to-day4    ,the celebrated phrase of the
 ancient ,roman writer who said1        
,fortune  smiles on the brave1 could    
very well serve as our motto nowadays1  
with  this slight alteration3 ,fortune  
smiles on those who are possest of      

poise4    ,at this point let us attempt 
an exact definition of poise4    ,it is 
a quality which enables us to judge of  
our own value1 and which1  in revealing 
to us the knowledge of the things of    
which we are really  capable1 gives us  
at the same time the desire to          
accomplish them4    ,it is not a quality
 wholly simple4 ,on the contrary1 it is 
a composite of  many others all of which
 take part in the molding of that       
totality which  bears the name of poise4
    ,it may be well to pass in review   
the principal qualities of which it is  
composed1 that one may characterize as  
follows3    ,will4    ,reason4          
,knowledge of one's own value4          
,correctness of judgment4    ,sincerity 
toward oneself4    ,the power of        
resisting the appeals of self-love4     
,contempt of adverse criticism4         
,pride that is free from vanity4    ,a  
definite and clearly conceived ambition4
    ,will1 as is well known1 is the     
pivot of all our resolutions1 whether   

the  question for the moment be how to  
form them or how to keep them when      
formed4    ,a man without will-power is 
a straw1 blown about by every wind and  
carried1 whether he will or no1 into    
situations in which he has no valid     
reason for finding himself4    ,without 
the will-power which enables us to take 
a firm hold of ourselves  and to get a  
grip upon our impressions1 they will    
remain vague and  nebulous without      
presenting to us characters of          
sufficient definiteness  to enable us to
 direct them readily into the proper    
channels4    ,it is will-power which    
gives us the force to maintain a        
resolution which  will lead us to the   
hoped-for goal of success4    ,it is    
will-power also which enables us to     
correct the faults which stand  in the  
way of the acquiring of poise4    ,we   
are not now speaking of those idle      
fancies which are no more than          
manifestations of nervousness4 ,we have 
in mind rather that controlled  and     

enduring purpose which arms the heart   
against the assaults of the  emotions by
 giving it the strength to overcome     
them4    ,there are many cases even in  
which will-power has led to their entire
  suppression4    ,this happens more    
particularly in the case of those       
artificial emotions  that the man of    
resolution ignores completely1 but which
 cause agony to  the timid who do not   
know how to escape them1 and exaggerate 
them to  excess4    ,this abnormal      
development of their personalities is   
the peculiarity of  the timid1 which    
their fitful efforts of will only       
heighten1 alienating  from them the     
sympathy which might be of assistance to
 them4    ,they take refuge in a species
 of mischievous and fruitless activity1 
leaving the field open to the           
development of all sorts of imaginary   
ills  that argument does not serve to   
combat4    ,their ego1 whose importance 
is in no way counterbalanced by their   
appreciation of the friends they keep at

 a distance1 fills their entire         
existence to such an extent that they   
have no doubt whatever that1 when  they 
are in public1 every eye is1 of         
necessity1 fixt upon them4    ,their    
negative will leaves them at the mercy  
of every sort of emotion1  which1 in    
arousing in them the necessity of a     
reaction they feel  themselves powerless
 to realize1 reduces them to a state of 
inferiority  that1 when it becomes      
known1 is the source of grave           
embarrassment to  them4    ,the power of
 will which sustains those who wish to  
acquire the habit of  poise is1 then1   
the capacity to accomplish acts solely  
because one has  the ardent desire to   
achieve them4    ,we are now speaking1  
understand1 neither of extreme heroism  
or of  impossibilities4    ,another     
point presents itself here4 ,willpower1 
in order to preserve its  energy1 must  
be sustained and fixt4 ,at this price   
alone can we achieve  poise4 ,we must1  
therefore1 thoroughly saturate ourselves

 with this  principle3 ,reasoning-power 
is an essential element in the          
upbuilding of  poise4    ,it is         
reasoning-power which teaches us to     
distinguish between those  things that  
we must be careful to avoid and those   
which are part and  parcel of the domain
 of exaggeration and fantasy4    ,it is 
also by means of reasoning that we      
arrive at the proper  appreciation of   
the just mean that we must observe4 ,it 
is by its aid  that we are enabled to   
disentangle those impulses that will    
prove  profitable from a chaos of       
useless risks4    ,it is always by      
virtue of deductions depending upon     
reason that we are  able to adopt a     
resolution or to maintain an attitude   
that we believe to  be correct1 while   
preserving our self-possession under    
circumstances in  which persons of a    
timorous disposition would certainly    
lose their  heads4    ,those who know   
how to reason never expose themselves to
 the possibility  of being unhorsed by  

fate for lack of good reasons for       
strengthening  themselves in their      
chosen course4    ,they adhere1 in the  
very heat of discussion and in spite of 
the  onslaughts of destiny1 to the line 
of conduct that sage reflection has     
taught them to adopt and are more than  
careful never to abandon it  except for 
the most valid reasons4    ,they never  
stray into the byways in which the timid
 and the shrinking  constantly wander   
without sufficient thought of the goal  
toward which  they are journeying4      
,they know where they are going1 and if1
 now and again1 they ask for            
information about the road that remains 
to be traveled1 it is with no  intention
 of changing their course1 but simply so
 as not to miss the  short cuts and to  
lose nothing of the pleasures of the    
scenes through  which they may pass4    
,reasoning-power is the trade-mark of   
superior minds4 ,mediocre natures  take 
no interest in it and1 as we have seen1 
the timid are incapable of  it1 except  

in so far as it follows the beaten path4
    ,true poise never is guided by      
anything but reason4 ,certain risks can 
never be undertaken save after ripe     
deliberation4    ,confusion is never the
 fate of those who are resolved on a    
definite line  of conduct4    ,such     
people are careful to plumb the         
questions with which they have to       
grapple and to weigh the inconveniences 
and the advantages of the acts  they    
have the desire to accomplish4    ,when 
their decision is once made1 however1   
nothing will prevent the  completion of 
the work they have begun4 ,such people  
are ripe for  success4    ,the knowledge
 of one's real worth is a quality doubly
 precious when  contrasted with the fact
 that the majority of people are more   
than  indulgent to their own failings4  
,of many of them it may be said1 in the 
words of the ,arab proverb1 couched in  
the language of imagery3 ,this man  has 
no money1 but in his pocket everything  
turns to gold4    ,this saying1 divested

 of the language of hyperbole1 means    
simply that  the man in question is so  
obsessed with the greatness of his own  
personal value that he exaggerates the  
importance of everything that  concerns 
him4    ,this condition is a much more  
common one than one might at first      
believe4 ,many an occurrence which1 when
 it happens to some one else1  seems to 
us quite devoid of interest1 becomes1   
when it directly affects  us1 a matter  
to compel the attention of others1 to   
the extent that we  find ourselves      
chilled and disappointed when we        
discover that we are the  victims of    
that indifference which we were prepared
 to exhibit toward  other people under  
similar circumstances4    ,the          
consciousness of our own worth must not 
be confounded with that  adoration of   
self which transforms poise into        
egotism4    ,it is a good thing to know 
one's own powers sufficiently well to   
undertake only such tasks as are        
certainly within the scope of one's     

abilities4    ,to believe oneself more  
capable than one really is1 is a fault  
that is  far too common4 ,it is1        
nevertheless1 less harmful in the long  
run than  the failing which is its exact
 antithesis4 ,lack of confidence in     
one's  own powers is the source of every
 kind of feebleness and of all          
unsuccess4    ,it is for this reason    
that poise never can exist without      
another  quality1 that correctness of   
judgment which1 in giving us the breadth
 of  mind to know exactly how much we   
are capable of1 permits us to undertake 
our tasks without boasting and without  
hesitation4    ,soundness of judgment is
 the faculty of being able to appreciate
 the  merits of our neighbors without   
cherishing any illusions as to our own1 
and of being able to do this so exactly 
that we can with assurance carry  out to
 its end any undertaking1 knowing that  
the result must be1 barring  accidents1 
precisely what we have foreseen4        
,this being the case1 what possible     

reason can we have for depreciating     
ourselves or for lacking poise8         
,timid people suffer without recognizing
 their own defects in the matter  of    
insight4    ,they torture themselves by 
building their judgments upon           
indications and  not upon facts4    ,if 
the perception of a man of resolution   
causes him to understand at  once the   
emptiness of criticisms based on envy or
 spleen1 the timid man1  always ready to
 seize upon anything that can be        
possibly construed into  an appearance  
of ridicule directed against himself1   
will give up a  project that he hears   
criticized without stopping to weigh the
 value of  the arguments advanced4      
,far from arguing the question out1 or  
attempting a rebuttal1 he never  even   
dreams of it4 ,the very thought of a    
contest1 however courteously it  may be 
conducted1 frightening him to such an   
extent that he loses all  his ideas4    
,the unfortunate shrinking which        
characterizes him makes him an easy prey

  for people of exaggerated enthusiasms 
as well as to quick  disillusionment4   
,a token of apparent sympathy touches   
him so profoundly that he does not  wait
 to estimate its value and to decide    
whether it be sincere or not4    ,he    
passes in a moment from careless gaiety 
to the blackest despair if he  imagines 
that he has observed even the appearance
 of an unsympathetic  gesture4    ,he   
does not need to be sure1 to be         
miserable4 ,it is enough for him if  the
 circumstances that he thought favorable
 become seemingly hostile and           
antagonistic4    ,how utterly different 
is the attitude of the man who is       
endowed with  poise6    ,his firmness of
 soul saves him from unconsidered       
enthusiasms and he  jealously preserves 
his control in the presence of excessive
  protestations as well as when         
confronting indications of aimless      
antagonism4    ,how can such a man as   
this possibly fail to form a correct    
judgment and  to benefit by all the     

qualities that depend upon it8          
,absolute sincerity toward oneself is   
one of the forms of sound judgment4     
,without indulging in excessive modesty1
 it is a good thing to endeavor  to     
become intimately acquainted with one's 
aptitudes and one's failings1  and to   
admit the latter with the utmost        
frankness in order to set about  the    
work of correcting them4    ,it is also 
necessary to know exactly what sort of  
territory it is in  which one is taking 
one's risks4    ,the world of affairs1  
whatever these last may happen to be1   
may be  likened to a vast preserve      
containing traps for wild beasts4       
,the man who wishes to walk in such a   
place without coming to harm will1      
first of all1 make a careful study of   
the ground for the purpose of  avoiding 
the traps and pitfalls that may engulf  
him or wound him as he  passes4    ,just
 as soon as he has located these dangers
 his step becomes firm and  he can      
advance with a tranquil gait and head   

upraised along the paths  which he knows
 do not conceal any dangerous surprizes4
    ,these are the pitfalls that most   
frequently threaten that daring that we 
sometimes find in the timid4    ,their  
very defects preventing them from making
 proper comparisons1 they  are          
altogether too prone to ignore their    
faults and to magnify their  virtues and
 so fall an easy prey to the designer   
and the sharper4    ,their very         
carelessness in estimating other people 
becomes the  foundation of an           
involuntary partiality the moment they  
are called upon  to judge their own     
actions4    ,it is not deliberate       
self-indulgence that drives them to act 
in this  way1 but their inexperience1   
which gives rise in them to the desire  
for  perfection1 and this necessarily   
provokes1 simultaneously with the       
despair caused by their failure to      
attain it1 a fear of having this        
failure remarked or commented upon4     
,the man who possesses poise is too     

familiar with the realities of life  not
 to be aware that the search for such an
 ideal is a ,utopian dream4    ,but he  
is also aware that1 if actual perfection
 does not exist1 it is  the bounden duty
 of man to struggle always in pursuit of
 good and to  show appreciation of it in
 whatsoever form it may manifest itself4
    ,sincerity toward himself thus      
becomes for him an easy matter indeed1  
and  for the very reason that his poise 
leaves him absolutely free to form a    
correct estimate of others4    ,serious 
self-examination throws a clear light   
for him upon those merits  of which he  
has a right to be proud1 while revealing
 to him at the same  time the faults to 
which he is most likely to yield4       
,the habit of estimating himself and his
 own qualities without fear or  favor   
gives him great facility for gaging the 
motives of other people4    ,he thus    
avoids the pitfalls that a biased       
viewpoint spreads before the  feet of   
the foolish1 and at the same time       

represses that feeling of  vanity which 
might lead him to believe that he is    
altogether too clever  to fall into     
them4    ,he watches himself constantly 
to avoid getting into the bypaths which 
he  sees with sorrow that others are    
following1 and does not fail to         
estimate accurately the value of the    
victories he achieves over himself  as  
well as over the duplicity of most of   
the people who surround him4    ,and    
this superiority is what makes certain  
his poise4 ,more difficult  perhaps than
 anything else to acquire is the power  
to resist the appeals  of one's own     
self-love4    ,we will explain this     
later at greater length4 ,lack of poise 
is often due  to nothing so much as an  
excess of vanity which throws one back  
upon  oneself from the fear of not being
 able to shine in the front rank4       
,such a person does not say to himself3 
,i will conquer this place by  sheer    
merit4 ,he contents himself with envying
 those who occupy it1  quite neglecting 

to put forth the efforts which would    
place him there  beside them4    ,there 
is nothing worse than yielding to an    
exaggerated tenderness toward           
ourselves1 which1 by magnifying our     
merits in our own eyes1 frequently      
leads us to make attempts which result  
in failure and expose us to  ridicule4  
,this is a most frequent cause of making
 an inveterate coward of one who  is    
subject to occasional attacks of        
timidity4    ,to know one's limitations 
exactly and never to allow oneself to   
exceed  them--this is the part of       
wisdom1 the act of a man who1 as the    
saying  goes1 knows what he is about4   
,there is in every effort a necessary   
limit that it is not wise to  exceed4   
,never force your talents1 says a very  
pithy proverb4 ,never undertake  to do a
 thing that is beyond your powers4      
,never allow yourself to be drawn into a
 discussion on a subject which is       
beyond your intellectual depth4 ,to do  
so is to take the risk of making        

mistakes that will render you           
ridiculous4    ,but if you are quite    
convinced that you can come out         
victorious1 never  hesitate to enter a  
trial of wits that may serve as an      
occasion for  demonstrating the fact    
that you are sure of your subject4      
,the man who cultivates poise will never
 let pass such opportunities as  this   
for exhibiting himself in a favorable   
light4    ,conscious of the soundness of
 his own judgment1 and filled with a    
real  sincerity toward himself1 he will 
not allow himself to be carried away  by
 a possible chance of success4 ,rather  
will he gather himself together1        
collect his forces1 and wait until he   
can achieve a real effect upon the      
minds of those whom he wishes to        
impress4    ,similarly the result of    
unsuccess in such a venture is obvious4 
,it has  the effect of developing a     
distrust of oneself and of destroying   
the  superb assurance of those people of
 whom it is often said3 ,oh1 he6 ,he  is

 sailing with the wind at his back6     
,people generally fail to add in these  
cases that such persons have left       
nothing undone to accomplish this result
 and are more than careful not  to weigh
 anchor when the wind is not favorable4 
,it is true enough that there can be no 
actual shelter from a storm1 but  the   
mariner who is prepared is able to ride 
it out without appreciable  damage1     
while those who are not prepared        
generally founder on account of  their  
poor seamanship4    ,disregard of       
calumny is always the index of a noble  
spirit4    ,the man who wastes time over
 such indignities and who allows himself
 to  be affected by them is not of the  
stature that insures victory in the     
struggle4    ,minds of large caliber    
disdain these manifestations of futile  
jealousy4    ,people of obscurity are   
never vilified4 ,only those whose merits
 have  placed them in the limelight are 
the targets for the attacks of envy and 
for the slanders of falsehood4    ,a    

precept that has often been enunciated1 
and can not be too often  repeated1     
which should1 indeed1 be inscribed in   
letters of gold over the  doors of every
 institution where men meet together1   
runs as follows3  ,envy and malice are  
nothing more than homage rendered to    
superiority4    ,only those who occupy  
an enviable position can become objects 
of  calumny4    ,such calumny is always 
the work of the unworthy1 who think to  
advertise  their own merits by denying  
those of better men4    ,men of         
resolution under such circumstances     
simply shrug their shoulders  and pass  
by4    ,the rest1 those who are enslaved
 by timidity1 become confused4    ,their
 ego1 which they cultivated in a fashion
 at once obscure and  absolute1 becomes 
so profoundly affected that they lack   
all courage to  openly defend it4       
,moreover1 that instinctive need of     
sympathy1 which is so marked a          
characteristic of the timid1 is deeply  
wounded1 while their chronic fear  of   

disapprobation is strengthened by the   
criticisms spread abroad4    ,the       
illogicality of these sentiments is     
obvious4 ,the man who is timid  shuns   
society1 yet nevertheless the judgments 
of this same society are  for him a     
question of absorbing interest4         
,timidity is1 in effect1 a  disease of  
many forms1 every one of which is       
founded upon illogicality4    ,it is    
always a mental weakness4 ,it is        
sometimes vanity1 but never pride1  that
 reasonable pride that a philosophy now 
abandoned once numbered as  one of the  
principal vices1 and which1 if rightly  
estimated1 can be  considered as the    
motive power of every noble action4     
,pride is a force4 ,it is therefore a   
virtue which must of necessity be  one  
of the components of poise1 so long as  
it contains within it no  seeds of      
vanity4 ,under such circumstances it is 
a primal condition of  success in the   
achievement of poise4 ,pride must1      
however1 be free from  vanity1 otherwise

 it ceases to be a force and becomes a  
cause of  deterioration4    ,as a matter
 of fact1 those who are conceited are   
always the dupes of  their own desire to
 bulk largely in the minds of others1   
and at the mere  thought that they will 
not shine as they have hoped to do the  
majority  of them are put entirely out  
of countenance and are quite at a loss  
for  means of expression4    ,the       
inevitable result of this tendency is to
 drive them into association  with      
mediocrity4 ,in such a society alone    
will the vain find themselves  at their 
ease4 ,but the very moment that they    
find themselves in the  presence of     
those who are their superiors1 the fear 
of not being able to  occupy the front  
rank throws them into such a state of   
mental disarray  that they entirely lose
 their assurance and that appearance of 
poise by  whose aid they are often able 
to deceive others4    ,finally1 one of  
the most solid elements of poise is1    
without doubt1 a  well-defined ambition1

 that is to say1 one that is divested of
 the  drawbacks of frivolity and        
directly winged toward the goal of one's
  hopes4    ,the man who possesses      
ambition of this kind is certainly      
destined to  acquire1 if he has not     
already acquired it1 that poise which is
  absolutely necessary to him in order  
to make his way in the world4    ,he    
will neither be pretentious nor         
timorous1 exaggerated nor fearful4 ,he  
will go forward without hesitation      
toward the goal which he knows to be    
before him1 and will make1 without any  
apologies1 those detours which  seem to 
him necessary to the success of his     
undertaking1 without paying  any        
attention to the fruitless distractions 
that make victims of the  rash4    ,he  
will not have to put up with the affront
 of being refused1 for he  will ask aid 
only of those persons who1 for various  
reasons1 he is  practically sure will be
 of assistance to him4 ,the knowledge of
 his own  deserts1 while keeping him in 

