,a ,fleece of ,gold ,five ,lessons from the ,fable of ,jason and the ,golden ,fleece by ,charles ,stewart ,given #aije ,second ,edition ,revised ,to my sons ,kingsley and ,gordon ,jason and his men seized the favorable moment of the rebound1 plied their oars with vigor1 and passed through in safety4 ,contents ,introduction ,i4 ,the ,ruling ,element1 ,jason and his men4 ,,ii4 ,the ,golden ,quality1 ,they passed through4 ,,iii4 ,the ,messenger of ,fate1 ,they seized the favourable moment4 ,,iv4 ,the ,active ,hand1 ,they plied their oars with vigor4 ,v4 ,ethics of ,activity ,foreword ,among the smaller forces which operate upon the mind and tend toward strengthening and exalting the best ideals1 are little books like this4 ,they are especially valuable when so much of the author's own experience forms a thread upon which are suspended jewels of thought and illustration serviceable to those who would see and know the best things4 ,i have found these characteristics in this small volume1 and gladly recommend it to all those who would become more familiar with what our author calls the key to that cabinet of character in which nature conceals not only the motive power of every-day life1 but those latent talents and energies that1 through a knowledge of self1 we can bring to bear upon our lives4 ,this book will help many who have small opportunities in the form of time and money to expend in the use of larger volumes4 ,charles ,stewart ,given ,introduction ,the fable of ,jason and the ,golden ,fleece is known to old and young the world around4 ,to the latter1 perhaps1 no other simple narrative in ,greek mythology is more fascinating1 nor holds a more valuable lesson if they will but seek to learn it4 ,but especially to the boy or young man of thoughtful mind does the glorious adventure appeal and make its lessons obvious4 ,by way of refreshing the memory of those who were once familiar with the myth1 but who1 in the practical school of experience1 have lost the chord of their adventure-loving days2 and also for those1 perchance1 who are not acquainted with the tale1 a brief sketch will here serve our purpose4 ,in ,thessaly dwell a king and a queen with their two children1 a boy and a girl4 ,the holy alliance between the two royal members of the household becomes disrupted1 and ,nephele1 the good mother1 appeals to ,mercury1 the messenger of the gods1 to assist her in secretly placing the children out of reach of their father1 the king4 ,mercury provides a ram with a golden fleece1 on which the boy and girl are placed4 ,the shining creature springs into the air1 bearing its precious burden across the sea4 ,unfortunately1 the girl falls from the ram's back and is drowned1 but the boy is landed safely on the other shore in the kingdom of ,colchis4 ,here he sacrifices the ram to ,jupiter and presents the golden fleece to the king1 who places it in a consecrated grove under the care of a sleepless dragon4 ,now ,jason is heir to the throne of son1 ruler of another kingdom in ,thessaly1 from whence the royal children started on their adventurous journey4 ,years have passed1 however1 since this remarkable incident1 and ,jason1 being now a young man and having been told the dramatic tale of the ,golden ,fleece1 begins to think what a glorious adventure it would be to go in quest of the royal prize4 ,forthwith he makes preparations for the expedition1 and with a band of other lusty young heroes starts on a sea voyage toward the land of the ,colchian king4 ,it is not without difficulty1 however1 that they accomplish the voyage1 for at the entrance of the ,euxine ,sea they encounter two floating islands1 veritable mountains of rock1 huge and shaggy1 which1 in their tossings and heavings1 at intervals come together crushing and grinding to atoms any object that might be caught between them4 ,but ,jason and his men seized the favorable moment of the rebound1 plied their oars with vigor and passed through in safety4 ,approaching the royal palace ,jason makes known his mission1 whereupon the king promises to relinquish the valuable possession if ,jason will yoke to the plow two fire-breathing bulls and sow the teeth of the dragon4 ,apprehending that by this means the king seeks to destroy him1 ,jason pleads his cause to ,medea1 the king's daughter1 who furnishes him a charm by which he can safely encounter the fiery breath of the beasts and the armed men that will spring up in the furrow where the dragon's teeth are sown4 ,in his ,age of ,fable1 ,bullfinch gives us a graphic picture of the scene3 ,at the time appointed the people assembled at the grove of ,mars1 and the king assumed his royal seat1 while the multitude covered the hill-sides4 ,the brazen-footed bulls rushed in1 breathing fire from their nostrils that burned up the herbage as they passed4 ,the sound was like the roar of a furnace1 and the smoke like that of water upon quick-lime4 ,jason advanced boldly to meet them4 ,his friends1 the chosen heroes of ,greece1 trembled to behold him4 ,regardless of the burning breath1 he soothed their rage with his voice1 patted their necks with fearless hand1 and adroitly slipped over them the yoke1 and compelled them to drag the plow4 ,the ,colchians were amazed2 the ,greeks shouted for joy4 ,jason next proceeded to sow the dragon's teeth and plow them in4 ,and soon the crop of armed men sprang up1 and1 wonderful to relate6 no sooner had they reached the surface than they began to brandish their weapons and rush upon ,jason4 ,the ,greeks trembled for their hero1 and even she who had provided him a way of safety and taught him how to use it1 ,medea herself1 grew pale with fear4 ,jason for a time kept his assailants at bay with his sword and shield1 till finding their numbers overwhelming1 he resorted to the charm which ,medea had taught him1 seized a stone and threw it in the midst of his foes4 ,they immediately turned their arms against one another1 and soon there was not one of the dragon's brood left alive4 ,having complied with all the conditions set forth by the king1 the victor now turns with eager step toward the grove of ,mars1 and seizing the golden prize makes his way back to ,thessaly1 rejoicing in his glorious success4 ,i ,the ,ruling ,element ,jason and ,his ,men4 ,what constitutes a state8 ,not high-raised battlements 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 ,no6 men--high-minded men-- ,with powers as far above dull brutes endued1 ,in forest1 brake1 or den1 ,as beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude4 --,sir ,william ,jones4 ,the ,young ,man ,jason has just stepped over the threshold into the glory of a rich young manhood4 ,and he is careful to select for his expedition some of the choicest heroes of ,greece--young1 brave1 and strong4 ,it has ever been thus4 ,youth has always been synonymous with adventure4 ,it is a condition which seems inherent2 nature instilling into the blood of her sons the very spirit of discontent--of longing to push out from the commonplace scenes of childhood into broader domains of experience4 ,the very books which most fascinate the boy are those which deal in thrilling tales of adventure4 ,the wily and unscrupulous traffickers in cheap literature have ever been awake to this fact1 and their highly-colored productions have been flung from the vicious presses like lava from ,pele to pollute the minds of the young4 ,why is it that ,robinson ,crusoe and stories of this character hold such a charm for young people1 lingering in their minds long after books of a profounder type have been forgotten8 ,it is the love of adventure4 ,to what boy at school does not the doleful history lesson assume a more brilliant aspect when the adventures of ,columbus are taken up8 ,his interest is awakened1 his imagination inspired1 and