,frontispiece3 ,phillips ,brooks ,the best-loved man in ,new ,england4 ,the ideal life1 the life full of completion1 haunts us all4 ,we feel the thing we ought to be beating beneath the thing we are4 ,first1 be a man4 ,,architects ,,of ,,fate ,,or1 ,,steps ,,to ,,success ,,and ,,power ,a ,,book ,,designed ,,to ,,inspire ,,youth ,,to ,,character ,,building1 ,,self-,,culture ,,and ,,noble ,,achievement ,,by ,,orison ,,swett ,,marden ,,author ,,of ,,pushing ,,to ,,the ,,front ,,or1 ,,success ,,under ,,difficulties ,,illustrated ,,with ,,sixteen ,,fine ,,portraits ,,of ,,eminent ,,persons ,all are architects of fate ,working in these walls of time4 ,our to-days and yesterdays ,are the blocks with which we build4 ,let thy great deed be thy prayer to thy ,god4 ,,toronto ,,william ,,briggs ,,wesley ,,buildings ,,montreal3 ,c4 ,w4 ,,coates ,,halifax3 ,s4 ,f4 ,,huestis #ahig ,copyright1 #ahie1 ,,by ,,orison ,,swett ,,marden4 ,all rights reserved4 ,,preface4 ,the demand for more than a dozen editions of ,pushing to the ,front during its first year and its universally favorable reception1 both at home and abroad1 have encouraged the author to publish this companion volume of somewhat similar scope and purpose4 ,the two books were prepared simultaneously1 and the story of the first1 given in its preface1 applies equally well to this4 ,inspiration to character-building and worthy achievement is the keynote of the present volume1 its object1 to arouse to honorable exertion youth who are drifting without aim1 to awaken dormant ambitions in those who have grown discouraged in the struggle for success1 to encourage and stimulate to higher resolve those who are setting out to make their own way1 with perhaps neither friendship nor capital other than a determination to get on in the world4 ,nothing is so fascinating to a youth with high purpose1 life1 and energy throbbing in his young blood as stories of men and women who have brought great things to pass4 ,though these themes are as old as the human race1 yet they are ever new1 and more interesting to the young than any fiction4 ,the cry of youth is for life6 more life6 ,no didactic or dogmatic teaching1 however brilliant1 will capture a twentieth-century boy1 keyed up to the highest pitch by the pressure of an intense civilization4 ,the romance of achievement under difficulties1 of obscure beginnings and triumphant ends2 the story of how great men started1 their struggles1 their long waitings1 amid want and woe1 the obstacles overcome1 the final triumphs2 examples1 which explode excuses1 of men who have seized common situations and made them great1 of those of average capacity who have succeeded by the use of ordinary means1 by dint of indomitable will and inflexible purpose3 these will most inspire the ambitious youth4 ,the author teaches that there are bread and success for every youth under the ,american flag who has the grit to seize his chance and work his way to his own loaf2 that the barriers are not yet erected which declare to aspiring talent1 ,thus far and no farther2 that the most forbidding circumstances cannot repress a longing for knowledge1 a yearning for growth2 that poverty1 humble birth1 loss of limbs or even eyesight1 have not been able to bar the progress of men with grit2 that poverty has rocked the cradle of the giants who have wrung civilization from barbarism1 and have led the world up from savagery to the ,gladstones1 the ,lincolns1 and the ,grants4 ,the book shows that it is the man with one unwavering aim who cuts his way through opposition and forges to the front2 that in this electric age1 where everything is pusher or pushed1 he who would succeed must hold his ground and push hard2 that what are stumbling-blocks and defeats to the weak and vacillating1 are but stepping-stones and victories to the strong and determined4 ,the author teaches that every germ of goodness will at last struggle into bloom and fruitage1 and that true success follows every right step4 ,he has tried to touch the higher springs of the youth's aspiration2 to lead him to high ideals2 to teach him that there is something nobler in an occupation than merely living-getting or money-getting2 that a man may make millions and be a failure still2 to caution youth not to allow the maxims of a low prudence1 dinned daily into his ears in this money-getting age1 to repress the longings for a higher life2 that the hand can never safely reach higher than does the heart4 ,the author's aim has been largely through concrete illustrations which have pith1 point1 and purpose1 to be more suggestive than dogmatic1 in a style more practical than elegant1 more helpful than ornate1 more pertinent than novel4 ,the author wishes to acknowledge valuable assistance from ,mr4 ,arthur ,w4 ,brown1 of ,w4 ,kingston1 ,r4 ,i4 ,o4 ,s4 ,m4 #dc ,,bowdoin ,,st41 ,,boston1 ,,mass4 ,december #b1 #ahif4 ,,contents4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,wanted--,a ,,man ,god after a man4 ,wealth is nothing1 fame is nothing4 ,manhood is everything4 ,,ii4 ,,dare ,dare to live thy creed4 ,conquer your place in the world4 ,all things serve a brave soul4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,will ,,and ,,the ,,way ,find a way or make one4 ,everything is either pusher or pushed4 ,the world always listens to a man with a will in him4 ,,iv4 ,,success ,,under ,,difficulties ,there is scarcely a great truth or doctrine but has had to fight its way to recognition through detraction1 calumny1 and persecution4 ,v4 ,,uses ,,or ,,obstacles ,the ,great ,sculptor cares little for the human block as such2 it is the statue ,he is after2 and ,he will blast1 hammer1 and chisel with poverty1 hardships1 anything to get out the man4 ,,vi4 ,,one ,,unwavering ,,aim ,find your purpose and fling your life out to it4 ,try to be somebody with all your might4 ,,vii4 ,,sowing ,,and ,,reaping ,what is put into the first of life is put into the whole of life4 ,start right4 ,,viii4 ,,self-,,help ,self-made or never made4 ,the greatest men have risen from the ranks4 ,,ix4 ,,work ,,and ,,wait ,don't risk a life's superstructure upon a day's foundation4 ,x4 ,,clear ,,grit ,the goddess of fame or of fortune has been won by many a poor boy who had no friends1 no backing1 or anything but pure grit and invincible purpose to commend him4 ,,xi4 ,,the ,,grandest ,,thing ,,in ,,the ,,world ,manhood is above all riches and overtops all titles2 character is greater than any career4 ,,xii4 ,,wealth ,,in ,,economy ,hunger1 rags1 cold1 hard work1 contempt1 suspicion1 unjust reproach1 are disagreeable2 but debt is infinitely worse than all4 ,,xiii4 ,,rich ,,without ,,money ,to have nothing is not poverty4 ,whoever uplifts civilization is rich though he die penniless1 and future generations will erect his monument4 ,,xiv4 ,,opportunities ,,where ,,you ,,are ,how speaks the present hour8 ,act4 ,don't wait for great opportunities4 ,seize common occasions and make them great4 ,,xv4 ,,the ,,might ,,of ,,little ,,things ,there is nothing small in a world where a mud-crack swells to an ,amazon1 and the stealing of a penny may end on the scaffold4 ,,xvi4 ,,self-,,mastery ,guard your weak point4 ,be lord over yourself4 ,,list ,,of ,,portraits4 ,,chap4 ,i4 ,phillips ,brooks 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,frontispiece ,,ii4 ,oliver ,hazard ,perry ,,iii4 ,walter ,scott ,,iv4 ,william ,hickling ,prescott ,v4 ,john ,bunyan ,,vi4 ,richard ,arkwright ,,vii4 ,victor ,hugo ,,viii4 ,james ,a4 ,garfield 7missing from book7 ,,ix4 ,thomas ,alva ,edison ,x4 ,andrew ,jackson ,,xi4 ,john ,greenleaf ,whittier 7missing from book7 ,,xii4 ,alexander ,hamilton ,,xiii4 ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson ,,xiv4 ,thomas ,jefferson ,,xv4 ,louis ,agassiz ,,xvi4 ,james ,russell ,lowell ,,architects ,,of ,,fate4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,wanted--,a ,,man4 ,wanted2 men3 ,not systems fit and wise1 ,not faiths with rigid eyes1 ,not wealth in mountain piles1 ,not power with gracious smiles1 ,not even the potent pen3 ,wanted2 men4 ,run ye to and fro through the streets of ,jerusalem1 and see now1 and know1 and seek in the broad places thereof1 if ye can find a man4--,,jeremiah4 ,all the world cries1 ,where is the man who will save us8 ,we want a man6 ,don't look so far for this man4 ,you have him at hand4 ,this man1--it is you1 it is ,i1 it is each one of us6 4 4 4 ,how to constitute one's self a man8 ,nothing harder1 if one knows not how to will it2 nothing easier1 if one wills it4--,,alexandre ,,dumas4 ',tis life1 not death for which we pant6 ',tis life1 whereof our nerves are scant3 ,more life and fuller1 that we want4 ,i do not wish in attempting to paint a man to describe an air-fed1 unimpassioned1 impossible ghost4 ,my eyes and ears are revolted by any neglect of the physical facts1 the limitations of man4--,,emerson4 ,but nature1 with a matchless hand1 sends forth her nobly born1 ,and laughs the paltry attributes of wealth and rank to scorn2 ,she moulds with care a spirit rare1 half human1 half divine1 ,and cries exulting1 ,who can make a gentleman like mine8 ,,eliza ,,cook4 ,in a thousand cups of life1 says ,emerson1 only one is the right mixture4 ,the fine adjustment of the existing elements1 where the well-mixed man is born with eyes not too dull1 nor too good1 with fire enough and earth enough1 capable of receiving impressions from all things1 and not too susceptible1 then no gift need be bestowed on him4 ,he brings his fortune with him4 ,diogenes sought with a lantern at noontide in ancient ,athens for a perfectly honest man1 and sought in vain4 ,in the market place he once cried aloud1 ,hear me1 ,o men2 and1 when a crowd collected around him1 he said scornfully3 ,i called for men1 not pygmies4 ,the world has a standing advertisement over the door of every profession1 every occupation1 every calling2 ,wanted--,a ,man4 ,wanted1 a man who will not lose his individuality in a crowd1 a man who has the courage of his convictions1 who is not afraid to say ,no1 though all the world say ,yes4 ,wanted1 a man who1 though he is dominated by a mighty purpose1 will not permit one great faculty to dwarf1 cripple1 warp1 or mutilate his manhood2 who will not allow the over-development of one facility to stunt or paralyze his other faculties4 ,wanted1 a man who is larger than his calling1 who considers it a low estimate of his occupation to value it merely as a means of getting a living4 ,wanted1 a man who sees self-development1 education and culture1 discipline and drill1 character and manhood1 in his occupation4 ,a thousand pulpits vacant in a single religious denomination1 a thousand preachers standing idle in the market place1 while a thousand church committees scour the land for men to fill those same vacant pulpits1 and scour in vain1 is a sufficient indication1 in one direction at least1 of the largeness of the opportunities of the age1 and also of the crying need of good men4 ,wanted1 a man who is well balanced1 who is not cursed with some little defect or weakness which cripples his usefulness and neutralizes his powers4 ,wanted1 a man of courage1 who is not a coward in any part of his nature4 ,wanted1 a man who is symmetrical1 and not one-sided in his development1 who has not sent all the energies of his being into one narrow specialty1 and allowed all the other branches of his life to wither and die4 ,wanted1 a man who is broad1 who does not take half views of things4 ,wanted1 a man who mixes common sense with his theories1 who does not let a college education spoil him for practical1 every-day life2 a man who prefers substance to show1 who regards his good name as a priceless treasure4 ,wanted1 a man who1 no stunted ascetic1 is full of life and fire1 but whose passions are trained to heed a strong will1 the servant of a tender conscience2 who has learned to love all beauty1 whether of nature or of art1 to hate all vileness1 and to respect others as himself4 ,god calls a man to be upright and pure and generous1 but he also calls him to be intelligent and skillful and strong and brave4 ,the world wants a man who is educated all over2 whose nerves are brought to their acutest sensibility1 whose brain is cultured1 keen1 incisive1 penetrating1 broad1 liberal1 deep2 whose hands are deft2 whose eyes are alert1 sensitive1 microscopic1 whose heart is tender1 broad1 magnanimous1 true4 ,the whole world is looking for such a man4 ,although there are millions out of employment1 yet it is almost impossible to find just the right man in almost any department of life4 ,every profession and every occupation has a standing advertisement all over the world3 ,wanted--,a ,man4 ,rousseau1 in his celebrated essay on education1 says3 ,according to the order of nature1 men being equal1 their common vocation is the profession of humanity2 and whoever is well educated to discharge the duty of a man cannot be badly prepared to fill any of those offices that have a relation to him4 ,it matters little to me whether my pupil be designed for the army1 the pulpit1 or the bar4 ,nature has destined us to the offices of human life antecedent to our destination concerning society4 ,to live is the profession ,i would teach him4 ,when ,i have done with him1 it is true he will be neither a soldier1 a lawyer1 nor a divine4 ,let him first be a man2 ,fortune may remove him from one rank to another as she pleases1 he will be always found in his place4 ,a little1 short doctor of divinity in a large ,baptist convention stood on a step and said he thanked ,god he was a ,baptist4 ,the audience could not hear and called ,louder4 ,get up higher1 some one said4 ,i can't1 he replied4 ,to be a ,baptist is as high as one can get4 ,but there is something higher than being a ,baptist1 and that is being a man4 ,as ,emerson says1 ,talleyrand's question is ever the main one2 not1 is he rich8 is he committed8 is he well-meaning8 has he this or that faculty8 is he of the movement8 is he of the establishment8 but is he anybody8 does he stand for something8 ,he must be good of his kind4 ,that is all that ,talleyrand1 all that ,state ,street1 all that the common sense of mankind asks4 ,when ,garfield was asked as a young boy1 what he meant to be1 he answered3 ,first of all1 ,i must make myself a man1 if ,i do not succeed in that1 ,i can succeed in nothing4 ,montaigne says our work is not to train a soul by itself alone1 nor a body by itself alone1 but to train a man4 ,one great need of the world to-day is for men and women who are good animals4 ,to endure the strain of our concentrated civilization1 the coming man and woman must have an excess of animal spirits4 ,they must have a robustness of health4 ,mere absence of disease is not health4 ,it is the overflowing fountain1 not the one half full1 that gives life and beauty to the valley below4 ,only he is healthy who exults in mere animal existence2 whose very life is a luxury2 who feels a bounding pulse throughout his body1 who feels life in every limb1 as dogs do when scouring over the field1 or as boys do when gliding over fields of ice4 ,pope1 the poet1 was with ,sir ,godfrey ,kneller1 the artist1 one day1 when the latter's nephew1 a ,guinea slave-trader1 came into the room4 ,nephew1 said ,sir ,godfrey1 you have the honor of seeing the two greatest men in the world4 ,i don't know how great men you may be1 said the ,guinea man1 but ,i don't like your looks4 ,i have often bought a much better man than either of you1 all muscles and bones1 for ten guineas4 ,sydney ,smith said1 ,i am convinced that digestion is the great secret of life1 and that character1 virtue and talents1 and qualities are powerfully affected by beef1 mutton1 pie crust1 and rich soups4 ,i have often thought ,i could feed or starve men into virtues or vices1 and affect them more powerfully with my instruments of torture than ,timotheus could do formerly with his lyre4 ,what more glorious than a magnificent manhood1 animated with the bounding spirits of overflowing health8 ,it is a sad sight to see thousands of students graduated every year from our grand institutions1 whose object is to make stalwart1 independent1 self-supporting men1 turned out into the world saplings instead of stalwart oaks1 memory-glands instead of brainy men1 helpless instead of self-supporting1 sickly instead of robust1 weak instead of strong1 leaning instead of erect4 ,so many promising youths1 and never a finished man6 ,the character sympathizes with and unconsciously takes on the nature of the body4 ,a peevish1 snarling1 ailing man cannot develop the vigor and strength of character which is possible to a healthy1 robust1 jolly man4 ,there is an inherent love in the human mind for wholeness1 a demand that man shall come up to the highest standard2 and there is an inherent protest or contempt for preventable deficiency4 ,nature too demands that man be ever at the top of his condition4 ,the giant's strength with the imbecile's brain will not be characteristic of the coming man4 ,man has been a dwarf of himself1 but a higher type of manhood stands at the door of this age knocking for admission4 ,as we stand upon the seashore while the tide is coming in1 one wave reaches up the beach far higher than any previous one1 then recedes1 and for some time none that follows comes up to its mark1 but after a while the whole sea is there and beyond it1 so now and then there comes a man head and shoulders above his fellow-men1 showing that ,nature has not lost her ideal1 and after a while even the average man will overtop the highest wave of manhood yet given to the world4 ,apelles hunted over ,greece for many years1 studying the fairest points of beautiful women1 getting here an eye1 there a forehead and there a nose1 here a grace and there a turn of beauty1 for his famous portrait of a perfect woman which enchanted the world4 ,so the coming man will be a composite1 many in one4 ,he will absorb into himself not the weakness1 not the follies1 but the strength and the virtues of other types of men4 ,he will be a man raised to the highest power4 ,he will be self-centred1 equipoised1 and ever master of himself4 ,his sensibility will not be deadened or blunted by violation of nature's laws4 ,his whole character will be impressible1 and will respond to the most delicate touches of nature4 ,what a piece of work--this coming man6 ,how noble in reason4 ,how infinite in faculties4 ,in form and motion how express and admirable1 in action how like an angel1 in apprehension how like a god4 ,the beauty of the world4 ,the paragon of animals4 ,the first requisite of all education and discipline should be man-timber4 ,tough timber must come from well grown1 sturdy trees4 ,such wood can be turned into a mast1 can be fashioned into a piano or an exquisite carving4 ,but it must become timber first4 ,time and patience develop the sapling into the tree4 ,so through discipline1 education1 experience1 the sapling child is developed into hardy mental1 moral1 physical timber4 ,what an aid to character building would be the determination of the young man in starting out in life to consider himself his own bank2 that his notes will be accepted as good or bad1 and will pass current everywhere or be worthless1 according to his individual reputation for honor and veracity2 that if he lets a note go to protest1 his bank of character will be suspected2 if he lets two or three go to protest1 public confidence will be seriously shaken2 that if they continue to go to protest1 his reputation will be lost and confidence in him ruined4 ,if the youth should start out with the fixed determination that every statement he makes shall be the exact truth2 that every promise he makes shall be redeemed to the letter2 that every appointment shall be kept with the strictest faithfulness and with full regard for other men's time1 if he should hold his reputation as a priceless treasure1 feel that the eyes of the world are upon him1 that he must not deviate a hair's breadth from the truth and right2 if he should take such a stand at the outset1 he would1 like ,george ,peabody1 come to have almost unlimited credit and the confidence of all1 and would have developed into noble man-timber4 ,what are palaces and equipages2 what though a man could cover a continent with his title-deeds1 or an ocean with his commerce1 compared with conscious rectitude1 with a face that never turns pale at the accuser's voice1 with a bosom that never throbs with the fear of exposure1 with a heart that might be turned inside out and disclose no stain of dishonor8 ,to have done no man a wrong2 to have put your signature to no paper to which the purest angel in heaven might not have been an attesting witness2 to walk and live1 unseduced1 within arm's length of what is not your own1 with nothing between your desire and its gratification but the invisible law of rectitude2--this is to be a man4 ,he that of such a height hath built his mind1 ,and reared the dwelling of his thought so strong ,as neither fear nor hope can shake the frame ,of his resolved powers2 nor all the wind ,of vanity or malice pierce to wrong ,his settled peace1 or to disturb the same2 ,what a fair seat hath he2 from whence he may ,the boundless wastes and wilds of man survey4 ,lines found in one of the books of ,beecher's ,library4 ,a man is never so happy as when he is totus in se2 as when he suffices to himself1 and can walk without crutches or a guide4 ,said ,jean ,paul ,richter3 ,i have made as much out of myself as could be made of the stuff1 and no man should require more4 ,man is the only great thing in the universe4 ,all the ages have been trying to produce a perfect model4 ,only one complete man has yet been evolved4 ,the best of us are but prophecies of what is to come4 ,what constitutes a state8 ,not high-raised battlement or labored mound1 ,thick wall or moated gate2 ,not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned2 ,not bays and broad-armed ports1 ,where1 laughing at the storm1 rich navies ride2 ,not starred and spangled courts1 ,where low-browed baseness wafts perfume to pride4 ,no3 men1 high-minded men1 ,with powers as far above dull brutes endued ,in forest1 brake1 or den1 ,as beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude1-- ,men who their duties know1 ,but know their rights1 and knowing1 dare maintain1 ,prevent the long-aimed blow1 ,and crush the tyrant while they rend the chain4 ,,william ,,jones4 ,god give us men4 ,a time like this demands ,strong minds1 great hearts1 true faith and ready hands3 ,men whom the lust of office does not kill2 ,men whom the spoils of office cannot buy2 ,men who possess opinions and a will2 ,men who have honor--men who will not lie2 ,men who can stand before a demagogue ,and scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking2 ,tall men sun-crowned1 who live above the fog ,in public duty1 and in private thinking4 ,,anon4 ,open thy bosom1 set thy wishes wide1 ,and let in manhood--let in happiness2 ,admit the boundless theatre of thought ,from nothing up to ,god 4 4 4 which makes a man6 ,,young4 ,the wisest man could ask no more of fate ,than to be simple1 modest1 manly1 true4 ,in speech right gentle1 yet so wise2 princely of mien1 ,yet softly mannered2 modest1 deferent1 ,and tender-hearted1 though of fearless blood4 ,,edwin ,,arnold4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,dare4 ,the ,spartans did not inquire how many the enemy are1 but where they are4--,,agis ,,ii4 ,what's brave1 what's noble1 let's do it after the high ,roman fashion1 and make death proud to take us4--,,shakespeare4 ,better1 like ,hector1 in the field to die1 ,than1 like a perfumed ,paris1 turn and fly4 ,,longfellow4 ,let me die facing the enemy4--,,bayard4 ,who conquers me1 shall find a stubborn foe4--,,byron4 ,courage in danger is half the battle4--,,plautus4 ,no great deed is done ,by falterers who ask for certainty4 ,,george ,,eliot4 ,fortune befriends the bold4--,,dryden4 ,tender handed stroke a nettle1 ,and it stings you for your pains2 ,grasp it like a man of mettle1 ,and it soft as silk remains4 ,,aaron ,,hill4 ,we make way for the man who boldly pushes past us4--,,bov,e4 ,man should dare all things that he knows is right1 ,and fear to do nothing save what is wrong4 ,,phebe ,,cary4 ,soft-heartedness1 in times like these1 ,shows softness in the upper story4 ,,lowell4 ,o friend1 never strike sail to fear4 ,come into port grandly1 or sail with ,god the seas4--,,emerson4 ,to stand with a smile upon your face against a stake from which you cannot get away--that1 no doubt1 is heroic4 ,but the true glory is resignation to the inevitable4 ,to stand unchained1 with perfect liberty to go away1 held only by the higher claims of duty1 and let the fire creep up to the heart1--this is heroism4--,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,steady1 men6 ,every man must die where he stands6 said ,colin ,campbell to the ,ninety-third ,highlanders at ,balaklava1 as an overwhelming force of ,russian cavalry came sweeping down4 ,ay1 ay1 ,sir ,colin6 we'll do that6 was the cordial response from men many of whom had to keep their word by thus obeying4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,commodore ,,perry ,we have met the enemy and they are ours4 ,he either fears his fate too much ,or his deserts too small1 ,that dares not put it to the touch1 ,to gain or lose it all4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,bring back the colors1 shouted a captain at the battle of the ,alma1 when an ensign maintained his ground in front1 although the men were retreating4 ,no1 cried the ensign1 bring up the men to the colors4 ,to dare1 and again to dare1 and without end to dare1 was ,danton's noble defiance to the enemies of ,france4 ,the ,commons of ,france have resolved to deliberate1 said ,mirabeau to ,de ,breze1 who brought an order from the king for them to disperse1 ,june #bc1 #aghi4 ,we have heard the intentions that have been attributed to the king2 and you1 sir1 who cannot be recognized as his organ in the ,national ,assembly1--you1 who have neither place1 voice1 nor right to speak1--you are not the person to bring to us a message of his4 ,go1 say to those who sent you that we are here by the power of the people1 and that we will not be driven hence1 save by the power of the bayonet4 ,when the assembled senate of ,rome begged ,regulus not to return to ,carthage to fulfill an illegal promise1 he calmly replied3 ,have you resolved to dishonor me8 ,torture and death are awaiting me1 but what are these to the shame of an infamous act1 or the wounds of a guilty mind8 ,slave as ,i am to ,carthage1 ,i still have the spirit of a ,roman4 ,i have sworn to return4 ,it is my duty4 ,let the gods take care of the rest4 ,the courage which ,cranmer had shown since the accession of ,mary gave way the moment his final doom was announced4 ,the moral cowardice which had displayed itself in his miserable compliance with the lust and despotism of ,henry displayed itself again in six successive recantations by which he hoped to purchase pardon4 ,but pardon was impossible2 and ,cranmer's strangely mingled nature found a power in its very weakness when he was brought into the church of ,st4 ,mary at ,oxford on the #bast of ,march1 to repeat his recantation on the way to the stake4 ,now1 ended his address to the hushed congregation before him1--now ,i come to the great thing that troubleth my conscience more than any other thing that ever ,i said or did in my life1 and that is the setting abroad of writings contrary to the truth2 which here ,i now renounce and refuse as things written by a hand contrary to the truth which ,i thought in my heart1 and written for fear of death to save my life1 if it might be4 ,and1 forasmuch as my hand offended in writing contrary to my heart1 my hand therefore shall be the first punished2 for if ,i come to the fire it shall be the first burned4 ,this was the hand that wrote it1 he again exclaimed at the stake1 therefore it shall suffer first punishment2 and holding it steadily in the flame1 he never stirred nor cried till life was gone4 ,oh1 if ,i were only a man6 exclaimed ,rebecca ,bates1 a girl of fourteen1 as she looked from the window of a lighthouse at ,scituate1 ,mass41 during the ,war of #ahab1 and saw a ,british warship anchor in the harbor4 ,what could you do8 asked ,sarah ,winsor1 a young visitor4 ,see what a lot of them the boats contain1 and look at their guns6 and she pointed to five large boats1 filled with soldiers in scarlet uniforms1 who were coming to burn the vessels in the harbor and destroy the town4 ,i don't care1 ,i'd fight1 said ,rebecca4 ,i'd use father's old shotgun--anything4 ,think of uncle's new boat and the sloop6 ,and how hard it is to sit here and see it all1 and not lift a finger to help4 ,father and uncle are in the village and will do all they can4 ,how still it is in the town6 ,there is not a man to be seen4 ,oh1 they are hiding till the soldiers get nearer1 said ,sarah1 then we'll hear the shots and the drum4 ,the drum6 exclaimed ,rebecca1 how can they use it8 ,it is here4 ,father brought it home last night to mend4 ,see6 the first boat has reached the sloop4 ,oh6 they are going to burn her4 ,where is that drum8 ,i've a great mind to go down and beat it4 ,we could hide behind the sandhills and bushes4 ,as flames began to rise from the sloop the ardor of the girls increased4 ,they found the drum and an old fife1 and1 slipping out of doors unnoticed by ,mrs4 ,bates1 soon stood behind a row of sandhills4 ,rub-a-dub-dub1 rub-a-dub-dub1 went the drum1 and squeak1 squeak1 squeak1 went the fife4 ,the ,americans in the town thought that help had come from ,boston1 and rushed into boats to attack the redcoats4 ,the ,british paused in their work of destruction2 and1 when the fife began to play ,yankee ,doodle1 they scrambled into their boats and rowed in haste to the warship1 which weighed anchor and sailed away as fast as the wind would carry her4 ,a woman's piercing shriek suddenly startled a party of surveyors at dinner in a forest of northern ,virginia on a calm1 sunny day in #agej4 ,the cries were repeated in quick succession1 and the men sprang through the undergrowth to learn their cause4 ,oh1 sir1 exclaimed the woman as she caught sight of a youth of eighteen1 but a man in stature and bearing2 you will surely do something for me6 ,make these friends release me4 ,my boy1--my poor boy is drowning1 and they will not let me go6 ,it would be madness2 she will jump into the river1 said one of the men who was holding her2 and the rapids would dash her to pieces in a moment6 ,throwing on his coat1 the youth sprang to the edge of the bank1 scanned for a moment the rocks and whirling currents1 and then1 at sight of part of the boy's dress1 plunged into the roaring rapids4 ,thank ,god1 he will save my child6 cried the mother1 and all rushed to the brink of the precipice2 there he is6 ,oh1 my boy1 my darling boy6 ,how could ,i leave you8 ,but all eyes were bent upon the youth struggling with strong heart and hope amid the dizzy sweep of the whirling currents far below4 ,now it seemed as if he would be dashed against a projecting rock1 over which the water flew in foam1 and anon a whirlpool would drag him in1 from whose grasp escape would seem impossible4 ,twice the boy went out of sight1 but he had reappeared the second time1 although frightfully near the most dangerous part of the river4 ,the rush of waters here was tremendous1 and no one had ever dared to approach it1 even in a canoe1 lest he should be dashed to pieces4 ,the youth redoubled his exertions4 ,three times he was about to grasp the child1 when some stronger eddy would toss it from him4 ,one final effort he makes2 the child is held aloft by his strong right arm1 but a cry of horror bursts from the lips of every spectator as boy and man shoot over the falls and vanish in the seething waters below4 ,there they are6 shouted the mother a moment later1 in a delirium of joy4 ,see6 they are safe6 ,great ,god1 ,i thank ,thee6 ,and sure enough they emerged unharmed from the boiling vortex1 and in a few minutes reached a low place in the bank and were drawn up by their friends1 the boy senseless1 but still alive1 and the youth almost exhausted4 ,god will give you a reward1 solemnly spoke the grateful woman4 ,he will do great things for you in return for this day's work1 and the blessings of thousands besides mine will attend you4 ,the youth was ,george ,washington4 ,your ,grace has not the organ of animal courage largely developed1 said a phrenologist1 who was examining ,wellington's head4 ,you are right1 replied the ,iron ,duke1 and but for my sense of duty ,i should have retreated in my first fight4 ,that first fight1 on an ,indian field1 was one of the most terrible on record4 ,in the reverses which followed ,napoleon1 he met the allies at ,arcis4 ,a live shell having fallen in front of one of his young battalions1 which recoiled and wavered in expectation of an explosion1 ,napoleon1 to reassure them1 spurred his charger toward the instrument of destruction1 made him smell the burning match1 waited unshaken for the explosion1 and was blown up4 ,rolling in the dust with his mutilated steed1 and rising without a wound amid the plaudits of his soldiers1 he calmly called for another horse1 and continued to brave the grape-shot1 and to fly into the thickest of the battle4 ,when ,general ,jackson was a judge and was holding court in a small settlement1 a border ruffian1 a murderer and desperado1 came into the court-room with brutal violence and interrupted the court4 ,the judge ordered him to be arrested4 ,the officer did not dare to approach him4 ,call a posse1 said the judge1 and arrest him4 ,but they also shrank in fear from the ruffian4 ,call me1 then1 said ,jackson2 this court is adjourned for five minutes4 ,he left the bench1 walked straight up to the man1 and with his eagle eye actually cowed the ruffian1 who dropped his weapons1 afterwards saying1 ,there was something in his eye ,i could not resist4 ,one of the last official acts of the late ,president ,carnot1 of ,france1 was the sending of a medal of the ,french ,legion of ,honor to a little ,american girl1 who lives in ,indiana4 ,while a train on the ,pan ,handle ,railroad1 having on board several distinguished ,frenchmen1 was bound to ,chicago and the ,world's ,fair1 ,jennie ,carey1 who was then ten years old1 discovered that a trestle was on fire1 and that if the train1 which was nearly due1 entered it a dreadful wreck would take place4 ,thereupon she ran out upon the track to a place where she could be seen from some little distance4 ,then she took off her red flannel skirt and1 when the train came in view1 waved it back and forth across the track4 ,it was seen1 and the train stopped4 ,on board of it were seven hundred people1 many of whom must have suffered death but for ,jennie's courage and presence of mind4 ,when they returned to ,france1 the ,frenchmen brought the occurrence to the notice of ,president ,carnot1 and the result was the sending of the medal of this famous ,french society1 the purpose of which is the honoring of bravery and merit1 wherever they may be found4 ,after the battle of ,fort ,donelson1 the wounded were hauled down the hill in rough board wagons1 and most of them died before they reached ,st4 ,louis4 ,one blue-eyed boy of nineteen1 with both arms and both legs shattered1 had lain a long time and was neglected4 ,he said1 ,why1 you see they couldn't stop to bother with us because they had to take the fort4 ,when they took it we all forgot our sufferings and shouted for joy1 even to the dying4 ,louis ,,ix4 of ,france was captured by the ,turks at the battle of ,mansoora1 during the ,seventh ,crusade1 and his wife ,marguerite1 with a babe at the breast1 was in ,damietta1 many miles away4 ,the ,infidels surrounded the city1 and pressed the garrison so hard that it was decided to capitulate4 ,the queen summoned the knights1 and told them that she at least would die in armor upon the ramparts before the enemy should become masters of ,damietta4 ,before her words they thrilled like leaves ,when winds are in the wood2 ,and a deepening murmur told of men ,roused to a loftier mood4 ,grasping lance and shield1 they vowed to defend their queen and the cross to the last4 ,damietta was saved4 ,pyrrhus marched to ,sparta to reinstate the deposed ,cleonymus1 and quietly pitched his tents before ,laconia1 not anticipating resistance4 ,in consternation1 the ,spartans in council decided to send their women to ,crete for safety4 ,but the women met and asked ,queen ,archidamia to remonstrate4 ,she went to the council1 sword in hand1 and told the men that their wives did not care to live after ,sparta was destroyed4 ,we are brave men's mothers1 and brave men's wives2 ,we are ready to do and dare2 ,we are ready to man your walls with our lives1 ,and string your bows with our hair4 ,they hurried to the walls and worked all night1 aiding the men in digging trenches4 ,when ,pyrrhus attacked the city next day1 his repulse was so emphatic that he withdrew from ,laconia4 ,charles ,v4 of ,spain passed through ,thuringia in #aedg1 on his return to ,swabia after the battle of ,muehlburg4 ,he wrote to ,catherine1 ,countess ,dowager of ,schwartzburg1 promising that her subjects should not be molested in their persons or property if they would supply the ,spanish soldiers with provisions at a reasonable price4 ,on approaching ,eudolstadt1 ,general ,alva and ,prince ,henry of ,brunswick1 with his sons1 invited themselves1 by a messenger sent forward1 to breakfast with the ,countess1 who had no choice but to ratify so delicate a request from the commander of an army4 ,just as the guests were seated at a generous repast1 the ,countess was called from the hall and told that the ,spaniards were using violence and driving away the cattle of the peasants4 ,quietly arming all her retinue1 she bolted and barred all the gates and doors of the castle1 and returned to the banquet to complain of the breach of faith4 ,general ,alva told her that such was the custom of war1 adding that such trifling disorders were not to be heeded4 ,that we shall presently see1 said ,catharine2 my poor subjects must have their own again1 or1 as ,god lives1 prince's blood for oxen's blood6 ,the doors were opened1 and armed men took the places of the waiters behind the chairs of the guests4 ,henry changed color2 then1 as the best way out of a bad scrape1 laughed loudly1 and ended by praising the splendid acting of his hostess1 and promising that ,alva should order the cattle restored at once4 ,not until a courier returned1 saying that the order had been obeyed1 and all damages settled satisfactorily1 did the armed waiters leave4 ,the ,countess then thanked her guests for the honor they had done her castle1 and they retired with protestations of their distinguished consideration4 ,it was the heroic devotion of an ,indian girl that saved the life of ,captain ,john ,smith1 when the powerful ,king ,powhatan had decreed his death4 ,ill could the struggling colony spare him at that time4 ,when the consul shouted that the bridge was tottering1 ,lartius and ,herminius sought safety in flight4 ,but ,horatius strode still nearer the foe1 the single champion of his country and liberty1 and dared the ninety thousand to come on4 ,dead stillness fell upon the ,tuscans1 so astonished were they at the audacity of the ,roman4 ,he first broke the awful silence1 so deep that his clear1 strong voice could be heard by thousands in both armies1 between which rolled the ,tiber1 as he denounced the baseness and perfidy of the invaders4 ,not until his words were drowned by the loud crash of fiercely disrupturing timbers1 and the sullen splash of the dark river1 did his enemies hurl their showers of arrows and javelins4 ,then1 dexterously warding off the missiles with his shield1 he plunged into the ,tiber4 ,although stabbed in the hip by a ,tuscan spear which lamed him for life1 he swam in safety to ,rome4 ,it is a bad omen1 said ,eric the ,red1 when his horse slipped and fell on the way to his ship1 moored on the coast of ,greenland1 in readiness for a voyage of discovery4 ,ill-fortune would be mine should ,i dare venture now upon the sea4 ,so he returned to his house1 but his young son ,leif decided to go1 and1 with a crew of thirty-five men1 sailed southward in search of the unknown shore upon which ,captain ,biarni had been driven by a storm1 while sailing in another ,viking ship two or three years before4 ,the first land that they saw was probably ,labrador1 a barren1 rugged plain4 ,leif called this country ,heluland1 or the land of flat stones4 ,sailing onward many days1 he came to a low1 level coast thickly covered with woods1 on account of which he called the country ,markland1 probably the modern ,nova ,scotia4 ,sailing onward1 they came to an island which they named ,vinland on account of the abundance of delicious wild grapes in the woods4 ,this was in the year #ajjj4 ,here where the city of ,newport1 ,r4 ,i41 stands1 they spent many months1 and then returned to ,greenland with their vessel loaded with grapes and strange kinds of wood4 ,the voyage was successful1 and no doubt ,eric was sorry he had been frightened by the bad omen4 ,may #aj1 #agif1 ,napoleon carried the bridge at ,lodi1 in the face of the ,austrian batteries4 ,fourteen cannon--some accounts say thirty--were trained upon the ,french end of the structure4 ,behind them were six thousand troops4 ,napoleon massed four thousand grenadiers at the head of the bridge1 with a battalion of three hundred carbineers in front4 ,at the tap of the drum the foremost assailants wheeled from the cover of the street wall under a terrible hail of grape and canister1 and attempted to pass the gateway to the bridge4 ,the front ranks went down like stalks of grain before a reaper2 the column staggered and reeled backward1 and the valiant grenadiers were appalled by the task before them4 ,without a word or a look of reproach1 ,napoleon placed himself at their head1 and his aids and generals rushed to his side4 ,forward again1 this time over heaps of dead that choked the passage1 and a quick run1 counted by seconds only1 carried the column across two hundred yards of clear space1 scarcely a shot from the ,austrians taking effect beyond the point where the platoons wheeled for the first leap4 ,so sudden and so miraculous was it all that the ,austrian artillerists abandoned their guns instantly1 and their supports fled in a panic instead of rushing to the front and meeting the ,french onslaught4 ,this ,napoleon had counted on in making the bold attack4 ,the contrast between ,napoleon's slight figure and the massive grenadiers suggested the nickname ,little ,corporal4 ,the great secret of the success of ,joan of ,arc was the boldness of her attacks4 ,when ,stephen of ,colonna fell into the hands of base assailants1 and they asked him in derision1 ,where is now your fortress8 ,here1 was his bold reply1 placing his hand upon his heart4 ,it was after the ,mexican ,war when ,general ,mc,clellan was employed as a topographical engineer in surveying the ,pacific coast4 ,from his headquarters at ,vancouver he had gone south to the ,columbia ,river with two companions1 a soldier and a servant4 ,one evening he received word that the chiefs of the ,columbia ,river tribes desired to confer with him4 ,from the messenger's manner he suspected that the ,indians meant mischief4 ,he warned his companions that they must be ready to leave camp at a moment's notice4 ,mounting his horse1 he rode boldly into the ,indian village4 ,about thirty chiefs were holding council4 ,mc,clellan was led into the circle1 and placed at the right hand of ,saltese4 ,he was familiar with the ,chinook jargon1 and could understand every word spoken in the council4 ,saltese made known the grievance of the tribes4 ,two ,indians had been captured by a party of white pioneers and hanged for theft4 ,retaliation for this outrage seemed indispensable4 ,the chiefs pondered long1 but had little to say4 ,mc,clellan had been on friendly terms with them1 and was not responsible for the forest executions4 ,still1 he was a white man1 and the chiefs had vowed vengeance against the race4 ,the council was prolonged for hours before sentence was passed1 and then ,saltese1 in the name of the head men of the tribes1 decreed that ,mc,clellan should immediately be put to death in retaliation for the hanging of the two ,indian thieves4 ,mc,clellan had said nothing4 ,he had known that argument and pleas for justice or mercy would be of no avail4 ,he had sat motionless1 apparently indifferent to his fate4 ,by his listlessness he had thrown his captors off their guard4 ,when the sentence was passed he acted like a flash4 ,flinging his left arm around the neck of ,saltese1 he whipped out his revolver and held it close to the chief's temple4 ,revoke that sentence1 or ,i shall kill you this instant6 he cried1 with his fingers clicking the trigger4 ,i revoke it6 exclaimed ,saltese1 fairly livid from fear4 ,i must have your word that ,i can leave this council in safety4 ,you have the word of ,saltese1 was the quick response4 ,mc,clellan knew how sacred was the pledge which he had received4 ,the revolver was lowered4 ,saltese was released from the embrace of the strong arm4 ,mc,clellan strode out of the tent with his revolver in his hand4 ,not a hand was raised against him4 ,he mounted his horse and rode to his camp1 where his two followers were ready to spring into the saddle and to escape from the villages4 ,he owed his life to his quickness of perception1 and to his accurate knowledge of ,indian character4 ,in #ahff1 ,rufus ,choate spoke to an audience of nearly five thousand in ,lowell in favor of the candidacy of ,james ,buchanan for the presidency4 ,the floor of the great hall began to sink1 settling more and more as he proceeded with his address1 until a sound of cracking timber below would have precipitated a stampede with fatal results but for the coolness of ,b4 ,f4 ,butler1 who presided4 ,telling the people to remain quiet1 he said that he would see if there were any cause for alarm4 ,he found the supports of the floor in so bad a condition that the slightest applause would be likely to bury the audience in the ruins of the building4 ,returning rather leisurely to the platform1 he whispered to ,choate as he passed1 ,we shall all be in ---- in five minutes1 then he told the crowd that there was no immediate danger if they would slowly disperse1 although he thought it prudent to adjourn to a place where there would be no risk whatever4 ,the post of danger1 he added1 was on the platform1 which was most weakly supported1 therefore he and those with him would be the last to leave4 ,no doubt many lives were saved by his coolness4 ,many distinguished foreign and ,american statesmen were present at a fashionable dinner party where wine was freely poured1 but ,schuyler ,colfax1 then vice-president of the ,united ,states1 declined to drink from a proffered cup4 ,colfax dares not drink1 sneered a ,senator who had already taken too much4 ,you are right1 said the ,vice-,president1 ,i dare not4 ,when ,grant was in ,houston several years ago1 he was given a rousing reception4 ,naturally hospitable1 and naturally inclined to like a man of ,grant's make-up1 the ,houstonites determined to go beyond any other ,southern city in the way of a banquet and other manifestations of their good-will and hospitality4 ,they made great preparations for the dinner1 the committee taking great pains to have the finest wines that could be procured for the table that night4 ,when the time came to serve the wine1 the head-waiter went first to ,grant4 ,without a word the general quietly turned down all the glasses at his plate4 ,this movement was a great surprise to the ,texans1 but they were equal to the occasion4 ,without a single word being spoken1 every man along the line of the long tables turned his glasses down1 and there was not a drop of wine taken that night4 ,a deep sewer at ,noyon1 ,france1 had been opened for repairs1 and carelessly left at night without covering or lights to warn people of danger4 ,late at night four men stumbled in1 and lay some time before their situation was known in the town4 ,no one dared go to the aid of the men1 then unconscious from breathing noxious gases1 except ,catherine ,vassen1 a servant girl of eighteen4 ,she insisted on being lowered at once4 ,fastening a rope around two of the men1 she aided in raising them and restoring them to consciousness4 ,descending again1 she had just tied a rope around a third man1 when she felt her breath failing4 ,tying another rope to her long1 curly hair1 she swooned1 but was drawn up with the man1 to be quickly revived by fresh air and stimulants4 ,the fourth man was dead when his body was pulled up1 on account of the delay from the fainting of ,catherine4 ,two ,french officers at ,waterloo were advancing to charge a greatly superior force4 ,one1 observing that the other showed signs of fear1 said1 ,sir1 ,i believe you are frightened4 ,yes1 ,i am1 was the reply1 and if you were half as much frightened1 you would run away4 ,that's a brave man1 said ,wellington1 when he saw a soldier turn pale as he marched against a battery2 he knows his danger1 and faces it4 ,there are many cardinals and bishops at ,worms1 said a friend to ,luther1 and they will burn your body to ashes as they did that of ,john ,huss4 ,luther replied3 ,although they should make a fire that should reach from ,worms to ,wittenberg1 and that should flame up to heaven1 in the ,lord's name ,i would pass through it and appear before them4 ,he said to another3 ,i would enter ,worms though there were as many devils there as there are tiles upon the roofs of the houses4 ,another said3 ,duke ,george will surely arrest you4 ,he replied3 ,it is my duty to go1 and ,i will go1 though it rain ,duke ,georges for nine days together4 ,here ,i stand1 ,i cannot do otherwise1 ,god help me1 exclaimed ,luther at the ,diet of ,worms1 facing his foes4 ,a ,western paper recently invited the surviving ,union and ,confederate officers to give an account of the bravest act observed by each during the ,civil ,war4 ,colonel ,thomas ,w4 ,higginson said that at a dinner at ,beaufort1 ,s4 ,c41 where wine flowed freely and ribald jests were bandied1 ,dr4 ,miner1 a slight1 boyish fellow who did not drink1 was told that he could not go until he had drunk a toast1 told a story1 or sung a song4 ,he replied3 ,i cannot sing1 but ,i will give a toast1 although ,i must drink it in water4 ,it is ',our ,mothers4' ,the men were so affected and ashamed that some took him by the hand and thanked him for displaying courage greater than that required to walk up to the mouth of a cannon4 ,it took great courage for the commercial ,quaker1 ,john ,bright1 to espouse a cause which called down upon his head the derision and scorn and hatred of the ,parliament4 ,for years he rested under a cloud of obloquy1 but ,bright was made of stern stuff4 ,it was only his strength of character and masterly eloquence1 which saved him from political annihilation4 ,to a man who boasted that his ancestors came over with the ,conquerors1 he replied1 ,i never heard that they did anything else4 ,a ,tory lordling said1 when ,bright was ill1 that ,providence had inflicted upon ,bright1 for the measure of his talents1 disease of the brain4 ,when ,bright went back into the ,commons he replied3 ,this may be so1 but it will be some consolation to the friends and family of the noble lord to know that that disease is one which even ,providence cannot inflict upon him4 ,when a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully1 the ,world1 and takes him boldly by the beard1 says ,holmes1 he is often surprised to find it come off in his hand1 and that it was only tied on to scare away timid adventurers4 ,it takes courage for a young man to stand firmly erect while others are bowing and fawning for praise and power4 ,it takes courage to wear threadbare clothes while your comrades dress in broadcloth4 ,it takes courage to remain in honest poverty when others grow rich by fraud4 ,it takes courage to say ,no squarely when those around you say ,yes4 ,it takes courage to do your duty in silence and obscurity while others prosper and grow famous although neglecting sacred obligations4 ,it takes courage to unmask your true self1 to show your blemishes to a condemning world1 and to pass for what you really are4 ,it takes courage and pluck to be outvoted1 beaten1 laughed at1 scoffed1 ridiculed1 derided1 misunderstood1 misjudged1 to stand alone with all the world against you1 but ,they are slaves who dare not be ,in the right with two or three4 ,there is never wanting a dog to bark at you4 ,an honest man is not the worse because a dog barks at him4 ,let any man show the world that he feels ,afraid of its bark1 and 'twill fly at his heels4 ,let him fearlessly face it1 't will leave him alone1 ,and 't will fawn at his feet if he fling it a bone4 ,we live ridiculously for fear of being thought ridiculous4 ',tis he is the coward who proves false to his vows1 ,to his manhood1 his honor1 for a laugh or a sneer3 ',tis he is the hero who stands firm1 though alone1 ,for the truth and the right without flinching or fear4 ,the youth who starts out by being afraid to speak what he thinks will usually end by being afraid to think what he wishes4 ,how we shrink from an act of our own4 ,we live as others live4 ,custom or fashion dictates1 or your doctor or minister1 and they in turn dare not depart from their schools4 ,dress1 living1 servants1 carriages1 everything must conform1 or be ostracized4 ,who dares conduct his household or business affairs in his own way1 and snap his fingers at ,dame ,grundy8 ,many a man has marched up to the cannon's mouth in battle who dared not face public opinion or oppose ,mrs4 ,grundy4 ,it takes courage for a public man not to bend the knee to popular prejudice4 ,it takes courage to refuse to follow custom when it is injurious to his health and morals4 ,to espouse an unpopular cause in ,congress requires more courage than to lead a charge in battle4 ,how much easier for a politician to prevaricate and dodge an issue than to stand squarely on his feet like a man4 ,as a rule1 eccentricity is a badge of power1 but how many women would not rather strangle their individuality than be tabooed by ,mrs4 ,grundy8 ,yet fear is really the only thing to fear4 ,whoever you may be1 said ,sainte-,beuve1 great genius1 distinguished talent1 artist honorable or amiable1 the qualities for which you deserve to be praised will all be turned against you4 ,were you a ,virgil1 the pious and sensible singer par excellence1 there are people who will call you an effeminate poet4 ,were you a ,horace1 there are people who will reproach you with the very purity and delicacy of your taste4 ,if you were a ,shakespeare1 some one will call you a drunken savage4 ,if you were a ,goethe1 more than one ,pharisee will proclaim you the most selfish of egotists4 ,as the strongest man has a weakness somewhere1 so the greatest hero is a coward somewhere4 ,peter was courageous enough to draw his sword to defend his master1 but he could not stand the ridicule and the finger of scorn of the maidens in the high priest's hall1 and he actually denied even the acquaintance of the master he had declared he would die for4 ,i will take the responsibility1 said ,andrew ,jackson1 on a memorable occasion1 and his words have become proverbial4 ,not even ,congress dared to oppose the edicts of ,john ,quincy ,adams4 ,if a man would accomplish anything in this world1 he must not be afraid of assuming responsibilities4 ,of course it takes courage to run the risk of failure1 to be subjected to criticism for an unpopular cause1 to expose one's self to the shafts of everybody's ridicule1 but the man who is not true to himself1 who cannot carry out the sealed orders placed in his hands at his birth1 regardless of the world's yes or no1 of its approval or disapproval1 the man who has not the courage to trace the pattern of his own destiny1 which no other soul knows but his own1 can never rise to the true dignity of manhood4 ,all the world loves courage2 youth craves it2 they want to hear about it1 they want to read about it4 ,the fascination of the blood and thunder novels and of the cheap story papers for youth are based upon this idea of courage4 ,if the boys cannot get the real article1 they will take a counterfeit4 ,don't be like ,uriah ,heep1 begging everybody's pardon for taking the liberty of being in the world4 ,there is nothing attractive in timidity1 nothing lovable in fear4 ,both are deformities and are repulsive4 ,manly courage is dignified and graceful4 ,the worst manners in the world are those of persons conscious of being beneath their position1 and trying to conceal it or make up for it by style4 ,bruno1 condemned to be burned alive in ,rome1 said to his judge3 ,you are more afraid to pronounce my sentence than ,i am to receive it4 ,anne ,askew1 racked until her bones were dislocated1 never flinched1 but looked her tormentor calmly in the face and refused to abjure her faith4 ,we are afraid of truth1 afraid of fortune1 afraid of death1 and afraid of each other4 ,half a man's wisdom goes with his courage1 said ,emerson4 ,physicians used to teach that courage depends on the circulation of the blood in the arteries1 and that during passion1 anger1 trials of strength1 wrestling or fighting1 a large amount of blood is collected in the arteries1 and does not pass to the veins4 ,a strong pulse is a fortune in itself4 ,rage1 said ,shaftesbury1 can make a coward forget himself and fight4 ,i should have thought fear would have kept you from going so far1 said a relative who found the little boy ,nelson wandering a long distance from home4 ,fear8 said the future admiral1 ,i don't know him4 ,doubt indulged becomes doubt realized4 ,to determine to do anything is half the battle4 ,to think a thing is impossible is to make it so4 ,courage is victory1 timidity is defeat4 ,that simple shepherd-lad1 ,david1 fresh from his flocks1 marching unattended and unarmed1 save with his shepherd's staff and sling1 to confront the colossal ,goliath with his massive armor1 is the sublimest audacity the world has ever seen4 ,dent1 ,i wish you would get down1 and see what is the matter with that leg there1 said ,grant1 when he and ,colonel ,dent were riding through the thickest of a fire that had become so concentrated and murderous that his troops had all been driven back4 ,i guess looking after your horse's legs can wait1 said ,dent2 it is simply murder for us to sit here4 ,all right1 said ,grant1 if you don't want to see to it1 ,i will4 ,he dismounted1 untwisted a piece of telegraph wire which had begun to cut the horse's leg1 examined it deliberately1 and climbed into his saddle4 ,dent1 said he1 when you've got a horse that you think a great deal of1 you should never take any chances with him4 ,if that wire had been left there for a little time longer he would have gone dead lame1 and would perhaps have been ruined for life4 ,wellington said that at ,waterloo the hottest of the battle raged round a farmhouse1 with an orchard surrounded by a thick hedge1 which was so important a point in the ,british position that orders were given to hold it at any hazard or sacrifice4 ,at last the powder and ball ran short and the hedges took fire1 surrounding the orchard with a wall of flame4 ,a messenger had been sent for ammunition1 and soon two loaded wagons came galloping toward the farmhouse4 ,the driver of the first wagon1 with the reckless daring of an ,english boy1 spurred his struggling and terrified horses through the burning heap2 but the flames rose fiercely round1 and caught the powder1 which exploded in an instant1 sending wagon1 horses1 and rider in fragments into the air4 ,for an instant the driver of the second wagon paused1 appalled by his comrade's fate2 the next1 observing that the flames1 beaten back for the moment by the explosion1 afforded him one desperate chance1 sent his horses at the smouldering breach and1 amid the deafening cheers of the garrison1 landed his terrible cargo safely within4 ,behind him the flames closed up1 and raged more fiercely than ever4 ,at the battle of ,friedland a cannon-ball came over the heads of the ,french soldiers1 and a young soldier instinctively dodged4 ,napoleon looked at him and smilingly said3 ,my friend1 if that ball were destined for you1 though you were to burrow a hundred feet under ground it would be sure to find you there4 ,when the mine in front of ,petersburg was finished1 the fuse was lighted1 and the ,union troops were drawn up ready to charge the enemy's works as soon as the explosion should make a breach4 ,but seconds1 minutes1 and tens of minutes passed1 without a sound from the mine1 and the suspense became painful4 ,lieutenant ,doughty and ,sergeant ,kees volunteered to examine the fuse4 ,through the long subterranean galleries they hurried in silence1 not knowing but they were advancing to a horrible death4 ,they found the defect1 fired the train anew1 and soon a terrible upheaval of earth gave the signal to march to victory4 ,at the battle of ,copenhagen1 as ,nelson walked the deck slippery with blood and covered with the dead1 he said3 ,this is warm work1 and this day may be the last to any of us in a moment4 ,but1 mark me1 ,i would not be elsewhere for thousands4 ,at the battle of ,trafalgar1 when ,nelson was shot and was being carried below1 he covered his face1 that those fighting might not know their chief had fallen4 ,in a skirmish at ,salamanca1 while the enemy's guns were pouring shot into his regiment1 ,sir ,william ,napier's men became disobedient4 ,he at once ordered a halt1 and flogged four of the ringleaders under fire4 ,the men yielded at once1 and then marched three miles under a heavy cannonade as coolly as if it were a review4 ,execute your resolutions immediately4 ,thoughts are but dreams till their effects be tried4 ,does competition trouble you8 work away2 what is your competitor but a man8 ,conquer your place in the world1 for all things serve a brave soul4 ,combat difficulty manfully2 sustain misfortune bravely2 endure poverty nobly2 encounter disappointment courageously4 ,the influence of the brave man is a magnetism which creates an epidemic of noble zeal in all about him4 ,every day sends to the grave obscure men1 who have only remained in obscurity because their timidity has prevented them from making a first effort2 and who1 if they could have been induced to begin1 would1 in all probability1 have gone great lengths in the career of usefulness and fame4 ,no great deed is done1 says ,george ,eliot1 by falterers who ask for certainty4 ,the brave1 cheerful man will survive his blighted hopes and disappointments1 take them for just what they are1 lessons and perhaps blessings in disguise1 and will march boldly and cheerfully forward in the battle of life4 ,or1 if necessary1 he will bear his ills with a patience and calm endurance deeper than ever plummet sounded4 ,he is the true hero4 ,then to side with ,truth is noble when we share her wretched crust1 ,ere her cause bring fame and profit1 and 't is prosperous to be just2 ,then it is the brave man chooses1 while the coward stands aside1 ,doubting in his abject spirit1 till his ,lord is crucified4 ,,lowell4 ,our doubts are traitors1 ,and make us lose the good we oft might win1 ,by fearing to attempt4 ,,shakespeare4 ,after the great inward struggle was over1 and he had determined to remain loyal to his principles1 ,thomas ,more walked cheerfully to the block4 ,his wife called him a fool for staying in a dark1 damp1 filthy prison when he might have his liberty by merely renouncing his doctrines1 as some of the bishops had done4 ,but he preferred death to dishonor4 ,his daughter allowed the power of love to drive away fear4 ,she remained true to her father when all others1 even her mother1 had forsaken him4 ,after his head had been cut off and exhibited on a pole on ,london ,bridge1 the poor girl begged it of the authorities1 and requested that it be buried in the coffin with her4 ,her request was granted1 for her death occurred soon4 ,when ,sir ,walter ,raleigh came to the scaffold he was very faint1 and began his speech to the crowd by saying that during the last two days he had been visited by two ague fits4 ,if1 therefore1 you perceive any weakness in me1 ,i beseech you ascribe it to my sickness rather than to myself4 ,he took the axe and kissed the blade1 and said to the sheriff3 ',t is a sharp medicine1 but a sound cure for all diseases4 ,don't waste time dreaming of obstacles you may never encounter1 or in crossing bridges you have not reached4 ,don't fool with a nettle6 ,grasp with firmness if you would rob it of its sting4 ,to half will and to hang forever in the balance is to lose your grip on life4 ,abraham ,lincoln's boyhood was one long struggle with poverty1 with little education1 and no influential friends4 ,when at last he had begun the practice of law1 it required no little daring to cast his fortune with the weaker side in politics1 and thus imperil what small reputation he had gained4 ,only the most sublime moral courage could have sustained him as ,president to hold his ground against hostile criticism and a long train of disaster2 to issue the ,emancipation ,proclamation2 to support ,grant and ,stanton against the clamor of the politicians and the press2 and through it all to do the right as ,god gave him to see the right4 ,lincoln never shrank from espousing an unpopular cause when he believed it to be right4 ,at the time when it almost cost a young lawyer his bread and butter to defend the fugitive slave1 and when other lawyers had refused1 ,lincoln would always plead the cause of the unfortunate whenever an opportunity presented4 ,go to ,lincoln1 people would say1 when these hounded fugitives were seeking protection2 he's not afraid of any cause1 if it's right4 ,as ,salmon ,p4 ,chase left the court room after making an impassioned plea for the runaway slave girl ,matilda1 a man looked at him in surprise and said3 ,there goes a fine young fellow who has just ruined himself4 ,but in thus ruining himself ,chase had taken the first important step in a career in which he became ,governor of ,ohio1 ,united ,states ,senator from ,ohio1 ,secretary of the ,united ,states ,treasury1 and ,chief ,justice of the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court4 ,at the trial of ,william ,penn for having spoken at a ,quaker meeting1 the recorder1 not satisfied with the first verdict1 said to the jury3 ,we will have a verdict by the help of ,god1 or you shall starve for it4 ,you are ,englishmen1 said ,penn2 mind your privileges1 give not away your right4 ,at last the jury1 after two days and two nights without food1 returned a verdict of ,not guilty4 ,the recorder fined them forty marks apiece for their independence4 ,what cared ,christ for the jeers of the crowd8 ,the palsied hand moved1 the blind saw1 the leper was made whole1 the dead spake1 despite the ridicule and scoffs of the spectators4 ,what cared ,wendell ,phillips for rotten eggs1 derisive scorn1 and hisses8 ,in him at last the scornful world had met its match4 ,were ,beecher and ,gough to be silenced by the rude ,english mobs that came to extinguish them8 ,no6 they held their ground and compelled unwilling thousands to hear and to heed4 ,did ,anna ,dickinson leave the platform when the pistol bullets of the ,molly ,maguires flew about her head8 ,she silenced those pistols by her courage and her arguments4 ,what the world wants is a ,knox1 who dares to preach on with a musket leveled at his head1 a ,garrison1 who is not afraid of a jail1 or a mob1 or a scaffold erected in front of his door4 ,storms may howl around thee1 ,foes may hunt and hound thee3 ,shall they overpower thee8 ,never1 never1 never4 ,when ,general ,butler was sent with nine thousand men to quell the ,new ,york riots1 he arrived in advance of his troops1 and found the streets thronged with an angry mob1 which had already hanged more than one man to lamp-posts4 ,without waiting for his men1 ,butler went to the place where the crowd was most dense1 overturned an ash barrel1 stood upon it1 and began3 ,delegates from ,five ,points1 fiends from hell1 you have murdered your superiors1 and the blood-stained crowd quailed before the courageous words of a single man in a city which ,mayor ,fernando ,wood could not restrain with the aid of police and militia4 ,our enemies are before us1 exclaimed the ,spartans at ,thermopylae4 ,and we are before them1 was the cool reply of ,leonidas4 ,deliver your arms1 came the message from ,xerxes4 ,come and take them1 was the answer ,leonidas sent back4 ,a ,persian soldier said3 ,you will not be able to see the sun for flying javelins and arrows4 ,then we will fight in the shade1 replied a ,lacedemonian4 ,what wonder that a handful of such men checked the march of the greatest host that ever trod the earth4 ,it is impossible1 said a staff officer1 when ,napoleon gave directions for a daring plan4 ,impossible6 thundered the great commander1 impossible is the adjective of fools6 ,napoleon went to the edge of his possibility4 ,grant never knew when he was beaten4 ,when told that he was surrounded by the enemy at ,belmont1 he quietly replied3 ,well1 then we must cut our way out4 ,the courageous man is an example to the intrepid4 ,his influence is magnetic4 ,he creates an epidemic of nobleness4 ,men follow him1 even to the death4 ,the spirit of courage will transform the whole temper of your life4 ,the wise and active conquer difficulties by daring to attempt them4 ,sloth and folly shiver and sicken at the sight of trial and hazard1 and make the impossibility they fear4 ,the hero1 says ,emerson1 is the man who is immovably centred4 ,emin ,pasha1 the explorer of ,africa1 was left behind by his exploring party under circumstances that were thought certainly fatal1 and his death was reported with great assurance4 ,early the next winter1 as his troop was on its toilsome but exciting way through ,central ,africa1 it came upon a most wretched sight4 ,a party of natives had been kidnapped by the slave-hunters1 and dragged in chains thus far toward the land of bondage4 ,but small-pox had set in1 and the miserable company had been abandoned to their fate4 ,emin sent his men ahead1 and stayed behind in this camp of death to act as physician and nurse4 ,how many lives he saved is not known1 though it is known that he nearly lost his own4 ,the age of chivalry is not gone by4 ,this is as knightly a deed as poet ever chronicled4 ,a mouse that dwelt near the abode of a great magician was kept in such constant distress by its fear of a cat1 that the magician1 taking pity on it1 turned it into a cat itself4 ,immediately it began to suffer from its fear of a dog1 so the magician turned it into a dog4 ,then it began to suffer from fear of a tiger4 ,the magician therefore turned it into a tiger4 ,then it began to suffer from fear of hunters1 and the magician said in disgust3 ,be a mouse again4 ,as you have only the heart of a mouse1 it is impossible to help you by giving you the body of a nobler animal4 ,men who have dared have moved the world1 often before reaching the prime of life4 ,it is astonishing what daring to begin and perseverance have enabled even youths to achieve4 ,alexander1 who ascended the throne at twenty1 had conquered the known world before dying at thirty-three4 ,julius ,caesar captured eight hundred cities1 conquered three hundred nations1 and defeated three million men1 became a great orator and one of the greatest statesmen known1 and still was a young man4 ,washington was appointed adjutant-general at nineteen1 was sent at twenty-one