the position he has attained1 will      
prevent  him from being satisfied in    
commonplace surroundings1 and his       
will-power  will always maintain him at 
the level he has reached1 permitting him
 no  latitude save that of exceeding it4
    ,such is true poise1 not that whose 
spirit one violates by merely           
associating it with the incapable1 the  
pretentious1 or the extravagant1  but   
that which is at once the motive power  
and the inspiration of all  the actions 
of those who1 in their determination to 
force their way  through the great      
modern struggle for existence1          
perseveringly follow a  line of conduct 
that they have worked out for themselves
 in advance4    ,ignoring such          
enterprises as they know to be unworthy 
of their powers1  those who are possest 
of real poise 7and not of that foolish  
temerity  colloquially known as bluff7  
will devote themselves solely to such   
tasks as a well-ordered judgment and an 
accurate knowledge of their own         

potentialities indicate to them to be   
fitting4    ,does this mean that they   
will succeed in every case8             
,unfortunately1 no6 ,but such of them as
 have met with temporary failure1  if   
they are able to assure themselves that 
their lack of success has  been due     
neither to a failure of will-power nor a
 fear of ridicule1 will  return to the  
charge1 once more prepared to make      
headway against  circumstances which    
they have the poise to foresee1 and     
which they will  at least render        
incapable of harming them1 even if they 
lack the  necessary force to dominate   
them completely to their own advantage4 
,,chapter ,,ii    ,,the ,,enemies ,,of  
,,poise      ,the enemies of poise are  
many and of different origins1 both of  
feeling  and of impulse4    ,they all   
tend1 however1 toward the same result1  
the cessation of effort  under pretexts 
more or less specious4    ,it is of no  
use deceiving ourselves4 ,lack of poise 
has its roots deep in  all the faults   

which are caused by apathy and          
purposeless variety4    ,we have learned
 in the previous chapter how greatly the
 vice of lack of  confidence in oneself 
can retard the development of the       
quality we are  considering4            
,balanced between the desire to succeed 
and the fear of failure1 the  timid man 
leads a miserable existence1 tortured by
 unavailing regrets  and by no less     
useless aspirations1 which torment him  
like the worm that  dieth not4          
,little by little the habit of physical 
inaction engenders a moral  inertia and 
the victim learns to fly from every     
opportunity of escaping  from his       
bondage4    ,very soon an habitual state
 of idleness takes possession of him and
  causes him to avoid everything that   
tends to make action necessary4    ,the 
dread of responsibility that might      
devolve upon him turns him aside  from  
every sort of endeavor1 and he passes   
his life in a hopeless and  sluggish    
inaction1 from a fear of drawing down   

upon himself reproaches  to which he    
might have to make answer or of being   
compelled to take part  in discussions  
which would involve the disturbing of   
his indolent  repose4    ,are we to     
suppose then that he finds real         
happiness in such a state of  things8   
,certainly not1 for this negative       
existence weighs upon him with all the  
burden of a monotony that he feels      
powerless to throw off4 ,his own        
mediocrity enrages him while the success
 of others fills him with  dismay4      
,nevertheless his weakness of character 
allows the hate of action to  speak more
 loudly to him than legitimate ambition1
 and keeps him in a  state of obvious   
inferiority that of itself gives birth  
to numberless  new enemies1 who end by  
destroying him utterly4    ,he is first 
attacked by slowness of comprehension1  
the inevitable  consequence of that     
idleness that causes the cowardly to    
shun the  battle4    ,rather than combat
 influences from without he allows them 

daily to  assume a more prominent and a 
more definite place in his thoughts4    
,his hatred of action says no to all    
initiative and he considers that he  has
 accomplished his whole duty toward     
society and toward himself when  he     
says3 ,what's the use of undertaking    
this or that8 ,i haven't a chance  of   
succeeding and it is therefore idle to  
invite defeat6    ,so quickly does the  
change work that his mind1 from lack of 
proper  exercise1 rapidly reaches the   
condition where it can not voluntarily  
comprehend any but the most simple      
affairs and goes to pieces when         
confronted with occasions that call for 
reflection or reasoning1 which  he      
considers as the hardest kind of work4  
,it is hardly a matter for astonishment1
 therefore1 that under these  conditions
 effeminacy should take possession of a 
soul that has become  the sport of all  
the weaknesses that are born of a desire
 to avoid  exertion4    ,we do not care 
to draw the picture of that case too    

often encountered in  which this moral  
defeat becomes changed into envy1 the   
feeling of  bitterness against all men1 
the veritable hell of the man who has   
not  the power to make the effort that  
shall free him4    ,mental instability  
is the inevitable consequence of this   
state of  affairs4    ,all              
brain-activity being regarded as a      
useless toil1 the man of timidity  never
 understands the depth of the questions 
he has not the courage to  discuss4 ,if 
he does talk of them1 it is with a bias 
rendered all the  more prejudiced by the
 fact that1 instead of expressing his   
ideas1 he  takes refuge in fortifying   
his heresies with arguments of which the
  smallest discussion would demonstrate 
the worthlessness4    ,this             
unwillingness to discuss conditions     
gives rise among people who are         
deficient in poise to a special form of 
reasoning1 which causes them to         
summarize in the most hurried fashion   
even the gravest events1 upon the  sole 

consideration that they are not asked to
 take part in them4 ,if1 by  any chance1
 they are forced to be actors in these  
events the least  little incident       
assumes for them the most formidable    
proportions4    ,it seems probable that 
this tendency to exaggerate everything  
with which  they come in contact is due 
solely to egoism4 ,it is certain at any 
rate  that egoism plays a large part in 
it1 but some portion of it is due to    
the lack of observation that            
characterizes all people of timidity4   
,the mental idleness and the instability
 of mind that we have already           
considered render such people less      
inclined to consider with any degree  of
 care those things which do not touch   
them directly4    ,at this stage1 it is 
no longer possible for them to feign    
ignorance in  order to avoid the trouble
 of thinking1 and they are only touched1
 even  by the most personal matters1 to 
the extent that circumstances impose    
upon them the necessity of thinking or  

of acting with reference to the  subject
 under consideration4    ,the idea that 
they can no longer avoid the resolutions
 which must be  made and their fear of  
the consequences which may result from  
these  affect them to such a profound   
extent that the most insignificant of   
occurrences immediately assumes for them
 an altogether incommensurate           
importance4    ,this state of mind is a 
notable foe of poise4 ,it is practically
  impossible for a person under such    
conditions to believe that any          
considerable effort he has made can have
 passed unperceived4    ,this propensity
 to assign an exaggerated importance to 
personal affairs  develops egoism1 the  
avowed enemy of poise4 ,an egoist       
necessarily  assumes that the rest of   
the world attributes to his acts the    
importance  he himself assigns to them4 
,this preoccupation does not fail to    
upset him4 ,it increases his            
embarrassment and the fear of not       
appearing in the light in which he      

wishes to be seen paralyzes him1 while  
the dread of what other people  may     
think prevents him from being himself4  
,to this cause many otherwise           
inexplicable defeats must be assigned1  
the  result of which is a renewed       
resentment against the world at large   
and  an ardent desire to avoid any      
further exposure to the chance of       
failure4    ,a case in point is the man 
who becomes nervous while making a      
speech1  starts to stammer1 and makes a 
lamentable failure of what began well   
enough1 because he imagines that persons
 in the audience are making fun  of him4
    ,he has overheard a word1 or        
surprized a look1 neither of which had  
any  relation to him1 but so great is   
his egoism that he does not dream that  
any one in the audience can be so       
lacking in taste as to be concerned     
with anything but himself4    ,had this 
man1 in spite of his egoism1 been       
endowed with poise1 he would  have gone 
along calmly1 simply forcing himself to 

ignore all criticism  and to impress his
 very critics by his attitude and his   
eloquence4 ,but  his distrust of        
himself1 his mental instability1 his    
habitual weakness  of reasoning1 all    
these enemies of poise league themselves
 together to  inflict upon him a defeat1
 of which the memory will only aggravate
 his  nervousness and his desire never  
to repeat such an unpleasant            
experience4    ,for the man who has no  
poise there is no snatching victory from
 defeat4  ,his feeble will-power is     
completely routed1 and the effort       
involved in  stemming the tide of       
adverse opinion is to him an            
impossibility4    ,from dread of being  
carried away by the current1 and feeling
 himself  incapable of struggling       
against it1 he prefers to hide himself  
in the  caves along the shore1 rather   
than to make one desperate effort to    
cross  the stream4    ,but the very     
isolation he seeks1 in depriving him of 
moral support1  increases his           

embarrassment4    ,it is not good for   
man to be alone1 says ,holy ,writ4 ,it  
is certainly  deplorable1 for one who   
desires to make his way1 to find himself
 without  a prop1 without a counselor1  
and without a guide4    ,this is the    
case of those timid persons who do not  
understand how to  make friends for     
themselves4    ,poise1 on the other     
hand1 invites sympathy4 ,it aids men to 
expand4 ,it  creates friends when       
needed1 and weaves the bonds of         
comradeship and of  protection without  
which our social fabric could not hold  
together4    ,educators should seek for 
inspiration in the lessons that the     
exigencies  of modern life offer to the 
view of the observer4 ,excessive        
modesty1  sworn enemy of poise1 is1     
socially speaking1 a fault from which   
young  minds should be carefully        
guarded4    ,it is the open door to all 
the feeblenesses which interfere with   
the  development of poise4    ,it is a  
mistake that it has so long been        

considered as a virtue4    ,in any case1
 the day of extreme humility is past4   
,this detachment from  oneself is       
contrary to all the laws of progress4   
,it is opposed to all the principles of 
evolution and of growth which  should be
 the study of all our contemporaries1   
whatever their station or  the class to 
which they may happen to belong4    ,no 
man has the right to withdraw himself   
from the battle and to shirk  his       
duties1 while watching other people     
fighting to maintain the social         
equilibrium and seeking to achieve the  
position to which their talents  and    
their attainments render them worthy to 
aspire4    ,that which is too easily    
honored with the title of modesty is    
generally  nothing more than a screen   
behind which conscious ineptitude       
conceals  itself4    ,it is a very easy 
thing to strike a disdainful attitude   
and to exclaim3  ,i didn't care to      
compete6    ,do not forget that a defeat
 after a sanguinary combat is infinitely

 more  honorable than a retreat in which
 not a blow is struck4    ,moreover1 the
 combats of the mind temper the soul1   
just as those of the  body fortify the  
flesh1 by making both fit for the       
victory that is to  be4    ,it is then  
against the enemies of poise that we    
must go forth to war4    ,cowardice must
 be hunted down1 wherever we encounter  
it1 because its  victims are thrown into
 the struggle of life burdened with an  
undeniable  inferiority4    ,even if    
they are worth while no one will be     
found to observe it1 since  their lack  
of poise always turns them back upon    
themselves1 and very few  people have   
the wit to discover what is so          
sedulously concealed4    ,deception is  
the necessary corollary of this1 and one
 that very soon  becomes changed into   
spite4 ,the disappointment of being     
misunderstood  must inevitably lead us  
to condemn those who do not comprehend  
us4 ,our  shyness will be increased at  
this and we shall end by disbelieving   

ourselves in the qualities that we find 
other people ignoring in us4    ,from   
this condition of discouragement to that
 of mental inertia it is  but a step1   
and many worthy people who lack poise   
have rapidly traveled  this road to     
plunge themselves into the obscurity of 
renunciation4    ,they are like         
paralytics4 ,like these poor creatures  
they have limbs  which are of no service
 to them and which from habitual lack of
  functioning end by becoming           
permanently useless4    ,if their nature
 is a bad one they will have still more 
reason to  complain of this lack of     
poise1 with its train of inconveniences 
of  which we have been treating1 that   
will leave them weakened and a prey to  
all sorts of mental excesses which will 
be the more serious in their  effects   
for the fact that their existence is    
known to no one but the  victims4       
,instead of admitting that their lack of
 poise-due to the various faults  of    
character we have been discussing--is   

the sole cause of the apparent          
ostracism from which they suffer1 they  
indulge in accusations against  fate1   
against the world1 against              
circumstances1 and grow to hate all     
those who have succeeded1 without being 
willing to acknowledge that they  have  
never seriously made the attempt        
themselves4    ,only those return home  
with the spoils who have taken part in  
the  battle1 have paid with their blood 
and risked their lives4    ,the man who 
remains in hiding behind the walls of   
his house can hardly  be astonished that
 such honors do not come his way4       
,life is a battle1 and victory is always
 to the strong4 ,the timid are  never   
called upon to take their share of the  
booty4 ,it becomes the  property of     
those who have had the force to win it1 
either by sheer  courage or by cautious 
strategy1 for real bravery is not always
 that  which calls for the easy applause
 of the crowd4    ,it is found just as  
much among those who have the will-power

 to keep  silent as to their plans and  
to resist the temptation to actions     
which1  while satisfying their desire   
for energetic measures may destroy the  
edifice that they have so carefully     
constructed4    ,it is for this reason  
that enthusiasm may be considered with  
justice as  an enemy of poise4    ,those
 who act under the domination of an     
impulse born of a too-vivid  impression 
are rarely in a state of mind that can  
be depended upon to  judge sanely and   
impartially4 ,they nearly always        
overshoot the mark at  which they aim4  
,they are like runners dashing forward  
at such a high  speed that they can not 
bring themselves to a sudden stop4      
,habitual  enthusiasm is also the enemy 
of reflection4 ,it is an obstacle to    
that  reason from which proceed strong  
resolves1 and one is often impelled1 in 
observing people who are fired with too 
great an ardor1 to thoughts of  the     
fable of the burning straw4    ,a       
teacher1 who inclined to the methods    

that consist of object lessons1  one day
 asked two children to make a choice    
between two piles1 one of  straw1 the   
other of wood4 ,it is hardly necessary  
to add that while the  size of the pile 
of straw was great that of the wood was 
hardly  one-tenth of the volume4    ,the
 first child1 when told to make his     
choice1 took the mass of straw1  which  
he set on fire easily enough1 warming   
himself first from a  respectful        
distance and then at close range1 in    
proportion as the heat  of the fire grew
 less4    ,in so doing he made great    
sport of his companion1 who struggled   
meanwhile to set alight the pile of     
wood4 ,but what was the outcome8    ,the
 huge mass of straw was soon burned out1
 while the wood1 once lit1  furnished a 
tranquil and steady flame1 which the    
first child watched  with envy while    
seated by the mass of cinders that alone
 remained of the  vanished pile that he 
had chosen4    ,the man of real poise is
 like the child who1 disclaiming the    

transitory  blaze of the straw1 prefers 
to work patiently at building a fire    
whose  moderate heat will afford him a  
durable and useful warmth4    ,let us   
then beware of sudden unreasoning       
enthusiasms4 ,after the  ephemeral flame
 of their first ardor has burned itself 
out we shall but  find ourselves seated 
by the mass of ashes formed of our      
mistakes and  our dead energies4    ,the
 rock on which so many abortive attempts
 are wrecked in the effort to  achieve  
poise is a type of sentimentality       
peculiar to certain natures4    ,this   
state of mind is characterized by a     
craving for expansion1 which is  all the
 more irritating since the timidity of  
the person concerned  prevents it from  
being satisfied4    ,in place of relying
 upon themselves1 feeling their         
disabilities and the  lack of poise     
which prevents them from proper         
expression1 such people  try to make    
themselves understood by those who do   
not appreciate their  feelings1 without 

stopping to think that they have done   
nothing to make  clear what they really 
need4    ,such a chaotic state of mind1 
based on errors of judgment1 is a very  
serious obstacle to the acquisition of  
poise4    ,this anxiety to communicate  
their feelings1 always rendered         
ineffective  by the difficulty of making
 the effort involved1 gives rise in the 
long  run to a species of misanthropy4  
,it is a matter of common knowledge that
 misanthropy urges those who  suffer    
from it to fall back upon themselves1   
and from this state to that  of active  
hostility toward others the road is     
short1 and timid people  are rarely able
 to pull up before they have traversed  
it4    ,there comes to them from this   
intellectual solitude an unhappiness so 
profound that they are glad to be able  
to attribute to the mental  inferiority 
of others the condition of moral        
isolation in which they  live4    ,to   
insist that they are misunderstood1 and 
to pride themselves upon the  fact1 is  

the inevitable fate of those who never  
can summon up courage to  undertake a   
battle against themselves4    ,it seems 
to them a thousand times easier to say3 
,these minds are too  gross to          
comprehend mine1 than to seek for a     
means of establishing an  understanding 
with those whom they tax with ignorance 
and insensibility4    ,they might1      
perhaps1 be convinced of the utility to 
them of divulging  their feelings1 could
 they be forced into a position where   
they had to  defend their ideas or were 
compelled to put up a fight on behalf of
  their convictions4    ,in the ranks of
 the enemies of poise sullenness most   
certainly finds a  place4    ,it is the 
fault of the feeble-spirited who have   
not the energy to affirm  their         
sentiments or to make a plain statement 
of their convictions that  they become  
incensed with those who oppose them4    
,in their case a good deal of false     
pride is present4 ,they know  themselves
 to be beaten and to be incapable of    

fighting1 yet they are  too vain to     
accept defeat4 ,they refuse the sympathy
 that wounds them1  and suffer the more 
from their inability to yield themselves
 to that  good-will which would aid and 
comfort them4    ,from this mental      
conflict is born an irritation that     
manifests itself in  the form of        
obstinate sullenness4    ,in other cases
 the same state of mind may produce     
radically different  results4    ,always
 obsessed by the fear of appearing      
ridiculous and by the no less  vivid    
dread of seeming to be an object of     
sympathy1 such people are  often driven 
through lack of poise into extreme      
boastfulness4    ,no man who has poise  
will ever fall a victim to this         
misfortune4    ,he knows exactly what   
his capabilities are and he has no need 
to  exaggerate his own abilities to     
impress his friends4    ,poise calls for
 action1 when this becomes necessary2   
but the man of  resolve1 being always   
prepared to do what is needful1         

considers mere  boasting and bravado as 
something quite unworthy of him4        
,there are1 however1 certain extenuating
 circumstances in the cases of  those   
timid people who take refuge in         
boasting4 ,they are almost  invariably  
the dupes of their own fancies1 and for 
the moment really  believe themselves to
 be capable of endeavors beset by       
difficulties1 of  the surmounting of    
which they understand nothing4          
,nothing looks easier to duplicate than 
certain movements which are  performed  
with apparent ease by experts4    ,which
 of us has not been profoundly          
astonished at the enormous  difficulty  
experienced in accomplishing some simple
 act of manual toil  that we see        
performed without the least effort by a 
workman trained to  this particular     
task8    ,what looks easier1 for        
instance1 than to plane a piece of wood 
or to dig  up the ground8    ,is it     
possible that the laborer1 wheeling a   
barrow1 really has to be  possest of    