he is delighted1 all because again that chord in his nature has been struck--the love of adventure4 ,perhaps no other single painting in the art galleries at the ,world's ,fair of #ahic attracted the attention of a greater number of people1 nor awakened in so many human breasts a feeling of such intense pathos as ,thomas ,hovenden's painting on ,breaking ,home ,ties4 ,here we have it once more1 adventure--,jason setting off on his journey in search for the golden fleece of fame and fortune4 ,the narrow path that so long has led him out into the silent acres--the fields that so many years have responded to his toil--he has forsaken4 ,the dull routine has ceased to inspire1 the home circle has become too narrow for his expanding soul4 ,he has caught a glimpse of the glories of a new kingdom1 and now he is going out to realize them4 ,the young man has always been the ruling element in every new departure4 ,he has been the rock upon which the ages have been founded4 ,in the words of another3 ,when the roll-call which men have written is read1 it will be found that the young men have ruled the world4 ,the oldest literatures have this record4 ,the patriarchs unfolded the careers of boys into the conquest of old age4 ,kingdom and empire rode upon the shoulders of young men1 and their voices of enthusiasm and hope have sounded through many a black-breasted midnight and trumpeted the dawn through skies of thickest darkness4 ,to causes that drooped they have come and added the raptures of hope2 to enterprises that were sickening and faint they have brought the bounding power of new enthusiasm4 ,to the dead they have brought life4 ,everything from the foundation of the world has been crying for 'young blood1' and the armies of the advance have gained the day at the arrival of 'recruits1' whose hope and earnestness have never been defeated4 ,age and experience put themselves upon dying pillows made by young hands2 into young palms and upon young ears falls the meaning of all the past2 and thus ,god has written the natural dignity of the young man's life in the eternal statute book of the universe4 ,footnote3 ,from ,young ,men of ,history1 by ,dr4 ,f4,w4 ,gunsaulus4 ,we have but to turn our gaze back over the centuries to find that it has always been the young man who has embarked in the world's great enterprises4 ,if we turn the pages of religious history we shall find that he has been potent there4 ,for when the stream of ,hebrew destiny was to be turned1 a young man1 ,joseph1 who had been sold as a slave into ,egypt1 was selected to accomplish it4 ,and later young ,saul of ,kish while roaming through his father's fields was summoned to a throne4 ,it was the young shepherd boy--,david--that was chosen to keep the banner of ,israel in the sky while the shadows hung black above the hills of ,judah4 ,when the gospel was to be borne to the ,gentiles the divine finger fell upon a young tent-maker of ,tarsus4 ,fourteen centuries later a miner's son1 ,martin ,luther1 won ,germany for the ,reformation1 and ,john ,wesley while yet a student in college started his mighty world-famous movement4 ,at fifteen ,john de ,medici was a cardinal1 and ,bossuet was known by his eloquence2 at sixteen ,pascal wrote a great work4 ,ignatius ,loyola before he was thirty began his pilgrimage1 and soon afterward wrote his most famous books4 ,at twenty-two ,savonarola was rousing the consciences of the ,florentines1 and at twenty-five ,john ,huss was an enthusiastic champion of truth4 ,but we see the young man standing before the footlights on the stage of secular history1 too4 ,at twelve ,remenyi was making his violin tremulous with melody1 and ,csar delivered an oration at ,rome2 at thirteen ,henry ,m4 ,stanley was a teacher2 at fourteen ,demosthenes was known as an orator2 at fifteen ,robert ,burns was a great poet1 ,rossini composed an opera1 and ,liszt was a wizard in music4 ,at the age of sixteen ,victor ,hugo was known throughout ,france2 at seventeen ,mozart had made a name in ,germany1 and ,michael ,angelo was a rising star in ,italy4 ,at eighteen ,marcus ,aurelius was made a consul2 at nineteen ,byron was the amazing genius of his time2 at twenty ,raphael had finished some of his most famous paintings1 ,faraday was attracting the attention of his country1 and two years later was admitted to the ,royal ,institution of ,great ,britain4 ,at twenty-one ,alexander the ,great conquered the ,persians1 ,beethoven was entrancing the world with his music1 and ,william ,wilberforce was in ,parliament4 ,at twenty-two ,william ,pitt had entered ,parliament1 while ,william of ,orange had received from ,charles ,v command of an army4 ,at twenty-three ,william ,e4 ,gladstone had denounced the ,reform ,bill at ,oxford1 and two years afterward became ,first ,junior ,lord of the ,treasury1 and ,livingstone was exploring the continent4 ,at twenty-four ,sir ,humphrey ,davy was ,professor of ,chemistry in the ,royal ,institution1 ,dante1 ,ruskin1 and ,browning had become famous writers4 ,at twenty-five ,hume had written his treatise on ,human ,nature1 ,galileo was lecturer of science at the ,university of ,pisa1 and ,mark ,antony was the hero of ,rome4 ,at twenty-six ,sir ,isaac ,newton had made his greatest discoveries2 at twenty-seven ,don ,john of ,austria had won ,lepanto1 and ,napoleon was commander-in-chief of the army of ,italy4 ,at twenty-eight schylus was the peer of ,greek tragedy1 at twenty-nine ,maurice of ,saxony the greatest statesman of the age1 and at thirty ,frederick the ,great was the most conspicuous character of his day4 ,at the same age ,richelieu was ,secretary of ,state1 and ,cortez little older when he gazed on the golden ,cupolas of ,mexico4 ,these are a few of the splendid names that illumine the pages of history across the sea4 ,but the young man has been no less potent in the affairs of our own ,nation1 which has always been conspicuous for its production of truly great men4 ,the story is told that when one of ,england's great men was visiting ,henry ,clay1 and the two were riding over the country1 the distinguished guest inquired of his host1 ,what do you raise on these hills and in these beautiful valleys8 ,men1 was ,clay's reply2 and the ,english patriot declared that this was the greatest crop to enrich a country4 ,we boast that we have given the world a full quota of really great young men1 some of them like ,jason embarking on the sea of adventure while the dew of extreme youth is still on their brow4 ,if we wend our way back through the grand procession of events of but a single century we will find extreme youth marking out the lines of progress and directing the course of the nation in politics1 in literature and religion4 ,we would see ,william ,prescott1 a boy of twelve1 diligently at work in the ,boston ,athenaeum1 or ,jonathan ,edwards at thirteen entering ,yale ,college1 and while yet of a tender age shining in the horizon of ,american literature2 while the same age finds ,h4 ,w4 ,longfellow writing for the ,portland ,gazette4 ,at fourteen ,john ,quincy ,adams was private secretary to ,francis ,h4 ,dana1 ,american ,minister to ,russia2 at fifteen ,benjamin ,franklin was writing for the ,new ,england ,courant1 and at an early age became a noted journalist4 ,benjamin ,west at sixteen had painted ,the ,death of ,socrates1 at seventeen ,george ,bancroft had won a degree in history1 ,washington ,irving had gained distinction as a writer4 ,at eighteen ,alexander ,hamilton was famous as an orator1 and one year later became a lieutenant-colonel under ,washington4 ,at nineteen ,washington himself was a major1 ,nathan ,hale had distinguished himself in the ,revolution1 ,bryant had written ,thanatopsis1 and ,bayard ,taylor was engaged in writing his first book1 ,views ,afoot4 ,at twenty ,richard ,henry ,stoddard had found a place in the leading periodicals of his day1 ,john ,jacob ,astor was in business in ,new ,york1 and ,jay ,gould was president and general manager of a railroad4 ,at twenty-one ,edward ,everett was professor of ,greek ,literature at ,harvard1 and ,james ,russell ,lowell had published a whole volume of his poems2 at twenty-two ,charles ,sumner had attracted the attention of some of the famous men of his day1 ,william ,h4 ,seward had entered upon a brilliant political career1 while ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson and ,henry ,d4 ,thoreau occupied a conspicuous place in literature4 ,at twenty-three ,james ,monroe was a member of the ,executive ,council1 and one year later was elected to ,congress2 at twenty-four ,thomas ,a4 ,edison and ,richard ,jordan ,gatling were inventors4 ,at twenty-five ,john ,c4 ,calhoun made the famous speech that gave him a seat in the ,legislature1 ,george ,william ,curtis had traversed ,italy1 ,germany1 and the ,orient and soon after became known by his books of travel4 ,at twenty-six ,thomas ,jefferson occupied a seat in the ,house of ,burgesses1 ,john ,quincy ,adams was minister to ,the ,hague2 at twenty-seven ,patrick ,henry was known as the ,orator of ,nature1 and ,robert ,y4 ,hayne was speaker in the ,legislature of ,south ,carolina4 ,at twenty-eight ,edward ,everett ,hale had found a place in the hearts and minds of the people1 and at twenty-nine ,john ,jay1 youngest member of the ,continental ,congress1 was chosen to draw up the address to the ,british ,nation4 ,these illustrious ones1 who before their thirtieth year had written their names on the immortal banner of their country1 are only a few which adorn the pages of our early history4 ,others of like purport might be added indefinitely both from the early and the later life of our country4 ,and there has been no time when the young man played so important a rle in human affairs as he does to-day in the dawn of the twentieth century1 when the heart and the mind1 philanthropy and literature1 virtue and truth1 science and art1 capital and labor are the principal factors in the world's progress4 ,to refer to but a single instance in this period of our national life1 there is no greater statesman and patriot than our beloved ,president1 ,theodore ,roosevelt1--a young man to whom we are proud to point as a true type of ,american greatness and ,american manhood4 ,assuming control of the ,nation at such a critical moment in her history1 when so many dangerous rocks lay in her course1 tremendous1 indeed1 was the responsibility thrust upon him4 ,but by his inherent principle of rule1 his unquenchable patriotism1 his indomitable purpose1 and the imperiousness of his will1 founded on a rich scholarship and a broad policy1 he has spelled triumph out of difficulty1 and his name will go down in twentieth-century history an example of illustrious young manhood4 ,the young man is emphatically the ruling element in politics to-day4 ,it is estimated that a sufficient number of young men come of age every four years to control the issue of the ,presidential election4 ,constituting about one-half of the present voting population1 they hold far more than the balance of political power4 ,it was ,goethe who said that the destiny of any nation at any given time depends on the opinions of the young men who are under twenty-five years of age4 ,and ,william ,e4 ,gladstone affirmed that the sum of the characters of this element constitute the character and strength of any country4 ,and when we consider the young man in his relation to all the aspects of life--civic1 commercial1 industrial1 and social--we must recognize him as the ruling element4 ,like ,jason1 the young man of to-day is the hero to invade the empire of thought and action in quest of the ,fleece of ,gold4 ,lives of great men all remind us1 ,we can make our lives sublime2 ,and departing leave behind us ,footprints on the sands of time4 ,,ii ,the ,golden ,quality ,they ,passed ,through4 ,to live content with small means3 ,to seek elegance rather than luxury1 and ,refinement rather than fashion2 ,to be worthy1 not respectable1 ,wealthy1 not rich2 ,to study hard1 think quietly1 ,talk gently1 act frankly2 ,to listen to stars and birds1 to ,babes and sages1 with open heart2 ,to bear all cheerfully1 do all bravely1 ,await occasions1 hurry never1-- ,in a word1 to let the spiritual1 ,unbidden and unconscious1 ,grow up through the common-- ,this is to be my symphony4 --,channing4 ,success ,in every land and in every age since the curtain first rose on the world's great drama men have been in quest of the ,fleece of ,gold4 ,the onward progress of the race since our rude forefathers from the leaves of the tree formed their clothes1 and in the somber depths of the primeval forest constructed their habitation1 is due to an insatiable desire to possess the coveted prize4 ,hanging before man's gaze in the consecrated borders of his existence1 it has inspired him to greater usefulness4 ,he has built ships and traversed the seas1 invented machines1 reared cities1 and established laws4 ,in science and art and literature he has vied with his fellow-man and given a mighty impulse to civilization1 all for the ,fleece of ,gold--success4 ,the world worships at the shrine of success4 ,it regards it as man's greatest attribute4 ,and whether we find it in secular affairs1 substantiated by material grandeur1 or in the mysterious realms of the inner life characterized by the serene consciousness of truth1 it must ever be the goal of human aspiration4 ,it is the thought of some day having their efforts crowned that causes men hotly to pursue the phantom or the reality of their lives4 ,this aspiration keeps the torch of hope ablaze in the midnight darkness1 and the spirits buoyed under the noon-day glare1 while men forge on to the goal4 ,the surging throngs of a great city1 the active hands and brains in the bee-hives of industry and the many places of business1 the vast army of seekers after knowledge in the schools and colleges throughout the land1 the men of fame in the halls of ,congress molding the affairs of the ,nation1 the countless army tilling the fields under the open sky1 the legions in the dark caves of earth searching for treasure--all are seeking to enter the golden gate of success4 ,said ,mr4 ,a4 ,b4 ,farquhar in a baccalaureate address to the students of ,mc,donough ,college3 ,success colors everything4 ,it is the essence of all excellencies1 the latent power which compels the favor of fortune and subjugates fate4 ,the world worships success regardless of how acquired2 makes it a standard for judging men1 an indispensable credential for all approval4 ,if a man succeeds he is held to be wise1 even though mediocre2 if he fails1 whatever his learning and intrinsic merit1 little regard is paid to him4 ,success gilds and glorifies a multitude of blunders and littlenesses1 and people are thought merely to exist who do not keep themselves on the road leading to it4 ,in view of all this1 it is no wonder that we see all humanity looking earnestly toward success and moving with eager step in search of it4 ,success is essentially the accomplishment of one's desires and purposes1 the realization of one's ideals4 ,but this definition does not necessarily imply a high state of being4 ,as ,i sit by my window writing1 the hoarse cry of a rag-man and the mournful strains of a hand-organ come to my ears4 ,that able-bodied ,greek1 who is so lavish with his 'music1' and the rag-man1 who is buying what the other is distributing freely1 both are in quest of the same thing--'success4' ,alas6 the world too often measures success by false standards--worships the ,golden ,fleece1 forgetting the high purpose