as an ambassador to treat with the ,french1 and won his first battle as a colonel at twenty-two4 ,lafayette was made general of the whole ,french army at twenty4 ,charlemagne was master of ,france and ,germany at thirty4 ,cond was only twenty-two when he conquered at ,rocroi4 ,galileo was but eighteen when he saw the principle of the pendulum in the swinging lamp in the cathedral at ,pisa4 ,peel was in ,parliament at twenty-one4 ,gladstone was in ,parliament before he was twenty-two1 and at twenty-four he was ,lord of the ,treasury4 ,elizabeth ,barrett ,browning was proficient in ,greek and ,latin at twelve2 ,de ,quincey at eleven4 ,robert ,browning wrote at eleven poetry of no mean order4 ,cowley1 who sleeps in ,westminster ,abbey1 published a volume of poems at fifteen4 ,n4 ,p4 ,willis won lasting fame as a poet before leaving college4 ,macaulay was a celebrated author before he was twenty-three4 ,luther was but twenty-nine when he nailed his famous thesis to the door of the bishop and defied the pope4 ,nelson was a lieutenant in the ,british ,navy before he was twenty4 ,he was but forty-seven when he received his death wound at ,trafalgar4 ,charles the ,twelfth was only nineteen when he gained the battle of ,narva2 at thirty-six1 ,cortez was the conqueror of ,mexico2 at thirty-two1 ,clive had established the ,british power in ,india4 ,hannibal1 the greatest of military commanders1 was only thirty when1 at ,cannae1 he dealt an almost annihilating blow at the republic of ,rome2 and ,napoleon was only twenty-seven when1 on the plains of ,italy1 he outgeneraled and defeated1 one after another1 the veteran marshals of ,austria4 ,equal courage and resolution are often shown by men who have passed the allotted limit of life4 ,victor ,hugo and ,wellington were both in their prime after they had reached the age of threescore years and ten4 ,george ,bancroft wrote some of his best historical work when he was eighty-five4 ,gladstone ruled ,england with a strong hand at eighty-four1 and was a marvel of literary and scholarly ability4 ,not every vessel that sails from ,tarshish will bring back the gold of ,ophir4 ,but shall it therefore rot in the harbor8 ,no6 ,give its sails to the wind6 ,shakespeare says3 ,he is not worthy of the honeycomb that shuns the hive because the bees have stings4 ,the brave man is not he who feels no fear1 ,for that were stupid and irrational2 ,but he whose noble soul its fear subdues ,and bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from4 ,the inscription on the gates of ,busyrane3 ,be bold4 ,on the second gate3 ,be bold1 be bold1 and ever more be bold2 the third gate3 ,be not too bold4 ,many a bright youth has accomplished nothing of worth simply because he did not dare to commence4 ,begin6 ,begin66 ,begin666 ,whatever people may think of you1 do that which you believe to be right4 ,be alike indifferent to censure or praise4--,,pythagoras4 ,fear makes man a slave to others4 ,this is the tyrant's chain4 ,anxiety is a form of cowardice embittering life4--,,channing4 ,courage is generosity of the highest order1 for the brave are prodigal of the most precious things4 ,our blood is nearer and dearer to us than our money1 and our life than our estate4 ,women are more taken with courage than with generosity4--,,colton4 ,who chooses me must give and hazard all he hath4 ,merchant of ,venice1 ,inscription on ,leaden ,casket4 ,i dare to do all that may become a man3 ,who dares do more is none4 ,,shakespeake4 ,for man's great actions are performed in minor struggles4 ,there are obstinate and unknown braves who defend themselves inch by inch in the shadows against the fatal invasion of want and turpitude4 ,there are noble and mysterious triumphs which no eye sees1 no renown rewards1 and no flourish of trumpets salutes4 ,life1 misfortune1 isolation1 abandonment1 and poverty are battlefields which have their heroes4--,,victor ,,hugo4 ,who waits until the wind shall silent keep1 ,who never finds the ready hour to sow1 ,who watcheth clouds1 will have no time to reap4 ,,helen ,,hunt ,,jackson4 ,quit yourselves like men4--#a ,,samuel iv4 #i4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,will ,,and ,,the ,,way4 ,the 'way' will be found by a resolute will4 ,i will find a way or make one4 ,nothing is impossible to the man who can will4--,,mirabeau4 ,a politician weakly and amiably in the right is no match for a politician tenaciously and pugnaciously in the wrong4--,e4 ,p4 ,,whipple4 ,the iron will of one stout heart shall make a thousand quail2 ,a feeble dwarf1 dauntlessly resolved1 will turn the tide of battle1 ,and rally to a nobler strife the giants that had fled4 ,,tupper4 ,man alone can perform the impossible4 ,they can who think they can4 ,character is a perfectly educated will4 ,the education of the will is the object of our existence4 ,for the resolute and determined there is time and opportunity4--,,emerson4 ,invincible determination1 and a right nature1 are the levers that move the world4--,,president ,,porter4 ,in the lexicon of youth which fate reserves for a bright manhood there is no such word as fail4--,,bulwer4 ,perpetual pushing and assurance put a difficulty out of countenance and make a seeming difficulty give way4--,,jeremy ,,collier4 ,when a firm and decisive spirit is recognized1 it is curious to see how the space clears around a man and leaves him room and freedom4--,,john ,,foster4 ,the star of the unconquered will1 ,he rises in my breast1 ,serene1 and resolute and still1 ,and calm and self-possessed4 ,,longfellow4 ,as well can the ,prince of ,orange pluck the stars from the sky1 as bring the ocean to the wall of ,leyden for your relief1 was the derisive shout of the ,spanish soldiers when told that the ,dutch fleet would raise that terrible four months' siege of #aegd4 ,but from the parched lips of ,william1 tossing on his bed of fever at ,rotterdam1 had issued the command3 ,break down the dikes3 give ,holland back to ocean3 and the people had replied3 ,better a drowned land than a lost land4 ,they began to demolish dike after dike of the strong lines1 ranged one within another for fifteen miles to their city of the interior4 ,it was an enormous task2 the garrison was starving2 and the besiegers laughed in scorn at the slow progress of the puny insects who sought to rule the waves of the sea4 ,but ever1 as of old1 heaven aids those who help themselves4 ,on the first and second of ,october a violent equinoctial gale rolled the ocean inland1 and swept the fleet on the rising waters almost to the camp of the ,spaniards4 ,the next morning the garrison sallied out to attack their enemies1 but the besiegers had fled in terror under cover of the darkness4 ,the next day the wind changed1 and a counter tempest brushed the water1 with the fleet upon it1 from the surface of ,holland4 ,the outer dikes were replaced at once1 leaving the ,north ,sea within its old bounds4 ,when the flowers bloomed the following spring1 a joyous procession marched through the streets to found the ,university of ,leyden1 in commemoration of the wonderful deliverance of the city4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,walter ,,scott ,the ,wizard of the ,north4 ,so nigh is grandeur to our dust1 ,so near is ,god to man1 ,when ,duty whispers low1 ',thou must1' ,the youth replies1 ',i can4' 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,at a dinner party given in #ahcg1 at the residence of ,chancellor ,kent1 in ,new ,york city1 some of the most distinguished men in the country were invited1 and among them was a young and rather melancholy and reticent ,frenchman4 ,professor ,morse was one of the guests1 and during the evening he drew the attention of ,mr4 ,gallatin1 then a prominent statesman1 to the stranger1 observing that his forehead indicated great intellect4 ,yes1 replied ,mr4 ,gallatin1 touching his own forehead with his finger1 there is a great deal in that head of his3 but he has a strange fancy4 ,can you believe it8 ,he has the idea that he will one day be the ,emperor of ,france4 ,can you conceive anything more absurd8 ,it did seem absurd1 for this reserved ,frenchman was then a poor adventurer1 an exile from his country1 without fortune or powerful connections1 and yet1 fourteen years later1 his idea became a fact1--his dream of becoming ,napoleon ,,iii4 was realized4 ,true1 before he accomplished his purpose there were long dreary years of imprisonment1 exile1 disaster1 and patient labor and hope1 but he gained his ambition at last4 ,he was not scrupulous as to the means employed to accomplish his ends1 yet he is a remarkable example of what pluck and energy can do4 ,when it was proposed to unite ,england and ,america by steam1 ,dr4 ,lardner delivered a lecture before the ,royal ,society proving that steamers could never cross the ,atlantic1 because they could not carry coal enough to produce steam during the whole voyage4 ,the passage of the steamship ,sirius1 which crossed in nineteen days1 was fatal to ,lardner's theory4 ,when it was proposed to build a vessel of iron1 many persons said3 ,iron sinks--only wood can float3 but experiments proved that the miracle of the prophet in making iron swim could be repeated1 and now not only ships of war1 but merchant vessels1 are built of iron or steel4 ,a will found a way to make iron float4 ,mr4 ,ingram1 publisher of the ,london ,illustrated ,news1 who lost his life on ,lake ,michigan1 walked ten miles to deliver a single paper rather than disappoint a customer1 when he began life as a newsdealer at ,nottingham1 ,england4 ,does any one wonder that such a youth succeeded8 ,once he rose at two o'clock in the morning and walked to ,london to get some papers because there was no post to bring them4 ,he determined that his customers should not be disappointed4 ,this is the kind of will that finds a way4 ,there is scarcely anything in all biography grander than the saying of young ,henry ,fawcett1 ,gladstone's last ,postmaster-,general1 to his grief-stricken father1 who had put out both his eyes by bird-shot during a game hunt3 ,never mind1 father1 blindness shall not interfere with my success in life4 ,one of the most pathetic sights in ,london streets1 long afterward1 was ,henry ,fawcett1 ,m4 ,p41 led everywhere by a faithful daughter1 who acted as amanuensis as well as guide to her plucky father4 ,think of a young man1 scarcely on the threshold of active life1 suddenly losing the sight of both eyes and yet1 by mere pluck and almost incomprehensible tenacity of purpose1 lifting himself into eminence1 in any direction1 to say nothing of becoming one of the foremost men in a country noted for its great men4 ,most youth would have succumbed to such a misfortune1 and would never have been heard from again4 ,but fortunately for the world1 there are yet left many ,fawcetts1 many ,prescotts1 ,parkmans1 ,cavanaghs4 ,the courageous daughter who was eyes to her father was herself a marvelous example of pluck and determination4 ,for the first time in the history of ,oxford ,college1 which reaches back centuries1 she succeeded in winning the post which had only been gained before by great men1 such as ,gladstone1--the post of senior wrangler4 ,this achievement had had no parallel in history up to that date1 and attracted the attention of the whole civilized world4 ,not only had no woman ever held this position before1 but with few exceptions it had only been held by men who in after life became highly distinguished4 ,who can deny that where there is a will1 as a rule1 there's a way8 ,when ,grant was a boy he could not find can't in the dictionary4 ,it is the men who have no can't in their dictionaries that make things move4 ,circumstances1 says ,milton1 have rarely favored famous men4 ,they have fought their way to triumph through all sorts of opposing obstacles4 ,the true way to conquer circumstances is to be a greater circumstance yourself4 ,yet1 while desiring to impress in the most forcible manner possible the fact that will-power is necessary to success1 and that1 other things being equal1 the greater the will-power1 the grander and more complete the success1 we cannot indorse the preposterous theory that there is nothing in circumstances or environments1 or that any man1 simply because he has an indomitable will1 may become a ,bonaparte1 a ,pitt1 a ,webster1 a ,beecher1 a ,lincoln4 ,we must temper determination with discretion1 and support it with knowledge and common sense1 or it will only lead us to run our heads against posts4 ,we must not expect to overcome a stubborn fact by a stubborn will4 ,we merely have the right to assume that we can do anything within the limit of our utmost faculty1 strength1 and endurance4 ,obstacles permanently insurmountable bar our progress in some directions1 but in any direction we may reasonably hope and attempt to go1 we shall find that the obstacles1 as a rule1 are either not insurmountable or else not permanent4 ,the strong-willed1 intelligent1 persistent man will find or make a way where1 in the nature of things1 a way can be found or made4 ,every schoolboy knows that circumstances do give clients to lawyers and patients to physicians2 place ordinary clergymen in extraordinary pulpits2 place sons of the rich at the head of immense corporations and large houses1 when they have very ordinary ability and scarcely any experience1 while poor young men with extraordinary abilities1 good education1 good character1 and large experience1 often have to fight their way for years to obtain even very ordinary situations4 ,every one knows that there are thousands of young men1 both in the city and in the country1 of superior ability1 who seem to be compelled by circumstances to remain in very ordinary positions for small pay1 when others about them are raised by money or family influence into desirable places4 ,in other words1 we all know that the best men do not always get the best places3 circumstances do have a great deal to do with our position1 our salaries1 and our station in life4 ,many young men who are nature's noblemen1 who are natural leaders1 are working under superintendents1 foremen1 and managers infinitely their inferiors1 but whom circumstances have placed above them and will keep there1 unless some emergency makes merit indispensable4 ,no1 the race is not always to the swift4 ,every one knows that there is not always a way where there is a will1 that labor does not always conquer all things2 that there are things impossible even to him that wills1 however strongly2 that one cannot always make anything of himself he chooses2 that there are limitations in our very natures which no amount of will-power or industry can overcome2 that no amount of sun-staring can ever make an eagle out of a crow4 ,the simple truth is that a will strong enough to keep a man continually striving for things not wholly beyond his powers will carry him in time very far toward his chosen goal4 ,the greatest thing a man can do in this world is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given to him4 ,this is success1 and there is no other4 ,while it is true that our circumstances or environments do affect us1 in most things they do not prevent our growth4 ,the corn that is now ripe1 whence comes it1 and what is it8 ,is it not large or small1 stunted wild maize or well-developed ears1 according to the conditions under which it has grown8 ,yet its environments cannot make wheat of it4 ,nor can our circumstances alter our nature4 ,it is part of our nature1 and wholly within our power1 greatly to change and to take advantage of our circumstances1 so that1 unlike the corn1 we can rise much superior to our natural surroundings simply because we can thus vary and improve the surroundings4 ,in other words1 man can usually build the very road on which he is to run his race4 ,it is not a question of what some one else can do or become1 which every youth should ask himself1 but what can ,i do8 ,how can ,i develop myself into the grandest possible manhood8 ,so far1 then1 from the power of circumstances being a hindrance to men in trying to build for themselves an imperial highway to fortune1 these circumstances constitute the very quarry out of which they are to get paving-stones for the road4 ,while it is true that the will-power cannot perform miracles1 yet that it is almost omnipotent1 that it can perform wonders1 all history goes to prove4 ,as ,shakespeare says3-- ,men at some time are masters of their fates3 ,the fault1 dear ,brutus1 is not in our stars1 ,but in ourselves1 that we are underlings4 ,there is nobody1 says a ,roman ,cardinal1 whom ,fortune does not visit once in his life3 but when she finds he is not ready to receive her1 she goes in at the door1 and out through the window4 ,opportunity is coy4 ,the careless1 the slow1 the unobservant1 the lazy fail to see it1 or clutch at it when it has gone4 ,the sharp fellows detect it instantly1 and catch it when on the wing4 ,show me a man who is1 according to popular prejudice1 a victim of bad luck1 and ,i will show you one who has some unfortunate crooked twist of temperament that invites disaster4 ,he is ill-tempered1 or conceited1 or trifling2 lacks character1 enthusiasm1 or some other requisite for success4 ,disraeli says that man is not the creature of circumstances1 but that circumstances are the creatures of men4 ,what has chance ever done in the world8 ,has it built any cities8 ,has it invented any telephones1 any telegraphs8 ,has it built any steamships1 established any universities1 any asylums1 any hospitals8 ,was there any chance in ,caesar's crossing the ,rubicon8 ,what had chance to do with ,napoleon's career1 with ,wellington's1 or ,grant's1 or ,von ,moltke's8 ,every battle was won before it was begun4 ,what had luck to do with ,thermopylae1 ,trafalgar1 ,gettysburg8 ,our successes we ascribe to ourselves2 our failures to destiny4 ,man is not a helpless atom in this vast creation1 with a fixed position1 and naught to do but obey his own polarity4 ,believe in the power of will1 which annihilates the sickly1 sentimental doctrine of fatalism1--you must but can't1 you ought but it is impossible4 ,give me the man ,who breaks his birth's invidious bar1 ,and grasps the skirts of happy chance1 ,and breasts the blows of circumstance1 ,and grapples with his evil star4 ,it is only the ignorant and superficial who believe in fate4 ,the first step into thought lifts this mountain of necessity4 ,fate is unpenetrated causes4 ,they may well fear fate who have any infirmity of habit or aim3 but he who rests on what he is has a destiny beyond destiny1 and can make mouths at fortune4 ,the indomitable will1 the inflexible purpose1 will find a way or make one4 ,there is always room for a man of force4 ,he who has a firm will1 says ,goethe1 moulds the world to himself4 ,people do not lack strength1 says ,victor ,hugo1 they lack will4 ,he who resolves upon any great end1 by that very resolution has scaled the great barriers to it1 and he who seizes the grand idea of self-cultivation1 and solemnly resolves upon it1 will find that idea1 that resolution1 burning like fire within him1 and ever putting him upon his own improvement4 ,he will find it removing difficulties1 searching out1 or making means2 giving courage for despondency1 and strength for weakness4 ,nearly all great men1 those who have towered high above their fellows1 have been remarkable above all things else for their energy of will4 ,of ,julius ,caesar it was said by a contemporary that it was his activity and giant determination1 rather than his military skill1 that won his victories4 ,the youth who starts out in life determined to make the most of his eyes and let nothing escape him which he can possibly use for his own advancement2 who keeps his ears open for every sound that can help him on his way1 who keeps his hands open that he may clutch every opportunity1 who is ever on the alert for everything which can help him to get on in the world1 who seizes every experience in life and grinds it up into paint for his great life's picture1 who keeps his heart open that he may catch every noble impulse1 and everything which may inspire him1--that youth will be sure to make his life successful2 there are no ifs or ands about it4 ,if he has his health1 nothing can keep him from final success4 ,no tyranny of circumstances can permanently imprison a determined will4 ,the world always stands aside for the determined man4 ,will makes a way1 even through seeming impossibilities4 ,it is the half a neck nearer that shows the blood and wins the race2 the one march more that wins the campaign3 the five minutes more of unyielding courage that wins the fight4 ,again and again had the irrepressible ,carter ,harrison been consigned to oblivion by the educated and moral element of ,chicago4 ,nothing could keep him down4 ,he was invincible4 ,a son of ,chicago1 he had partaken of that nineteenth century miracle1 that phoenix-like nature of the city which1 though she was burned1 caused her to rise from her ashes and become a greater and a grander ,chicago1 a wonder of the world4 ,carter ,harrison would not down4 ,he entered the ,democratic ,convention and1 with an audacity rarely equaled1 in spite of their protest1 boldly declared himself their candidate4 ,every newspaper in ,chicago1 save the ,times1 his own paper1 bitterly opposed his election3 but notwithstanding all opposition1 he was elected by twenty thousand majority4 ,the aristocrats hated him1 the moral element feared him1 but the poor people believed in him3 he pandered to them1 flattered them1 till they elected him4 ,while we would not by any means hold ,carter ,harrison up to youth as a model1 yet there is a great lesson in his will-power and wonderful tenacity of purpose4 ,the general of a large army may be defeated1 said ,confucius1 but you cannot defeat the determined mind of a peasant4 ,the poor1 deaf pauper1 ,kitto1 who made shoes in the almshouse1 and who became the greatest of ,biblical scholars1 wrote in his journal1 on the threshold of manhood3 ,i am not myself a believer in impossibilities3 ,i think that all the fine stories about natural ability1 etc41 are mere rigmarole1 and that every man may1 according to his opportunities and industry1 render himself almost anything he wishes to become4 ,years ago1 a young mechanic took a bath in the river ,clyde4 ,while swimming from shore to shore he discerned a beautiful bank1 uncultivated1 and he then and there resolved to be the owner of it1 and to adorn it1 and to build upon it the finest mansion in all the borough1 and name it in honor of the maiden to whom he was espoused4 ,last summer1 says a well-known ,american1 ,i had the pleasure of dining in that princely mansion1 and receiving this fact from the lips of the great shipbuilder of the ,clyde4 ,that one purpose was made the ruling passion of his life1 and all the energies of his soul were put in requisition for its accomplishment4 ,lincoln is probably the most remarkable example on the pages of history1 showing the possibilities of our country4 ,from the poverty in which he was born1 through the rowdyism of a frontier town1 the rudeness of frontier society1 the discouragement of early bankruptcy1 and the fluctuations of popular politics1 he rose to the championship of union and freedom4 ,lincoln's will made his way4 ,when his friends nominated him as a candidate for the legislature1 his enemies made fun of him4 ,when making his campaign speeches he wore a mixed jean coat so short that he could not sit down on it1 flax and tow-linen trousers1 straw hat1 and pot-metal boots4 ,he had nothing in the world but character and friends4 ,when his friends suggested law to him1 he laughed at the idea of his being a lawyer4 ,he said he hadn't brains enough4 ,he read law barefoot under the trees1 his neighbors said1 and he sometimes slept on the counter in the store where he worked4 ,he had to borrow money to buy a suit of clothes to make a respectable appearance in the legislature1 and walked to take his seat at ,vandalia1--one hundred miles4 ,while he was in the legislature1 ,john ,f4 ,stuart1 an eminent lawyer of ,springfield1 told him how ,clay had even inferior chances to his1 had got all of the education he had in a log schoolhouse without windows or doors2 and finally induced ,lincoln to study law4 ,see ,thurlow ,weed1 defying poverty and wading through the snow two miles1 with rags for shoes1 to borrow a book to read before the sap-bush fire4 ,see ,locke1 living on bread and water in a ,dutch garret4 ,see ,heyne1 sleeping many a night on a barn floor with only a book for his pillow4 ,see ,samuel ,drew1 tightening his apron strings in lieu of a dinner4 ,see young ,lord ,eldon1 before daylight copying ,coke on ,littleton over and over again4 ,history is full of such examples4 ,he who will pay the price for victory needs never fear final defeat4 ,why were the ,roman legionaries victorious8 ,for ,romans1 in ,rome's quarrels1 ,spared neither land nor gold1 ,nor son1 nor wife1 nor limb nor life1 ,in the brave days of old4 ,fowell ,buxton1 writing to one of his sons1 says3 ,i am sure that a young man may be very much what he pleases4 ,dr4 ,mathews has well said that there is hardly a word in the whole human vocabulary which is more cruelly abused than the word 'luck4' ,to all the faults and failures of men1 their positive sins and their less culpable shortcomings1 it is made to stand a godfather and sponsor4 ,go talk with the bankrupt man of business1 who has swamped his fortune by wild speculation1 extravagance of living1 or lack of energy1 and you will find that he vindicates his wonderful self-love by confounding the steps which he took indiscreetly with those to which he was forced by 'circumstances1' and complacently regarding himself as the victim of ill-luck4 ,go visit the incarcerated criminal1 who has imbued his hands in the blood of his fellow-man1 or who is guilty of less heinous crimes1 and you will find that1 joining the temptations which were easy to avoid with those which were comparatively irresistible1 he has hurriedly patched up a treaty with conscience1 and stifles its compunctious visitings by persuading himself that1 from first to last1 he was the victim of circumstances4 ,go talk with the mediocre in talents and attainments1 the weak-spirited man who1 from lack of energy and application1 has made but little headway in the world1 being outstripped in the race of life by those whom he had despised as his inferiors1 and you will find that he1 too1 acknowledges the all-potent power of luck1 and soothes his humbled pride by deeming himself the victim of ill-fortune4 ,in short1 from the most venial offense to the most flagrant1 there is hardly any wrong act or neglect to which this too fatally convenient word is not applied as a palliation4 ,paris was in the hands of a mob1 the authorities were panic-stricken1 for they did not dare to trust their underlings4 ,in came a man who said1 ,i know a young officer who has the courage and ability to quell this mob4 ,send for him2 send for him2 send for him1 said they4 ,napoleon was sent for1 came1 subjugated the mob1 subjugated the authorities1 ruled ,france1 then conquered ,europe4 ,what a lesson is ,napoleon's life for the sickly1 wishy-washy1 dwarfed1 sentimental dudes1 hanging about our cities1 country1 and universities1 complaining of their hard lot1 dreaming of success1 and wondering why they are left in the rear in the great race of life4 ,success in life is dependent largely upon the willpower1 and whatever weakens or impairs it diminishes success4 ,the will can be educated4 ,that which most easily becomes a habit in us is the will4 ,learn1 then1 to will decisively and strongly2 thus fix your floating life1 and leave it no longer to be carried hither and thither1 like a withered leaf1 by every wind that blows4 ,it is not talent that men lack1 it is the will to labor2 it is the purpose1 not the power to produce4 ,it was this insatiable thirst for knowledge which held to his task1 through poverty and discouragement1 ,john ,leyden1 a ,scotch shepherd's son4 ,barefoot and alone1 he walked six or eight miles daily to learn to read1 which was all the schooling he had4 ,his desire for an education defied the extremest poverty1 and no obstacle could turn him from his purpose4 ,he was rich when he discovered a little bookstore1 and his thirsty soul would drink in the precious treasures from its priceless volumes for hours1 perfectly oblivious of the scanty meal of bread and water which awaited him at his lowly lodging4 ,nothing could discourage him from trying to improve himself by study4 ,it seemed to him that an opportunity to get at books and lectures was all that any man could need4 ,before he was nineteen1 this poor shepherd boy with no chance had astonished the professors of ,edinburgh by his knowledge of ,greek and ,latin4 ,hearing that a surgeon's assistant in the ,civil ,service was wanted1 although he knew nothing whatever of medicine1 he determined to apply for it4 ,there were only six months before the place was to be filled1 but nothing could daunt him1 and in six months' time he actually took his degree with honor4 ,walter ,scott1 who thought this one of the most remarkable illustrations of perseverance1 helped to fit him out1 and he sailed for ,india4 ,webster was very poor even after he entered ,dartmouth ,college4 ,a friend sent him a recipe for greasing his boots4 ,webster wrote and thanked him1 and added3 ,but my boots need other doctoring1 for they not only admit water1 but even peas and gravel-stones4 ,yet he became one of the greatest men in the world4 ,sydney ,smith said3 ,webster was a living lie1 because no man on earth could be as great as he looked4 ,carlyle said of him3 ,one would incline at sight to back him against the world4 ,what seemed to be luck followed ,stephen ,girard all his life4 ,no matter what he did1 it always seemed to others to turn to his account4 ,his coming to ,philadelphia seemed a lucky accident4 ,a sloop was seen one morning off the mouth of ,delaware ,bay floating the flag of ,france and a signal of distress4 ,young ,girard was captain of this sloop1 and was on his way to a ,canadian port with freight from ,new ,orleans4 ,an ,american skipper1 seeing his distress1 went to his aid1 but told him the ,american war had broken out1 and that the ,british cruisers were all along the ,american coast1 and would seize his vessel4 ,he told him his only chance was to make a push for ,philadelphia4 ,girard did not know the way1 and had no money4 ,the skipper loaned him five dollars to get the service of a pilot who demanded his money in advance4 ,his sloop passed into the ,delaware just in time to avoid capture by a ,british war vessel4 ,he sold the sloop and cargo in ,philadelphia1 and began business on the capital4 ,being a foreigner1 unable to speak ,english1 short1 stout1 and with a repulsive face1 blind in one eye1 it was hard for him to get a start4 ,but he was not the man to give up4 ,he had begun as a cabin boy at thirteen1 and for nine years sailed between ,bordeaux and the ,french ,west ,indies4 ,he improved every leisure minute at sea1 mastering the art of navigation4 ,at the age of eight he first discovered that he was blind in one eye4 ,his father1 evidently thinking that he would never amount to anything1 would not help him to an education beyond that of mere reading and writing1 but sent his younger brothers to college4 ,the discovery of his blindness1 the neglect of his father1 and the chagrin of his brothers' advancement1 soured his whole life4 ,when he began business for himself in ,philadelphia1 there seemed to be nothing he would not do for money4 ,he bought and sold anything1 from groceries to old junk4 ,he bottled wine and cider1 from which he made a good profit4 ,everything he touched prospered4 ,in #aghj1 he resumed the ,new ,orleans and ,st4 ,domingo trade1 in which he had been engaged at the breaking out of the ,revolution4 ,here great success again attended him4 ,he had two vessels lying in one of the ,st4 ,domingo ports when the great insurrection on that island broke out4 ,a number of the rich planters fled to his vessels with their valuables1 which they left for safe keeping while they went back to their estates to secure more4 ,they probably fell victims to the cruel negroes1 for they never returned1 and ,girard was the lucky possessor of #ej1jjj which the goods brought in ,philadephia4 ,everybody1 especially his jealous brother merchants1 attributed his great success to his luck4 ,while undoubtedly he was fortunate in happening to be at the right place at the right time1 yet he was precision1 method1 accuracy1 energy itself4 ,he left nothing to chance4 ,his plans and schemes were worked out with mathematical care4 ,his letters1 written to his captains in foreign ports1 laying out their routes and giving detailed instruction from which they were never allowed to deviate under any circumstances1 are models of foresight and systematic planning4 ,he never left anything of importance to others4 ,he was rigidly accurate in his instructions1 and would not allow the slightest departure from them4 ,he used to say that while his captains might save him money by deviating from instructions once1 yet they would cause loss in ninety-nine other cases4 ,once1 when a captain returned and had saved him several thousand dollars by buying his cargo of cheese in another port than that in which he had been instructed to buy1 ,girard was so enraged1 although he was several thousand dollars richer1 that he discharged the captain on the spot1 notwithstanding the latter had been faithful in his service for many years1 and thought he was saving his employer a great deal of money by deviating from his instructions4 ,girard lived in a dingy little house1 poorer than that occupied by many of his employees4 ,he married a servant girl of great beauty1 but she proved totally unfitted for him1 and died at last in the insane asylum4 ,girard never lost a ship1 and many times what brought financial ruin to many others1 as the ,war of #ahab1 only increased his wealth4 ,what seemed luck with him was only good judgment and promptness in seizing opportunities1 and the greatest care and zeal in improving them to their utmost possibilities4 ,luck is not ,god's price for success3 that is altogether too cheap1 nor does he dicker with men4 ,the mathematician tells you that if you throw the dice1 there are thirty chances to one against your turning up a particular number1 and a hundred to one against your repeating the same throw three times in succession3 and so on in an augmenting ratio4 ,what is luck8 ,is it1 as has been suggested1 a blind man's buff among the laws8 a ruse among the elements8 a trick of ,dame ,nature8 ,has any scholar defined luck8 any philosopher explained its nature8 any chemist shown its composition8 ,is luck that strange1 nondescript fairy1 that does all things among men that they cannot account for8 ,if so1 why does not luck make a fool speak words of wisdom2 an ignoramus utter lectures on philosophy8 ,many a young man who has read the story of ,john ,wanamaker's romantic career has gained very little inspiration or help from it toward his own elevation and advancement1 for he looks upon it as the result of good luck1 chance1 or fate4 ,what a lucky fellow1 he says to himself as he reads2 what a bonanza he fell into4 ,but a careful analysis of ,wanamaker's life only enforces the same lesson taught by the analysis of most great lives1 namely1 that a good mother1 a good constitution1 the habit of hard work1 indomitable energy1 a determination which knows no defeat1 a decision which never wavers1 a concentration which never scatters its forces1 courage which never falters1 a self-mastery which can say ,no1 and stick to it1 an ignominious love of detail1 strict integrity and downright honesty1 a cheerful disposition1 unbounded enthusiasm in one's calling1 and a high aim and noble purpose insure a very large measure of success4 ,youth should be taught that there is something in circumstances2 that there is such a thing as a poor pedestrian happening to find no obstruction in his way1 and reaching the goal when a better walker finds the drawbridge up1 the street blockaded1 and so fails to win the race2 that wealth often does place unworthy sons in high positions1 that family influence does gain a lawyer clients1 a physician patients1 an ordinary scholar a good professorship2 but that1 on the other hand1 position1 clients1 patients1 professorships1 manager's and superintendent's positions do not necessarily constitute success4 ,he should be taught that in the long run1 as a rule1 the best man does win the best place1 and that persistent merit does succeed4 ,there is about as much chance of idleness and incapacity winning real success1 or a high position in life1 as there would be in producing a ,paradise ,lost by shaking up promiscuously the separate words of ,webster's ,dictionary1 and letting them fall at random on the floor4 ,fortune smiles upon those who roll up their sleeves and put their shoulders to the wheel2 upon men who are not afraid of dreary1 dry1 irksome drudgery1 men of nerve and grit who do not turn aside for dirt and detail4 ,the youth should be taught that he alone is great1 who1 by a life heroic1 conquers fate2 that diligence is the mother of good luck2 that1 nine times out of ten1 what we call luck or fate is but a mere bugbear of the indolent1 the languid1 the purposeless1 the careless1 the indifferent2 that the man who fails1 as a rule1 does not see or seize his opportunity4 ,opportunity is coy1 is swift1 is gone1 before the slow1 the unobservant1 the indolent1 or the careless can seize her3-- ,in idle wishes fools supinely stay3 ,be there a will and wisdom finds a way4 ,it has been well said that the very reputation of being strong willed1 plucky1 and indefatigable is of priceless value4 ,it often cows enemies and dispels at the start opposition to one's undertakings which would otherwise be formidable4 ,if ,eric's in robust health1 and has slept well1 and is at the top of his condition1 and thirty years old at his departure from ,greenland1 says ,emerson1 he will steer west and his ships will reach ,newfoundland4 ,but take ,eric out and put in a stronger and bolder man1 and the ships will sail six hundred1 one thousand1 fifteen hundred miles further1 and reach ,labrador and ,new ,england4 ,there is no chance in results4 ,obstacles tower before the living man like mountain chains1 stopping his path and hindering his progress4 ,he surmounts them by his energy4 ,he makes a new path over them4 ,he climbs upon them to mountain heights4 ,they cannot stop him4 ,they do not much delay him4 ,he transmutes difficulties into power1 and makes temporary failures into stepping-stones to ultimate success4 ,how many might have been giants who are only dwarfs4 ,how many a one has died with all his music in him4 ,it is astonishing what men who have come to their senses late in life have accomplished by a sudden resolution4 ,arkwright was fifty years of age when he began to learn ,english grammar and improve his writing and spelling4 ,benjamin ,franklin was past fifty before he began the study of science and philosophy4 ,milton1 in his blindness1 was past the age of fifty when he sat down to complete his world-known epic1 and ,scott at fifty-five took up his pen to redeem an enormous liability4 ,yet ,i am learning1 said ,michael ,angelo1 when threescore years and ten were past1 and he had long attained the highest triumphs of his art4 ,even brains are second in importance to will4 ,the vacillating man is always pushed aside in the race of life4 ,it is only the weak and vacillating who halt before adverse circumstances and obstacles4 ,a man with an iron will1 with a determination that nothing shall check his career1 if he has perseverance and grit1 is sure to succeed4 ,we may not find time for what we would like1 but what we long for and strive for with all our strength1 we usually approximate if we do not fully reach4 ,hunger breaks through stone walls2 stern necessity will find a way or make one4 ,success is also a great physical as well as mental tonic1 and tends to strengthen the will-power4 ,dr4 ,johnson says3 ,resolutions and success reciprocally produce each other4 ,strong-willed men1 as a rule1 are successful men1 and great success is almost impossible without it4 ,a man who can resolve vigorously upon a course of action1 and turns neither to the right nor the left1 though a paradise tempt him1 who keeps his eyes upon the goal1 whatever distracts him1 is sure of success4 ,we could almost classify successes and failures by their various degrees of will-power4 ,men like ,sir ,james ,mackintosh1 ,coleridge1 ,la ,harpe1 and many others who have dazzled the world with their brilliancy1 but who never accomplished a tithe of what they attempted1 who were always raising our expectations that they were about to perform wonderful deeds1 but who accomplished nothing worthy of their abilities1 have been deficient in will-power4 ,one talent with a will behind it will accomplish more than ten without it4 ,the great linguist of ,bologna mastered a hundred languages by taking them singly1 as the lion fought the bulls4 ,i wish it were possible to show the youth of ,america the great part that the will might play in their success in life and in their happiness also4 ,the achievements of will-power are simply beyond computation4 ,scarcely anything in reason seems impossible to the man who can will strong enough and long enough4 ,how often we see this illustrated in the case of a young woman who suddenly becomes conscious that she is plain and unattractive2 who1 by prodigious exercise of her will and untiring industry1 resolves to redeem herself from obscurity and commonness2 and who not only makes up for her deficiencies1 but elevates herself into a prominence and importance which mere personal attractions could never have given her4 ,charlotte ,cushman1 without a charm of form or face1 climbed to the very top of her profession4 ,how many young men1 stung by consciousness of physical deformity or mental deficiencies1 have1 by a strong persistent exercise of will-power1 raised themselves from mediocrity and placed themselves high above those who scorned them4 ,history is full of examples of men and women who have redeemed themselves from disgrace1 poverty1 and misfortune1 by the firm resolution of an iron will4 ,the consciousness of being looked upon as inferior1 as incapable of accomplishing what others accomplish2 the sensitiveness at being considered a dunce in school1 has stung many a youth into a determination which has elevated him far above those who laughed at him1 as in the case of ,newton1 of ,adam ,clark1 of ,sheridan1 ,wellington1 ,goldsmith1 ,dr4 ,chalmers1 ,curran1 ,disraeli1 and hundreds of others4 ,whatever you wish1 that you are2 for such is the force of the human will1 joined to the ,divine1 that whatever we wish to be seriously1 and with a true intention1 that we become4 ,while this is not strictly true1 yet there is a deal of truth in it4 ,it is men like ,mirabeau1 who trample upon impossibilities2 like ,napoleon1 who do not wait for opportunities1 but make them2 like ,grant1 who has only unconditional surrender for the enemy1 who change the very front of the world4 ,we have but what we make1 and every good is locked by nature in a granite hand1 sheer labor must unclench4 ,what cares ,henry ,l4 ,bulwer for the suffocating cough1 even though he can scarcely speak above a whisper8 ,in the ,house of ,commons he makes his immortal speech on the ,irish ,church just the same4 ,i can't1 it is impossible1 said a foiled lieutenant1 to ,alexander4 ,be gone1 shouted the conquering ,macedonian1 there is nothing impossible to him who will try4 ,were ,i called upon to express in a word the secret of so many failures among those who started out in life with high hopes1 ,i should say unhesitatingly1 they lacked will-power4 ,they could not half will4 ,what is a man without a will8 ,he is like an engine without steam1 a mere sport of chance1 to be tossed about hither and thither1 always at the mercy of those who have wills4 ,i should call the strength of will the test of a young man's possibilities4 ,can he will strong enough1 and hold whatever he undertakes with an iron grip8 ,it is the iron grip that takes the strong hold on life4 ,what chance is there in this crowding1 pushing1 selfish1 greedy world1 where everything is pusher or pushed1 for a young man with no will1 no grip on life8 ,the truest wisdom1 said ,napoleon1 is a resolute determination4 ,an iron will without principle might produce a ,napoleon2 but with character it would make a ,wellington or a ,grant1 untarnished by ambition or avarice4 ,the undivided will ',t is that compels the elements and wrings ,a human music from the indifferent air4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,success ,,under ,,difficulties4 ,victories that are easy are cheap4 ,those only are worth having which come as the result of hard fighting4--,,beecher4 ,man owes his growth chiefly to that active striving of the will1 that encounter with difficulty1 which we call effort2 and it is astonishing to find how often results that seemed impracticable are thus made possible4--,,epes ,,sargent4 ,i know no such unquestionable badge and ensign of a sovereign mind as that tenacity of purpose which1 through all change of companions1 or parties1 or fortunes1 changes never1 bates no jot of heart or hope1 but wearies out opposition and arrives at its port4--,,emerson4 ,yes1 to this thought ,i hold with firm persistence2 ,the last result of wisdom stamps it true2 ,he only earns his freedom and existence ,who daily conquers them anew4 ,,goethe4 ,little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes2 but great minds rise above them4--,,washington ,,irving4 ,i have here three teams that ,i want to get over to ,staten ,island1 said a boy of twelve one day in #ahjf to the innkeeper at ,south ,amboy1 ,n4 ,j4 ,if you will put us across1 ,i'll leave with you one of my horses in pawn1 and if ,i don't send you back six dollars within forty-eight hours you may keep the horse4 ,the innkeeper asked the reason for this novel proposition1 and learned that the lad's father had contracted to get the cargo of a vessel stranded near ,sandy ,hook1 and take it to ,new ,york in lighters4 ,the boy had been sent with three wagons1 six horses1 and three men1 to carry the cargo across a sand-spit to the lighters4 ,the work accomplished1 he had started with only six dollars to travel a long distance home over the ,jersey sands1 and reached ,south ,amboy penniless4 ,i'll do it1 said the innkeeper1 as he looked into the bright honest eyes of the boy4 ,the horse was soon redeemed4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,william ,,hickling ,,prescott ,how can you keep a determined man from success3 ,place stumbling-blocks in his way1 and he uses them for stepping-stones4 ,imprison him1 and he produces the ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,deprive him of eyesight1 and he writes the ,conquest of ,mexico4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,my son1 said this same boy's mother1 on the first of ,may1 #ahaj1 when he asked her to lend him one hundred dollars to buy a boat1 having imbibed a strong liking for the sea2 on the twenty-seventh of this month you will be sixteen years old4 ,if1 by that time1 you will plow1 harrow1 and plant with corn the eight-acre lot1 ,i will advance you the money4 ,the field was rough and stony1 but the work was done in time1 and well done4 ,from this small beginning ,cornelius ,vanderbilt laid the foundation of a colossal fortune4 ,he would often work all night2 and1 as he was never absent from his post by day1 he soon had the best business in ,new ,york harbor4 ,in #ahac1 when it was expected that ,new ,york would be attacked by ,british ships1 all the boatmen except ,cornelius put in bids to convey provisions to the military posts around ,new ,york1 naming extremely low rates1 as the contractor would be exempted from military duty4 ,why don't you send in a bid8 asked his father4 ,of what use8 replied young ,vanderbilt2 they are offering to do the work at half price4 ,it can't be done at such rates4 ,well1 said his father1 it can do no harm to try for it4 ,so1 to please his father1 but with no hope of success1 ,cornelius made an offer fair to both sides1 but did not go to hear the award4 ,when his companions had all returned with long faces1 he went to the commissary's office and asked if the contract had been given4 ,oh1 yes1 was the reply2 that business is settled4 ,cornelius ,vanderbilt is the man4 ,what8 he asked1 seeing that the youth was apparently thunderstruck1 is it you8 ,my name is ,cornelius ,vanderbilt1 said the boatman4 ,well1 said the commissary1 don't you know why we have given the contract to you8 ,no4 ,why1 it is because we want this business done1 and we know you'll do it4 ,character gives confidence4 ,in #ahah he owned two or three of the finest coasting schooners in ,new ,york harbor1 and had a capital of nine thousand dollars4 ,seeing that steam-vessels would soon win supremacy over those carrying sails only1 he gave up his fine business to become the captain of a steamboat at one thousand dollars a year4 ,for twelve years he ran between ,new ,york city and ,new ,brunswick1 ,n4 ,j4 ,in #ahbi he began business as a steamboat owner1 in the face of opposition so bitter that he lost his last dollar4 ,but the tide turned1 and he prospered so rapidly that he at length owned over one hundred steamboats4 ,he early identified himself with the growing railroad interests of the country1 and became the richest man of his day in ,america4 ,barnum began the race of business life barefoot1 for at the age of fifteen he was obliged to buy on credit the shoes he wore at his father's funeral4 ,he was a remarkable example of success under difficulties4 ,there was no keeping him down2 no opposition daunted him1 no obstacles were too great for him to overcome4 ,think of a man being ruined at fifty years of age2 yes1 worse than ruined1 for he was heavily in debt besides4 ,yet on the very day of his downfall he begins to rise again1 wringing victory from defeat by his indomitable persistence4 ,eloquence must have been born with you1 said a friend to ,j4 ,p4 ,curran4 ,indeed1 my dear sir1 it was not1 replied the orator1 it was born some three and twenty years and some months after me4 ,speaking of his first attempt at a debating club1 he said3 ,i stood up1 trembling through every fibre1 but remembering that in this ,i was but imitating ,tully1 ,i took courage and had actually proceeded almost as far as ',mr4 ,chairman1' when1 to my astonishment and terror1 ,i perceived that every eye was turned on me4 ,there were only six or seven present1 and the room could not have contained as many more2 yet was it1 to my panic-stricken imagination1 as if ,i were the central object in nature1 and assembled millions were gazing upon me in breathless expectation4 ,i became dismayed and dumb4 ,my friends cried1 ',hear him6' but there was nothing to hear4 ,he was nicknamed ,orator ,mum1 and well did he deserve the title until he ventured to stare in astonishment at a speaker who was culminating chronology by the most preposterous anachronisms4 ,i doubt not1 said the annoyed speaker1 that ',orator ,mum' possesses wonderful talents for eloquence1 but ,i would recommend him to show it in future by some more popular method than his silence4 ,stung by the taunt1 ,curran rose and gave the man a piece of his mind1 speaking quite fluently in his anger4 ,encouraged by this success1 he took great pains to become a good speaker4 ,he corrected his habit of stuttering by reading favorite passages aloud every day slowly and distinctly1 and spoke at every opportunity4 ,bunyan wrote his ,pilgrim's ,progress on the untwisted papers used to cork the bottles of milk brought for his meals4 ,gifford wrote his first copy of a mathematical work1 when a cobbler's apprentice1 on small scraps of leather2 and ,rittenhouse1 the astronomer1 first calculated eclipses on his plow handle4 ,a poor ,irish lad1 so pitted by smallpox that boys made sport of him1 earned his living by writing little ballads for street musicians4 ,eight cents a day was often all he could earn4 ,he traveled through ,france and ,italy1 begging his way by singing and playing the flute at the cottages of the peasantry4 ,at twenty-eight he was penniless in ,london1 and lived in the beggars' quarters in ,axe ,lane4 ,in his poverty1 he set up as a doctor in the suburbs of ,london4 ,he wore a second-hand coat of rusty velvet1 with a patch on the left breast which he adroitly covered with his three-cornered hat during his visits2 and we have an amusing anecdote of his contest of courtesy with a patient who persisted in endeavoring to relieve him of his hat1 which only made him press it more devoutly to his heart4 ,he often had to pawn his clothes to keep from starving4 ,he sold his ,life of ,voltaire for twenty dollars4 ,after great hardship he managed to publish his ,polite ,learning in ,europe1 and this brought him to public notice4 ,next came ,the ,traveller1 and the wretched man in a ,fleet ,street garret found himself famous4 ,his landlady once arrested him for rent1 but ,dr4 ,johnson came to his relief1 took from his desk the manuscript of the ,vicar of ,wakefield1 and sold it for three hundred dollars4 ,he spent two years revising ,the ,deserted ,village after it was first written4 ,generous to a fault1 vain and improvident1 imposed on by others1 he was continually in debt2 although for his ,history of the ,earth and ,animated ,nature he received four thousand dollars1 and some of his works1 as1 for instance1 ,she ,stoops to ,conquer1 had a large sale4 ,but in spite of fortune's frown and his own weakness1 he won success and fame4 ,the world1 which so often comes too late with its assistance and laurels1 gave to the weak1 gentle1 loving author of ,the ,vicar of ,wakefield a monument in the ,poets' ,corner of ,westminster ,abbey4 ,the poor1 scrofulous1 and almost blind boy1 ,samuel ,johnson1 was taken by his mother to receive the touch of ,queen ,anne1 which was supposed to heal the ,king's ,evil4 ,he entered ,oxford as a servant1 copying lectures from a student's notebooks1 while the boys made sport of the bare feet showing through great holes in his shoes4 ,some one left a pair of new shoes at his door1 but he was too proud to be helped1 and threw them out of the window4 ,he was so poor that he was obliged to leave college1 and at twenty-six married a widow of forty-eight4 ,he started a private school with his wife's money2 but1 getting only three pupils1 was obliged to close it4 ,he went to ,london1 where he lived on nine cents a day4 ,in his distress he wrote a poem in which appeared in capital letters the line1 ,slow rises worth by poverty depressed1 which attracted wide attention4 ,he suffered greatly in ,london for thirteen years1 being arrested once for a debt of thirteen dollars4 ,at forty he published ,the ,vanity of ,human ,wishes1 in which were these lines3-- ,then mark what ills the scholar's life assail2 ,toil1 envy1 want1 the patron and the jail4 ,when asked how he felt about his failures1 he replied3 ,like a monument1--that is1 steadfast1 immovable4 ,he was an indefatigable worker4 ,in the evenings of a single week he wrote ,rasselas1 a beautiful little story of the search for happiness1 to get money to pay the funeral expenses of his mother4 ,with six assistants he worked seven years on his ,dictionary1 which made his fortune4 ,his name was then in everybody's mouth1 and when he no longer needed help1 assistance1 as usual1 came from every quarter4 ,the great universities hastened to bestow their degrees1 and ,king ,george invited him to the palace4 ,lord ,mansfield raised himself by indefatigable industry from oatmeal porridge and poverty to affluence and the ,lord ,chief ,justice's ,bench4 ,of five thousand articles sent every year to ,lippincott's ,magazine1 only two hundred were accepted4 ,how much do you think ,homer got for his ,iliad8 or ,dante for his ,paradise8 ,only bitter bread and salt1 and going up and down other people's stairs4 ,in science1 the man who discovered the telescope1 and first saw heaven1 was paid with a dungeon3 the man who invented the microscope1 and first saw earth1 died from starvation1 driven from his home4 ,it is very clear indeed that ,god means all good work and talk to be done for nothing4 ,shakespeare's ,hamlet was sold for about twenty-five dollars2 but his autograph has sold for five thousand dollars4 ,during the ten years in which he made his greatest discoveries1 ,isaac ,newton could hardly pay two shillings a week to the ,royal ,society of which he was a member4 ,some of his friends wanted to get him excused from this payment1 but he would not allow them to act4 ,there are no more interesting pages in biography than those which record how ,emerson1 as a child1 was unable to read the second volume of a certain book1 because his widowed mother could not afford the amount 7five cents7 necessary to obtain it from the circulating library4 ,linnaeus was so poor when getting his education1 that he had to mend his shoes with folded paper1 and often had to beg his meals of his friends4 ,who in the days of the ,first ,empire cared to recall the fact that ,napoleon1 ,emperor and ,king1 was once forced to borrow a louis from ,talma1 when he lived in a garret on the ,quai ,conti8 ,david ,livingstone at ten years of age was put into a cotton factory near ,glasgow4 ,out of his first week's wages he bought a ,latin ,grammar1 and studied in the night schools for years4 ,he would sit up and study till midnight unless his mother drove him to bed1 notwithstanding he had to be at the factory at six in the morning4 ,he mastered ,virgil and ,horace in this way1 and read extensively1 besides studying botany4 ,so eager and thirsty for knowledge was he1 that he would place his book before him on the spinning-jenny1 and amid the deafening roar of machinery would pore over its pages4 ,george ,eliot said of the years of close work upon her ,romola1 ,i began it a young woman1 ,i finished it an old woman4 ,one of ,emerson's biographers says1 referring to his method of rewriting1 revising1 correcting1 and eliminating3 ,his apples were sorted over and over again1 until only the very rarest1 the most perfect1 were left4 ,it did not matter that those thrown away were very good and helped to make clear the possibilities of the orchard1 they were unmercifully cast aside4 ,carlyle's books were literally wrung out of him4 ,the pains he took to satisfy himself of a relatively insignificant fact were incredible4 ,before writing his essay on ,diderot1 he read twenty-five volumes at the rate of one per day4 ,he tells ,edward ,fitzgerald that for the twentieth time he is going over the confused records of the battle of ,naseby1 that he may be quite sure of the topography4 ,all the performances of human art1 at which we look with praise and wonder1 says ,johnson1 are instances of the resistless force of perseverance3 it is by this that the quarry becomes a pyramid1 and that distant countries are united with canals4 ,if a man was to compare the effect of a single stroke of the pickaxe1 or of one impression of the spade1 with the general design and last result1 he would be overwhelmed by the sense of their disproportion2 yet those petty operations1 incessantly continued1 in time surmount the greatest difficulties1 and mountains are leveled1 and oceans bounded1 by the slender force of human beings4 ,the ,rev4 ,eliphalet ,nott1 a pulpit orator1 was especially noted for a sermon on the death of ,alexander ,hamilton1 the great statesman1 who was shot in a duel by ,aaron ,burr4 ,although ,nott had managed in some way to get his degree at ,brown ,university1 he was at one time so poor after he entered the ministry that he could not buy an overcoat4 ,his wife sheared their only cosset sheep in ,january1 wrapped it in burlap blankets to keep it from freezing1 carded and spun and wove the wool1 and made it into an overcoat for him4 ,great men never wait for opportunities2 they make them4 ,nor do they wait for facilities or favoring circumstances2 they seize upon whatever is at hand1 work out their problem1 and master the situation4 ,a young man determined and willing will find a way or make one4 ,a ,franklin does not require elaborate apparatus2 he can bring electricity from the clouds with a common kite4 ,a ,watt can make a model of the condensing steam-engine out of an old syringe used to inject the arteries of dead bodies previous to dissection4 ,a ,dr4 ,black can discover latent heat with a pan of water and two thermometers4 ,a ,newton can unfold the composition of light and the origin of colors with a prism1 a lens1 and a piece of pasteboard4 ,a ,humphry ,davy can experiment with kitchen pots and pans1 and a ,faraday can experiment on electricity by means of old bottles1 in his spare minutes while a book-binder4 ,when science was in its cradle the ,marquis of ,worcester1 an ,english nobleman1 imprisoned in the ,tower of ,london1 was certainly not in a very good position to do anything for the world1 but would not waste his time4 ,the cover of a vessel of hot water blown on before his eyes led to a series of observations1 which he published later in a book called ,century of ,inventions4 ,these observations were a sort of text-book on the power of steam1 which resulted in ,newcomen's steam-engine1 which ,watt afterward perfected4 ,a ,ferguson maps out the heavenly bodies1 lying on his back1 by means of threads with beads stretched between himself and the stars4 ,not in his day of bodily strength and political power1 but blind1 decrepit1 and defeated with his party1 ,milton composed ,paradise ,lost4 ,great men have found no royal road to their triumph4 ,it is always the old route1 by way of industry and perseverance4 ,the farmer boy1 ,elihu ,b4 ,washburn1 taught school at ten dollars per month1 and early learned the lesson that it takes one hundred cents to make a dollar4 ,in after years he fought steals in ,congress1 until he was called the ,watchdog of the ,treasury4 ,from his long membership he became known as the ,father of the ,house4 ,he administered the oath to ,schuyler ,colfax as ,speaker three times4 ,he recommended ,grant as colonel of a regiment of volunteers4 ,the latter1 when ,president1 appointed him ,secretary of ,state1 and1 later1 ,minister to ,france4 ,during the reign of the ,commune1 the representatives of nearly all other foreign nations fled in dismay1 but ,washburn remained at his post4 ,shells exploded close to his office1 and fell all around it1 but he did not leave even when ,paris was in flames4 ,for a time he was really the minister of all foreign countries1 in ,paris2 and represented ,prussia for almost a year4 ,the ,emperor ,william conferred upon him the ,order of the ,red ,eagle1 and gave him a jeweled star of great value4 ,how could the poor boy1 ,elihu ,burritt1 working nearly all the daylight in a blacksmith's shop1 get an education8 ,he had but one book in his library1 and carried that in his hat4 ,but this boy with no chance became one of ,america's wonders4 ,when teaching school1 ,garfield was very poor4 ,he tore his only blue jean trousers1 but concealed the rents by pins until night1 when he retired early that his boarding mistress might mend his clothes4 ,when you get to be a ,united ,states ,senator1 said she1 no one will ask what kind of clothes you wore when teaching school4 ,although ,michael ,angelo made himself immortal in three different occupations1 his fame might well rest upon his dome of ,st4 ,peter as an architect1 upon his ,moses as a sculptor1 and upon his ,last ,judgment as a painter2 yet we find by his correspondence now in the ,british ,museum1 that when he was at work on his colossal bronze statue of ,pope ,julius ,,ii41 he was so poor that he could not have his younger brother come to visit him at ,bologna1 because he had but one bed in which he and three of his assistants slept together4 ,i was always at the bottom of my purse1 said ,zola1 in describing the struggles of his early years of authorship4 ,very often ,i had not a sou left1 and not knowing1 either1 where to get one4 ,i rose generally at four in the morning1 and began to study after a breakfast consisting of one raw egg4 ,but no matter1 those were good times4 ,after taking a walk along the quays1 ,i entered my garret1 and joyfully partaking of a dinner of three apples1 ,i sat down to work4 ,i wrote1 and ,i was happy4 ,in winter ,i would allow myself no fire2 wood was too expensive--only on fte days was ,i able to afford it4 ,but ,i had several pipes of tobacco and a candle for three sous4 ,a three-sous candle1 only think of it6 ,it meant a whole night of literature to me4 ,james ,brooks1 once the editor and proprietor of the ,new ,york ,daily ,express1 and later an eminent congressman1 began life as a clerk in a store in ,maine1 and when twenty-one received for his pay a hogshead of ,new ,england rum4 ,he was so eager to go to college that he started for ,waterville with his trunk on his back1 and when he was graduated he was so poor and plucky that he carried his trunk on his back to the station when he went home4 ,when ,elias ,howe1 harassed by want and woe1 was in ,london completing his first sewing-machine1 he had frequently to borrow money to live on4 ,he bought beans and cooked them himself4 ,he also borrowed money to send his wife back to ,america4 ,he sold his first machine for five pounds1 although it was worth fifty1 and then he pawned his letters patent to pay his expenses home4 ,the boy ,arkwright begins barbering in a cellar1 but dies worth a million and a half4 ,the world treated his novelties just as it treats everybody's novelties--made infinite objection1 mustered all the impediments1 but he snapped his fingers at their objections1 and lived to become honored and wealthy4 ,there is scarcely a great truth or doctrine but has had to fight its way to public recognition in the face of detraction1 calumny1 and persecution4 ,everywhere1 says ,heine1 that a great soul gives utterance to its thoughts1 there also is a ,golgotha4 ,nearly every great discovery or invention that has blessed mankind has had to fight its way to recognition1 even against the opposition of the most progressive men4 ,even ,sir ,charles ,napier fiercely opposed the introduction of steam power into the ,royal ,navy4 ,in the ,house of ,commons1 he exclaimed1 ,mr4 ,speaker1 when we enter ,her ,majesty's naval service and face the chances of war1 we go prepared to be hacked in pieces1 to be riddled by bullets1 or to be blown to bits by shot and shell2 but ,mr4 ,speaker1 we do not go prepared to be boiled alive4 ,he said this with tremendous emphasis4 ,will any one explain how there can be a light without a wick8 asked a member of ,parliament1 when ,william ,murdock1 toward the close of the eighteenth century1 said that coal gas would give a good light1 and could be conveyed into buildings in pipes4 ,do you intend taking the dome of ,st4 ,paul's for a gasometer8 was the sneering question of even the great scientist1 ,humphry ,davy4 ,walter ,scott ridiculed the idea of lighting ,london by smoke1 but he soon used it at ,abbotsford1 and ,davy achieved one of his greatest triumphs by experimenting with gas until he had invented his safety lamp4 ,titian used to crush the flowers to get their color1 and painted the white walls of his father's cottage in ,tyrol with all sorts of pictures1 at which the mountaineers gazed in wonder4 ,that boy will beat me one day1 said an old painter as he watched a little fellow named ,michael ,angelo making drawings of pot and brushes1 easel and stool1 and other articles in the studio4 ,the barefoot boy did persevere until he had overcome every difficulty and become a master of his art4 ,william ,h4 ,prescott was a remarkable example of what a boy with no chance can do4 ,while at college1 he lost one eye by a hard piece of bread thrown during a biscuit battle1 then so common after meals2 and1 from sympathy1 the other eye became almost useless4 ,but the boy had pluck and determination1 and would not lead a useless life4 ,he set his heart upon being a historian1 and turned all his energies in that direction4 ,by the aid of others' eyes1 he spent ten years studying before he even decided upon a particular theme for his first book4 ,then he spent ten years more1 poring over old archives and manuscripts1 before he published his ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,what a lesson in his life for young men6 ,what a rebuke to those who have thrown away their opportunities and wasted their lives6 ,galileo with an opera-glass1 said ,emerson1 discovered a more splendid series of celestial phenomena than any one since with the great telescopes4 ,columbus found the new world in an undecked boat4 ,surroundings which men call unfavorable cannot prevent the unfolding of your powers4 ,from the plain fields and lowlands of ,avon came the ,shakespearean genius which has charmed the world4 ,from among the rock-ribbed hills of ,new ,hampshire sprang the greatest of ,american orators and statesmen1 ,daniel ,webster4 ,from the crowded ranks of toil1 and homes to which luxury is a stranger1 have often come the leaders and benefactors of our race4 ,indeed1 when ,christ came upon earth1 ,his early abode was a place so poor and so much despised that men thought ,he could not be the ,christ1 asking1 in utter astonishment1 ,can any good thing come out of ,nazareth8 ,i once knew a little colored boy1 said ,frederick ,douglass1 whose mother and father died when he was but six years old4 ,he was a slave1 and had no one to care for him4 ,he slept on a dirt floor in a hovel1 and in cold weather would crawl into a meal-bag head foremost1 and leave his feet in the ashes to keep them warm4 ,often he would roast an ear of corn and eat it to satisfy his hunger1 and many times has he crawled under the barn or stable and secured eggs1 which he would roast in the fire and eat4 ,that boy did not wear pantaloons1 as you do1 but a tow-linen shirt4 ,schools were unknown to him1 and he learned to spell from an old ,webster's spelling-book1 and to read and write from posters on cellar and barn doors1 while boys and men would help him4 ,he would then preach and speak1 and soon became well known4 ,he became presidential elector1 ,united ,states marshal1 ,united ,states recorder1 ,united ,states diplomat1 and accumulated some wealth4 ,he wore broadcloth1 and didn't have to divide crumbs with the dogs under the table4 ,that boy was ,frederick ,douglass4 ,what was possible for me is possible for you4 ,don't think because you are colored you can't accomplish anything4 ,strive earnestly to add to your knowledge4 ,so long as you remain in ignorance1 so long will you fail to command the respect of your fellow-men4 ,where shall we find an illustration more impressive than in ,abraham ,lincoln1 whose life1 career1 and death might be chanted by a ,greek chorus as at once the prelude and the epilogue of the most imperial theme of modern times8 ,born as lowly as the ,son of ,god1 in a hovel2 of what real parentage we know not1 reared in penury1 squalor1 with no gleam of light1 nor fair surrounding2 a young manhood vexed by weird dreams and visions2 with scarcely a natural grace2 singularly awkward1 ungainly even among the uncouth about him3 it was reserved for this remarkable character1 late in life1 to be snatched from obscurity1 raised to supreme command at a supreme moment1 and intrusted with the destiny of a nation4 ,the great leaders