skill or strength8    ,it hardly seems  
so4 ,and yet the man who takes a plane  
in his hands for  the first time will be
 astounded at the difficulty he         
experiences in  approximating to the    
regularity and lightness of stroke that 
comes  naturally to the carpenter4      
,the man who essays to dig a piece of   
ground or to wheel a barrow1 will  find 
himself making irregular ditches and    
traveling in zigzags1 and all  this at  
the expense of a hundred times the      
energy put forth by the  workman who is 
accustomed to these particular forms of 
labor4    ,the person of timidity who   
boasts of his remarkable exploits is    
actuated1 as a general rule1 by sheer   
lack of experience4    ,his peculiar    
fault keeps him always in the background
 and prevents him  from accomplishing   
any public action1 and for this reason  
those efforts  appear easy to him that  
he has never thought of attempting4     
,further than this1 aided by his false  
pride1 he considers that his  merits are

 easily greater than those of the people
 who are not able to  understand him1   
and he is acting in perfect good faith  
when he professes  to be able to        
accomplish what they can not4    ,is it 
necessary to add that the ironical      
reception given to such  exhibitions of 
boastfulness rouse in him a feeling of  
irritation which  is all the greater for
 the fact that he does not openly show  
it8    ,the man of resolve will never   
experience these unpleasant emotions4   
,he knows exactly what he wants and what
 he can do4 ,so we see him  marching    
ahead steadily1 his eyes fixt upon the  
goal he has worked out  for himself1    
paying no heed whatever to misleading   
suggestions1 which  cripple his breadth 
of soul and would in the end deprive him
 of that  essential energy which is     
vital to him if he would preserve his   
even  poise1 the foundation of mental   
balance and the source of every real    
success in life4              ,,chapter 
,,iii    ,,war ,,on ,,timidity      ,one

 can not be too insistent in asserting  
how harmful the lack of poise  can be1  
and when once this weakness has reached 
the stage of timidity it  may produce   
the most tragic consequences not only so
 far as the daily  routine of our lives 
is concerned1 but also with reference to
 our moral  and physical equilibrium4   
,so1 when the nervous system is         
constantly set on edge by the emotions  
to  which this fault gives rise1 it     
necessarily follows that all the        
faculties suffer in their turn4    ,this
 is particularly true of those who are  
constantly haunted by the  fear of      
finding themselves in a condition of    
mental unpreparedness1 to  the extent   
that they prefer to remain in solitude  
and silence rather  than to mingle in a 
world which really has too many other   
things to  think of to concern itself   
with their acts or their opinions4      
,this morbid dread of becoming the      
subject of ridicule ends by creating a  
peculiar condition of mind of which1 as 

we have already pointed out1  egoism is 
the pivot4    ,in this way it is a      
common occurrence to see people of      
timidity paying  exaggerated attention  
to the slightest changes in the         
condition of their  health4    ,such    
people by shutting themselves out from  
the world have reduced it to  the       
circumference of their own personalities
 and everything which  touches them     
necessarily assumes gigantic importance 
in their eyes4    ,the slightest        
opposition becomes for them a           
catastrophe4 ,the smallest              
unpleasantness presents itself to them  
in the light of a tragic  misfortune4   
,for this reason the lives of the timid 
become a succession of boredoms  and of 
pains4    ,even in those cases where no 
really unfortunate incident occurs1     
these  people so exaggerate what        
actually does happen to them that the   
least  little emotion causes them the   
most profound unhappiness4    ,on those 
days when nothing in particular happens 

they spend their time  anticipating all 
sorts of disasters1 including those     
which are not the  least likely to      
happen4 ,to them the tiniest cloud is an
 omen of a  devastating storm4    ,when 
the sun is shining their timidity       
prevents them from exposing  themselves 
to the heat of its rays4    ,the timid  
man1 in his moral isolation1 is like the
 hare1 who1 crouched  in its form1      
sleeps with one eye open in constant    
terror of the  passer-by or of the      
hunter4    ,it may be well to add that  
worry about oneself is invariably an    
accompaniment of all these troubles4    
,people without poise are1 with very    
few exceptions1 egotists who exaggerate 
their own importance4    ,moreover1 they
 suffer keenly from the obscurity into  
which their defects  have forced them as
 well as from dread of the alternatives 
presented to  them1 the making of an    
effort to escape this fate1 an idea that
 fills  them with horror1 or the        
continuing to live in the unhappy       

condition  that has spoiled existence   
for them through their own faults4      
,it is hardly then a matter for surprize
 that so many people who are thus       
mentally out of balance end by becoming 
neurotics or become a prey to  those    
cerebral disorders that are1            
unfortunately1 all too frequent4        
,this condition of solitude1 at once    
deplored and self-imposed1 has the      
still more serious disadvantage of      
leaving the mind1 for lack of proper    
control1 to the domination of the most  
false and exaggerated ideas4    ,it is a
 well-known fact that any force of      
exaggeration1 however obvious1  becomes 
less noticeable to us in proportion as  
it becomes more familiar4    ,it exists1
 in the last analysis1 only by its      
comparative relation to  other things4  
,it is certain that a child ten years   
old would seem very large if he  were   
five feet high1 whereas a man of that   
stature is considered a  dwarf4         
,among ,oriental races a woman is       

generally classed as a blonde whose hair
  is not absolutely black4    ,things   
only take their real appearance from a  
comparison with others of  the same     
kind4    ,for all his science1 an       
ethnologist1 placed in front of a man of
 an  unknown tribe1 would be unable to  
say whether this man's stature were     
normal or below the average in relation 
to others of his race1 since no         
information would be forthcoming as to  
this people's height or                 
characteristics4 ,it is1 therefore1 no  
matter for surprize that the timid  man1
 shut in upon himself and having no     
other horizon than the limited  field of
 his own observations1 is disposed to   
picture them in colors  whose truth he  
can not verify1 since the terms of      
comparison1 vital to  the accomplishment
 of his end1 are not available to him4  
,it is1 therefore1 impossible for such a
 man not to become accustomed to  the   
idea as it presents itself to him1 to   
such an extent that he is  quite        

unconscious of its successive changes in
 character4    ,do we notice the growth 
of a child who is constantly with us    
until he  reaches man's estate8    ,can 
we measure the development of a blossom 
into the perfect flower8    ,assuredly  
not1 if we have lived daily in the      
company of the child and  have glanced  
several times an hour at the blossom4   
,both the one and the other will reach  
maturity without being sensibly         
conscious of the fact that they are     
changing4    ,but if we go away from the
 child for a few months1 if1 in the     
interval1  we see other children1 we can
 form an estimate of his growth and can 
compare him mentally with the other     
children we have met4    ,the same is   
true of the flower4 ,if other duties    
call us away for the  moment from       
contemplating it1 we will notice the    
progress of its  unfolding and we will  
also be able to tell whether1 in        
relation to that  of other plants1 it is
 quick1 slow1 or merely normal4    ,the 

man who is timid1 be he never so        
observant1 will derive no benefit  from 
these observations1 for he is quite     
unable to generalize and refers  them   
all to a point of view which cramps them
 hopelessly and gives them  a color that
 is1 entirely false4    ,so1 from the   
habit of thinking without any           
opposition1 little by little  he allows 
his ideas to become changed and         
distorted without any one's  being able 
to advise him of the misconceptions     
which he keeps closely to  himself4     
,it is for this reason that all timid   
people have a marked tendency to        
distort facts and to acquire false      
ideas4    ,it is often with perfect good
 faith that they affirm a thing which   
they  believe sincerely1 not having had 
the opportunity to control the          
successive changes which have           
transformed it absolutely from what it  
was  at the outset4    ,it is a lucky   
day for timid people of this class when 
fate prevents them  from entering into  

competition with those who are possest  
of poise4    ,were these latter a       
hundred times weaker than they are they 
would still  end by triumphing over     
their feeble antagonists4    ,it is     
above all in the affairs of ordinary    
every-day life that poise  renders the  
most valuable service4    ,if it becomes
 a question of presenting or discussing 
a matter of  business1 the timid man1   
embarrassed by his own personality1     
begins to  stammer1 becomes confused1   
and can not recall a single argument4   
,he  finally abandons all the gain that 
he dreamed of making in order to put  an
 end to the torments from which he      
suffers4    ,he is to be considered     
lucky if under the domination of the    
troubles in  which he finds himself1 he 
does not lose all faculty of speech4    
,this failing1 so common among the      
timid1 is a further cause of confusion  
to the victim4    ,at the bare idea that
 he may become the prey of such a       
calamity he  unconsciously closes his   

lips and lowers the tones of his voice4 
,the man of poise1 on the other hand1   
feels himself the more impelled to      
redouble his efforts in proportion to   
the need his cause has for being  well  
defended4    ,he knows how to arrange   
his arguments1 and to foresee those of  
his  adversary1 and1 if he finds himself
 face to face with a statement which  he
 can not refute1 he will seek some means
 of softening the defeat or of  changing
 the ground of the debate in such a way 
as to avoid confusion to  himself4      
,in any event1 such an occurrence will  
have no profound effect upon him4       
,vanquished on one point1 he will find  
the presence of mind to at once  change 
the character of the discussion to      
questions which are at once  familiar   
and favorable to him4    ,he who goes   
forth into life armed with poise has    
also the marked  advantage over the     
timid that comes from superior health4  
,this phrase should not be the occasion 
for a smile4 ,timidity is a  chronic    

cause of poor health in those who suffer
 from it4    ,pushed to extremes1 it is 
the source of a thousand nervous        
defects4    ,we have already touched    
upon stammering4    ,unreasonable       
blushing is another misfortune of the   
timid4 ,in drawing the  attention of    
one's opponents it betrays at once one's
 ideas and one's  fears4    ,fear of    
this uncomfortable blushing inhibits    
many people from making the  most of    
themselves or from properly protecting  
their own interests4    ,the shame they 
feel on account of this inferiority     
leads them1 as we  have seen1 to seek   
isolation in which hypochondria slowly  
grows upon  them1 sure forerunner of    
that terrible neurasthenia of which the 
effects  are so diverse and so          
disconcerting4    ,the man who was at   
the outset no more than timid1 easily   
becomes  transformed first into a       
misanthrope1 then into a monomaniac     
tortured by  a thousand physical        
inhibitions1 such as the inability to   

hold a pen1 to  walk unaccompanied      
across an open space1 to ride in a      
public conveyance1  etc41 etc4    ,it   
must not be forgotten that these crises 
of embarrassments always  produce       
extreme emotion accompanied by          
palpitations whose frequent  recurrence 
may lead to actual heart trouble4       
,all these disadvantages increase the   
sullenness of the timid1 who are        
overcome by the sense of their own      
physical weakness1 which they know  has 
its origin in a condition of mind that  
they lack the power either to  change or
 to abolish4    ,all these causes of    
physical inferiority are unknown to the 
man who  appreciates the value of poise 
and puts it into practise4    ,such a   
man has no fear of embarrassment in     
speaking4 ,he is a stranger to  the     
misery of aimless blushing4 ,if he does 
not always emerge victorious  from the  
oratorical combats in which he engages  
he at least has the  satisfaction of    
acknowledging to himself that he has not

 been beaten  easily or without a       
struggle4 ,in short1 misanthropy1       
neurasthenia1 and  all their attendant  
ills1 are for him unknown ailments4     
,one can not be too watchful against the
 attacks of timidity1 which1 like  a    
contaminated spring1 poisons the entire 
existence of those who are  unable to   
dam up its flow4    ,among the          
martyrdoms which are caused by it must  
be counted indecision1  which is one of 
its most frequent and most unhappy      
results4    ,the timid man can not stop 
at any point4    ,he vacillates         
unceasingly and takes turn by turn the  
most opposing  viewpoints4    ,it is    
only fair to add that he rejects them   
all almost as soon as he has  formed    
them4    ,his state of mind being always
 one of distrust of his own powers1 it  
is  impossible for him not to be afraid 
that he has made a mistake1 if he is    
left to do his own thinking4    ,we have
 seen how his craving for sympathy1     
never satisfied1 since he  does not make

 it known1 drives him ever into impotent
 rage1 which throws  him back upon      
himself in scarcely concealed           
irritation1 that alienates  him from all
 sympathy and precludes all confidences4
    ,it is rarely1 therefore1 that the  
timid person does not find himself      
isolated when facing the decisions of   
greater or less gravity that daily  life
 makes necessary4    ,in terror of      
making a mistake that may lead to some  
change of course or  give rise to the   
necessity of taking some definite       
action1 he hesitates  everlastingly4    
,if1 driven into a corner by            
circumstances1 he ends by making some   
decision1 we may be sure that he will at
 once regret it and that1 if the  time  
still remains to him1 he will modify it 
in some way1 only to revert  to it again
 a moment later4    ,his will is like a 
ball continually thrown to and fro by   
children4 ,no  sooner is it tossed in   
one direction than it is suddenly sent  
flying in  another1 to return finally to

 its starting-place at the moment when  
the  players' weariness causes it to    
fall to the ground4    ,this particular 
state of mind is primarily due to two   
causes3    ,the desire for perfection   
that haunts all timid people4    ,the   
fear of making a mistake that arises    
from the habit of continually           
mistrusting one's own judgment4         
,there are many other causes1 the       
analysis of which is far beyond the     
scope of this work1 but every one of    
these can be referred to the two  main  
issues we have defined4 ,the desire for 
perfection is at once the  result and   
the cause of most timidity4    ,while   
the man of resolve1 relying upon his    
experience1 is able to  perform his part
 in those normal exigencies that he is  
able to conceive  of1 the timid man1    
shut off by his defects from all        
practical knowledge  of life1 comes to  
grief by discovering something amiss    
with every course  that he considers4   
,a familiar proverb tells us that       

everything has its good and its bad     
side4    ,the timid see only the latter 
when making the decisions that fate     
imposes upon them4    ,they fall into   
despair at their inability to see the   
other side of  things and their feeble  
will drives against solid obstacles like
 a car  colliding with a block of       
granite4    ,the man of resolution1     
instead of yielding to despair1 seeks to
 surmount  such a difficulty by turning 
his car in another direction2 but1 if   
the  new road shows him nothing but     
dangerous pitfalls1 he will choose to go
  around the block and continue his     
journey1 remembering it as a landmark   
for his return4    ,for this reason we  
shall find him well on his way toward   
his journey's  end while the victim of  
timidity continues to exhaust himself by
 vain  efforts1 thankful enough if he is
 not permanently mired in some of the   
bogs into which he has imprudently      
ventured4 ,this is a state of affairs   
of much more frequent occurrence than   

one might suppose4 ,timidity1 as we     
have seen1 often unites the boldest     
conceptions with complete  inexperience1
 which does not permit of accurate      
judgment as to  impossibilities4        
,this lack of knowledge of life is also 
the cause of a continual fear of  making
 mistakes4    ,the man of resolution    
never suffers from this complaint4      
,having taught himself the value of a   
ripened judgment1 he is quick to        
recognize the advantage to be derived   
from any project4 ,he weighs            
alternatives carefully and only makes   
his decisions on well-thought-out       
grounds1 after sufficient reasoned      
reflection to make sure that he will    
have no cause for future regret4    ,we 
have already remarked that such forms of
 irresolution constituted a  martyrdom4 
,the word is by no means too strong4    
,they are never-ending  occasions for   
physical and moral torture4    ,they are
 to be met with in the most trivial     
details of every-day life4    ,the mere 

crossing of a street becomes1 for the   
nervous man1 an  ever-recurring source  
of torment4    ,he is afraid to go      
forward at the proper moment1 takes one 
step ahead  and another back1 looks     
despairingly at the line of vehicles    
that bars  his way1 and1 when a         
momentary opening in this confronts him1
 takes so  long to make up his mind that
 the opportunity of crossing is past    
before  he has seized it4    ,or again  
he may suddenly rush forward1 without   
any regard for the danger  to which he  
is exposed1 hesitating suddenly when in 
the way of the  vehicles that threaten  
him1 and quite incapable of slipping    
past them1  or of any quick or dexterous
 movement by which he may avoid them4   
,this little picture1 despite its       
commonplace nature1 is nevertheless a   
symbol4    ,in the crossings of life1 as
 well as those of the streets1 the man  
who  is timid is at an immense          
disadvantage when compared with the man 
of  poise4    ,the latter does not worry

 his head about the traffic that blocks 
his  progress4    ,aided by his         
will-power and by confidence in his     
judgment1 he stands  firmly awaiting the
 moment that affords him an opening4    
,then1 with  muscles tense and wits     
collected1 he starts1 and whether he    
darts ahead  here1 or glides adroitly   
there1 he threads his way through the   
traffic  and reaches his goal without   
having suffered from accident4    ,the  
troubles upon which we have been        
dwelling are never his4 ,his soul1      
dominated by a well-ordered will1 by    
reason1 and all the other good          
qualities we enumerated in the first    
chapter1 is proof against all  attacks  
of weakness4    ,in the event of his not
 possessing all these virtues1 he has   
the wit to  keep the thought of them    
always before him and to work hard to   
acquire  them1 so that he may become    
what1 in modern parlance1 we call a     
force1  that is to say one whose soul is
 virile enough to influence not only his

  mind1 but even to liberate his body   
from the defects created in it by       
distrust of self4    ,but1 it will be   
claimed1 there are people who are born  
timid and who are  quite unable to      
achieve the mastery of themselves4      
,every human being can win the victory  
over himself4 ,this we will prove       
conclusively in the pages that are to   
follow1 dedicated to those who are      
desirous of arming themselves1 in the   
great game of life1 with that  master   
card which is named ,,poise4            
,,part ,,ii    ,,how ,,to ,,acquire     
,,poise      ,,chapter ,i    ,,modesty  
,,and ,,effrontery ,,contrasted         
,never force your talents a well-known  
writer has said4 ,one always  feels like
 crying this to those who1 thinking to  
reach the goal of  poise1 fall into     
excess and develop effrontery and       
exaggeratedness4    ,poise can not exist
 without coolness4 ,we have seen that   
this quality is  rarely met with in     
enthusiasts4    ,it is never found in   

those who have effrontery4    ,poise    
does not consist in the species of      
ostentatious carelessness which  essays 
to travel through life as a child might 
wander among hives of  bees without     
taking any precautions against being    
stung4    ,neither is it that false     
courage that drives one headlong into a 
conflict without any thought as to the  
blows likely to fall upon the  foolhardy
 person who has ventured into it4       
,the principle upon which we must start 
is this3 life is a battle in  which     
strategy always has the advantage over  
blind courage4    ,unfortunate is he    
who1 by his boasting or his lack of     
generalship1  decides upon an attack for
 which he is not really prepared4       
,however  brave he may be he will       
infallibly find himself vanquished in a 
struggle  in which everything has       
combined in advance to defeat him4      
,boasting is not courage4 ,still less is
 it poise4    ,poise is a power derived 
from the mastery of self4 ,it inhibits  