it might be made to serve2 so dazzled by means that ends become oblivious4 ,the spirit of the age is to pay homage to great riches4 ,the finely attired custodian of a money bag too often is regarded as an exponent of success4 ,on this point we should guard ourselves1 first ascertaining if the gorgeous equipage is the genuine fleece1 or only a sham intended to deceive4 ,a mansion on a valuable corner lot does not constitute the golden quality1 nor does a million dollars in bank epitomize its character4 ,its language is not spoken in the dialect of ,wall ,street or of wheat pits4 ,gold1 grain1 stocks1 and bonds and estates too often mean the perversion of those qualities most valuable to human life4 ,realty is not the prime issue of life1 but reality4 ,if that which a man gets in his pay envelope1 however lucrative that may be1 constituted his only reward1 his effort would be miserably compensated4 ,the man who has spent his life like a scaraboid beetle rolling up money1 without due regard for the common virtues of life1 has not left footprints on the sands of time1 but only a zigzag trail along the highway over which he has journeyed4 ,he has not achieved success in that he has accumulated riches without a corresponding accumulation of wealth4 ,to seek a purely selfish and material success is to defeat the very purpose of one's existence--life1 liberty1 and the pursuit of happiness4 ,in the very conquest for this baser type a man blights his sensibilities1 minifies his present enjoyment1 and destroys his prospect for a full measure of happiness by and by4 ,with but one interest his happiness is insecure2 for when that fails or ceases to satisfy he has nothing on which to rely4 ,midas craves for gold1 and when he gets it his senses become as metallic as the object of his affection4 ,therefore1 if we are of this type1 simply seeking the ,golden ,fleece for what it will net us in dollars and cents1 we are not on the road leading to success4 ,for success does not consist in the acquisition of the material1 so much as in a mental discipline that seeks objectively to subordinate intrinsic value4 ,we must confess1 however1 that the age in which we live is one of brick and mortar2 that materialism and not stheticism reigns over us4 ,the book-keeper's pen has usurped the office of the artist's brush and the carpenter's chisel that of the sculptor4 ,intrinsic worth and dividend-paying value holds sway1 and even the gift-horse is looked in the mouth while the priceless motive that prompted its giving is forgotten4 ,the commercial spirit which pervades the atmosphere of modern times is disintegrating the sublimer side of human life4 ,the gilded god of materialism is lavishing its blessings in the realm of science and invention and commercial enterprise1 at the expense of aestheticism1 till to-day there are thousands of artisans to every artist4 ,we have an abundance of stone masons1 but few ,phidiases or ,angelos2 hundreds of organ grinders1 but few ,beethovens or ,webers or ,bachs2 a full quota of men engrossed in the cold calculus of business1 but a scarcity of ,homers or ,dantes or ,virgils4 ,speaking of this material aspect of our epoch and how it is likely to be regarded in the future1 when the paradise of ideal living is regained1 a modern writer says3 ,will not the intense preoccupation of material production1 the hurry and strain of our cities1 the draining of life into one channel1 at the expense of breadth1 richness1 and beauty1 appear as mad as the ,crusades1 and perhaps of a lower type of madness8 ,could anything be more indicative of a slight but general insanity than the aspect of the crowd on the streets of ,chicago8 ,why is it that the poems that have lived for centuries1 and the masterpieces of the world's great painters and sculptors are not being equaled in the dawn of the twentieth century8 ,the answer lies in the widespread devotion to realism instead of idealism4 ,the immortals have joined the mortals in search for the ,fleece of ,gold4 ,and ,wordsworth's oft-quoted lines were never more applicable to us than now3 ,the world is too much with us2 late and soon1 ,getting and spending we lay waste our powers4 ,all the capital in the universe does not stand for success unless there is set over against it the wealth of soul which ,marcus ,aurelius1 that great apostle of plain living and high thinking1 ever set forth as an antidote to the treadmill grind of commercial life4 ,shakespeare struck the keynote of this lofty conception of life1 and pronounced a never-dying eulogy upon the supreme dignity of character when he said3 ,who steals my purse steals trash2 444 ,but he that filches from me my good name ,robs me of that which not enriches him1 ,and makes me poor indeed4 ,wealth of soul is incomparably better than all that can be obtained from pomp and luxury4 ,charlemagne is said to have worn in his crown a nail taken from the cross on which the ,savior was crucified4 ,he wore it among the jewels of his diadem as a reminder that there existed a tenderer relation in life than kingdoms and material splendor4 ,thus in the crown of our success1 if we would make it truly great1 we must place the sublimer elements of our being4 ,as the ivy softens the roughness of the mountain side and the unsightly ruin1 so will the aesthetic mellow and subdue the intense commercialism with which we are surrounded4 ,without this quality our success becomes like the fabled apples on the brink of the ,dead ,sea--fair without1 but ashes within4 ,if the avenue to success lay in one direction only--that of accumulating a fortune1 little incentive would be felt by those in the lower walks of life4 ,moreover1 if it were possible for all men to become millionaires1 the very organization of human society would become disrupted2 for who then would till the soil1 run the factories1 clean the streets8 ,nature has been wise in the distribution of her talents4 ,anticipating the havoc of endowing all mankind with equal powers1 she established a wide diversity in the range of human ability4 ,to one she has given the gift of sagacity to achieve success in the world of trade2 to another mechanical skill to create the ideals of inventive genius into reality2 to another the highly artistic sense1 and withholding these higher attributes from still others1 she has chosen to endow them with a wealth of muscular force that the physical requirements of organized human effort might be made effective4 ,so that any way we choose to look at this question we must concede that temporal wealth does not constitute the broadest idea of success1 nor is capable in itself of producing it4 ,even failure may be an element of a glorious success4 ,the volcano that pours its vengeance upon the fair plantation below1 leaving wreck and ruin in its path1 bestows a wealth of sulphur which plays an important part in the world of commerce4 ,the same frost that kills the harvest of a season also destroys the locust1 preserving the harvests of a century4 ,the death of the cocoon is the production of the silk1 and the failure of the caterpillar the birth of the butterfly4 ,if the boy ,newton had not failed utterly on the farm1 he would never have been started in college to become the mighty man of science4 ,the fall of ,rome meant the rise of the ,german ,empire4 ,all men1 says ,frederick ,arnold1 need through errors attain to truth1 through struggles to victory1 through regrets to that sorrow which is a very source of life4 ,men must rise in an ever-ascending scale1 like the ladder of ,st4 ,augustine1 by which men1 through stepping-stones of their dead selves rise to higher things2 or those steps of ,alciphron1 which crumbled away into nothingness as fast as each foot-fall left them4 ,thus our very failures we may overrule and