of his party were made to stand aside2 the most experienced and accomplished men of the day1 men like ,seward1 and ,chase1 and ,sumner1 statesmen famous and trained1 were sent to the rear1 while this strange figure was brought by unseen hands to the front1 and given the reins of power4 ,the story is told of a man in ,london deprived of both legs and arms1 who managed to write with his mouth and perform other things so remarkable as to enable him to earn a fair living4 ,he would lay certain sheets of paper together1 pinning them at the corner to make them hold4 ,then he would take a pen and write some verses2 after which he would proceed to embellish the lines by many skillful flourishes4 ,dropping the pen from his mouth1 he would next take up a needle and thread1 also with his mouth1 thread the needle1 and make several stitches4 ,he also painted with a brush1 and was in many other ways a wonderful man4 ,instead of being a burden to his family he was the most important contributor to their welfare4 ,arthur ,cavanagh1 ,m4 ,p41 was born without arms or legs1 yet it is said that he was a good shot1 a skillful fisherman and sailor1 and one of the best cross country riders in ,ireland4 ,he was a good conversationalist1 and an able member of ,parliament4 ,he ate with his fork attached to his stump of an arm1 and wrote holding his pen in his teeth4 ,in riding he held the bridle in his mouth1 his body being strapped to the saddle4 ,he once lost his means of support in ,india1 but went to work with his accustomed energy1 and obtained employment as a carrier of dispatches4 ,people thought it strange that ,gladstone should appoint blind ,henry ,fawcett ,postmaster-,general of ,great ,britain2 but never before did any one fill the office so well4 ,john ,b4 ,herreshoff1 of ,bristol1 ,r4 ,i41 although blind since he was fifteen years old1 is the founder and head of one of the most noted shipbuilding establishments in the world4 ,he has superintended the construction of some of the swiftest torpedo boats and steam and sailing yachts afloat4 ,he frequently takes his turn at the wheel in sailing his vessels on trial trips4 ,he is aided greatly by his younger brother ,nathaniel1 but can plan vessels and conduct business without him4 ,after examining a vessel's hull or a good model of it1 he will give detailed instructions for building another just like it1 and will make a more accurate duplicate than can most boat-builders whose sight is perfect4 ,the ,rev4 ,william ,h4 ,milburn1 who lost his sight when a child1 studied for the ministry1 and was ordained before he attained his majority4 ,in ten years he traveled about #bjj1jjj miles in missionary work4 ,he has written half a dozen books1 among them a very careful history of the ,mississippi ,valley4 ,he has long been chaplain of the lower house of ,congress4 ,blind ,fanny ,crosby1 of ,new ,york1 was a teacher of the blind for many years4 ,she has written nearly three thousand hymns1 among which are ,pass ,me not1 ,o ,gentle ,saviour1 ,rescue the ,perishing1 ,saviour more than ,life to ,me1 and ,jesus keep ,me near the ,cross4 ,nor are these by any means the only examples of blind people now doing their full share of the world's work4 ,in the ,united ,states alone there are engaged in musical occupation one hundred and fifty blind piano tuners1 one hundred and fifty blind teachers of music in schools for the blind1 five hundred blind private teachers1 one hundred blind church organists1 fifteen or more blind composers and publishers of music1 and several blind dealers in musical instruments4 ,there is no open door to the temple of success4 ,every one who enters makes his own door1 which closes behind him to all others1 not even permitting his own children to pass4 ,nearly forty years ago1 on a rainy1 dreary day in ,november1 a young widow in ,philadelphia sat wondering how she could feed and clothe three little ones left dependent by the death of her husband1 a naval officer4 ,happening to think of a box of which her husband had spoken1 she opened it1 and found therein an envelope containing directions for a code of colored light signals to be used at night on the ocean4 ,the system was not complete1 but she perfected it1 went to ,washington1 and induced the ,secretary of the ,navy to give it a trial4 ,an admiral soon wrote that the signals were good for nothing1 although the idea was valuable4 ,for months and years she worked1 succeeding at last in producing brilliant lights of different colors4 ,she was paid #bj1jjj for the right to manufacture them in our navy4 ,nearly all the blockade runners captured in the ,civil ,war were taken by the aid of the ,coston signals1 which are also considered invaluable in the ,life ,saving ,service4 ,mrs4 ,coston introduced them into several ,european navies1 and became wealthy4 ,a modern writer says that it is one of the mysteries of our life that genius1 that noblest gift of ,god to man1 is nourished by poverty4 ,its greatest works have been achieved by the sorrowing ones of the world in tears and despair4 ,not in the brilliant salon1 not in the tapestried library1 not in ease and competence1 is genius usually born and nurtured2 but often in adversity and destitution1 amidst the harassing cares of a straitened household1 in bare and fireless garrets1 with the noise of squalid children1 in the turbulence of domestic contentions1 and in the deep gloom of uncheered despair4 ,this is its most frequent birthplace1 and amid scenes like these unpropitious1 repulsive1 wretched surroundings1 have men labored1 studied1 and trained themselves1 until they have at last emanated from the gloom of that obscurity the shining lights of their times2 have become the companions of kings1 the guides and teachers of their kind1 and exercised an influence upon the thought of the world amounting to a species of intellectual legislation4 ,chauncey ,jerome's education was limited to three months in the district school each year until he was ten1 when his father took him into his blacksmith shop at ,plymouth1 ,conn41 to make nails4 ,money was a scarce article with young ,chauncey4 ,he once chopped a load of wood for one cent1 and often chopped by moonlight for neighbors at less than a dime a load4 ,his father died when he was eleven1 and his mother was forced to send ,chauncey out1 with tears in his eyes and a little bundle of clothes in his hand1 to earn a living on a farm4 ,his new employer kept him at work early and late chopping down trees all day1 his shoes sometimes full of snow1 for he had no boots until he was nearly twenty-one4 ,at fourteen he was apprenticed for seven years to a carpenter1 who gave him only board and clothes4 ,several times during his apprenticeship he carried his tools thirty miles on his back to his work at different places4 ,after he had learned his trade he frequently walked thirty miles to a job with his kit upon his back4 ,one day he heard people talking of ,eli ,terry1 of ,plymouth1 who had undertaken to make two hundred clocks in one lot4 ,he'll never live long enough to finish them1 said one4 ,if he should1 said another1 he could not possibly sell so many4 ,the very idea is ridiculous4 ,chauncey pondered long over this rumor1 for it had long been his dream to become a great clock-maker4 ,he tried his hand at the first opportunity1 and soon learned to make a wooden clock4 ,when he got an order to make twelve at twelve dollars apiece he thought his fortune was made4 ,one night he happened to think that a cheap clock could be made of brass as well as of wood1 and would not shrink1 swell1 or warp appreciably in any climate4 ,he acted on the idea1 and became the first great manufacturer of brass clocks4 ,he made millions at the rate of six hundred a day1 exporting them to all parts of the globe4 ,the ,history of the ,english ,people was written while ,j4 ,r4 ,green was struggling against a mortal illness4 ,he had collected a vast store of materials1 and had begun to write1 when his disease made a sudden and startling progress1 and his physicians said they could do nothing to arrest it4 ,in the extremity of ruin and defeat he applied himself with greater fidelity to his work4 ,the time that might still be left to him for work must henceforth be wrested1 day by day1 from the grasp of death4 ,the writing occupied five months1 while from hour to hour and day to day his life was prolonged1 his doctors said1 by the sheer force of his own will and his inflexible determination to finish the ,making of ,england4 ,he lay1 too weak to lift a book1 or to hold a pen1 dictating every word1 sometimes through hours of intense suffering4 ,yet so conscientious was he that1 driven by death as he was1 the greater part of the book was rewritten five times4 ,when it was done he began the ,conquest of ,england1 wrote it1 reviewed it1 and then1 dissatisfied with it1 rejected it all and began again4 ,as death laid its cold fingers on his heart1 he said3 ,i still have some work to do that ,i know is good4 ,i will try to win but one week more to write it down4 ,it was not until he was actually dying that he said1 ,i can work no more4 ,what does he know1 said a sage1 who has not suffered8 ,schiller produced his greatest tragedies in the midst of physical suffering almost amounting to torture4 ,handel was never greater than when1 warned by palsy of the approach of death1 and struggling with distress and suffering1 he sat down to compose the great works which have made his name immortal in music4 ,mozart composed his great operas1 and last of all his ,requiem1 when oppressed by debt and struggling with a fatal disease4 ,beethoven produced his greatest works amidst gloomy sorrow1 when oppressed by almost total deafness4 ,perhaps no one ever battled harder to overcome obstacles which would have disheartened most men than ,demosthenes4 ,he had such a weak voice1 and such an impediment in his speech1 and was so short of breath1 that he could scarcely get through a single sentence without stopping to rest4 ,all his first attempts were nearly drowned by the hisses1 jeers1 and scoffs of his audiences4 ,his first effort that met with success was against his guardian1 who had defrauded him1 and whom he compelled to refund a part of his fortune4 ,he was so discouraged by his defeats that he determined to give up forever all attempts at oratory4 ,one of his auditors1 however1 believed the young man had something in him1 and encouraged him to persevere4 ,he accordingly appeared again in public1 but was hissed down as before4 ,as he withdrew1 hanging his head in great confusion1 a noted actor1 ,satyrus1 encouraged him still further to try to overcome his impediment4 ,he stammered so much that he could not pronounce some of the letters at all1 and his breath would give out before he could get through a sentence4 ,finally1 he determined to be an orator cost what it might4 ,he went to the seashore and practiced amid the roar of the breakers with small pebbles in his mouth1 in order to overcome his stammering1 and at the same time accustom himself to the hisses and tumults of his audience4 ,he overcame his short breath by practicing speaking while running up steep and difficult places on the shore4 ,his awkward gestures were also corrected by long and determined drill before a mirror4 ,disheartened by the expense of removing the troublesome seeds1 ,southern planters were seriously considering the abandonment of cotton culture4 ,to clean a pound of cotton required the labor of a slave for a day4 ,eli ,whitney1 a young man from ,new ,england1 teaching school in ,georgia1 saw the state of affairs1 and determined to invent a machine to do the work4 ,he worked in secret for many months in a cellar1 and at last made a machine which cleaned the cotton perfectly and rapidly4 ,just as success crowned his long labor thieves broke into the cellar and stole his model4 ,he recovered the model1 but the principle was stolen1 and other machines were made without his consent4 ,in vain he tried to protect his right in the courts1 for ,southern juries would almost invariably decide against him4 ,he had started the ,south in a great industry1 and added millions to her wealth1 yet the courts united with the men who had infringed his patents to rob him of the reward of his ingenuity and industry4 ,at last he abandoned the whole thing in disgust1 and turned his attention to making improvements in firearms1 and with such success that he accumulated a fortune4 ,robert ,collyer1 who brought his bride in the steerage when he came to ,america at the age of twenty-seven1 worked at the anvil nine years in ,pennsylvania1 and then became a preacher1 soon winning national renown4 ,a shrewd observer says of ,john ,chinaman3 ,no sooner does he put his foot among strangers than he begins to work4 ,no office is too menial or too laborious for him4 ,he has come to make money1 and he will make it4 ,his frugality requires but little3 he barely lives1 but he saves what he gets2 commences trade in the smallest possible way1 and is continually adding to his store4 ,the native scorns such drudgery1 and remains poor2 the ,chinaman toils patiently on1 and grows rich4 ,a few years pass by1 and he has warehouses2 becomes a contractor for produce2 buys foreign goods by the cargo2 and employs his newly imported countrymen1 who have come to seek their fortune as he did4 ,he is not particularly scrupulous in matters of opinion4 ,he never meddles with politics1 for they are dangerous and not profitable2 but he will adopt any creed1 and carefully follow any observances1 if1 by so doing1 he can confirm or improve his position4 ,he thrives with the ,spaniard1 and works while the latter sleeps4 ,he is too quick for the ,dutchman1 and can smoke and bargain at the same time4 ,he has harder work with the ,englishman1 but still he is too much for him1 and succeeds4 ,climate has no effect on him3 it cannot stop his hands1 unless it kills him2 and if it does1 he dies in harness1 battling for money till his last breath4 ,whoever he may be1 and in whatever position1 whether in his own or a foreign country1 he is diligent1 temperate1 and uncomplaining4 ,he keeps the word he pledges1 pays his debts1 and is capable of noble and generous actions4 ,it has been customary to speak lightly of him1 and to judge a whole people by a few vagabonds in a provincial seaport1 whose morals and manners have not been improved by foreign society4 ,columbus was dismissed as a fool from court after court1 but he pushed his suit against an incredulous and ridiculing world4 ,rebuffed by kings1 scorned by queens1 he did not swerve a hair's breadth from the overmastering purpose which dominated his soul4 ,the words ,new ,world were graven upon his heart2 and reputation1 ease1 pleasure1 position1 life itself if need be1 must be sacrificed4 ,threats1 ridicule1 ostracism1 storms1 leaky vessels1 mutiny of sailors1 could not shake his mighty purpose4 ,you cannot keep a determined man from success4 ,place stumbling-blocks in his way and he takes them for stepping-stones1 and on them will climb to greatness4 ,take away his money1 and he makes spurs of his poverty to urge him on4 ,cripple him1 and he writes the ,waverley ,novels4 ,lock him up in a dungeon1 and he composes the immortal ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,put him in a cradle in a log cabin in the wilderness of ,america1 and in a few years you will find him in the ,capitol at the head of the greatest nation on the globe4 ,would it were possible to convince the struggling youth of to-day that all that is great and noble and true in the history of the world is the result of infinite pains-taking1 perpetual plodding1 of common every-day industry6 ,when ,lavoisier the chemist asked that his execution might be postponed for a few days in order to ascertain the results of the experiments he was conducting in prison1 the communists refused to grant the request1 saying3 ,the ,republic has no need of philosophers4 ,dr4 ,priestley's house was burned and his chemical library destroyed by a mob shouting3 ,no philosophers1 and he was forced to flee from his country4 ,bruno was burned in ,rome for revealing the heavens1 and ,versalius ,transcriber's note3 ,vesalius8 was condemned for dissecting the human body2 but their names shall live as long as time shall last4 ,kossuth was two years in prison at ,buda1 but he kept on working1 undaunted4 ,john ,hunter said3 ,the few things ,i have been enabled to do have been accomplished under the greatest difficulties1 and have encountered the greatest opposition4 ,roger ,bacon1 one of the profoundest thinkers the world has produced1 was terribly persecuted for his studies in natural philosophy1 yet he persevered and won success4 ,he was accused of dealing in magic1 his books were burned in public1 and he was kept in prison for ten years4 ,even our own revered ,washington was mobbed in the streets because he would not pander to the clamor of the people and reject the treaty which ,mr4 ,jay had arranged with ,great ,britain4 ,but he remained firm1 and the people adopted his opinion4 ,the ,duke of ,wellington was mobbed in the streets of ,london and his windows were broken while his wife lay dead in the house2 but the ,iron ,duke never faltered in his course1 or swerved a hair's breadth from his purpose4 ,william ,phips1 when a young man1 heard some sailors on the street1 in ,boston1 talking about a ,spanish ship1 wrecked off the ,bahama ,islands1 which was supposed to have money on board4 ,young ,phips determined to find it4 ,he set out at once1 and1 after many hardships1 discovered the lost treasure4 ,he then heard of another ship1 wrecked off ,port ,de ,la ,plata many years before4 ,he set sail for ,england and importuned ,charles ,,ii4 for aid4 ,to his delight the king fitted up the ship ,rose ,algier for him4 ,he searched and searched for a long time in vain4 ,he had to return to ,england to repair his vessel4 ,james ,,ii4 was then on the throne1 and he had to wait for four years before he could raise money to return4 ,his crew mutinied and threatened to throw him overboard1 but he turned the ship's guns on them4 ,one day an ,indian diver went down for a curious sea plant and saw several cannon lying on the bottom4 ,they proved to belong to the wreck for which he was looking1 sunk fifty years before4 ,he had nothing but dim traditions to guide him1 but he returned to ,england with #a1ejj1jjj4 ,the ,king made him ,high ,sheriff of ,new ,england1 and he was afterward made ,governor of ,massachusetts ,bay ,colony4 ,ben ,jonson1 when following his trade of a mason1 worked on ,lincoln's ,inn in ,london with trowel in hand and a book in his pocket4 ,joseph ,hunter was a carpenter in youth1 ,robert ,burns a plowman1 ,keats a druggist1 ,thomas ,carlyle and ,hugh ,miller masons4 ,dante and ,descartes were soldiers4 ,andrew ,johnson was a tailor4 ,cardinal ,wolsey1 ,defoe1 and ,kirke ,white were butchers' sons4 ,faraday was the son of a blacksmith1 and his teacher1 ,humphry ,davy1 was an apprentice to an apothecary4 ,kepler was a waiter boy in a ,german hotel1 ,bunyan a tinker1 ,copernicus the son of a ,polish baker4 ,the boy ,herschel played the oboe for his meals4 ,marshal ,ney1 the bravest of the brave1 rose from the ranks4 ,his great industry gained for him the name of ,the ,indefatigable4 ,soult served fourteen years before he was made a sergeant4 ,when made ,foreign ,minister of ,france he knew very little of geography1 even4 ,richard ,cobden was a boy in a ,london warehouse4 ,his first speech in ,parliament was a complete failure2 but he was not afraid of defeat1 and soon became one of the greatest orators of his day4 ,seven shoemakers sat in ,congress during the first century of our government3 ,roger ,sherman1 ,henry ,wilson1 ,gideon ,lee1 ,william ,graham1 ,john ,halley1 ,h4 ,p4 ,baldwin1 and ,daniel ,sheffey4 ,a constant struggle1 a ceaseless battle to bring success from inhospitable surroundings1 is the price of all great achievements4 ,the man who has not fought his way up to his own loaf1 and does not bear the scar of desperate conflict1 does not know the highest meaning of success4 ,the money acquired by those who have thus struggled upward to success is not their only1 or indeed their chief reward4 ,when1 after years of toil1 of opposition1 of ridicule1 of repeated failure1 ,cyrus ,w4 ,field placed his hand upon the telegraph instrument ticking a message under the sea1 think you that the electric thrill passed no further than the tips of his fingers8 ,when ,thomas ,a4 ,edison demonstrated in ,menlo ,park that the electric light had at last been developed into a commercial success1 do you suppose those bright rays failed to illuminate the inmost recesses of his soul8 ,edward ,everett said3 ,there are occasions in life in which a great mind lives years of enjoyment in a single moment4 ,i can fancy the emotion of ,galileo when1 first raising the newly constructed telescope to the heavens1 he saw fulfilled the grand prophecy of ,copernicus1 and beheld the planet ,venus crescent like the moon4 ,it was such another moment as that when the immortal printers of ,mentz and ,strasburg received the first copy of the ,bible into their hands1 the work of their divine art2 like that when ,columbus1 through the gray dawn of the #abth of ,october1 #adib1 beheld the shores of ,san ,salvador2 like that when the law of gravitation first revealed itself to the intellect of ,newton2 like that when ,franklin saw1 by the stiffening fibres of the hemp cord of his kite1 that he held the lightning in his grasp1 like that when ,leverrier received back from ,berlin the tidings that the predicted planet was found4 ,observe yon tree in your neighbor's garden1 says ,zanoni to ,viola in ,bulwer's novel4 ,look how it grows up1 crooked and distorted4 ,some wind scattered the germ1 from which it sprung1 in the clefts of the rock4 ,choked up and walled round by crags and buildings1 by nature and man1 its life has been one struggle for the light4 ,you see how it has writhed and twisted1--how1 meeting the barrier in one spot1 it has labored and worked1 stem and branch1 towards the clear skies at last4 ,what has preserved it through each disfavor of birth and circumstances--why are its leaves as green and fair as those of the vine behind you1 which1 with all its arms1 can embrace the open sunshine8 ,my child1 because of the very instinct that impelled the struggle1--because the labor for the light won to the light at length4 ,so with a gallant heart1 through every adverse accident of sorrow1 and of fate1 to turn to the sun1 to strive for the heaven2 this it is that gives knowledge to the strong and happiness to the weak4 ,each petty hand ,can steer a ship becalmed2 but he that will ,govern her and carry her to her ends1 must know ,his tides1 his currents2 how to shift his sails2 ,what she will bear in foul1 what in fair weathers2 ,what her springs are1 her leaks1 and how to stop them2 ,what strands1 what shelves1 what rocks to threaten her2 ,the forces and the natures of all winds1 ,gusts1 storms1 and tempests2 when her keel plows hell1 ,and deck knocks heaven2 then to manage her ,becomes the name and office of a pilot4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,uses ,,of ,,obstacles4 ,nature1 when she adds difficulties1 adds brains4--,,emerson4 ,many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties4--,,spurgeon4 ,the good are better made by ill1 ,as odors crushed are sweeter still4 ,,rogers4 ,aromatic plants bestow ,no spicy fragrance while they grow2 ,but crushed or trodden to the ground1 ,diffuse their balmy sweets around4 ,,goldsmith4 ,as night to stars1 woe lustre gives to man4--,,young4 ,there is no possible success without some opposition as a fulcrum3 force is always aggressive and crowds something4--,,holmes4 ,the more difficulties one has to encounter1 within and without1 the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be4--,,horace ,,bushmill4 ,adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant4--,,horace4 ,for gold is tried in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity4--,,sirach4 ,though losses and crosses be lessons right severe1 ,there's wit there ye'll get there1 ye'll find no other where4 ,,burns4 ,possession pampers the mind2 privation trains and strengthens it4--,,hazlitt4 ,adversity is the prosperity of the great4 ,no man ever worked his way in a dead calm4--,,john ,,neal4 ,kites rise against1 not with1 the wind4 ,many and many a time since1 said ,harriet ,martineau1 referring to her father's failure in business1 have we said that1 but for that loss of money1 we might have lived on in the ordinary provincial method of ladies with small means1 sewing and economizing and growing narrower every year2 whereas1 by being thrown1 while it was yet time1 on our own resources1 we have worked hard and usefully1 won friends1 reputation1 and independence1 seen the world abundantly1 abroad and at home2 in short1 have truly lived instead of vegetating4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,john ,,bunyan ,sculptor of souls1 ,i lift to ,thee ,encumbered heart and hands2 ,spare not the chisel1 set me free1 ,however dear the bands4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,i do believe ,god wanted a grand poem of that man1 said ,george ,macdonald of ,milton1 and so blinded him that he might be able to write it4 ,two of the three greatest epic poets of the world were blind1--,homer and ,milton2 while the third1 ,dante1 was in his later years nearly1 if not altogether1 blind4 ,it almost seems as though some great characters had been physically crippled in certain respects so that they would not dissipate their energy1 but concentrate it all in one direction4 ,i have been beaten1 but not cast down1 said ,thiers1 after making a complete failure of his first speech in the ,chamber of ,deputies4 ,i am making my first essay in arms4 ,in the tribune1 as under fire1 a defeat is as useful as a victory4 ,a distinguished investigator in science said that when he encountered an apparently insuperable obstacle1 he usually found himself upon the brink of some discovery4 ,returned with thanks has made many an author4 ,failure often leads a man to success by arousing his latent energy1 by firing a dormant purpose1 by awakening powers which were sleeping4 ,men of mettle turn disappointments into helps as the oyster turns into pearl the sand which annoys it4 ,let the adverse breath of criticism be to you only what the blast of the storm wind is to the eagle1--a force against him that lifts him higher4 ,a kite would not fly unless it had a string tying it down4 ,it is just so in life4 ,the man who is tied down by half a dozen blooming responsibilities and their mother will make a higher and stronger flight than the bachelor who1 having nothing to keep him steady1 is always floundering in the mud4 ,if you want to ascend in the world tie yourself to somebody4 ,it was the severe preparation for the subsequent harvest1 said ,pemberton ,leigh1 the eminent ,english lawyer1 speaking of his early poverty and hard work4 ,i learned to consider indefatigable labor as the indispensable condition of success1 pecuniary independence as essential alike to virtue and happiness1 and no sacrifice too great to avoid the misery of debt4 ,when ,napoleon's companions made sport of him on account of his humble origin and poverty he devoted himself entirely to books1 and soon rising above them in scholarship1 commanded their respect4 ,soon he was regarded as the brightest ornament of the class4 ,to make his way at the bar1 said an eminent jurist1 a young man must live like a hermit and work like a horse4 ,there is nothing that does a young lawyer so much good as to be half starved4 ,thousands of men of great native ability have been lost to the world because they have not had to wrestle with obstacles1 and to struggle under difficulties sufficient to stimulate into activity their dormant powers4 ,no effort is too dear which helps us along the line of our proper career4 ,poverty and obscurity of origin may impede our progress1 but it is only like the obstruction of ice or debris in the river temporarily forcing the water into eddies1 where it accumulates strength and a mighty reserve which ultimately sweeps the obstruction impetuously to the sea4 ,poverty and obscurity are not insurmountable obstacles1 but they often act as a stimulus to the naturally indolent1 and develop a firmer fibre of mind1 a stronger muscle and stamina of body4 ,if the germ of the seed has to struggle to push its way up through the stones and hard sod1 to fight its way up to sunlight and air1 and then to wrestle with storm and tempest1 with snow and frost1 the fibre of its timber will be all the tougher and stronger4 ,do you wish to live without a trial8 asks a modern teacher4 ,then you wish to die but half a man4 ,without trial you cannot guess at your own strength4 ,men do not learn to swim on a table4 ,they must go into deep water and buffet the waves4 ,hardship is the native soil of manhood and self-reliance4 ,trials are rough teachers1 but rugged schoolmasters make rugged pupils4 ,a man who goes through life prosperous1 and comes to his grave without a wrinkle1 is not half a man4 ,difficulties are ,god's errands4 ,and when we are sent upon them we should esteem it a proof of ,god's confidence4 ,we should reach after the highest good4 ,if you wish to rise1 said ,talleyrand1 make enemies4 ,there is good philosophy in the injunction to love our enemies1 for they are often our best friends in disguise4 ,they tell us the truth when friends flatter4 ,their biting sarcasm and scathing rebuke are often mirrors which reveal us to ourselves4 ,these unkind stings and thrusts are spurs which urge us on to grander success and nobler endeavor4 ,friends cover our faults and rarely rebuke2 enemies drag out to the light all our weaknesses without mercy4 ,we dread these thrusts and exposures as we do the surgeon's knife1 but are the better for them4 ,they reach depths before untouched1 and we are led to resolve to redeem ourselves from scorn and inferiority4 ,we are the victors of our opponents4 ,they have developed in us the very power by which we overcome them4 ,without their opposition we could never have braced and anchored and fortified ourselves1 as the oak is braced and anchored for its thousand battles with the tempests4 ,our trials1 our sorrows1 and our griefs develop us in a similar way4 ,the man who has triumphed over difficulties bears the signs of victory in his face4 ,an air of triumph is seen in every movement4 ,john ,calvin1 who made a theology for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries1 was tortured with disease for many years1 and so was ,robert ,hall4 ,the great men who have lifted the world to a higher level were not developed in easy circumstances1 but were rocked in the cradle of difficulties and pillowed on hardships4 ,the gods look on no grander sight than an honest man struggling with adversity4 ,then ,i must learn to sing better1 said ,anaximander1 when told that the very boys laughed at his singing4 ,strong characters1 like the palm-tree1 seem to thrive best when most abused4 ,men who have stood up bravely under great misfortune for years are often unable to bear prosperity4 ,their good fortune takes the spring out of their energy1 as the torrid zone enervates races accustomed to a vigorous climate4 ,some people never come to themselves until baffled1 rebuffed1 thwarted1 defeated1 crushed1 in the opinion of those around them4 ,trials unlock their virtues2 defeat is the threshold of their victory4 ,it is defeat that turns bone to flint2 it is defeat that turns gristle to muscle2 it is defeat that makes men invincible2 it is defeat that has made those heroic natures that are now in the ascendency1 and that has given the sweet law of liberty instead of the bitter law of oppression4 ,difficulties call out great qualities1 and make greatness possible4 ,how many centuries of peace would have developed a ,grant8 ,few knew ,lincoln until the great weight of the war showed his character4 ,a century of peace would never have produced a ,bismarck4 ,perhaps ,phillips and ,garrison would never have been known to history had it not been for slavery4 ,will he not make a great painter8 was asked in regard to an artist fresh from his ,italian tour4 ,no1 never1 replied ,northcote4 ,why not8 ,because he has an income of six thousand pounds a year4 ,in the sunshine of wealth a man is1 as a rule1 warped too much to become an artist of high merit4 ,a drenching shower of adversity would straighten his fibres out again4 ,he should have some great thwarting difficulty to struggle against4 ,the best tools receive their temper from fire1 their edge from grinding2 the noblest characters are developed in a similar way4 ,the harder the diamond1 the more brilliant the lustre1 and the greater the friction necessary to bring it out4 ,only its own dust is hard enough to make this most precious stone reveal its full beauty4 ,the spark in the flint would sleep forever but for friction2 the fire in man would never blaze but for antagonism4 ,the friction which retards a train upon the track1 robbing the engine of a fourth of its power1 is the very secret of locomotion4 ,oil the track1 remove the friction1 and the train will not move an inch4 ,the moment man is relieved of opposition or friction1 and the track of his life is oiled with inherited wealth or other aids1 that moment he often ceases to struggle and therefore ceases to grow4 ,it is this scantiness of means1 this continual deficiency1 this constant hitch1 this perpetual struggle to keep the head above water and the wolf from the door1 that keeps society from falling to pieces4 ,let every man have a few more dollars than he wants1 and anarchy would follow4 ,suddenly1 with much jarring and jolting1 an electric car came to a standstill just in front of a heavy truck that was headed in an opposite direction4 ,the huge truck wheels were sliding uselessly round on the car tracks that were wet and slippery from rain4 ,all the urging of the teamster and the straining of the horses in vain1--until the motorman quietly tossed a shovelful of sand on the track under the heavy wheels1 then the truck lumbered on its way4 ,friction is a very good thing1 remarked a passenger4 ,the philosopher ,kant observes that a dove1 inasmuch as the only obstacle it has to overcome is the resistance of the air1 might suppose that if only the air were out of the way it could fly with greater rapidity and ease4 ,yet if the air were withdrawn1 and the bird should try to fly in a vacuum1 it would fall instantly to the ground unable to fly at all4 ,the very element that offers the opposition to flying is at the same time the condition of any flight whatever4 ,rough seas and storms make sailors4 ,emergencies make giant men4 ,but for our ,civil ,war the names of its grand heroes would not be written among the greatest of our time4 ,the effort or struggle to climb to a higher place in life has strength and dignity in it1 and cannot fail to leave us stronger for the struggle1 even though we miss the prize4 ,from an aimless1 idle1 and useless brain1 emergencies often call out powers and virtues before unknown and suspected4 ,how often we see a young man develop astounding ability and energy after the death of a parent1 or the loss of a fortune1 or after some other calamity has knocked the props and crutches from under him4 ,the prison has roused the slumbering fire in many a noble mind4 ,robinson ,crusoe was written in prison4 ,the ,pilgrim's ,progress appeared in ,bedford ,jail4 ,the ,life and ,times of ,baxter1 ,eliot's ,monarchia of ,man1 and ,penn's ,no ,cross1 ,no ,crown1 were written by prisoners4 ,sir ,walter ,raleigh wrote ,the ,history of the ,world during his imprisonment of thirteen years4 ,luther translated the ,bible while confined in the ,castle of ,wartburg4 ,for twenty years ,dante worked in exile1 and even under sentence of death4 ,his works were burned in public after his death2 but genius will not burn4 ,take two acorns from the same tree1 as nearly alike as possible2 plant one on a hill by itself1 and the other in the dense forest1 and watch them grow4 ,the oak standing alone is exposed to every storm4 ,its roots reach out in every direction1 clutching the rocks and piercing deep into the earth4 ,every rootlet lends itself to steady the growing giant1 as if in anticipation of fierce conflict with the elements4 ,sometimes its upward growth seems checked for years1 but all the while it has been expending its energy in pushing a root across a large rock to gain a firmer anchorage4 ,then it shoots proudly aloft again1 prepared to defy the hurricane4 ,the gales which sport so rudely with its wide branches find more than their match1 and only serve still further to toughen every minutest fibre from pith to bark4 ,the acorn planted in the deep forest shoots up a weak1 slender sapling4 ,shielded by its neighbors1 it feels no need of spreading its roots far and wide for support4 ,take two boys1 as nearly alike as possible4 ,place one in the country away from the hothouse culture and refinements of the city1 with only the district school1 the ,sunday-school1 and a few books4 ,remove wealth and props of every kind2 and1 if he has the right kind of material in him1 he will thrive4 ,every obstacle overcome lends him strength for the next conflict4 ,if he falls1 he rises with more determination than before4 ,like a rubber ball1 the harder the obstacle he meets the higher he rebounds4 ,obstacles and opposition are but apparatus of the gymnasium in which the fibres of his manhood are developed4 ,he compels respect and recognition from those who have ridiculed his poverty4 ,put the other boy in a ,vanderbilt family4 ,give him ,french and ,german nurses2 gratify every wish4 ,place him under the tutelage of great masters and send him to ,harvard4 ,give him thousands a year for spending money1 and let him travel extensively4 ,the two meet4 ,the city lad is ashamed of his country brother4 ,the plain1 threadbare clothes1 hard hands1 tawny face1 and awkward manner of the country boy make sorry contrast with the genteel appearance of the other4 ,the poor boy bemoans his hard lot1 regrets that he has no chance in life1 and envies the city youth4 ,he thinks that it is a cruel ,providence that places such a wide gulf between them4 ,they meet again as men1 but how changed6 ,it is as easy to distinguish the sturdy1 self-made man from the one who has been propped up all his life by wealth1 position1 and family influence1 as it is for the shipbuilder to tell the difference between the plank from the rugged mountain oak and one from the sapling of the forest4 ,if you think there is no difference1 place each plank in the bottom of a ship1 and test them in a hurricane at sea4 ,when ,god wants to educate a man1 he does not send him to school to the ,graces1 but to the ,necessities4 ,through the pit and the dungeon ,joseph came to a throne4 ,we are not conscious of the mighty cravings of our half divine humanity2 we are not aware of the god within us until some chasm yawns which must be filled1 or till the rending asunder of our affections forces us to become conscious of a need4 ,paul in his ,roman cell2 ,john ,huss led to the stake at ,constance2 ,tyndale dying in his prison at ,amsterdam2 ,milton1 amid the incipient earthquake throes of revolution1 teaching two little boys in ,aldgate ,street2 ,david ,livingstone1 worn to a shadow1 dying in a negro hut in ,central ,africa1 alone1--what failures they might all to themselves have seemed to be1 yet what mighty purposes was ,god working out by their apparent humiliations6 ,two highwaymen chancing once to pass a gibbet1 one of them exclaimed3 ,what a fine profession ours would be if there were no gibbets6 ,tut1 you blockhead1 replied the other1 gibbets are the making of us2 for1 if there were no gibbets1 every one would be a highwayman4 ,just so with every art1 trade1 or pursuit2 it is the difficulties that scare and keep out unworthy competitors4 ,success grows out of struggles to overcome difficulties1 says ,smiles4 ,if there were no difficulties1 there would be no success4 ,in this necessity for exertion we find the chief source of human advancement1--the advancement of individuals as of nations4 ,it has led to most of the mechanical inventions and improvements of the age4 ,stick your claws into me1 said ,mendelssohn to his critics when entering the ,birmingham orchestra4 ,don't tell me what you like but what you don't like4 ,john ,hunter said that the art of surgery would never advance until professional men had the courage to publish their failures as well as their successes4 ,young men need to be taught not to expect a perfectly smooth and easy way to the objects of their endeavor or ambition1 says ,dr4 ,peabody4 ,seldom does one reach a position with which he has reason to be satisfied without encountering difficulties and what might seem discouragements4 ,but if they are properly met1 they are not what they seem1 and may prove to be helps1 not hindrances4 ,there is no more helpful and profiting exercise than surmounting obstacles4 ,it is said that but for the disappointments of ,dante1 ,florence would have had another prosperous ,lord ,mayor2 and the ten dumb centuries continued voiceless1 and the ten other listening centuries 7for there will be ten of them1 and more7 would have had no ,divina ,commedia to hear6 ,it was in the ,madrid jail that ,cervantes wrote ,don ,quixote4 ,he was so poor that he could not even get paper during the last of his writing1 and had to write on scraps of leather4 ,a rich ,spaniard was asked to help him1 but the rich man replied3 ,heaven forbid that his necessities should be relieved1 it is his poverty that makes the world rich4 ,a constant struggle1 a ceaseless battle to bring success from inhospitable surroundings1 is the price of all great achievements4 ,she sings well1 said a great musician of a promising but passionless cantatrice1 but she wants something1 and in that something1 everything4 ,if ,i were single1 ,i would court her1 ,i would marry her2 ,i would maltreat her2 ,i would break her heart1 and in six months she would be the greatest singer in ,europe4 ,he has the stuff in him to make a good musician1 said ,beethoven of ,rossini1 if he had only been well flogged when a boy2 but he is spoiled by the ease with which he composes4 ,we do our best while fighting desperately to attain what the heart covets4 ,martin ,luther did his greatest work1 and built up his best character1 while engaged in sharp controversy with the ,pope4 ,later in life his wife asks1 ,doctor1 how is it that whilst subject to ,papacy we prayed so often and with such fervor1 whilst now we pray with the utmost coldness and very seldom8 ,when ,lord ,eldon was poor1 ,lord ,thurlow withheld a promised commissionership of bankruptcy1 saying that it was a favor not to give it then4 ,what he meant was1 said ,eldon1 that he had learned ,i was by nature very indolent1 and it was only want that could make me very industrious4 ,waters says that the struggle to obtain knowledge and to advance one's self in the world strengthens the mind1 disciplines the faculties1 matures the judgment1 promotes self-reliance1 and gives one independence of thought and force of character4 ,the gods in bounty work up storms about us1 says ,addison1 that give mankind occasion to exert their hidden strength1 and throw out into practice virtues that shun the day1 and lie concealed in the smooth seasons and the calms of life4 ,the hothouse plant may tempt a pampered appetite or shed a languid odor1 but the working world gets its food from fields of grain and orchards waving in the sun and free air1 from cattle that wrestle on the plains1 from fishes that struggle with currents of river or ocean2 its choicest perfumes from flowers that bloom unheeded1 and in wind-tossed forests finds its timber for temples and for ships4 ,i do not see1 says ,emerson1 how any man can afford1 for the sake of his nerves and his nap1 to spare any action in which he can partake4 ,it is pearls and rubies to his discourse4 ,drudgery1 calamity1 exasperation1 want1 are instructors in eloquence and wisdom4 ,the true scholar grudges every opportunity of action passed by as a loss of power4 ,kossuth called himself a tempest-tossed soul1 whose eyes have been sharpened by affliction4 ,benjamin ,franklin ran away1 and ,george ,law was turned out of doors4 ,thrown upon their own resources1 they early acquired the energy and skill to overcome difficulties4 ,as soon as young eagles can fly the old birds tumble them out and tear the down and feathers from their nest4 ,the rude and rough experience of the eaglet fits him to become the bold king of birds1 fierce and expert in pursuing his prey4 ,boys who are bound out1 crowded out1 kicked out1 usually turn out1 while those who do not have these disadvantages frequently fail to come out4 ,it was not the victories but the defeats of my life which have strengthened me1 said the aged ,sidenham ,poyntz4 ,almost from the dawn of history1 oppression has been the lot of the ,hebrews1 yet they have given the world its noblest songs1 its wisest proverbs1 its sweetest music4 ,with them persecution seems to bring prosperity4 ,they thrive where others would starve4 ,they hold the purse-strings of many nations4 ,to them hardship has been like spring mornings1 frosty but kindly1 the cold of which will kill the vermin1 but will let the plant live4 ,in one of the battles of the ,crimea a cannon-ball struck inside the fort1 crashing through a beautiful garden4 ,but from the ugly chasm there burst forth a spring of water which ever afterward flowed a living fountain4 ,from the ugly gashes which misfortunes and sorrows make in our hearts1 perennial fountains of rich experience and new joys often spring4 ,don't lament and grieve over lost wealth4 ,the ,creator may see something grand and mighty which even ,he cannot bring out as long as your wealth stands in the way4 ,you must throw away the crutches of riches and stand upon your own feet1 and develop the long unused muscles of manhood4 ,god may see a rough diamond in you which only the hard hits of poverty can polish4 ,god knows where the richest melodies of our lives are1 and what drill and what discipline are necessary to bring them out4 ,the frost1 the snows1 the tempests1 the lightnings1 are the rough teachers that bring the tiny acorn to the sturdy oak4 ,fierce winters are as necessary to it as long summers4 ,it is its half-century's struggle with the elements for existence1 wrestling with the storm1 fighting for its life from the moment that it leaves the acorn until it goes into the ship1 that gives it value4 ,without this struggle it would have been character-less1 stamina-less1 nerve-less1 and its grain would have never been susceptible of high polish4 ,the most beautiful as well as the strongest woods are found not in tropical climates1 but in the severe climates1 where they have to fight the frosts and the winter's cold4 ,many a man has never found himself until he has lost his all4 ,adversity stripped him only to discover him4 ,obstacles1 hardships are the chisel and mallet which shape the strong life into beauty4 ,the rough ledge on the hillside complains of the drill1 of the blasting powder which disturbs its peace of centuries3 it is not pleasant to be rent with powder1 to be hammered and squared by the quarryman4 ,but look again3 behold the magnificent statue1 the monument1 chiseled into grace and beauty1 telling its grand story of valor in the public square for centuries4 ,the statue would have slept in the marble forever but for the blasting1 the chiseling1 and the polishing4 ,the angel of our higher and nobler selves would remain forever unknown in the rough quarries of our lives but for the blastings of affliction1 the chiseling of obstacles1 and the sand-papering of a thousand annoyances4 ,who has not observed the patience1 the calm endurance1 the sweet loveliness chiseled out of some rough life by the reversal of fortune or by some terrible affliction4 ,how many business men have made their greatest strides toward manhood1 have developed their greatest virtues1 when the reverses of fortune have swept away everything they had in the world2 when disease had robbed them of all they held dear in life4 ,often we cannot see the angel in the quarry of our lives1 the statue of manhood1 until the blasts of misfortune have rent the ledge1 and difficulties and obstacles have squared and chiseled the granite blocks into grace and beauty4 ,many a man has been ruined into salvation4 ,the lightning which smote his dearest hopes opened up a new rift in his dark life1 and gave him glimpses of himself which1 until then1 he had never seen4 ,the grave buried his dearest hopes1 but uncovered possibilities in his nature of patience1 endurance1 and hope which he never dreamed he possessed before4 ,adversity is a severe instructor1 says ,edmund ,burke1 set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves1 as he loves us better too4 ,he that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill4 ,our antagonist is our helper4 ,this conflict with difficulty makes us acquainted with our object1 and compels us to consider it in all its relations4 ,it will not suffer us to be superficial4 ,men who have the right kind of material in them will assert their personality1 and rise in spite of a thousand adverse circumstances4 ,you cannot keep them down4 ,every obstacle seems only to add to their ability to get on4 ,under different circumstances1 says ,castelar1 ,savonarola would undoubtedly have been a good husband1 a tender father1 a man unknown to history1 utterly powerless to print upon the sands of time and upon the human soul the deep trace which he has left1 but misfortune came to visit him1 to crush his heart1 and to impart that marked melancholy which characterizes a soul in grief1 and the grief that circled his brows with a crown of thorns was also that which wreathed them with the splendor of immortality4 ,his hopes were centred in the woman he loved1 his life was set upon the possession of her1 and when her family finally rejected him1 partly on account of his profession1 and partly on account of his person1 he believed that it was death that had come upon him1 when in truth it was immortality4 ,the greatest men will ever be those who have risen from the ranks4 ,it is said that there are ten thousand chances to one that genius1 talent1 and virtue shall issue from a farmhouse rather than from a palace4 ,the youth ,opie earned his bread by sawing wood1 but he reached a professorship in the ,royal ,academy4 ,when but ten years old he showed the material he was made of by a beautiful drawing on a shingle4 ,antonio ,canova was the son of a day laborer4 ,thorwaldsen's parents were poor1 but1 like hundreds of others1 they did with their might what their hands found to do1 and ennobled their work4 ,they rose by being greater than their calling1 as ,arkwright rose above mere barbering1 ,bunyan above tinkering1 ,wilson above shoemaking1 ,lincoln above rail-splitting1 and ,grant above tanning4 ,by being first-class barbers1 tinkers1 shoemakers1 rail-splitters1 tanners1 they acquired the power which enabled them to become great inventors1 authors1 statesmen1 generals4 ,adversity exasperates fools1 dejects cowards1 draws out the faculties of the wise and industrious1 puts the modest to the necessity of trying their skill1 awes the opulent1 and makes the idle industrious4 ,neither do uninterrupted success and prosperity qualify men for usefulness and happiness4 ,the storms of adversity1 like those of the ocean1 rouse the faculties1 and excite the invention1 prudence1 skill1 and fortitude of the voyager4 ,the martyrs of ancient times1 in bracing their minds to outward calamities1 acquired a loftiness of purpose and a moral heroism worth a lifetime of softness and security4 ,a man upon whom continuous sunshine falls is like the earth in ,august3 he becomes parched and dry and hard and close-grained4 ,men have drawn from adversity the elements of greatness4 ,if you have the blues1 go and see the poorest and sickest families within your knowledge4 ,the darker the setting1 the brighter the diamond4 ,don't run about and tell acquaintances that you have been unfortunate2 people do not like to have unfortunate men for acquaintances4 ,beethoven was almost totally deaf and burdened with sorrow when he produced his greatest works4 ,schiller wrote his best books in great bodily suffering4 ,he was not free from pain for fifteen years4 ,milton wrote his leading productions when blind1 poor1 and sick4 ,who best can suffer1 said he1 best can do4 ,bunyan said that1 if it were lawful1 he could even pray for greater trouble1 for the greater comfort's sake4 ,do you know what ,god puts us on our backs for8 asked ,dr4 ,payson1 smiling1 as he lay sick in bed4 ,no1 replied the visitor4 ,in order that we may look upward4 ,i am not come to condole but to rejoice with you1 said the friend1 for it seems to me that this is no time for mourning4 ,well1 ,i am glad to hear that1 said ,dr4 ,payson1 it is not often ,i am addressed in such a way4 ,the fact is ,i never had less need of condolence1 and yet everybody persists in offering it2 whereas1 when ,i was prosperous and well1 and a successful preacher1 and really needed condolence1 they flattered and congratulated me4 ,a ,german knight undertook to make an immense ,aeolian harp by stretching wires from tower to tower of his castle4 ,when he finished the harp it was silent2 but when the breezes began to blow he heard faint strains like the murmuring of distant music4 ,at last a tempest arose and swept with fury over his castle1 and then rich and grand music came from the wires4 ,ordinary experiences do not seem to touch some lives--to bring out any poetry1 any higher manhood4 ,not until the breath of the plague had blasted a hundred thousand lives1 and the great fire had licked up cheap1 shabby1 wicked ,london1 did she arise1 phoenix-like1 from her ashes and ruin1 a grand and mighty city4 ,true salamanders live best in the furnace of persecution4 ,every man who makes a fortune has been more than once a bankrupt1 if the truth were known1 said ,albion ,tourge4 ,grant's failure as a subaltern made him commander-in-chief1 and for myself1 my failure to accomplish what ,i set out to do led me to what ,i never had aspired to4 ,the appeal for volunteers in the great battle of life1 in exterminating ignorance and error1 and planting high on an everlasting foundation the banner of intelligence and right1 is directed to you4 ,burst the trammels that impede your progress1 and cling to hope4 ,place high thy standard1 and with a firm tread and fearless eye press steadily onward4 ,not ease1 but effort1 not facility1 but difficulty1 makes men4 ,toilsome culture is the price of great success1 and the slow growth of a great character is one of its special necessities4 ,many of our best poets ,are cradled into poetry by wrong1 ,and learn in suffering what they teach in song4 ,byron was stung into a determination to go to the top by a scathing criticism of his first book1 ,hours of ,idleness1 published when he was but nineteen years of age4 ,macaulay said1 ,there is scarce an instance in history of so sudden a rise to so dizzy an eminence as ,byron reached4 ,in a few years he stood by the side of such men as ,scott1 ,southey1 and ,campbell1 and died at thirty-seven1 that age so fatal to genius4 ,many an orator like stuttering ,jack ,curran1 or ,orator ,mum1 as he was once called1 has been spurred into eloquence by ridicule and abuse4 ,this is the crutch age4 ,helps and aids are advertised everywhere4 ,we have institutes1 colleges1 universities1 teachers1 books1 libraries1 newspapers1 magazines4 ,our thinking is done for us4 ,our problems are all worked out in explanations and keys4 ,our boys are too often tutored through college with very little study4 ,short roads and abridged methods are characteristic of the century4 ,ingenious methods are used everywhere to get the drudgery out of the college course4 ,newspapers give us our politics1 and preachers our religion4 ,self-help and self-reliance are getting old fashioned4 ,nature1 as if conscious of delayed blessings1 has rushed to man's relief with her wondrous forces1 and undertakes to do the world's drudgery and emancipate him from ,eden's curse4 ,but do not misinterpret her edict4 ,she emancipates from the lower only to call to the higher4 ,she does not bid the world go and play while she does the work4 ,she emancipates the muscles only to employ the brain and heart4 ,the most beautiful as well as the strongest characters are not developed in warm climates1 where man finds his bread ready made on trees1 and where exertion is a great effort1 but rather in a trying climate and on a stubborn soil4 ,it is no chance that returns to the ,hindoo ryot a penny and to the ,american laborer a dollar for his daily toil2 that makes ,mexico with its mineral wealth poor1 and ,new ,england with its granite and ice rich4 ,it is rugged necessity1 it is the struggle to obtain1 it is poverty the priceless spur1 that develops the stamina of manhood1 and calls the race out of barbarism4 ,labor found the world a wilderness and has made it a garden4 ,as the sculptor thinks only of the angel imprisoned in the marble block1 so ,nature cares only for the man or woman shut up in the human being4 ,the sculptor cares nothing for the block as such2 ,nature has little regard for the mere lump of breathing clay4 ,the sculptor will chip off all unnecessary material to set free the angel4 ,nature will chip and pound us remorselessly to bring out our possibilities4 ,she will strip us of wealth1 humble our pride1 humiliate our ambition1 let us down from the ladder of fame1 will discipline us in a thousand ways1 if she can develop a little character4 ,everything must give way to that4 ,wealth is nothing1 position is nothing1 fame is nothing1 manhood is everything4 ,not ease1 not pleasure1 not happiness1 but a man1 ,nature is after4 ,in every great painting of the masters there is one idea or figure which stands out boldly beyond everything else4 ,every other idea or figure on the canvas is subordinate to it1 but pointing to the central idea1 finds its true expression there4 ,so in the vast universe of ,god1 every object of creation is but a guideboard with an index-finger pointing to the central figure of the created universe--,man4 ,nature writes this thought upon every leaf1 she thunders it in every creation4 ,it is exhaled from every flower2 it twinkles in every star4 ,oh1 what price will ,nature not pay for a man6 ,ages and aeons were nothing for her to spend in preparing for his coming1 or to make his existence possible4 ,she has rifled the centuries for his development1 and placed the universe at his disposal4 ,the world is but his kindergarten1 and every created thing but an object-lesson from the unseen universe4 ,nature resorts to a thousand expedients to develop a perfect type of her grandest creation4 ,to do this she must induce him to fight his way up to his own loaf4 ,she never allows him once to lose sight of the fact that it is the struggle to attain that develops the man4 ,the moment we put our hand upon that which looks so attractive at a distance1 and which we struggled so hard to reach1 ,nature robs it of its charm by holding up before us another prize still more attractive4 ,life1 says a philosopher1 refuses to be so adjusted as to eliminate from it all strife and conflict and pain4 ,there are a thousand tasks that1 in larger interests than ours1 must be done1 whether we want them or no4 ,the world refuses to walk upon tiptoe1 so that we may be able to sleep4 ,it gets up very early and stays up very late1 and all the while there is the conflict of myriads of hammers and saws and axes with the stubborn material that in no other way can be made to serve its use and do its work for man4 ,and then1 too1 these hammers and axes are not wielded without strain or pang1 but swung by the millions of toilers who labor with their cries and groans and tears4 ,nay1 our temple-building1 whether it be for ,god or man1 exacts its bitter toll1 and fills life with cries and blows4 ,the thousand rivalries of our daily business1 the fiercer animosities when we are beaten1 the even fiercer exultation when we have beaten1 the crashing blows of disaster1 the piercing scream of defeat1--these things we have not yet gotten rid of1 nor in this life ever will4 ,why should we wish to get rid of them8 ,we are here1 my brother1 to be hewed and hammered and planed in ,god's quarry and on ,god's anvil for a nobler life to come4 ,only the muscle that is used is developed4 ,the constantly cheerful man1 who survives his blighted hopes and disappointments1 who takes them just for what they are1 lessons1 and perhaps blessings in disguise1 is the true hero4 ,there is a strength ,deep bedded in our hearts of which we reck ,but little1 till the shafts of heaven have pierced ,its fragile dwelling4 ,must not earth be rent ,before her gems are found8 ,,mrs4 ,,hemans4 ,if what shone afar so grand ,turns to ashes in the hand1 ,on again1 the virtue lies ,in the struggle1 not the prize4 ,the hero is not fed on sweets1 ,daily his own heart he eats2 ,chambers of the great are jails1 ,and head-winds right for royal sails4 ,so many great ,illustrious spirits have conversed with woe1 ,have in her school been taught1 as are enough ,to consecrate distress1 and make ambition ,even wish the frown beyond the smile of fortune4 ,then welcome each rebuff1 ,that turns earth's smoothness rough1 ,each sting1 that bids not sit nor stand but go4 ,,browning4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,one ,,unwavering ,,aim4 ,life is an arrow--therefore you must know ,what mark to aim at1 how to use the bow-- ,then draw it to the head and let it go4 ,,henry ,,van ,,dyke4 ,the important thing in life is to have a great aim1 and to possess the aptitude and perseverance to attain it4--,,goethe4 ,concentration alone conquers4--,c4 ,,buxton4 ,he who follows two hares is sure to catch neither4 ,a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways4 ,let every one ascertain his special business and calling1 and then stick to it if he would be successful4--,,franklin4 ,digression is as dangerous as stagnation in the career of a young man in business4 ,every man who observes vigilantly and resolves steadfastly grows unconsciously into genius4--,,bulwer4 ,genius is intensity4--,,balzac4 ,why do you lead such a solitary life8 asked a friend of ,michael ,angelo4 ,art is a jealous mistress1 replied the artist2 she requires the whole man4 ,during his labors at the ,sistine ,chapel1 according to ,disraeli1 he refused to meet any one1 even at his own house4 ,that day we sailed westward1 which was our course1 were the simple but grand words which ,columbus wrote in his journal day after day4 ,hope might rise and fall1 terror and dismay might seize upon the crew at the mysterious variations of the compass1 but ,columbus1 unappalled1 pushed due west and nightly added to his record the above words4 ,cut an inch deeper1 said a member of the ,old ,guard to the surgeon probing his wound1 and you will find the ,emperor1--meaning his heart4 ,by the marvelous power of concentrated purpose ,napoleon had left his name on the very stones of the capital1 had burned it indelibly into the heart of every ,frenchman1 and had left it written in living letters all over ,europe4 ,france to-day has not shaken off the spell of that name4 ,in the fair city on the ,seine the mystic ,n confronts you everywhere4 ,oh1 the power of a great purpose to work miracles6 ,it has changed the face of the world4 ,napoleon knew that there were plenty of great men in ,france1 but they did not know the might of the unwavering aim by which he was changing the destinies of ,europe4 ,he saw that what was called the balance of power was only an idle dream2 that1 unless some master-mind could be found which was a match for events1 the millions would rule in anarchy4 ,his iron will grasped the situation2 and like ,william ,pitt1 he did not loiter around balancing the probabilities of failure or success1 or dally with his purpose4 ,there was no turning to the right nor to the left2 no dreaming away time1 nor building air-castles2 but one look and purpose1 forward1 upward and onward1 straight to his goal4 ,he always hit the bull's-eye4 ,his great success in war was due largely to his definiteness of aim4 ,he was like a great burning-glass1 concentrating the rays of the sun upon a single spot2 he burned a hole wherever he went4 ,the secret of his power lay in his ability to concentrate his forces upon a single point4 ,after finding the weak place in the enemy's ranks1 he would mass his men and hurl them like an avalanche upon the critical point1 crowding volley upon volley1 charge upon charge1 till he made a breach4 ,what a lesson of the power of concentration there is in this man's life6 ,he was able to focus all his faculties upon the smallest detail1 as well as upon an empire4 ,but1 alas6 ,napoleon was himself defeated by violation of his own tactics1--the constantly repeated crushing force of heavy battalions upon one point4 ,to succeed to-day a man must concentrate all the faculties of his mind upon one unwavering aim1 and have a tenacity of purpose which means death or victory4 ,every other inclination which tempts him from his aim must be suppressed4 ,new ,jersey has many ports1 but they are so shallow and narrow that the shipping of the entire state amounts to but little4 ,on the other hand1 ,new ,york has but one ocean port1 and yet it is so broad1 deep1 and grand1 that it leads ,america in its enormous shipping trade4 ,she sends her vessels into every port of the world1 while the ships of her neighbor are restricted to local voyages4 ,a man may starve on a dozen half-learned trades or occupations2 he may grow rich and famous upon one trade thoroughly mastered1 even though it be the humblest4 ,even ,gladstone1 with his ponderous yet active brain1 says he cannot do two things at once2 he throws his entire strength upon whatever he does4 ,the intensest energy characterizes everything he undertakes1 even his recreation4 ,if such concentration of energy is necessary for the success of a ,gladstone1 what can we common mortals hope to accomplish by scatteration8 ,all great men have been noted for their power of concentration which makes them oblivious of everything outside their aim4 ,victor ,hugo wrote his ,notre ,dame during the revolution of #ahcj1 while the bullets were whistling across his garden4 ,he shut himself up in one room1 locking his clothes up1 lest they should tempt him to go out into the street1 and spent most of that winter wrapped in a big gray comforter1 pouring his very life into his work4 ,genius is intensity4 ,abraham ,lincoln possessed such power of concentration that he could repeat quite correctly a sermon to which he had listened in his boyhood4 ,dr4 ,o4 ,w4 ,holmes1 when an ,andover student1 riveted his eyes on the book he was studying as though he were reading a will that made him heir to a million4 ,a ,new ,york sportsman1 in answer to an advertisement1 sent twenty-five cents for a sure receipt to prevent a shotgun from scattering1 and received the following2 ,dear ,sir3 ,to keep a gun from scattering put in but a single shot4 ,it is the men who do one thing in this world who come to the front4 ,who is the favorite actor8 ,it is a ,jefferson1 who devotes a lifetime to a ,rip ,van ,winkle1 a ,booth1 an ,irving1 a ,kean1 who plays one character until he can play it better than any other man living1 and not the shallow players who impersonate all parts4 ,it is the man who never steps outside of his specialty or dissipates his individuality4 ,it is an ,edison1 a ,morse1 a ,bell1 a ,howe1 a ,stephenson1 a ,watt4 ,it is ,adam ,smith1 spending ten years on the ,wealth of ,nations4 ,it is ,gibbon1 giving twenty years to his ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire4 ,it is a ,hume1 writing thirteen hours a day on his ,history of ,england4 ,it is a ,webster1 spending thirty-six years on his dictionary4 ,it is a ,bancroft1 working twenty-six years on his ,history of the ,united ,states4 ,it is a ,field1 crossing the ocean fifty times to lay a cable1 while the world ridicules4 ,it is a ,newton1 writing his ,chronology of ,ancient ,nations sixteen times4 ,it is a ,grant1 who proposes to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer4 ,these are the men who have written their names prominently in the history of the world4 ,a one-talent man who decides upon a definite object accomplishes more than the ten-talent man who scatters his energies and never knows exactly what he will do4 ,the weakest living creature1 by concentrating his powers upon one thing1 can accomplish something2 the strongest1 by dispersing his over many1 may fail to accomplish anything4 ,drop after drop1 continually falling1 wears a passage through the hardest rock4 ,the hasty tempest1 as ,carlyle points out1 rushes over it with hideous uproar and leaves no trace behind4 ,a great purpose is cumulative2 and1 like a great magnet1 it attracts all that is kindred along the stream of life4 ,a ,yankee can splice a rope in many different ways2 an ,english sailor only knows one way1 but that is the best one4 ,it is the one-sided man1 the sharp-edged man1 the man of single and intense purpose1 the man of one idea1 who turns neither to the right nor to the left1 though a paradise tempt him1 who cuts his way through obstacles and forges to the front4 ,the time has gone forever when a ,bacon can span universal knowledge2 or when1 absorbing all the knowledge of the times1 a ,dante can sustain arguments against fourteen disputants in the ,university of ,paris1 and conquer in them all4 ,the day when a man can successfully drive a dozen callings abreast is a thing of the past4 ,concentration is the keynote of the century4 ,scientists estimate that there is energy enough in less than fifty acres of sunshine to run all the machinery in the world1 if it could be concentrated4 ,but the sun might blaze out upon the earth forever without setting anything on fire2 although these rays focused by a burning-glass would melt solid granite1 or even change a diamond into vapor4 ,there are plenty of men who have ability enough2 the rays of their faculties1 taken separately1 are all right1 but they are powerless to collect them1 to bring them all to bear upon a single spot4 ,versatile men1 universal geniuses1 are usually weak1 because they have no power to concentrate their talents upon one point1 and this makes all the difference between success and failure4 ,chiseled upon the tomb of a disappointed1 heart-broken king1 ,joseph ,,ii4 of ,austria1 in the ,royal ,cemetery at ,vienna1 a traveler tells us1 is this epitaph3 ,here lies a monarch who1 with the best of intentions1 never carried out a single plan4 ,sir ,james ,mackintosh was a man of remarkable ability4 ,he excited in every one who knew him the greatest expectations4 ,many watched his career with much interest1 expecting that he would dazzle the world4 ,but there was no purpose in his life4 ,he had intermittent attacks of enthusiasm for doing great things1 but his zeal all evaporated before he could decide what to do4 ,this fatal defect in his character kept him balancing between conflicting motives2 and his whole life was almost thrown away4 ,he lacked power to choose one object and persevere with a single aim1 sacrificing every interfering inclination4 ,he vacillated for weeks trying to determine whether to use usefulness or