all  outward manifestations that are    
likely to result in giving information  
to strangers with regard to our real    
feelings4    ,braggarts can not avoid   
this stumbling-block4 ,they know nothing
 of the  delights of contemplation1 from
 which arise ripe resolutions that will 
be steadfastly followed4    ,with the   
noise of their boastings1 with the      
shouting of their own  braggart         
ineptitudes1 they hypnotize themselves  
so thoroughly that they  are quite      
unable to hear the counsel that sane    
wisdom whispers in their  ears4    ,they
 are like the man in the eastern fable  
who was quite unable to  follow a beaten
 path and was constantly wandering      
across the fields of  his neighbors4    
,these detours were in general much     
longer than the direct road would  have 
been1 and he received a constant stream 
of abuse1 to say nothing of  blows1 from
 the people whose crops he was ruining4 
,but he seemed quite insensible to      
assaults and insisted upon following1   

across lots1 a road which led nowhere4  
,it would be difficult to paint a more  
faithful portrait4 ,like the  peasant in
 the story1 the man of effrontery is    
always wandering far from  the common   
road1 the tranquil peace of which he    
despises4    ,he delights in crossing   
land that he knows to be forbidden to   
him1 seeks  to force open gates that are
 closed at his approach1 and1 if he can 
not  overcome the opposition of the     
porter1 watches for the moment when an  
open window will permit him entrance    
into a house where he will be  coldly1  
if not angrily1 received4    ,what is   
the result of this8    ,nothing         
favorable to his plans1 one may be sure4
 ,people point him out4  ,they fly from 
him1 and were he the bearer of the most 
advantageous  proposition1 refuse to put
 any faith in his assertions as soon as 
they  get to know him in the least4     
,effrontery may sometimes impose upon   
the innocent4 ,but it is only a         
momentary deception1 quickly dissipated 

the moment that time is given to        
estimate the emptiness of its claims4   
,there is another variety of effrontery 
that is comparable to the form of       
courage exhibited by the timorous who   
sing in a loud voice in order to  lessen
 their terror and imagine that by so    
doing they give the illusion  of        
bravery4    ,people of this sort talk   
very loudly1 often contradicting        
themselves1  and pass judgment upon     
everything1 dismissing the most         
difficult  questions with only a passing
 thought1 but remain silent and are put 
completely out of countenance as soon as
 one insists upon their  listening to   
reason1 or when--in familiar            
language--they meet their  match4       
,the man of effrontery is a passionate  
devotee of bluff1 and not only of  that 
variety of which ,jonathan ,dick has    
said3    ,it is a security discounted in
 advance4    ,a little further on he    
adds3    ,bluffers of the right sort are
 only so when the occasion demands it1  

in  order to give the impression that   
the wished-for result has already been  
achieved4    ,as soon as their credit is
 assured and appearances have become    
realities that allow them to establish  
themselves in positions of  security    
they at once cease the effort to        
deceive4    ,our author concludes3      
,bluff1 to be successful1 must never be 
founded upon puerility or brag4    ,now 
these two qualities are always to be met
 with in the doings of the  man of      
effrontery1 who only achieves by        
accident the goal he aims at1  and then 
only in the most insecure way4          
,drawbacks differing as to their causes1
 but equally unlucky as to their        
results1 are born of the opposite       
fault--modesty4    ,it is high time to  
destroy the leniency shown toward this  
defect that  old-fashioned educators    
once decorated with the title of virtue4
    ,time has forged ahead1 taking with 
it in its rapid course all forms of     
progress1 which1 in its turn1 has made  

giant strides4    ,ideas have changed   
materially4 ,modern life has to face    
emergencies  formerly undreamed of1 and 
those who still believe in the virtue of
  modesty are their own enemies1 as well
 as those of the people whom they       
advise to cultivate it4    ,the case of 
this man is similar to that of many     
others1 whose meaning  has been         
undergoing a gradual change due to the  
erroneous interpretation  that has      
deliberately been placed upon it4       
,modesty is very frequently nothing more
 than an evidence of  incompetence4     
,it has rise in sentiments that the man 
who would be up to date must  avoid at  
all hazards--distrust of self and hatred
 of exertion4    ,one rarely finds it in
 the man who is active and who knows his
 own  worth4 ,to revenge itself1 it     
flourishes among the lazy1 who try to   
save  their pride and to conceal their  
secret irritation at the successes of   
others by assuming an humble attitude   
and exclaiming3    ,oh6 ,i didn't care  

to do it6    ,or still more frequently3 
,no1 ,i haven't entered the lists4 ,i am
 absolutely without ambition6    ,under 
similar circumstances people who are    
unknown cry out1 and with  reason3      
,oh6 ,i have a horror of publicity6     
,this is simply a roundabout way of     
informing us that were it not for  their
 retiring modesty1 the hundred mouths of
 rumor would be shouting  their praise4 
,modesty is very rarely what it appears 
to be4 ,as soon as it exhibits the  form
 of a wise reserve it must be called by 
another name3 prudence and              
self-justification4    ,the attitude of 
trying to keep one's actions from       
becoming known is not  a laudable one1  
and can only be adopted as the result of
 a philosophy of  inaction4    ,what    
treasures of knowledge would have       
remained unknown to us if all the       
scientists and all the men of genius had
 made a practise of modesty6    ,if our 
forefathers had been modest1 when it was
 the fashion to be proud  of this       

quality1 our museums would be empty and 
only a few of the  initiated would know 
that men of exceptional merit1 which    
they had  sedulously concealed1 had     
written manuscripts which had never been
  published4 ,the humility of the       
writers in such cases could be made to  
pay too severe a penalty4    ,no6 ,men  
who have merits are not modest6 ,this   
false virtue is the  appanage of none   
but weak and irresolute hearts4    ,we  
should congratulate ourselves1 while    
admitting these facts1 that our         
forefathers were not so constituted1 and
 that their faith in themselves1  by    
giving them confidence in their own     
work1 made it possible for them  to hand
 these on to their descendants4    ,of  
what use to us would it be to know that 
a poem of finer quality and  more       
splendid fire than any we have ever read
 had once been written1 if  the modesty 
of its author had led him to keep it    
always in his pocket  and it had finally
 vanished into the limbo of ignored and 

forgotten  things8    ,it is then       
actually wrong to sing the praises of   
modesty1 which is no  more than distrust
 of oneself1 egoism1 and laziness4      
,the man who boasts of his modesty will 
feel no shame at producing  nothing4 ,he
 hides his ineptitude behind this       
convenient veil whose  thickness allows 
him to hint of the existence of things  
which are  nothing but figments of his  
imagination4    ,we might add that the  
man who proclaims his modesty enters the
 struggle  with a decided handicap      
against him4 ,the moment he begins to   
have doubts  about his own powers he    
will be sure to find himself the prey of
 an  unfortunate indecision1 and that at
 the very moment when he is called  upon
 to perform some decisive action4       
,one day1 says an old writer1 three men1
 in the course of a climb up a          
mountain1 found themselves confronted by
 a crevasse that they must  cross4      
,one of these was a timid man1 another a
 boaster1 and the third was  possest of 

a reasoned poise4    ,the boaster made a
 jump without stopping to think and     
without taking  the trouble to measure  
the gap4 ,he plunged into it4    ,the   
modest man then advanced1 looked down   
into the gulf1 then decided  to make use
 of the irregularities in the surface of
 the chasm to reduce  the width of the  
jump4    ,he made several attempts to   
carry this out1 but could hardly touch  
the  edge before an instinctive movement
 of fear forced him back4    ,he worked 
so hard and so long at this that he was 
quite tired out when  he at last chose  
the moment for the decisive attempt4 ,he
 jumped1 indeed1  but in such a         
half-hearted way that he merely touched 
the opposite face  of the crevasse and  
fell to the bottom of the precipice     
alongside of the  boaster4    ,the third
 climber1 who possest the advantage of  
poise1 had meanwhile  been losing no    
time4 ,he had mentally gaged the width  
of the crevasse1  had made a number of  
trial jumps to test his ability to clear

 it1 and  when1 with a firm resolution  
to succeed1 he reached the edge from    
which  he must leap1 his soul1 fortified
 by the knowledge of his powers was     
fired with a single idea1 the           
consciousness of his own agility and    
strength4    ,by this means he1 alone of
 the three1 was able to cross the gulf  
in  which his two companions had        
perished4    ,effrontery and            
boastfulness have often another source4 
,the shyness of  those who suffer from  
timidity1 by isolating them and denying 
them the  means of expansion1 prevents  
them from obtaining a real control over 
their feelings1 which undergo a process 
of deterioration so slow that  they do  
not notice it4    ,there are very few   
things to which we can not easily become
 accustomed1  to the extent of a        
complete failure to notice their        
peculiarities1 if  their strangeness is 
only unfolded to us gradually4    ,a    
thousand things which shock us at the   
first blush take on the guise of        

every-day matters when once we have     
acquired the habit of familiarity  with 
them4    ,the timid man1 who will not   
openly acknowledge his feelings1 is     
practically unable to take cognizance of
 their gradual transformation4    ,we   
may add that he is always prone to      
dream1 and peoples his world            
involuntarily with imaginary utopias1   
which he begins by considering as       
desirable1 then as possible1 and finally
 as actually existing4    ,this is the  
starting-point of boastfulness4 ,it     
partakes at once of  falsity and of     
sincerity4 ,the timid man loves to feel 
himself important1  and he merely pities
 the people whom he considers incapable 
of  understanding him4 ,he is1          
nevertheless1 sincere in his bravado1 as
 his  dreams entirely deceive him as to 
his real self4    ,in his solitary      
meditations he deliberately shakes off  
his own  personality1 as a butterfly    
abandons the shelter of its chrysalis1  
and1  following the example of that     

gorgeous insect1 he flies away on the   
wings of his dreams in the guise of the 
being that he imagines himself  to have 
become4    ,this creature resembles him 
not at all4 ,it is brave1 courageous1   
eloquent4 ,it accomplishes the most     
brilliant feats of daring4    ,in this  
way1 just so soon as the timid man      
becomes intermittently a  braggart1 he  
commences to boast of exploits quite    
impossible of  performance4 ,we must    
remember1 however1 that it is not he who
 speaks1  but merely the idealized ego  
which he invents because he is chagrined
 at  being misunderstood4    ,moral     
isolation is the parent of other curious
 phenomena4 ,it imparts the  gift of    
seeing things exactly as we would wish  
them to be1 by clothing  them little by 
little with a character entirely foreign
 to that which  they really possess4    
,in ,timidity3 ,how to ,overcome ,it1 we
 are told the following little  personal
 anecdote of the ,japanese philosopher  
,yoritomo3    ,it was my misfortune as a

 child1 says this ancient sage1 to be   
the  victim of a serious illness which  
kept me confined to a bed and unable  to
 move4    ,i was not allowed to read and
 my only distraction was the study of   
the  objects in my immediate            
neighborhood4    ,the pattern of a      
screen made a particular impression upon
 me with its  clusters of flowers and   
its bouquets of roses4    ,i passed     
hours in the contemplation of it4    ,at
 first ,i merely followed the outlines  
with my eye1 finding in them no  more   
than an artistic reproduction of nature4
 ,but1 little by little1 the  clusters  
of flowers were transformed into        
gardens1 the rose-trees took  on the    
imposing aspect of forests4 ,in these   
gardens my dreams created a  princess1  
and in the forest a company of warriors4
    ,then the romance began4    ,every  
new line ,i observed became the pretext 
for creating a new  character4 ,the     
princess was very soon taken captive by 
a giant--whom ,i  saw perfectly--and the

 warriors undertook the task of rescue4 
,every day a panorama moved before me of
 changing personalities1 who  reenacted 
the events of the story4 ,finally the   
obsession took such a  strong hold of me
 that ,i began to talk about it in a    
manner that aroused  the fears of my    
parents4    ,the screen was banished    
from my room and when1 a few days later1
 it was  brought back for me to see1 ,i 
was able to discover nothing more in it 
than the designs with which it was      
adorned4    ,this example1 taken        
directly from life1 shows us better than
 the most  extended arguments the       
dangers of moral isolation4    ,by this 
we do not mean the isolation that is    
essential to concentration1  the        
practise of which always leads to the   
most fruitful results4    ,we are       
speaking solely of the aloofness born of
 timidity or of  exaggerated pride1     
which1 in depriving us of contrary      
views1 develops in  us the propensity to
 see things from only one angle1 which  

is always  that which happens to flatter
 our vanity or please our tastes4       
,all those persons who suffer from this 
disease of the will1 which  deprives    
them of the ability of discussing       
things1 may be compared to  runners who 
have neglected to ascertain the limits  
of their race4    ,like the latter1 they
 keep running round the same track      
without any  means of discovering when  
they are nearing the goal4    ,instead  
of stopping1 when they have reached it1 
they keep running  forward and the      
monotony of their efforts1 coupled with 
the fever-heat  engendered by their     
exertions1 very soon causes them to view
 the objects  that they keep passing and
 passing under a deformed and distorted 
aspect4    ,the man of reason1 on the   
other hand1 runs with the single purpose
 in  his mind of reaching the           
winning-post4 ,he studiously avoids     
taking his  eyes off the goal1 which he 
has carefully located in advance1 and   
takes  pains to note the moment when he 

is nearing it1 so as to run no risks of 
making his spurt too soon4    ,it is a  
matter of frequent observation that     
timidity often voluntarily  assumes the 
rle of effrontery1 from very despair of 
successfully  accomplishing the task it 
is ambitious to perform4    ,illustrious
 examples of this contention are not    
lacking4 ,rousseau1 who  was a coward of
 the greatest hardihood1 says in his    
,confessions3    ,my foolish and        
unreasoning fear1 that ,i was quite     
unable to overcome1  of perpetrating    
some breach of good manners led me to   
assume the  attitude of caring nothing  
for the niceties of life4    ,a little  
further on1 he adds3    ,i was made a   
cynic by shyness4 ,i posed as a despiser
 of the politeness  ,i did not know how 
to practise4    ,this is a much more    
frequent cause than one might think of  
the  exhibition of an effrontery which  
is apparently deliberate and            
intentional4    ,the timid man1 feeling 
himself awkward and clownish when       

performing the  usual acts of courtesy1 
assumes the attitude of caring nothing  
for them  and of avoiding them          
deliberately1 while all the while he is 
tortured by  the inability to perform   
them without seeming ridiculous4    ,but
 the onlooker is not deceived4 ,the     
outward appearance of cynicism  often   
conceals an inward sensitiveness of soul
 that is quite obvious1  and the actor  
makes so poor a hand at identifying     
himself with the  character he would    
assume that it is clearly evident he is 
only playing  a part4    ,the conflict  
of diametrically opposing forces shows  
itself plainly in  his attitude which   
vacillates between the stiffest         
formality and the  easiest assurance4   
,the awkwardness that is the bugbear of 
the timid shows itself even  beneath    
their work of cynicism1 and the very    
effort accuses them1 no  less than their
 flighty and unreasoning conversation   
and their gestures1  now exaggerated and
 now represt1 all of which make up a    

whole that  entirely fails to give an   
impression of harmony4    ,and what     
possible harmony can there be between a 
soul and a body that  are completely out
 of accord with each other8    ,should  
it be asked what the difference is      
between presumption or  effrontery and  
the poise that we have in mind1 this    
simple illustration  should be          
illuminating4    ,effrontery1 bravado1  
and exaggeration are qualities that are 
shown by  those who exceed their own    
capacity without giving the question a  
thought4    ,poise is the virtue which  
gives us the strength of mind to analyze
 the  possibilities that are dominant   
within us1 to cultivate them1 and to    
strengthen them in every possible way   
before undertaking an enterprise  which 
is likely to call them into play4       
,real poise has no bluster about it4 ,it
 has a good deal in it of               
self-possession1 the discretion         
belonging to which is one of its marked 
characteristics4    ,repression of our  

outward movements enables us to achieve 
that control  over our emotions which   
makes a perfect cloak for our           
intentions1 and  leaves our opponents in
 perplexity as to how to attack the     
fortress that  they wish to conquer4    
,it is1 therefore1 between modesty and  
effrontery1 both equally  prejudicial to
 success1 that poise must naturally be  
placed4    ,but1 it will be objected1   
all the world does not possess this gift
 of  poise4 ,are those who do not share 
it to be forever denied all chance of   
success8    ,not so6 ,it is open to all 
the world to acquire this gift1 and if  
the  chapters following this are read   
with care it will be seen that it is    
something that can be cultivated1 so    
that it can be gradually perfected  and 
carried about with one as the germ of   
every sort of success1 the  happy issue 
of which depends upon a thorough        
realization of one's own  merits and the
 honorable ambition to accomplish a task
 that has been  prudently planned and   

bravely carried to an end4              
,,chapter ,,ii    ,,physical ,,exercises
 ,,to ,,acquire ,,poise      ,before    
preparing oneself by the exercise of    
reasoning and will-power for  the       
acquisition of poise1 it is vitally     
necessary to make oneself  physically   
fit for the effort to be undertaken4    
,one should begin with this fundamental 
principle3    ,timidity being a disease 
one must treat it just as one would any 
other  illness4    ,like all other      
physical maladies it is sure to be the  
cause of loss of  social prestige to    
those who suffer from it4    ,it must   
then be combated in the same way as any 
other infirmity of long  standing that  
threatens to ruin the life of the       
sufferer4    ,it is a grave mistake to  
consider it merely a mental ailment that
 can be  alleviated by nothing but      
psychological treatment4    ,one's      
nervous condition plays a very large    
part in the conquest of  poise4    ,we  
must1 therefore1 watch most carefully   

over the good health of the  body before
 taking any measures whatever to abolish
 a condition of  affairs that has been  
engendered by physical weakness and that
 will be  fostered by it unless such    
weakness can be eradicated or more or   
less  dissipated and ameliorated by a   
thousand little daily acts of care4     
,it must be understood that we are not  
now speaking of medical treatment4  ,we 
have reference merely to that           
common-sense hygiene which has become   
more or less a part of modern existence1
 and the daily practise of  which1 while
 firmly establishing the health1 has at 
the same time an  undoubted reflex      
action upon the mind4 ,it is a          
well-known fact that  energy is never   
found in a weakened body1 and that      
people who are  suffering are clearly   
marked down to become the prey of those 
wasting  diseases1 whose names1 all more
 or less fantastic1 may be classed as a 
whole under the general heading of      
nervous maladies4    ,to enumerate them 

is superfluous and unnecessary4 ,lack of
 poise gives  rise to all sorts of      
weaknesses1 which are given the names of
 nervous  diseases and finally become   
classed in the category of phobias1 of  
which  the starting-point is always a   
habit of fear due to excess of timidity4
  ,this morbid disposition is the parent
 of a continual apprehensiveness  which 
is shown upon all sorts of occasions4   
,the man who has the space phobia is    
quite unable to cross an open space     
unless he is supported or1 at the very  
least1 accompanied4    ,claustrophobia  
is the malady of those who have a horror
 of close  quarters from which they can 
not easily make their escape4           
,writers' cramp is nothing in the world 
but one of these exaggerated  nervous   
terrors4    ,erythrophobia1 that is to  
say the habit of inopportune and        
constant  blushing1 is another of the   
commonest forms of excessive timidity4  
,stammering is another of the tortures  
that people of poise do not  experience1