convert into stepping-stones to success4 ,lifted to a loftier sphere1 to a nobler experience1 we are apt to receive greater benefit than though we escaped disappointment and rejoiced in easy fruition4 ,success does not consist in not encountering difficulties1 but in overcoming them4 ,if ,jason is to have the golden fleece he must pass between the dangerous rocks1 he must encounter the dragon1 yoke to the plow the fire-breathing bulls1 and subdue a regiment of armed men4 ,if ,joseph had not been ,egypt's prisoner1 he would never have been ,egypt's governor4 ,if ,millet had not passed through the valley of sorrow1 he could never have painted the ,angelus4 ,the ,restoration in ,england that gave ,charles ,,ii a throne1 drove ,milton into absolute seclusion1 and the last twelve years of his life were passed in enforced isolation4 ,but this blind1 deserted1 broken-hearted1 but illustrious scholar and poet1 conquered despair1 triumphed over every misfortune1 and gave to the world those three great poems which have made his name immortal4 ,even poverty1 which has been a hardship to the individual1 has proved a boon to himself and to the cause of humanity4 ,science teaches us that ordinary mud has in it elements which1 arranged according to the higher laws of nature1 produce the opal1 the sapphire1 and the diamond4 ,likewise does history teach us that from the morass of poverty the commonest types of men have passed from stage to stage through the refining processes of experience till they have dazzled the world with their magnificence4 ,whether it be a slave like sop1 a beggar like ,homer1 a peasant like ,raphael1 or a marble-cutter like ,socrates1 we see them at last wearing the diadem of a brilliant success4 ,in fact1 the foremost in all nations and in all branches have1 as a rule1 risen from the ranks of the poor and lowly4 ,shakespeare held horses for a few pennies a night in front of a ,london theater1 and later did menial service back of the scenes4 ,disraeli was an office boy1 ,carlyle a stone-mason's attendant1 and ,ben ,jonson was a bricklayer4 ,morrison and ,carey were shoemakers1 ,franklin was a printer's apprentice1 ,burns a country plowman1 ,stephenson a collier1 ,faraday a bookbinder1 ,arkwright a barber1 and ,sir ,humphrey ,davy a drug clerk4 ,demosthenes was the son of a cutler1 ,verdi the son of a baker1 ,blackstone the son of a draper1 and ,luther was the son of a miner4 ,butler was a farmer1 ,hugh ,miller a stone-cutter1 ,abraham ,lincoln a rail-splitter1 and ,james ,garfield was a canal boy4 ,one-half of the ,presidents of the ,united ,states were left orphans at an early age1 left to make their way through the world alone4 ,history reveals clearly that it has been not the sons of the rich1 but the sons of poverty that have compelled the favor of fortune and subjugated fate4 ,neither rank nor genius nor any other natural endowment forms the only true basis of success4 ,a right disposition1 a desire and determination1 founded on the sub-structure of right purpose1 to cope with the problems that confront you1 constitute the real basis of achievement4 ,in short1 the only demands which success makes of you is that you act with the most of yourself1 bringing all your faculties to bear upon what you have to do2 instilling your best effort into the infinite detail that goes to make up the great finality of your life4 ,to this end1 the systematic development of the whole man1 body1 mind1 and soul1 in such a manner as to bring you into right relation with things as they are and ought to be1 is the paramount question4 ,in fact1 education is the only passport to success4 ,i do not mean that education that is restricted to institutions of learning4 ,these1 while possessing a decided advantage1 by no means have a monopoly of learning4 ,genius finds opportunity in the great laboratories of nature4 ,every man has within himself an educational organization presided over by a full faculty2 and nature's wonderful book is ever open to him1 if only he will lay hold upon the lessons it would teach him4 ,this type of education which is the drawing out toward all things the latent forces from within1 and the broadening out for greater usefulness1 means the acquisition of ability to meet every emergency and the establishment of high ideals4 ,moreover1 in the race for success1 the proper nourishment of the brain is an essential part of self-development4 ,the brain is substantially the great artist that creates our ideals in life4 ,and yet we forget sometimes that it is the master of our destiny2 and allow it to sink into that dull apathy so fatal to our hopes and aims4 ,it would almost seem1 indeed1 as if a kind of fatality clung to some men in the way in which they neglect this supreme faculty of their being4 ,you possess the power to use your brain as you choose2 but not the right1 morally1 for society demands of you a high standard of thinking1 since it is the only rational basis for a free government4 ,thus it is as much your duty properly to nourish your brain as to give proper care to the body4 ,in the rigid economy of modern life we should use extreme care in the selection of our reading4 ,our best interests demand more of us than a gormandizing of newspapers or ephemeral reading of any kind4 ,far be it from me to disparage that great organ of the times--the newspaper1 which is a source of keen delight and benefit to us all1 and almost the only source of instruction to thousands of the race4 ,but we should be judicious in this1 and not allow transitional matter to monopolize our time4 ,read not the times1 read the eternities1 cried ,thoreau4 ,the shelves of our home and public libraries are filled with priceless volumes yet unread by us4 ,and he who is not cultivating a taste for good wholesome reading is missing one of the highest enjoyments of life as well as minimizing his chances for success4 ,we should ever be exploring new regions of thought4 ,and in the extreme activity of this electric age we shall be obliged to take snap shots at our reading--on the street car1 in the lunch room1 anywhere we find it possible to peruse a single page4 ,if we look into the lives of some of the illustrious ones we shall find that they obtained knowledge under the greatest disadvantages4 ,we see ,lincoln reading his favorite volumes by the dim light of a pineknot blaze2 or ,burritt poring over his books at the forge2 or ,garfield gazing intently at the pages while riding a mule on the banks of a canal4 ,wesley likewise diligently searched the ,scriptures while riding horseback over the country2 ,william ,cobbett learned grammar while a common soldier on the march2 and we are told that ,alexander the ,great1 each night on retiring1 would place his favorite book1 the ,iliad1 under his pillow and during his waking moments would peruse its pages4 ,but the high intellectual plane of present-day civilization demands more of us than the world demanded then1 when the avenues to honor and to power lay over fields of conquest1 and the passport to favor was the sword4 ,the complex problems of today call for a more thorough cultivation of our mental powers1 which1 to bring into play upon the multifarious concerns of our life1 is the object of broad education4 ,a well cultivated mind makes a man monarch of all that he surveys2 and no one can be said to be truly successful who has not invaded the empire of thought in search for the imperishable ,fleece of ,gold4 ,success1 then1 in the highest sense1 is a full realization of the highest wealth of body1 mind1 and soul4 ,and while it does not disparage material aggrandizement1 it makes it subservient1 ever looking to an equalization of the greater revenues of life4 ,like truth it consists in a right proportion of things2 and like character1 is