utility in a composition4 ,one talent utilized in a single direction will do infinitely more than ten talents scattered4 ,a thimbleful of powder behind a ball in a rifle will do more execution than a carload of powder unconfined4 ,the rifle-barrel is the purpose that gives direct aim to the powder1 which otherwise1 no matter how good it might be1 would be powerless4 ,the poorest scholar in school or college often1 in practical life1 far outstrips the class leader or senior wrangler1 simply because what little ability he has he employs for a definite object1 while the other1 depending upon his general ability and brilliant prospects1 never concentrates his powers4 ,a sublime self-confidence1 says ,e4 ,p4 ,whipple1 springing not from self-conceit1 but from an intense identification of the man with his object1 lifts him altogether above the fear of danger and death1 and communicates an almost superhuman audacity to his will4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,richard ,,arkwright ,what a sublime spectacle is that of a man going straight to his goal1 cutting his way through difficulties1 and surmounting obstacles which dishearten others1 as though they were stepping-stones4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is fashionable to ridicule the man of one idea1 but the men who have changed the front of the world have been men of a single aim4 ,no man can make his mark on this age of specialties who is not a man of one idea1 one supreme aim1 one master passion4 ,the man who would make himself felt on this bustling planet1 who would make a breach in the compact conservatism of our civilization1 must play all his guns on one point4 ,a wavering aim1 a faltering purpose1 has no place in the nineteenth century4 ,mental shiftlessness is the cause of many a failure4 ,the world is full of unsuccessful men who spend their lives letting empty buckets down into empty wells4 ,mr4 ,a4 often laughs at me1 said a young ,american chemist1 because ,i have but one idea4 ,he talks about everything1 aims to excel in many things2 but ,i have learned that1 if ,i ever wish to make a breach1 ,i must play my guns continually upon one point4 ,this great chemist1 when an obscure schoolmaster1 used to study by the light of a pine knot in a log cabin4 ,not many years later he was performing experiments in electro-magnetism before ,english earls1 and subsequently he was at the head of one of the largest scientific institutes of this country4 ,this man was the late ,professor ,henry1 of the ,smithsonian ,institution1 ,washington4 ,douglas ,jerrold once knew a man who was familiar with twenty-four languages but could not express a thought in one of them4 ,we should guard against a talent which we cannot hope to practice in perfection1 says ,goethe4 ,improve it as we may1 we shall always1 in the end1 when the merit of the matter has become apparent to us1 painfully lament the loss of time and strength devoted to such botching4 ,an old proverb says3 ,the master of one trade will support a wife and seven children1 and the master of seven will not support himself4 ,it is the single aim that wins4 ,men with monopolizing ambitions rarely live in history4 ,they do not focus their powers long enough to burn their names indelibly into the roll of honor4 ,edward ,everett1 even with his magnificent powers1 disappointed the expectations of his friends4 ,he spread himself over the whole field of knowledge and elegant culture2 but the mention of the name of ,everett does not call up any one great achievement as does that of names like ,garrison and ,phillips4 ,voltaire called the ,frenchman ,la ,harpe an oven which was always heating1 but which never cooked anything4 ,hartley ,coleridge was splendidly endowed with talent1 like ,sir ,james ,mackintosh1 but there was one fatal lack in his character--he had no definite purpose1 and his life was a failure4 ,unstable as water1 he could not excel4 ,southey1 his uncle1 says3 ,coleridge has two left hands4 ,he was so morbidly shy from living alone in his dreamland that he could not open a letter without trembling4 ,he would often rally from his purposeless life1 and resolve to redeem himself from the oblivion he saw staring him in the face2 but1 like ,mackintosh1 he remained a man of promise merely to the end of his life4 ,the world always makes way for the man with a purpose in him1 like ,bismarck or ,grant4 ,look at ,rufus ,choate1 concentrating all his attention first on one juryman1 then on another1 going back over the whole line again and again1 until he has burned his arguments into their souls2 until he has hypnotized them with his purpose2 until they see with his eyes1 think his thoughts1 feel his sensations4 ,he never stopped until he had projected his mind into theirs1 and permeated their lives with his individuality4 ,there was no escape from his concentration of purpose1 his persuasive rhetoric1 his convincing logic4 ,carry the jury at all hazards1 he used to say to young lawyers2 move heaven and earth to carry the jury1 and then fight it out with the judge on the law questions as best you can4 ,the man who succeeds has a programme4 ,he fixes his course and adheres to it4 ,he lays his plans and executes them4 ,he goes straight to his goal4 ,he is not pushed this way and that every time a difficulty is thrown in his path2 if he can't get over it he goes through it4 ,constant and steady use of the faculties under a central purpose gives strength and power1 while the use of faculties without an aim or end only weakens them4 ,the mind must be focused on a definite end1 or1 like machinery without a balance-wheel1 it will rack itself to pieces4 ,this age of concentration calls1 not for educated men merely1 not for talented men1 not for geniuses1 not for jacks-of-all-trades1 but for men who are trained to do one thing as well as it can be done4 ,napoleon could go through the drill of his soldiers better than any one of his men4 ,stick to your aim4 ,the constant changing of one's occupation is fatal to all success4 ,after a young man has spent five or six years in a dry goods store1 he concludes that he would rather sell groceries1 thereby throwing away five years of valuable experience which will be of very little use to him in the grocery business2 and so he spends a large part of his life drifting around from one kind of employment to another1 learning part of each1 but all of none1 forgetting that experience is worth more to him than money1 and that the years devoted to learning his trade or occupation are the most valuable4 ,half-learned trades1 no matter if a man has twenty1 will never give him a good living1 much less a competency1 while wealth is absolutely out of the question4 ,how many young men fail to reach the point of efficiency in one line of work before they get discouraged and venture into something else4 ,how easy to see the thorns in one's own profession or vocation1 and only the roses in that of another4 ,a young man in business1 for instance1 seeing a physician riding about town in his carriage1 visiting his patients1 imagines that a doctor must have an easy1 ideal life1 and wonders that he himself should have embarked in an occupation so full of disagreeable drudgery and hardships4 ,he does not know of the years of dry1 tedious study which the physician has consumed1 the months and perhaps years of waiting for patients1 the dry detail of anatomy1 the endless names of drugs and technical terms4 ,scientists tell us that there is nothing in nature so ugly and disagreeable but intense light will make it beautiful4 ,the complete mastery of one profession will render even the driest details interesting4 ,the consciousness of thorough knowledge1 the habit of doing everything to a finish1 gives a feeling of strength1 of superiority1 which takes the drudgery out of an occupation4 ,the more completely we master a vocation the more thoroughly we enjoy it4 ,in fact1 the man who has found his place and become master in it could scarcely be induced1 even though he be a farmer1 or a carpenter1 or grocer1 to exchange places with a governor or congressman4 ,to be successful is to find your sphere and fill it1 to get into your place and master it4 ,there is a sense of great power in a vocation after a man has reached the point of efficiency in it1 the point of productiveness1 the point where his skill begins to tell and bring in returns4 ,up to this point of efficiency1 while he is learning his trade1 the time seems to have been almost thrown away4 ,but he has been storing up a vast reserve of knowledge of detail1 laying foundations1 forming his acquaintances1 gaining his reputation for truthfulness1 trustworthiness1 and integrity1 and in establishing his credit4 ,when he reaches this point of efficiency1 all the knowledge and skill1 character1 influence1 and credit thus gained come to his aid1 and he soon finds that in what seemed almost thrown away lies the secret of his prosperity4 ,the credit he established as a clerk1 the confidence1 the integrity1 the friendships formed1 he finds equal to a large capital when he starts out for himself and takes the highway to fortune2 while the young man who half learned several trades1 and got discouraged and stopped just short of the point of efficiency1 just this side of success1 is a failure because he didn't go far enough2 he did not press on to the point at which his acquisition would have been profitable4 ,in spite of the fact that nearly all very successful men have made a life work of one thing1 we see on every hand hundreds of young men and women flitting about from occupation to occupation1 trade to trade1 in one thing to-day and another to-morrow1--just as though they could go from one thing to another by turning a switch1 as if they could run as well on another track as on the one they have left1 regardless of the fact that no two careers have the same gauge1 that every man builds his own road upon which another's engine cannot run either with speed or safety4 ,this fickleness1 this disposition to shift about from one occupation to another1 seems to be peculiar to ,american life1 so much so that1 when a young man meets a friend whom he has not seen for some time1 the commonest question to ask is1 ,what are you doing now8 showing the improbability or uncertainty that he is doing to-day what he was doing when they last met4 ,some people think that if they keep everlastingly at it they will succeed1 but this is not so4 ,working without a plan is as foolish as going to sea without a compass4 ,a ship which has broken its rudder in mid-ocean may keep everlastingly at it1 may keep on a full head of steam1 driving about all the time1 but it never arrives anywhere1 it never reaches any port unless by accident1 and if it does find a haven1 its cargo may not be suited to the people1 the climate1 or conditions among which it has accidentally drifted4 ,the ship must be directed to a definite port1 for which its cargo is adapted1 and where there is a demand for it1 and it must aim steadily for that port through sunshine and storm1 through tempest and fog4 ,so a man who would succeed must not drift about rudderless on the ocean of life4 ,he must not only steer straight toward his destined port when the ocean is smooth1 when the currents and winds serve1 but he must keep his course in the very teeth of the wind and the tempest1 and even when enveloped in the fogs of disappointment and mists of opposition4 ,the ,cunarders do not stop for fogs or storms2 they plow straight through the rough seas with only one thing in view1 their destined port1 and no matter what the weather is1 no matter what obstacles they encounter1 their arrival in port can be predicted to within a few hours4 ,it is practically certain1 too1 that the ship destined for ,boston will not turn up at ,fort ,sumter or at ,sandy ,hook4 ,on the prairies of ,south ,america there grows a flower that always inclines in the same direction4 ,if a traveler loses his way and has neither compass nor chart1 by turning to this flower he will find a guide on which he can implicitly rely2 for no matter how the rains descend or the winds blow1 its leaves point to the north4 ,so there are many men whose purposes are so well known1 whose aims are so constant1 that no matter what difficulties they may encounter1 or what opposition they may meet1 you can tell almost to a certainty where they will come out4 ,they may be delayed by head winds and counter currents1 but they will always head for the port and will steer straight towards the harbor4 ,you know to a certainty that whatever else they may lose1 they will not lose their compass or rudder4 ,whatever may happen to a man of this stamp1 even though his sails may be swept away and his mast stripped to the deck1 though he may be wrecked by the storms of life1 the needle of his compass will still point to the ,north ,star of his hope4 ,whatever comes1 his life will not be purposeless4 ,even a wreck that makes its port is a greater success than a full-rigged ship with all its sails flying1 with every mast and rope intact2 which merely drifts into an accidental harbor4 ,to fix a wandering life and give it direction is not an easy task1 but a life which has no definite aim is sure to be frittered away in empty and purposeless dreams4 ,listless triflers1 busy idlers1 purposeless busybodies1 are seen everywhere4 ,a healthy1 definite purpose is a remedy for a thousand ills which attend aimless lives4 ,discontent1 dissatisfaction1 flee before a definite purpose4 ,an aim takes the drudgery out of life1 scatters doubts to the winds1 and clears up the gloomiest creeds4 ,what we do without a purpose begrudgingly1 with a purpose becomes a delight1 and no work is well done nor healthily done which is not enthusiastically done4 ,it is just that added element which makes work immortal4 ,mere energy is not enough1 it must be concentrated on some steady1 unwavering aim4 ,what is more common than unsuccessful geniuses1 or failures with commanding talents8 ,indeed1 unrewarded genius has become a proverb4 ,every town has unsuccessful educated and talented men4 ,but education is of no value1 talent is worthless1 unless it can do something1 achieve something4 ,men who can do something at everything1 and a very little at anything1 are not wanted in this age4 ,in ,paris1 a certain ,monsieur ,kenard announced himself as a public scribe1 who digests accounts1 explains the language of flowers1 and sells fried potatoes4 ,jacks-at-all-trades are at war with the genius of the times4 ,what this age wants is young men and women who can do one thing without losing their identity or individuality1 or becoming narrow1 cramped1 or dwarfed4 ,nothing can take the place of an all-absorbing purpose2 education will not1 genius will not1 talent will not1 industry will not1 will-power will not4 ,the purposeless life must ever be a failure4 ,what good are powers1 faculties1 unless we can use them for a purpose8 ,what good would a chest of tools do a carpenter unless he could use them8 ,a college education1 a head full of knowledge1 are worth little to the men who cannot use them to some definite end4 ,the man without a purpose never leaves his mark upon the world4 ,he has no individuality2 he is absorbed in the mass1 lost in the crowd1 weak1 wavering1 incompetent4 ,his outlines of individuality and angles of character have been worn off1 planed down to suit the common thought until he has1 as a man1 been lost in the throng of humanity4 ,he who would do some great thing in this short life must apply himself to the work with such a concentration of his forces as1 to idle spectators1 who live only to amuse themselves1 looks like insanity4 ,what a great directness of purpose may be traced in the career of ,pitt1 who lived--ay1 and died--for the sake of political supremacy4 ,from a child1 the idea was drilled into him that he must accomplish a public career worthy of his illustrious father4 ,even from boyhood he bent all his energy to this one great purpose4 ,he went straight from college to the ,house of ,commons4 ,in one year he was ,chancellor of the ,exchequer2 two years later he was ,prime ,minister of ,england1 and reigned virtually king for a quarter of a century4 ,he was utterly oblivious of everything outside his aim2 insensible to the claims of love1 art1 literature1 living and steadily working for the sole purpose of wielding the governing power of the nation4 ,his whole soul was absorbed in the overmastering passion for political power4 ,consider1 my lord1 said ,rowland ,hill to the ,prime ,minister of ,england1 that a letter to ,ireland and the answer back would cost thousands upon thousands of my affectionate countrymen more than a fifth of their week's wages4 ,if you shut the post office to them1 which you do now1 you shut out warm hearts and generous affections from home1 kindred1 and friends4 ,the lad learned that it cost to carry a letter from ,london to ,edinburgh1 four hundred and four miles1 one eighteenth of a cent1 while the government charged for a simple folded sheet of paper twenty-eight cents1 and twice as much if there was the smallest inclosure4 ,against the opposition and contempt of the post-office department he at length carried his point1 and on ,january #aj1 #ahdj1 penny postage was established throughout ,great ,britain4 ,mr4 ,hill was chosen to introduce the system1 at a salary of fifteen hundred pounds a year4 ,his success was most encouraging1 but at the end of two years a ,tory minister dismissed him without paying for his services1 as agreed4 ,the public was indignant1 and at once contributed sixty-five thousand dollars2 and1 at the request of ,queen ,victoria1 ,parliament voted him one hundred thousand dollars and ten thousand dollars a year for life4 ,christ knew that one affection rules in man's life when he said1 ,no man can serve two masters4 ,one affection1 one object1 will be supreme in us4 ,everything else will be neglected and done with half a heart4 ,one may have subordinate plans1 but he can have but one supreme aim1 and from this aim all others will take their character4 ,it is a great purpose which gives meaning to life1 it unifies all our powers1 binds them together in one cable2 makes strong and united what was weak1 separated1 scattered4 ,painting is my wife and my works are my children1 replied ,michael ,angelo when asked why he did not marry4 ,smatterers are weak and superficial4 ,of what use is a man who knows a little of everything and not much of anything8 ,it is the momentum of constantly repeated acts that tells the story4 ,let thine eyes look straight before thee4 ,ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established4 ,turn not to the right hand nor to the left4 ,one great secret of ,st4 ,paul's power lay in his strong purpose4 ,nothing could daunt him1 nothing intimidate4 ,the ,roman ,emperor could not muzzle him1 the dungeon could not appall him1 no prison suppress him1 obstacles could not discourage him4 ,this one thing ,i do was written all over his work4 ,the quenchless zeal of his mighty purpose burned its way down through the centuries1 and its contagion will never cease to fire the hearts of men4 ,try and come home somebody1 said the fond mother to ,gambetta as she sent him off to ,paris to school4 ,poverty pinched this lad hard in his little garret study and his clothes were shabby1 but what of that8 ,he had made up his mind to get on in the world4 ,for years this youth was chained to his desk and worked like a hero4 ,at last his opportunity came4 ,jules ,favre was to plead a great cause on a certain day2 but1 being ill1 he chose this young man1 absolutely unknown1 rough and uncouth1 to take his place4 ,for many years ,gambetta had been preparing for such an opportunity1 and he was equal to it1 for he made one of the greatest speeches that up to that time had ever been made in ,france4 ,that night all the papers in ,paris were sounding the praises of this ragged1 uncouth ,bohemian1 and soon all ,france recognized him as the ,republican leader4 ,this sudden rise was not due to luck or accident4 ,he had been steadfastly working and fighting his way up against opposition and poverty for just such an occasion4 ,had he not been equal to it1 it would only have made him ridiculous4 ,what a stride2 yesterday1 poor and unknown1 living in a garret1 to-day1 deputy elect1 in the city of ,marseilles1 and the great ,republican leader6 ,the gossipers of ,france had never heard his name before4 ,he had been expelled from the priest-making seminary as totally unfit for a priest and an utterly undisciplinable character4 ,in two weeks1 this ragged son of an ,italian grocer arose in the ,chamber1 and moved that the ,napoleon dynasty be disposed of and the ,republic be declared established4 ,when ,louis ,napoleon had been defeated at ,sedan and had delivered his sword to ,william of ,prussia1 and when the ,prussian army was marching on ,paris1 the brave ,gambetta went out of the besieged city in a balloon barely grazed by the ,prussian guns1 landed in ,amiens1 and by almost superhuman skill raised three armies of #hjj1jjj men1 provided for their maintenance1 and directed their military operations4 ,a ,german officer said1 ,this colossal energy is the most remarkable event of modern history1 and will carry down ,gambetta's name to remote posterity4 ,this youth who was poring over his books in an attic while other youths were promenading the ,champs lyses1 although but thirty-two years old1 was now virtually dictator of ,france1 and the greatest orator in the ,republic4 ,what a striking example of the great reserve of personal power1 which1 even in dissolute lives1 is sometimes called out by a great emergency or sudden sorrow1 and ever after leads the life to victory6 ,when ,gambetta found that his first speech had electrified all ,france1 his great reserve rushed to the front1 he was suddenly weaned from dissipation1 and resolved to make his mark in the world4 ,nor did he lose his head in his quick leap into fame4 ,he still lived in the upper room in the musty ,latin quarter1 and remained a poor man1 without stain of dishonor1 though he might easily have made himself a millionaire4 ,when ,gambetta died the ,figaro said1 ,the ,republic has lost its greatest man4 ,american boys should study this great man1 for he loved our country1 and made our ,republic the pattern for ,france4 ,there is no grander sight in the world than that of a young man fired with a great purpose1 dominated by one unwavering aim4 ,he is bound to win2 the world stands one side and lets him pass2 it always makes way for the man with a will in him4 ,he does not have one half the opposition to overcome that the undecided1 purposeless man has who1 like driftwood1 runs against all sorts of snags to which he must yield1 because he has no momentum to force them out of his way4 ,what a sublime spectacle it is to see a youth going straight to his goal1 cutting his way through difficulties1 and surmounting obstacles1 which dishearten others1 as though they were but stepping-stones6 ,defeat1 like a gymnasium1 only gives him new power2 opposition only doubles his exertions1 dangers only increase his courage4 ,no matter what comes to him1 sickness1 poverty1 disaster1 he never turns his eye from his goal4 ,duos qui sequitur lepores1 neutrum capit4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,sowing ,,and ,,reaping4 ,be not deceived2 ,god is not mocked3 for whatsoever a man soweth1 that shall he also reap4--,,galatians4 ,sow an act1 and you reap a habit2 sow a habit1 and you reap a character2 sow a character1 and you reap a destiny4--,g4 ,d4 ,,boardman4 ,just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined4--,,pope4 ,how use doth breed a habit in a man4--,,shakespeare4 ,all habits gather1 by unseen degrees1 ,as brooks make rivers1 rivers run to seas4 ,,dryden4 ,infinite good comes from good habits which must result from the common influence of example1 intercourse1 knowledge1 and actual experience--morality taught by good morals4--,,plato4 ,the chains of habit are generally too small to be felt till they are too strong to be broken4--,,samuel ,,johnson4 ,man is first startled by sin2 then it becomes pleasing1 then easy1 then delightful1 then frequent1 then habitual1 then confirmed4 ,then man is impenitent1 then obstinate1 then he is damned4--,,jeremy ,,taylor4 ,rogues differ little4 ,each began as a disobedient son4 ,in the great majority of things1 habit is a greater plague than ever afflicted ,egypt4--,,john ,,foster4 ,you cannot in any given case1 by any sudden and single effort1 will to be true if the habit of your life has been insincere4--,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,the tissue of the life to be1 ,we weave with colors all our own2 ,and in the field of destiny1 ,we reap as we have sown4 ,,whittier4 ,gentlemen of the jury1 you will now consider your verdict1 said the great lawyer1 ,lord ,tenterden1 as he roused from his lethargy a moment1 and then closed his eyes forever4 ,tte d'arme 7head of the army71 murmured ,napoleon faintly2 and then1 on the wings of a tempest that raged with unwonted fury1 up to the throne of the only power that controlled him while he lived1 went the fiery soul of that wonderful warrior4 ,give ,dayrolles a chair1 said the dying ,chesterfield with his old-time courtesy1 and the next moment his spirit spread its wings4 ,young man1 keep your record clean1 thrilled from the lips of ,john ,b4 ,gough as he sank to rise no more4 ,what power over the mind of man is exercised by the dominant idea of his life that parts not quite with parting breath6 ,it has shaped his purpose throughout his earthly career1 and he passes into the ,great ,unknown1 moving in the direction of his ideal2 impelled still1 amid the utter retrocession of the vital force1 by all the momentum resulting from his weight of character and singleness of aim4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,victor ,,hugo ,every one is the son of his own works4 ,cast forth thy act1 thy word1 into the ever-living1 ever-working universe3 it is seed-grain that cannot die4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is a beautiful arrangement in the mental and moral economy of our nature1 that that which is performed as a duty may1 by frequent repetitions1 become a habit1 and the habit of stern virtue1 so repulsive to others1 may hang around the neck like a wreath of flowers4 ,cholera appeared mysteriously in ,toulon1 and1 after a careful examination1 the medical inspectors learned that the first victims were two sailors on the ,montebello1 a government transport1 long out of service1 anchored at the entrance to the port4 ,for many years the vessel had been used for storing old1 disused military equipments4 ,some of these had belonged to ,french soldiers who had died before ,sebastopol4 ,the doctors learned that the two poor sailors were seized1 suddenly and mortally1 a few days after displacing a pile of equipments stored deep in the hold of the ,montebello4 ,the cholera of ,toulon came in a direct line from the hospital of ,varna4 ,it went to sleep1 apparently gorged1 on a heap of the cast-off garments of its victims1 to awaken thirty years later to victorious and venomous life4 ,professor ,bonelli1 of ,turin1 punctured an animal with the tooth of a rattlesnake4 ,the head of this serpent had lain in a dry state for sixteen years exposed to the air and dust1 and1 moreover1 had previously been preserved more than thirty years in spirits of wine4 ,to his great astonishment an hour afterward the animal died4 ,so habits1 good or bad1 that have been lost sight of for years will spring into a new life to aid or injure us at some critical moment1 as kernels of wheat which had been clasped in a mummy's hand four thousand years sprang into life when planted4 ,they only awaited moisture1 heat1 sunlight1 and air to develop them4 ,in ,jefferson's play1 ,rip ,van ,winkle1 after he had sworn off1 at every invitation to drink said1 ,well1 this time don't count4 ,true1 as ,professor ,james says1 he may not have counted it1 as thousands of others have not counted it1 and a kind heaven may not count it1 but it is being counted none the less4 ,down among his nerve cells and fibres the molecules are counting it1 registering and storing it up to be used against him when the next temptation comes4 ,nothing we ever do is in strict scientific literalness wiped out4 ,there is a tendency in the nervous system to repeat the same mode of action at regularly recurring intervals4 ,dr4 ,combe says that all nervous diseases have a marked tendency to observe regular periods4 ,if we repeat any kind of mental effort at the same hour daily1 we at length find ourselves entering upon it without premeditation when the time approaches4 ,the great thing in all education is to make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy4 ,it is to fund and capitalize our acquisition1 and live at ease upon the interest of the fund4 ,for this we must make automatic and habitual1 as soon as possible1 as many useful actions as we can1 and guard against the growing into ways that are likely to be disadvantageous to us1 as we would guard against the plague4 ,the nervous system is a living phonograph1 infinitely more marvelous than that of ,edison4 ,no sound1 however feeble1 however slight1 can escape being recorded in its wonderful mechanism4 ,although the molecules of this living machine may all be entirely changed many times during a lifetime1 yet these impressions are never erased or lost4 ,they become forever fixed in the character4 ,like ,rip ,van ,winkle1 the youth may say to himself1 ,i will do this just once just to see what it is like1 no one will ever know it1 and ,i won't count this time4 ,the country youth says it when he goes to the city4 ,the young man says it when he drinks just to be social4 ,americans1 who are good church people at home1 say it when in ,paris and ,vienna4 ,yes1 just to see what it is like has ruined many a noble life4 ,many a man has lost his balance and fallen over the precipice into the sink of iniquity while just attempting to see what it was like4 ,if you have been pilot on these waters twenty-five years1 said a young man to the captain of a steamer1 you must know every rock and sandbank in the river4 ,no1 ,i don't1 but ,i know where the deep water is4 ,just one little lie to help me out of this difficulty2 ,i won't count this4 ,just one little embezzlement2 no one will know it1 and ,i can return the money before it will be needed4 ,just one little indulgence2 ,i won't count it1 and a good night's sleep will make me all right again4 ,just one small part of my work slighted2 it won't make any great difference1 and1 besides1 ,i am usually so careful that a little thing like this ought not to be counted4 ,but1 my young friend1 it will be counted1 whether you will or not2 the deed has been recorded with an iron pen1 even to the smallest detail4 ,the ,recording ,angel is no myth2 it is found in ourselves4 ,its name is ,memory1 and it holds everything4 ,we think we have forgotten thousands of things until mortal danger1 fever1 or some other great stimulus reproduces them to the consciousness with all the fidelity of photographs4 ,sometimes all one's past life will seem to pass before him in an instant2 but at all times it is really1 although unconsciously1 passing before him in the sentiments he feels1 in the thoughts he thinks1 in the impulses that move him apparently without cause4 ,our acts our angels are1 or good or ill1 ,our fatal shadows that walk by us still4 ,in a fable one of the ,fates spun filaments so fine that they were invisible1 and she became a victim of her cunning1 for she was bound to the spot by these very threads4 ,father ,schoenmaker1 missionary to the ,indians1 tried for years to implant civilization among the wild tribes4 ,after fifteen years' labor he induced a chief to lay aside his blanket1 the token of savagery2 but he goes on to say1 ,it took fifteen years to get it off1 and just fifteen minutes to get it on him again4 ,physiologists say that dark-colored stripes similar to those on the zebra reappear1 after a hundred or a thousand generations1 on the legs and shoulders of horses1 asses1 and mules4 ,large birds on sea islands where there are no beasts to molest them lose the power of flight4 ,after a criminal's head had been cut off his breast was irritated1 and he raised his hands several times as if to brush away the exciting cause4 ,it was said that the cheek of ,charlotte ,corday blushed on being struck by a rude soldier after the head had been severed from the body4 ,humboldt found in ,south ,america a parrot which was the only living creature that could speak a word of the language of a lost tribe4 ,the bird retained the habit of speech after his teachers had died4 ,caspar ,hauser was confined1 probably from birth1 in a dungeon where no light or sound from the outer world1 could reach him4 ,at seventeen he was still a mental infant1 crying and chattering without much apparent intelligence4 ,when released1 the light was disagreeable to his eyes2 and1 after the babbling youth had been taught to speak a few words1 he begged to be taken back to the dungeon4 ,only cold and dismal silence seemed to satisfy him4 ,all that gave pleasure to others gave his perverted senses only pain4 ,the sweetest music was a source of anguish to him1 and he could eat only his black crust without violent vomiting4 ,deep in the very nature of animate existence is that principle of facility and inclination1 acquired by repetition1 which we call habit4 ,man becomes a slave to his constantly repeated acts4 ,in spite of the protests of his weakened will the trained nerves continue to repeat the acts even when the doer abhors them4 ,what he at first chooses1 at last compels4 ,man is as irrevocably chained to his deeds as the atoms are chained by gravitation4 ,you can as easily snatch a pebble from gravitation's grasp as you can separate the minutest act of life from its inevitable effect upon character and destiny4 ,children may be strangled1 says ,george ,eliot1 but deeds never1 they have an indestructible life4 ,the smirched youth becomes the tainted man4 ,practically all the achievements of the human race are but the accomplishments of habit4 ,we speak of the power of ,gladstone to accomplish so much in a day as something marvelous2 but when we analyze that power we find it composed very largely of the results of habit4 ,his mighty momentum has been rendered possible only by the law of the power of habit4 ,he is now a great bundle of habits1 which all his life have been forming4 ,his habit of industry no doubt was irksome and tedious at first1 but1 practiced so conscientiously and persistently1 it has gained such momentum as to astonish the world4 ,his habit of thinking1 close1 persistent1 and strong1 has made him a power4 ,he formed the habit of accurate1 keen observation1 allowing nothing to escape his attention1 until he could observe more in half a day in ,london than a score of men who have eyes but see not4 ,thus he has multiplied himself many times4 ,by this habit of accuracy he has avoided many a repetition2 and so1 during his lifetime1 he has saved years of precious time1 which many others1 who marvel at his achievements1 have thrown away4 ,gladstone early formed the habit of cheerfulness1 of looking on the bright side of things1 which1 ,sydney ,smith says1 is worth a thousand pounds a year4 ,this again has saved him enormous waste of energy1 as he tells us he has never yet been kept awake a single hour by any debate or business in ,parliament4 ,this loss of energy has wasted years of many a useful life1 which might have been saved by forming the economizing habit of cheerfulness4 ,the habit of happy thought would transform the commonest life into harmony and beauty4 ,the will is almost omnipotent to determine habits which virtually are omnipotent4 ,the habit of directing a firm and steady will upon those things which tend to produce harmony of thought would produce happiness and contentment even in the most lowly occupations4 ,the will1 rightly drilled1 can drive out all discordant thoughts1 and produce a reign of perpetual harmony4 ,our trouble is that we do not half will4 ,after a man's habits are well set1 about all he can do is to sit by and observe which way he is going4 ,regret it as he may1 how helpless is a weak man bound by the mighty cable of habit1 twisted from the tiny threads of single acts which he thought were absolutely within his control6 ,drop a stone down a precipice4 ,by the law of gravitation it sinks with rapidly increasing momentum4 ,if it falls sixteen feet the first second1 it will fall forty-eight feet the next second1 and eighty feet the third second1 and one hundred and forty-four feet the fifth second1 and if it falls for ten seconds it will in the last second rush through three hundred and four feet till earth stops it4 ,habit is cumulative4 ,after each act of our lives we are not the same person as before1 but quite another1 better or worse1 but not the same4 ,there has been something added to1 or deducted from1 our weight of character4 ,there is no fault nor folly of my life1 said ,ruskin2 that does not rise against me and take away my joy1 and shorten my power of possession1 of sight1 of understanding2 and every past effort of my life1 every gleam of righteousness or good in it1 is with me now to help me in my grasp of this hour and its vision4 ,many men of genius have written worse scrawls than ,i do1 said a boy at ,rugby when his teacher remonstrated with him for his bad penmanship2 it is not worth while to worry about so trivial a fault4 ,ten years later1 when he had become an officer in the ,crimea1 his illegible copy of an order caused the loss of many brave men4 ,resist beginning was an ancient motto which is needed in our day4 ,the folly of the child becomes the vice of the youth1 and then the crime of the man4 ,in #ahhj one hundred and forty-seven of the eight hundred and ninety-seven inmates of ,auburn ,state ,prison were there on a second visit4 ,what brings the prisoner back the second1 third1 or fourth time8 ,it is habit which drives him on to commit the deed which his heart abhors and which his very soul loathes4 ,it is the momentum made up from a thousand deviations from the truth and right1 for there is a great difference between going just right and a little wrong4 ,it is the result of that mysterious power which the repeated act has of getting itself repeated again and again4 ,when a woman was dying from the effects of her husband's cruelty and debauchery from drink she asked him to come to her bedside1 and pleaded with him again for the sake of their children to drink no more4 ,grasping his hand with her thin1 long fingers1 she made him promise her3 ,mary1 ,i will drink no more till ,i take it out of this hand which ,i hold in mine4 ,that very night he poured out a tumbler of brandy1 stole into the room where she lay cold in her coffin1 put the tumbler into her withered hand1 and then took it out and drained it to the bottom4 ,john ,b4 ,gough told this as a true story4 ,how powerless a man is in the presence of a mighty habit1 which has robbed him of will-power1 of self-respect1 of everything manly1 until he becomes its slave6 ,walpole tells of a gambler who fell at the table in a fit of apoplexy1 and his companions began to bet upon his chances of recovery4 ,when the physician came they refused to let him bleed the man because they said it would affect the bet4 ,when ,president ,garfield was hanging between life and death men bet heavily upon the issue1 and even sold pools4 ,no disease causes greater horror or dread than cholera2 yet when it is once fastened upon a victim he is perfectly indifferent1 and wonders at the solicitude of his friends4 ,his tears are dried2 he cannot weep if he would4 ,his body is cold and clammy and feels like dead flesh1 yet he tells you he is warm1 and calls for ice water4 ,have you never seen similar insensibility to danger in those whose habits are already dragging them to everlasting death8 ,etherized by the fascinations of pleasure1 we are often unconscious of pain while the devil amputates the fingers1 the feet and hands1 or even the arms and legs of our character4 ,but oh1 the anguish that visits the sad heart when the lethe passes away1 and the soul becomes conscious of virtue sacrificed1 of manhood lost4 ,the leper is often the last to suspect his danger1 for the disease is painless in its early stages4 ,a leading lawyer and public official in the ,sandwich ,islands once overturned a lighted lamp on his hand1 and was surprised to find that it caused no pain4 ,at last it dawned upon his mind that he was a leper4 ,he resigned his offices and went to the leper's island1 where he died4 ,so sin in its early stages is not only painless but often even pleasant4 ,the hardening1 deadening power of depraving habits and customs was strikingly illustrated by the ,romans4 ,under ,nero1 the taste of the people had become so debauched and morbid that no mere representation of tragedy would satisfy them4 ,their cold-blooded selfishness1 the hideous realism of a refined1 delicate1 aesthetic age1 demanded that the heroes should actually be killed on the stage4 ,the debauched and sanguinary ,romans reckoned life worthless without the most thrilling experiences of horror or delight4 ,tragedy must be genuine bloodshed1 comedy1 actual shame4 ,when ,the ,conflagration was represented on the stage they demanded that a house be actually burned and the furniture plundered4 ,when ,laureolus was played they demanded that the actor be really crucified and mangled by a bear1 and he had to fling himself down and deluge the stage with his own blood4 ,prometheus must be really chained to his rock1 and ,dirce in very fact be tossed and gored by the wild bull1 and ,orpheus be torn to pieces by a real bear1 and ,icarus was compelled to fly1 even though it was known he would be dashed to death4 ,when the heroism of ,mucius ,scaevola was represented1 a real criminal was compelled to thrust his hand into the flame without a murmur1 and stand motionless while it was being burned4 ,hercules was compelled to ascend the funeral pyre1 and there be burned alive4 ,the poor slaves and criminals were compelled to play their parts heroically until the flames enveloped them4 ,the pirate ,gibbs1 who was executed in ,new ,york1 said that when he robbed the first vessel his conscience made a hell in his bosom2 but after he had sailed for years under the black flag1 he could rob a vessel and murder all the crew1 and lie down and sleep soundly4 ,a man may so accustom himself to error as to become its most devoted slave1 and be led to commit the most fearful crimes in order to defend it1 or to propagate it4 ,when ,gordon1 the celebrated ,california stage-driver1 was dying1 he put his foot out of the bed and swung it to and fro4 ,when asked why he did so1 he replied1 ,i am on the down grade and cannot get my foot on the brake4 ,in our great museums you see stone slabs with the marks of rain that fell hundreds of years before ,adam lived1 and the footprint of some wild bird that passed across the beach in those olden times4 ,the passing shower and the light foot left their prints on the soft sediment2 then ages went on1 and the sediment hardened into stone2 and there the prints remain1 and will remain forever4 ,so the child1 so soft1 so susceptible to all impressions1 so joyous to receive new ideas1 treasures them all up1 gathers them all into itself1 and retains them forever4 ,a tribe of ,indians attacked a white settlement and murdered the few inhabitants4 ,a woman of the tribe1 however1 carried away a very young infant1 and reared it as her own4 ,the child grew up with the ,indian children1 different in complexion1 but like them in everything else4 ,to scalp the greatest possible number of enemies was1 in his view1 the most glorious thing in the world4 ,while he was still a youth he was seen by some white traders1 and by them conducted back to civilized life4 ,he showed great relish for his new life1 and especially a strong desire for knowledge and a sense of reverence which took the direction of religion1 so that he desired to become a clergyman4 ,he went through his college course with credit1 and was ordained4 ,he fulfilled his function well1 and appeared happy and satisfied4 ,after a few years he went to serve in a settlement somewhere near the seat of war which was then going on between ,britain and the ,united ,states1 and before long there was fighting not far off4 ,he went forth in his usual dress--black coat and neat white shirt and neckcloth4 ,when he returned he was met by a gentleman of his acquaintance1 who was immediately struck by an extraordinary change in the expression of his face and the flush on his cheek1 and also by his unusually shy and hurried manner4 ,after asking news of the battle the gentleman observed1 ,but you are wounded8 ,no4 ,not wounded6 ,why1 there is blood upon the bosom of your shirt6 ,the young man quickly crossed his hands firmly upon his breast2 and his friend1 supposing that he wished to conceal a wound which ought to be looked to1 pulled open his shirt1 and saw--what made the young man let fall his hands in despair4 ,from between his shirt and his breast the friend took out--a bloody scalp6 ,i could not help it1 said the poor victim of early habits1 in an agonized voice4 ,he turned and ran1 too swiftly to be overtaken1 betook himself to the ,indians1 and never more appeared among the whites4 ,an ,indian once brought up a young lion1 and finding him weak and harmless1 did not attempt to control him4 ,every day the lion gained in strength and became more unmanageable1 until at last1 when excited by rage1 he fell upon his master and tore him to pieces4 ,so what seemed to be an innocent sin has grown until it strangled him who was once its easy master4 ,beware of looking at sin1 for at each view it is apt to become better looking4 ,habit is practically1 for a middle-aged person1 fate2 for is it not practically certain that what ,i have done for twenty years ,i shall repeat to-day8 ,what are the chances for a man who has been lazy and indolent all his life starting in to-morrow morning to be industrious2 or a spendthrift1 frugal2 a libertine1 virtuous2 a profane1 foul-mouthed man1 clean and chaste8 ,a ,grecian flute-player charged double fees for pupils who had been taught by inferior masters1 on the ground that it was much harder to undo than to form habits4 ,habit tends to make us permanently what we are for the moment4 ,we cannot possibly hear1 see1 feel1 or experience anything which is not woven in the web of character4 ,what we are this minute and what we do this minute1 what we think this minute1 will be read in the future character as plainly as words spoken into the phonograph can be reproduced in the future4 ,the air itself1 says ,babbage1 is one vast library on whose pages are written forever all that man has ever said1 whispered1 or done4 ,every sin you ever committed becomes your boon companion4 ,it rushes to your lips every time you speak1 and drags its hideous form into your imagination every time you think4 ,it throws its shadow across your path whichever way you turn4 ,like ,banquo's ghost1 it will not down4 ,you are fastened to it for life1 and it will cling to you in the vast forever4 ,do you think yourself free8 ,you are a slave to every sin you ever committed4 ,they follow your pen and work their own character into every word you write4 ,rectitude is only the confirmed habit of doing what is right4 ,some men cannot tell a lie3 the habit of truth telling is fixed1 it has become incorporated with their nature4 ,their characters bear the indelible stamp of veracity4 ,you and ,i know men whose slightest word is unimpeachable2 nothing could shake our confidence in them4 ,there are other men who cannot speak the truth3 their habitual insincerity has made a twist in their characters1 and this twist appears in their speech4 ,i never in my life committed more than one act of folly1 said ,rulhire one day in the presence of ,talleyrand4 ,but where will it end8 inquired the latter4 ,it was lifelong4 ,one mistake too many makes all the difference between safety and destruction4 ,how many men would like to go to sleep beggars and wake up ,rothschilds or ,astors8 ,how many would fain go to bed dunces and wake up ,solomons8 ,you reap what you have sown4 ,those who have sown dunce-seed1 vice-seed1 laziness-seed1 always get a crop4 ,they that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind4 ,habit1 like a child1 repeats whatever is done before it4 ,oh1 the power of a repeated act to get itself repeated again and again6 ,but1 like the wind1 it is a power which we can use to force our way in its very teeth as does the ship1 and thus multiply our strength1 or we can drift with it without exertion upon the rocks and shoals of destruction4 ,what a great thing it is to start right in life4 ,every young man can see that the first steps lead to the last1 with all except his own4 ,no1 his little prevarications and dodgings will not make him a liar1 but he can see that they surely will in ,john ,smith's case4 ,he can see that others are idle and on the road to ruin1 but cannot see it in his own case4 ,there is a wonderful relation between bad habits4 ,they all belong to the same family4 ,if you take in one1 no matter how small or insignificant it may seem1 you will soon have the whole4 ,a man who has formed the habit of laziness or idleness will soon be late at his engagements2 a man who does not meet his engagements will dodge1 apologize1 prevaricate1 and lie4 ,i have rarely known a perfectly truthful man who was always behind time4 ,you have seen a ship out in the bay swinging with the tide and the waves2 the sails are all up1 and you wonder why it does not move1 but it cannot1 for down beneath the water it is anchored4 ,so we often see a young man apparently well equipped1 well educated1 and we wonder that he does not advance toward manhood and character4 ,but1 alas6 we find that he is anchored to some secret vice1 and he can never advance until he cuts loose4 ,the first crime past compels us into more1 ,and guilt grows fate that was but choice before4 ,small habits1 well pursued betimes1 ,may reach the dignity of crimes4 ,thousands can sympathize with ,david when he cried1 ,my sins have taken such hold upon me that ,i am not able to look up2 my heart faileth me4 ,like the damned spot of blood on ,lady ,macbeth's hand1 these foul spots on the imagination will not out4 ,what a penalty nature exacts for physical sins4 ,the gods are just1 and of our pleasant vices make instruments to plague us4 ,plato wrote over his door1 ,let no one ignorant of geometry enter here4 ,the greatest value of the study of the classics and mathematics comes from the habits of accurate and concise thought which it induces4 ,the habit-forming portion of life is the dangerous period1 and we need the discipline of close application to hold us outside of our studies4 ,washington at thirteen wrote one hundred and ten maxims of civility and good behavior1 and was most careful in the formation of all habits4 ,franklin1 too1 devised a plan of self-improvement and character building4 ,no doubt the noble characters of these two men1 almost superhuman in their excellence1 are the natural result of their early care and earnest striving towards perfection4 ,fielding1 describing a game of cards between ,jonathan ,wild1 of pilfering propensities1 and a professional gambler1 says3 ,such was the power of habit over the minds of these illustrious persons1 that ,mr4 ,wild could not keep his hands out of the count's pockets1 though he knew they were empty2 nor could the count abstain from palming a card1 though he was well aware ,mr4 ,wild had no money to pay him4 ,habit1 says ,montaigne1 is a violent and treacherous schoolmistress4 ,she1 by little and little1 slyly and unperceived1 slips in the foot of her authority1 but having by this gentle and humble beginning1 with the aid of time1 fixed and established it1 she then unmasks a furious and tyrannic countenance against which we have no more the courage nor the power so much as to lift up our eyes4 ,it led a ,new ,york man actually to cut off his hand with a cleaver under a test of what he would resort to1 to get a glass of whiskey4 ,it has led thousands of nature's noblemen to drunkards' and libertines' graves4 ,gough's life is a startling illustration of the power of habit1 and of the ability of one apparently a hopeless slave to break his fetters and walk a free man in the sunlight of heaven4 ,he came to ,america when nine years old4 ,possessed of great powers of song1 of mimicry1 and of acting1 and exceedingly social in his tastes1 a thousand temptations ,widened and strewed with flowers the way ,down to eternal ruin4 ,i would give this right hand to redeem those terrible seven years of dissipation and death1 he would often say in after years when1 with his soul still scarred and battered from his conflict with blighting passion1 he tearfully urged young men to free themselves from the chains of bestial habits4 ,in the laboratory of ,faraday a workman one day knocked into a jar of acid a silver cup2 it disappeared1 was eaten up by the acid1 and could not be found4 ,the question came up whether it could ever be found4 ,the great chemist came in and put certain chemicals into the jar1 and every particle of the silver was precipitated to the bottom4 ,the mass was then sent to a silversmith1 and the cup restored4 ,so a precious youth who has fallen into the sink of iniquity1 lost1 dissolved in sin1 can only be restored by the ,great ,chemist4 ,what is put into the first of life is put into the whole of life4 ,out of a church of twenty-seven hundred members1 ,i have never had to exclude a single one who was received while a child1 said ,spurgeon4 ,it is the earliest sin that exercises the most influence for evil4 ,benedict ,arnold was the only general in the ,revolution that disgraced his country4 ,he had great military talent1 wonderful energy1 and a courage equal to any emergency4 ,but ,arnold did not start right4 ,even when a boy he was despised for his cruelty and his selfishness4 ,he delighted in torturing insects and birds that he might watch their sufferings4 ,he scattered pieces of glass and sharp tacks on the floor of the shop he was tending1 to cut the feet of the barefooted boys4 ,even in the army1 in spite of his bravery1 the soldiers hated him1 and the officers dared not trust him4 ,let no man trust the first false step ,of guilt2 it hangs upon a precipice1 ,whose steep descent in last perdition ends4 ,,young ,years ago there was a district lying near ,westminster ,abbey1 ,london1 called the ,devil's ,acre1--a school for vicious habits1 where depravity was universal2 where professional beggars were fitted with all the appliances of imposture2 where there was an agency for the hire of children to be carried about by forlorn widows and deserted wives1 to move the compassion of street-giving benevolence2 where young pickpockets were trained in the art and mystery which was to conduct them in due course to an expensive voyage for the good of their country to ,botany ,bay4 ,victor ,hugo describes a strange association of men in the seventeenth century who bought children and distorted and made monstrosities of them to amuse the nobility with2 and in cultured ,boston there is an association of so-called respectable men1 who have opened thousands of places of business for deforming men1 women1 and children's souls4 ,but we deform ourselves with agencies so pleasant that we think we are having a good time1 until we become so changed and enslaved that we scarcely recognize ourselves4 ,vice1 the pleasant guest which we first invited into our heart's parlor1 becomes vulgarly familiar1 and intrenches herself deep in our very being4 ,we ask her to leave1 but she simply laughs at us from the hideous wrinkles she has made in our faces1 and refuses to go4 ,our secret sins defy us from the hideous furrows they have cut in our cheeks4 ,each impure thought has chiseled its autograph deep into the forehead1 too deep for erasure1 and the glassy1 bleary eye adds its testimony to our ruined character4 ,the devil does not apply his match to the hard coal2 but he first lights the shavings of innocent sins1 and the shavings the wood1 and the wood the coal4 ,sin is gradual4 ,it does not break out on a man until it has long circulated through his system4 ,murder1 adultery1 theft1 are not committed in deed until they have been committed in thought again and again4 ,don't write there1 said a man to a boy who was writing with a diamond pin on a pane of glass in the window of a hotel4 ,why not8 inquired the boy4 ,because you can't rub it out4 ,yet the glass might have been broken and all trace of the writing lost1 but things written upon the human soul can never be removed1 for the tablet is immortal4 ,in all the wide range of accepted ,british maxims1 said ,thomas ,hughes1 there is none1 take it all in all1 more thoroughly abominable than this one1 as to the sowing of wild oats4 ,look at it on what side you will1 and ,i defy you to make anything but a devil's maxim of it4 ,what man1 be he young1 old1 or middle-aged1 sows1 that1 and nothing else1 shall he reap4 ,the only thing to do with wild oats is to put them carefully into the hottest part of the fire1 and get them burnt to dust1 every seed of them4 ,if you sow them1 no matter in what ground1 up they will come with long1 tough roots and luxuriant stalks and leaves1 as sure as there is a sun in heaven4 ,the devil1 too1 whose special crop they are1 will see that they thrive1 and you1 and nobody else1 will have to reap them4 ,we scatter seeds with careless hand1 ,and dream we ne'er shall see them more2 ,but for a thousand years ,their fruit appears1 ,in weeds that mar the land4 ,,john ,,keble4 ,theodora boasted that she could draw ,socrates' disciples away from him4 ,that may be1 said the philosopher1 for you lead them down an easy descent whereas ,i am forcing them to mount to virtue--an arduous ascent and unknown to most men4 ,when ,i am told of a sickly student1 said ,daniel ,wise1 that he is 'studying himself to death1' or of a feeble young mechanic1 or clerk1 that his hard work is destroying him1 ,i study his countenance1 and there1 too often1 read the real1 melancholy truth in his dull1 averted1 sunken eye1 discolored skin1 and timid manner4 ,these signs proclaim that the young man is in some way violating the laws of his physical nature4 ,he is secretly destroying himself4 ,yet1 say his unconscious and admiring friends1 ',he is falling a victim to his own diligence6' ,most lame and impotent conclusion6 ,he is sapping the very source of life1 and erelong will be a mind in ruins or a heap of dust4 ,young man1 beware of his example6 ',keep thyself pure2' observe the laws of your physical nature1 and the most unrelaxing industry will never rob you of a month's health1 nor shorten the thread of your life2 for industry and health are companions1 and long life is the heritage of diligence4 ,how shall ,i a habit break8 ,as you did that habit make4 ,as you gathered1 you must lose2 ,as you yielded1 now refuse4 ,thread by thread the strands we twist ,till they bind us neck and wrist4 ,thread by thread the patient hand ,must untwine ere free we stand4 ,as we builded1 stone by stone1 ,we must toil1 unhelped1 alone1 ,till the wall is overthrown4 ,but remember1 as we try1 ,lighter every test goes by2 ,wading in1 the stream grows deep ,toward the centre's downward sweep2 ,backward turn1 each step ashore ,shallower is than that before4 ,ah1 the precious years we waste ,leveling what we raised in haste2 ,doing what must be undone1 ,ere content or love be won6 ,first across the gulf we cast ,kite-borne threads till lines are passed1 ,and habit builds the bridge at last4 ,,john ,,boyle ,o',,reilly4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,self-,,help4 ,i learned that no man in ,god's wide earth is either willing or able to help any other man4--,,pestalozzi4 ,what ,i am ,i have made myself4--,,humphry ,,davy4 ,be sure1 my son1 and remember that the best men always make themselves4--,,patrick ,,henry4 ,hereditary bondsmen1 know ye not ,who would be free themselves must strike the blow8 ,,byron4 ,god gives every bird its food1 but he does not throw it into the nest4--,j4 ,g4 ,,holland4 ,never forget that others will depend upon you1 and that you cannot depend upon them4--,,dumas1 ,,fils4 ,our remedies oft in ourselves do lie1 which we ascribe to ,heaven4--,,shakespeare4 ,the best education in the world is that got by struggling to obtain a living4--,,wendell ,,phillips4 ,every person has two educations1 one which he receives from others1 and one1 more important1 which he gives himself4--,,gibbon4 ,what the superior man seeks is in himself3 what the small man seeks is in others4--,,confucius4 ,who waits to have his task marked out1 ,shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled4 ,,lowell4 ,in battle or business1 whatever the game1 ,in law1 or in love1 it's ever the same3 ,in the struggle for power1 or scramble for pelf1 ,let this be your motto1 ,rely on yourself4 ,,saxe4 ,let every eye negotiate for itself1 ,and trust no agent4 ,,shakespeare4 ,colonel ,crockett makes room for himself6 exclaimed a backwoods congressman in answer to the exclamation of the ,white ,house usher to ,make room for ,colonel ,crockett6 ,this remarkable man was not afraid to oppose the head of a great nation4 ,he preferred being right to being president4 ,though rough1 uncultured1 and uncouth1 ,crockett was a man of great courage and determination4 ,garfield was the youngest member of the ,house of ,representatives when he entered1 but he had not been in his seat sixty days before his ability was recognized and his place conceded4 ,he stepped to the front with the confidence of one who belonged there4 ,he succeeded because all the world in concert could not have kept him in the background1 and because when once in the front he played his part with an intrepidity and a commanding ease that were but the outward evidences of the immense reserves of energy on which it was in his power to draw4 ,illustration3 ,james ,a4 ,garfield 7missing from book7 ,take the place and attitude which belong to you1 says ,emerson1 and all men acquiesce4 ,the world must be just4 ,it leaves every man with profound unconcern to set his own rate4 ,grant was no book soldier4 ,some of his victories were contrary to all instructions in military works4 ,he did not dare to disclose his plan to invest ,vicksburg1 and he even cut off all communication on the ,mississippi ,river for seven days that no orders could reach him from ,general ,halleck1 his superior officer2 for he knew that ,halleck went by books1 and he was proceeding contrary to all military theories4 ,he was making a greater military history than had ever been written up to that time4 ,he was greater than all books of tactics4 ,the consciousness of power is everything4 ,that man is strongest who owes most to himself4 ,man1 it is within yourself1 says ,pestalozzi1 it is in the inner sense of your power that resides nature's instrument for your development4 ,richard ,arkwright1 the thirteenth child1 in a hovel1 with no education1 no chance1 gave his spinning model to the world1 and put a sceptre in ,england's right hand such as the queen never wielded4 ,a person under the firm persuasion that he can command resources virtually has them1 says ,livy4 ,solario1 a wandering gypsy tinker1 fell deeply in love with the daughter of the painter ,coll' ,antonio del ,fiore1 but was told that no one but a painter as good as the father should wed the maiden4 ,will you give me ten years to learn to paint1 and so entitle myself to the hand of your daughter8 ,consent was given1 ,coll' ,antonio thinking that he would never be troubled further by the gypsy4 ,about the time that the ten years were to end the king's sister showed ,coll' ,antonio a ,madonna and ,child1 which the painter extolled in terms of the highest praise4 ,judge of his surprise on learning that ,solario was the artist4 ,but later1 his son-in-law surprised him even more by his rare skill4 ,louis ,philippe said he was the only sovereign in ,europe fit to govern1 for he could black his own boots4 ,when asked to name his family coat-of-arms1 a self-made ,president of the ,united ,states replied1 ,a pair of shirtsleeves4 ,poverty is uncomfortable1 as ,i can testify1 said ,james ,a4 ,garfield2 but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim for himself4 ,in all my acquaintance ,i have never known a man to be drowned who was worth the saving4 ,it is not the men who have inherited most1 except it be in nobility of soul and purpose1 who have risen highest2 but rather the men with no start who have won fortunes1 and have made adverse circumstances a spur to goad them up the steep mount1 where ,fame's proud temple shines afar4 ,to such men1 every possible goal is accessible1 and honest ambition has no height that genius or talent may tread1 which has not felt the impress of their feet4 ,you may leave your millions to your son1 but have you really given him anything8 ,you cannot transfer the discipline1 the experience1 the power which the acquisition has given you2 you cannot transfer the delight of achieving1 the joy felt only in growth1 the pride of acquisition1 the character which trained habits of accuracy1 method1 promptness1 patience1 dispatch1 honesty of dealing1 politeness of manner have developed4 ,you cannot transfer the skill1 sagacity1 prudence1 foresight1 which lie concealed in your wealth4 ,it meant a great deal for you1 but means nothing to your heir4 ,in climbing to your fortune1 you developed the muscle1 stamina1 and strength which enabled you to maintain your lofty position1 to keep your millions intact4 ,you had the power which comes only from experience1 and which alone enables you to stand firm on your dizzy height4 ,your fortune was experience to you1 joy1 growth1 discipline1 and character2 to him it will be a temptation1 an anxiety1 which will probably dwarf him4 ,it was wings to you1 it will be a dead weight to him2 it was education to you and expansion of your highest powers2 to him it may mean inaction1 lethargy1 indolence1 weakness1 ignorance4 ,you have taken the priceless spur--necessity--away from him1 the spur which has goaded man to nearly all the great achievements in the history of the world4 ,you thought it a kindness to deprive yourself in order that your son might begin where you left off4 ,you thought to spare him the drudgery1 the hardships1 the deprivations1 the lack of opportunities1 the meagre education1 which you had on the old farm4 ,but you have put a crutch into his hand instead of a staff2 you have taken away from him the incentive to self-development1 to self-elevation1 to self-discipline and self-help1 without which no real success1 no real happiness1 no great character is ever possible4 ,his enthusiasm will evaporate1 his energy will be dissipated1 his ambition1 not being stimulated by the struggle for self-elevation1 will gradually die away4 ,if you do everything for your son and fight his battles for him1 you will have a weakling on your hands at twenty-one4 ,my life is a wreck1 said the dying ,cyrus ,w4 ,field1 my fortune gone1 my home dishonored4 ,oh1 ,i was so unkind to ,edward when ,i thought ,i was being kind4 ,if ,i had only had firmness enough to compel my boys to earn their living1 then they would have known the meaning of money4 ,his table was covered with medals and certificates of honor from many nations1 in recognition of his great work for civilization in mooring two continents side by side in thought1 of the fame he had won and could never lose4 ,but grief shook the sands of life as he thought only of the son who had brought disgrace upon a name before unsullied1 the wounds were sharper than those of a serpent's tooth4 ,during the great financial crisis of #aheg ,maria ,mitchell1 who was visiting ,england1 asked an ,english lady what became of daughters when no property was left them4 ,they live on their brothers1 was the reply4 ,but what becomes of the ,american daughters1 asked the ,english lady1 when there is no money left8 ,they earn it1 was the reply4 ,men who have been bolstered up all their lives are seldom good for anything in a crisis4 ,when misfortune comes1 they look around for somebody to lean upon4 ,if the prop is not there down they go4 ,once down1 they are as helpless as capsized turtles1 or unhorsed men in armor4 ,many a frontier boy has succeeded beyond all his expectations simply because all props were knocked out from under him and he was obliged to stand upon his own feet4 ,a man's best friends are his ten fingers1 said ,robert ,collyer1 who brought his wife to ,america in the steerage4 ,young men who are always looking for something to lean upon never amount to anything4 ,there is no manhood mill which takes in boys and turns out men4 ,what you call no chance may be your only chance4 ,don't wait for your place to be made for you2 make it yourself4 ,don't wait for somebody to give you a lift2 lift yourself4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher did not wait for a call to a big church with a large salary4 ,he accepted the first pastorate offered him1 in a little town near ,cincinnati4 ,he became literally the light of the church1 for he trimmed the lamps1 kindled the fires1 swept the rooms1 and rang the bell4 ,his salary was only about #bjj a year1--but he knew that a fine church and great salary cannot make a great man4 ,it was work and opportunity that he wanted4 ,he felt that if there was anything in him work would bring it out4 ,physiologists tell us1 says ,waters1 that it takes twenty-eight years for the brain to attain its full development4 ,if this is so1 why should not one be able1 by his own efforts1 to give this long-growing organ a particular bent1 a peculiar character8 ,why should the will not be brought to bear upon the formation of the brain as well as of the backbone8 ,the will is merely our steam power1 and we may put it to any work we please4 ,it will do our bidding1 whether it be building up a character1 or tearing it down4 ,it may be applied to building up a habit of truthfulness and honesty1 or of falsehood and dishonor4 ,it will help build up a man or a brute1 a hero or a coward4 ,it will brace up resolution until one may almost perform miracles1 or it may be dissipated in irresolution and inaction until life is a wreck4 ,it will hold you to your task until you have formed a powerful habit of industry and application1 until idleness and inaction are painful1 or it will lead you into indolence and listlessness until every effort will be disagreeable and success impossible4 ,the first thing ,i have to impress upon you is1 says ,j4 ,t4 ,davidson1 that a good name must be the fruit of one's own exertion4 ,you cannot possess it by patrimony2 you cannot purchase it with money2 you will not light on it by chance2 it is independent of birth1 station1 talents1 and wealth2 it must be the outcome of your own endeavor1 and the reward of good principles and honorable conduct4 ,of all the elements of success in life none is more vital than self-reliance1--a determination to be1 under ,god1 the creator of your own reputation and advancement4 ,if difficulties stand in the way1 if exceptional disadvantages oppose you1 all the better1 as long as you have pluck to fight through them4 ,i want each young man here 7you will not misunderstand me7 to have faith in himself and1 scorning props and buttresses1 crutches and