 except in those cases where it is      
caused by a physical  malformation4     
,all these maladies attack only the     
timid4    ,there are many others1 less  
serious in their nature1 such as        
indecision1  exaggerated scrupulousness1
 extreme pliability1 hypochondria4 ,all 
of  these should be ruthlessly supprest 
the moment we become aware of them1  for
 they are one and all the forerunners of
 that mentally diseased  condition which
 gives rise to the phobias of which we  
have just been  speaking4    ,to those  
who would seriously devote themselves to
 the cultivation of  poise it is1       
therefore1 a vital necessity to be in a 
condition of  perfect health4 ,it would 
be a misfortune1 indeed1 for them to    
find  themselves balked in their        
progress toward acquiring this quality  
by  anxieties regarding the condition of
 their bodies4    ,any indisposition1   
not to mention actual diseases1 has a   
tendency to  inhibit all initiative4    
,there is no room for doubt that a      

physical ailment by attracting to       
itself the attention of the person who  
is attacked by it1 prevents him  from   
giving the proper amount of energy to   
whatever he may be engaged  upon4    ,he
 thinks about nothing but his malady and
 quite forgets to take the  exercises   
that would enable him to alter his      
condition1 to change his  actions1 and  
even to make over his thoughts4    ,his 
thoughts above all4 ,physical well-being
 has an undeniable influence  upon one's
 mental health4    ,one very rarely sees
 a sick person who is happy4 ,even those
 who are  endowed with great force of   
character lose1 under the burden of     
their  sufferings1 part of their        
firmness of soul and of their legitimate
  ambition4    ,a very scientific force 
of hygiene is particularly recommended4 
,excessive measures of any sort must be 
avoided for various reasons3    7#a7    
,they are antagonistic to the           
maintenance of a perfect physical       
equilibrium4    7#b7 ,they will         

inevitably grow to dominate the mind    
unduly4    ,when we speak of excesses1  
we intend to include those undertaken in
 the  way of work no less than those    
which are the outcome of the search for 
pleasure4    ,nevertheless we will      
hasten to add that these last are much  
the more to  be feared4    ,what can be 
expected1 for instance1 from a man who  
has passed a night in  debauchery8      
,morning finds him a weakling1 good for 
nothing1 and incapable of making  the   
slightest effort that calls for energy4 
,he is lucky1 indeed1 if his excesses   
have no disastrous results that  will   
destroy his happiness or his good name4 
,the fear of complications that may be  
the outcome of his gross pleasures  soon
 begins to haunt him and to usurp in his
 mind the place of nobler  and more     
useful impulses4    ,as to his health1  
it is hardly necessary for us to insist 
upon the  disorder that such habits must
 necessarily produce4    ,the least     
misfortune that he can look for is a    

profound lassitude and a  desire for    
rest which is the enemy of all virile   
effort4    ,the same thing is true of   
the man who indulges too freely in the  
pleasures of the table4 ,the work of    
digestion leaves him in an exhausted    
condition and with a craving for repose 
that very soon results in a  complete   
lack of moral tone4    ,even supposing  
that his daily routine consists of two  
principal meals1  and of two others of  
less importance1 it will be easily      
understood that  the man who loads down 
his stomach with such a large amount of 
continuous work will not be very apt to 
adapt himself readily to matters  of a  
wholly different kind4    ,to avoid     
pain1 to sit inert1 like a gorged       
animal1 without attempting to  think1 is
 the sole desire of the gluttons who are
 wearied by every  repeated excess4     
,the same reasoning could be applied to 
the lazy1 who suffer in health  from    
indulgence in their favorite vice4      
,it can not be disputed that lack of    

exercise is the cause of ailments  that 
have a marked effect upon the moral     
character4    ,since physical laziness  
always goes hand in hand with mental    
apathy1 it  follows that a dread of     
exerting oneself is always to be found  
coupled  with a hatred of being forced  
to think4    ,it is1 therefore1         
essential for the man who would acquire 
poise to  fortify himself in advance    
against physical weaknesses which1 by   
undermining his will-power1 will soon   
furnish him with the most  plausible    
reasons for losing interest in the      
steady application that is  needed for  
accomplishing his purpose4    ,in       
achieving the conquest of poise certain 
physical exercises1 practised  every    
day1 and vigorously followed out1 will  
be found of considerable  help4         
,before discussing the practical methods
 which are at once their  starting-point
 and their result1 we will consider in  
turn the series of  exercises that must 
be performed each day in order to keep  

oneself in  the condition of physical   
well-being which allows of the          
accomplishment  of moral reform4        
,,chapter ,,iii    ,,four ,,series ,,of 
,,physical ,,exercises      ,,first     
,,series--,,breathing    ,the point of  
departure for the cultivation of poise1 
like that of  everything else in fact1  
must be a well-ordered system of        
hygiene1 far  removed from excess1 and  
insisting only upon the points we have  
already  indicated4    ,without wishing 
to fall into the well-known error of so 
many modern  teachers1 who assign an    
exaggerated importance to breathing     
exercises1  we must1 nevertheless1 admit
 the great rle that respiration plays in
  physical balance4    ,we are now      
speaking1 understand1 of methodical     
breathing1 we might  almost term it     
reasoned breathing4    ,every one1 of   
course1 breathes without being aware of 
it from the moment  of his birth to the 
hour of his death1 but very few people  
are aware how  to increase the power and

 to enlarge the capacity of their lungs4
    ,nevertheless1 upon these conditions
 it is that activity depends1 as well   
as the health and the energy that       
enables us to consecrate ourselves to   
the pursuit of a definite aim4          
,without having to lay claim to a vast  
knowledge of medicine one can  discover 
that all repeated exercise tends to     
strengthen the organ that  is employed4 
,thus1 well-directed and carefully      
practised breathing gives the heart a   
stronger beat and facilitates the action
 of the lungs4    ,from these arises a  
general feeling of physical well-being1 
which tends  to the preservation of good
 health and stores up the energy we need
 to  carry out our resolves4    ,it is1 
then1 advisable to devote several       
minutes every day to breathing          
exercises1 not merely automatic1 but    
purposeful and under thorough  control4 
,to accomplish this there are two       
methods4    ,the first1 very easy of    
comprehension1 is to lie down on one's  

back and  to breathe deeply with the    
mouth closed and the nostrils dilated4  
,as much air as can be held must be     
taken into the lungs1 then the mouth    
must be opened and the air must be      
allowed to escape gradually4    ,during 
this operation one should pay particular
 attention to expanding  the walls of   
the chest1 while flattening the stomach4
    ,about twenty deep respirations are 
required to accomplish the desired      
effect4    ,little by little the lungs  
will dilate and one will unconsciously  
increase the length of the inspiration  
and the slowness with which the  air is 
expelled4    ,the second method consists
 in standing erect1 with the head thrown
  slightly back4 ,the lungs should then 
be filled with air and one should  count
 mentally up to five or even ten before 
exhaling the air that has  been breathed
 in4    ,it is advisable that when      
exhaling one should utter a continuous  
hum1  which must be absolutely free from
 trembling when one has practised it    

properly4    ,people who have practised 
this exercise have often stated that    
this  method of breathing has been of   
great help to them when much fatigued as
  well as a first-class stimulus in     
moments when all their physical powers  
were to be called into play4    ,a      
well-known college professor has assured
 us that every day1 before  giving his  
lectures1 he makes use of this exercise4
 ,he claims that he  has thus gained a  
freedom of breathing the good effects of
 which are  manifest in the facility    
with which he is able to give his       
lecture and  in his general feeling of  
ease4 ,rendered quite free from any     
suspicion  of nervousness1 he feels that
 he is completely master of himself and 
in  a fit state of moral and physical   
health to employ the poise that is      
essential to the man who has to instruct
 and to convince others4    ,deep       
breathing has the further advantage of  
developing the lungs1 of  strengthening 
them1 and at the same time of making    

their ordinary  functioning more        
regular4    ,the man who practises this 
exercise will have much less propensity 
to  get out of breath4 ,this will be a  
great assistance to those timid people  
who are disconcerted by trifles and who1
 at the least little occurrence1  become
 so much affected by emotion that they  
experience a sensible  acceleration of  
the action of the heart4    ,palpitation
 can not take place without causing us  
physical discomfort1  and this condition
 is a serious stumbling-block in the way
 of the  acquisition of poise1 for1 in  
view of the great stress the man of     
timidity lays upon the opinion of       
others1 he will be apprehensive of      
giving them any inkling of his distress1
 and yet his difficulty in  breathing   
will be bound to reveal it4    ,the     
exercise of which we have been speaking 
should be performed with  care twice a  
day4    ,for those whose leisure hours  
are few it can be accomplished without  
losing any of the time which is already 

preempted by other things4    ,it is    
merely a question of remembering it as  
soon as one wakes in the  morning and of
 never forgetting it before one falls   
asleep at night4    ,the few minutes    
between the moment that one wakes and   
the time one gets  out of bed can be    
most profitably employed in this way4   
,the same thing is true at night4    ,if
 the occupations of the day and of the  
evening leave us no time to  devote to  
this exercise1 we can always go through 
it in the moments  between retiring to  
bed and falling asleep4    ,it will thus
 be seen that there is really no valid  
excuse for not  undertaking this        
practise1 whose effects will certainly  
be most  beneficial4      ,,second      
,,series--,,training ,,of ,,the ,,eye   
,but our physical efforts must not stop 
here4    ,it is more than necessary that
 we should make others feel the effects 
of  the mastery that we are slowly      
acquiring over ourselves4    ,the eye is
 an invaluable assistant to the man who 

is studying to acquire  poise4    ,it is
 not necessary here1 in connection with 
the magnetic properties of  the eye1 to 
enter into a digression too extensive   
for the scope of this  book1 but we can 
not neglect this one more-than-important
 factor  altogether4    ,we are speaking
 now not only of the power in the gaze  
of others but of  that of our own eyes  
in relation to our associates4    ,we   
must do our best1 in fine1 to develop   
the power of our gaze1 while  studying  
to fortify ourselves against the        
influence brought to bear upon  us in   
this direction by others4    ,one       
frequently notices1 especially in the   
case of people who are timid1  a        
propensity to lose their powers of      
resistance with those who are able  to  
fix them with a steady stare4    ,one   
has often seen people who lack          
will-power emerging completely upset    
from the grueling of an interview in    
which they have admitted everything     
that they had most fervently resolved   

never to disclose4    ,a superior force 
has dominated them to such an extent    
that they have  found it impossible to  
conduct the discussion in the way they  
had  planned to do it4    ,the man who  
is in earnest about acquiring poise     
must1 then1 be on his  guard against    
betraying himself under the magnetism of
 some one else's  gaze4    ,at the same 
time he must cultivate his own powers of
 the eye1 so that  he1 too1 can possess 
that ability against which1 in others1  
he must be  careful to protect himself1 
and can utilize it for his own ends4    
,the first principle is to avoid looking
 directly into the pupils of  one's     
interlocutor4    ,this is the only way  
in which a beginner can avoid being     
affected by the  magnetism of the gaze4 
,by this word magnetism we have in mind 
nothing verging in the least upon  the  
supernatural4    ,we have reference only
 to the well-known physical discomfort  
experienced  by those who have not yet  
become masters of poise when meeting a  

steady  stare4    ,its effect is so     
strong that1 in the majority of cases1  
the timid are  quite unable to endure   
it4 ,they stammer1 lose their presence  
of mind1  and finally reveal everything 
they are asked to tell1 if only to      
escape  from the tyranny of the gaze    
which seems to go right through them and
 to  dictate the words that they must   
utter4    ,one must be careful1 then1   
not to allow oneself to become swayed by
 the  gaze of another4 ,but since it    
would seem ridiculous to keep one's eyes
  constantly lowered1 and is impolite to
 allow them to wander from the  face of 
the person with whom one is speaking1   
one can escape the  magnetic effect of  
his pupils by looking steadily at the   
bridge of his  nose directly between his
 eyes4    ,when first practising this   
one must be careful not to look too     
fixedly1  for the eye has not yet       
acquired the necessary muscular power1  
and one  will quickly find oneself      
fascinated instead of dominating4       

,but this method is an absolute         
safeguard1 if one does not stare too    
fixedly4    ,it must not be forgotten   
that this spot is known as the magnetic 
point4    ,in the case of those who have
 made no study of the power of the eye1 
and  particularly of those who are      
lacking in poise1 this method of looking
  steadily at the bridge of the other's 
nose1 while not having any marked       
effect upon him1 will save them from    
becoming the tools of his will4         
,certain easy exercises will be found   
most useful in arriving at the          
possession of the first notions of this 
art1 so indispensable in the  ordinary  
applications of poise4    ,one good way 
is to look steadily1 for several seconds
 at first and later  on for several     
minutes at a time1 at some object so    
small that the eye  can remain fixt upon
 it without discomfort4    ,for the     
latter reason it is better to choose    
something dark4 ,a brilliant  object    
will much more readily cause fatigue and

 dizziness4    ,we have said for several
 seconds to begin with4 ,it will be     
found a  matter of sufficient difficulty
 to keep one's gaze fixt for much longer
  than this1 when one is unaccustomed to
 this sort of exercise4    ,one should  
endeavor to keep the two eyes open      
without winking4 ,one  should not open  
them too wide nor yet close them4 ,the  
head should be  kept steady and the     
pupils motionless4    ,if this attempt  
causes the least wandering of the gaze  
or the slightest  winking of the eyes1  
it must be begun over again4    ,it is  
for this reason that at the start it    
will be found difficult to  keep it up  
for more than a few seconds4    ,after  
resting awhile one should repeat the    
exercise afresh1 until the  time comes  
when one can concentrate one's gaze in  
this way for at least  four or five     
minutes of perfect fixity4    ,in order 
to keep count of the time that is       
passing1 as well as to keep  control of 
one's will-power1 it is advisable to    

count aloud in such a  way that         
approximately one second elapses between
 the naming of every  two numbers4      
,when once fixity of gaze has been      
acquired1 one can essay various other   
exercises1 such as concentrating the    
eyes on an object and turning the  head 
slowly to one side and the other without
 removing one's gaze from  this point   
for a moment4    ,it is not until one is
 very certain that the muscles of the   
eye have  been thoroughly trained that  
one should undertake the mirror test4   
,to do this1 one must take up a position
 in front of a glass and fix  one's gaze
 upon one's own pupils for a time4 ,then
 one must transfer it  to the bridge of 
the nose1 between the two eyes1 and must
 strive to keep  it there immovably4    
,at first this exercise will not be     
found as easy as one might suppose4     
,the magnetic power of the pupils is    
great and one will experience some      
slight difficulty in breaking away from 
it4    ,for this reason it is a good    

plan to count out loud slowly up to a   
predetermined number1 at which point the
 gaze should be at once  transferred to 
the bridge of the nose4    ,these       
exercises of the eye will be found      
particularly beneficial for  people who 
are desirous of acquiring poise1 as     
aside from the advantages  we have      
specified1 they have the effect of      
strengthening the will-power1  which    
will be found to have materially gained 
by this means4    ,when the desired     
result appears to have been accomplished
 and one feels  oneself strong enough to
 meet or to avoid another person's eye1 
while at  the same time one is conscious
 that one can dominate with one's own1  
it  will be well to experiment upon the 
people with whom one is closely         
associated4    ,one can thus become     
accustomed1 little by little1 to control
 one's gaze1  to force an estimate of   
its influence1 and to neutralize the    
effect of  that of other people4        
,,third ,,series--,,the ,,motions1 ,,the

 ,,carriage    ,another highly important
 point in the conquest of poise is the  
struggle  against awkwardness1 which is 
at once the parent and the offspring of 
timidity4    ,let us make ourselves     
clear4    ,many people only lack poise  
because they fear ridicule of their     
obvious  embarrassment and of the       
awkward hesitation of their movements4  
,others fall into this embarrassment as 
the result of exhibitions of  clumsiness
 in which they cover themselves with    
ridicule4 ,the terror of  renewing their
 moments of torture drives them into a  
reserve1 from which  they only emerge   
with a constraint so evident that it is 
reflected in  their gestures1 the       
evidences of a deplorable awkwardness4  
,it is exceedingly simple to find a     
remedy for these unpleasant  conditions4
 ,one must make up one's mind to combat 
their exhibitions of  weakness by       
determining to acquire ease of movement4
    ,we have all noticed that           
awkwardness occurs only in public4      