inherent in the nature of the individual4 ,success must embrace all the cardinal virtues4 ,it must arise from the harmonious and fullest use of all the faculties4 ,in its essence1 it is the aggregate of those things which we have acquired1 and which we are putting to a wise and useful purpose4 ,the way of life is strewn with those who have done fairly well4 ,excellence is the golden quality to seek4 ,success1 like a commodity1 has its price1 and he who would have it must be willing to pay4 ,you can not buy it on a bargain counter2 it is a staple product and demands full value--the sublimest qualities of your being4 ,in the lexicon of youth1 which fate reserves for a bright manhood1 there is no such words as--fail4 ,,iii ,the ,messenger of ,fate ,they ,seized the ,favorable ,moment4 ,take all reasonable advantage of that which the present may offer you4444 ,it is the only time which is ours4 ,yesterday is buried forever1 and to-morrow we may never see4 --,victor ,hugo4 ,master of human destinies am ,i2 ,fame1 love1 and fortune on my footsteps wait1 ,cities and fields ,i walk2 ,i penetrate ,deserts and seas remote1 and passing by ,hovel and mart and palace1 soon or late ,i knock unbidden once at every gate2 ,if sleeping wake2 if feasting1 rise before ,i turn away4 ,it is the hour of fate1 ,and they who follow me reach every state ,mortals desire and conquer every foe ,save death2 but those who doubt or hesitate1 ,condemned to failure1 penury1 and woe1 ,seek me in vain and uselessly implore2 ,i answer not and ,i return no more4 --,john ,j4 ,ingalls4 ,opportunity ,the famous statue1 ,take ,time by the ,forelock1 was a masterpiece of ,greek sculpture4 ,a noted ,athenian orator1 ,callistratus1 has given us a picture of the work of art3 ,opportunity was a boy in the flower of his youth1 handsome in mien1 his hair fluttering at the caprice of the wind1 leaving his locks disheveled4 ,like ,dionysius1 his forehead shone with grace1 and his cheeks glowed with splendor4 ,with winged feet to indicate swiftness1 he stood upon a sphere1 resting upon the tips of his toes as if ready for flight4 ,his hair fell in thick curls from his brow1 easy to take hold upon4 ,but upon the back of his head there were only the beginnings of hairy growths1 and1 when he had once passed1 it was not possible to seize him4 ,an ancient legend gives us a more vivid idea of the significance of the statue3 ,who art thou8 ,time1 the all-subduer4 ,why standest thou on tiptoe8 ,i speed ever4 ,why hast thou double wings on each foot8 ,i fly with the wind4 ,but why is thy hair over thine eye8 ,to be grasped by him who meets me4 ,the back of thy head1 why is it bald8 ,when once ,i have rushed by1 with winged feet1 one can never grasp me from behind4 ,in its literal significance1 however1 opportunity means something either in front of the door or outside of the harbor4 ,for when the word first crept into common speech it created two pictures1--that of a ship with sails unfurled1 riding at anchor1 ready to start upon her unknown voyage1 with just a moment to spare to catch her before the sails are bent2 or the picture of a veiled figure standing for an instant at the door of one's life1 knocking with sharp1 swift strokes and then1 if no answer comes1 passing away into the darkness1 refusing to be recalled4 ,in all the vocabulary of human speech no other word rings with truer eloquence1 or speaks with greater triumph1 than that one word1--opportunity4 ,born in the primeval forest of man's first dwelling-place1 it has marked the central path of civilization and hewn its way to the front with unerring stroke4 ,the finger of destiny ever points back to this factor in human life as the primal element in all achievement1 the forerunner of all success4 ,without it human genius would die1 man's talent and skill waste away1 and the hope of the race would vanish4 ,opportunity is the good angel that reveals the true issues of life1 unfolding the bud of possibility into the full-blown flower of progress4 ,it is the remorseless foe of sleepy monotony1 awakening the passions in the soul1 rousing our powers to action4 ,at the door of your life and mine comes this silent1 veiled figure1 its hands laden with wealth1 knocking for admission4 ,but1 alas6 it has been too often with us as ,george ,eliot with such tragic pathos has put it3 ,the golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand4 ,the angels come to visit us and we know them only when they are gone4 ,there has been no period of time since ,god whirled out of chaos this universe of wonders whose every moment did not hold for some one1 somewhere1 some kind of opportunity4 ,man is the only creature under heaven that has been privileged to walk with his face skyward to gaze upon the stars1 to behold the opportunities of life as they surge along his pathway4 ,in her wisdom1 nature has given our eyes the power of both the telescope and the microscope1 that we may see our opportunities afar and rightly discern them when they come within our reach4 ,do not regard your opportunities as mere visages floating in the horizon of your life1 or autumn leaves driven by the winds of chance across your path4 ,every opportunity far from being a thing of chance1 is a product of definite causes4 ,opportunity is unrealized possibility supplemented by conditions favorable for the execution of a purpose4 ,and the power lies within you to create circumstances4 ,that skillful artist1 the human brain1 draws a mental picture--an idea1 the judgment approves1 the will renders a decision to create that idea into actual being2 in other words1 gives it a soul1 and then we have opportunity made real by the process of a creative force4 ,we are apt to regard this quality in our existence as a somewhat superhuman term1 an abstraction beyond the realm of common life1 or at most an asset within the reach of a favored few2 whereas it is a common attribute playing a potential part in our every-day activities4 ,in its very nature opportunity is democratic and goes1 like a wayfarer1 knocking at the gates of every man's life4 ,this messenger of fate1 however1 will not knock at the door of that man who is unable to meet the demands it would make upon him4 ,it ever recognizes the eternal fitness of things1 since it looks to its own promotion as well as the promotion of him who seeks to embrace it4 ,opportunity1 then1 is not opportunity at all if a man is not equal to it4 ,when the steam engine lay in its elementary state in the great laboratory of nature1 it was an opportunity for ,james ,watt2 and by his accepting it1 opportunity realized its own fulfillment1 became its own blessing and a blessing to all mankind4 ,the unskilled laborer who dug out the ore could not claim this opportunity because he was not equal to its requirements4 ,moreover1 every man is himself an opportunity of infinite greatness4 ,and he who depends upon the world alone to furnish him opportunities is destined to meet with failure4 ,self-reliance is the passport to success4 ,the man who is continually bemoaning a lack of opportunity acknowledges his own lack of resources--is wanting in creative force4 ,every golden moment is an opportunity for him to step out from the shadows into the sunshine4 ,optimism sees opportunity in the ordinary jog-trot of daily duty4 ,one of the most valuable assets which we can possess is the ability to mold from the adverse circumstances about us our opportunities4 ,and a wise man1 says ,bacon1 will make more opportunities than he finds4 ,when ,michael ,angelo takes the castaway rock which he finds in his path and carves from it ,the ,young ,david2 when ,herschel at the midnight hour1 after playing his violin for a living1 goes out and studies the star-lit skies1 the field of his immortal conquest2 