life-preservers1 to take earnest hold of life4 ,many a lad has good stuff in him that never comes to anything because he slips too easily into some groove of life2 it is commonly those who have a tough battle to begin with that make their mark upon their age4 ,when ,beethoven was examining the work of ,moscheles1 he found written at the end ,finis1 with ,god's help4 ,he wrote under it ,man1 help yourself4 ,a young man stood listlessly watching some anglers on a bridge4 ,he was poor and dejected4 ,at length1 approaching a basket filled with fish1 he sighed1 ,if now ,i had these ,i would be happy4 ,i could sell them and buy food and lodgings4 ,i will give you just as many and just as good1 said the owner1 who chanced to overhear his words1 if you will do me a trifling favor4 ,and what is that8 asked the other4 ,only to tend this line till ,i come back2 ,i wish to go on a short errand4 ,the proposal was gladly accepted4 ,the old man was gone so long that the young man began to get impatient4 ,meanwhile the fish snapped greedily at the hook1 and he lost all his depression in the excitement of pulling them in4 ,when the owner returned he had caught a large number4 ,counting out from them as many as were in the basket1 and presenting them to the youth1 the old fisherman said1 ,i fulfill my promise from the fish you have caught1 to teach you whenever you see others earning what you need to waste no time in foolish wishing1 but cast a line for yourself4 ,a white squall caught a party of tourists on a lake in ,scotland1 and threatened to capsize the boat4 ,when it seemed that the crisis was really come the largest and strongest man in the party1 in a state of intense fear1 said1 ,let us pray4 ,no1 no1 my man1 shouted the bluff old boatman2 let the little man pray4 ,you take an oar4 ,the greatest curse that can befall a young man is to lean4 ,the grandest fortunes ever accumulated or possessed on earth were and are the fruit of endeavor that had no capital to begin with save energy1 intellect1 and the will4 ,from ,croesus down to ,rockefeller the story is the same1 not only in the getting of wealth1 but also in the acquirement of eminence2 those men have won most who relied most upon themselves4 ,it has been said that one of the most disgusting sights in this world is that of a young man with healthy blood1 broad shoulders1 presentable calves1 and a hundred and fifty pounds1 more or less1 of good bone and muscle1 standing with his hands in his pockets longing for help4 ,the male inhabitants in the ,township of ,loaferdom1 in the ,county of ,hatework1 says a printer's squib1 found themselves laboring under great inconvenience for want of an easily traveled road between ,poverty and ,independence4 ,they therefore petitioned the ,powers that be to levy a tax upon the property of the entire county for the purpose of laying out a macadamized highway1 broad and smooth1 and all the way down hill to the latter place4 ,it is interesting to notice how some minds seem almost to create themselves1 says ,irving1 springing up under every disadvantage1 and working their solitary but irresistible way through a thousand obstacles4 ,every one is the artificer of his own fortune1 says ,sallust4 ,man is not merely the architect of his own fortune1 but he must lay the bricks himself4 ,bayard ,taylor1 at twenty-three1 wrote3 ,i will become the sculptor of my own mind's statue4 ,his biography shows how often the chisel and hammer were in his hands to shape himself into his ideal4 ,i have seen none1 known none1 of the celebrities of my time1 said ,samuel ,cox4 ,all my energy was directed upon one end1 to improve myself4 ,man exists for culture1 says ,goethe2 not for what he can accomplish1 but for what can be accomplished in him4 ,when young ,professor ,tyndall was in the government service1 he had no definite aim in life until one day a government official asked him how he employed his leisure time4 ,you have five hours a day at your disposal1 said he1 and this ought to be devoted to systematic study4 ,had ,i at your age some one to advise me as ,i now advise you1 instead of being in a subordinate position1 ,i might have been at the head of my department4 ,the very next day young ,tyndall began a regular course of study1 and went to the ,university of ,marburg1 where he became noted for his indomitable industry4 ,he was so poor that he bought a cask1 and cut it open for a bathtub4 ,he often rose before daylight to study1 while the world was slumbering about him4 ,labor is the only legal tender in the world to true success4 ,the gods sell everything for that1 nothing without it4 ,you will never find success marked down4 ,the door to the temple of success is never left open4 ,every one who enters makes his own door which closes behind him to all others4 ,circumstances have rarely favored great men4 ,they have fought their way to triumph over the road of difficulty and through all sorts of opposition4 ,a lowly beginning and a humble origin are no bar to a great career4 ,the farmers' boys fill many of the greatest places in legislatures1 in syndicates1 at the bar1 in pulpits1 in ,congress1 to-day4 ,boys of lowly origin have made many of the greatest discoveries1 are presidents of our banks1 of our colleges1 of our universities4 ,our poor boys and girls have written many of our greatest books1 and have filled the highest places as teachers and journalists4 ,ask almost any great man in our large cities where he was born1 and he will tell you it was on a farm or in a small country village4 ,nearly all of the great capitalists of the city came from the country4 ',t is better to be lowly born4 ,the founder of ,boston ,university left ,cape ,cod for ,boston to make his way with a capital of only four dollars4 ,like ,horace ,greeley1 he could find no opening for a boy2 but what of that8 ,he made an opening4 ,he found a board1 and made it into an oyster stand on the street corner4 ,he borrowed a wheelbarrow1 and went three miles to an oyster smack1 bought three bushels of oysters1 and wheeled them to his stand4 ,soon his little savings amounted to #acj1 and then he bought a horse and cart4 ,this poor boy with no chance kept right on till he became the millionaire ,isaac ,rich4 ,chauncey ,jerome1 the inventor of machine-made clocks1 started with two others on a tour through ,new ,jersey1 they to sell the clocks1 and he to make cases for them4 ,on his way to ,new ,york he went through ,new ,haven in a lumber wagon1 eating bread and cheese4 ,he afterward lived in a fine mansion in ,new ,haven4 ,self-help has accomplished about all the great things of the world4 ,how many young men falter1 faint1 and dally with their purpose because they have no capital to start with1 and wait and wait for some good luck to give them a lift4 ,but success is the child of drudgery and perseverance4 ,it cannot be coaxed or bribed2 pay the price and it is yours4 ,where is the boy to-day who has less chance to rise in the world than ,elihu ,burritt1 apprenticed to a blacksmith1 in whose shop he had to work at the forge all the daylight1 and often by candle-light8 ,yet1 he managed1 by studying with a book before him at his meals1 carrying it in his pocket that he might utilize every spare moment1 and studying nights and holidays1 to pick up an excellent education in the odds and ends of time which most boys throw away4 ,while the rich boy and the idler were yawning and stretching and getting their eyes open1 young ,burritt had seized the opportunity and improved it4 ,at thirty years of age he was master of every important language in ,europe and was studying those of ,asia4 ,what chance had such a boy for distinction8 ,probably not a single youth will read this book who has not a better opportunity for success4 ,yet he had a thirst for knowledge1 and a desire for self-improvement1 which overcame every obstacle in his pathway4 ,a wealthy gentleman offered to pay his expenses at ,harvard2 but no1 he said he could get his education himself1 even though he had to work twelve or fourteen hours a day at the forge4 ,here was a determined boy4 ,he snatched every spare moment at the anvil and forge as though it were gold4 ,he believed1 with ,gladstone1 that thrift of time would repay him in after years with usury1 and that waste of it would make him dwindle4 ,think of a boy working nearly all the daylight in a blacksmith's shop1 and yet finding time to study seven languages in a single year6 ,if the youth of ,america who are struggling against cruel circumstances1 to do something and be somebody in the world1 could only understand that ninety per cent4 of what is called genius is merely the result of persistent1 determined industry1 is in most cases downright hard work1 that it is the slavery to a single idea which has given to many a mediocre talent the reputation of being a genius1 they would be inspired with new hope4 ,it is interesting to note that the men who talk most about genius are the men who like to work the least4 ,the lazier the man1 the more he will have to say about great things being done by genius4 ,the greatest geniuses have been the greatest workers4 ,sheridan was considered a genius1 but it was found that the brilliants and off-hand sayings with which he used to dazzle the ,house of ,commons were elaborated1 polished and repolished1 and put down in his memorandum book ready for any emergency4 ,genius has been well defined as the infinite capacity for taking pains4 ,if men who have done great things could only reveal to the struggling youth of to-day how much of their reputations was due to downright hard digging and plodding1 what an uplift of inspiration and encouragement they would give4 ,how often ,i have wished that the discouraged1 struggling youth could know of the heart-aches1 the head-aches1 the nerve-aches1 the disheartening trials1 the discouraged hours1 the fears and despair involved in works which have gained the admiration of the world1 but which have taxed the utmost powers of their authors4 ,you can read in a few minutes or a few hours a poem or a book with only pleasure and delight1 but the days and months of weary plodding over details and dreary drudgery often required to produce it would stagger belief4 ,the greatest works in literature have been elaborated and elaborated1 line by line1 paragraph by paragraph1 often rewritten a dozen times4 ,the drudgery which literary men have put into the productions which have stood the test of time is almost incredible4 ,lucretius worked nearly a lifetime on one poem4 ,it completely absorbed his life4 ,it is said that ,bryant rewrote ,thanatopsis a hundred times1 and even then was not satisfied with it4 ,john ,foster would sometimes linger a week over a single sentence4 ,he would hack1 split1 prune1 pull up by the roots1 or practice any other severity on whatever he wrote1 till it gained his consent to exist4 ,chalmers was once asked what ,foster was about in ,london4 ,hard at it1 he replied1 at the rate of a line a week4 ,dickens1 one of the greatest writers of modern fiction1 was so worn down by hard work that he looked as haggard as a murderer4 ,even ,lord ,bacon1 one of the greatest geniuses that ever lived1 left large numbers of ,,mss4 filled with sudden thoughts set down for use4 ,hume toiled thirteen hours a day on his ,history of ,england4 ,lord ,eldon astonished the world with his great legal learning1 but when he was a student too poor to buy books1 he had actually borrowed and copied many hundreds of pages of large law books1 such as ,coke upon ,littleton1 thus saturating his mind with legal principles which afterward blossomed out into what the world called remarkable genius4 ,matthew ,hale for years studied law sixteen hours a day4 ,speaking of ,fox1 some one declared that he wrote drop by drop4 ,rousseau says of the labor involved in his smooth and lively style3 ,my manuscripts1 blotted1 scratched1 interlined1 and scarcely legible1 attest the trouble they cost me4 ,there is not one of them which ,i have not been obliged to transcribe four or five times before it went to press4 4 4 4 ,some of my periods ,i have turned or returned in my head for five or six nights before they were fit to be put to paper4 ,it is said that ,waller spent a whole summer over ten lines in one of his poems4 ,beethoven probably surpassed all other musicians in his painstaking fidelity and persistent application4 ,there is scarcely a bar in his music that was not written and rewritten at least a dozen times4 ,his favorite maxim was1 ,the barriers are not yet erected which can say to aspiring talent and industry 'thus far and no further4' ,gibbon wrote his autobiography nine times1 and was in his study every morning1 summer and winter1 at six o'clock2 and yet youth who waste their evenings wonder at the genius which can produce ,the ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire1 upon which ,gibbon worked twenty years4 ,even ,plato1 one of the greatest writers that ever lived1 wrote the first sentence in his ,republic nine different ways before he was satisfied with it4 ,burke's famous ,letter to a ,noble ,lord1 one of the finest things in the ,english language1 was so completely blotted over with alterations when the proof was returned to the printing-office that the compositors refused to correct it as it was1 and entirely reset it4 ,burke wrote the conclusion of his speech at the trial of ,hastings sixteen times1 and ,butler wrote his famous ,analogy twenty times4 ,it took ,virgil seven years to write his ,georgics1 and twelve years to write the ,aeneid4 ,he was so displeased with the latter that he attempted to rise from his deathbed to commit it to the flames4 ,haydn was very poor2 his father was a coachman and he1 friendless and lonely1 married a servant girl4 ,he was sent away from home to act as errand boy for a music teacher4 ,he absorbed a great deal of information1 but he had a hard life of persecution until he became a barber in ,vienna4 ,here he blacked boots for an influential man1 who became a friend to him4 ,in #agih this poor boy's oratorio1 ,the ,creation1 came upon the musical world like the rising of a new sun which never set4 ,he was courted by princes and dined with kings and queens2 his reputation was made2 there was no more barbering1 no more poverty4 ,but of his eight hundred compositions1 ,the ,creation eclipsed them all4 ,he died while ,napoleon's guns were bombarding ,vienna1 some of the shot falling in his garden4 ,the greatest creations of musicians were written with an effort1 to fill the aching void in the human heart4 ,frederick ,douglass1 ,america's most representative colored man1 born a slave1 was reared in bondage1 liberated by his own exertions1 educated and advanced by sheer pluck and perseverance to distinguished positions in the service of his country1 and to a high place in the respect and esteem of the whole world4 ,when a man like ,lord ,cavanagh1 without arms or legs1 manages to put himself into ,parliament1 when a man like ,francis ,joseph ,campbell1 a blind man1 becomes a distinguished mathematician1 a musician1 and a great philanthropist1 we get a hint as to what it means to make the most possible out of ourselves and opportunities4 ,perhaps ninety-nine out of a hundred under such unfortunate circumstances would be content to remain helpless objects of charity for life4 ,if it is your call to acquire money power instead of brain power1 to acquire business power instead of professional power1 double your talent just the same1 no matter what it may be4 ,a glover's apprentice of ,glasgow1 ,scotland1 who was too poor to afford even a candle or a fire1 and who studied by the light of the shop windows in the streets1 and when the shops were closed climbed the lamp-post1 holding his book in one hand1 and clinging to the lamp-post with the other1--this poor boy1 with less chance than almost any boy in ,america1 became the most eminent scholar of ,scotland4 ,francis ,parkman1 half blind1 became one of ,america's greatest historians in spite of everything1 because he made himself such4 ,personal value is a coin of one's own minting2 one is taken at the worth he has put into himself4 ,franklin was but a poor printer's boy1 whose highest luxury at one time was only a penny roll1 eaten in the streets of ,philadelphia4 ,richard ,arkwright1 a barber all his earlier life1 as he rose from poverty to wealth and fame1 felt the need of correcting the defects of his early education4 ,after his fiftieth year he devoted two hours a day1 snatched from his sleep1 to improving himself in orthography1 grammar1 and writing4 ,michael ,faraday was a poor boy1 son of a blacksmith1 who apprenticed him at the age of thirteen to a bookbinder in ,london4 ,michael laid the foundations of his future greatness by making himself familiar with the contents of the books he bound4 ,he remained at night1 after others had gone1 to read and study the precious volumes4 ,lord ,tenterden was proud to point out to his son the shop where his father had shaved for a penny4 ,a ,french doctor once taunted ,flchier1 ,bishop of ,nismes1 who had been a tallow-chandler in his youth1 with the meanness of his origin1 to which he replied1 ,if you had been born in the same condition that ,i was1 you would still have been but a maker of candles4 ,the ,duke of ,argyle1 walking in his garden1 saw a ,latin copy of ,newton's ,principia on the grass1 and supposing that it had been taken from his library1 called for some one to carry it back4 ,edmund ,stone1 however1 the son of the duke's gardener1 claimed it4 ,yours8 asked the surprised nobleman4 ,do you understand geometry1 ,latin1 and ,newton8 ,i know a little of them1 replied ,edmund4 ,but how1 asked the duke1 came you by the knowledge of all these things8 ,a servant taught me to read ten years since1 answered ,stone4 ,does one need to know anything more than the twenty-four letters1 in order to learn everything else that one wishes8 ,the duke was astonished4 ,i first learned to read1 said the lad2 the masons were then at work upon your house4 ,i approached them one day and observed that the architect used a rule and compasses1 and that he made calculations4 ,i inquired what might be the meaning and use of these things1 and ,i was informed that there was a science called arithmetic4 ,i purchased a book of arithmetic and learned it4 ,i was told that there was another science called geometry2 ,i bought the necessary books and learned geometry4 ,by reading ,i found that there were good books on these sciences in ,latin1 so ,i bought a dictionary and learned ,latin4 ,i understood1 also1 that there were good books of the same kind in ,french2 ,i bought a dictionary1 and learned ,french4 ,this1 my lord1 is what ,i have done2 it seems to me that we may learn everything when we know the twenty-four letters of the alphabet4 ,edwin ,chadwick1 in his report to the ,british ,parliament1 stated that children1 working on half time1 that is1 studying three hours a day and working the rest of their time out of doors1 really made the greatest intellectual progress during the year4 ,business men have often accomplished wonders during the busiest lives by simply devoting one1 two1 three1 or four hours daily to study or other literary work4 ,james ,watt received only the rudiments of an education at school1 for his attendance was irregular on account of delicate health4 ,he more than made up for all deficiencies1 however1 by the diligence with which he pursued his studies at home4 ,alexander ,v4 was a beggar2 he was born mud1 and died marble4 ,william ,herschel1 placed at the age of fourteen as a musician in the band of the ,hanoverian ,guards1 devoted all his leisure to philosophical studies4 ,he acquired a large fund of general knowledge1 and in astronomy1 a science in which he was wholly self-instructed1 his discoveries entitle him to rank with the greatest astronomers of all time4 ,george ,washington was the son of a widow1 born under the roof of a ,westmoreland farmer2 almost from infancy his lot had been the lot of an orphan4 ,no academy had welcomed him to its shade1 no college crowned him with its honors2 to read1 to write1 to cipher1 these had been his degrees in knowledge4 ,shakespeare learned little more than reading and writing at school1 but by self-culture he made himself the great master among literary men4 ,burns1 too1 enjoyed few advantages of education1 and his youth was passed in almost abject poverty4 ,james ,ferguson1 the son of a half-starved peasant1 learned to read by listening to the recitations of one of his elder brothers4 ,while a mere boy he discovered several mechanical principles1 made models of mills and spinning-wheels1 and by means of beads on strings worked out an excellent map of the heavens4 ,ferguson made remarkable things with a common penknife4 ,how many great men have mounted the hill of knowledge by out-of-the-way paths4 ,gifford worked his intricate problems with a shoemaker's awl on a bit of leather4 ,rittenhouse first calculated eclipses on his plow-handle4 ,a will finds a way4 ,julius ,caesar1 who has been unduly honored for those great military achievements in which he appears as the scourge of his race1 is far more deserving of respect for those wonderful ,commentaries1 in which his military exploits are recorded4 ,he attained distinction by his writings on astronomy1 grammar1 history1 and several other subjects4 ,he was one of the most learned men and one of the greatest orators of his time4 ,yet his life was spent amid the turmoil of a camp or the fierce struggle of politics4 ,if he found abundant time for study1 who may not8 ,frederick the ,great1 too1 was busy in camp the greater part of his life1 yet whenever a leisure moment came1 it was sure to be devoted to study4 ,he wrote to a friend1 ,i become every day more covetous of my time1 ,i render an account of it to myself1 and ,i lose none of it but with great regret4 ,columbus1 while leading the life of a sailor1 managed to become the most accomplished geographer and astronomer of his time4 ,when ,peter the ,great1 a boy of seventeen1 became the absolute ruler of ,russia1 his subjects were little better than savages1 and in himself1 even1 the passions and propensities of barbarism were so strong that they were frequently exhibited during his whole career4 ,but he determined to transform himself and the ,russians into civilized people4 ,he instituted reforms with great energy1 and at the age of twenty-six started on a visit to the other countries of ,europe for the purpose of learning about their arts and institutions4 ,at ,saardam1 ,holland1 he was so impressed with the sights of the great ,east ,india dockyard1 that he apprenticed himself to a shipbuilder1 and helped build the ,st4 ,peter1 which he promptly purchased4 ,continuing his travels1 after he had learned his trade1 he worked in ,england in paper-mills1 saw-mills1 rope-yards1 watchmaker's shops1 and other manufactories1 doing the work and receiving the treatment of a common laborer4 ,while traveling1 his constant habit was to obtain as much information as he could beforehand with regard to every place he was to visit1 and he would demand1 ,let me see all4 ,when setting out on his investigations1 on such occasions1 he carried his tablets in his hand1 and whatever he deemed worthy of remembrance was carefully noted down4 ,he would often leave his carriage1 if he saw the country people at work by the wayside as he passed along1 and not only enter into conversation with them1 on agricultural affairs1 but accompany them to their houses1 examine their furniture1 and take drawings of their implements of husbandry4 ,thus he obtained much minute and correct knowledge1 which he would scarcely have acquired by other means1 and which he afterward turned to admirable account in the improvement of his own country4 ,the ancients said1 ,know thyself2 the nineteenth century says1 ,help thyself4 ,self-culture gives a second birth to the soul4 ,a liberal education is a true regeneration4 ,when a man is once liberally educated1 he will generally remain a man1 not shrink to a manikin1 nor dwindle to a brute4 ,but if he is not properly educated1 if he has merely been crammed and stuffed through college1 if he has merely a broken-down memory from trying to hold crammed facts enough to pass the examination1 he will continue to shrink and shrivel and dwindle1 often below his original proportions1 for he will lose both his confidence and self-respect1 as his crammed facts1 which never became a part of himself1 evaporate from his distended memory4 ,many a youth has made his greatest effort in his graduating essay4 ,but1 alas6 the beautiful flowers of rhetoric blossomed only to exhaust the parent stock1 which blossoms no more forever4 ,in ,strasburg geese are crammed with food several times a day by opening their mouths and forcing the pabulum down the throat with the finger4 ,the geese are shut up in boxes just large enough to hold them1 and are not allowed to take any exercise4 ,this is done in order to increase enormously the liver for pt de fois gras4 ,so are our youth sometimes stuffed with education4 ,what are the chances for success of students who cut recitations or lectures1 and gad1 lounge about1 and dissipate in the cities at night until the last two or three weeks1 sometimes the last few days1 before examination1 when they employ tutors at exorbitant prices with the money often earned by hard-working parents1 to stuff their idle brains with the pabulum of knowledge2 not to increase their grasp or power of brain1 not to discipline it1 not for assimilation into the mental tissue to develop personal power1 but to fatten the memory1 the liver of the brain2 to fatten it with crammed facts until it is sufficiently expanded to insure fifty per cent4 in the examination4 ,true teaching will create a thirst for knowledge1 and the desire to quench this thirst will lead the eager student to the ,pierian spring4 ,man might be so educated that all his prepossessions would be truth1 and all his feelings virtues4 ,every bit of education or culture is of great advantage in the struggle for existence4 ,the microscope does not create anything new1 but it reveals marvels4 ,to educate the eye adds to its magnifying power until it sees beauty where before it saw only ugliness4 ,it reveals a world we never suspected1 and finds the greatest beauty even in the commonest things4 ,the eye of an ,agassiz could see worlds which the uneducated eye never dreamed of4 ,the cultured hand can do a thousand things the uneducated hand cannot do4 ,it becomes graceful1 steady of nerve1 strong1 skillful1 indeed it almost seems to think1 so animated is it with intelligence4 ,the cultured will can seize1 grasp1 and hold the possessor1 with irresistible power and nerve1 to almost superhuman effort4 ,the educated touch can almost perform miracles4 ,the educated taste can achieve wonders almost past belief4 ,what a contrast this1 between the cultured1 logical1 profound1 masterly reason of a ,gladstone and that of the hod-carrier who has never developed or educated his reason beyond what is necessary to enable him to mix mortar and carry brick4 ,culture comes from the constant choice of the best within our reach1 says ,bulwer4 ,continue to cultivate the mind1 to sharpen by exercise the genius1 to attempt to delight or instruct your race2 and1 even supposing you fall short of every model you set before you1 supposing your name moulder with your dust1 still you will have passed life more nobly than the unlaborious herd4 ,grant that you win not that glorious accident1 'a name below1' how can you tell but that you may have fitted yourself for high destiny and employ1 not in the world of men1 but of spirits8 ,the powers of the mind cannot be less immortal than the mere sense of identity2 their acquisitions accompany us through the ,eternal ,progress1 and we may obtain a lower or a higher grade hereafter1 in proportion as we are more or less fitted by the exercise of our intellect to comprehend and execute the solemn agencies of ,god4 ,but be careful to avoid that over-intellectual culture which is purchased at the expense of moral vigor4 ,an observant professor of one of our colleges has remarked that the mind may be so rounded and polished by education1 so well balanced1 as not to be energetic in any one faculty4 ,in other men not thus trained1 the sense of deficiency and of the sharp1 jagged corners of their knowledge leads to efforts to fill up the chasms1 rendering them at last far better educated men than the polished1 easy-going graduate who has just knowledge enough to prevent consciousness of his ignorance4 ,while all the faculties of the mind should be cultivated1 it is yet desirable that it should have two or three rough-hewn features of massive strength4 ,young men are too apt to forget the great end of life which is to be and do1 not to read and brood over what other men have been and done4 ,in a gymnasium you tug1 you expand your chest1 you push1 pull1 strike1 run1 in order to develop your physical self2 so you can develop your moral and intellectual nature only by continued effort4 ,i repeat that my object is not to give him knowledge but to teach him how to acquire it at need1 said ,rousseau4 ,all learning is self-teaching4 ,it is upon the working of the pupil's own mind that his progress in knowledge depends4 ,the great business of the master is to teach the pupil to teach himself4 ,thinking1 not growth1 makes manhood1 says ,isaac ,taylor4 ,accustom yourself1 therefore1 to thinking4 ,set yourself to understand whatever you see or read4 ,to join thinking with reading is one of the first maxims1 and one of the easiest operations4 ,how few think justly of the thinking few3 ,how many never think who think they do4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,work ,,and ,,wait4 ,what we do upon some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are2 and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline4--,h4 ,p4 ,,liddon4 ,in all matters1 before beginning1 a diligent preparation should be made4--,,cicero4 ,i consider a human soul without education like marble in a quarry which shows none of its inherent beauties until the skill of the polisher sketches out the colors1 makes the surface shine1 and discovers every ornamental cloud1 spot1 and vein that runs throughout the body of it4--,,addison4 ,many a genius has been slow of growth4 ,oaks that flourish for a thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed4--,,george ,,henry ,,lewes4 ,use your gifts faithfully1 and they shall be enlarged2 practice what you know1 and you shall attain to higher knowledge4--,,arnold4 ,all good abides with him who waiteth wisely4--,,thoreau4 ,the more haste1 ever the worse speed4--,,churchill4 ,haste trips up its own heels1 fetters and stops itself4--,,seneca4 ,wisely and slow2 they stumble that run fast4 ,how can we expect a harvest of thought who have not had the seed-time of character8--,,thoreau4 ,i call a complete and generous education that which fits a man to perform justly1 skillfully1 and magnanimously1 all the offices1 both public and private1 of peace and war4--,,milton4 ,the safe path to excellence and success1 in every calling1 is that of appropriate preliminary education1 diligent application to learn the art and assiduity in practicing it4--,,edward ,,everett4 ,the more you know1 the more you can save yourself and that which belongs to you1 and do more work with less effort4--,,charles ,,kingsley4 ,i was a mere cipher in that vast sea of human enterprise1 said ,henry ,bessemer1 speaking of his arrival in ,london in #ahca4 ,although but eighteen years old1 and without an acquaintance in the city1 he soon made work for himself by inventing a process of copying bas-reliefs on cardboard4 ,his method was so simple that one could learn in ten minutes how to make a die from an embossed stamp for a penny4 ,having ascertained later that in this way the raised stamps on all official papers in ,england could easily be forged1 he set to work and invented a perforated stamp which could not be forged nor removed from a document4 ,at the public stamp office he was told by the chief that the government was losing #ajj1jjj pounds a year through the custom of removing stamps from old parchments and using them again4 ,the chief also appreciated the new danger of easy counterfeiting4 ,so he offered ,bessemer a definite sum for his process of perforation1 or an office for life at eight hundred pounds a year4 ,bessemer chose the office1 and hastened to tell the good news to a young woman with whom he had agreed to share his fortune4 ,in explaining his invention1 he told how it would prevent any one from taking a valuable stamp from a document a hundred years old and using it a second time4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,thomas ,,alva ,,edison ,the ,wizard of ,menlo ,park4 ,what the world wants is men who have the nerve and the grit to work and wait1 whether the world applaud or hiss4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,yes1 said his betrothed1 ,i understand that2 but1 surely1 if all stamps had a date put upon them they could not at a future time be used without detection4 ,this was a very short speech1 and of no special importance if we omit a single word of four letters2 but1 like the schoolboy's pins which saved the lives of thousands of people annually by not getting swallowed1 that little word1 by keeping out of the ponderous minds of the ,british revenue officers1 had for a long period saved the government the burden of caring for an additional income of #ajj1jjj pounds a year4 ,and the same little word1 if published in its connection1 would render ,henry's perforation device of far less value than a last year's bird's nest4 ,henry felt proud of the young woman's ingenuity1 and suggested the improvement at the stamp office4 ,as a result his system of perforation was abandoned and he was deprived of his promised office1 the government coolly making use from that day to this1 without compensation1 of the idea conveyed by that little insignificant word4 ,so ,bessemer's financial prospects were not very encouraging2 but1 realizing that the best capital a young man can have is a capital wife1 he at once entered into a partnership which placed at his command the combined ideas of two very level heads4 ,the result1 after years of thought and experiment1 was the ,bessemer process of making steel cheaply1 which has revolutionized the iron industry throughout the world4 ,his method consists simply in forcing hot air from below into several tons of melted pig-iron1 so as to produce intense combustion2 and then adding enough spiegel-eisen 7looking-glass iron71 an ore rich in carbon1 to change the whole mass to steel4 ,he discovered this simple process only after trying in vain much more difficult and expensive methods4 ,all things come round to him who will but wait4 ,the great lack of the age is want of thoroughness4 ,how seldom you find a young man or woman who is willing to take time to prepare for his life work4 ,a little education is all they want1 a little smattering of books1 and then they are ready for business4 ,can't wait is characteristic of the century1 and is written on everything2 on commerce1 on schools1 on society1 on churches4 ,can't wait for a high school1 seminary1 or college4 ,the boy can't wait to become a youth1 nor the youth a man4 ,youth rush into business with no great reserve of education or drill2 of course they do poor1 feverish work1 and break down in middle life1 and many die of old age in the forties4 ,everybody is in a hurry4 ,buildings are rushed up so quickly that they will not stand1 and everything is made to sell4 ,not long ago a professor in one of our universities had a letter from a young woman in the ,west1 asking him if he did not think she could teach elocution if she could come to the university and take twelve lessons4 ,our young people of to-day want something1 and want it quickly4 ,they are not willing to lay broad1 deep foundations4 ,the weary years in preparatory school and college dishearten them4 ,they only want a smattering of an education4 ,but as ,pope says1-- ,a little learning is a dangerous thing2 ,drink deep1 or taste not the ,pierian spring3 ,there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain1 ,and drinking largely sobers us again4 ,the shifts to cover up ignorance1 and the constant trembling lest some blunder should expose one's emptiness1 are pitiable4 ,short cuts and abridged methods are the demand of the hour4 ,but the way to shorten the road to success is to take plenty of time to lay in your reserve power4 ,you can't stop to forage your provender as the army advances2 if you do the enemy will get there first4 ,hard work1 a definite aim1 and faithfulness1 will shorten the way4 ,don't risk a life's superstructure upon a day's foundation4 ,unless you have prepared yourself to profit by your chance1 the opportunity will only make you ridiculous4 ,a great occasion is valuable to you just in proportion as you have educated yourself to make use of it4 ,beware of that fatal facility of thoughtless speech and superficial action which has misled many a young man into the belief that he could make a glib tongue or a deft hand take the place of deep study or hard work4 ,patience is nature's motto4 ,she works ages to bring a flower to perfection4 ,what will she not do for the greatest of her creation8 ,ages and aeons are nothing to her1 out of them she has been carving her great statue1 a perfect man4 ,johnson said a man must turn over half a library to write one book4 ,when an authoress told ,wordsworth she had spent six hours on a poem1 he replied that he would have spent six weeks4 ,think of ,bishop ,hall spending thirty years on one of his works4 ,owens was working on the ,commentary to the ,epistle to the ,hebrews for twenty years4 ,moore spent several weeks on one of his musical stanzas which reads as if it were a dash of genius4 ,carlyle wrote with the utmost difficulty1 and never executed a page of his great histories till he had consulted every known authority1 so that every sentence is the quintessence of many books1 the product of many hours of drudging research in the great libraries4 ,to-day1 ,sartor ,resartus is everywhere4 ,you can get it for a mere trifle at almost any bookseller's1 and hundreds of thousands of copies are scattered over the world4 ,but when ,carlyle brought it to ,london in #ahea1 it was refused almost contemptuously by three prominent publishers4 ,at last he managed to get it into ,fraser's ,magazine1 the editor of which conveyed to the author the pleasing information that his work had been received with unqualified disapprobation4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher sent a half dozen articles to the publisher of a religious paper to pay for his subscription1 but they were respectfully declined4 ,the publishers of the ,atlantic ,monthly returned ,miss ,alcott's manuscript1 suggesting that she had better stick to teaching4 ,one of the leading magazines ridiculed ,tennyson's first poems1 and consigned the young poet to oblivion4 ,only one of ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson's books had a remunerative sale4 ,washington ,irving was nearly seventy years old before the income from his books paid the expenses of his household4 ,in some respects it is very unfortunate that the old system of binding boys out to a trade has been abandoned4 ,to-day very few boys learn any trade4 ,they pick up what they know1 as they go along1 just as a student crams for a particular examination1 just to get through1 without any effort to see how much he may learn on any subject4 ,think of an ,american youth spending twelve years with ,michael ,angelo1 studying anatomy that he might create the masterpiece of all art2 or with ,da ,vinci devoting ten years to the model of an equestrian statue that he might master the anatomy of the horse4 ,most young ,american artists would expect1 in a quarter of that time1 to sculpture an ,apollo ,belvidere4 ,while ,michael ,angelo was painting the ,sistine ,chapel he would not allow himself time for meals or to dress or undress2 but he kept bread within reach that he might eat when hunger impelled1 and he slept in his clothes4 ,a rich man asked ,howard ,burnett to do a little thing for his album4 ,burnett complied and charged a thousand francs4 ,but it took you only five minutes1 objected the rich man4 ,yes1 but it took me thirty years to learn how to do it in five minutes4 ,i prepared that sermon1 said a young sprig of divinity1 in half an hour1 and preached it at once1 and thought nothing of it4 ,in that1 said an older minister1 your hearers are at one with you1 for they also thought nothing of it4 ,what the age wants is men who have the nerve and the grit to work and wait1 whether the world applaud or hiss4 ,it wants a ,bancroft1 who can spend twenty-six years on the ,history of the ,united ,states2 a ,noah ,webster1 who can devote thirty-six years to a dictionary2 a ,gibbon1 who can plod for twenty years on the ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire2 a ,mirabeau1 who can struggle on for forty years before he has a chance to show his vast reserve1 destined to shake an empire2 a ,farragut1 a ,von ,moltke1 who have the persistence to work and wait for half a century for their first great opportunities2 a ,garfield1 burning his lamp fifteen minutes later than a rival student in his academy2 a ,grant1 fighting on in heroic silence1 when denounced by his brother generals and politicians everywhere2 a ,field's untiring perseverance1 spending years and a fortune laying a cable when all the world called him a fool2 a ,michael ,angelo1 working seven long years decorating the ,sistine ,chapel with his matchless ,creation and the ,last ,judgment1 refusing all remuneration therefor1 lest his pencil might catch the taint of avarice2 a ,titian1 spending seven years on the ,last ,supper2 a ,stephenson1 working fifteen years on a locomotive2 a ,watt1 twenty years on a condensing engine2 a ,lady ,franklin1 working incessantly for twelve long years to rescue her husband from the polar seas2 a ,thurlow ,weed1 walking two miles through the snow with rags tied around his feet for shoes1 to borrow the history of the ,french ,revolution1 and eagerly devouring it before the sap-bush fire2 a ,milton1 elaborating ,paradise ,lost in a world he could not see1 and then selling it for fifteen pounds2 a ,thackeray1 struggling on cheerfully after his ,vanity ,fair was refused by a dozen publishers2 a ,balzac1 toiling and waiting in a lonely garret1 whom neither poverty1 debt1 nor hunger could discourage or intimidate2 not daunted by privations1 not hindered by discouragements4 ,it wants men who can work and wait4 ,when a young lawyer ,daniel ,webster once looked in vain through all the law libraries near him1 and then ordered at an expense of fifty dollars the necessary books1 to obtain authorities and precedents in a case in which his client was a poor blacksmith4 ,he won his cause1 but1 on account of the poverty of his client1 only charged fifteen dollars1 thus losing heavily on the books bought1 to say nothing of his time4 ,years after1 as he was passing through ,new ,york city1 he was consulted by ,aaron ,burr on an important but puzzling case then pending before the ,supreme ,court4 ,he saw in a moment that it was just like the blacksmith's case1 an intricate question of title1 which he had solved so thoroughly that it was to him now as simple as the multiplication table4 ,going back to the time of ,charles ,,ii4 he gave the law and precedents involved with such readiness and accuracy of sequence that ,burr asked in great surprise if he had been consulted before in the case4 ,most certainly not1 he replied1 ,i never heard of your case till this evening4 ,very well1 said ,burr1 proceed1 and1 when he had finished1 ,webster received a fee that paid him liberally for all the time and trouble he had spent for his early client4 ,albert ,bierstadt first crossed the ,rocky ,mountains with a band of pioneers in #ahei1 making sketches for the paintings of western scenes for which he had become famous4 ,as he followed the trail to ,pike's ,peak1 he gazed in wonder upon the enormous herds of buffaloes which dotted the plains as far as the eye could reach1 and thought of the time when they would have disappeared before the march of civilization4 ,the thought haunted him and found its final embodiment in ,the ,last of the ,buffaloes in #ahij4 ,to perfect this great work he had spent twenty years4 ,everything which endures1 which will stand the test of time1 must have a deep1 solid foundation4 ,in ,rome the foundation is often the most expensive part of an edifice1 so deep must they dig to build on the living rock4 ,fifty feet of ,bunker ,hill ,monument is under ground2 unseen and unappreciated by those who tread about that historic shaft1 but it is this foundation1 apparently thrown away1 which enables it to stand upright1 true to the plumb-line through all the tempests that lash its granite sides4 ,a large part of every successful life must be spent in laying foundation stones under ground4 ,success is the child of drudgery and perseverance and depends upon knowing how long it takes to succeed4 ,havelock joined the army at twenty-eight1 and for thirty-four years worked and waited for his opportunity2 conscious of his power1 fretting as a subaltern while he saw drunkards and fools put above his head4 ,but during all these years he was fitting himself to lead that marvelous march to ,lucknow4 ,it was many years of drudgery and reading a thousand volumes that enabled ,george ,eliot to get fifty thousand dollars for ,daniel ,deronda4 ,how came writers to be famous8 ,by writing for years without any pay at all2 by writing hundreds of pages for mere practice work2 by working like galley-slaves at literature for half a lifetime4 ,it was working and waiting many long and weary years that put one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars into ,the ,angelus4 ,millet's first attempts were mere daubs1 the later were worth fortunes4 ,schiller never could get done4 ,dante sees himself growing lean over his ,divine ,comedy4 ,it is working and waiting that gives perfection4 ,i do not remember1 said ,beecher1 a book in all the depths of learning1 nor a scrap in literature1 nor a work in all the schools of art1 from which its author has derived a permanent renown1 that is not known to have been long and patiently elaborated4 ,endurance is a much better test of character than any one act of heroism1 however noble4 ,the pianist ,thalberg said he never ventured to perform one of his celebrated pieces in public until he had played it at least fifteen hundred times4 ,he laid no claim whatever to genius2 he said it was all a question of hard work4 ,the accomplishments of such industry1 such perseverance1 would put to shame many a man who claims genius4 ,before ,edmund ,kean would consent to appear in that character which he acted with such consummate skill1 ,the ,gentleman ,villain1 he practiced constantly before a glass1 studying expression for a year and a half4 ,when he appeared upon the stage1 ,byron1 who went to see him with ,moore1 said he never looked upon so fearful and wicked a face4 ,as the great actor went on to delineate the terrible consequences of sin1 ,byron fainted4 ,for years ,i was in my place of business by sunrise1 said a wealthy banker who had begun without a dollar1 and often ,i did not leave it for fifteen or eighteen hours4 ,festina lente--hasten slowly--is a good ,latin motto4 ,patience1 it is said1 changes the mulberry leaf to satin4 ,the giant oak on the hillside was detained months or years in its upward growth while its roots took a great turn around some rock1 in order to gain a hold by which the tree was anchored to withstand the storms of centuries4 ,da ,vinci spent four years on the head of ,mona ,lisa1 perhaps the most beautiful ever painted1 but he left therein1 an artistic thought for all time4 ,said ,captain ,bingham3 ,you can have no idea of the wonderful machine that the ,german army is and how well it is prepared for war4 ,a chart is made out which shows just what must be done in the case of wars with the different nations4 ,and every officer's place in the scheme is laid out beforehand4 ,there is a schedule of trains which will supersede all other schedules the moment war is declared1 and this is so arranged that the commander of the army here could telegraph to any officer to take such a train and go to such a place at a moment's notice4 ,when the ,franco-,prussian war was declared1 ,von ,moltke was awakened at midnight and told of the fact4 ,he said coolly to the official who aroused him1 ',go to pigeonhole ,no4 ---- in my safe and take a paper from it and telegraph as there directed to the different troops of the empire4' ,he then turned over and went to sleep and awoke at his usual hour in the morning4 ,every one else in ,berlin was excited about the war1 but ,von ,moltke took his morning walk as usual1 and a friend who met him said1 ',general1 you seem to be taking it very easy4 ,aren't you afraid of the situation8 ,i should think you would be busy4' ',ah1' replied ,von ,moltke1 'all of my work for this time has been done long beforehand and everything that can be done now has been done4' ,that is done soon enough which is done well4 ,soon ripe1 soon rotten4 ,he that would enjoy the fruit must not gather the flower4 ,he who is impatient to become his own master is more likely to become his own slave4 ,better believe yourself a dunce and work away than a genius and be idle4 ,one year of trained thinking is worth more than a whole college course of mental absorption of a vast series of undigested facts4 ,the facility with which the world swallows up the ordinary college graduate who thought he was going to dazzle mankind should bid you pause and reflect4 ,but just as certainly as man was created not to crawl on all fours in the depths of primeval forests1 but to develop his mental and moral faculties1 just so certainly he needs education1 and only by means of it will he become what he ought to become1--man1 in the highest sense of the word4 ,ignorance is not simply the negation of knowledge1 it is the misdirection of the mind4 ,one step in knowledge1 says ,bulwer1 is one step from sin2 one step from sin is one step nearer to ,heaven4 ,a learned clergyman was thus accosted by an illiterate preacher who despised education3 ,sir1 you have been to college1 ,i presume8 ,yes1 sir1 was the reply4 ,i am thankful1 said the former1 that the ,lord opened my mouth without any learning4 ,a similar event1 retorted the clergyman1 happened in ,balaam's time4 ,if a cloth were drawn around the eyes of ,praxiteles' statue of ,love1 says ,bulwer1 the face looked grave and sad2 but as the bandage was removed1 a beautiful smile would overspread the countenance4 ,even so does the removal of the veil of ignorance from the eyes of the mind bring radiant happiness to the heart of man4 ,a young man just graduated told the ,president of ,trinity ,college that he had completed his education1 and had come to say good-by4 ,indeed1 said the ,president1 ,i have just begun my education4 ,many an extraordinary man has been made out of a very ordinary boy2 but in order to accomplish this we must begin with him while he is young4 ,it is simply astonishing what training will do for a rough1 uncouth1 and even dull lad1 if he has good material in him1 and comes under the tutelage of a skilled educator before his habits have become confirmed4 ,even a few weeks' or months' drill of the rawest and roughest recruits in the late ,civil ,war so straightened and dignified stooping and uncouth soldiers1 and made them so manly1 erect1 and courteous in their bearing1 that their own friends scarcely knew them4 ,if this change is so marked in the youth who has grown to maturity1 what a miracle is possible in the lad who is taken early and put under a course of drill and systematic training1 both physical1 mental1 and moral4 ,how many a man who is now in the penitentiary1 in the poorhouse1 or among the tramps1 or living out a miserable existence in the slums of our cities1 bent over1 uncouth1 rough1 slovenly1 has possibilities slumbering within the rags1 which would have developed him into a magnificent man1 an ornament to the human race instead of a foul blot and scar1 had he only been fortunate enough early in life to have come under efficient and systematic training4 ,laziness begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains4 ,the more business a man has1 the more he can do1 for be learns to economize his time4 ,the industry that acquired riches1 according to a wise teacher1 the patience that is required in obtaining them1 the reserved self-control1 the measuring of values1 the sympathy felt for fellow-toilers1 the knowledge of what a dollar costs to the average man1 the memory of it--all these things are preservative4 ,but woe to the young farmer who hates farming2 does not like sowing and reaping2 is impatient with the dilatory and slow path to a small though secure fortune in the neighborhood where he was born1 and comes to the city1 hoping to become suddenly rich1 thinking that he can break into the palace of wealth and rob it of its golden treasures6 ,edison described his repeated efforts to make the phonograph reproduce an aspirated sound1 and added3 ,from eighteen to twenty hours a day for the last seven months ,i have worked on this single word 'specia4' ,i said into the phonograph 'specia1 specia1 specia1' but the instrument responded 'pecia1 pecia1 pecia4' ,it was enough to drive one mad4 ,but ,i held firm1 and ,i have succeeded4 ,the road to distinction must be paved with years of self-denial and hard work4 ,horace ,mann1 the great author of the common school system of ,massachusetts1 was a remarkable example of that pluck and patience which can work and wait4 ,his only inheritance was poverty and hard work4 ,but he had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a determination to get on in the world4 ,he braided straw to get money to buy books which his soul thirsted for4 ,to ,jonas ,chickering there were no trifles in the manufacture of a piano4 ,others might work for salaries1 but he was working for fame and fortune4 ,neither time nor pains were of any account to him compared with accuracy and knowledge4 ,he could afford to work and wait1 for quality1 not quantity1 was his aim4 ,fifty years ago the piano was a miserable1 instrument compared with the perfect mechanism of to-day4 ,chickering was determined to make a piano which would yield the fullest1 richest volume of melody with the least exertion to the player1 and one which would withstand atmospheric changes and preserve its purity and truthfulness of tone4 ,and he strove patiently and persistently till he succeeded4 ,thy life1 wert thou the pitifullest of all the sons of earth1 is no idle dream1 but a solemn reality1 said ,carlyle4 ,it is thy own4 ,it is all thou hast to comfort eternity with4 ,work then like a star1 unhasting1 yet unresting4 ,gladstone was bound to win2 although he had spent many years of preparation for his life work1 in spite of the consciousness of marvelous natural endowments which would have been deemed sufficient by many young men1 and notwithstanding he had gained the coveted prize of a seat in ,parliament1 yet he decided to make himself master of the situation2 and amid all his public and private duties1 he not only spent eleven terms more in the study of the law1 but he studied ,greek constantly and read every well written book or paper he could obtain1 so determined was he that his life should be rounded out to its fullest measure1 and that his mind should have broad and liberal culture4 ,emperor ,william ,i4 was not a genius1 but the secret of his power lay in tireless perseverance4 ,a friend says of him1 ,when ,i passed the palace at ,berlin night after night1 however late1 ,i always saw that grand imperial figure standing beside the green lamp1 and ,i used to say to myself1 ',that is how the imperial crown of ,germany was won4' ,ole ,bull said1 ,if ,i practice one day1 ,i can see the result4 ,if ,i practice two days my friends can see it2 if ,i practice three days the great public can see it4 ,the habit of seizing every bit of knowledge1 no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time1 every opportunity1 every occasion1 and grinding them all up into experience1 cannot be overestimated4 ,you will find use for all of it4 ,webster once repeated an anecdote with effect which he heard fourteen years before1 and which he had not thought of in the mean time4 ,it exactly fitted the occasion4 ,it is an ill mason that rejects any stone4 ,webster was once urged to speak on a subject of great importance1 but refused1 saying he was very busy and had no time to master the subject4 ,but1 replied his friend1 a very few words from you would do much to awaken public attention to it4 ,webster replied1 ,if there be so much weight in my words1 it is because ,i do not allow myself to speak on any subject until my mind is imbued with it4 ,on one occasion ,webster made a remarkable speech before the ,phi ,beta ,kappa ,society at ,harvard1 when a book was presented to him1 but after he had gone1 his impromptu speech1 carefully written out1 was found in the book which he had forgotten to take away4 ,demosthenes was once urged to speak on a great and sudden emergency1 but replied1 ,i am not prepared4 ,in fact1 it was thought by many that ,demosthenes did not possess any genius whatever1 because he never allowed himself to speak on any subject without thorough preparation4 ,in any meeting or assembly1 when called upon1 he would never rise1 even to make remarks1 it was said1 without previously preparing himself4 ,alexander ,hamilton said1 ,men give me credit for genius4 ,all the genius ,i have lies just in this3 when ,i have a subject in hand ,i study it profoundly4 ,day and night it is before me4 ,i explore it in all its bearings4 ,my mind becomes pervaded with it4 ,then the effort which ,i make the people are pleased to call the fruit of genius2 it is the fruit of labor and thought4 ,the law of labor is equally binding on genius and mediocrity4 ,are the results so distant that you delay the preparation in the hope that fortuitous good luck may make it unnecessary8 ,as well might the husbandman delay sowing his seed until the spring and summer are past and the ground hardened by the frosts of a rigorous winter4 ,as well might one who is desirous of enjoying firm health inoculate his system with the seeds of disease1 and expect at such time as he may see fit to recover from its effects1 and banish the malady4 ,nelaton1 the great surgeon1 said that if he had four minutes in which to perform an operation1 on which a life depended1 he would take one minute to consider how best to do it4 ,many men1 says ,longfellow1 do not allow their principles to take root1 but pull them up every now and then1 as children do flowers they have planted1 to see if they are growing4 ,we must not only work1 but wait4 ,the spruce young spark1 says ,sizer1 who thinks chiefly of his mustache and boots and shiny hat1 of getting along nicely and easily during the day1 and talking about the theatre1 the opera1 or a fast horse1 ridiculing the faithful young fellow who came to learn the business and make a man of himself1 because he will not join in wasting his time in dissipation1 will see the day1 if his useless life is not earlier blasted by vicious indulgences1 when he will be glad to accept a situation from his fellow-clerk whom he now ridicules and affects to despise1 when the latter shall stand in the firm1 dispensing benefits and acquiring fortune4 ,i have been watching the careers of young men by the thousand in this busy city of ,new ,york for over thirty years1 said ,dr4 ,cuyler1 and ,i find that the chief difference between the successful and the failures lies in the single element of staying power4 ,permanent success is oftener won by holding on than by sudden dash1 however brilliant4 ,the easily discouraged1 who are pushed back by a straw1 are all the time dropping to the rear--to perish or to be carried along on the stretcher of charity4 ,they who understand and practice ,abraham ,lincoln's homely maxim of 'pegging away' have achieved the solidest success4 ,when a man has done his work1 says ,ruskin1 and nothing can any way be materially altered in his fate1 let him forget his toil1 and jest with his fate if he will1 but what excuse can you find for willfulness of thought at the very lime when every crisis of fortune hangs on your decisions8 ,a youth thoughtless1 when all the happiness of his home forever depends on the chances or the passions of the hour6 ,a youth thoughtless1 when the career of all his days depends on the opportunity of a moment6 ,a youth thoughtless1 when his every action is a foundation-stone of future conduct1 and every imagination a foundation of life or death6 ,be thoughtless in any after years1 rather than now--though1 indeed1 there is only one place where a man may be nobly thoughtless1 his deathbed4 ,nothing should ever be left to be done there4 ,the ,duke of ,wellington became so discouraged because he did not advance in the army that he applied for a much inferior position in the customs department1 but was refused4 ,napoleon had applied for every vacant position for seven years before he was recognized1 but meanwhile he studied with all his might1 supplementing what was considered a thorough military education by researches and reflections which in later years enabled him easily to teach the art of war to veterans who had never dreamed of his novel combinations4 ,reserves which carry us through great emergencies are the result of long working and long waiting4 ,collyer declares that reserves mean to a man also achievement1--the power to do the grandest thing possible to your nature when you feel you must1 or some precious thing will be lost1--to do well always1 but best in the crisis on which all things turn2 to stand the strain of a long fight1 and still find you have something left1 and so to never know you are beaten1 because you never are beaten4 ,every defeat is a ,waterloo to him who has no reserves4 ,he only is independent in action who has been earnest and thorough in preparation and self-culture4 ,not for school1 but for life1 we learn2 and our habits--of promptness1 earnestness1 and thoroughness1 or of tardiness1 fickleness1 and superficiality--are the things acquired most readily and longest retained4 ,one who reads the chronicles of discoveries is struck with the prominent part that accident has played in such annals4 ,for some of the most useful processes and machinery the world is indebted to apparently chance occurrences4 ,inventors in search of one object have failed in their quest1 but have stumbled on something more valuable than that for which they were looking4 ,saul is not the only man who has gone in search of asses and found a kingdom4 ,astrologers sought to read from the heavens the fate of men and the fortune of nations1 and they led to a knowledge of astronomy4 ,alchemists were seeking for the philosopher's stone1 and from their efforts sprung the science of chemistry4 ,men explored the heavens for something to explain irregularities in the movements of the planets1 and discovered a star other than the one for which they were looking4 ,a careless glance at such facts might encourage the delusion that aimless straying in bypaths is quite as likely to be rewarded as is the steady pressing forward1 with fixed purpose1 towards some definite goal4 ,but it is to be remembered that the men who made the accidental discoveries were men who were looking for something4 ,the unexpected achievement was but the return for the toil after what was attained4 ,others might have encountered the same facts1 but only the eye made eager by the strain of long watching would be quick to note the meaning4 ,if vain search for hidden treasure has no other recompense1 it at least gives ability to detect the first gleam of the true metal4 ,men may wake at times surprised to find themselves famous1 but it was the work they did before going to sleep1 and not the slumber1 that gave the eminence4 ,when the ledge has been drilled and loaded and the proper connections have been made1 a child's touch on the electric key may be enough to annihilate the obstacle1 but without the long preparation the pressure of a giant's hand would be without effect4 ,in the search for truth and the shaping of character the principle remains the same as in science and literature4 ,trivial causes are followed by wonderful results1 but it is only the merchantman who is on the watch for goodly pearls who is represented as finding the pearl of great price4 ,to vary the language of another1 the three great essentials to success in mental and physical labor are ,practice1 ,patience1 and ,perseverance1 but the greatest of these is ,perseverance4 ,let us1 then1 be up and doing1 ,with a heart for any fate2 ,still achieving1 still pursuing1 ,learn to labor and to wait4 ,,longfellow4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,clear ,,grit4 ,i shall show the cinders of my spirits ,through the ashes of my chance4 ,,shakespeare4 ,what though ten thousand faint1 ,desert1 or yield1 or in weak terror flee6 ,heed not the panic of the multitude2 ,thine be the captain's watchword1--,victory6 ,,horatius ,,bonar4 ,better to stem with heart and hand ,the roaring tide of life1 than lie1 ,unmindful1 on its flowery strand1 ,of ,god's occasions drifting by6 ,better with naked nerve to hear ,the needles of this goading air1 ,than in the lap of sensual ease forego ,the godlike power to do1 the godlike aim to know4 ,,whittier4 ,let fortune empty her whole quiver on me1 ,i have a soul that1 like an ample shield1 ,can take in all1 and verge enough for more4 ,,dryden4 ,there's a brave fellow6 ,there's a man of pluck6 ,a man who's not afraid to say his say1 ,though a whole town's against him4 ,,longfellow4 ,our greatest glory is not in never falling1 but in rising every time we fall4--,,goldsmith4 ,attempt the end and never stand to doubt2 ,nothing's so hard but search will find it out4 ,,herrick4 ,the barriers are not yet erected which shall say to aspiring talent1 ,thus far and no farther4--,,beethoven4 ,friends and comrades1 said ,pizarro1 as he turned toward the south1 after tracing with his sword upon the sand a line from east to west1 on that side are toil1 hunger1 nakedness1 the drenching storm1 desertion1 and death2 on this side1 ease and pleasure4 ,there lies ,peru with its riches2 here1 ,panama and its poverty4 ,choose1 each man1 what best becomes a brave ,castilian4 ,for my part1 ,i go to the south4 ,so saying1 he crossed the line and was followed by thirteen ,spaniards in armor4 ,thus1 on the little island of ,gallo in the ,pacific1 when his men were clamoring to return to ,panama1 did ,pizarro and his few volunteers resolve to stake their lives upon the success of a desperate crusade against the powerful empire of the ,incas4 ,at the time they had not even a vessel to transport them to the country they wished to conquer4 ,is it necessary to add that all difficulties yielded at last to such resolute determination8 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,andrew ,,jackson ,old ,hickory4 ,stick to your aim3 the mongrel's hold will slip1 ,but only crowbars loose the bull-dog's grip4 ,the nerve that never relaxes1 the eye that never blenches1 the thought that never wanders1--these are the masters of victory4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,perseverance is a ,roman virtue1 ,that wins each godlike act1 and plucks success ,e'en from the spear-proof crest of rugged danger4 ,at a time when abolitionists were dangerously unpopular1 a crowd of brawny ,cape ,cod fishermen had made such riotous demonstrations that all the speakers announced1 except ,stephen ,foster and ,lucy ,stone1 had fled from an open-air platform4 ,you had better run1 ,stephen1 said she1 they are coming4 ,but who will take care of you8 asked ,foster4 ,this gentleman will take care of me1 she replied1 calmly laying her hand within the arm of a burly rioter with a club1 who had just sprung upon the platform4 ,wh--what did you say8 stammered the astonished rowdy1 as he looked at the little woman2 yes1 ,i'll take care of you1 and no one shall touch a hair of your head4 ,with this he forced a way for her through the crowd1 and1 at her earnest request1 placed her upon a stump and stood guard with his club while she delivered an address so effective that the audience offered no further violence1 and even took up a collection of twenty dollars to repay ,mr4 ,foster for the damage his clothes had received when the riot was at its height4 ,when you get into a tight place and everything goes against you1 till it seems as if you could not hold on a minute longer1 said ,harriet ,beecher ,stowe1 never give up then1 for that's just the place and time that the tide'll turn4 ,charles ,sumner said1 ,three things are necessary3 first1 backbone2 second1 backbone2 third1 backbone4 ,while digging among the ruins of ,pompeii1 which was buried by the dust and ashes from an eruption of ,vesuvius1 ,a4 ,d4 #gi1 the workmen found the skeleton of a ,roman soldier in the sentry-box at one of the city's gates4 ,he might have found safety under sheltering rocks close by2 but1 in the face of certain death1 he had remained at his post1 a mute witness to the thorough discipline1 the ceaseless vigilance and fidelity which made the ,roman legionaries masters of the known world4 ,bulwer1 describing the flight of a party amid the dust1 and ashes1 and streams of boiling water1 and huge hurtling fragments of scoria1 and gusty winds1 and lurid lightnings1 continues3 ,the air was now still for a few minutes2 the lamp from the gate streamed out far and clear2 the fugitives hurried on4 ,they gained the gate4 ,they passed by the ,roman sentry4 ,the lightning flashed over his livid face and polished helmet1 but his stern features were composed even in their awe6 ,he remained erect and motionless at his post4 ,that hour itself had not animated the machine of the ruthless majesty of ,rome into the reasoning and self-acting man4 ,there he stood amidst the crashing elements2 he had not received the permission to desert his station and escape4 ,the world admires the man who never flinches from unexpected difficulties1 who calmly1 patiently1 and courageously grapples with his fate1 who dies1 if need be1 at his post4 ,clear grit always commands respect4 ,it is that quality which achieves1 and everybody admires achievement4 ,in the strife of parties and principles1 backbone without brains will carry against brains without backbone4 ,a politician weakly and amiably in the right is no match for a politician tenaciously and pugnaciously in the wrong4 ,you cannot1 by tying an opinion to a man's tongue1 make him the representative of that opinion2 at the close of any battle for principles1 his name will be found neither among the dead nor among the wounded1 but among the missing4 ,the ,london ,times was an insignificant sheet published by ,mr4 ,walter and was steadily losing money4 ,john ,walter1 ,jr41 then only twenty-seven years old1 begged his father to give him full control of the paper4 ,after many misgivings1 the father finally consented4 ,the young journalist began to remodel the establishment and to introduce new ideas everywhere4 ,the paper had not attempted to mould public opinion1 and had no individuality or character of its own4 ,the audacious young editor boldly attacked