,the most embarrassed person in the     
world carries himself1 when alone1 in  a
 fashion quite foreign to that which is 
the regret of his friends4    ,it may   
happen1 however1 that awkwardness too   
long allowed to become a  habit will    
have a disastrous effect upon our daily 
actions1 and that the  person who is    
lacking in poise will end by keeping up1
 even in private1  the awkward gestures 
and uncouth movements that cause him    
eternal shame  at his own expense4      
,in such a case a cure will be a little 
more difficult to effect1 but it  can be
 arrived at1 without a shadow of doubt1 
if our advice is  faithfully followed   
out4    ,it is an obvious truth that the
 repetition of any act diminishes the   
emotion it gave rise to in us at the    
first performance4    ,physical         
exercises are then in order1 to achieve 
for us suppleness of  movement and to   
extend its scope4    ,every morning1    
after our breathing exercises 7which can
 be performed in  bed between the moment

 of waking and that of getting up1      
according to  our advice to those whose 
time is limited7 it is absolutely       
necessary to  devote five minutes to    
bodily exercises1 the object of which is
 the  acquirement of an easy carriage   
from the frequent repetition of certain 
movements4    ,for instance1 one should 
endeavor to expand the chest as far as  
possible1 while throwing back the head  
and extending the arms1 not by  jerky   
movements but by a wide and rhythmical  
sweep1 which should be  every day made a
 little more extended4    ,while doing  
this one should hollow the back so that 
it becomes a perfect  arch4    ,then one
 should walk up and down the room1      
endeavoring to keep one's  steps of even
 length and one's body erect4    ,one   
should never allow these daily exercises
 to go unperformed on the  pretext of   
lack of time4    ,five minutes of deep  
breathing and five minutes to practise  
the other  movements advised will be    
sufficient1 if one performs these tasks 

every  day with regularity and          
conscientiousness4    ,the speaking     
exercises1 to which we shall now refer  
can be carried out  while we are        
dressing4    ,choose a phrase1 a short  
one to start with1 and longer as you    
progress1  and repeat it in front of the
 glass while observing yourself         
carefully1  to be sure that your face   
shows no sign of embarrassment and that 
you do  not stammer or hesitate in any  
way4    ,if the words do not come out   
clearly1 you must make an immediate stop
  and go doggedly back to the beginning 
of your phrase1 until you are able  to  
enunciate it with mechanical accuracy   
and without a single sign of            
hesitation4    ,you must study to avoid 
all the jerky and abrupt movements which
  disfigure the address of the timid and
 deprive them of all the assurance  that
 they should possess1 for the reason    
that they can not help paying  attention
 to their own lack of composure4        
,finally1 from the moment of rising1 as 

well as when brushing his hair1  tying  
his necktie1 or putting on his clothes1 
the man who desires to  acquire poise   
will watch himself narrowly1 with a view
 to making his  movements more supple   
and to invest them with grace4    ,once 
in the street1 he will not forget to    
carry his head erect1 without           
exaggerating the pose1 and will always  
walk with a firm step without  looking  
directly ahead of him4    ,if this      
attitude is a difficult one for him when
 commencing1 he can1 at  the start1     
assign a certain time for observing this
 position1 and  gradually increase its  
length1 until he feels no further       
inconvenience4    ,the feeling of       
obvious awkwardness is a large factor in
 the lack of  poise4    ,it is then a   
matter of great importance to modify    
one's outward  carriage1 while at the   
same time applying oneself to the       
conquest of  one's soul1 so as to       
achieve the object not only of actually 
becoming a  man who must be reckoned    

with1 but of impressing every one with  
what one  is1 and what one is worth4    
,,fourth ,,series--,,speaking           
,,exercises    ,is it really necessary  
to point out what a weight readiness of 
speech  has in bringing about the       
success of any undertaking8    ,the man 
who can make a clever and forceful      
speech will always convince  his        
hearers1 whatever may be the cause he   
pleads4    ,do we not see criminals     
acquitted every day solely because of   
the  eloquence of their lawyers8        
,have we not often been witnesses to the
 defeat of entirely honest people  who1 
from lack of ability to put up a good   
argument1 allow themselves to  be       
convicted of negligence or of           
carelessness1 if of nothing worse8      
,eloquence1 or at least a certain       
facility of speech1 is one of the gifts 
of the man of poise4    ,one reason for 
this is that his mind is always fixt    
upon the object he  wishes to attain by 
his arguments1 which eliminates all     

wandering of the  thoughts4    ,but     
there is another reason1 a purely       
physical one4 ,the emotions  experienced
 by the timid are quite unknown to him  
and he is not the  victim of any of the 
physical inhibitions which1 in affecting
 the  clearness of their powers of      
speech1 tend to reduce them to          
confusion4    ,stammering1 stuttering1  
and all the other ordinary disabilities 
of the  speaker1 can almost without     
exception be attributed to timidity and 
to  the nervousness of which it is the  
cause4    ,we shall see in the next     
chapter how these defects can be cured4 
,in this1 which is devoted specially to 
physical exercises1 we will give  the   
mechanical means for overcoming these   
grave defects4    ,just as soon as the  
difficulties of utterance have been     
overcome1 and  one is no longer in      
terror of falling into a laughable      
blunder1 and thus  has no further reason
 to fear1 when undertaking to speak1    
that one will  be made fun of because   

the object of disconcerting mockery1    
one's ideas  will cease to be dammed up 
by this haunting dread and can take     
shape in  one's brain just as fast as   
one expresses them4    ,clearness of    
conception will be reflected in that of 
what we say1 and  poise will soon       
manifest itself in the manner of the man
 who no longer  feels himself to be the 
object of ill-natured laughter4    ,one 
should set oneself then every morning to
 the performance of  exercises          
consisting of opening the mouth as wide 
as one possibly can  and then shutting  
it1 to open it once more to its fullest 
extent1 and so  on until one becomes    
fatigued4    ,this exercise is designed 
to cover the well-known difficulty of   
those  who speak infrequently and which 
is familiarly known as heavy jaw4       
,one should next endeavor to pronounce  
every consonant with the utmost         
distinctness4    ,if certain consonants1
 as s1 for example1 or ch1 are not      
enunciated  clearly1 one should keep at 

it until one pronounces them            
satisfactorily4    ,now one should      
construct short sentences containing as 
many difficult  consonants as possible4 
,next we should apply ourselves to      
declaiming longer sentences4    ,it will
 be of help to have these sentences     
constitute an affirmation of  will-power
 and of poise4    ,for example3 ,i can  
express myself with the greatest        
possible facility1  because timidity and
 embarrassment are complete strangers to
 me4    ,or again3 ,i am a master of the
 art of clothing my thoughts in elegant 
and illuminating phrases1 because       
stammering1 stuttering1 and all the     
other misfortunes that oppress the      
timid1 are to me unknown quantities4    
,we can not insist too strongly upon the
 cumulative effect of words which  are  
constantly repeated4 ,it is a good thing
 to impress oneself with  forceful ideas
 that make for courage and for          
achievement4    ,distrust of self being 
the principal defect of the timid1 the  

man who  would acquire poise must bend  
every effort to banishing it from his   
thoughts4    ,the repetition of these   
sentences1 by building up conviction1   
will  undoubtedly end by creating a     
confidence in oneself that will at first
  be hesitating1 but will gradually     
acquire force4 ,this is a great step in 
advance on the road toward poise4    ,we
 are discussing1 it should be           
understood1 only such cases of          
difficulty in speaking as are directly  
traceable to an inherent  timidity4     
,if the inability to speak clearly comes
 from a physical malformation it  should
 at once be brought to the attention of 
a specialist4    ,it is well recognized 
that1 in the majority of cases1 those   
defects are  the consequences of        
timidity1 when they are not its direct  
cause4    ,in combating them1 then1 with
 every means at his disposal1 the man   
who  desires to acquire poise will prove
 the logicality of his mind4 ,it is a   
well-known axiom that effects are       

produced by causes1 and vice versa4     
,thus1 in the case we are considering1  
timidity either causes the  difficulty  
in speaking or is caused by it4 ,in the 
first condition as  well as in the      
second1 the disappearance of the one    
trouble depends upon  the eradication of
 the other4              ,,chapter ,,iv 
,,practical ,,exercises ,,for           
,,obtaining ,,poise      ,,composure    
,one of the essential conditions of     
acquiring poise is to familiarize       
oneself with the habit of composure4    
,timid people know nothing of its       
advantages4 ,they are always ill at     
ease1 fearful1 devoured by dread of     
other people's censures1 and  completely
 upset by the idea of the least         
initiative4    ,their mania leads them  
to exaggerate the smallest incident4 ,a 
trifle  puts them in a panic1 and at the
 mere notion that strangers have        
perceived this they become quite out of 
countenance and are possest by  but one 
idea1 to avoid by flight the repetition 

of such unpleasant  emotions4    ,a     
quite useless attempt1 for in whatever  
retirement people who lack  poise may   
live1 they will find themselves         
certainly the victims of the  small     
embarrassments of every-day life1 which1
 in their eyes1 will soon  take on the  
guise of disasters4    ,composure       
should1 then1 be the first achievement  
in the way of  self-conquest to be aimed
 at by the man who is desirous of       
attaining  poise4    ,but1 it will be   
objected1 composure is a condition that 
is not familiar  to everybody4 ,it is a 
question of temperament and of          
disposition4 ,every  one who wishes for 
it can not attain to it4    ,this is an 
error4 ,in order to possess composure1  
that is to say the  first step in the   
mastery of self which enables one to    
judge of the  proportions of things1 it 
must be achieved1 or developed1 if we   
happen  to be naturally inclined        
thereto4    ,to accomplish this1        
deep-breathing exercises are often      

recommended by  the philosophers of the 
new school4    ,they advise those who   
are desirous of cultivating it to make  
no  resolution1 to commit themselves to 
no impulsive action1 without first      
withdrawing into themselves and taking  
five or six deep breaths in the  manner 
we have described in the preceding      
chapter4    ,this has the physical      
effect of reducing the speed with which 
the heart  beats and1 as a result1 of   
relaxing the mind and quieting one's    
nerves4    ,during the two or three     
minutes thus employed one's enthusiasm  
wanes and  one's ideas take on a less   
confused form4 ,in a word1 unreasoning  
impulses no longer fill the brain to the
 extent of inhibiting the  entrance of  
sober second thought4    ,but this is   
only an adventitious means of           
prevention4 ,we will now speak  of those
 which should become a matter of daily  
practise and whose  frequent repetition 
will lead to the poise we seek4         
,every one whose profession makes it    

necessary to cultivate his memory       
recognizes the importance of studying at
 night4 ,phrases learned just  before   
going to sleep fix themselves more      
readily in the mind4 ,they  remain      
latent in the brain and spring up anew  
in the morning without  calling for much
 trouble to revive them4    ,for this   
reason it is well to retire to rest in a
 mental attitude of  deliberate calm1   
repressing every sort of jerky movement 
and  constraining oneself to lie        
perfectly quiet4    ,at the same time   
one should keep on repeating these      
words3    ,i am composed4 ,i propose to 
be composed4 ,i am composed6    ,the    
constant reiteration of these words     
constitute a species of  suggestion1 and
 peace will steal gradually into our    
souls and will  permit us to think      
quietly1 without the risk of becoming   
entangled in  disordered fancies1 or1   
what is far worse1 falling a prey to    
vain and  unavailing regrets4    ,those 
who doubt the efficacy of this          

proceeding can be readily convinced  by 
proving to them the tremendous power of 
mere words4    ,certain of these        
electrify us4 ,such words as patriotism1
 revolt1 blood1  always produce in us an
 emotion of enthusiasm or disgust4      
,others again are productive of color1  
and one must admit that the  constant   
repetition of an assurance ultimately   
leads to the creation of  the condition 
that it pictures to us4    ,but to make 
the assertion to oneself1 ,i am         
composed1 is not all that  is necessary4
 ,one must prove to oneself that one is 
not glossing over  the truth4    ,the   
readiest means of accomplishing this1   
which is open to every one who  has any 
regular interests1 is to mentally review
 the words and the  actions of the day1 
and to pass judgment upon them from the 
point of  view of the quality one is    
striving to attain4      ,,daily        
,,self-,,examination    ,one should     
convince oneself as soon as possible of 
the truth of the fact  that sincerity   

toward oneself is a large factor in     
attaining that  firmness of judgment    
that must be cultivated by the man who  
is in search  of poise4    ,in order to 
reach this condition nothing is more    
easy than to pass in  mental review1    
every evening1 the events that have     
marked the day that  has passed4    ,in 
a word1 one should strive to relive it1 
honestly confessing to  oneself all the 
mistakes that have crept into it4       
,every unfortunate speech should be     
recalled4 ,one should formulate fresh   
replies1 that lack of poise did not     
permit us to make at the time1 so  that 
under similar circumstances we may not  
be again caught at a  disadvantage4     
,the witty name of doorstep repartee has
 been given to these answers  which one 
makes as afterthoughts1 with the idea of
 expressing the  embarrassment of the   
man who can find no arguments until he  
finds  himself beyond the reach of his  
opponents4 ,it is after one has gone    
out1  when one is on the doorstep1 that 

one suddenly recognizes what one ought  
to have said1 and finds the phrases that
 one should have used1 the exact  retort
 that one might have hurled at one's    
antagonist4    ,the man who has acquired
 poise should still accustom himself to 
practise  this force of mental          
gymnastics when making his daily        
self-examination4    ,it will strengthen
 him for future contests by teaching him
 just how to  conduct himself4    ,he   
must be always on his guard against one 
of the obsessions that too  often       
afflict the timid--the mania for        
extremes4    ,the nature of a timid     
person is essentially artificial4 ,his  
character is  unequal4    ,he yearns for
 perfection1 yet it is painful for him  
to meet it in  others4 ,he suffers also 
because he has failed to acquire it     
himself4    ,sometimes he is his own    
most severe judge and then on other     
occasions he  is grossly indulgent to   
his faults4    ,his isolation causes him
 to construct ideals that can not       

possibly be  realized in ordinary life4 
,but he is more than ready to blame     
those who  fall short of them1 while    
making no effort to duplicate their     
struggles4    ,he makes the sad mistake1
 as we have seen in the chapter on      
effrontery1  of taking all his chimeras 
for realities and is angry at his       
inability  to make other people see them
 in the same light4    ,he is1 moreover1
 of a very trustful disposition and     
prone to the making  of confidences4    
,but when he attempts them his infirmity
 prevents him and  he suffers under the 
inhibition4    ,all his mental          
processes1 as we have seen1 tend toward 
hypochondria1  unless his sense of truth
 can be called into play4    ,one can   
easily see then that this daily         
self-examination can be made  quite a   
difficult affair by all these           
conflicting tendencies4    ,it is for   
this very reason that it is so necessary
 that this examination  should be       
rigorously undertaken every day and with

 all the good faith of  which we are    
possest4    ,it is because they do not  
ignore their own weaknesses that the men
  endowed with poise become what one has
 psychologically termed forces1  that is
 to say people who are masters of a     
power that renders them  superior to the
 rest of the world4      ,,resolution   
,after as minute and as honest an       
examination as we can make of our own   
actions1 it will be of great benefit to 
make definite resolutions for  the      
morrow4    ,this is a matter of great   
importance4    ,the timid man1 by       
seriously resolving to perform the      
actions that he  ought and by planning  
the accomplishment of some definite     
step1 will  unconsciously strengthen his
 own will-power4    ,he will increase it
 still more by making up his mind to    
leave no stone  unturned to conquer     
himself4    ,for instance1 he proposes  
to make a certain journey1 or to pay a  
certain  call1 which he dreads very     
much1 and falls asleep while repeating  

to  himself3 ,to-morrow ,i will go      
there6 ,i will carry the thing through  
with  assurance6    ,conceding the      
magnetic power of words1 the acquisition
 of courage and of  confidence are      
necessary corollaries4    ,ideas imprest
 upon the mind at the moment that one is
 falling asleep  develop during the     
night by a species of incubation1 and on
 the morrow  present themselves to us   
quite naturally in the guise of a duty  
much  less hard to perform than we had  
imagined4    ,in the case where such a  
resolution awakens an unpleasant emotion
 in the  hearts of the timid1 they      
should repeat earnestly the sentences   
that  tend to composure and should seek 
the aid of the means we have indicated  
for attaining it4      ,,preparation    
,in order to strengthen one's resolution
 it is a good thing every morning  to   
map out one's day1 for the purpose of   
acquiring poise4    ,all one's          
combinations should be worked out with  
this valuable conquest  in mind4        

,after having committed oneself to a    
definite plan1 one should analyze  each 
one of the proposed steps1 carefully    
taking into account all the             
peculiarities that are likely to        
characterize them4    ,if one is to have
 an interview1 one should carefully     
prepare one's  introductory remarks1    
paying particular attention to one's    
line of  action1 to one's method of     
presentation1 and the words upon which  
one  relies to obtain an affirmative    
reply to one's request4    ,one should  
take the precaution to have one's       
speeches mentally prepared  in advance1 
so as to be able to deliver them in such
 a speedy and  convincing fashion that  
one does not find oneself in a state of 
embarrassment fatal to recollecting     
them4    ,it is better to make them as  
short as possible4 ,one is then much    
less  likely to become confused and will
 not be so much in dread of stammering  
or stuttering1 which are always         
accompaniments of the fear of being left

  without an idea of what to say next4  
,besides this1 long speeches are always 
irritating1 and it is a sign of  great  
lack of address to allow oneself to     
acquire the reputation of  being a bore4
    ,to make sure of one's facial       
expression and gestures it may be well  
to  repeat one's speeches in front of a 
mirror4    ,one can then enact one's    
entry into the room in such a way as to 
foresee  even the most insignificant    
details1 so that the fear of making a   
failure at the start will no longer have
 a bad effect upon one4    ,we have     
heard of a man who was so lacking in    
poise that he lost his  situation       
because1 when summoned by his chief1 he 
became so confused  that he forgot to   
leave his streaming umbrella in the     
outer office4    ,it was an extremely   
wet day1 and the unfortunate man1       
instead of being  able to plead his     
cause effectively1 became hopelessly    
embarrassed at  perceiving his mistake1 
the results of which1 it is needless to 

state1  were by no means to the benefit 
of the floor4    ,his despair at the    
sight of the rivulets that1 running from
 his  umbrella1 spread themselves over  
the polished surface of the wood1       
prevented him from thinking of anything 
but his unpardonable stupidity4  ,his   
native awkwardness became all the worse 
at this and1 utterly unable  to proffer 
any but the most confused excuses1 he   
fled from the office of  his chief      
leaving the latter in a high state of   
irritation4    ,he was replaced by some 
one else at the first opportunity1 on   
the  pretext that the direction of      
important affairs could no longer be    
left  in the hands of a man of such     
notorious incapacity4    ,it should be  
added that this man was more than       
ordinarily intelligent  and that his    
successor was by no means his equal4    
,it is1 therefore1 absolutely necessary 
for those who are lacking in  presence  
of mind to accustom themselves to a     
species of rehearsal before  undertaking

 any really important step4    ,does    
this imply that they must think of      
nothing but weighty affairs and  neglect
 occasions for social meetings8    ,by  
no means4 ,to those who are distrustful 
of themselves every occasion  is a      
pretext for avoiding action4    ,they   
should1 therefore1 take pains to seek   
every possible opportunity of           
cultivating poise4    ,the entering of a
 theater2 the walking into a            
drawing-room2 the  acknowledging of a   
woman's bow2 every one of these things  
should be for  them a subject of careful
 study1 and if1 when evening comes1 the 
daily  self-examination leaves them     
satisfied with themselves1 it will be a 
cause of much encouragement to them4    
,if1 on the other hand1 they have       
received a rebuff due to their lack of  
poise1 they should carefully examine    
into the reasons for this1 in order  to 
guard against such an occurrence in the 
future4    ,a good preparatory exercise 
is to choose those of our friends whose 

homes are unpretentious and who have few
 callers4    ,let us make up our minds  
to pay them a visit1 which1 in view of  
the  quietude of its associations1 is   
not likely to awaken in us any grave    
emotions4    ,to carry this off well we 
should make all our preparations in     
advance4    ,one should say to oneself3 
,i will enter like this1 while          
rehearsing  one's entrance1 so as not to
 be caught napping at the outset4       
,one should go on to plan one's opening 
remarks1 an easy enough matter  since   
one will be speaking to people one knows
 very well4    ,one should then decide  
as to the length of one's call4    ,one 
makes up one's mind1 for instance1 to   
get up and say good-by at the  end of a 
quarter of an hour4    ,one should      
foresee the rejoinder of one's host1    
whether sincere or  merely polite1 which
 will urge one to prolong one's visit1  
and for this  purpose should have ready 
a plausible excuse1 such as work to do  
or a  business engagement1 and one      

should prepare beforehand the phrase    
explaining this4    ,finally1 one should
 study to make one's good-bys           
gracefully4    ,it might be as well1    
while we are at it1 to prepare a subject
 of  conversation4    ,generally        
speaking1 the events of the day form the
 topic of discussion  on such visits1   
whose good-will does not always prevent 
a certain amount  of boredom4    ,it    
will be1 then1 an easy matter to prepare
 a few remarks on the  happenings of the
 day1 on the plays that are running1 or 
on the salient  occurrences of the week4
    ,it should be added that these      
remarks should express opinions of such 
a  nature as not to wound anybody's     
feelings4    ,the man who seeks the     
conquest of poise will not expose       
himself to the  risk of being involved  
in a discussion in which he will be     
compelled  either to remain silent or to
 make an exhibition of himself4    ,to  
do this would be to strike a serious    
blow at his resolution to  persevere4   

,the one idea of the aspirant to poise  
should be above all things never  to    
risk a failure4    ,such a check will   
rarely be a partial one4 ,it will have a
 marked effect  upon his proposed plan  
of educating his will-power by again    
giving rise  to that confusion which is 
always lurking in the background of the 
thoughts of the timid and which is1     
moreover1 the source of all their  ills4
    ,another wise precaution consists in
 foreseeing objections and in  preparing
 such answers as will enable one to     
refute them4    ,eloquence is one of the
 most useful achievements of poise2 it  
is also  the gift that best aids one to 
acquire it4    ,it is1 therefore1       
indispensable to train oneself to speak 
in a refined  and correct manner4       
,the man who is sure of his oratorical  
powers will never be at a loss4 ,he     
will find conviction growing while he   
seeks to create it4    ,we spoke in the 
preceding chapter of the mechanical     
exercises necessary  to make speaking an

 easy matter4    ,we must not forget1   
however1 that before one can speak one  
has to think4    ,words will spring of  
themselves to our lips the moment we    
have a  definite conception of the idea 
they serve to present4 ,as a proof of   
this contention one has only to cite the
 case of those persons who1  while      
ordinarily experiencing great difficulty
 in expressing themselves1  become      
suddenly clear1 persuasive1 and even    
eloquent when it comes to  discussing a 
subject in which they are deeply        
interested4    ,the study of the art of 
speaking will become1 then1 for people  
of  timidity1 over and above the        
mechanical exercises that we have       
prescribed in a former chapter1 a       
profound analysis of the subject upon   
which they are likely to be called upon 
to express themselves4    ,one should   
strive to describe things in short      
sentences as elegantly  phrased as      
possible4    ,when the idea we wish to  
convey seems to be exprest in a confused

  fashion1 one should not hesitate to   
seek for a change of phraseology  that  
will make it more concise and clear4    
,but above all--above all1 we must pull 
ourselves up short and begin over  again
 if any tendency to stammer1 to         
hesitate1 or to become confused1  begins
 to manifest itself4    ,just as soon as
 one feels more at one's ease one can   
seek to put in  practise all these      
special studies4    ,nothing is quite so
 disconcerting as the idea of stammering
 or stopping  short4    ,for this reason
 it is imperative that one should begin 
all over again  the moment such an      
accident occurs4    ,this is what       
prevents timid people from accomplishing
 anything4 ,from the  moment of the     
first failure they become panic-stricken
 and can no longer  go on speaking      
connectedly4    ,those who would acquire
 poise must act quite otherwise4        
,instead of avoiding occasions of       
speaking in public1 they should seek    
for them4 ,but first of all they must   

make some trials upon audiences who  are
 in sympathy with them4    ,they should 
experiment upon their own families and  
should never fail to  enlarge upon their
 theme4 ,if need be1 they can prepare   
the matter for a  short address or a    
friendly argument4    ,if they find     
themselves stammering or panic-stricken1
 they must strive  to recall the phrase 
that caused the trouble and endeavor to 
repeat it  very emphatically without    
stuttering4    ,for the rest1 it is     
always a dangerous thing to talk too    
fast4 ,words  that are pronounced more  
slowly are always much better           
articulated1 and  in speaking leisurely 
one is more likely to avoid the         
embarrassment in  talking that attacks  
those whose education in the direction  
of the  acquiring of poise is not yet   
complete4    ,one of the most important 
exercises in the search for poise       
consists in  accustoming oneself to     
speak slowly and very distinctly4    ,if
 one stammers in the least degree1      

especially if this fault is due to      
nervousness1 one should begin again at  
the word which caused the  trouble1     
pronouncing each syllable slowly and    
distinctly4 ,then one  should           
incorporate it in one or two sentences  
and should not cease to  utter it until 
one can enunciate it clearly and without
 any trouble4    ,in order to combine   
theory with practise1 one should seek   
opportunities  for entering public      
assemblies1 striving to do so without   
awkwardness4    ,one should choose the  
time when the audience is not yet fully 
arrived1  since1 unless one is very sure
 of oneself1 it is a risky matter to    
appear upon the scene when the house is 
full1 or the guests for the most  part  
assembled4 ,by this means one is much   
more likely to be able to  emerge       
victorious from the ordeal of the stares
 of the curious4    ,the man endowed    
with poise enters a gathering politely  
yet  indifferently1 ordering his manner 
not to suit the particular occasion  but

 as a matter of instinct4 ,he will go   
naturally to those whom he  happens to  
know1 will shake hands with them1 and   
will say to each one  the thing that he 
ought to say4    ,if a mother he will   
ask news of her children4 ,he will offer
  congratulations to the man who has    
just been publicly honored4 ,presence   
of mind will not desert him for a       
moment2 he will commit no blunders4 ,he 
will avoid the necessity of meeting a   
former friend with whom he has  fallen  
out and will pass him without speaking4 
,he will not talk of  deformities to a  
man who is deformed4 ,in a word1 his    
poise1 while  leaving him free to       
exercise all his faculties1 will give   
him the  opportunity to remember a      
thousand details1 the performance as    
well as  the omission of which will     
create much sympathetic feeling toward  
him  among the people whom he meets4    
,the man who does not yet possess poise1
 will be wise if he follows the         
recommendations we have made1 that is by

 preparing his speeches to be  made upon
 entering4 ,in those cases where he is  
not absolutely sure of  the relationship
 of people or of the condition of health
 of the person  to whom he is speaking1 
he had better avoid these topics4       
,silence is not  infrequently an        
indication of poise4      ,,the         
,,thought ,,of ,,success    ,but to     
emerge successfully from all these      
difficulties1 one must believe  that one
 can do it1 banishing absolutely from   
one's mind the doubt1  that1 like       
leprosy1 attacks the most well-made     
resolutions1 transforming  them into    
hurtful indecision4    ,the mere        
thought1 ,i will succeed1 is in itself a
 condition of  success4 ,the man who    
pronounces these words with absolute    
belief implies  this sentence3 ,i will  
succeed because ,i will succeed and     
because ,i am  determined to employ     
every legitimate means to that end6     
,avoid also all grieving or melancholy  
over past failures1 or1 if you  must be 

occupied with them1 let it be without   
mingling bitterness with  your regrets4 
,say to yourself3 ,it is true4 ,i failed
 in that undertaking4 ,but from  this   
moment ,i propose to think of it merely 
to remind myself of the  reasons why ,i 
failed4    ,i wish to analyze them      
sincerely1 while recognizing where ,i   
was in the  wrong1 so that under similar
 circumstances ,i can avoid the         
repetition of  the same mistakes4       
,fools and knaves are the only people   
who complain of fate4    ,the words ,i  
have no luck should be erased altogether
 from the  vocabulary of the man who    
proposes to acquire poise4    ,it is the
 excuse in which weaklings and cowards  
indulge4    ,timid people are always    
complaining of the injustice of fate1   
without  stopping to think that they    
have themselves been the direct causes  
of  their own failures4    ,the violet  
has often been quoted--and very         
improperly--as an example of  shrinking 
modesty which it would be well to       

imitate4    ,it does not in the least   
trouble the phrase-makers and the       
followers of  the ideas that they have  
spread broadcast through the world that 
the  violet which hides timidly behind  
its sheltering leaves nearly always     
dies unnoticed1 and that it is in most  
cases anemic and faded in color4  ,the  
type that wins the admiration of the    
world is that1 which1  disengaging      
itself from its leafy shield1 springs up
 with a bound above  its green foliage  
just as men of poise rise triumphantly  
above the  accidents and the petty      
details which bury the timid under their
 heavy  fronds4    ,if one were minded  
to carry out the comparison properly1 it
 is far more  exact to liken the timid  
to these degenerate flowers1 which are  
indebted  to the shade in which they    
hide for their puny and abortive        
appearance4    ,the timid have then no  
sort of excuse for complaining of their 
ill-luck4    ,to begin with1 it is to   
their own defects solely that their     

obscurity is  due4    ,furthermore1 by  
ceaselessly complaining1 they gradually 
become absorbed  by these ideas of      
ill-fortune1 which grow to be their     
accomplices in  their detestation of    
effort and suggest to them the thought  
of  attempting nothing upon the absurd  
pretext that nothing they do can        
succeed4    ,one must add here--and this
 is extremely important--that in acting 
in  this way they always manage to      
provoke the hostile forces that are     
dormant in everything and that array    
themselves the more readily against     
such people because of their lack of the
 resolution to combat them and  the     
energy to overcome them4    ,this is the
 reason why people who are gifted with  
poise find themselves  better qualified 
than others to succeed4    ,their faith 
is so beautiful and so convincing that  
it compels conviction  in others and    
seems to be able to dominate events4    
,it is by no means an illusion to       
believe in the worth of this            

confidence4 ,people to whom it is given 
become of the most wonderful help  to   
others1 their faith aiding and          
sustaining that of those who have       
resolved to make an effort4    ,however 
strong the soul of man may be1 it is    
nevertheless subject to  hours of       
discouragement1 to moments of despair1  
in which some comfort  and sympathy are 
needed4    ,the man of resolution will  
recover from his failures the more      
easily the  more certain he is that he  
has created in those about him an       
atmosphere  of friendliness which will  
not allow his defeats to be made public4
    ,as mists are dispelled at the      
approach of the sun1 the agony of doubt 
will disappear in the genial warmth of  
the encouragement and the  confidence   
that his poise and self-reliance have   
built up in those  around him1 and a    
sure faith will be given to him1 the    
certain and  faithful guide to the road 
that leads onward to success4           
,,chapter ,v    ,,the ,,supreme         

,,achievement      ,one must be most    
careful not to credit oneself with the  
possession of  poise while one is unable
 to encounter reverses without loss of  
serenity4    ,every setback of this sort
 must be judged without bias and the    
proper  measures must be taken to       
prevent its recurrence4    ,every       
exuberant gesture1 as well as every     
constrained and abortive  movement1 must
 be the object of redoubled attention4  
,this is the stumbling-block that brings
 so many timid people to grief4  ,they  
imagine that they have achieved the     
conquest of poise1 while they  are      
really only deceiving themselves by the 
idea that they are giving a  good       
illustration of it4 ,they become the    
victims of a peculiar type of  delusion 
akin to that of the cowards who         
deliberately invite danger  while       
trembling in every limb4    ,the very   
fear of being considered cowards causes 
them to plunge into it  blindly without 
taking the trouble to reflect4 ,they    

always overshoot the  mark1 exposing    
themselves quite uselessly and achieving
 a result that is  entirely valueless to
 themselves or any one else4    ,the man
 who is really master of himself will   
avoid such foolish  undertakings1       
retaining his powers for those that are 
likely to bear  fruit1 whatever the     
quality of the success may be4    ,it is
 an act of folly to deny the possibility
 of success because one is  discouraged 
at the very first obstacle4    ,the     
greatest triumphs are never achieved    
without a struggle4 ,the man who        
obtains them does so only by virtue of  
the experience gained by repeated       
efforts1 none of which bore for him the 
fruit he desired4    ,the better is     
merely a step along the road to the     
best4    ,perfection is1 therefore1 the 
result of many half successes4    ,if   
one could hope to arrive at one stride  
at one's desired goal one's  efforts    
would be of no value1 and mediocrity    
would very soon become the  sole        

characteristic of those who were possest
 by this idea4 ,the man who  has had the
 wit to acquire poise will guard himself
 carefully from  falling into the error 
of the timid1 who1 haunted by an        
unappeased  longing for perfection1 lose
 their courage at the first attempt4    
,does this imply that idealism must be  
banished from the thoughts of the  man  
of resolution8    ,not at all1 if by the
 word ideal one understands what it     
actually means4    ,a false meaning has 
been given to this word which has warped
 it from its  original sense4    ,the   
ideal is not1 as many people seem to    
think1 an impossible dream  indulged in 
only by poets1 and that has no active   
basis of reality4    ,lazy people abuse 
this word1 which to their minds allows  
them to indulge  without shame in idle  
dreams that foster their indolence4     
,the timid drape it about themselves    
like a curtain1 behind which they  take 
refuge and in whose shadow they conceal 
themselves1 thinking by so  doing to    

keep the vanity which obsesses them from
 being wounded4    ,devotees of false   
ideals clothe them too often with the   
tinsel of fond  illusion1 under which   
guise they make a pretense of worshiping
 them4    ,the true ideal1 that which   
every man can carry in his heart1 is    
something much more tangible and matter 
of fact4    ,for one it is worldly      
success4    ,for another renown and     
glory4    ,for men of action it is the  
end for which they strive4    ,the ideal
 which each man should cultivate and    
strive after need by no  means be a     
narrow aim4    ,it is an aspiration of  
which the loftiness is in no way        
affected by the  lowliness of the means 
employed to realize it4    ,this word   
has too often been misused and          
exaggerated in the effort to  distort it
 from its philosophical meaning4    ,in 
every walk of life1 no matter how       
humble1 it is possible to follow an     
ideal4    ,it is not an aim1 to speak   
exactly1 but still less is it a dream4  

,it is  an aspiration toward something  
better that subordinates all our acts to
  this one dominant desire4    ,every   
realization tends to the development of 
the ideal1 which is  increased in beauty
 by each partial attainment4    ,we have
 just said that the ideal of some men is
 the acquisition of a  fortune4 ,it     
might be supposed1 therefore1 that such 
people1 once they  have become rich1    
will abandon their aspirations for      
something more4    ,the man who has this
 idea is very much in the wrong4    ,the
 state of being permanently wealthy is  
one that opens new horizons1  hitherto  
closed4 ,the doing of good1 charity1 the
 desire to better the  condition of     
those who still have to struggle1 these 
will constitute a  higher and a no less 
attractive ideal4    ,this does not take
 into consideration the instinct1 innate
 in every  heart--and that the genius of
 the race has made a part of every one  
of  us--the desire of progressing4      
,it is this desire that forms the ideal 

of fathers of families1 building  up the
 futures of their children1 in whom they
 see not only their  immediate          
successors1 but those who are to        
continue their race1 which  they wish to
 be a strong and virile one1 in         
obedience to the eternal  desire for    
perpetuating themselves that haunts the 
hearts of men4    ,it is quite evident  
that each gain has no need of being     
complete to bear  fruit4 ,the thing to  
do is to multiply it1 to make something 
more of it1  and to take it home to     
ourselves1 in order to achieve the      
ultimate  result that is termed success4
    ,the man of resolution appreciates  
this fact perfectly1 rejoicing in  every
 victory and taking each defeat as a    
means for gaining experience  that he   
will be able to use to his advantage    
when the occasion arises4    ,the man of
 timidity1 on the other hand1 haunted by
 this desire for  perfection1 cut off by
 his very aloofness from all chance of  
learning  the lesson of events1 will be 

so thoroughly discouraged at the first  
check1 that he will draw back from any  
similar experience1 preferring to  take 
refuge in puerile grumbling against the 
contrariety of things in  general4      
,this attitude of mind can not outlast a
 few minutes of sensible  reflection4   
,we wish to convey by the use of this   
term the idea of a process of  thought  
quite free from those vague dreams which
 are the sure  indications of           
feebleness1 reveries in which things    
appear to us in a  guise which is by no 
means that which they really possess4   
,the main characteristic of this state  
of mind is to exaggerate one's          
disappointments while ignoring one's    
moments of happiness4    ,it            
approximates very closely to the old    
fable of the crumpled rose-leaf         
breaking the rest of the sybarite on his
 couch of silk4    ,he has no thought of
 taking satisfaction or pleasure in the 
luxury that  surrounds him4 ,he does not
 congratulate himself on his wealth1 nor

 upon  the comforts he possesses and    
that he values so highly4 ,he thinks of 
nothing but the little crumpled petal   
which causes him imaginary  distress1   
and all his faculties are absorbed by   
this petty detail4    ,the man of       
resolve will pay no attention to such   
trifles as this4 ,they  will touch him  
not at all unless they assume the rle of
 the grain of  sand in the working-parts
 of a machine1 which prevents it from   
running4  ,he is wise enough to be able 
to estimate a situation sensibly1 taking
  account of the drawbacks but at the   
same time realizing all the  advantages 
that accrue from it4    ,at these       
advantages he will be pleased and will  
seek to get the maximum  of good out of 
each one of them4 ,if he thinks of the  
disadvantages at  all1 it will be merely
 in order to find a way to diminish them
 and to  rob them of their power to harm
 him4    ,such are the benefits of      
reflection and of concentration which1  
when  practised in a rational manner1   

will do more than anything else to help 
one to the attainment of poise4    ,weak
 indulgence toward one's own failings   
will be rejected by the  strong4 ,to    
know oneself thoroughly is a good way to
 improve oneself1 and  the knowledge    
that one is not mistaken as to one's    
actual merits is of  considerable help  
in acquiring poise4    ,it is for this  
reason that the habit of daily          
self-examination1 that we  recommended  
in the preceding chapter1 develops1 in  
the man who submits  himself to it1     
faculties of judgment so keen that it is
 an easy matter  for him to become his  
own educator in the path to betterment4 
,one great disadvantage of lack of      
proper concentration is that it gives   
to the subject one is anxious to study  
an importance greater than it  really   
has4    ,passion is too often an        
accompaniment of this form of           
reflection1  emotions are aroused1 and  
the nerves become active factors in     
distorting  the real meanings and value 

of the things we are considering4       
,the remedy in this case is a very      
simple one4 ,an effort of will1 will    
readily banish the subject which is     
causing us too profound emotion by  the 
simple process of turning the thoughts  
to some subject that will  cause us no  
such disturbances4    ,later on1 when   
the emotions of the moment have passed1 
one can return to  the former train of  
thought1 forcing oneself to examine it  
with  calmness4    ,some amount of      
practise will be needed to acquire this 
mastery of one's  thoughts1 the parent  
of poise1 which is nothing more than    
courage based  upon solid reason4    ,it
 may happen that the desire to follow a 
line of thought that causes us          
excessive emotion may lead to the inroad
 of a horde of secondary ideas1  which  
press one upon the other without any    
perceptible continuity1  carrying with  
them neither conviction nor             
illumination4    ,reveries of this sort 
are dangerous enemies of poise4 ,they   

lead one  nowhere1 and create in us     
habits which are not controlled by      
reason or  common sense4    ,if such    
thoughts should assail us1 the sole     
means of avoiding injury  from them is  
to repulse them instantly1 the moment   
one becomes conscious  of them1 and to  
banish the chaos of scattered fancies by
 devoting one's  whole mind to a single 
dominant thought that should be         
associated with  the determination to   
obtain the mastery over oneself4    ,we 
have already suggested to the timid the 
advantage of foreseeing the  objections 
that are likely to be made to what they 
may say4 ,the mere  fact that they have 
already formulated a mental answer will 
be a great  assistance to the making of 
a successful retort4    ,to avoid still 
further risks of being confronted by a  
contradiction that  may put them at a   
loss they will do well to adopt the     
following plan4    ,let them put        
themselves in the place of the person to
 whom they plan to  speak and then ask  