every wrong1 even the government1 when he thought it corrupt4 ,thereupon the public customs1 printing1 and the government advertisements were withdrawn4 ,the father was in utter dismay4 ,the son he was sure would ruin the paper and himself4 ,but no remonstrance could swerve him from his purpose1 to give the world a great journal which should have weight1 character1 individuality1 and independence4 ,the public soon saw that a new power stood behind the ,times2 that its articles meant business2 that new life and new blood and new ideas had been infused into the insignificant sheet2 that a man with brains and push and tenacity of purpose stood at the helm1--a man who could make a way when he could not find one4 ,among other new features foreign dispatches were introduced1 and they appeared in the ,times several days before their appearance in the government organs4 ,the leading article also was introduced to stay4 ,but the aggressive editor antagonized the government1 and his foreign dispatches were all stopped at the outpost1 while those of the ministerial journalists were allowed to proceed4 ,but nothing could daunt this resolute young spirit4 ,at enormous expense he employed special couriers4 ,every obstacle put in his way1 and all opposition from the government1 only added to his determination to succeed4 ,enterprise1 push1 grit were behind the ,times1 and nothing could stay its progress4 ,walter was the soul of the paper1 and his personality pervaded every detail4 ,in those days only three hundred copies of the ,times could be struck off in an hour by the best presses1 and ,walter had duplicate and even triplicate types set4 ,then he set his brain to work1 and finally the ,walter ,press1 throwing off #ag1jjj copies1 both sides printed1 per hour1 was the result4 ,it was the #bith of ,november1 #ahad1 that the first steam printed paper was given to the world4 ,walter's tenacity of purpose was remarkable4 ,he shrank from no undertaking1 and neglected no detail4 ,mean natures always feel a sort of terror before great natures1 and many a base thought has been unuttered1 many a sneaking vote withheld1 through the fear inspired by the rebuking presence of one noble man4 ,as a rule1 pure grit1 character1 has the right of way4 ,in the presence of men permeated with grit and sound in character1 meanness and baseness slink out of sight4 ,mean men are uncomfortable1 dishonesty trembles1 hypocrisy is uncertain4 ,lincoln1 being asked by an anxious visitor what he would do after three or four years if the rebellion was not subdued1 replied3 ,oh1 there is no alternative but to keep pegging away4 ,it is in me and it shall come out1 said ,sheridan1 when told that he would never make an orator1 as he had failed in his first speech in ,parliament4 ,he became known as one of the foremost orators of his day4 ,when a boy ,henry ,clay was very bashful and diffident1 and scarcely dared recite before his class at school1 but he determined to become an orator4 ,so he committed speeches and recited them in the cornfields1 or in the barn with the horse and cows for an audience4 ,look at ,garrison reading this advertisement in a ,southern paper3 ,five thousand dollars will be paid for the head of ,w4 ,l4 ,garrison by the ,governor of ,georgia4 ,behold him again2 a broadcloth mob is leading him through the streets of ,boston by a rope4 ,he is hurried to jail4 ,see him return calmly and unflinchingly to his work1 beginning at the point at which he was interrupted4 ,note this heading in the ,liberator1 the type of which he set himself in an attic on ,state ,street1 in ,boston3 ,i am in earnest1 ,i will not equivocate1 ,i will not excuse1 ,i will not retreat a single inch1 and ,i will be heard4 ,was ,garrison heard8 ,ask a race set free largely by his efforts4 ,even the gallows erected in front of his own door did not daunt him4 ,he held the ear of an unwilling world with that burning word freedom1 which was destined never to cease its vibrations until it had breathed its sweet secret to the last slave4 ,if impossibilities ever exist1 popularly speaking1 they ought to have been found somewhere between the birth and the death of ,kitto1 that deaf pauper and master of ,oriental learning4 ,but ,kitto did not find them there4 ,in the presence of his decision and imperial energy they melted away4 ,kitto begged his father to take him out of the poorhouse1 even if he had to subsist like the ,hottentots4 ,he told him that he would sell his books and pawn his handkerchief1 by which he thought he could raise about twelve shillings4 ,he said he could live upon blackberries1 nuts1 and field turnips1 and was willing to sleep on a hayrick4 ,here was real grit4 ,what were impossibilities to such a resolute will8 ,patrick ,henry voiced that decision which characterized the great men of the ,revolution when he said1 ,is life so dear1 or peace so sweet1 as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery8 ,forbid it1 ,almighty ,god6 ,i know not what course others may take2 but as for me1 give me liberty or give me death6 ,grit is a permanent1 solid quality1 which enters into the very structure1 the very tissues of the constitution4 ,a weak man1 a wavering1 irresolute man1 may be spunky upon occasion1 he may be plucky in an emergency2 but pure grit is a part of the very character of strong men alone4 ,lord ,erskine was a plucky man2 he even had flashes of heroism1 and when he was with weaker men1 he was thought to have nerve and even grit2 but when he entered the ,house of ,commons1 although a hero at the bar1 the imperiousness1 the audacious scorn1 and the intellectual supremacy of ,pitt disturbed his equanimity and exposed the weak places in his armor4 ,in ,pitt's commanding presence he lost his equilibrium4 ,his individuality seemed off its centre2 he felt fluttered1 weak1 and uneasy4 ,many of our generals in the late war exhibited heroism4 ,they were plucky1 and often displayed great determination1 but ,grant had pure grit in the most concentrated form4 ,he could not be moved from his base2 he was self-centred1 immovable4 ,if you try to wheedle out of him his plans for a campaign1 he stolidly smokes2 if you call him an imbecile and a blunderer1 he blandly lights another cigar2 if you praise him as the greatest general living1 he placidly returns the puff from his regalia2 and if you tell him he should run for the presidency1 it does not disturb the equanimity with which he inhales and exhales the unsubstantial vapor which typifies the politician's promises4 ,while you are wondering what kind of creature this man without a tongue is1 you are suddenly electrified with the news of some splendid victory1 proving that behind the cigar1 and behind the face discharged of all tell-tale expression1 is the best brain to plan and the strongest heart to dare among the generals of the ,republic4 ,demosthenes was a man who could rise to sublime heights of heroism1 but his bravery was not his normal condition and depended upon his genius being aroused4 ,he had pluck and spunk on occasions1 but ,lincoln had pure grit4 ,when the illustrated papers everywhere were caricaturing him1 when no epithet seemed too harsh to heap upon him1 when his methods were criticised by his own party1 and the generals in the war were denouncing his foolish confidence in ,grant1 and delegations were waiting upon him to ask for that general's removal1 the great ,president sat with crossed legs1 and was reminded of a story4 ,lincoln and ,grant both had that rare nerve which cares not for ridicule1 is not swerved by public clamor1 can bear abuse and hatred4 ,there is a mighty force in truth and in the sublime conviction and supreme self-confidence behind it1 in the knowledge that truth is mighty and the conviction and confidence that it will prevail4 ,pure grit is that element of character which enables a man to clutch his aim with an iron grip1 and keep the needle of his purpose pointing to the star of his hope4 ,through sunshine and storm1 through hurricane and tempest1 through sleet and rain1 with a leaky ship1 with a crew in mutiny1 it perseveres2 in fact1 nothing but death can subdue it1 and it dies still struggling4 ,the man of grit carries in his very presence a power which controls and commands4 ,he is spared the necessity of declaring himself1 for his grit speaks in his every act4 ,it does not come by fits and starts1 it is a part of his very life4 ,it inspires a sublime audacity and a heroic courage4 ,many of the failures of life are due to the want of grit or business nerve4 ,it is unfortunate for a young man to start out in business life with a weak1 yielding disposition1 with no resolution or backbone to mark his own course and stick to it1 with no ability to say ,no with an emphasis1 obliging this man by investing in hopeless speculation1 and rather than offend a friend1 indorsing a questionable note4 ,a little boy was asked how he learned to skate4 ,oh1 by getting up every time ,i fell down1 he replied4 ,whipple tells a story of ,massna which illustrates the masterful purpose that plucks victory out of the jaws of defeat4 ,after the defeat at ,essling1 the success of ,napoleon's attempt to withdraw his beaten army depended on the character of ,massna1 to whom the ,emperor dispatched a messenger1 telling him to keep his position for two hours longer at ,aspern4 ,this order1 couched in the form of a request1 required almost an impossibility2 but ,napoleon knew the indomitable tenacity of the man to whom he gave it4 ,the messenger found ,massna seated on a heap of rubbish1 his eyes bloodshot1 his frame weakened by his unparalleled exertions during a contest of forty hours1 and his whole appearance indicating a physical state better befitting the hospital than the field4 ,but that steadfast soul seemed altogether unaffected by bodily prostration2 half dead as he was with fatigue1 he rose painfully and said1 ',tell the ,emperor that ,i will hold out for two hours4' ,and he kept his word4 ,often defeated in battle1 said ,macaulay of ,alexander the ,great1 he was always successful in war4 ,he might have said the same of ,washington1 and1 with appropriate changes1 of all who win great triumphs of any kind4 ,in the battle of ,marengo1 the ,austrians considered the day won4 ,the ,french army was inferior in numbers1 and had given way4 ,the ,austrian army extended its wings on the right and on the left1 to follow up the ,french4 ,then1 though the ,french themselves thought the battle lost1 and the ,austrians were confident it was won1 ,napoleon gave the command to charge2 and1 the trumpet's blast being given1 the ,old ,guard charged down into the weakened centre of the enemy1 cut it in two1 rolled the two wings up on either side1 and the battle was won for ,france4 ,never despair1 says ,burke1 but if you do1 work on in despair4 ,once when ,marshal ,ney was going into battle1 looking down at his knees which were smiting together1 he said1 ,you may well shake2 you would shake worse yet if you knew where ,i am going to take you4 ,it is victory after victory with the soldier1 lesson after lesson with the scholar1 blow after blow with the laborer1 crop after crop with the farmer1 picture after picture with the painter1 and mile after mile with the traveler1 that secures what all so much desire--,,success4 ,a promising ,harvard student was stricken with paralysis of both legs4 ,physicians said there was no hope for him4 ,the lad determined to continue his college studies4 ,the examiners heard him at his bedside1 and in four years he took his degree4 ,he resolved to make a critical study of ,dante1 to do which he had to learn ,italian and ,german4 ,he persevered in spite of repeated attacks of illness and partial loss of sight4 ,he was competing for the university prize4 ,think of the paralytic lad1 helpless in bed1 competing for a prize1 fighting death inch by inch4 ,what a lesson6 ,before his book was published or the prize awarded1 the brave student died1 but the book was successful4 ,he meant that his life should not be a burden or a failure1 and he was not only graduated from the best college in ,america1 but competed successfully for the university prize1 and made a valuable contribution to literature4 ,professor ,l4 ,t4 ,townsend1 the famous author of ,credo1 is another triumph of grit over environment4 ,he had a hard struggle as a boy1 but succeeded in working his way through ,amherst ,college1 living on forty-five cents a week4 ,orange ,judd was a remarkable example of success through grit4 ,he earned corn by working for farmers1 carried it on his back to mill1 brought back the meal to his room1 cooked it himself1 milked cows for his pint of milk per day1 and lived on mush and milk for months together4 ,he worked his way through ,wesleyan ,university1 and took a three years' post-graduate course at ,yale4 ,congressman ,william ,w4 ,crapo1 while working his way through college1 being too poor to buy a dictionary1 actually copied one1 walking from his home in the village of ,dartmouth1 ,mass41 to ,new ,bedford to replenish his store of words and definitions from the town library4 ,oh1 the triumphs of this indomitable spirit of the conqueror6 ,this it was that enabled ,franklin to dine on a small loaf in the printing-office with a book in his hand4 ,it helped ,locke to live on bread and water in a ,dutch garret4 ,it enabled ,gideon ,lee to go barefoot in the snow1 half starved and thinly clad4 ,it sustained ,lincoln and ,garfield on their hard journeys from the log cabin to the ,white ,house4 ,president ,chadbourne put grit in place of his lost lung1 and worked thirty-five years after his funeral had been planned4 ,lord ,cavanagh put grit in the place of arms and legs1 and went to ,parliament in spite of his deformity4 ,henry ,fawcett put grit in place of eyesight1 and became the greatest ,postmaster-,general ,england ever had4 ,prescott also put grit in place of eyesight1 and became one of ,america's greatest historians4 ,francis ,parkman put grit in place of health and eyesight1 and became the greatest historian of ,america in his line4 ,thousands of men have put grit in place of health1 eyes1 ears1 hands1 legs1 and yet have achieved marvelous success4 ,indeed1 most of the great things of the world have been accomplished by grit and pluck4 ,you cannot keep a man down who has these qualities4 ,he will make stepping-stones out of his stumbling-blocks1 and lift himself to success4 ,at fifty1 ,barnum was a ruined man1 owing thousands more than he possessed1 yet he resolutely resumed business once more1 fairly wringing success from adverse fortune1 and paying his notes at the same time4 ,again and again he was ruined1 but phoenix-like1 he rose repeatedly from the ashes of his misfortune each time more determined than before4 ,it was the last three days of the first voyage of ,columbus that told4 ,all his years of struggle and study would have availed nothing if he had yielded to the mutiny4 ,it was all in those three days4 ,but what days6 ,it is all very well1 said ,charles ,j4 ,fox1 to tell me that a young man has distinguished himself by a brilliant first speech4 ,he may go on1 or he may be satisfied with his first triumph2 but show me a young man who has not succeeded at first1 and nevertheless has gone on1 and ,i will back that young man to do better than most of those who have succeeded at the first trial4 ,cobden broke down completely the first time he appeared on a platform in ,manchester1 and the chairman apologized for him4 ,but he did not give up speaking till every poor man in ,england had a larger1 better1 and cheaper loaf4 ,see young ,disraeli1 sprung from a hated and persecuted race2 without opportunity1 pushing his way up through the middle classes1 up through the upper classes1 until he stands self-poised upon the topmost round of political and social power4 ,scoffed1 ridiculed1 rebuffed1 hissed from the ,house of ,commons1 he simply says1 ,the time will come when you will hear me4 ,the time did come1 and the boy with no chance swayed the sceptre of ,england for a quarter of a century4 ,one of the most remarkable examples in history is ,disraeli1 forcing his leadership upon that very party whose prejudices were deepest against his race1 and which had an utter contempt for self-made men and interlopers4 ,imagine ,england's surprise when she awoke to find this insignificant ,hebrew actually ,chancellor of the ,exchequer4 ,he was easily master of all the tortures supplied by the armory of rhetoric2 he could exhaust the resources of the bitterest invective2 he could sting ,gladstone out of his self-control2 he was absolute master of himself and his situation4 ,you can see that this young man intends to make his way in the world4 ,a determined audacity is in his very face4 ,he is a gay fop4 ,handsome1 with the hated ,hebrew blood in his veins1 after three defeats in parliamentary elections he was not the least daunted1 for he knew his day would come1 as it did4 ,lord ,melbourne1 the great ,prime ,minister1 when this gay young fop was introduced to him1 asked him what he wished to be4 ,prime ,minister of ,england1 was his audacious reply4 ,one of the greatest preachers of modern times1 ,lacordaire1 failed again and again4 ,everybody said he would never make a preacher1 but he was determined to succeed1 and in two years from his humiliating failures he was preaching in ,notre ,dame to immense congregations4 ,the boy ,thorwaldsen1 whose father died in the poor-house1 and whose education was so scanty that he had to write his letters over many times before they could be posted1 by his indomitable perseverance1 tenacity1 and grit1 fascinated the world with the genius which neither his discouraging father1 poverty1 nor hardship could suppress4 ,william ,h4 ,seward was given a thousand dollars by his father to go to college with2 this was all he was to have4 ,the son returned at the end of the freshman year with extravagant habits and no money4 ,his father refused to give him more1 and told him he could not stay at home4 ,when the youth found the props all taken out from under him1 and that he must now sink or swim1 he left home moneyless1 returned to college1 graduated at the head of his class1 studied law1 was elected ,governor of ,new ,york1 and became ,lincoln's great ,secretary of ,state during the ,civil ,war4 ,louisa ,m4 ,alcott wrote the conclusion to ,an ,old-,fashioned ,girl with her left hand in a sling1 one foot up1 head aching1 and no voice4 ,she proudly writes in her diary1 ,twenty years ago ,i resolved to make the family independent if ,i could4 ,at forty1 that is done4 ,debts all paid1 even the outlawed ones1 and we have enough to be comfortable4 ,it has cost me my health1 perhaps4 ,she earned two hundred thousand dollars by her pen4 ,mrs4 ,frank ,leslie often refers to the time she lived in her carpetless attic while striving to pay her husband's obligations4 ,she has fought her way successfully through nine lawsuits1 and has paid the entire debt4 ,she manages her ten publications entirely herself1 signs all checks and money-orders1 makes all contracts1 looks over all proofs1 and approves the make-up of everything before it goes to press4 ,she has developed great business ability1 which no one dreamed she possessed4 ,garfield said1 ,if the power to do hard work is not talent1 it is the best possible substitute for it4 ,the triumph of industry and grit over low birth and iron fortune in ,america1 this land of opportunity1 ought to be sufficient to put to shame all grumblers over their hard fortune and those who attempt to excuse aimless1 shiftless1 successless men because they have no chance4 ,the fear of ridicule and the dread of humiliation often hinder one from taking decisive steps when it is plainly a duty1 so that courage is a very important element of decision4 ,in a ,new ,england academy a pupil who was engaged to assist the teacher was unable to solve a problem in algebra4 ,the class was approaching the problem1 and he was mortified because1 after many trials1 he was obliged to take it to the teacher for solution4 ,the teacher returned it unsolved4 ,what could he do8 ,he would not confess to the class that he could not solve it1 so1 after many futile attempts1 he went to a distant town to seek the assistance of a friend who1 he believed1 could do the work4 ,but1 alas6 his friend had gone away1 and would not be back for a week4 ,on his way back he said to himself1 ,what a fool6 am ,i unable to perform a problem in algebra1 and shall ,i go back to my class and confess my ignorance8 ,i can solve it and ,i will4 ,he shut himself in his room1 determined not to sleep until he had mastered the problem1 and finally he won success4 ,underneath the solution he wrote1 ,obtained ,monday evening1 ,september #b1 at half past eleven o'clock1 after more than a dozen trials that have consumed more than twenty hours of time4 ,during a winter in the war of #ahab1 ,general ,jackson's troops1 unprovided for and starving1 became mutinous and were going home4 ,but the general set the example of living on acorns2 then rode before the rebellious line and threatened with death the first mutineer that should try to leave4 ,the race is not always to the swift1 the battle is not always to the strong4 ,horses are sometimes weighted or hampered in the race1 and this is taken into account in the result4 ,so in the race of life the distance alone does not determine the prize4 ,we must take into consideration the hindrances1 the weights we have carried1 the disadvantages of education1 of breeding1 of training1 of surroundings1 of circumstances4 ,how many young men are weighted down with debt1 with poverty1 with the support of invalid parents or brothers and sisters1 or friends8 ,how many are fettered with ignorance1 hampered by inhospitable surroundings1 with the opposition of parents who do not understand them8 ,how many a round boy is hindered in the race by being forced into a square hole8 ,how many are delayed in their course because nobody believes in them1 because nobody encourages them1 because they get no sympathy and are forever tortured for not doing that against which every fibre of their being protests1 and every drop of their blood rebels8 ,how many have to feel their way to the goal1 through the blindness of ignorance and lack of experience8 ,how many go bungling along from the lack of early discipline and drill in the vocation they have chosen8 ,how many have to hobble along on crutches because they were never taught to help themselves1 but to lean upon a father's wealth or a mother's indulgence8 ,how many are weakened for the journey of life by self-indulgence1 by dissipation1 by life-sappers2 how many are crippled by disease1 by a weak constitution1 by impaired eyesight or hearing8 ,when the prizes of life shall be awarded by the ,supreme ,judge1 who knows our weaknesses and frailties1 the distance we have run1 the weights we have carried1 the handicaps1 will all be taken into account4 ,not the distance we have run1 but the obstacles we have overcome1 the disadvantages under which we have made the race1 will decide the prizes4 ,the poor wretch who has plodded along against unknown temptations1 the poor woman who has buried her sorrows in her silent heart and sewed her weary way through life1 those who have suffered abuse in silence1 and who have been unrecognized or despised by their fellow-runners1 will often receive the greater prize4 ,the wise and active conquer difficulties1 ,by daring to attempt them3 sloth and folly ,shiver and sink at sight of toil and hazard1 ,and make the impossibility they fear4 ,tumble me down1 and ,i will sit ,upon my ruins1 smiling yet3 ,tear me to tatters1 yet ,i'll be ,patient in my necessity3 ,laugh at my scraps of clothes1 and shun ,me as a fear'd infection3 ,yet scare-crow like ,i'll walk1 as one ,neglecting thy derision4 ,,robert ,,herrick4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,grandest ,,thing ,,in ,,the ,,world4 ,one ruddy drop of manly blood the surging sea outweighs4 ,manhood overtops all titles4 ,the truest test of civilization is not the census1 nor the size of cities1 nor the crops2 no1 but the kind of man the country turns out4--,,emerson4 ,hew the block off1 and get out the man4--,,pope4 ,eternity alone will reveal to the human race its debt of gratitude to the peerless and immortal name of ,washington4--,,james ,a4 ,,garfield4 ,better not be at all ,than not be noble4 ,,tennyson4 ,be noble6 and the nobleness that lies ,in other men1 sleeping1 but never dead1 ,will rise in majesty to meet thine own4 ,,lowell4 ,virtue alone out-builds the pyramids3 ,her monuments shall last when ,egypt's fall4 ,,young4 ,were one so tall to touch the pole1 ,or grasp creation in his span1 ,he must be measured by his soul1 ,the mind's the measure of the man4 ,,watts4 ,we live in deeds1 not years2 in thoughts1 not breaths2 ,in feelings1 not in figures on a dial4 ,we should count time by heart-throbs4 ,he most lives ,who thinks most1 feels the noblest1 acts the best4 ,,bailey4 ,good name in man or woman ,is the immediate jewel of their souls4 ,but this one thing ,i know1 that these qualities did not now begin to exist1 cannot be sick with my sickness1 nor buried in my grave4--,,emerson4 ,a ,moor was walking in his garden when a ,spanish cavalier suddenly fell at his feet1 pleading for concealment from pursuers who sought his life in revenge for the killing of a ,moorish gentleman4 ,the ,moor promised aid1 and locked his visitor in a summer-house until night should afford opportunity for his escape4 ,not long after the dead body of his son was brought home1 and from the description given he knew the ,spaniard was the murderer4 ,he concealed his horror1 however1 and at midnight unlocked the summer-house1 saying1 ,christian1 the youth whom you have murdered was my only son4 ,your crime deserves the severest punishment4 ,but ,i have solemnly pledged my word not to betray you1 and ,i disdain to violate a rash engagement even with a cruel enemy4 ,then1 saddling one of his fleetest mules1 he said1 ,flee while the darkness of night conceals you4 ,your hands are polluted with blood2 but ,god is just2 and ,i humbly thank ,him that my faith is unspotted1 and that ,i have resigned judgment to ,him4 ,illustration3 ,john ,greenleaf ,whittier 7missing from book7 ,character never dies4 ,as ,longfellow says3-- ,were a star quenched on high1 ,for ages would its light1 ,still traveling downward from the sky1 ,shine on our mortal sight4 ,so when a great man dies1 ,for years beyond our ken1 ,the light he leaves behind him lies ,upon the paths of men4 ,the character of ,socrates was mightier than the hemlock1 and banished the fear and sting of death4 ,who can estimate the power of a well-lived life8 ,character is power4 ,hang this motto in every school in the land1 in every home1 in every youth's room4 ,mothers1 engrave it on every child's heart4 ,you cannot destroy one single atom of a ,garrison1 even though he were hanged4 ,the mighty force of martyrs to truth lives2 the candle burns more brilliantly than before it was snuffed4 ,no varnish or veneer of scholarship1 no command of the tricks of logic or rhetoric1 can ever make you a positive force in the world2 but your character can4 ,when the statue of ,george ,peabody1 erected in one of the thoroughfares of ,london1 was unveiled1 the sculptor ,story was asked to speak4 ,twice he touched the statue with his hand1 and said1 ,that is my speech4 ,that is my speech4 ,what could be more eloquent8 ,character needs no recommendation4 ,it pleads its own cause4 ,show me1 said ,omar the ,caliph to ,amru the warrior1 the sword with which you have fought so many battles and slain so many infidels4 ,ah6 replied ,amru1 the sword without the arm of the master is no sharper nor heavier than the sword of ,farezdak the poet4 ,so one hundred and fifty pounds of flesh and blood without character is of no great value4 ,napoleon was so much impressed with the courage and resources of ,marshal ,ney1 that he said1 ,i have two hundred millions in my coffers1 and ,i would give them all for ,ney4 ,in ,agra1 ,india1 stands the ,taj ,mahal1 the acme of ,oriental architecture1 said to be the most beautiful building in the world4 ,it was planned as a mausoleum for the favorite wife of ,shah ,jehan4 ,when the latter was deposed by his son ,aurungzebe1 his daughter ,jahanara chose to share his captivity and poverty rather than the guilty glory of her brother4 ,on her tomb in ,delhi were cut her dying words3 ,let no rich coverlet adorn my grave2 this grass is the best covering for the tomb of the poor in spirit1 the humble1 the transitory ,jahanara1 the disciple of the holy men of ,christ1 the daughter of the ,emperor ,shah ,jehan4 ,travelers who visit the magnificent ,taj linger long by the grass-green sarcophagus in ,delhi1 but give only passing notice to the beautiful ,jamma ,masjid1 a mausoleum afterwards erected in her honor4 ,some writer has well said that ,david of the throne we cannot always recall with pleasure1 but ,david of the ,psalms we never forget4 ,the strong1 sweet faith of the latter streams like sunlight through even the closed windows of the soul1 long after the wearied eye has turned with disgust from all the gilded pomp and pride of the former4 ,robertson says that when you have got to the lowest depths of your heart1 you will find there not the mere desire of happiness1 but a craving as natural to us as the desire for food1--the craving for nobler1 higher life4 ,private ,benjamin ,owen1 ---- ,regiment1 ,vermont ,volunteers1 was found asleep at his post while on picket duty last night4 ,the court-martial has sentenced him to be shot in twenty-four hours1 as the offense occurred at a critical time4 ,i thought when ,i gave ,bennie to his country1 said farmer ,owen as he read the above telegram with dimming eyes1 that no other father in all this broad laud made so precious a gift4 ,he only slept a minute1--just one little minute1--at his post1 ,i know that was all1 for ,bennie never dozed over a duty4 ,how prompt and trustworthy he was6 ,he was as tall as ,i1 and only eighteen6 and now they shoot him because he was found asleep when doing sentinel duty6 ,just then ,bennie's little sister ,blossom answered a tap at the door1 and returned with a letter4 ,it is from him1 was all she said4 ,,dear ,,father1--,for sleeping on sentinel duty ,i am to be shot4 ,at first1 it seemed awful to me2 but ,i have thought about it so much now that it has no terror4 ,they say that they will not bind me1 nor blind me2 but that ,i may meet my death like a man4 ,i thought1 father1 that it might have been on the battlefield1 for my country1 and that1 when ,i fell1 it would be fighting gloriously2 but to be shot down like a dog for nearly betraying it1--to die for neglect of duty6 ,oh1 father1 ,i wonder the very thought does not kill me6 ,but ,i shall not disgrace you4 ,i am going to write you all about it2 and when ,i am gone1 you may tell my comrades2 ,i cannot now4 ,you know ,i promised ,jemmie ,carr's mother ,i would look after her boy2 and1 when he fell sick1 ,i did all ,i could for him4 ,he was not strong when he was ordered back into the ranks1 and the day before that night ,i carried all his baggage1 besides my own1 on our march4 ,toward night we went in on double-quick1 and the baggage began to feel very heavy4 ,everybody was tired2 and as for ,jemmie1 if ,i had not lent him an arm now and then1 he would have dropped by the way4 ,i was all tired out when we came into camp2 and then it was ,jemmie's turn to be sentry1 and ,i could take his place2 but ,i was too tired1 father4 ,i could not have kept awake if a gun had been pointed at my head2 but ,i did not know it until1--well1 until it was too late4 ,they tell me to-day that ,i have a short reprieve1--given to me by circumstances1--time to write to you1 our good colonel says4 ,forgive him1 father1 he only does his duty2 he would gladly save me if he could2 and do not lay my death up against ,jemmie4 ,the poor boy is broken-hearted1 and does nothing but beg and entreat them to let him die in my stead4 ,i can't bear to think of mother and ,blossom4 ,comfort them1 father6 ,tell them ,i die as a brave boy should1 and that1 when the war is over1 they will not be ashamed of me1 as they must be now4 ,god help me3 it is very hard to bear6 ,good-by1 father4 ,to-night1 in the early twilight1 ,i shall see the cows all coming home from pasture1 and precious little ,blossom standing on the back stoop1 waiting for me1--but ,i shall never1 never come6 ,god bless you all6 ,god be thanked6 said ,mr4 ,owen reverently2 ,i knew ,bennie was not the boy to sleep carelessly4 ,late that night a little figure glided out of the house and down the path4 ,two hours later the conductor of the southward mail lifted her into a car at ,mill ,depot4 ,next morning she was in ,new ,york1 and the next she was admitted to the ,white ,house at ,washington4 ,well1 my child1 said the ,president in pleasant1 cheerful tones1 what do you want so bright and early this morning8 ,bennie's life1 please1 sir1 faltered ,blossom4 ,bennie8 ,who is ,bennie8 asked ,mr4 ,lincoln4 ,my brother1 sir4 ,they are going to shoot him for sleeping at his post1 said the little girl4 ,i remember1 said the ,president2 it was a fatal sleep4 ,you see1 child1 it was a time of special danger4 ,thousands of lives might have been lost through his culpable negligence4 ,so my father said2 but poor ,bennie was so tired1 sir1 and ,jemmie so weak4 ,he did the work of two1 sir1 and it was ,jemmie's night1 not his2 but ,jemmie was too tired1 and ,bennie never thought about himself1--that he was tired1 too4 ,what is that you say1 child8 ,come here2 ,i do not understand4 ,he read ,bennie's letter to his father1 which ,blossom held out1 wrote a few lines1 rang his bell1 and said to the messenger who appeared1 ,send this dispatch at once4 ,then1 turning to ,blossom1 he continued3 ,go home1 my child1 and tell that father of yours1 who could approve his country's sentence1 even when it took the life of a child like that1 that ,abraham ,lincoln thinks the life far too precious to be lost4 ,go back1 or--wait until to-morrow2 ,bennie will need a change after he has so bravely faced death1 he shall go with you4 ,god bless you1 sir1 said ,blossom4 ,not all the queens are crowned4 ,two days later1 when the young soldier came with his sister to thank the ,president1 ,mr4 ,lincoln fastened the strap of a lieutenant upon his shoulder1 saying1 ,the soldier that could carry a sick comrade's baggage1 and die for the act without complaining1 deserves well of his country4 ,when telegrams poured in announcing terrible carnage upon battlefields in our late war1 and when ,president ,lincoln's heart-strings were nearly broken over the cruel treatment of our prisoners at ,andersonville1 ,belle ,isle1 and ,libby ,prison1 he never once departed from his famous motto1 ,with malice toward none1 with charity for all4 ,when it was reported that among those returned at ,baltimore from ,southern prisons1 not one in ten could stand alone from hunger and neglect1 and many were so eaten and covered by vermin as to resemble those pitted by smallpox1 and so emaciated that they were living skeletons1 not even these reports could move the great ,president to retaliate in kind upon the ,southern prisoners4 ,among the slain on the battlefield at ,fredericksburg was the body of a youth upon which was found next the heart a photograph of ,lincoln4 ,upon the back of it were these words3 ,god bless ,president ,lincoln4 ,the youth had been sentenced to death for sleeping at his post1 but had been pardoned by the ,president4 ,david ,dudley ,field said he considered ,lincoln the greatest man of his day4 ,webster1 ,clay1 ,calhoun1 and others were great1 each in one way1 but ,lincoln was great in many ways4 ,there seemed to be hidden springs of greatness in this man that would gush forth in the most unexpected way4 ,the men about him were at a loss to name the order of his genius4 ,horace ,greeley was almost as many-sided1 but was a wonderful combination of goodness and weakness1 while ,lincoln seemed strong in every way4 ,after ,lincoln had signed the ,emancipation ,proclamation he said1 ,the promise must now be kept2 ,i shall never recall one word4 ,bishop ,hamilton1 of ,salisbury1 bears the following testimony to the influence for good which ,gladstone1 when a school-fellow at ,eton1 exercised upon him4 ,i was a thoroughly idle boy2 but ,i was saved from worse things by getting to know ,gladstone4 ,at ,oxford we are told the effect of his example was so strong that men who followed him there ten years later declare that undergraduates drank less in the forties because ,gladstone had been so courageously abstemious in the thirties4 ,the ,rev4 ,john ,newton said1 ,i see in this world two heaps of human happiness and misery2 now if ,i can take but the smallest bit from one heap and add it to the other1 ,i carry a point2 if as ,i go home a child has dropped a half-penny1 and by giving it another ,i can wipe away its tears1 ,i feel ,i have done something4 ,a holy hermit1 who had lived for six years in a cave of the ,thebaid1 fasting1 praying1 and performing severe penances1 spending his whole life in trying to make himself of some account with ,god1 that he might be sure of a seat in ,paradise1 prayed to be shown some saint greater than himself1 in order that he might pattern after him to reach still greater heights of holiness4 ,the same night an angel came to him and said1 ,if thou wouldst excel all others in virtue and sanctity1 strive to imitate a certain minstrel who goes begging and singing from door to door4 ,the hermit1 much chagrined1 sought the minstrel and asked him how he had managed to make himself so acceptable to ,god4 ,the minstrel hung down his head and replied1 ,do not mock me1 holy father2 ,i have performed no good works1 and ,i am not worthy to pray4 ,i only go from door to door to amuse people with my viol and my flute4 ,the hermit insisted that he must have done some good deeds4 ,the minstrel replied1 ,nay1 ,i know of nothing good that ,i have done4 ,but how hast thou become a beggar8 ,hast thou spent thy substance in riotous living8 ,nay1 not so1 replied the minstrel4 ,i met a poor woman running hither and thither1 distracted1 because her husband and children had been sold into slavery to pay a debt4 ,i took her home and protected her from certain sons of ,belial1 for she was very beautiful4 ,i gave her all ,i possessed to redeem her family and returned her to her husband and children4 ,is there any man who would not have done the same8 ,the hermit shed tears1 and said in all his life he had not done as much as the poor minstrel4 ,a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches1 and loving favor than silver or gold4 ,a gentleman1 traveling through ,west ,virginia1 went to a house1 and procured food for himself and companion and their horses4 ,he wanted to make payment1 but the woman was ashamed to take pay for a mere act of kindness4 ,he pressed the money upon her4 ,finally she said1 ,if you don't think ,i'm mean1 ,i'll take one quarter of a dollar from you1 so as to look at it now and then1 for there has been no money in this house for a year4 ,do not take the world's estimate of success4 ,the real height of the ,washington ,monument is not measured between the capstone and the earth1 but includes the fifty feet of solid masonry below4 ,many of the most successful lives are like the rivers of ,india which run under ground1 unseen and unheard by the millions who tread above them4 ,but have these rivers therefore no influence8 ,ask the rich harvest fields if they feel the flowing water beneath4 ,the greatest worth is never measured4 ,it is only the nearest stars whose distances we compute4 ,that life whose influence can be measured by the world's tape-line of dollars and corn is not worth the measuring4 ,all the forces in nature that are the most powerful are the quietest4 ,we speak of the rolling thunder as powerful2 but gravitation1 which makes no noise1 yet keeps orbs in their orbits1 and the whole system in harmony1 binding every atom in each planet to the great centre of all attraction1 is ten thousand times ten thousand times more powerful4 ,we say the bright lightning is mighty2 so it is when it rends the gnarled oak into splinters1 or splits solid battlements into fragments2 but it is not half so powerful as the gentle light that comes so softly from the skies that we do not feel it1 that travels at an inconceivable speed1 strikes and yet is not felt1 but exercises an influence so great that the earth is clothed with verdure through its influence1 and all nature beautified and blessed by its ceaseless action4 ,the things that make no noise1 make no pretension1 may be really the strongest4 ,the most conclusive logic that a preacher uses in the pulpit will never exercise the influence that the consistent piety of character will exercise over all the earth4 ,the old ,sicilian story relates how ,pythias1 condemned to death through the hasty anger of ,dionysius of ,syracuse1 asked that he might go to his native ,greece1 and arrange his affairs1 promising to return before the time appointed for his execution4 ,the tyrant laughed his request to scorn1 saying that when he was once safe out of ,sicily no one would answer for his reappearance4 ,at this juncture1 ,damon1 a friend of the doomed man1 offered to become surety for him1 and to die in his stead if he did not come back in time4 ,dionysius was surprised1 but accepted the proposition4 ,when the fatal day came1 ,pythias had not reached ,syracuse1 but ,damon remained firm in his faith that his friend would not fail him4 ,at the very last hour ,pythias appeared and announced himself ready to die4 ,but such touching loyalty moved even the iron heart of ,dionysius2 accordingly he ordered both to be spared1 and asked to be allowed to make a third partner in such a noble friendship4 ,it is a grander thing to be nobly remembered than to be nobly born4 ,when ,attila1 flushed with conquest1 appeared with his barbarian horde before the gates of ,rome in #deb1 ,pope ,leo alone of all the people dared go forth and try to turn his wrath aside4 ,a single magistrate followed him4 ,the ,huns were awed by the fearless majesty of the unarmed old man1 and led him before their chief1 whose respect was so great that he agreed not to enter the city1 provided a tribute should be paid to him4 ,blackie thinks there is no kind of a sermon so effective as the example of a great man1 where we see the thing done before us1--actually done1--the thing of which we were not even dreaming4 ,it was said that when ,washington led the ,american forces as commanding officer1 it doubled the strength of the army4 ,when ,general ,lee was in conversation with one of his officers in regard to a movement of his army1 a plain farmer's boy overheard the general's remark that he had decided to march upon ,gettysburg instead of ,harrisburg4 ,the boy telegraphed this fact to ,governor ,curtin4 ,a special engine was sent for the boy4 ,i would give my right hand1 said the governor1 to know if this boy tells the truth4 ,a corporal replied1 ,governor1 ,i know that boy2 it is impossible for him to lie2 there is not a drop of false blood in his veins4 ,in fifteen minutes the ,union troops were marching to ,gettysburg1 where they gained a victory4 ,character is power4 ,the great thing is to be a man1 to have a high purpose1 a noble aim1 to be dead in earnest1 to yearn for the good and the true4 ,your lordships1 said ,wellington in ,parliament1 must all feel the high and honorable character of the late ,sir ,robert ,peel4 ,i was long connected with him in public life4 ,we were both in the councils of our sovereign together1 and ,i had long the honor to enjoy his private friendship4 ,in all the course of my acquaintance with him1 ,i never knew a man in whose truth and justice ,i had greater confidence1 or in whom ,i saw a more invariable desire to promote the public service4 ,in the whole course of my communication with him1 ,i never knew an instance in which he did not show the strongest attachment to truth2 and ,i never saw in the whole course of my life the smallest reason for suspecting that he stated anything which he did not firmly believe to be the fact4 ,the ,secretary stood alone1 said ,grattan of the elder ,pitt4 ,modern degeneracy had not reached him4 ,original and unaccommodating1 the features of his character had the hardihood of antiquity4 ,his august mind overawed majesty2 and one of his sovereigns thought royalty so impaired in his presence1 that he conspired to remove him1 in order to be relieved from his superiority4 ,no state chicanery1 no narrow system of vicious politics1 sunk him to the level of the vulgar great2 but1 overbearing1 persuasive1 and impracticable1 his object was ,england1 his ambition1 fame4 ,a character so exalted1 so unsullied1 so various1 so authoritative1 astonished a corrupt age1 and the ,treasury trembled at the name of ,pitt through all the classes of venality4 ,corruption imagined1 indeed1 that she had found defects in this statesman1 and talked much of the inconsistency of his policy1 and much of the ruin of his victories2 but the history of his country and the calamities of the enemy answered and refuted her4 ,upon the whole1 there was in this man something that could create1 subvert1 or reform2 an understanding1 a spirit1 and an eloquence to summon mankind to united exertion1 or to break the bonds of slavery asunder1 and to rule the wilderness of free minds with unbounded authority2 something that could establish or overwhelm an empire1 and strike a blow in the world that would resound through the universe4 ,pitt was ,paymaster-,general for ,george ,,ii4 ,when a subsidy was voted a foreign office1 it was customary for the office to claim one half per cent4 for honorarium4 ,pitt astonished the ,king of ,sardinia by sending him the sum without any deduction1 and further astonished him by refusing a present as a compliment to his integrity4 ,he was a poor man4 ,washington would take no pay as commander-in-chief of the ,continental armies4 ,he would keep a strict account of his expenses2 and these1 he doubted not1 would be discharged4 ,remember1 the main business of life is not to do1 but to become2 an action itself has its finest and most enduring fruit in character4 ,in #ahcg1 after ,george ,peabody moved to ,london1 there came a commercial crisis in the ,united ,states4 ,many banks suspended specie payments4 ,many mercantile houses went to the wall1 and thousands more were in great distress4 ,edward ,everett said1 ,the great sympathetic nerve of the commercial world1 credit1 as far as the ,united ,states were concerned1 was for the time paralyzed4 ,probably not a half dozen men in ,europe would have been listened to for a moment in the ,bank of ,england upon the subject of ,american securities1 but ,george ,peabody was one of them4 ,his name was already a tower of strength in the commercial world4 ,in those dark days his integrity stood four-square in every business panic4 ,peabody retrieved the credit of the ,state of ,maryland1 and1 it might almost be said1 of the ,united ,states4 ,his character was the magic wand which in many a case changed almost worthless paper into gold4 ,merchants on both sides of the ,atlantic procured large advances from him1 even before the goods consigned to him had been sold4 ,thackeray says1 ,nature has written a letter of credit upon some men's faces which is honored wherever presented4 ,you cannot help trusting such men2 their very presence gives confidence4 ,there is a 'promise to pay' in their very faces which gives confidence1 and you prefer it to another man's indorsement4 ,character is credit4 ,with most people1 as with most nations1 things are worth what they will sell for1 and the dollar is mightier than the sword4 ,as good as gold has become a proverb--as though it were the highest standard of comparison4 ,themistocles1 having conceived the design of transferring the government of ,greece from the hands of the ,lacedaemonians into those of the ,athenians1 kept his thoughts continually fixed on this great project4 ,being at no time very nice or scrupulous in the choice of his measures1 he thought anything which could tend to the accomplishment of the end he had in view just and lawful4 ,accordingly in an assembly of the people one day1 he intimated that he had a very important design to propose2 but he could not communicate it to the public at large1 because the greatest secrecy was necessary to its success1 and he therefore desired that they would appoint a person to whom he might explain himself on the subject4 ,aristides was unanimously selected by the assembly1 which deferred entirely to his opinion4 ,themistocles1 taking him aside1 told him that the design he had conceived was to burn the fleet belonging to the rest of the ,grecian states1 which then lay in a neighboring port1 when ,athens would assuredly become mistress of all ,greece4 ,aristides returned to the assembly1 and declared to them that nothing could be more advantageous to the commonwealth than the project of ,themistocles1 but that1 at the same time1 nothing in the world could be more unfair4 ,the assembly unanimously declared that1 since such was the case1 ,themistocles should wholly abandon his project4 ,a tragedy by ,aeschylus was once represented before the ,athenians1 in which it was said of one of the characters1 that he cared not more to be just than to appear so4 ,at these words all eyes were instantly turned upon ,aristides as the man who1 of all the ,greeks1 most merited that distinguished reputation4 ,ever after he received1 by universal consent1 the surname of the ,just1--a title1 says ,plutarch1 truly royal1 or rather truly divine4 ,this remarkable distinction roused envy1 and envy prevailed so far as to procure his banishment for years1 upon the unjust suspicion that his influence with the people was dangerous to their freedom4 ,when the sentence was passed by his countrymen1 ,aristides himself was present in the midst of them1 and a stranger who stood near1 and could not write1 applied to him to write for him on his shell-ballot4 ,what name8 asked the philosopher4 ,aristides1 replied the stranger4 ,do you know him1 then8 said ,aristides1 or has he in any way injured you8 ,neither1 said the other1 but it is for this very thing ,i would he were condemned4 ,i can go nowhere but ,i hear of ,aristides the ,just4 ,aristides inquired no further1 but took the shell1 and wrote his name on it as desired4 ,the absence of ,aristides soon dissipated the apprehensions which his countrymen had so idly indulged4 ,he was in a short time recalled1 and for many years after took a leading part in the affairs of the republic1 without showing the least resentment against his enemies1 or seeking any other gratification than that of serving his countrymen with fidelity and honor4 ,the virtues of ,aristides did not pass without reward4 ,he had two daughters1 who were educated at the expense of the state1 and to whom portions were allotted from the public treasury4 ,the strongest proof1 however1 of the justice and integrity of ,aristides is1 that notwithstanding he had possessed the highest employments in the republic1 and had the absolute disposal of its treasures1 yet he died so poor as not to leave money enough to defray the expenses of his funeral4 ,men of character are the conscience of the society to which they belong2 they1 and not the police1 guarantee the execution of the laws4 ,their influence is the bulwark of good government4 ,it was said of the first ,emperor ,alexander of ,russia1 that his personal character was equivalent to a constitution4 ,of ,montaigne1 it was said that his high reputation for integrity was a better protection for him than a regiment of horse would have been1 he being the only man among the ,french gentry who1 during the wars of the ,fronde1 kept his castle gates unbarred4 ,there are men1 fortunately for the world1 who would rather be right than be ,president4 ,fisher ,ames1 while in ,congress1 said of ,roger ,sherman1 of ,connecticut3 ,if ,i am absent during a discussion of a subject1 and consequently know not on which side to vote1 when ,i return ,i always look at ,roger ,sherman1 for ,i am sure if ,i vote with him1 ,i shall vote right4 ,character gravitates upward1 as with a celestial gravitation1 while mere genius1 without character1 gravitates downward4 ,how often we see in school or college young men1 who are apparently dull and even stupid1 rise gradually and surely above others who are without character1 merely because the former have an upward tendency in their lives1 a reaching-up principle1 which gradually but surely unfolds1 and elevates them to positions of honor and trust4 ,there is something which everybody admires in an aspiring soul1 one whose tendency is upward and onward1 in spite of hindrances and in defiance of obstacles4 ,we may try to stifle the voice of the mysterious angel within1 but it always says yes to right actions and no to wrong ones4 ,no matter whether we heed it or not1 no power can change its decision one iota4 ,through health1 through disease1 through prosperity and adversity1 this faithful servant stands behind us in the shadow of ourselves1 never intruding1 but weighing every act we perform1 every word we utter1 pronouncing the verdict right or wrong4 ,francis ,horner1 of ,england1 was a man of whom ,sydney ,smith said1 that the ten commandments were stamped upon his forehead4 ,the valuable and peculiar light in which ,horner's history is calculated to inspire every right-minded youth is this3 he died at the age of thirty-eight1 possessed of greater influence than any other private man1 and admired1 beloved1 trusted1 and deplored by all except the heartless and the base4 ,no greater homage was ever paid in ,parliament to any deceased member4 ,how was this attained8 ,by rank8 ,he was the son of an ,edinburgh merchant4 ,by wealth8 ,neither he nor any of his relatives ever had a superfluous sixpence4 ,by office8 ,he held but one1 and that for only a few years1 of no influence1 and with very little pay4 ,by talents8 ,his were not splendid1 and he had no genius4 ,cautious and slow1 his only ambition was to be right4 ,by eloquence8 ,he spoke in calm1 good taste1 without any of the oratory that either terrifies or seduces4 ,by any fascination of manner8 ,his was only correct and agreeable4 ,by what was it1 then8 ,merely by sense1 industry1 good principles and a good heart1 qualities which no well constituted mind need ever despair of attaining4 ,it was the force of his character that raised him2 and this character was not impressed on him by nature1 but formed1 out of no peculiarly fine elements1 by himself4 ,there were many in the ,house of ,commons of far greater ability and eloquence4 ,but no one surpassed him in the combination of an adequate portion of these with moral worth4 ,horner was born to show what moderate powers1 unaided by anything whatever except culture and goodness1 may achieve1 even when these powers are displayed amidst the competition and jealousies of public life4 ,when it was reported in ,paris that the great ,napoleon was dead1 ,i passed the ,palais ,royal1 says a ,french writer1 where a public crier called1 ',here's your account of the death of ,bonaparte4' ,this cry which once would have appalled all ,europe fell perfectly flat4 ,i entered1 he adds1 several cafs1 and found the same indifference1--coldness everywhere2 no one seemed interested or troubled4 ,this man1 who had conquered ,europe and awed the world1 had inspired neither the love nor the admiration of even his own countrymen4 ,he had impressed the world with his marvelousness1 and had inspired astonishment but not love4 ,emerson says that ,napoleon did all that in him lay to live and thrive without moral principle4 ,it was the nature of things1 the eternal law of man and of the world1 which balked and ruined him2 and the result1 in a million attempts of this kind1 will be the same4 ,his was an experiment1 under the most favorable conditions1 to test the powers of intellect without conscience4 ,never elsewhere was such a leader so endowed1 and so weaponed2 never has another leader found such aids and followers4 ,and what was the result of this vast talent and power1 of these immense armies1 burned cities1 squandered treasures1 immolated millions of men1 of this demoralized ,europe8 ,he left ,france smaller1 poorer1 feebler than he found her4 ,a hundred years hence what difference will it make whether you were rich or poor1 a peer or a peasant8 ,but what difference may it not make whether you did what was right or what was wrong8 ,the ',vicar of ,wakefield1' said ,george ,william ,curtis1 was sold1 through ,dr4 ,johnson's mediation1 for sixty pounds2 and ten years after1 the author died4 ,with what love do we hang over its pages6 ,what springs of feeling it has opened6 ,goldsmith's books are influences and friends forever1 yet the five thousandth copy was never announced1 and ,oliver ,goldsmith1 ,m4 ,d41 often wanted a dinner6 ,horace ,walpole1 the coxcomb of literature1 smiled at him contemptuously from his gilded carriage4 ,goldsmith struggled cheerfully with his adverse fate1 and died4 ,but then sad mourners1 whom he had aided in their affliction1 gathered around his bed1 and a lady of distinction1 whom he had only dared to admire at a distance1 came and cut a lock of his hair for remembrance4 ,when ,i see ,goldsmith1 thus carrying his heart in his hand like a palm branch1 ,i look on him as a successful man1 whom adversity could not bring down from the level of his lofty nature4 ,dr4 ,maudsley tells us that the aims which chiefly predominate--riches1 position1 power1 applause of men--are such as inevitably breed and foster many bad passions in the eager competition to attain them4 ,hence1 in fact1 come disappointed ambition1 jealousy1 grief from loss of fortune1 all the torments of wounded self-love1 and a thousand other mental sufferings1--the commonly enumerated moral causes of insanity4 ,they are griefs of a kind to which a rightly developed nature should not fall a prey4 ,there need be no envy nor jealousy1 if a man were to consider that it mattered not whether he did a great thing or some one else did it1 ,nature's only concern being that it should be done2 no grief from loss of fortune1 if he were to estimate at its true value that which fortune can bring him1 and that which fortune can never bring him2 no wounded self-love1 if he had learned well the eternal lesson of life1--self-renunciation4 ,soon after his establishment in ,philadelphia ,franklin was offered a piece for publication in his newspaper4 ,being very busy1 he begged the gentleman would leave it for consideration4 ,the next day the author called and asked his opinion of it4 ,well1 sir1 replied ,franklin1 ,i am sorry to say ,i think it highly scurrilous and defamatory4 ,but being at a loss on account of my poverty whether to reject it or not1 ,i thought ,i would put it to this issue3 ,at night1 when my work was done1 ,i bought a two-penny loaf1 on which ,i supped heartily1 and then1 wrapping myself in my great coat1 slept very soundly on the floor till morning1 when another loaf and mug of water afforded a pleasant breakfast4 ,now1 sir1 since ,i can live very comfortably in this manner1 why should ,i prostitute my press to personal hatred or party passion for a more luxurious living8 ,one cannot read this anecdote of our ,american sage without thinking of ,socrates' reply to ,king ,archelaus1 who had pressed him to give up preaching in the dirty streets of ,athens1 and come and live with him in his splendid courts3 ,meal1 please your ,majesty1 is a half-penny a peck at ,athens1 and water ,i get for nothing6 ,during ,alexander's march into ,africa he found a people dwelling in peace1 who knew neither war nor conquest4 ,while he was interviewing the chief two of his subjects brought a case before him for judgment4 ,the dispute was this3 the one had bought of the other a piece of ground1 which1 after the purchase1 was found to contain a treasure1 for which he felt bound to pay4 ,the other refused to receive anything1 stating that when he sold the ground he sold it with all the advantages apparent or concealed which it might be found to afford4 ,the king said1 ,one of you has a daughter and the other a son2 let them be married and the treasure given to them as a dowry4 ,alexander was surprised1 and said1 ,if this case had been in our country it would have been dismissed1 and the king would have kept the treasure4 ,the chief said1 ,does the sun shine on your country1 and the rain fall1 and the grass grow8 ,alexander replied1 ,certainly4 ,the chief then asked1 ,are there any cattle8 ,certainly1 was the reply4 ,the chief replied1 ,then it is for these innocent cattle that the ,great ,being permits the rain to fall and the grass to grow4 ,a good character is a precious thing1 above rubies1 gold1 crowns1 or kingdoms1 and the work of making it is the noblest labor on earth4 ,professor ,blackie of the ,university of ,edinburgh said to a class of young men3 ,money is not needful2 power is not needful2 liberty is not needful2 even health is not the one thing needful2 but character alone is that which can truly save us1 and if we are not saved in this sense1 we certainly must be damned4 ,it has been said that when poverty is your inheritance1 virtue must be your capital4 ,during the ,american ,revolution1 while ,general ,reed was ,president of ,congress1 the ,british ,commissioners offered him a bribe of ten thousand guineas to desert the cause of his country4 ,his reply was1 ,gentlemen1 ,i am poor1 very poor2 but your king is not rich enough to buy me4 ,when ,le ,pre ,bourdaloue preached at ,rouen1 said ,pre ,arrius1 the tradesmen forsook their shops1 lawyers their clients1 physicians their sick1 and tavern-keepers their bars2 but when ,i preached the following year ,i set all things to rights1--every man minded his own business4 ,i fear ,john ,knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men1 said ,mary1 ,queen of ,scotland4 ,when ,pope ,paul ,,iv4 heard of the death of ,calvin he exclaimed with a sigh1 ,ah1 the strength of that proud heretic lay in--riches8 ,no4 ,honors8 ,no4 ,but nothing could move him from his course4 ,holy ,virgin6 ,with two such servants1 our church would soon be mistress of both worlds4 ,garibaldi's power over his men amounted to fascination4 ,soldiers and officers were ready to die for him4 ,his will power seemed to enslave them4 ,in ,rome he called for forty volunteers to go where half of them would be sure to be killed and the others probably wounded4 ,the whole battalion rushed forward2 and they had to draw lots1 so eager were all to obey4 ,what power of magic lies in a great name6 ,there was not a throne in ,europe that could stand against ,washington's character1 and in comparison with it the millions of the ,croesuses would look ridiculous4 ,what are the works of avarice compared with the names of ,lincoln1 ,grant1 or ,garfield8 ,a few names have ever been the leaven which has preserved many a nation from premature decay4 ,but strew his ashes to the wind ,whose sword or voice has served mankind-- ,and is he dead1 whose glorious mind ,lifts thine on high8-- ,to live in hearts we leave behind ,is not to die4 ,mr4 ,gladstone gave in ,parliament1 when announcing the death of ,princess ,alice1 a touching story of sick-room ministration4 ,the ,princess' little boy was ill with diphtheria1 the physician had cautioned her not to inhale the poisoned breath2 the child was tossing in the delirium of fever4 ,the mother took the little one in her lap and stroked his fevered brow2 the boy threw his arms around her neck1 and whispered1 ,kiss me1 mamma2 the mother's instinct was stronger than the physician's caution2 she pressed her lips to the child's1 but lost her life4 ,at a large dinner-party given by ,lord ,stratford after the ,crimean ,war1 it was proposed that every one should write on a slip of paper the name which appeared most likely to descend to posterity with renown4 ,when the papers were opened every one of them contained the name of ,florence ,nightingale4 ,leckey says that the first hospital ever established was opened by that noble ,christian woman1 ,fabiola1 in the fourth century4 ,the two foremost names in modern philanthropy are those of ,john ,howard and ,florence ,nightingale4 ,not a general of the ,crimean ,war on either side can be named by one person in ten4 ,the one name that rises instantly1 when that carnival of pestilence and blood is suggested1 is that of a young woman just recovering from a serious illness1 ,florence ,nightingale4 ,a soldier said1 ,before she came there was such cussin' and swearin'2 and after that it was as holy as a church4 ,she robbed war of half its terrors4 ,since her time the hospital systems of all the nations during war have been changed4 ,no soldier was braver and no patriot truer than ,clara ,barton1 and wherever that noble company of ,protestant women known as the ,red ,cross ,society1--the cross1 ,i suppose1 pointing to ,calvary1 and the red to the blood of the ,redeemer1--wherever those consecrated workers seek to alleviate the condition of those who suffer from plagues1 cholera1 fevers1 flood1 famine1 there this tireless angel moves on her pathway of blessing4 ,and of all heroes1 what nobler ones than these1 whose names shine from the pages of our missionary history8 ,i never read of ,mrs4 ,judson1 ,mrs4 ,snow1 ,miss ,brittain1 ,miss ,west1 without feeling that the heroic age of our race has just begun1 the age which opens to woman the privilege of following her benevolent inspirations wheresoever she will1 without thinking that our ,christianity needs no other evidence4 ,duty is the cement without which all power1 goodness1 intellect1 truth1 happiness1 and love itself can have no permanence1 but all the fabric of existence crumbles away from under us and leaves us at last sitting in the midst of a ruin1 astonished at our own desolation4 ,a constant1 abiding sense of duty is the last reason of culture4 ,i slept and dreamed that life is beauty2 ,i woke and found that life is duty4 ,we have no more right to refuse to perform a duty than to refuse to pay a debt4 ,moral insolvency is certain to him who neglects and disregards his duty to his fellow-men4 ,nor can we hire another to perform our duty4 ,the mere accident of having money does not release you from your duty to the world4 ,nay1 it increases it1 for it enables you to do a larger and nobler duty4 ,if your money is not clean1 if there is a dirty dollar in your millions1 you have not succeeded4 ,if there is the blood of the poor and unfortunate1 of orphans and widows1 on your bank account1 you have not succeeded4 ,if your wealth has made others poorer1 your life is a failure4 ,if you have gained it in an occupation that kills1 that shortens the lives of others1 that poisons their blood1 or engenders disease1 if you have taken a day from a human life1 if you have gained your money by that which has debauched other lives1 you have failed4 ,remember that a question will be asked you some time which you cannot evade1 the right answer to which will fix your destiny forever3 ,how did you get that fortune8 ,are other men's lives in it2 are others' hope and happiness buried in it2 are others' comforts sacrificed to it2 are others' rights buried in it2 are others' opportunities smothered in it2 others' chances strangled by it2 has their growth been stunted by it2 their characters stained by it2 have others a smaller loaf1 a meaner home8 ,if so1 you have failed2 all your millions cannot save you from the curse1 thou hast been weighed in the balance and found wanting4 ,when ,walter ,scott's publisher and printer failed and #fjj1jjj of debt stared them in the face1 friends came forward and offered to raise money enough to allow him to arrange with his creditors4 ,no1 said he proudly1 this right hand shall work it all off2 if we lose everything else1 we will at least keep our honor unblemished4 ,what a grand picture of manliness1 of integrity in this noble man1 working like a dray-horse to cancel that great debt1 throwing off at white heat the ,life of ,napoleon1 ,woodstock1 ,the ,tales of a ,grandfather1 articles for the ,quarterly1 and so on1 all written in the midst of great sorrow1 pain1 and ruin4 ,i could not have slept soundly1 he writes1 as ,i now can under the comfortable impression of receiving the thanks of my creditors1 and the conscious feeling of discharging my duty as a man of honesty4 ,i see before me a long1 tedious1 and dark path1 but it leads to stainless reputation4 ,if ,i die in the harness1 as is very likely1 ,i shall die with honor4 ,one of the last things he uttered was1 ,i have been1 perhaps1 the most voluminous author of my day1 and it is a comfort to me to think that ,i have tried to unsettle no man's faith1 to corrupt no man's principles1 and that ,i have written nothing which1 on my deathbed1 ,i would wish blotted out4 ,although ,agassiz refused to lecture even for a large sum of money1 yet he left a greater legacy to the world1 and left even more money to ,harvard ,university 7#cjj1jjj7 than he would have left if he had taken the time to lecture for money4 ,faraday had to choose between a fortune of nearly a million and a life of almost certain poverty if he pursued science4 ,he chose poverty and science1 and earned a name never to be erased from the book of fame4 ,beecher says that we are all building a soul-house for eternity2 yet with what differing architecture and what various care6 ,what if a man should see his neighbor getting workmen and building materials together1 and should say to him1 ,what are you building8 and he should answer1 ,i don't exactly know4 ,i am waiting to see what will come of it4 ,and so walls are reared1 and room is added to room1 while the man looks idly on1 and all the bystanders exclaim1 ,what a fool he is6 ,yet this is the way many men are building their characters for eternity1 adding room to room1 without plan or aim1 and thoughtlessly waiting to see what the effect will be4 ,such builders will never dwell in the house of ,god1 not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens4 ,some people build as cathedrals are built1 the part nearest the ground finished2 but that part which soars towards heaven1 the turrets and the spires1 forever incomplete4 ,many men are mere warehouses full of merchandise--the head and heart are stuffed with goods4 ,like those houses in the lower streets of cities which were once family dwellings1 but are now used for commercial purposes1 there are apartments in their souls which were once tenanted by taste1 and love1 and joy1 and worship2 but they are all deserted now1 and the rooms are filled with material things4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,wealth ,,in ,,economy4 ,economy is half the battle of life4--,,spurgeon4 ,economy is the parent of integrity1 of liberty and ease1 and the beauteous sister of temperance1 of cheerfulness and health4--,,dr4 ,,johnson4 ,can anything be so elegant as to have few wants and to serve them one's self8 ,as much wisdom can be expended on a private economy as on an empire4--,,emerson4 ,riches amassed in haste will diminish2 but those collected by hand and little by little will multiply4--,,goethe4 ,no gain is so certain as that which proceeds from the economical use of what you have4--,,latin ,,proverb4 ,beware of little extravagances3 a small leak will sink a big ship4--,,franklin4 ,better go to bed supperless than rise with debts4--,,german ,,proverb4 ,debt is like any other trap1 easy enough to get into1 but hard enough to get out of4--,h4 ,w4 ,,shaw4 ,sense can support herself handsomely in most countries on some eighteen pence a day2 but for phantasy1 planets and solar systems will not suffice4--,,macaulay4 ,economy1 the poor man's mint4--,,tupper4 ,i can get no remedy against this consumption of the purse2 borrowing only lingers and lingers it out2 but the disease is incurable4--,,shakespeare4 ,whatever be your talents1 whatever be your prospects1 never speculate away on the chance of a palace that which you may need as a provision against the workhouse4--,,bulwer4 ,not for to hide it in a hedge1 ,nor for a train attendant1 ,but for the glorious privilege ,of being independent4 ,,burns4 ,we shan't get much here1 whispered a lady to her companion1 as ,john ,murray blew out one of the two candles by whose light he had been writing when they asked him to contribute to some benevolent object4 ,he listened to their story and gave one hundred dollars4 ,mr4 ,murray1 ,i am very agreeably surprised1 said the lady quoted2 ,i did not expect to get a cent from you4 ,the old ,quaker asked the reason for her opinion2 and1 when told1 said1 ,that1 ladies1 is the reason ,i am able to let you have the hundred dollars4 ,it is by practicing economy that ,i save up money with which to do charitable actions4 ,one candle is enough to talk by4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,alexander ,,hamilton ,the ,moses of ,colonial ,finance4 ,poverty is a condition which no man should accept1 unless it is forced upon him as an inexorable necessity or as the alternative of dishonor4 ,comfort and independence abide with those who can postpone their desires4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,emerson relates the following anecdote3 ,an opulent merchant in ,boston was called on by a friend in behalf of a charity4 ,at that time he was admonishing his clerk for using whole wafers instead of halves2 his friend thought the circumstance unpropitious2 but to his surprise1 on listening to the appeal1 the merchant subscribed five hundred dollars4 ,the applicant expressed his astonishment that any person who was so particular about half a wafer should present five hundred dollars to a charity2 but the merchant said1 ,it is by saving half wafers1 and attending to such little things1 that ,i have now something to give4 ,how did you acquire your great fortune8 asked a friend of ,lampis1 the shipowner4 ,my great fortune1 easily1 was the reply1 my small one1 by dint of exertion4 ,four years from the time ,marshall ,field left the rocky ,new ,england farm to seek his fortune in ,chicago he was admitted as a partner in the firm of ,coaley1 ,farwell ,co4 ,the only reason the modest young man gave1 to explain his promotion when he had neither backing1 wealth1 nor influence1 was that he saved his money4 ,if a man will begin at the age of twenty and lay by twenty-six cents every working day1 investing at seven per cent4 compound interest1 he will have thirty-two thousand dollars when he is seventy years old4 ,twenty cents a day is no unusual expenditure for beer or cigars1 yet in fifty years it would easily amount to twenty thousand dollars4 ,even a saving of one dollar a week from the date of one's majority would give him one thousand dollars for each of the last ten of the allotted years of life4 ,what maintains one vice would bring up two children4 ,such rigid economy1 such high courage1 enables one to surprise the world with gifts even if he is poor4 ,in fact1 the poor and the middle classes give most in the aggregate to missions and hospitals and to the poor4 ,only frugality enables them to outdo the rich on their own ground4 ,but miserliness or avariciousness is a different thing from economy4 ,the miserly is the miserable man1 who hoards money from a love of it4 ,a miser who spends a cent upon himself where another would spend a quarter does it from parsimony1 which is a subordinate characteristic of avarice4 ,of this the following is an illustration3 ,true1 ,i should like some soup1 but ,i have no appetite for the meat1 said the dying ,ostervalde2 what is to become of that8 ,it will be a sad waste4 ,and so the rich ,paris banker would not let his servant buy meat for broth4 ,a writer on political economy tells of the mishaps resulting from a broken latch on a farmyard gate4 ,every one going through would shut the gate1 but as the latch would not hold it1 it would swing open with every breeze4 ,one day a pig ran out into the woods4 ,every one on the farm went to help get him back4 ,a gardener jumped over a ditch to stop the pig1 and sprained his ankle so badly as to be confined to his bed for two weeks4 ,when the cook returned1 she found that her linen1 left to dry at the fire1 was all badly scorched4 ,the dairymaid in her excitement left the cows untied1 and one of them broke the leg of a colt4 ,the gardener lost several hours of valuable time4 ,yet a new latch would not have cost five cents4 ,guy1 the ,london bookseller1 and afterward the founder of the great hospital1 was a great miser1 living in the back part of his shop1 eating upon an old bench1 and using his counter for a table1 with a newspaper for a cloth4 ,he did not marry4 ,one day he was visited by ,vulture ,hopkins1 another well-known miser4 ,what is your business8 asked ,guy1 lighting a candle4 ,to discuss your methods of saving money1 was the reply1 alluding to the niggardly economy for which ,guy was famous4 ,on learning ,hopkins's business he blew out the light1 saying1 ,we can do that in the dark4 ,sir1 you are my master in the art1 said the ,vulture2 ,i need ask no further4 ,i see where your secret lies4 ,yet that kind of economy which verges on the niggardly is better than the extravagance that laughs at it4 ,either1 when carried to excess1 is not only apt to cause misery1 but to ruin the character4 ,lay by something for a rainy day1 said a gentleman to an ,irishman in his service4 ,not long afterwards he asked ,patrick how much he had added to his store4 ,faith1 nothing at all1 was the reply2 ,i did as you bid me1 but it rained very hard yesterday1 and it all went--in drink4 ,wealth1 a monster gorged ',mid starving populations4 ,but nowhere and at no period were these contrasts more startling than in ,imperial ,rome4 ,there a whole population might be trembling lest they should be starved by the delay of an ,alexandrian corn-ship1 while the upper classes were squandering fortunes at a single banquet1 drinking out of myrrhine and jeweled vases worth hundreds of pounds1 and feasting on the brains of peacocks and the tongues of nightingales4 ,as a consequence1 disease was rife1 men were short-lived4 ,at this time the dress of ,roman ladies displayed an unheard-of splendor4 ,the elder ,pliny tells us that he himself saw ,lollia ,paulina dressed for a betrothal feast in a robe entirely covered with pearls and emeralds1 which had cost #dj1jjj1jjj sesterces1 and which was known to be less costly than some of her other dresses4 ,gluttony1 caprice1 extravagance1 ostentation1 impurity1 rioted in the heart of a society which knew of no other means by which to break the monotony of its weariness or alleviate the anguish of its despair4 ,the expense ridiculously bestowed on the ,roman feasts passes all belief4 ,suetonius mentions a supper given to ,vitellius by his brother1 in which1 among other articles1 there were two thousand of the choicest fishes1 seven thousand of the most delicate birds1 and one dish1 from its size and capacity1 named the aegis or shield of ,minerva4 ,it was filled chiefly with the liver of the scari1 a delicate species of fish1 the brains of pheasants and peacocks1 and the tongues of parrots1 considered desirable chiefly because of their great cost4 ,i hope that there will not be another sale1 exclaimed ,horace ,walpole1 for ,i have not an inch of room nor a farthing left4 ,a woman once bought an old door-plate with ,thompson on it because she thought it might come in handy some time4 ,the habit of buying what you don't need because it is cheap encourages extravagance4 ,many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths4 ,where there is no prudence1 said ,dr4 ,johnson1 there is no virtue4 ,the eccentric ,john ,randolph once sprang from his seat in the ,house of ,representatives1 and exclaimed in his piercing voice1 ,mr4 ,speaker1 ,i have found it4 ,and then1 in the stillness which followed this strange outburst1 he added1 ,i have found the ,philosopher's ,stone3 it is ,pay as you go4 ,many a young man seems to think that when he sees his name on a sign he is on the highway to fortune1 and he begins to live on a scale as though there was no possible chance of failure2 as though he were already beyond the danger point4 ,unfortunately ,congress can pass no law that will remedy the vice of living beyond one's means4 ,the prosperity of fools shall destroy them4 ,however easy it may be to make money1 said ,barnum1 it is the most difficult thing in the world to keep it4 ,money often makes the mare--run away with you4 ,very few men know how to use money properly4 ,they can earn it1 lavish it1 hoard it1 waste it1 but to deal with it wisely1 as a means to an end1 is an education difficult of acquirement4 ,after a large stained-glass window had been constructed an artist picked up the discarded fragments and made one of the most exquisite windows in ,europe for another cathedral4 ,so one boy will pick up a splendid education out of the odds and ends of time which others carelessly throw away1 or gain a fortune by saving what others waste4 ,it has become a part of the new political economy to argue that a debt on a church or a house or a firm is a desirable thing to develop character4 ,when the young man starts out in life with the old-fashioned idea strong in his mind that debt is bondage and a disgrace1 that a mortgage is to be shunned like the cholera1 and that to owe a dollar that you cannot pay1 unless overtaken by misfortune1 is nothing more or less than stealing1 then he is bound in so much at least to succeed1 and save his old age from being a burden upon his friends or the state4 ,to do your best you must own every bit of yourself4 ,if you are in debt1 part of you belongs to your creditors4 ,nothing but actual sin is so paralyzing to a young man's energies as debt4 ,the loose change which many young men throw away carelessly1 or worse1 would often form the basis of a fortune and independence4 ,the earnings of the people of the ,united ,states1 rich and poor1 old and young1 male and female1 amount to an average of less than fifty cents a day4 ,but it is by economizing such savings that one must get his start in business4 ,the man without a penny is practically helpless1 from a business point of view1 except so far as he can immediately utilize his powers of body and mind4 ,besides1 when a man or woman is driven to the wall1 the chance of goodness surviving self-respect and the loss of public esteem is frightfully diminished4 ,money goes as it comes4 ,a child and a fool imagine that twenty years and twenty shillings can never be spent4 ,live between extravagance and meanness4 ,don't save money and starve your mind4 ,the very secret and essence of thrift consists in getting things into higher values4 ,spend upward1 that is1 for the higher faculties4 ,spend for the mind rather than for the body1 for culture rather than for amusement4 ,some young men are too stingy to buy the daily papers1 and are very ignorant and narrow4 ,there is that withholdeth more than is meet1 but it tendeth to poverty4 ,don't squeeze out of your life and comfort and family what you save4 ,liberal1 not lavish1 is ,nature's hand4 ,even ,god1 it is said1 cannot afford to be extravagant4 ,when ,he increased the loaves and fishes1 ,he commanded to gather up the fragments1 that nothing be lost4 ,nature uses a grinding economy1 says ,emerson1 working up all that is wasted to-day into to-morrow's creation2 not a superfluous grain of sand for all the ostentation she makes of expense and public works4 ,she flung us out in her plenty1 but we cannot shed a hair or a paring of a nail but instantly she snatches at the shred and appropriates it to her general stock4 ,last summer's flowers and foliage decayed in autumn only to enrich the earth this year for other forms of beauty4 ,nature will not even wait for our friends to see us1 unless we die at home4 ,the moment the breath has left the body she begins to take us to pieces1 that the parts may be used again for other creations4 ,mark the following contrast3-- #aggb4 #ahbb4 ,man1 to the plow2 ,man1 tally-ho2 ,wife1 to the cow2 ,wife1 piano2 ,girl1 to the sow2 ,miss1 silk and satin2 ,boy1 to the mow2 ,boy1 ,greek and ,latin2 ,and your rents will be netted4 ,and you'll all be gazetted4 ,hone's ,works4 ,the ,times4 ,more than a lifetime has elapsed since the above was published1 but instead of returning to the style of #aggb1 our farmers have out-,heroded ,herod in the direction of the fashion1 of #ahbb1 and many a farmhouse1 like the home of ,artemas ,transcriber's note3 ,artemus8 ,ward1 may be known by the cupola and the mortgage with which it is decorated4 ,it is by the mysterious power of economy1 it has been said1 that the loaf is multiplied1 that using does not waste1 that little becomes much1 that scattered fragments grow to unity1 and that out of nothing or next to nothing comes the miracle of something4 ,it is not merely saving1 still less1 parsimony4 ,it is foresight and arrangement1 insight and combination1 causing inert things to labor1 useless things to serve our necessities1 perishing things to renew their vigor1 and all things to exert themselves for human comfort4 ,english working men and women work very hard1 seldom take a holiday1 and though they get nearly double the wages of the same classes in ,france1 yet save very little4 ,the millions earned by them slip out of their hands almost as soon as obtained to satisfy the pleasures of the moment4 ,in ,france every housekeeper is taught the art of making much out of little4 ,i am simply astonished1 writes an ,american lady stopping in ,france1 at the number of good wholesome dishes which my friend here makes for her table from things1 which at home1 ,i always throw away4 ,dainty little dishes from scraps of cold meat1 from hard crusts of bread1 delicately prepared and seasoned1 from almost everything and nothing4 ,and yet there is no feeling of stinginess or want4 ,i wish ,i could write all across the sky1 in letters of gold1 says ,rev4 ,william ,marsh1 the one word1 savings-bank4 ,boston savings-banks have #acj1jjj1jjj on deposit1 mostly saved in driblets4 ,josiah ,quincy used to say that the servant girls built most of the palaces on ,beacon ,street4 ,so apportion your wants that your means may exceed them1 says ,bulwer4 ,with one hundred pounds a year ,i may need no man's help2 ,i may at least have 'my crust of bread and liberty4' ,but with five thousand pounds a year ,i may dread a ring at my bell2 ,i may have my tyrannical master in servants whose wages ,i cannot pay2 my exile may be at the fiat of the first long-suffering man who enters a judgment against me2 for the flesh that lies nearest my heart some ,shylock may be dusting his scales and whetting his knife4 ,every man is needy who spends more than he has2 no man is needy who spends less4 ,i may so ill manage1 that with five thousand pounds a year ,i purchase the worst evils of poverty1--terror and shame2 ,i may so well manage my money1 that with one hundred pounds a year ,i purchase the best blessings of wealth1--safety and respect4 ,edmund ,burke1 speaking on ,economic ,reform1 quoted from ,cicero3 ,magnum vectigal est parsimonia1 accenting the second word on the first syllable4 ,lord ,north whispered a correction1 when ,burke turned the mistake to advantage4 ,the noble lord hints that ,i have erred in the quantity of a principal word in my quotation2 ,i rejoice at it1 sir1 because it gives me an opportunity of repeating the inestimable adage1--',magnum vectigal est parsimonia4' ,the sentiment1 meaning ,thrift is a good income1 is well worthy of emphatic repetition by us all4 ,washington examined the minutest expenditures of his family1 even when ,president of the ,united ,states4 ,he understood that without economy none can be rich1 and with it none need be poor4 ,i make a point of paying my own bills1 said ,wellington4 ,john ,jacob ,astor said that the first thousand dollars cost him more effort than all of his millions4 ,boys who are careless with their dimes and quarters1 just because they have so few1 never get this first thousand1 and without it no fortune is possible4 ,to find out uses for the persons or things which are now wasted in life is to be the glorious work of the men of the next generation1 and that which will contribute most to their enrichment4 ,economizing in spots or by freaks is no economy at all4 ,it must be done by management4 ,learn early in life to say ,i can't afford it4 ,it is an indication of power and courage and manliness4 ,dr4 ,franklin said1 ,it is not our own eyes1 but other people's1 that ruin us4 ,fashion wears out more apparel than the man1 says ,shakespeare4 ,of what a hideous progeny of ill is debt the father1 said ,douglas ,jerrold4 ,what meanness1 what invasions of self-respect1 what cares1 what double-dealing6 ,how in due season it will carve the frank1 open face into wrinkles2 how like a knife it will stab the honest heart4 ,and then its transformations1--how it has been known to change a goodly face into a mask of brass2 how with the evil custom of debt has the true man become a callous trickster6 ,a freedom from debt1 and what nourishing sweetness may be found in cold water2 what toothsomeness in a dry crust2 what ambrosial nourishment in a hard egg6 ,be sure of it1 he who dines out of debt1 though his meal be a biscuit and an onion1 dines in ',the ,apollo4' ,and then1 for raiment1 what warmth in a threadbare coat1 if the tailor's receipt be in your pocket6 ,what ,tyrian purple in the faded waistcoat1 the vest not owed for2 how glossy the well-worn hat1 if it covers not the aching head of a debtor6 ,next1 the home sweets1 the outdoor recreation of the free man4 ,the street door falls not a knell in his heart1 the foot on the staircase1 though he lives on the third pair1 sends no spasm through his anatomy2 at the rap of his door he can crow 'come in1' and his pulse still beats healthfully4 ,see him abroad6 ,how he returns look for look with any passenger4 ,poverty is a bitter draught1 yet may1 and sometimes can with advantage1 be gulped down4 ,though the drinker makes wry faces1 there may1 after all1 be a wholesome goodness in the cup4 ,but debt1 however courteously it may be offered1 is the ,cup of ,siren2 and the wine1 spiced and delicious though it be1 is poison4 ,my son1 if poor1 see ,hyson in the running spring2 see thy mouth water at a last week's roll2 think a threadbare coat the only wear2 and acknowledge a whitewashed garret the fittest housing-place for a gentleman2 do this1 and flee debt4 ,so shall thy heart be at rest1 and the sheriff confounded4 ,whoever has sixpence is sovereign over all men to the extent of that sixpence1 says ,carlyle2 commands cooks to feed him1 philosophers to teach him1 kings to mount guard over him1--to the extent of that sixpence4 ,if a man owes you a dollar1 he is almost sure to owe you a grudge1 too4 ,if you owe another money1 you will be apt to regard him with uncharitable eyes4 ,why not economize before getting into debt instead of pinching afterwards8 ,communities which live wholly from hand to mouth never make much progress in the useful arts4 ,savings mean power4 ,comfort and independence abide with those who can postpone their desires4 ,hunger1 rags1 cold1 hard work1 contempt1 suspicion1 unjust reproach1 are disagreeable1 says ,horace ,greeley1 but debt is infinitely worse than them all4 ,many a ruined man dates his downfall from the day when he began borrowing money4 ,debt demoralized ,daniel ,webster1 and ,theodore ,hook1 and ,sheridan1 and ,fox1 and ,pitt4 ,mirabeau's life was made wretched by duns4 ,annual income1 says ,micawber1 twenty pounds2 annual expenditure1 nineteen six1 result--happiness4 ,annual income1 twenty pounds2 annual expenditure1 twenty pounds ought and six1 result--misery4 ,we are ruined1 says ,colton1 not by what we really want1 but by what we think we do4 ,therefore never go abroad in search of your wants2 if they be real wants1 they will come home in search of you2 for he that buys what he does not want will soon want what he cannot buy4 ,the honorable course is to give every man his due4 ,it is better to starve than not to do this4 ,it is better to do a small business on a cash basis than a large one on credit4 ,owe no man anything1 wrote ,st4 ,paul4 ,it is a good motto to place in every purse1 in every counting-room1 in every church1 in every home4 ,economy is of itself a great revenue4--,,cicero4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,rich ,,without ,,money4 ,let others plead for pensions2 ,i can be rich without money1 by endeavoring to be superior to everything poor4 ,i would have my services to my country unstained by any interested motive4--,,lord ,,collingwood4 ,ill fares the land1 to hastening ills a prey1 ,where wealth accumulates and men decay4 ,,goldsmith4 ,pennilessness is not poverty1 and ownership is not possession2 to be without is not always to lack1 and to reach is not to attain2 sunlight is for all eyes that look up1 and color for those who choose4--,,helen ,,hunt4 ,i ought not to allow any man1 because he has broad lands1 to feel that he is rich in my presence4 ,i ought to make him feel that ,i can do without his riches1 that ,i cannot be bought1--neither by comfort1 neither by pride1--and although ,i be utterly penniless1 and receiving bread from him1 that he is the poor man beside me4--,,emerson4 ,to be content with what we possess is the greatest and most secure of riches4--,,cicero4 ,there is no riches above a sound body and no joy above the joy of the heart4--,,ecclesiastes4 ,where1 thy true treasure8 ,gold says1 ,not in me2 ,and ,not in me1 the ,diamond4 ,gold is poor2 ,india's insolvent3 seek it in thyself4 ,,young4 ,he is richest who is content with the least1 for content is the wealth of nature4--,,socrates4 ,a great heart in a little house is of all things here below that which has ever touched me most4--,,lacordaire4 ,my crown is in my heart1 not on my head1 ,nor decked with diamonds and ,indian stones1 ,nor to be seen3 my crown is called content2 ,a crown it is1 that seldom kings enjoy4 ,,shakespeake4 ,many a man is rich without money4 ,thousands of men with nothing in their pockets1 and thousands without even a pocket1 are rich4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,ralph ,,waldo ,,emerson ,the ,sage of ,concord4 ,i revere the person who is riches3 so ,i cannot think of him as alone1 or poor1 or exiled1 or unhappy4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,a man born with a good1 sound constitution1 a good stomach1 a good heart and good limbs1 and a pretty good headpiece1 is rich4 ,good bones are better than gold1 tough muscles than silver1 and nerves that carry energy to every function are better than houses and land4 ,heart-life1 soul-life1 hope1 joy1 and love1 are true riches1 said ,beecher4 ,why should ,i scramble and struggle to get possession of a little portion of this earth8 ,this is my world now2 why should ,i envy others its mere legal possession8 ,it belongs to him who can see it1 enjoy it4 ,i need not envy the so-called owners of estates in ,boston and ,new ,york4 ,they are merely taking care of my property and keeping it in excellent condition for me4 ,for a few pennies for railroad fare whenever ,i wish ,i can see and possess the best of it all4 ,it has cost me no effort1 it gives me no care2 yet the green grass1 the shrubbery1 and the statues on the lawns1 the finer sculptures and the paintings within1 are always ready for me whenever ,i feel a desire to look upon them4 ,i do not wish to carry them home with me1 for ,i could not give them half the care they now receive2 besides1 it would take too much of my valuable time1 and ,i should be worrying continually lest they be spoiled or stolen4 ,i have much of the wealth of the world now4 ,it is all prepared for me without any pains on my part4 ,all around me are working hard to get things that will please me1 and competing to see who can give them the cheapest4 ,the little ,i pay for the use of libraries1 railroads1 galleries1 parks1 is less than it would cost to care for the least of all ,i use4 ,life and landscape are mine1 the stars and flowers1 the sea and air1 the birds and trees4 ,what more do ,i want8 ,all the ages have been working for me2 all mankind are my servants4 ,i am only required to feed and clothe myself1 an easy task in this land of opportunity4 ,a millionaire pays thousands of pounds for a gallery of paintings1 and some poor boy or girl comes in1 with open mind and poetic fancy1 and carries away a treasure of beauty which the owner never saw4 ,a collector bought at public auction in ,london1 for one hundred and fifty-seven guineas1 an autograph of ,shakespeare2 but for nothing a schoolboy can read and absorb the riches of ,hamlet4 ,why should ,i waste my abilities pursuing this will-o'-the-wisp ,enough1 which is ever a little more than one has1 and which none of the panting millions ever yet overtook in his mad chase8 ,is there no desirable thing left in this world but gold1 luxury1 and ease8 ,want is a growing giant whom the coat of ,have was never large enough to cover4 ,a man may as soon fill a chest with grace1 or a vessel with virtue1 says ,phillips ,brooks1 as a heart with wealth4 ,shall we seek happiness through the sense of taste or of touch8 ,shall we idolize our stomachs and our backs8 ,have we no higher missions1 no nobler destinies8 ,shall we disgrace the fair day by a pusillanimous preference of our bread to our freedom8 ,in the three great ,banquets of ,plato1 ,xenophon1 and ,plutarch the food is not even mentioned4 ,what does your money say to you3 what message does it bring to you8 ,does it say to you1 ,eat1 drink1 and be merry1 for to-morrow we die8 ,does it bring a message of comfort1 of education1 of culture1 of travel1 of books1 of an opportunity to help your fellow-man1 or is the message ,more land1 more thousands and millions8 ,what message does it bring you8 ,clothes for the naked1 bread for the starving1 schools for the ignorant1 hospitals for the sick1 asylums for the orphans1 or of more for yourself and none for others8 ,is it a message of generosity or of meanness1 breadth or narrowness8 ,does it speak to you of character8 ,does it mean a broader manhood1 a larger aim1 a nobler ambition1 or does it cry ,more1 more1 more8 ,are you an animal loaded with ingots1 or a man filled with a purpose8 ,he is rich whose mind is rich1 whose thought enriches the intellect of the world4 ,it is a sad sight to see a soul which thirsts not for truth or beauty or the good4 ,a sailor on a sinking vessel in the ,caribbean ,sea eagerly filled his pockets with ,spanish dollars from a barrel on board while his companions1 about to leave in the only boat1 begged him to seek safety with them4 ,but he could not leave the bright metal which he had so longed for and idolized1 and was prevented from reaching shore by his very riches1 when the vessel went down4 ,who is the richest of men1 asked ,socrates8 ,he who is content with the least1 for contentment is nature's riches4 ,in ,more's ,utopia gold was despised4 ,criminals were forced to wear heavy chains of it1 and to have rings of it in their ears2 it was put to the vilest uses to keep up the scorn of it4 ,bad characters were compelled to wear gold head-bands4 ,diamonds and pearls were used to decorate infants1 so that the youth would discard and despise them4 ,ah1 if the rich were as rich as the poor fancy riches6 exclaims ,emerson4 ,many a rich man has died in the poorhouse4 ,in excavating ,pompeii a skeleton was found with the fingers clenched round a quantity of gold4 ,a man of business in the town of ,hull1 ,england1 when dying1 pulled a bag of money from under his pillow1 which he held between his clenched fingers with a grasp so firm as scarcely to relax under the agonies of death4 ,oh6 blind and wanting wit to choose1 ,who house the chaff and burn the grain2 ,who hug the wealth ye cannot use1 ,and lack the riches all may gain4 ,,william ,,watson4 ,poverty is the want of much1 avarice the want of everything4 ,a poor man was met by a stranger while scoffing at the wealthy for not enjoying themselves4 ,the stranger gave him a purse1 in which he was always to find a ducat4 ,as fast as he took one out another was to drop in1 but he was not to begin to spend his fortune until he had thrown away the purse4 ,he takes ducat after ducat out1 but continually procrastinates and puts off the hour of enjoyment until he has got a little more1 and dies at last counting his millions4 ,a beggar was once met by ,fortune1 who promised to fill his wallet with gold1 as much as he might please1 on condition that whatever touched the ground should turn at once to dust4 ,the beggar opens his wallet1 asks for more and yet more1 until the bag bursts4 ,the gold falls to the ground1 and all is lost4 ,when the steamer ,central ,america was about to sink1 the stewardess1 having collected all the gold she could from the staterooms1 and tied it in her apron1 jumped for the last boat leaving the steamer4 ,she missed her aim and fell into the water1 the gold carrying her down head first4 ,in the year #ahdc a rich miser lived in ,padua1 who was so mean and sordid that he would never give a cent to any person or object1 and he was so afraid of the banks that he would not deposit with them1 but would sit up nights with sword and pistol by him to guard his idol hoard4 ,when his health gave way from anxiety and watching he built an underground treasure-chamber1 so arranged that if any burglar ever entered1 he would step upon a spring which would precipitate him into a subterranean river1 where he could neither escape nor be heard4 ,one night the miser went to his chest to see that all was right1 when his foot touched the spring of the trap1 and he was hurled into the deep1 hidden stream4 ,one would think1 said ,boswell1 that the proprietor of all this 7,keddlestone1 the seat of ,lord ,scarsfield7 must be happy4 ,nay1 sir1 said ,johnson1 all this excludes but one evil1 poverty4 ,john ,duncan1 the illegitimate child of a ,scottish weaver1 was ignorant1 near-sighted1 bent1 a miserable apology for a human being1 and at last a pauper4 ,if he went upon the street he would sometimes be stoned by other boys4 ,the farmer1 for whom he watched cattle1 was cruel to him1 and after a rainy day would send him cold and wet to sleep on a miserable bed in a dark outhouse4 ,here he would empty the water from his shoes1 and wring out his wet clothes and sleep as best he might4 ,but the boy had a desire to learn to read1 and when1 a little later1 he was put to weaving1 he persuaded a schoolgirl1 twelve years old1 to teach him4 ,he was sixteen when he learned the alphabet1 after which his progress was quite rapid4 ,he was very fond of plants1 and worked overtime for several months to earn five shillings to buy a book on botany4 ,he became a good botanist1 and such was his interest in the study that at the age of eighty he walked twelve miles to obtain a new specimen4 ,a man whom he met became interested at finding such a well-stored mind in such a miserable body1 poorly clad1 and published an account of his career4 ,many readers sent him money1 but he saved it1 and left it in his will to found eight scholarships and offer prizes for the encouragement of the study of natural science by the poor4 ,his small but valuable library was left for a similar use4 ,franklin said money never made a man happy yet2 there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness4 ,the more a man has1 the more he wants4 ,instead of filling a vacuum1 it makes one4 ,a great bank account can never make a man rich4 ,it is the mind that makes the body rich4 ,no man is rich1 however much money or land he may possess1 who has a poor heart4 ,if that is poor1 he is poor indeed1 though he own and rule kingdoms4 ,he is rich or poor according to what he is1 not according to what he has4 ,who would not choose to be a millionaire of deeds with a ,lincoln1 a ,grant1 a ,florence ,nightingale1 a ,childs2 a millionaire of ideas with ,emerson1 with ,lowell1 with ,shakespeare1 with ,wordsworth2 a millionaire of statesmanship with a ,gladstone1 a ,bright1 a ,sumner1 a ,washington8 ,some men are rich in health1 in constant cheerfulness1 in a mercurial temperament which floats them over troubles and trials enough to sink a shipload of ordinary men4 ,others are rich in disposition1 family1 and friends4 ,there are some men so amiable that everybody loves them2 some so cheerful that they carry an atmosphere of jollity about them4 ,some are rich in integrity and character4 ,one of the first great lessons of life is to learn the true estimate of values4 ,as the youth starts out in his career1 all sorts of wares will be imposed upon him1 and all kinds of temptations will be used to induce him to buy4 ,his success will depend very largely upon his ability to estimate properly1 not the apparent but the real value of everything presented to him4 ,vulgar ,wealth will flaunt her banner before his eyes1 and claim supremacy over everything else4 ,a thousand different schemes will be thrust into his face with their claims for superiority4 ,every occupation and vocation will present its charms in turn1 and offer its inducements4 ,the youth who would succeed must not allow himself to be deceived by appearances1 but must place the emphasis of life where it belongs4 ,no man1 it is said1 can read the works of ,john ,ruskin without learning that his sources of pleasure are well-nigh infinite4 ,there is not a flower1 nor a cloud1 nor a tree1 nor a mountain1 nor a star2 not a bird that fans the air1 nor a creature that walks the earth2 not a glimpse of sea or sky or meadow-greenery2 not a work of worthy art in the domains of painting1 sculpture1 poetry1 and architecture2 not a thought of ,god as the ,great ,spirit presiding over and informing all things1 that is not to him a source of the sweetest pleasure4 ,the whole world of matter and of spirit and the long record of human art are open to him as the never-failing fountains of his delight4 ,in these pure realms he seeks his daily food and has his daily life4 ,there is now and then a man who sees beauty and true riches everywhere1 and worships the splendor of ,god which he sees bursting through each chink and cranny4 ,phillips ,brooks1 ,thoreau1 ,garrison1 ,emerson1 ,beecher1 ,agassiz1 were rich without money4 ,they saw the splendor in the flower1 the glory in the grass1 books in the running brooks1 sermons in stones1 and good in everything4 ,they knew that the man who owns the landscape is seldom the one who pays the taxes on it4 ,they sucked in power and wealth at first hands from the meadows1 fields1 and flowers1 birds1 brooks1 mountains1 and forest1 as the bee sucks honey from the flowers4 ,every natural object seemed to bring them a special message from the great ,author of the beautiful4 ,to these rare souls every natural object was touched with power and beauty2 and their thirsty souls drank it in as a traveler on a desert drinks in the god-sent water of the oasis4 ,to extract power and real wealth from men and things seemed to be their mission1 and to pour it out again in refreshing showers upon a thirsty humanity4 ,they believed that man's most important food does not enter by the mouth4 ,they knew that man could not live by estates1 dollars1 and bread alone1 and that if he could he would only be an animal4 ,they believed that the higher life demands a higher food4 ,they believed in man's unlimited power of expansion1 and that this growth demands a more highly organized food product than that which merely sustains animal life4 ,they saw a finer nutriment in the landscape1 in the meadows1 than could be ground into flour1 and which escaped the loaf4 ,they felt a sentiment in natural objects which pointed upward1 ever upward to the ,author1 and which was capable of feeding and expanding the higher life until it should grow into a finer sympathy and fellowship with the ,author of the beautiful4 ,they believed that the ,creation thunders the ten commandments1 and that all ,nature is tugging at the terms of every contract to make it just4 ,they could feel this finer sentiment1 this soul lifter1 this man inspirer1 in the growing grain1 in the waving corn1 in the golden harvest4 ,they saw it reflected in every brook1 in every star1 in every flower1 in every dewdrop4 ,they believed that ,nature together with human nature were man's great schoolmasters1 that if rightly used they would carve his rough life into beauty and touch his rude manner with grace4 ,more servants wait on man than he'll take notice of4 ,but if he would enjoy ,nature he must come to it from a higher level than the yardstick4 ,he must bring a spirit as grand and sublime as that by which the thing itself exists4 ,we all live on far lower levels than we need to do4 ,we linger in the misty and oppressive valleys1 when we might be climbing the sunlit hills4 ,god puts into our hands the ,book of ,life1 bright on every page with open secrets1 and we suffer it to drop out of our hands unread4 ,emerson says1 ,we have come into a world which is a living poem4 ,everything is as ,i am4 ,nature provides for us a perpetual festival2 she is bright to the bright1 comforting to those who will accept comfort4 ,we cannot conceive how a universe could possibly be created which could devise more efficient methods or greater opportunities for the delight1 the happiness1 and the real wealth of human beings than the one we live in4 ,the human body is packed full of marvelous devices1 of wonderful contrivances1 of infinite possibilities for the happiness and riches of the individual4 ,no physiologist nor scientist has ever yet been able to point out a single improvement1 even in the minutest detail1 in the structure of the human body4 ,no inventor has ever yet been able to suggest an improvement in this human mechanism4 ,no chemist has ever been able to suggest a superior combination in any one of the elements which make up the human structure4 ,one of the first things to do in life is to learn the natural wealth of our surroundings1 instead of bemoaning our lot1 for1 no matter where we are placed1 there is infinitely more about us than we can ever understand1 than we can ever exhaust the meaning of4 ,thank ,heaven there are still some ,matthew ,arnolds who prefer the heavenly sweetness of light to the ,eden of riches4 ,arnold left only a few thousand dollars1 but yet was he not one of the richest of men8 ,what the world wants is young men who will amass golden thoughts1 golden wisdom1 golden deeds1 not mere golden dollars2 young men who prefer to have thought-capital1 character-capital1 to cash-capital4 ,he who estimates his money the highest values himself the least4 ,i revere the person1 says ,emerson1 who is riches2 so that ,i cannot think of him as alone1 or poor1 or exiled1 or unhappy4 ,raphael was rich without money4 ,all doors opened to him1 and he was more than welcome everywhere4 ,his sweet spirit radiated sunshine wherever he went4 ,henry ,wilson was rich without money4 ,so scrupulous had he been not to make his exalted position a means of worldly gain1 that when this ,natick cobbler1 the sworn friend of the oppressed1 whose one question as to measures or acts was ever ,is it right2 will it do good8 came to be inaugurated as ,vice-,president of the country1 he was obliged to borrow of his fellow-senator1 ,charles ,sumner1 one hundred dollars to meet the necessary expenses of the occasion4 ,mozart1 the great composer of the ,requiem1 left barely enough money to bury him1 but he has made the world richer4 ,a rich mind and noble spirit will cast a radiance of beauty over the humblest home1 which the upholsterer and decorator can never approach4 ,who would not prefer to be a millionaire of character1 of contentment1 rather than possess nothing but the vulgar coins of a ,croesus8 ,whoever uplifts civilization is rich though he die penniless1 and future generations will erect his monument4 ,are we tender1 loving1 self-denying1 and honest1 trying to fashion our frail life after that of the model man of ,nazareth8 ,then1 though our pockets are often empty1 we have an inheritance which is as overwhelmingly precious as it is eternally incorruptible4 ,an ,asiatic traveler tells us that one day he found the bodies of two men laid upon the desert sand beside the carcass of a camel4 ,they had evidently died from thirst1 and yet around the waist of each was a large store of jewels of different kinds1 which they had doubtless been crossing the desert to sell in the markets of ,persia4 ,the man who has no money is poor1 but one who has nothing but money is poorer than he4 ,he only is rich who can enjoy without owning2 he who is covetous is poor though he have millions4 ,there are riches of intellect1 and no man with an intellectual taste can be called poor4 ,he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts1 and multiply the griefs which he purposes to remove4 ,he is rich as well as brave who can face poverty and misfortune with cheerfulness and courage4 ,we can so educate the will power that it will focus the thoughts upon the bright side of things1 and upon objects which elevate the soul1 thus forming a habit of happiness and goodness which will make us rich4 ,the habit of making the best of everything and of always looking on the bright side of everything is a fortune in itself4 ,he is rich who values a good name above gold4 ,among the ancient ,greeks and ,romans honor was more sought after than wealth4 ,rome was imperial ,rome no more when the imperial purple became an article of traffic4 ,this is the evil of trade1 as well as of partisan politics4 ,as ,emerson remarks1 it would put everything into market1--talent1 beauty1 virtue1 and man himself4 ,diogenes was captured by pirates and sold as a slave4 ,his purchaser released him1 and gave him charge of his household and of the education of his children4 ,he despised wealth and affectation1 and lived in a tub4 ,do you want anything8 asked ,alexander the ,great1 forcibly impressed by the abounding cheerfulness of the philosopher under such circumstances4 ,yes1 replied ,diogenes1 ,i want you to stand out of my sunshine and not to take from me what you cannot give me4 ,were ,i not ,alexander1 exclaimed the great conqueror1 ,i would be ,diogenes4 ,brave and honest men do not work for gold4 ,they work for love1 for honor1 for character4 ,when ,socrates suffered death rather than abandon his views of right morality1 when ,las ,casas endeavored to mitigate the tortures of the poor ,indians1 they had no thought of money or country4 ,they worked for the elevation of all that thought1 and for the relief of all that suffered4 ,i don't want such things1 said ,epictetus to the rich ,roman orator who was making light of his contempt for money-wealth2 and besides1 said the stoic1 you are poorer than ,i am1 after all4 ,you have silver vessels1 but earthenware reasons1 principles1 appetites4 ,my mind to me a kingdom is1 and it furnishes me with abundant and happy occupation in lieu of your restless idleness4 ,all your possessions seem small to you2 mine seem great to me4 ,your desire is insatiate1 mine is satisfied4 ,do you know1 sir1 said a devotee of ,mammon to ,john ,bright1 that ,i am worth a million sterling8 ,yes1 said the irritated but calm-spirited respondent1 ,i do2 and ,i know that it is all you are worth4 ,a bankrupt merchant1 returning home one night1 said to his noble wife1 ,my dear1 ,i am ruined2 everything we have is in the hands of the sheriff4 ,after a few moments of silence the wife looked into his face and asked1 ,will the sheriff sell you8 ,oh1 no4 ,will the sheriff sell me8 ,oh1 no4 ,then do not say we have lost everything4 ,all that is most valuable remains to us1--manhood1 womanhood1 childhood4 ,we have lost but the results of our skill and industry4 ,we can make another fortune if our hearts and hands are left us4 ,what power can poverty have over a home where loving hearts are beating with a consciousness of untold riches of head and heart8 ,paul was never so great as when he occupied a prison cell2 and ,jesus ,christ reached the height of his success when1 smitten1 spat upon1 tormented1 and crucified1 ,he cried in agony1 and yet with triumphant satisfaction1 ,it is finished4 ,character before wealth1 was the motto of ,amos ,lawrence1 who had inscribed on his pocket-book1 ,what shall it profit a man1 if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul8 ,if you make a fortune let every dollar of it be clean4 ,you do not want to see in it drunkards reel1 orphans weep1 widows moan4 ,your riches must not make others poorer and more wretched4 ,alexander the ,great wandered to the gates of ,paradise1 and knocked for entrance4 ,who knocks8 demanded the guardian angel4 ,alexander4 ,who is ,alexander8 ,alexander1--the ,alexander1--,alexander the ,great1--the conqueror of the world4 ,we know him not1 replied the angel2 this is the ,lord's gate2 only the righteous enter here4 ,don't start out in life with a false standard2 a truly great man makes official position and money and houses and estates look so tawdry1 so mean and poor1 that we feel like sinking out of sight with our cheap laurels and gold4 ,millions look trifling beside character4 ,a friend of ,professor ,agassiz1 an eminent practical man1 once expressed his wonder that a man of such abilities should remain contented with such a moderate income as he received4 ,i have enough1 was ,agassiz's reply4 ,i have no time to waste in making money4 ,life is not sufficiently long to enable a man to get rich and do his duty to his fellow-men at the same time4 ,how were the thousands of business men who lost every dollar they had in the ,chicago fire enabled to go into business at once1 some into wholesale business1 without money8 ,their record was their bank account4 ,the commercial agencies said they were square men2 that they had always paid one hundred cents on a dollar2 that they had paid promptly1 and that they were industrious and dealt honorably with all men4 ,this record was as good as a bank account4 ,they drew on their character4 ,character was the coin which enabled penniless men to buy thousands of dollars' worth of goods4 ,their integrity did not burn up with their stores4 ,the best part of them was beyond the reach of fire and could not be burned4 ,what are the toil-sweated productions of wealth piled up in vast profusion around a ,girard1 or a ,rothschild1 when weighed against the stores of wisdom1 the treasures of knowledge1 and the strength1 beauty1 and glory with which victorious virtue has enriched and adorned a great multitude of minds during the march of a hundred generations8 ,lord1 how many things are in the world of which ,diogenes hath no need6 exclaimed the stoic1 as he wandered among the miscellaneous articles at a country fair4 ,there are treasures laid up in the heart--treasures of charity1 piety1 temperance1 and soberness4 ,these treasures a man takes with him beyond death when he leaves this world4 7,buddhist ,scriptures47 ,is it any wonder that our children start out with wrong ideals of life1 with wrong ideas of what constitutes success8 ,the child is urged to get on1 to rise in the world1 to make money4 ,the youth is constantly told that nothing succeeds like success4 ,false standards are everywhere set up for him1 and then the boy is blamed if he makes a failure4 ,it is all very well to urge youth on to success1 but the great mass of mankind can never reach or even approximate the goal constantly preached to them1 nor can we all be rich4 ,one of the great lessons to teach in this century of sharp competition and the survival of the fittest is how to be rich without money1 and to learn how to do without success1 according to the popular standard4 ,gold cannot make the miser rich1 nor can the want of it make the beggar poor4 ,in the poem1 ,the ,changed ,cross1 a weary woman is represented as dreaming that she was led to a place where many crosses lay1 crosses of divers shapes and sizes4 ,the most beautiful one was set in jewels of gold4 ,it was so tiny and exquisite that she changed her own plain cross for it1 thinking she was fortunate in finding one so much lighter and lovelier4 ,but soon her back began to ache under the glittering burden1 and she changed it for another cross very beautiful and entwined with flowers4 ,but she soon found that underneath the flowers were piercing thorns which tore her flesh4 ,at last she came to a very plain cross without jewels1 without carving1 and with only the word1 ,love1 inscribed upon it4 ,she took this one up and it proved the easiest and best of all4 ,she was amazed1 however1 to find that it was her old cross which she had discarded4 ,it is easy to see the jewels and the flowers in other people's crosses1 but the thorns and heavy weight are known only to the bearers4 ,how easy other people's burdens seem to us compared with our own4 ,we do not appreciate the secret burdens which almost crush the heart1 nor the years of weary waiting for delayed success--the aching hearts longing for sympathy1 the hidden poverty1 the suppressed emotion in other lives4 ,william ,pitt1 the great ,commoner1 considered money as dirt beneath his feet compared with the public interest and public esteem4 ,his hands were clean4 ,the object for which we strive tells the story of our lives4 ,men and women should be judged by the happiness they create in those around them4 ,noble deeds always enrich1 but millions of mere money may impoverish4 ,character is perpetual wealth1 and by the side of him who possesses it the millionaire who has it not seems a pauper4 ,compared with it1 what are houses and lands1 stocks and bonds8 ,it is better that great souls should live in small habitations than that abject slaves should burrow in great houses4 ,plain living1 rich thought1 and grand effort are real riches4 ,invest in yourself1 and you will never be poor4 ,floods cannot carry your wealth away1 fire cannot burn it1 rust cannot consume it4 ,if a man empties his purse into his head1 says ,franklin1 no man can take it from him4 ,an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest4 ,there is a cunning juggle in riches4 ,i observe1 says ,emerson1 that they take somewhat for everything they give4 ,i look bigger1 but ,i am less1 ,i have more clothes1 but am not so warm2 more armor1 but less courage2 more books1 but less wit4 ,howe'er it be1 it seems to me1 ',t is only noble to be good4 ,kind hearts are more than coronets1 ,and simple faith than ,norman blood4 ,,tennyson4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,opportunities ,,where ,,you ,,are4 ,to each man's life there comes a time supreme2 ,one day1 one night1 one morning1 or one noon1 ,one freighted hour1 one moment opportune1 ,one rift through which sublime fulfillments gleam1 ,one space when fate goes tiding with the stream1 ,one ,once1 in balance 'twixt ,too ,late1 ,too ,soon1 ,and ready for the passing instant's boon ,to tip in favor the uncertain beam4 ,ah1 happy he who1 knowing how to wait1 ,knows also how to watch and work and stand ,on ,life's broad deck alert1 and at the prow ,to seize the passing moment1 big with fate1 ,from opportunity's extended hand1 ,when the great clock of destiny strikes ,now6 ,,mary ,a4 ,,townsend4 ,once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide1 ,in the strife of ,truth with ,falsehood1 for the good or evil side4 ,,lowell4 ,what is opportunity to a man who can't use it8 ,an unfecundated egg1 which the waves of time wash away into nonentity4--,,george ,,eliot4 ,a thousand years a poor man watched ,before the gate of ,paradise3 ,but while one little nap he snatched1 ,it oped and shut4 ,ah6 was he wise8 ,w4 ,b4 ,,alger4 ,our grand business is1 not to see what lies dimly at a distance1 but to do what lies clearly at hand4--,,carlyle4 ,a man's best things are nearest him1 ,lie close about his feet4 ,r4 ,m4 ,,milnes4 ,the secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes4--,,disraeli4 ,there are no longer any good chances for young men1 complained a law student to ,daniel ,webster4 ,there is always room at the top1 replied the great lawyer4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,thomas ,,jefferson ,the world is all gates1 all opportunities to him who can use them4' ',t is never offered twice1 seize then the hour ,when fortune smiles and duty points the way4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,no chance1 no opportunities1 in a land where many poor boys become rich men1 where newsboys go to ,congress1 and where those born in the lowest stations attain the highest positions8 ,the world is all gates1 all opportunities to him who will use them4 ,but1 like ,bunyan's ,pilgrim in the dungeon of ,giant ,despair's castle1 who had the key of deliverance all the time with him but had forgotten it1 we fail to rely wholly upon the ability to advance all that is good for us which has been given to the weakest as well as the strongest4 ,we depend too much upon outside assistance4 ,we look too high ,for things close by4 ,a ,baltimore lady lost a valuable diamond bracelet at a ball1 and supposed that it was stolen from the pocket of her cloak4 ,years afterward she washed the steps of the ,peabody ,institute1 pondering how to get money to buy food4 ,she cut up an old1 worn-out1 ragged cloak to make a hood1 when lo6 in the lining of the cloak she discovered the diamond bracelet4 ,during all her poverty she was worth #cejj1 but did not know it4 ,many of us who think we are poor are rich in opportunities1 if we could only see them1 in possibilities all about us1 in faculties worth more than diamond bracelets4 ,in our large ,eastern cities it has been found that at least ninety-four out of every hundred found their first fortune at home1 or near at hand1 and in meeting common every-day wants4 ,it is a sorry day for a young man who cannot see any opportunities where he is1 but thinks he can do better somewhere else4 ,some ,brazilian shepherds organized a party to go to ,california to dig gold1 and took along a handful of translucent pebbles to play checkers with on the voyage4 ,after arriving in ,san ,francisco1 and after they had thrown most of the pebbles away1 they discovered that they were diamonds4 ,they hastened back to ,brazil1 only to find that the mines from which the pebbles had been gathered had been taken up by others and sold to the government4 ,the richest gold and silver mine in ,nevada was sold for #db by the owner to get money to pay his passage to other mines1 where he thought he could get rich4 ,professor ,agassiz told the ,harvard students of a farmer who owned a farm of hundreds of acres of unprofitable woods and rocks1 and concluded to sell out and get into a more profitable business4 ,he decided to go into the coal-oil business2 he studied coal measures and coal-oil deposits1 and experimented for a long time4 ,he sold his farm for #bjj1 and engaged in his new business two hundred miles away4 ,only a short time after the man who bought his farm discovered upon it a great flood of coal-oil1 which the farmer had previously ignorantly tried to drain off4 ,hundreds of years ago there lived near the shore of the river ,indus a ,persian by the name of ,ali ,hafed4 ,he lived in a cottage on the river bank1 from which he could get a grand view of the beautiful country stretching away to the sea4 ,he had a wife and children1 an extensive farm1 fields of grain1 gardens of flowers1 orchards of fruit1 and miles of forest4 ,he had a plenty of money and everything that heart could wish4 ,he was contented and happy4 ,one evening a priest of ,buddha visited him1 and1 sitting before the fire1 explained to him how the world was made1 and how the first beams of sunlight condensed on the earth's surface into diamonds4 ,the old priest told that a drop of sunlight the size of his thumb was worth more than large mines of copper1 silver1 or gold2 that with one of them he could buy many farms like his2 that with a handful he could buy a province1 and with a mine of diamonds he could purchase a kingdom4 ,ali ,hafed listened1 and was no longer a rich man4 ,he had been touched with discontent1 and with that all wealth vanishes4 ,early the next morning he woke the priest who had been the cause of his unhappiness1 and anxiously asked him where he could find a mine of diamonds4 ,what do you want of diamonds8 asked the astonished priest4 ,i want to be rich and place my children on thrones4 ,all you have to do is to go and search until you find them1 said the priest4 ,but where shall ,i go8 asked the poor farmer4 ,go anywhere1 north1 south1 east1 or west4 ,how shall ,i know when ,i have found the place8 ,when you find a river running over white sands between high mountain ranges1 in those white sands you will find diamonds1 answered the priest4 ,the discontented man sold the farm for what he could get1 left his family with a neighbor1 took the money he had at interest1 and went to search for the coveted treasure4 ,over the mountains of ,arabia1 through ,palestine and ,egypt1 he wandered for years1 but found no diamonds4 ,when his money was all gone and starvation stared him in the face1 ashamed of his folly and of his rags1 poor ,ali ,hafed threw himself into the tide and was drowned4 ,the man who bought his farm was a contented man1 who made the most of his surroundings1 and did not believe in going away from home to hunt for diamonds or success4 ,while his camel was drinking in the garden one day1 he noticed a flash of light from the white sands of the brook4 ,he picked up a pebble1 and pleased with its brilliant hues took it into the house1 put it on the shelf near the fireplace1 and forgot all about it4 ,the old priest of ,buddha who had filled ,ali ,hafed with the fatal discontent called one day upon the new owner of the farm4 ,he had no sooner entered the room than his eye caught that flash of light from the stone4 ,here's a diamond6 here's a diamond6 the old priest shouted in great excitement4 ,has ,ali ,hafed returned8 said the priest4 ,no1 said the farmer1 nor is that a diamond4 ,that is but a stone4 ,they went into the garden and stirred up the white sand with their fingers1 and behold1 other diamonds more beautiful than the first gleamed out of it4 ,so the famous diamond beds of ,golconda were discovered4 ,had ,ali ,hafed been content to remain at home1 had he dug in his own garden1 instead of going abroad in search for wealth1 and reaping poverty1 hardships1 starvation1 and death1 he would have been one of the richest men in the world1 for the entire farm abounded in the richest of gems4 ,you have your own special place and work4 ,find it1 fill it4 ,scarcely a boy or girl will read these lines but has much better opportunity to win success than ,garfield1 ,wilson1 ,franklin1 ,lincoln1 ,harriet ,beecher ,stowe1 ,frances ,willard1 and thousands of others4 ,but to succeed you must be prepared to seize and improve the opportunity when it comes4 ,remember that four things come not back3 the spoken word1 the sped arrow1 the past life1 and the neglected opportunity4 ,it is one of the paradoxes of civilization that the more opportunities are utilized1 the more new ones are thereby created4 ,new openings are as easy to fill as ever to those who do their best2 although it is not so easy as formerly to obtain distinction in the old lines1 because the standard has advanced so much and competition has so greatly increased4 ,the world is no longer clay1 said ,emerson1 but rather iron in the hands of its workers1 and men have got to hammer out a place for themselves by steady and rugged blows4 ,thousands of men have made fortunes out of trifles which others pass by4 ,as the bee gets honey from the same flower from which the spider gets poison1 so some men will get a fortune out of the commonest and meanest things1 as scraps of leather1 cotton waste1 slag1 iron filings1 from which others get only poverty and failure4 ,there is scarcely a thing which contributes to the welfare and comfort of humanity1 not an article of household furniture1 a kitchen utensil1 an article of clothing or of food1 that is not capable of an improvement in which there may be a fortune4 ,opportunities8 ,they are all around us4 ,edison found them in a baggage car4 ,forces of nature plead to be used in the service of man1 as lightning for ages tried to attract his attention to the great force of electricity1 which would do his drudgery and leave him to develop the ,god-given powers within him4 ,there is power lying latent everywhere waiting for the observant eye to discover it4 ,first find out what the world needs and then supply that want4 ,an invention to make smoke go the wrong way in a chimney might be a very ingenious thing1 but it would be of no use to humanity4 ,the patent office at ,washington is full of wonderful devices of ingenious mechanism1 but not one in hundreds is of use to the inventor or to the world4 ,and yet how many families have been impoverished1 and have struggled for years amid want and woe1 while the father has been working on useless inventions4 ,a4 ,t4 ,stewart1 as a boy1 lost eighty-seven cents when his capital was one dollar and a half in buying buttons and thread which shoppers did not call for4 ,after that he made it a rule never to buy anything which the public did not want1 and so prospered4 ,it is estimated that five out of every seven of the millionaire manufacturers began by making with their own hands the articles which made their fortunes4 ,one of the greatest hindrances to advancement in life is the lack of observation and of the inclination to take pains4 ,an observing man1 the eyelets of whose shoes pulled out1 but who could not afford to get another pair1 said to himself1 ,i will make a metallic lacing hook1 which can be riveted into the leather2 he was so poor that he had to borrow a sickle to cut the grass in front of his hired tenement4 ,now he is a very rich man4 ,an observing barber in ,newark1 ,n4 ,j41 thought he could make an improvement in shears for cutting hair1 invented clippers1 and became rich4 ,a ,maine man was called in from the hayfield to wash clothes for his invalid wife4 ,he had never realized what it was to wash before4 ,finding the method slow and laborious1 he invented the washing-machine1 and made a fortune4 ,a man who was suffering terribly with toothache said to himself1 there must be some way of filling teeth which will prevent their aching4 ,so he invented the principle of gold filling for teeth4 ,the great things of the world have not been done by men of large means4 ,ericsson began the construction of the screw propellers in a bathroom4 ,the cotton-gin was first manufactured in a log cabin4 ,john ,harrison1 the great inventor of the marine chronometer1 began his career in the loft of an old barn4 ,parts of the first steamboat ever run in ,america were set up in the vestry of a church in ,philadelphia by ,fitch4 ,mc,cormick began to make his famous reaper in a gristmill4 ,the first model dry dock was made in an attic4 ,clark1 the founder of ,clark ,university of ,worcester1 ,mass41 began his great fortune by making toy wagons in a horse shed4 ,farquhar made umbrellas in his sitting-room1 with his daughter's help1 until he sold enough to hire a loft4 ,edison began his experiments in a baggage car on the ,grand ,trunk ,railroad when a newsboy4 ,as soon as the weather would permit1 the ,jamestown colonists began to stroll about the country digging for gold4 ,in a bank of sand some glittering particles were found1 and the whole settlement was in a state of excitement4 ,fourteen weeks of the precious springtime1 which ought to have been given to plowing and planting1 were consumed in this stupid nonsense4 ,even the ,indians ridiculed the madness of the men who1 for imaginary grains of gold1 were wasting their chances for a crop of corn4 ,michael ,angelo found a piece of discarded ,carrara marble among waste rubbish beside a street in ,florence1 which some unskillful workman had cut1 hacked1 spoiled1 and thrown away4 ,no doubt many artists had noticed the fine quality of the marble1 and regretted that it should have been spoiled4 ,but ,michael ,angelo still saw an angel in the ruin1 and with his chisel and mallet he called out from it one of the finest pieces of statuary in ,italy1 the young ,david4 ,the lonely island of ,nantucket would not be considered a very favorable place to win success and fame4 ,but ,maria ,mitchell1 on seventy-five dollars a year1 as librarian of the ,nantucket ,athenaeum1 found time and opportunity to become a celebrated astronomer4 ,lucretia ,mott1 one of ,america's foremost philanthropists and reformers1 who made herself felt over a whole continent1 gained much of her reputation as a preacher on ,nantucket ,island4 ,why does not ,america have fine sculptors8 asked a romping girl1 of ,watertown1 ,mass41 in #ahdb4 ,her father1 a physician1 answered that he supposed an ,american could be a stone-cutter1 but that is a very different thing from being a sculptor4 ,i think1 said the plucky maiden1 that if no other ,american tries it ,i will4 ,she began her studies in ,boston1 and walked seven miles to and fro daily between her home and the city4 ,the medical schools in ,boston would not admit her to study anatomy1 so she had to go to ,st4 ,louis4 ,subsequently she went to ,rome1 and there1 during a long residence1 and afterward1 modeled and carved very beautiful statuary which made the name of ,harriet ,g4 ,hosmer famous4 ,begin where you are2 work where you are2 the hour which you are now wasting1 dreaming of some far-off success1 may be crowded with grand possibilities4 ,patrick ,henry was called a lazy boy1 a good-for-nothing farmer1 and he failed as a merchant4 ,he was always dreaming of some far-off greatness1 and never thought he could be a hero among the corn and tobacco and saddlebags of ,virginia4 ,he studied law six weeks1 when he put out his shingle4 ,people thought he would fail1 but in his first case he showed that he had a wonderful power of oratory4 ,it then first dawned upon him that he could be a hero in ,virginia4 ,from the time the ,stamp ,act was passed and ,henry was elected to the ,virginia ,house of ,burgesses1 and he had introduced his famous resolution against the unjust taxation of the ,american colonies1 he rose steadily until he became one of the brilliant orators of ,america4 ,in one of his first speeches upon this resolution he uttered these words1 which were prophetic of his power and courage3 ,caesar had his ,brutus1 ,charles the ,first his ,cromwell1 and ,george the ,third--may profit by their example4 ,if this be treason1 make the most of it4 ,the great natural philosopher1 ,faraday1 who was the son of a blacksmith1 wrote1 when a young man1 to ,humphry ,davy1 asking for employment at the ,royal ,institution4 ,davy consulted a friend on the matter4 ,here is a letter from a young man named ,faraday1 he has been attending my lectures1 and wants me to give him employment at the ,royal ,institution--what can ,i do8 ,do8 put him to washing bottles2 if he is good for anything he will do it directly2 if he refuses he is good for nothing4 ,but the boy who could experiment in the attic of an apothecary shop with an old pan and glass vials during every moment he could snatch from his work saw an opportunity in washing bottles1 which led to a professorship at the ,royal ,academy at ,woolwich4 ,tyndall said of this boy with no chance1 ,he is the greatest experimental philosopher the world has ever seen4 ,he became the wonder of his age in science4 ,there is a legend of an artist who long sought for a piece of sandal-wood1 out of which to carve a ,madonna4 ,he was about to give up in despair1 leaving the vision of his life unrealized1 when in a dream he was bidden to carve his ,madonna from a block of oak wood which was destined for the fire4 ,he obeyed1 and produced a masterpiece from a log of common firewood4 ,many of us lose great opportunities in life by waiting to find sandal-wood for our carvings1 when they really lie hidden in the common logs that we burn4 ,one man goes through life without seeing chances for doing anything great1 while another close beside him snatches from the same circumstances and privileges opportunities for achieving grand results4 ,anna ,dickinson began life as a school-teacher4 ,adelaide ,neilson was a child's nurse4 ,charlotte ,cushman's parents were poor4 ,the renowned ,jeanne d',arc fed swine4 ,christine ,nilsson was a poor ,swedish peasant1 and ran barefoot in childhood4 ,edmonia ,lewis1 the colored sculptor1 overcame the prejudice against her sex and color1 and pursued her profession in ,italy4 ,maria ,mitchell1 the astronomer1 was the daughter of a poor man who taught school at two dollars per week4 ,these are but a few of the many who have struggled with fate and risen to distinction through their own personal efforts4 ,opportunities8 ,they are everywhere4 ,america is another name for opportunities4 ,our whole history appears like a last effort of divine ,providence in behalf of the human race4 ,never before were there such grand openings1 such chances1 such opportunities4 ,especially is this true for girls and young women4 ,a new era is dawning for them4 ,hundreds of occupations and professions1 which were closed to them only a few years ago1 are now inviting them to enter4 ,when ,i hear of a young woman entering the medical profession1 or beginning the study of law1 or entering school with a view to teaching1 ,i feel like congratulating her for thus asserting her individuality4 ,we cannot all of us perhaps make great discoveries like ,newton1 ,faraday1 ,edison1 and ,thompson4 ,we cannot all of us paint immortal pictures like an ,angelo or a ,raphael4 ,but we can all of us make our lives sublime1 by seizing common occasions and making them great4 ,what chance had the young girl1 ,grace ,darling1 to distinguish herself1 living on those barren lighthouse rocks alone with her aged parents8 ,but while her brothers and sisters1 who moved to the cities to win wealth and fame1 are not known to the world1 she became more famous than a princess4 ,this poor girl did not need to go to ,london to see the nobility2 they came to the lighthouse to see her4 ,right at home this young girl had won fame which the regal heirs might envy1 and a name which will never perish from the earth4 ,she did not wander away into dreamy distance for fame and fortune1 but did her best where duty had placed her4 ,if you want to get rich1 study yourself and your own wants4 ,you will find that millions have the same wants4 ,the safest business is always connected with man's prime necessities4 ,he must have clothing and a dwelling2 he must eat4 ,he wants comforts1 facilities of all kinds for pleasure1 luxuries1 education1 and culture4 ,any man who can supply a great want of humanity1 improve any methods which men use1 supply any demand of comfort1 or contribute in any way to their well-being1 can make a fortune4 ,we cannot doubt1 said ,edward ,everett1 that truths now unknown are in reserve to reward the patience and the labors of future lovers of truth1 which will go as far beyond the brilliant discoveries of the last generation as these do beyond all that was known to the ancient world4 ,the golden opportunity ,is never offered twice2 seize then the hour ,when fortune smiles and duty points the way2 ,nor shrink aside to 'scape the spectre fear1 ,nor pause1 though pleasure beckon from her bower2 ,but bravely bear thee onward to the goal4 ,,anon4 ,for the distant still thou yearnest1 ,and behold the good so near2 ,if to use the good thou learnest1 ,thou wilt surely find it here4 ,,goethe4 ,do not1 then1 stand idly waiting ,for some greater work to do2 ,fortune is a lazy goddess-- ,she will never come to you4 ,go and toil in any vineyard1 ,do not fear to do or dare2 ,if you want a field of labor1 ,you can find it anywhere4 ,,ellen ,h4 ,,gates4 ,why thus longing1 thus forever sighing1 ,for the far-off1 unattained and dim1 ,while the beautiful1 all around thee lying ,offers up its low1 perpetual hymn8 ,,harriet ,,winslow4 ,work for the good that is nighest2 ,dream not of greatness afar3 ,that glory is ever the highest ,which shines upon men as they are4 ,w4 ,,morley ,,punshon4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,might ,,of ,,little ,,things4 ,little strokes fell great oaks4--,,franklin4 ,think naught a trifle1 though it small appear2 ,small sands the mountain1 moments make the year1 ,and trifles1 life4 ,,young4 ,scorn not the slightest word or deed1 ,nor deem it void of power2 ,there's fruit in each wind-wafted seed1 ,that waits its natal hour4 ,it is but the littleness of man that seeth no greatness in trifles4--,,wendell ,,phillips4 ,he that despiseth small things shall fall by little and little4--,,ecclesiasticus4 ,often from our weakness our strongest principles of conduct are born2 and from the acorn1 which a breeze has wafted1 springs the oak which defies the storm4--,,bulwer4 ,the creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn4--,,emerson4 ,men are led by trifles4--,,napoleon ,i4 ,a pebble on the streamlet scant ,has turned the course of many a river2 ,a dewdrop on the baby plant ,has warped the giant oak forever4 ,the mother of mischief is no bigger than a midge's wing4--,,scotch ,,proverb4 ,the bad thing about a little sin is that it won't stay little4 ,a little bit of patience often makes the sunshine come1 ,and a little bit of love makes a very happy home2 ,a little bit of hope makes a rainy day look gay1 ,and a little bit of charity makes glad a weary way4 ,arletta's pretty feet1 glistening in the brook1 made her the mother of ,william the ,conqueror1 says ,palgrave's ,history of ,normandy and ,england4 ,had she not thus fascinated ,duke ,robert the ,liberal1 of ,normandy1 ,harold would not have fallen at ,hastings1 no ,anglo-,norman dynasty could have arisen1 no ,british ,empire4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,agassiz ,small things become great when a great soul sees them4 ,trifles light as air sometimes suggest to the thinking mind ideas which revolutionize the world4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,we may tell which way the wind blew before the ,deluge by marking the ripple and cupping of the rain in the petrified sand now preserved forever4 ,we tell the very path by which gigantic creatures1 whom man never saw1 walked to the river's edge to find their food4 ,the tears of ,veturia and ,volumnia saved ,rome from the ,volscians when nothing else could move the vengeful heart of ,coriolanus4 ,it was little ,greece that rolled back the overflowing tide of ,asiatic luxury and despotism1 giving instead to ,europe and ,america models of the highest political freedom yet attained1 and germs of limitless mental growth4 ,a different result at ,plataea had delayed the progress of the human race more than ten centuries4 ,among the lofty ,alps1 it is said1 the guides sometimes demand absolute silence1 lest the vibration of the voice bring down an avalanche4 ,the power of observation in the ,american ,indian would put many an educated man to shame4 ,returning home1 an ,indian discovered that his venison1 which had been hanging up to dry1 had been stolen4 ,after careful observation he started to track the thief through the woods4 ,meeting a man on the route1 he asked him if he had seen a little1 old1 white man1 with a short gun1 and with a small bob-tailed dog4 ,the man told him he had met such a man1 but was surprised to find that the ,indian had not even seen the one he described4 ,he asked the ,indian how he could give such a minute description of the man whom he had never seen4 ,i knew the thief was a little man1 said the ,indian1 because he rolled up a stone to stand on in order to reach the venison2 ,i knew he was an old man by his short steps2 ,i knew he was a white man by his turning out his toes in walking1 which an ,indian never does2 ,i knew he had a short gun by the mark it left on the tree where he had stood it up2 ,i knew the dog was small by his tracks and short steps1 and that he had a bob-tail by the mark it left in the dust where he sat4 ,two drops of rain1 falling side by side1 were separated a few inches by a gentle breeze4 ,striking on opposite sides of the roof of a court-house in ,wisconsin1 one rolled southward through the ,rock ,river and the ,mississippi to the ,gulf of ,mexico2 while the other entered successively the ,fox ,river1 ,green ,bay1 ,lake ,michigan1 the ,straits of ,mackinaw1 ,lake ,huron1 ,st4 ,clair ,river1 ,lake ,st4 ,clair1 ,detroit ,river1 ,lake ,erie1 ,niagara ,river1 ,lake ,ontario1 the ,st4 ,lawrence ,river1 and finally reached the ,gulf of ,st4 ,lawrence4 ,how slight the influence of the breeze1 yet such was the formation of the continent that a trifling cause was multiplied almost beyond the power of figures to express its momentous effect upon the destinies of these companion raindrops4 ,who can calculate the future of the smallest trifle when a mud crack swells to an ,amazon1 and the stealing of a penny may end on the scaffold8 ,who does not know that the act of a moment may cause a life's regret8 ,a trigger may be pulled in an instant1 but the soul returns never4 ,a spark falling upon some combustibles led to the invention of gunpowder4 ,irritable tempers have marred the reputation of many a great man1 as in the case of ,edmund ,burke and of ,thomas ,carlyle4 ,a few bits of seaweed and driftwood1 floating on the waves1 enabled ,columbus to stay a mutiny of his sailors which threatened to prevent the discovery of a new world4 ,there are moments in history which balance years of ordinary life4 ,dana could interest a class for hours on a grain of sand2 and from a single bone1 such as no one had ever seen before1 ,agassiz could deduce the entire structure and habits of an animal so accurately that subsequent discoveries of complete skeletons have not changed one of his conclusions4 ,a cricket once saved a military expedition from destruction4 ,the commanding officer and hundreds of his men were going to ,south ,america on a great ship1 and1 through the carelessness of the watch1 they would have been dashed upon a ledge of rock had it not been for a cricket which a soldier had brought on board4 ,when the little insect scented the land1 it broke its long silence by a shrill note1 and this warned them of their danger4 ,strange that a little thing like that should cause a man so much pain6 exclaimed a giant1 as he rolled in his hand and examined with eager curiosity the acorn which his friend the dwarf had obligingly taken from the huge eye into which it had fallen just as the colossus was on the point of shooting a bird perched in the branches of an oak4 ,sometimes a conversation1 or a sentence in a letter1 or a paragraph in an article1 will help us to reproduce the whole character of the author2 as a single bone1 a fish scale1 a fin1 or a tooth1 will enable the scientist and anatomist to reproduce the fish or the animal1 although extinct for ages4 ,by gnawing through a dike1 even a rat may drown a nation4 ,a little boy in ,holland saw water trickling from a small hole near the bottom of a dike4 ,he realized that the leak would rapidly become larger if the water was not checked1 so he held his hand over the hole for hours on a dark and dismal night until he could attract the attention of passers-by4 ,his name is still held in grateful remembrance in ,holland4 ,the beetling chalk cliffs of ,england were built by rhizopods1 too small to be clearly seen without the aid of a magnifying-glass4 ,what was so unlikely as that throwing an empty wine-flask in the fire should furnish the first notion of a locomotive1 or that the sickness of an ,italian chemist's wife and her absurd craving for reptiles for food should begin the electric telegraph8 ,madame ,galvani noticed the contraction of the muscles of a skinned frog which was accidentally touched at the moment her husband took a spark from an electrical machine4 ,she gave the hint which led to the discovery of galvanic electricity1 now so useful in the arts and in transmitting vocal or written language4 ,m4 ,louis ,pasteur was usher in the ,lyceum4 ,thursdays he took the boys to walk4 ,a student took his microscope to examine insects1 and allowed ,pasteur to look through it4 ,this was the starting of the boy on the microscopic career which has made men wonder4 ,he was almost wild with enthusiasm at the new world which the microscope revealed4 ,a stamp act to raise #fj1jjj pounds produced the ,american ,revolution1 a war that cost #ajj1jjj1jjj pounds4 ,what mighty contests rise from trivial things6 ,congress met near a livery stable to discuss the ,declaration of ,independence4 ,the members1 in knee breeches and silk stockings1 were so annoyed by flies1 which they could not keep away with their handkerchiefs1 that it has been said they cut short the debate1 and hastened to affix their signatures to the greatest document in history4 ,the fate of a nation1 says ,gladstone1 has often depended upon the good or bad digestion of a fine dinner4 ,a young man once went to ,india to seek his fortune1 but1 finding no opening1 he went to his room1 loaded his pistol1 put the muzzle to his head1 and pulled the trigger4 ,but it did not go off4 ,he went to the window to point it in another direction and try it again1 resolved that if the weapon went off he would regard it as a ,providence that he was spared4 ,he pulled the trigger and it went off the first time4 ,trembling with excitement he resolved to hold his life sacred1 to make the most of it1 and never again to cheapen it4 ,this young man became ,general ,robert ,clive1 who1 with but a handful of ,european soldiers1 secured to the ,east ,india ,company and afterwards to ,great ,britain a great and rich country with two hundred millions of people4 ,the cackling of a goose aroused the sentinels and saved ,rome from the ,gauls1 and the pain from a thistle warned a ,scottish army of the approach of the ,danes4 ,had ,acre fallen1 said ,napoleon1 ,i should have changed the face of the world4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher came within one vote of being elected superintendent of a railway4 ,if he had had that vote ,america would probably have lost its greatest preacher4 ,what a little thing fixes destiny6 ,in the earliest days of cotton spinning1 the small fibres would stick to the bobbins1 and make it necessary to stop and clear the machinery4 ,although this loss of time reduced the earnings of the operatives1 the father of ,robert ,peel noticed that one of his spinners always drew full pay1 as his machine never stopped4 ,how is this1 ,dick8 asked ,mr4 ,peel one day2 the on-looker tells me your bobbins are always clean4 ,ay1 that they be1 replied ,dick ,ferguson4 ,how do you manage it1 ,dick8 ,why1 you see1 ,meester ,peel1 said the workman1 it is sort o' secret6 ,if ,i tow'd ye1 yo'd be as wise as ,i am4 ,that's so1 said ,mr4 ,peel1 smiling2 but ,i'd give you something to know4 ,could you make all the looms work as smoothly as yours8 ,ivery one of 'em1 meester1 replied ,dick4 ,well1 what shall ,i give you for your secret8 asked ,mr4 ,peel1 and ,dick replied1 ,gi' me a quart of ale every day as ,i'm in the mills1 and ,i'll tell thee all about it4 ,agreed1 said ,mr4 ,peel1 and ,dick whispered very cautiously in his ear1 ,chalk your bobbins6 ,that was the whole secret1 and ,mr4 ,peel soon shot ahead of all his competitors1 for he made machines that would chalk their own bobbins4 ,dick was handsomely rewarded with money instead of beer4 ,his little idea has saved the world millions of dollars4 ,trifles light as air often suggest to the thinking mind ideas which have revolutionized the world4 ,a poor ,english boy was compelled by his employer to deposit something on board a ship about to start for ,algiers1 in accordance with the merchant's custom of interesting employees by making them put something at risk in his business and so share in the gain or loss of each common venture4 ,the boy had only a cat1 which he had bought for a penny to catch mice in the garret where he slept4 ,in tears1 he carried her on board the vessel4 ,on arriving at ,algiers1 the captain learned that the ,dey was greatly annoyed by rats1 and loaned him the cat4 ,the rats disappeared so rapidly that the ,dey wished to buy the cat1 but the captain would not sell until a very high price was offered4 ,with the purchase-money was sent a present of valuable pearls for the owner of ,tabby4 ,when the ship returned the sailors were greatly astonished to find that the boy owned most of the cargo1 for it was part of the bargain that he was to bring back the value of his cat in goods4 ,the ,london merchant took the boy into partnership2 the latter became very wealthy1 and in the course of business loaned money to the ,dey who had bought the cat4 ,as ,lord ,mayor of ,london1 our cat merchant was knighted1 and became the second man in the city1--,sir ,richard ,whittington4 ,when ,john ,williams1 the martyr missionary of ,erromanga1 went to the ,south ,sea ,islands1 he took with him a single banana-tree from an ,english nobleman's conservatory2 and now1 from that single banana-tree1 bananas are to be found throughout whole groups of islands4 ,before the negro slaves in the ,west ,indies were emancipated a regiment of ,british soldiers was stationed near one of the plantations4 ,a soldier offered to teach a slave to read on condition that he would teach a second1 and that second a third1 and so on4 ,this the slave faithfully carried out1 though severely flogged by the master of the plantation4 ,being sent to another plantation1 he repeated the same thing there1 and when at length liberty was proclaimed throughout the island1 and the ,bible ,society offered a ,new ,testament to every negro who could read1 the number taught through this slave's instrumentality was found to be no less than six hundred4 ,a famous ruby was offered to the ,english government4 ,the report of the crown jeweler was that it was the finest he had ever seen or heard of1 but that one of the facets was slightly fractured4 ,that invisible fracture reduced its value thousands of dollars1 and it was rejected from the regalia of ,england4 ,it was a little thing for the janitor to leave a lamp swinging in the cathedral at ,pisa1 but in that steady swaying motion the boy ,galileo saw the pendulum1 and conceived the idea of thus measuring time4 ,i was singing to the mouthpiece of a telephone1 said ,edison1 when the vibrations of my voice caused a fine steel point to pierce one of my fingers held just behind it4 ,that set me to thinking4 ,if ,i could record the motions of the point and send it over the same surface afterward1 ,i saw no reason why the thing would not talk4 ,i determined to make a machine that would work accurately1 and gave my assistants the necessary instructions1 telling them what ,i had discovered4 ,that's the whole story4 ,the phonograph is the result of the pricking of a finger4 ,it was a little thing for a cow to kick over a lantern left in a shanty1 but it laid ,chicago in ashes1 and rendered homeless a hundred thousand people4 ,you turned a cold shoulder but once1 you made but one stinging remark1 yet it lost you a friend forever4 ,some little weakness1 some self-indulgence1 a quick temper1 want of decision1 are little things1 you say1 when placed beside great abilities1 but they have wrecked many a career4 ,the ,parliament of ,great ,britain1 the ,congress of the ,united ,states1 and representative governments all over the world have come from ,king ,john signing the ,magna ,charta4 ,bentham says1 ,the turn of a sentence has decided many a friendship1 and1 for aught we know1 the fate of many a kingdom4 ,the sight of a stranded cuttlefish led ,cuvier to an investigation which made him one of the greatest natural historians in the world4 ,the web of a spider suggested to ,captain ,brown the idea of a suspension bridge4 ,a man1 looking for a lost horse1 picked up a stone in the ,idaho mountains which led to the discovery of a rich gold mine4 ,an officer apologized to ,general ,o4 ,m4 ,mitchel1 the astronomer1 for a brief delay1 saying he was only a few moments late4 ,i have been in the habit of calculating the value of the thousandth part of a second1 was ,mitchel's reply4 ,a missing marriage certificate kept the hod-carrier of ,hugh ,miller from establishing his claim to the ,earldom of ,crawford4 ,the masons would call out1 ,john1 ,yearl of ,crawford1 bring us anither hod o' lime4 ,not long ago the great steamship ,umbria was stopped in mid-,atlantic by a flaw in her engine shaft4 ,the absence of a comma in a bill which passed through ,congress several years ago cost our government a million dollars4 ,a single misspelled word prevented a deserving young man from obtaining a situation as instructor in a ,new ,england college4 ,a cinder on the eyeball will conquer a ,napoleon4 ,some little weakness1 as lack of courtesy1 want of decision1 a bad temper1 may nullify the labor of years4 ,i cannot see that you have made any progress since my last visit1 said a gentleman to ,michael ,angelo4 ,but1 said the sculptor1 ,i have retouched this part1 polished that1 softened that feature1 brought out that muscle1 given some expression to this lip1 more energy to that limb1 etc4 ,but they are trifles6 exclaimed the visitor4 ,it may be so1 replied the great artist1 but trifles make perfection1 and perfection is no trifle4 ,that infinite patience which made ,michael ,angelo spend a week in bringing out a muscle in a statue with more vital fidelity to truth1 or ,gerhard ,dow a day in giving the right effect to a dewdrop on a cabbage leaf1 makes all the difference between success and failure4 ,by scattering it upon a sloping field of grain so as to form1 in letters of great size1 ,effects of ,gypsum1 ,franklin brought this fertilizer into general use in ,america4 ,by means of a kite he established principles in the science of electricity of such broad significance that they underlie nearly all the modern applications of that science1 with probably boundless possibilities of development in the future4 ,more than four hundred and fifty years have passed since ,laurens ,coster amused his children by cutting their names in the bark of trees1 in the land of windmills1 and the monks have laid aside forever their old trade of copying books4 ,from that day monarchies have crumbled1 and ,liberty1 lifting up her head for the first time among the nations of the earth1 has ever since kept pace with the march of her sister1 ,knowledge1 up through the centuries4 ,yet how simple was the thought which has borne such a rich harvest of benefit to mankind4 ,as he carved the names of his prattling children it occurred to him that if the letters were made in separate blocks1 and wet with ink1 they would make clear printed impressions better and more rapidly than would the pen4 ,so he made blocks1 tied them together with strings1 and printed a pamphlet with the aid of a hired man1 ,john ,gutenberg4 ,people bought the pamphlets at a slight reduction from the price charged by the monks1 supposing that the work was done in the old way4 ,coster died soon afterward1 but young ,gutenberg kept the secret1 and experimented with metals until he had invented the metal type4 ,in an obscure chamber in ,strasburg he printed his first book4 ,at about this time a traveler called upon ,charles ,,vii4 of ,france1 who was so afraid somebody would poison him that he dared eat but little1 and made his servants taste of every dish of food before he ate any4 ,he looked with suspicion upon the stranger2 but when the latter offered a beautiful copy of the ,bible for only seven hundred and fifty crowns1 the monarch bought it at once4 ,charles showed his ,bible to the archbishop1 telling him that it was the finest copy in the world1 without a blot or mistake1 and that it must have taken the copyist a lifetime to write it4 ,why6 exclaimed the archbishop in surprise1 ,i bought one exactly like it a few days ago4 ,it was soon learned that other rich people in ,paris had bought similar copies4 ,the king traced the book to ,john ,faust1 of ,strasburg1 who had furnished ,gutenberg money to experiment with4 ,the people said that ,faust must have sold himself to the devil1 and he only escaped burning at the stake by divulging the secret4 ,william ,caxton1 a ,london merchant who went to ,holland to purchase cloth1 bought a few books and some type1 and established a printing-office in ,westminster ,chapel1 where he issued1 in #adgd1 ,the ,game of ,chess1 the first book printed in ,england4 ,the cry of the infant ,moses attracted the attention of ,pharaoh's daughter1 and gave the ,jews a lawgiver4 ,a bird alighting on the bough of a tree at the mouth of the cave where ,mahomet lay hid turned aside his pursuers1 and gave a prophet to many nations4 ,a flight of birds probably prevented ,columbus from discovering this continent1 for when he was growing anxious1 ,martin ,alonzo ,pinzon persuaded him to follow a flight of parrots toward the southwest2 for to the ,spanish seamen of that day it was good luck to follow in the wake of a flock of birds when on a voyage of discovery4 ,but for his change of course ,columbus would have reached the coast of ,florida4 ,never1 wrote ,humboldt1 had the flight of birds more important consequences4 ,the children of a spectacle-maker placed two or more pairs of the spectacles before each other in play1 and told their father that distant objects looked larger4 ,from this hint came the telescope4 ,of what use is it8 people asked with a sneer1 when ,franklin told of his discovery that lightning and electricity are identical4 ,what is the use of a child8 replied ,franklin2 it may become a man4 ,he who waits to do a great deal of good at once1 said ,dr4 ,johnson1 will never do any4 ,do good with what thou hast1 or it will do thee no good4 ,every day is a little life2 and our whole life but a day repeated4 ,those that dare lose a day are dangerously prodigal1 those that dare misspend it1 desperate4 ,what is the happiness of your life made up of8 ,little courtesies1 little kindnesses1 pleasant words1 genial smiles1 a friendly letter1 good wishes1 and good deeds4 ,one in a million--once in a lifetime--may do a heroic action4 ,the atomic theory is the true one4 ,many think common fractions vulgar1 but they are the components of millions4 ,he is a great man who sees great things where others see little things1 who sees the extraordinary in the ordinary4 ,ruskin sees a poem in the rose or the lily1 while the hod-carrier would perhaps not go a rod out of his way to see a sunset which ,ruskin would feed upon for a year4 ,napoleon was a master of trifles4 ,to details which his inferior officers thought too microscopic for their notice he gave the most exhaustive attention4 ,nothing was too small for his attention4 ,he must know all about the provisions1 the horse fodder1 the biscuits1 the camp kettles1 the shoes4 ,when the bugle sounded for the march to battle1 every officer had his orders as to the exact route which he should follow1 the exact day he was to arrive at a certain station1 and the exact hour he was to leave1 and they were all to reach the point of destination at a precise moment4 ,it is said that nothing could be more perfectly planned than his memorable march which led to the victory of ,austerlitz1 and which sealed the fate of ,europe for many years4 ,he would often charge his absent officers to send him perfectly accurate returns1 even to the smallest detail4 ,when they are sent to me1 ,i give up every occupation in order to read them in detail1 and to observe the difference between one monthly return and another4 ,no young girl enjoys her novel as much as ,i do these returns4 ,the captain who conveyed ,napoleon to ,elba was astonished with his familiarity with all the minute details connected with the ship4 ,napoleon left nothing to chance1 nothing to contingency1 so far as he could possibly avoid it4 ,everything was planned to a nicety before he attempted to execute it4 ,wellington too was great in little things4 ,he knew no such things as trifles4 ,while other generals trusted to subordinates1 he gave his personal attention to the minutest detail4 ,the history of many a failure could be written in three words1 ,lack of detail4 ,how many a lawyer has failed from the lack of details in deeds and important papers1 the lack of little words which seemed like surplusage1 and which involved his clients in litigation1 and often great losses6 ,how many wills are contested from the carelessness of lawyers in the omission or shading of words1 or ambiguous use of language6 ,physicians often fail to make a reputation through their habitual blundering1 carelessness in writing prescriptions1 failure to give minute instruction4 ,the world is full of blunderers2 business men fail from a disregard of trifles2 they go to the bank to pay a note the day after it has gone to protest2 they do not pay their bills promptly2 do not answer their letters promptly or file them away accurately2 their books do not quite balance2 they do not know exactly how they stand1 they have a contempt for details4 ,my rule of conduct has been that whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well1 said ,nicolas ,poussin1 the great ,french painter4 ,when asked the reason why he had become so eminent in a land of famous artists he replied1 ,because ,i have neglected nothing4 ,not even ,helen of ,troy1 it is said1 was beautiful enough to spare the tip of her nose2 and if ,cleopatra's had been an inch shorter ,mark ,antony would never have become infatuated with her wonderful charms1 and the blemish would have changed the history of the world4 ,anne ,boleyn's fascinating smile split the great ,church of ,rome in twain1 and gave a nation an altered destiny4 ,napoleon1 who feared not to attack the proudest monarchs in their capitols1 shrank from the political influence of one independent woman in private life1 ,madame de ,stal4 ,had not ,scott sprained his foot his life would probably have taken a different direction4 ,cromwell was about to sail for ,america when a law was passed prohibiting emigration4 ,at that time he was a profligate1 having squandered all his property4 ,but when he found that he could not leave ,england he reformed his life4 ,had he not been detained who can tell what the history of ,great ,britain would have been8 ,when one of his friends asked ,scopas the ,thessalian for something that could be of little use to him1 he answered1 ,it is in these useless and superfluous things that ,i am rich and happy4 ,it was the little foxes that spoiled the vines in ,solomon's day4 ,mites play mischief now with our meal and cheese1 moths with our woolens and furs1 and mice in our pantries4 ,more than half our diseases are produced by infinitesimal creatures called microbes4 ,most people call fretting a minor fault1 a foible1 and not a vice4 ,there is no vice except drunkenness which can so utterly destroy the peace1 the happiness1 of a home4 ,we call the large majority of human lives obscure1 says ,bulwer1 presumptuous that we are6 ,how know we what lives a single thought retained from the dust of nameless graves may have lighted to renown8 ,the theft of a diamond necklace from a ,french queen convulsed ,europe4 ,from the careful and persistent accumulation of innumerable facts1 each trivial in itself1 but in the aggregate forming a mass of evidence1 a ,darwin extracts his law of evolution1 and ,linnaeus constructs the science of botany4 ,a pan of water and two thermometers were the tools by which ,dr4 ,black discovered latent heat1 and a prism1 a lens1 and a sheet of pasteboard enabled ,newton to unfold the composition of light and the origin of colors4 ,an eminent foreign savant called on ,dr4 ,wollaston1 and asked to be shown over those laboratories of his in which science had been enriched by so many great discoveries1 when the doctor took him into a little study1 and1 pointing to an old tea tray on the table1 on which stood a few watch glasses1 test papers1 a small balance1 and a blow-pipe1 said1 ,there is my laboratory4 ,a burnt stick and a barn door served ,wilkie in lieu of pencil and paper4 ,a single potato1 carried to ,england by ,sir ,walter ,raleigh in the sixteenth century1 has multiplied into food for millions1 driving famine from ,ireland again and again4 ,it seemed a small thing to drive ,william ,brewster1 ,john ,robinson1 and the poor people of ,austerfield and ,scrooby into perpetual exile1 but as ,pilgrims they became the founders of a mighty people4 ,a cloud may hide the sun which it cannot extinguish4 ,behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth4 ,a look of vexation or a word coldly spoken1 or a little help thoughtlessly withheld1 may produce long issues of regret4 ,it was but a little dispute1 a little flash of temper1 the trigger was pulled in an instant1 but the soul returned never4 ,a few immortal sentences from ,garrison and ,phillips1 a few poems from ,lowell and ,whittier1 and the leaven is at work which will not cease its action until the whipping-post and bodily servitude are abolished forever4 ,for want of a nail the shoe was lost1 ,for want of a shoe the horse was lost2 ,for want of a horse the rider was lost1 and all1 says ,poor ,richard1 for want of a horse-shoe nail4 ,a single remark dropped by an unknown person in the street led to the successful story of ,the ,bread-winners4 ,a hymn chanted by the barefooted friars in the temple of ,jupiter at ,rome led to the famous ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire4 ,do little things now1 says a ,persian proverb2 so shall big things come to thee by and by asking to be done4 ,god will take care of the great things if we do not neglect the little ones4 ,words are things1 says ,byron1 and a small drop of ink1 falling like dew upon a thought1 produces that which makes thousands1 perhaps millions think4 ,i give these books for the founding of a college in this colony2 such were the words of ten ministers who in the year #agjj assembled at the village of ,branford a few miles east of ,new ,haven4 ,each of the worthy fathers deposited a few books upon the table around which they were sitting2 such was the founding of ,yale ,college4 ,he that has a spirit of detail1 says ,webster1 will do better in life than many who figured beyond him in the university4 ,the pyramid of knowledge is made up of little grains of information1 little observations picked up from everywhere4 ,for a thousand years ,asia monopolized the secret of silk culture1 and at ,rome the product was sold for its weight in gold4 ,during the sixth century1 at the request of ,justinian1 two ,persian monks brought a few eggs from ,china to ,europe in a hollow cane4 ,the eggs were hatched by means of heat1 and ,asia no longer held the monopoly of the silk business4 ,in comparison with ,ferdinand1 preparing to lead forth his magnificent army in ,europe's supreme contest with the ,moors1 how insignificant seemed the visionary expedition of ,columbus1 about to start in three small shallops across the unknown ocean4 ,but grand as was the triumph of ,ferdinand1 it now seems hardly worthy of mention in comparison with the wonderful achievement of the poor ,genoese navigator4 ,only one hundred and ninety-two ,athenians perished in the battle of ,marathon1 but ,europe was saved from a host which is said to have drunk rivers dry1 and to have shaken the solid earth as they marched4 ,great men are noted for their attention to trifles4 ,goethe once asked a monarch to excuse him1 during an interview1 while he went to an adjoining room to jot down a stray thought4 ,hogarth would make sketches of rare faces and characteristics upon his finger-nails upon the streets4 ,indeed1 to a truly great mind there are no little things4 ,the eye of the understanding is like the eye of the sense2 for as you may see objects through small crannies or holes1 so you may see great axioms of nature through small and contemptible instances1 said ,bacon4 ,trifles light as air suggest to the keen observer the solution of mighty problems4 ,bits of glass arranged to amuse children led to the discovery of the kaleidoscope4 ,goodyear discovered how to vulcanize rubber by forgetting1 until it became red hot1 a skillet containing a compound which he had before considered worthless4 ,confined in the house by typhoid fever1 ,helmholtz1 with a little money which he had saved by great economy1 bought a microscope which led him into the field of science where he became so famous4 ,a ship-worm boring a piece of wood suggested to ,sir ,isambard ,brunei the idea of a tunnel under the ,thames at ,london4 ,tracks of extinct animals in the old red sandstone led ,hugh ,miller on and on until he became the greatest geologist of his time4 ,sir ,walter ,scott once saw a shepherd boy plodding sturdily along1 and asked him to ride4 ,this boy was ,george ,kemp1 who became so enthusiastic in his study of sculpture that he walked fifty miles and back to see a beautiful statue4 ,he did not forget the kindness of ,sir ,walter1 and1 when the latter died1 threw his soul into the design of the magnificent monument erected in ,edinburgh to the memory of the author of ,waverley4 ,a poor boy applied for a situation at a bank in ,paris1 but was refused4 ,as he left the door1 he picked up a pin4 ,the bank president saw this1 called the boy back1 and gave him a situation from which he rose until he became the greatest banker of ,paris1--,laffitte4 ,it was the turning point in ,theodore ,parker's life when he picked up a stone to throw at a turtle4 ,something within him said1 ,don't do it1 and he didn't4 ,he went home and asked his mother what it was in him that said ,don't2 and she taught him the purpose of that inward monitor which he ever after chose as his guide4 ,it is said that ,david ,hume became a deist by being appointed in a debating society to take the side of infidelity4 ,voltaire could not erase from his mind the impression of a poem on infidelity committed at the age of five4 ,the ,arabian ,nights aroused the genius of ,coleridge4 ,a ,massachusetts soldier in the ,civil ,war observed a bird hulling rice1 and shot it2 taking its bill for a model1 he invented a hulling machine which has revolutionized the rice business4 ,a war between ,france and ,england1 costing more than a hundred thousand lives1 grew out of a quarrel as to which of two vessels should first be served with water4 ,the quarrel of two ,indian boys over a grasshopper led to the ,grasshopper ,war4 ,george ,,iv4 of ,england fell in a fit1 and a village apothecary bled him1 restoring him to consciousness4 ,the king made him his physician1 a position of great honor and profit4 ,many a noble ship has stranded because of one defective timber1 when all other parts were strong4 ,guard the weak point4 ,no object the eye ever beheld1 no sound however slight caught by the ear1 or anything once passing the turnstile of any of the senses1 is ever let go4 ,the eye is a perpetual camera imprinting upon the sensitive mental plates1 and packing away in the brain for future use every face1 every tree1 every plant1 flower1 hill1 stream1 mountain1 every scene upon the street1 in fact1 everything which comes within its range4 ,there is a phonograph in our natures which catches1 however thoughtless and transient1 every syllable we utter1 and registers forever the slightest enunciation1 and renders it immortal4 ,these notes may appear a thousand years hence1 reproduced in our descendants1 in all their beautiful or terrible detail4 ,all the ages that have been are rounded up into the small space we call ,to-day4 ,every life spans all that precedes it4 ,to-day is a book which contains everything that has transpired in the world up to the present moment4 ,the millions of the past whose ashes have mingled with the dust for centuries still live in their destinies through the laws of heredity4 ,nothing has ever been lost4 ,all the infinitesimals of the past are amassed into the present4 ,the first acorn had wrapped up in it all the oak forests on the globe4 ,least of all seeds1 greatest of all harvests1 seems to be one of the great laws of nature4 ,all life comes from microscopic beginnings4 ,in nature there is nothing small4 ,the microscope reveals as great a world below as the telescope above4 ,all of nature's laws govern the smallest atoms1 and a single drop of water is a miniature ocean4 ,the strength of a chain lies in its weakest link1 however large and strong all the others may be4 ,we are all inclined to be proud of our strong points1 while we are sensitive and neglectful of our weaknesses4 ,yet it is our greatest weakness which measures our real strength4 ,a soldier who escapes the bullets of a thousand battles may die from the scratch of a pin1 and many a ship has survived the shocks of icebergs and the storms of ocean only to founder in a smooth sea from holes made by tiny insects4 ,drop by drop is instilled into the mind the poison which blasts many a precious life4 ,how often do we hear people say1 ,oh1 it's only ten minutes1 or twenty minutes1 till dinner time2 there's no use doing anything1 or use other expressions of a like effect8 ,why1 it is just in these little spare bits of time1 these odd moments1 which most people throw away1 that men who have risen have gained their education1 written their books1 and made themselves immortal4 ,small things become great when a great soul sees them4 ,the noble or heroic act of one man has sometimes elevated a nation4 ,many an honorable career has resulted from a kind word spoken in season or the warm grasp of a friendly hand4 ,it is the little rift within the lute1 ,that by and by will make the music mute1 ,and1 ever widening1 slowly silence all4 ,,tennyson4 ,it was only a glad 'good-morning1' ,as she passed along the way1 ,but it spread the morning's glory ,over the livelong day4 ,only a thought in passing--a smile1 or encouraging word1 ,has lifted many a burden no other gift could have stirred4 ,only6--,but then the onlys ,make up the mighty all4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,self-,,mastery4 ,give me that man ,that is not passion's slave1 and ,i will wear him ,in my heart's core1 ay1 in my heart of heart4 ,,shakespeare4 ,strength of character consists of two things1--power of will and power of self-restraint4 ,it requires two things1 therefore1 for its existence1--strong feelings and strong command over them4--,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson4 ,self-reverence1 self-knowledge1 self-control1 ,these three alone lead life to sovereign power4 ,the bravest trophy ever man obtained ,is that which o'er himself himself hath gained4 ,,earl ,,of ,,stirling4 ,real glory springs from the conquest of ourselves2 and without that the conqueror is naught but the veriest slave4--,,thomson4 ,whatever day makes man a slave takes half his worth away4--,,odyssey4 ,chain up the unruly legion of thy breast4 ,lead thine own captivity captive1 and be ,caesar within thyself4--,,thomas ,,browne4 ,he who reigns within himself1 and rules passions1 desires1 and fears1 is more than a king4--,,milton4 ,he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty3 and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city4--,,bible4 ,self-trust is of the essence of heroism4--,,emerson4 ,man who man would be ,must rule the empire of himself4 ,p4 ,b4 ,,shelley4 ,ah6 ,diamond1 you little know the mischief you have wrought1 said ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 returning from supper to find that his dog had upset a lighted taper upon the laborious calculations of years1 which lay in ashes before him4 ,then he went calmly to work to reproduce them4 ,the man who thus excelled in self-mastery surpassed all his predecessors and contemporaries in mastering the laws of nature4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,james ,,russell ,,lowell ,we rise by the things that are under our feet2 ,by what we have mastered of good or gain3 ,by the pride deposed and the passion slain1 ,and the vanquished ills that we hourly meet4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,the sun was high in the heavens when a man called at the house of ,pericles to abuse him4 ,the man's anger knew no bounds4 ,he vented his spite in violent language until he paused from sheer exhaustion1 and saw that it was quite dark without4 ,he turned to go home1 when ,pericles calmly called a servant1 and said1 ,bring a lamp and attend this man home4 ,is any argument needed to show the superiority of ,pericles8 ,the gladiators who were trained to tight in the ,coliseum were compelled to practice the most graceful postures of falling and the finest attitudes to assume in dying1 in case they were vanquished4 ,they were obliged to eat food which would make the blood thick in order that they should not die quickly when wounded1 thus giving the spectators prolonged gratification by the spectacle of their agonies4 ,each had to take this oath3 ,we swear that we will suffer ourselves to be bound1 scourged1 burned1 or killed by the sword1 or whatever ,eumolpus ordains1 and thus1 like freeborn gladiators1 we religiously devote both our souls and our bodies to our master4 ,they were trained to exercise sublime self-control even when dying a cruel death4 ,the ,american ,minister at ,st4 ,petersburg was summoned one morning to save a young1 dissolute1 reckless ,american youth1 ,poe1 from the penalties incurred in a drunken debauch4 ,by the ,minister's aid young ,poe returned to the ,united ,states4 ,not long after this the author of the best story and poem competed for in the ,baltimore ,visitor was sent for1 and behold1 the youth who had taken both prizes was that same dissolute1 reckless1 penniless1 orphan youth1 who had been arrested in ,st4 ,petersburg1--pale1 ragged1 with no stockings1 and with his threadbare but well brushed coat buttoned to the chin to conceal the lack of a shirt4 ,young ,poe took fresh courage and resolution1 and for a while showed that he was superior to the appetite which was striving to drag him down4 ,but1 alas1 that fatal bottle6 his mind was stored with riches1 yet he died in moral poverty4 ,this was a soldier's epitaph3-- ,here lies a soldier whom all must applaud1 ,who fought many battles at home and abroad6 ,but the hottest engagement he ever was in1 ,was the conquest of self1 in the battle of sin4 ,in #ahfj1 when a committee visited ,abraham ,lincoln at his home in ,springfield1 ,ill41 to notify him of his nomination as ,president1 he ordered a pitcher of water and glasses1 that they might drink each other's health in the best beverage ,god ever gave to man4 ,let us1 he continued1 make it as unfashionable to withhold our names from the temperance pledge as for husbands to wear their wives' bonnets in church1 and instances will be as rare in one case as the other4 ,burns exercised no control over his appetites1 but gave them the rein3-- ,thus thoughtless follies laid him low ,and stained his name4 ,the first and best of victories1 says ,plato1 is for a man to conquer himself2 to be conquered by himself is1 of all things1 the most shameful and vile4 ,self-control is at the root of all the virtues4 ,let a man yield to his impulses and passions1 and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom4 ,teach self-denial and make its practice pleasurable1 says ,walter ,scott1 and you create for the world a destiny more sublime than ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer4 ,stonewall ,jackson1 early in life1 determined to conquer every weakness he had1 physical1 mental1 and moral4 ,he held all of his powers with a firm hand4 ,to his great self-discipline and self-mastery he owed his success4 ,so determined was he to harden himself to the weather that he could not be induced to wear an overcoat in winter4 ,i will not give in to the cold1 he said4 ,for a year1 on account of dyspepsia1 he lived on buttermilk and stale bread1 and wore a wet shirt next his body because his doctor advised it1 although everybody else ridiculed the idea4 ,this was while he was professor at the ,virginia ,military ,institute4 ,his doctor advised him to retire at nine o'clock2 and1 no matter where he was1 or who was present1 he always sought his bed on the minute4 ,he adhered rigidly through life to this stern system of discipline4 ,such self-training1 such self-conquest1 gives one great power over others4 ,it is equal to genius itself4 ,it is a good plan to form the habit of ranking our various qualities1 marking our strongest point one hundred and all the others in proportion1 in order to make the lowest mark more apparent1 and enabling us to try to raise or strengthen it4 ,a man's industry1 for example1 may be his strongest point1 one hundred1 his physical courage may be fifty2 his moral courage1 seventy-five2 his temper1 twenty-five2 with but ten for self-control1--which1 if he has strong appetites and passions1 will be likely to be the rock on which he will split4 ,he should strive in every way to raise it from one of the weakest qualities to one of the strongest4 ,it would take but two or three minutes a day to rank ourselves in such a table by noting the exercise of each faculty for the day4 ,if you have worked hard and faithfully1 mark industry one hundred4 ,if you have lost your temper1 and1 in consequence1 lost your self-control1 and made a fool of yourself1 indicate it by a low mark4 ,this will be an incentive to try to raise it the next day4 ,if you have been irritable1 indicate it by a corresponding mark1 and redeem yourself on the morrow4 ,if you have been cowardly where you should have been brave1 hesitating where you should have shown decision1 false where you should have been true1 foolish where you should have been wise1 tardy where you should have been prompt2 if you have prevaricated where you should have told the exact truth2 if you have taken the advantage where you should have been fair1 have been unjust where you should have been just1 impatient where you should have been patient1 cross where you should have been cheerful1 so indicate by your marks4 ,you will find this a great aid to character building4 ,it is a subtle and profound remark of ,hegel's that the riddle which the ,sphinx1 the ,egyptian symbol of the mysteriousness of ,nature1 propounds to ,oedipus is only another way of expressing the command of the ,delphic oracle1 ,know thyself4 ,and when the answer is given the ,sphinx casts herself down from her rock4 ,when man knows himself1 the mysteriousness of ,nature and her terrors vanish4 ,the command by the ancient oracle at ,delphos is of eternal significance4 ,add to it its natural complement--,help thyself--and the path to success is open to those who obey4 ,guard your weak point4 ,moral contagion borrows fully half its strength from the weakness of its victims4 ,have you a hot1 passionate temper8 ,if so1 a moment's outbreak1 like a rat-hole in a dam1 may flood all the work of years4 ,one angry word sometimes raises a storm that time itself cannot allay4 ,a single angry word has lost many a friend4 ,a ,quaker was asked by a merchant whom he had conquered by his patience how he had been able to bear the other's abuse1 and replied3 ,friend1 ,i will tell thee4 ,i was naturally as hot and violent as thou art4 ,i observed that men in a passion always speak loud1 and ,i thought if ,i could control my voice ,i should repress my passion4 ,i have therefore made it a rule never to let my voice rise above a certain key1 and by a careful observance of this rule1 ,i have1 by the blessing of ,god1 entirely mastered my natural tongue4 ,mr4 ,christmas of the ,bank of ,england explains that the secret of his self-control under very trying circumstances was due to a rule learned from the great ,pitt1 never to lose his temper during banking hours from nine to three4 ,when ,socrates found in himself any disposition to anger1 he would check it by speaking low1 in opposition to the motions of his displeasure4 ,if you are conscious of being in a passion1 keep your mouth shut1 lest you increase it4 ,many a person has dropped dead in a rage4 ,fits of anger bring fits of disease4 ,whom the gods would destroy they first make mad4 ,keep cool1 says ,webster1 anger is not argument4 ,be calm in arguing1 says ,george ,herbert1 for fierceness makes error a fault1 and truth discourtesy4 ,to be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself4 ,anger1 says ,pythagoras1 begins with folly and ends with repentance4 ,you must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he subdues1 not by the power of those which subdue him4 ,de ,leon1 a distinguished ,spanish poet1 after lying years in dungeons of the ,inquisition1 dreary1 and alone1 without light1 for translating part of the ,scriptures into his native tongue1 was released and restored to his professorship4 ,a great crowd thronged to hear his first lecture1 out of curiosity to learn what he might say about his imprisonment4 ,but the great man merely resumed the lecture which had been so cruelly broken off five years before1 just where he left it1 with the words ,heri discebamus 7,yesterday we were teaching74 ,what a lesson in this remarkable example of self-control for those who allow their tongues to jabber whatever happens to be uppermost in their minds6 ,did you ever see a man receive a flagrant insult1 and only grow a little pale1 bite his quivering lip1 and then reply quietly8 ,did you ever see a man in anguish stand as if carved out of solid rock1 mastering himself8 ,have you not seen one bearing a hopeless daily trial remain silent and never tell the world what cankered his home peace8 ,that is strength4 ,he who1 with strong passions1 remains chaste2 he who1 keenly sensitive1 with manly power of indignation in him1 can be provoked1 and yet restrain himself and forgive1--these are strong men1 the spiritual heroes4 ,you will be remembered only as the man who broke my nose1 said young ,michael ,angelo to the man ,torrigiano1 who struck him in anger4 ,what sublime self-control for a quick-tempered man6 ,you ask whether it would not be manly to resent a great injury1 said ,eardley ,wilmot3 ,i answer that it would be manly to resent it1 but it would be ,godlike to forgive it4 ,that man has conquered his tongue who can allow the ribald jest or scurrilous word to die unspoken on his lips1 and maintain an indignant silence amid reproaches and accusations and sneers and scoffs4 ,he is a fool who cannot be angry1 says ,english1 but he is a wise man who will not4 ,peter the ,great made a law in #agbb that a nobleman who should beat his slave should be regarded as insane1 and a guardian appointed to look after his property and person4 ,this great monarch once struck his gardener1 who took to his bed and died4 ,peter1 hearing of this1 exclaimed with tears in his eyes1 ,alas6 ,i have civilized my own subjects2 ,i have conquered other nations2 yet have ,i not been able to civilize or conquer myself4 ,the same monarch1 when drunk1 rushed upon ,admiral ,le ,fort with a sword4 ,le ,fort1 with great self-possession1 bared his breast to receive the stroke4 ,this sobered ,peter1 and afterwards he asked the pardon of ,le ,fort4 ,peter said1 ,i am trying to reform my country1 and ,i am not yet able to reform myself4 ,self-conquest is man's last and greatest victory4 ,a medical authority of highest repute affirms that excessive labor1 exposure to wet and cold1 deprivation of sufficient quantities of necessary and wholesome food1 habitual bad lodging1 sloth and intemperance1 are all deadly enemies to human life1 but they are none of them so bad as violent and ungoverned passion1--that men and women have frequently lived to an advanced age in spite of these1 but that instances are very rare where people of irascible tempers live to extreme old age4 ,it was the self-discipline of a man who had never looked upon war until he was forty that enabled ,oliver ,cromwell to create an army which never fought without annihilating1 yet which retired into the ranks of industry as soon as the government was established1 each soldier being distinguished from his neighbors only by his superior diligence1 sobriety1 and regularity in the pursuits of peace4 ,how sweet the serenity of habitual self-command6 ,when does a man feel more a master of himself than when he has passed through a sudden and severe provocation in silence or in undisturbed good humor8 ,whether teaching the rules of an exact morality1 answering his corrupt judges1 receiving sentence of death1 or swallowing the poison1 ,socrates was still calm1 quiet1 undisturbed1 intrepid4 ,it is a great thing to have brains1 but it is vastly greater to be able to command them4 ,the ,duke of ,wellington had great power over himself1 although his natural temper was extremely irritable4 ,he remained at the ,duchess of ,richmond's ball till about three o'clock on the morning of the #afth of ,june1 #ahae1 showing himself very cheerful1 although he knew that a desperate battle was awaiting him4 ,on the field of ,waterloo he gave his orders at the most critical moments without the slightest excitement4 ,napoleon1 having made his arrangements for the terrible conflict of the next day 7,jena and ,auerstadt71 retired to his tent about midnight1 and calmly sat down to draw up a plan of study and discipline for ,madame ,campan's female school4 ,keep cool1 and you command everybody1 says ,st4 ,just4 ,he that would govern others first should be ,the master of himself1 says ,massinger4 ,he who has mastered himself1 who is his own ,caesar1 will be stronger than his passion1 superior to circumstances1 higher than his calling1 greater than his speech4 ,self-control is the generalship which turns a mob of raw recruits into a disciplined army4 ,the rough man has become the polished and dignified soldier1 in other words1 the man has got control of himself1 and knows how to use himself4 ,the human race is under constant drill4 ,our occupations1 difficulties1 obstacles1 disappointments1 if used aright1 are the great schoolmasters which help us to possess ourselves4 ,the man who is master of himself will not be a slave to drudgery1 but will keep in advance of his work4 ,he will not rob his family of that which is worth more than money or position2 he will not be the slave of his occupation1 not at the mercy of circumstances4 ,his methods and system will enable him to accomplish wonders1 and yet give him leisure for self-culture4 ,the man who controls himself works to live rather than lives for work4 ,the man of great self-control1 the man who thinks a great deal and says little1 who is self-centred1 well balanced1 carries a thousand times more weight than the man of weak will1 always wavering and undecided4 ,if a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything4 ,without it he can have no patience1 no power to govern himself1 he can have no self-reliance1 for he will always be at the mercy of his strongest passion4 ,if he lacks self-control1 the very backbone1 pith1 and nerve of character are lacking also4 ,the discipline which is the main end in education is simply control acquired over one's mental faculties2 without this discipline no man is a strong and accurate thinker4 ,prove to me1 says ,mrs4 ,oliphant1 that you can control yourself1 and ,i'll say you're an educated man2 and1 without this1 all other education is good for next to nothing4 ,the wife of ,socrates1 ,xanthippe1 was a woman of a most fantastical and furious spirit4 ,at one time1 having vented all the reproaches upon ,socrates her fury could suggest1 he went out and sat before the door4 ,his calm and unconcerned behavior but irritated her so much the more2 and1 in the excess of her rage1 she ran upstairs and emptied a vessel upon his head1 at which he only laughed and said that so much thunder must needs produce a shower4 ,alcibiades his friend1 talking with him about his wife1 told him he wondered how he could bear such an everlasting scold in the same house with him4 ,he replied1 ,i have so accustomed myself to expect it1 that it now offends me no more than the noise of carriages in the street4 ,how many men have in their chain of character one weak link4 ,they may be weak in the link of truthfulness1 politeness1 trustworthiness1 temper1 chastity1 temperance1 courage1 industry1 or may have some other weakness which wrecks their success and thwarts a life's endeavor4 ,he who would succeed must hold all his faculties under perfect control2 they must be disciplined1 drilled1 until they obey the will4 ,think of a young man just starting out in life to conquer the world being at the mercy of his own appetites and passions6 ,he cannot stand up and look the world in the face when he is the slave of what should be his own servants4 ,he cannot lead who is led4 ,there is nothing which gives certainty and direction to the life of a man who is not his own master4 ,if he has mastered all but one appetite1 passion1 or weakness1 he is still a slave2 it is the weakest point that measures the strength of character4 ,seneca1 one of the greatest of the ancient philosophers1 said that we should every night call ourselves to account4 ,what infirmity have ,i mastered to-day8 what passion opposed8 what temptation resisted8 what virtue acquired8 and then he follows with the profound truth that our vices will abate of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift4 ,if you cannot at first control your anger1 learn to control your tongue1 which1 like fire1 is a good servant1 but a hard master4 ,five words cost ,zacharias forty weeks' silence4 ,there is many a man whose tongue might govern multitudes if he could only govern his tongue4 ,anger1 like too much wine1 hides us from ourselves1 but exposes us to others4 ,general von ,moltke1 perhaps the greatest strategist of this century1 had1 as a foundation for his other talents1 the power to hold his tongue in seven languages4 ,a young man went to ,socrates to learn oratory4 ,on being introduced1 he talked so incessantly that ,socrates asked for double fees4 ,why charge me double8 asked the young fellow4 ,because1 said the orator1 ,i must teach you two sciences3 the one how to hold your tongue1 the other how to speak4 ,the first is the more difficult4 ,half the actual trouble of life would be saved if people would remember that silence is golden1 when they are irritated1 vexed1 or annoyed4 ,to feel provoked or exasperated at a trifle1 when the nerves are exhausted1 is1 perhaps1 natural to us in our imperfect state4 ,but why put into the shape of speech the annoyance which1 once uttered1 is remembered2 which may burn like a blistering wound1 or rankle like a poisoned arrow8 ,if a child be crying or a friend capricious1 or a servant unreasonable1 be careful what you say4 ,do not speak while you feel the impulse of anger1 for you will be almost certain to say too much1 to say more than your cooler judgment will approve1 and to speak in a way that you will regret4 ,be silent until the sweet by and by1 when you will be calm1 rested1 and self-controlled4 ,seest thou a man that is hasty in his words8 ,there is more hope of a fool than of him4 ,silence1 says ,zimmerman1 is the safest response for all the contradiction that arises from impertinence1 vulgarity1 or envy4 ,in rhetoric1 as ,emerson truly says1 this art of omission is the chief secret of power4 ,everything tells in favor of the man who talks but little4 ,the presumption is that he is a superior man2 and if1 in point of fact1 he is not a sheer blockhead1 the presumption then is that he is very superior indeed4 ,grant was master of the science of silence4 ,the self-controlled are self-possessed4 ,sir1 the house is on fire6 shrieked a frightened servant1 running into ,dr4 ,lawson's study4 ,go and tell your mistress1 said the preoccupied professor1 without looking up from the book he was reading2 you know ,i have no charge of household matters4 ,a woman whose house was on fire threw a looking-glass out of the window1 and carried a pair of andirons several rods to a safe place beside a stone wall4 ,presence of mind and courage in distress are more than armies to procure success4 ,xenophon tells us that at one time the ,persian princes had for their teachers the four best men in the kingdom4 7#a7 ,the wisest man to teach wisdom4 7#b7 ,the bravest to teach courage4 7#c7 ,the most just to train the moral nature4 7#d7 ,the most temperate to teach self-control4 ,we have them all in the ,bible1 and in ,christ our teacher1 an example4 ,if it is a small sacrifice to discontinue the use of wine1 said ,samuel ,j4 ,may1 do it for the sake of others2 if it is a great sacrifice1 do it for your own sake4 ,how many of nature's noblemen1 who might be kings if they could control themselves1 drink away their honor1 reputation1 and money in glasses of wet damnation1 more costly than the vinegar in which ,cleopatra dissolved her pearls4 ,experience shows that1 quicker than almost any other physical agency1 alcohol breaks down a man's power of self-control4 ,but the physical evils of intemperance1 great as they are1 are slight1 compared with the moral injury it produces4 ,it is not simply that vices and crimes almost inevitably follow the loss of rational self-direction1 which is the invariable accompaniment of intoxication2 manhood is lowered and finally lost by the sensual tyranny of appetite4 ,the drunken man has given up the reins of his nature to a fool or a fiend1 and he is driven fast to base or unutterably foolish ends4 ,with almost palsied hand1 at a temperance meeting1 ,john ,b4 ,gough signed the pledge4 ,for six days and nights in a wretched garret1 without a mouthful of food1 with scarcely a moment's sleep1 he fought the fearful battle with appetite4 ,weak1 famished1 almost dying1 he crawled into the sunlight2 but he had conquered the demon1 which had almost killed him4 ,gough used to describe the struggles of a man who tried to leave off using tobacco4 ,he threw away what he had1 and said that was the end of it2 but no1 it was only the beginning of it4 ,he would chew camomile1 gentian1 toothpicks1 but it was of no use4 ,he bought another plug of tobacco and put it in his pocket4 ,he wanted a chew awfully1 but he looked at it and said1 ,you are a weed1 and ,i am a man4 ,i'll master you if ,i die for it2 and he did1 while carrying it in his pocket daily4 ,natural appetites1 if given rein1 will not only grow monstrous and despotic1 but artificial appetites will be created which1 like a ghastly ,frankenstein1 develop a kind of independent life and force1 and then turn on their creator to torment him without pity1 and will mock his efforts to free himself from this slavery4 ,the victim of strong drink is one of the most pitiable creatures on earth1 he becomes half beast1 or half demon4 ,oh1 the silent1 suffering tongues that whisper ,don't1 but the will lies prostrate1 and the debauch goes on4 ,what a mute confession of degradation there is in the very appearance of a confirmed sot4 ,behold a man no longer in possession of himself2 the flesh is master2 the spiritual nature is sunk in the mire of sensuality1 and the mental faculties are a mere mob of enfeebled powers under bondage to a bestial or mad tyrant4 ,as ,challis says3-- ,once the demon enters1 ,stands within the door2 ,peace and hope and gladness ,dwell there nevermore4 ,many persons are intemperate in their feelings2 they are emotionally prodigal4 ,passion is intemperance2 so is caprice4 ,there is an intemperance even in melancholy and mirth4 ,the temperate man is not mastered by his moods2 he will not be driven or enticed into excess2 his steadfast will conquers despondency1 and is not unbalanced by transient exhilarations1 for ecstasy is as fatal as despair4 ,temper is subjected to reason and conscience4 ,how many people excuse themselves for doing wrong or foolish acts by the plea that they have a quick temper4 ,but he who is king of himself rules his temper1 turning its very heat and passion into energy that works good instead of evil4 ,stephen ,girard1 when he heard of a clerk with a strong temper1 was glad to employ him4 ,he believed that such persons1 taught self-control1 were the best workers4 ,controlled temper is an element of strength2 wisely regulated1 it expends itself as energy in work1 just as heat in an engine is transmuted into force that drives the wheels of industry4 ,cromwell1 ,william the ,silent1 ,wordsworth1 ,faraday1 ,washington1 and ,wellington were men of prodigious tempers1 but they were also men whose self-control was nearly perfect4 ,george ,washington's faculties were so well balanced and combined that his constitution was tempered evenly with all the elements of activity1 and his mind resembled a well organized commonwealth4 ,his passions1 which had the intensest vigor1 owed allegiance to reason2 and with all the fiery quickness of his spirit1 his impetuous and massive will was held in check by consummate judgment4 ,he had in his composition a calm which was a balance-wheel1 and which gave him in moments of highest excitement the power of self-control1 and enabled him to excel in patience1 even when he had most cause for disgust4 ,it was said by an enemy of ,william the ,silent that an arrogant or indiscreet word never fell from his lips4 ,how brilliantly could ,carlyle write of heroism1 courage1 self-control1 and yet fly into a rage at a rooster crowing in a neighbor's yard4 ,a self-controlled mind is a free mind1 and freedom is power4 ,i call that mind free1 says ,channing1 which jealously guards its intellectual rights and powers1 which calls no man master1 which does not content itself with a passive or hereditary faith1 which opens itself to light whencesoever it may come1 which receives new truth as an angel from heaven1 which1 whilst consulting others1 inquires still more of the oracle within itself1 and uses instructions from abroad1 not to supersede1 but to quicken and exalt its own energies4 ,i call that mind free which is not passively framed by outward circumstances1 which is not swept away by the torrent of events1 which is not the creature of accidental impulse1 but which bends events to its own improvement1 and acts from an inward spring1 from immutable principles which it has deliberately espoused4 ,i call that mind free which protects itself against the usurpations of society1 which does not cower to human opinion1 which feels itself accountable to a higher tribunal than man's1 which respects a higher law than fashion1 which respects itself too much to be the slave or tool of the many or the few4 ,i call that mind free which through confidence in ,god and in the power of virtue has cast off all fear but that of wrong-doing1 which no menace or peril can enthrall1 which is calm in the midst of tumults1 and possesses itself though all else be lost4 ,i call that mind free which resists the bondage of habit1 which does not mechanically repeat itself and copy the past1 which does not live on its old virtues1 which does not enslave itself to precise rules1 but which forgets what is behind1 listens for new and higher monitions of conscience1 and rejoices to pour itself forth in fresh and higher exertions4 ,i call that mind free which is jealous of its own freedom1 which guards itself from being merged in others1 which guards its empire over itself as nobler than the empire of the world4 ,be free--not chiefly from the iron chain ,but from the one which passion forges--be ,the master of thyself4 ,if lost1 regain ,the rule o'er chance1 sense1 circumstance4 ,be free4 ,,ephraim ,,peabody4 ,it is not enough to have great qualities1 says ,la ,rochefoucauld2 we should also have the management of them4 ,no man can call himself educated until every voluntary muscle obeys his will4 ,every human being is conscious of two natures4 ,one is ever reaching up after the good1 the true1 and the noble1--is aspiring after all that uplifts1 elevates1 and purifies4 ,it is the ,god-side of man1 the image of the ,creator1 the immortal side1 the spiritual side4 ,it is the gravitation of the soul faculties toward their ,maker4 ,the other is the bestial side which gravitates downward4 ,it does not aspire1 it grovels2 it wallows in the mire of sensualism4 ,like the beast1 it knows but one law1 and is led by only one motive1 self-indulgence1 self-gratification4 ,when neither hungry nor thirsty1 or when gorged and sated by over-indulgence1 it lies quiet and peaceful as a lamb1 and we sometimes think it subdued4 ,but when its imperious passion accumulates1 it clamors for satisfaction4 ,you cannot reason with it1 for it has no reason1 only an imperious instinct for gratification4 ,you cannot appeal to its self-respect1 for it has none4 ,it cares nothing for character1 for manliness1 for the spiritual4 ,these two natures are ever at war1 one pulling heavenward1 the other1 earthward4 ,nor do they ever become reconciled4 ,either may conquer1 but the vanquished never submits4 ,the higher nature may be compelled to grovel1 to wallow in the mire of sensual indulgence1 but it always rebels and enters its protest4 ,it can never forget that it bears the image of its ,maker1 even when dragged through the slough of sensualism4 ,the still small voice which bids man look up is never quite hushed4 ,if the victim of the lower nature could only forget that he was born to look upward1 if he could only erase the image of his ,maker1 if he could only hush the voice which haunts him and condemns him when he is bound in slavery1 if he could only enjoy his indulgences without the mockery of remorse1 he thinks he would be content to remain a brute4 ,but the ghost of his better self rises as he is about to partake of his delight1 and robs him of the expected pleasure4 ,he has sold his better self for pleasure which is poison1 and he cannot lose the consciousness of the fearful sacrifice he has made4 ,the banquet may be ready1 but the hand on the wall is writing his doom4 ,give me that soul1 superior power1 ,that conquest over fate1 ,which sways the weakness of the hour1 ,rules little things as great3 ,that lulls the human waves of strife ,with words and feelings kind1 ,and makes the trials of our life ,the triumphs of our mind4 ,,charles ,,swain4 ,reader1 attend--whether thy soul ,soars fancy's flights above the pole1 ,or darkly grubs this earthly hole1 ,in low pursuits3 ,know prudent1 cautious self-control ,is wisdom's root4 ,,burns4 ,the king is the man who can4--,,carlyle4 ,i have only one counsel for you--,be master4--,,napoleon4 ,ah1 silly man1 who dream'st thy honor stands ,in ruling others1 not thyself4 ,thy slaves ,serve thee1 and thou thy slave3 in iron bands ,thy servile spirit1 pressed with wild passions1 raves4 ,wouldst thou live honored8--clip ambition's wing3 ,to reason's yoke thy furious passions bring3 ,thrice noble is the man who of himself is king4 ,,phineas ,,fletcher4 ,not in the clamor of the crowded street1 ,not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng1 ,but in ourselves are triumph and defeat4