themselves if1 under these              
circumstances1 they will  not find some 
objection to offer to the proposition   
concerned4    ,if they discover by this 
means that1 in his place1 they would be 
likely  to find such and such           
difficulties1 it must be with this fact 
in their  minds that they devote        
themselves to the better preparation of 
their  arguments or1 if necessary1 to   
modifying the force if not the content  
of  the reasoning upon which they rely  
to carry conviction4    ,these          
objections1 as we have already advised1 
should be uttered aloud1  so that we may
 the better perceive their logic1 and   
also to allow of our  repeating them a  
second time1 the ability to accomplish  
which will be a  great encouragement to 
us4    ,there is no reason1 in fact1 for
 believing that we can not repeat on the
  morrow1 just as perfectly as we have  
exprest it to-day1 a statement that  we 
have made with clearness both of        
reasoning and of diction4    ,contact   

with men and with affairs should be     
sought after by the aspirant  for poise4
    ,he will be the gainer by watching  
the destruction of his exaggerated      
ideas and his false conceptions1 which  
have all arisen from solitary  thought4 
,an essential point is to become        
accustomed to the necessity for action4 
,far from avoiding this1 one should     
seize every occasion to utilize it to   
one's advantage4    ,the determined     
student should even create opportunity  
for so doing1  which1 in forcing him to 
break down his reserve1 will make it    
necessary  for him to come to definite  
decisions and to carry them out4        
,every chance to exhibit real and honest
 activity should be seized by  him4     
,between two decisions1 equally         
favorable to him1 of which one will     
leave  him to his peaceful retirement   
and the other will involve active       
measures1 he should not hesitate for a  
moment4    ,he will make choice of that 
which will compel him to exhibit        

physical  activity4    ,it is1 however1 
important that manifestation of         
purposeless energy  should be rigidly   
represt4 ,they are always harmful to    
one's equilibrium  and to the qualities 
needed for the attainment of poise4     
,one should never forget the well-known 
proverb3    ,speech is silver1 but      
silence is golden4    ,silence1 in a    
vast number of instances1 is the        
indisputable proof of the  empire that  
one has over oneself4    ,to be able to 
keep quiet and to close one's lips until
 the moment when  reflection has enabled
 us to discipline our too-violent       
emotions1 is a  quality that belongs    
only to those who have obtained the     
mastery over  themselves4    ,the weak  
become excited1 indulge in protests1 and
 expend themselves in  angry            
denunciations that use up the energy    
they should retain for active  measures4
    ,the man of resolution is most      
careful not to allow it to be known at  
what point he has been wounded4 ,he     

keeps silence and reflects4    ,resolves
 form within his mind and1 when he at   
last is ready to speak1 it  is to utter 
some firm decision or to put forward    
arguments that are  unanswerable4    ,to
 tell the truth1 those who instantly and
 noisily voice their  antagonisms1 who1 
under the sting of a hurt to their      
vanity indulge in  threats of violence1 
are actually dangerous4    ,their       
accusations1 dictated by anger and      
heightened by the sense of  their own   
inferiority1 are always characterized by
 impotence4    ,they make people smile1 
provoke perhaps a little pity1 but never
 cause  any fear4    ,they are like the 
toy guns of children1 which have the air
 of being most  deadly weapons1 but     
which are constructed of such fragile   
materials that  a vigorous blow will    
cause them to fall to pieces4    ,the   
self-control of the man of resolution in
 the face of insult and  provocation is 
far more impressive than these idle     
threats4    ,his silence is ominous4 ,it

 is a sort of mechanical calm which     
produces  decisions from which all      
passion is excluded4    ,his answers1   
well thought out and adapted exactly to 
the circumstances  of the case1 impress 
one by their coldness and by their tone 
of  finality4 ,his words are always     
followed by deeds1 and are the more     
weighty for the fact that one knows that
 they are merely preliminary to  the    
actions that they foretell4    ,this is 
one of the marked advantages of those   
who possess poise1 one of  various      
methods of conquering and dominating the
 minds of others4    ,there are other   
strong points belonging to those who    
cultivate poise1  which1 judiciously    
employed1 unite in giving them an       
incontestable  superiority over the     
majority of the people they meet4       
,the man of poise will not be overgay or
 too boisterous4 ,still less will  he be
 taciturn4 ,moody people are nearly     
always those who are convinced  of their
 own lack of ability and quite certain  

that the rest of the  world is in a     
conspiracy to make them miserable4      
,they lack all pride and make no bones  
about admitting themselves to be        
defeated4    ,these1 we must admit1 are 
rather difficult conditions in which to 
effect  anything worth while4    ,in    
,timidity3 ,how to ,overcome ,it1 ,m4,b4
 ,dangennes tells us that one day  a    
party of men agreed to undertake a      
journey1 the object of which was to     
attain a most wonderful country4        
,there were a great many of them at the 
start1 but only a few days had  passed  
when their ranks became sensibly        
depleted4    ,certain members of the    
party1 the timid ones1 who were         
encumbered with  a load of useless      
scruples1 soon succumbed to the weight  
of their  burdens4    ,others1 the      
fearful ones1 became panic-stricken at  
the difficulties  they encountered in   
battling with the earlier stages of the 
journey4    ,the modest1 after several  
days' marching1 fell to the rear1 from  

fear  of attracting too much attention1 
and were very soon lost sight of4       
,the careless1 wearied by their efforts1
 took to resting in the ditches  along  
the road1 and ate all their store of    
provisions for the journey  without     
worrying at all about the time when they
 might be hungry4    ,the braggarts and 
the boasters1 after exhibiting a        
temporary  enthusiasm1 gave out at the  
first dangers encountered on the march4 
,the curious1 instead of striving to    
maintain the courage of those who       
walked at the head of the column1 kept  
leading them into difficulties1  in     
which many of the foremost were lost4   
,the rash were greatly reduced in       
numbers by their own foolhardiness4     
,the final result was that only a       
handful of men1 after many weary days   
and nights1 reached the ,eden that they 
had set out to attain4    ,these men    
were disciples of energy1 those to whom 
this virtue had given  courage1         
ambition1 the self-control and the      

self-mastery needed to  vanquish and    
overcome the perils of the way2 those   
who1 by their cool  and courageous      
bearing1 had been able to impress upon  
their companions1  now become their     
disciples1 the indomitable hardihood    
with which they  were themselves filled4
    ,we see in this fable how all the   
qualities of poise worked together for  
the accomplishment of the destined end4 
,first courage1 which must not be       
confounded either with rashness or with 
effrontery4    ,courage1 the perfect    
manifestation of confidence in oneself4 
,this quality is at the bottom of all   
great enterprises1 of which all the     
risks1 however1 have been carefully     
considered in advance4    ,the man of   
courage does not deceive himself as to  
the dangers of the  deeds he has        
determined to perform4 ,he accepts them 
bravely4 ,he has  foreseen them all1 and
 he knows how to act in order to turn   
them to his  own advantage4    ,the     
coolness characteristic of all men of   

poise gives them the power of           
estimating wisely how things are likely 
to turn out4    ,they do not fail to    
appreciate the importance of certain    
circumstances1  to realize their        
bearing1 and to admit the dangers to    
which they may  give rise4 ,thus they   
are ready for the fray and are armed at 
all points  for a well-considered       
defense4    ,shame on the superficial   
people who close their eyes in order not
 to see  the obstacles that their own   
lack of foresight has prevented them    
from  anticipating4    ,let us press    
back the timid2 declare war on the      
boasters2 show our  contempt for the    
inveterately modest 7who are only so to 
flatter their  own vanity72 express our 
hatred of the envious1 who are always   
incapable2 distrust the slothful2 and   
arm ourselves with a justifiable  pride1
 which1 by imparting to us a sense of   
our merits1 will enable us  to acquire  
poise1 true index of those who are      
legitimately sure of  themselves and are

 conscious of their sterling worth4     
,but1 above all1 let us raise in our    
inmost hearts a temple to reason1  the  
author of that quiet confidence that    
makes success a certainty4    ,this is  
the work of the man who has achieved the
 conquest of poise4 ,it  is the one     
particular evidence of this priceless   
quality4    ,poise1 by inspiring its    
possessor with a belief in his merits1  
that is  productive of good resolutions1
 enables him to employ in relation to   
himself the fine art of absolutely      
sincere reasoning4    ,there are1 as is 
well-known1 many ways of looking at     
things4    ,every thing has several     
sides and1 in accordance with the angle 
at which  we examine it1 seems to us    
more or less favorable4    ,the         
superficial man only sees things1 and   
only wants to see them1 from  the       
viewpoint of his own desires4    ,to the
 morose man all their contours appear   
distorted4    ,the optimist1 on the     
contrary1 carefully changes their       

outlines4    ,only to the man who makes 
a practise of rational thinking comes a 
true  vision of both the good and the   
bad that exist in everything4    ,this  
science of reasoning is the base of all 
deductive processes1 that1  in          
strengthening the judgment1 aid in the  
formation of poise4    ,without reason  
the scaffolding of the most splendid    
resolves falls to  the ground4          
,without reason we wander aimlessly in  
bypaths instead of following the  broad 
highway4    ,without reason1 in short1  
we become guilty of injustice1 not only 
toward  others1 but still more toward   
ourselves1 since we can not form a      
correct  estimate of our own characters4
    ,it is reason which enables us to   
choose the happy mean that leaves the   
country of fear to reach the goal of    
reserve1 and follows it to the  extreme 
limit of poise without ever encroaching 
upon the territory of  effrontery4      
,it is poise alone that enables us to   
communicate to others the qualities     

which we possess4    ,this has ever been
 the gift of men of genius1 of those who
 could enforce  their doctrines and     
impose them upon others by the sheer    
strength of  their attitude and the way 
in which they analyzed and reasoned out 
all  their principles4    ,what         
conviction can he hope to carry to his  
hearers who is not himself  persuaded of
 the truth of the theories he is        
presenting8    ,this is the condition of
 those timid people who give their      
advice in the  same tone they would use 
to ask it4    ,for this reason they     
never become expert4 ,they rarely ever  
taste of  success and usually sink into 
a state of discontent and envy4    ,this
 last fault is nearly always indulged in
 by the timid1 whom it  soothes1 not    
simply because of its maliciousness1 but
 because envy seems  to them to condone 
their own inertia by giving them an     
excuse for their  lack of action4       
,for people of mediocre mentality to    
deny the intelligence of others is  to  

bring them down into their own plane and
 saves them the effort of  climbing to  
that of their superiors4    ,and since  
lack of sincerity toward themselves is  
always one of the  faults of those who  
are wanting in poise1 they can not help 
feeling a  sentiment of jealousy toward 
those who have succeeded where they     
themselves have failed4    ,instead of  
doing justice without bitterness to the 
superiority of others  by a             
determination to imitate it1 they take  
the simpler course of  envying the good 
fortune of their neighbors and attribute
 it all to  luck4    ,whenever you hear 
any one expatiating upon what he calls  
the luck of  some one else1 you may be  
sure that he is a person entirely       
deficient in  those qualities which     
could attract what he calls luck1 but   
what is  really1 in the majority of     
cases1 merely the result of hard work   
based  upon a reasoned poise4    ,here  
we may add that this quality is often   
the key to good fortune1  since it      

permits the head of a family1 who is    
possest of it to establish  about him   
sympathetic currents1 based upon the    
confidence that he  inspires4    ,it is 
a matter of common knowledge how courage
 communicates itself from  one to       
another4    ,the man who dreads the idea
 of doing something will attempt it     
without  hesitation if he finds himself 
supported by some one who seems to have 
no doubt as to the happy outcome of the 
enterprise4    ,it is1 therefore1 most  
essential1 in order to exercise a       
beneficent  influence upon his          
household1 that the head of a family    
should be  possest of poise1 which will 
awaken in them a sense of protection1   
while  at the same time making them     
aware of a kindly authority4    ,it must
 not be inferred from this that every   
head of a family should  pose as being  
infallible4    ,this would be a most    
foolish proceeding on his part4 ,it     
would often  happen that circumstances1 
by proving his predictions untrue1 would

  destroy the faith in him that those in
 his household must possess4    ,it is  
only the presumptuous and the           
egotistical who pride themselves on     
their infallibility1 as we have pointed 
out at length in preceding  chapters4   
,the man of real poise will be more than
 careful not to pose as a  prophet1     
still less as an autocrat4    ,he will  
study to establish about him an         
atmosphere of confidence suited  to the 
development and the strengthening of the
 bonds which unite him to  those of his 
household4    ,nothing is more touching 
than the blind faith shown by some      
children  toward their parents4         
,people of timidity will never arouse a 
feeling of this sort4    ,however real  
the affection of children may be for    
such parents1 there  will always be     
mingled with it a modicum of indulgent  
pity1 caused by  their distrust1 if the 
parents happen to be people of timidity1
 of what  seem to them mediocre         
abilities4    ,they will feel themselves

 more willingly attracted toward a      
stranger1 if  his attitude toward life  
appears to be one that may support and  
assist  their weakness4 ,their affection
 for their parents will be in no way    
diminished1 but they will cease to      
regard them as being vitally  necessary 
to the harmony of their existence4      
,this lack of trust that timidity       
occasions can result in very serious    
misfortunes4    ,in driving a child who 
seeks for some firm guidance to appeal  
to others  than his natural protectors1 
there is always the risk of his         
following a  method of education that is
 basically opposed to all the traditions
 of  the family4    ,how many children  
are thrown in this way upon the tender  
mercies of a  teacher whose views of    
life1 albeit perfectly honorable1 are   
quite  opposed to the plans of the      
parents4    ,such people1 instead of    
complaining of the conduct of the       
teacher and  crying out about the       
leading astray of their child1 would do 

better to  question themselves and to   
ask their own hearts whether their      
children  have ever found in them the   
protection that is being given them by  
others4    ,we do not want to overwork  
the old fable of the oak and the ivy4   
,nevertheless1 it is to the point to    
remark that this plant attaches  itself 
to none but the most solid trunks1      
disdaining the ,weaker saplings  that   
will bend beneath its weight and will1  
after a little while1 force  it to      
return to the ground instead of helping 
it to climb into the air4    ,the man   
endowed with poise plays in his own     
family the rle of the oak  which lends  
the strength of its trunk as an aid to  
weakness1 covering  with the shadow of  
its branches the feeble efforts that too
 hot a sun or  too violent a storm might
 easily bring to nothing4    ,and if the
 storm should break it is the crest that
 it presents with  pride to the fury of 
the elements that will keep it from     
being itself  destroyed4    ,it must    

also be remembered that the instinct of 
the ,ego flourishes in  every one of us1
 often quite unconsciously1 but always  
with sufficient  force to make it       
certain that this ego will be developed 
in the  direction in which it sees      
chances of support4    ,we are not      
speaking here of mere egoism1 which is a
 species of  acknowledgment of weakness 
that very young children are incapable  
of  making to themselves1 but which     
those who are older will try to avoid4  
,but there is no one1 even among the    
most strong1 who has not felt at  some  
time in his life the joy of finding     
counsel1 moral support1 or  protection1 
if only in the form of a hearty and     
energetic agreement with  his ideas4    
,one can not wonder1 therefore1 that    
people of poise are able to draw to     
themselves sympathies and devotion of   
which the timid are entirely  ignorant4 
,we should add that poise1 in giving one
 ease1 imparts to the slightest  gesture
 a fittingness that constitutes a       

special grace1 that one can not  always 
define1 but where appearance can never  
be mistaken4    ,it might be termed     
distinction4    ,people of poise1       
whether they be homely or handsome1     
insignificant or  imposing1 sickly or   
radiating health1 all possess this      
enviable gift in  a marked degree4      
,distinction is the parent of victory4  
,it conquers1 for those who possess it1 
the greater part of their  adversaries1 
who lay down their arms without dreaming
 of offering  battle4    ,distinction   
impresses every one1 both those who are 
deprived of it and  those who are       
possest of it4    ,it is the most direct
 means of influencing others in the     
direction one  wishes them to take4     
,it is hardly necessary for us to       
restate here that there must be no      
harmful influence in all this1 no abuse 
of power4    ,distinction is only       
efficacious and only possesses its      
proper force when  it is the outcome of 
the qualities we have been endeavoring  

to inculcate  in this book4    ,false   
distinction1 that which is based upon   
effrontery1 is like those  mirages of   
the desert whose appearance troubles the
 traveler4    ,at first he rejoices at  
seeing before him a countryside that    
seems like  his hoped-for goal1 but as  
he presses forward the picture fades    
away  little by little and he perceives 
that he has been the victim of an  empty
 dream4 ,this is invariably what happens
 when what appears to be  distinction is
 founded merely upon bravado and bluff4 
,the credulous1 who are at first        
deceived by the illusion1 very soon     
arrive at the point where they perceive 
their error1 and1 with the  dissipation 
of the mirage1 comes the contempt of the
 person who has thus  made them take him
 seriously4 ,they do not find it an easy
 matter to  forgive him for having made 
dupes of them and their anger increases 
with  the hurt to their wounded pride4  
,those people1 on the other hand1 who   
possess that distinction that comes     

from the qualities inherent in poise1   
are sure of being able to preserve  it  
untarnished1 because their influence    
will never be enfeebled by              
disappointments they may cause in       
others4    ,if they are ever conquered  
for a moment1 it is never because of    
weakness  or lack of character4         
,their defeat can never in any case be  
considered as decisive4 ,their  energy  
will cause them to face the battle anew1
 armed by the very  defeats of the past1
 and rendered invincible by their cool  
determination4    ,the mere habit of    
fighting tempers their souls and makes  
them strong1  while the recollection of 
past reverses makes them more wary and  
more  keen to take advantage of the     
lessons to be learned from events4      
,thus they will not be slow in exacting 
that revenge from fate which will  renew
 the confidence of all their friends4   
,they are a power1 and under this title 
they receive the homage of all4  ,their 
existence is held to be a vital thing by

 all those who would stay  their own    
weaknesses upon their strength4         
,their assistance may not always be     
effective1 but it has the air of  being 
so1 and those who are afraid of failure 
are always anxious to have  near at hand
 a force upon which they can rely to    
keep them from defeat4    ,every one who
 has helped to teach a child to walk has
 noticed that when  its mother remains  
beside it and holds it up by the        
imaginary support of  her hand1 it steps
 out with confidence4    ,if she should 
go several paces ahead1 the child1 left 
to itself1 and  overcome by the fear    
caused by the withdrawal of her         
protection1 which  he really does not   
need1 hesitates1 stumbles1 and presently
 falls down4    ,men who are endowed    
with poise are not only appreciated by  
the weak of  spirit1 they are also      
esteemed and valued by those who possess
 qualities  similar to their own4 ,such 
people are glad to meet a fortitude that
  approximates to theirs4    ,they are  

infinitely better fitted than others to 
escape the pitfalls  with which the     
journey of life is strewn4 ,if1 in spite
 of everything1  misfortune should      
attack them1 they will meet it so       
bravely and will  combat it with weapons
 of such unusual temper that it will    
hasten to  beat a retreat in order to   
knock at the door of some timid soul1   
who  will yield to it without a struggle
 and will allow it to take possession   
of him without a murmur4