when ,elihu ,burritt1 working at the forge1 grapples with mathematics1 and masters several languages2 when obstacles are overcome1 and adversity yields to the invincible wills of men1 then has opportunity by this self-made principle been hewn out of the very stumbling blocks which were in the way4 ,every man is a treasury of untold wealth4 ,he is not great merely for what he is1 but for the greatness of his possibility--that undreamed grandeur which opportunity is ever seeking to reveal4 ,true greatness does not emanate from the power of genius so much as it does from the wise discrimination which we exercise in the choice of our opportunities1 and the intelligence with which we lay hold upon them4 ,it is a fine art in life to know just the thing to do1 and the opportune moment for doing it4 ,eternal vigilance is the price we must pay1 and the constant whetting of our faculties4 ,our life is a succession of opportunities4 ,yet however numerous they may be1 or however bright1 they are not availing until placed into the crucible of experience4 ,gold1 silver1 rubies1 sapphires1 and diamonds--all the precious jewels imbedded in the treasure-house of nature1 become valuable to us only when we dig them out1 polish and shape them for our use4 ,likewise our opportunities enrich us only as we reach out after them and make them an abiding element in our life4 ,but to know one's opportunity when he sees it1 is the secret of life's great problem4 ,know thy opportunity1 is the motto of ,pittacus of ,mitylene1 one of the seven wise men4 ,it is inscribed in the temple of ,apollo at ,delphi4 ,and each day1 in the temple of our memory1 we should write it anew4 ,for the practical question is not whether we are making the most of our opportunities1 but whether we are conscious of them at all4 ,moreover1 to know them instantly as well as to know them instinctively is essential to our well-being4 ,when ,victor ,hugo charges us to take all reasonable advantage of that which the present offers1 he reveals the true character of opportunity4 ,it lives only in the present tense1 it knows no to-morrows1 and makes a record of the yesterdays only when it has found lodgment in our lives4 ,suppose ,de,witt ,clinton1 denounced and ridiculed1 had been led into the belief that his idea was a mere phantom1 a mystic nightmare1 the ,erie ,canal would not be a reality4 ,suppose ,robert ,fulton had accepted the issuing vapor of the tea-kettle as a mere phenomenon without seeking in it the opportunity for a mighty purpose2 suppose that ,cyrus ,w4 ,field or ,marconi1 or ,edison or ,ericsson1 or the hundreds of others who by their inventive genius have been a blessing to mankind1 had been contented with simply dreaming of the stupendous undertakings which they achieved6 ,it is the man who knows his opportunities when he sees them1 who grips them as they pass1 who stands at the door of his activities ready to welcome and turn to good account each new opportunity that comes1 that is the typically successful man4 ,many young men have had noble ideas1 backed by strong convictions1 but failing to strike while the iron was hot1 have let their convictions die1 the mental picture of their ideals vanish1 and to their sorrow have seen them wrought by another into reality4 ,and below this class of men we will find a lower type--the man who is always waiting for something to turn up1 and always missing it when it does4 ,this is the man whom ,dickens has immortalized in fiction in the familiar figure of ,micawber4 ,this class1 however1 is unmistakably diminishing in our day1 but still there are many who seem to come just short of the prizes of life4 ,they are always just too late for the opportunity that should have brought them fame and fortune4 ,shakespeare has aptly portrayed that supreme moment in life which we call opportunity3 ,there is a tide in the affairs of men1 ,which1 taken at the flood1 leads on to fortune2 ,omitted1 all the voyage of their life ,is bound in shallows and in miseries4 ,and the annals of human experience are filled and overflowing with achievements--examples of opportunities that were laid hold upon at just the critical moment of the tide4 ,when the armies of ,saul and ,goliath were encamped in the valley of ,elah1 an opportunity was given to every soldier in ,israel to meet the ,philistine giant1 but the youthful shepherd1 ,david1 alone accepted it1 and his name has been praised for thirty centuries4 ,an unlettered girl1 a peasant in ,france1 saw an opportunity to save the glory of her country1 and with a courage that baffles human understanding ,joan of ,arc went forth to conquer4 ,when ,george ,,iii of ,england ascended the throne and began to oppress the ,colonists1 an opportunity was created for the ,american people to act4 ,with sublime patriotism they arose to the occasion in defense of their rights1 and historians allude to the inspiring event as the opening scene in the ,revolution4 ,and when1 by a stroke of diplomacy1 ,thomas ,jefferson purchased from ,napoleon ,bonaparte the ,louisiana ,territory1 one million square miles1 or over six hundred millions of acres1 for two cents and a half an acre1 an opportunity was seized whose benefit to the ,american ,nation no one can estimate4 ,but if you would know a grand hero in whose life opportunity shone like ,mars1 read the life of ,ulysses ,s4 ,grant--the man out of whose very failures evolved a most brilliant success4 ,when1 standing with leaden heart in the little store at ,galena1 the opportunity for a military life came knocking at the door1 he welcomed it4 ,for when morning broke on the #abth of ,april1 #ahfa1 and the first guns of the ,civil ,war roared upon ,sumter1 ,grant marched to the front1 and soon became a brigadier-general ,the spur of disappointed hopes1 the fire of his ambition1 and the iron will that lay back of many of his failures--all the qualities latent in the man of coming greatness1 sprang into mighty being4 ,a gigantic opportunity next confronted him1 for yonder on the banks of the ,cumberland frowned the massive walls of ,fort ,donelson4 ,behind them ,buckner's gray legions stood ready for action4 ,it was the hour of fate4 ,grant pressed on1 the ,confederates surrendered the stronghold1 and the first ,union victory was won4 ,shiloh and ,vicksburg1 ,cold ,harbor and ,petersburg1 ,richmond and ,appomattox1 and many other glorious victories tell the story of opportunities masterfully grasped4 ,our country is the land of the golden fleece1 and wherever you may be in its vast domain1 you are the one who must answer for yourself the stupendous question--,to what height shall ,i attain8 ,you are like the man in the ,arabian ,nights dropped into a valley filled with diamonds4 ,it is within your power to select that which is most valuable for your enrichment4 ,there are splendid opportunities on every hand1 and whether you shall grasp them or let them go1 remains alone for you to determine4 ,the door of opportunity for the highest development of every individual1 in every phase of life1 is ever open4 ,every golden moment holds something of value for the earnest seeker1 just as every flower holds in its bosom a treasure for the thrifty bee4 ,no one of us may ever have such splendid opportunities as did the illustrious ones to whom we owe our present inheritance4 ,but at the threshold of our lives will ever come the veiled figure with its gifts1 and1 however modest may be the treasures which it brings1 if we accept them and turn to good account all that they hold of value to us1 our reward will be truly great4 ,pull many a gem of purest ray serene1 ,the dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear2 ,full many a flower is born to blush unseen1 ,and waste its sweetness on the desert air4 ,,iv ,the ,active ,hand ,they ,plied ,their ,oars ,with ,vigor ,whatsoever thy hand findeth to do1 do it with thy might4 ,count that day lost whose low descending sun ,views from thy hand no worthy action done4 ,the ,individual ,problem ,with steady1 even1 and vigorous stroke the young heroes from ,hellas ply their oars1 and the blue waters of the ,euxine are flecked with foam4 ,here is an ideal picture4 ,a band of enterprising young men1 alert1 active1 ambitions--a scene typical of the highest conception of life4 ,it has ever been scenes like this that have challenged the admiration of the world4 ,and the plaudits of men and of angels attend the young man today who has a worthy object in view1 who believes in himself1 and bends to the oars with might and main4 ,an active hand symbolizes usefulness and thrift4 ,has it ever occurred to you what a wonderful piece of mechanism is that hand with which ,nature has equipped you for seizing the oars of life's activities8 ,galen1 the famous anatomist1 after a prolonged study of the human hand1 conceiving it to be the proximate instrument of the soul1 was forced to renounce atheism1 to acknowledge the existence of a ,supreme ,being4 ,scientists regard the human hand as being the most remarkable organ1 not vital1 in the whole animal kingdom4 ,it is conceded to be1 also1 the most pronounced physical characteristic differentiating man from the lower animals4 ,the chimpanzee and the gorilla1 closely allied to the human species in many respects1 are noticeably deficient in the use of their modified hands2 being able to grasp things only in a cumbersome way4 ,the squirrel handles a nut with agility1 the beaver builds his dam1 and likewise do many other animals accomplish much with certain deftness4 ,but the grace1 suppleness1 and precision1 so characteristic of the human hand1 are lacking4 ,only in man does the organ attain perfection4 ,he alone enjoys the distinction of being able to manipulate thumb and forefinger in combination1 enabling him to attain a high degree of skill4 ,the hand is the organ of the fifth and last sense1 and the only one of the five which is active4 ,when the other organs of sense fail it comes to their rescue--the blind man reads with his hand and the dumb man speaks with it4 ,being an active organ it gives expression to man's capabilities3 ,put a sword into it and it will fight1 a plow and it will till1 a harp and it will play1 a brush and it will paint4 ,the invention of every machine conceives its first principles in the structure of the human hand2 and every working part of that machine bears a relation in its function to a corresponding part in the mechanism of the hand4 ,in fact1 physics teaches us that the hand is a combination of the six mechanical powers--the lever1 the wedge1 the wheel and axle1 the pulley1 the screw1 and the inclined plane4 ,but the mechanical effect is always depreciated4 ,in manufacture hand-made goods excel those made by machine4 ,in art the exquisite hand-painting surpasses the lithograph4 ,no mechanical device1 however efficacious1 can produce symphonies or pictures or works of any kind with the high degree of excellence of which the hand is capable4 ,but aside from its mechanical functions1 this wonderful organ is a revelation of the secrets of human nature4 ,graphology enables us to read the character of a person in the hand-writing which he produces4 ,ages and ages ago the ,hindus read the hand itself as the physical expression of the inner man2 they read character by the science of palmistry as we read it by that of physiognomy2 and some profess to translate the delicate tracery today into language that speaks clearly of both past and future4 ,the hand is the expression of dishonesty when it steals1 of charity when it gives1 of anger when it smites1 of love when it caresses4 ,and one has called it the key to that cabinet of character in which ,nature conceals1 not only the motive power of every-day life1 but those latent talents and energies that1 by the knowledge of self1 we can bring to bear upon our lives4 ,so that this member of our physical organization holds an office of supreme dignity and importance in the issues of our lives4 ,it is this marvel of mechanism1 overruled and directed by the higher power of intellect1 which elevates man to his high position4 ,and1 whether it be the hand of the galley slave1 or the hand that sways the scepter over an empire1 the supreme purpose is revealed-they are alike designed to be the instruments of usefulness and power4 ,even the brain cannot ignore the relative importance of the hand4 ,it cannot say to the hand3 ,i have no need of thee4 ,the captain cannot man his ship without the aid of subordinates4 ,neither can the brain pilot us through the activities of life without the aid of hands4 ,a brilliant mind is a priceless possession2 but all the mental acumen of the universe is not availing unless supplemented by those inferior officers--the hands4 ,the clothes which you wear once were on the back of a sheep grazing on some distant hillside4 ,the chair in which you sit once swayed in the forest midst the soughing winds4 ,the pen with which ,i am writing once was imbedded deep in some far-away mountain range4 ,but that occult genius--the human brain1 conceived the idea of creating that wool1 and wood1 and ore into a higher state of usefulness1 and at this juncture was compelled to acknowledge the infinite necessity of a co-worker2 hence1 the brain employs the hand as an external agent to put into force the impressions which it--the brain--receives from the phenomena of nature4 ,moreover1 the law of your growth is contingent upon the exercise of these faculties4 ,the brain is the judicial function and the hand the executive4 ,together these two powers qualify you for the master-workman4 ,if you allow them to exist in the passive sense1 you become an apathetic segment in the midst of a great world pulsing with life around you4 ,you merely add one to the population1 instead of counting for a potential and energizing influence4 ,if you lift the weight of a clock the smallest fraction of an inch1 the mechanism will cease to operate4 ,and the relaxation of your will from the great obligation of life will cause your powers to atrophy and improperly to perform their work4 ,with ,browning1 ,man was made to grow1 not stop4 ,activity and not atrophy is the law of life4 ,action is the expression of that vital force called energy1 and energy moves the world4 ,the keynote of the natural world is action3 the earth revolves1 the river moves in its course1 the tempest rages1 the mountain acts from volcanic phenomena1 vegetation grows1 etc4 ,in every tiny seed lies concealed this mysterious force--only a spark of life which1 encouraged by nature1 springs into a waving harvest4 ,this very quality is synonymous with the reality of life4 ,the human mind ostensibly has an aversion to lifelessness4 ,we turn instinctively from the dead and withered branch to the blossoming flower2 from the stagnant pool to the dashing cataract1 and every healthy mind finds delight in such terms as vim1 vigor1 energy1 and activity1 which are the chief natural characteristics of the human hand4 ,demosthenes on being asked what is the first element in oratory1 replied1 ,action3 when asked to state the second element1 he replied ,action1 and when questioned as to the third1 he made the same reply4 ,action1 first1 last1 and all the time1 is the great principle of life and progress4 ,without it the most perfect engine1 gigantic in proportions and costly in equipment1 is a dead thing1 valueless as the formless mass of ore it once was4 ,but that marvelous product of man's hand and brain1 plus steam1 becomes a veritable giant of power4 ,now this same law applies in relation to our bodies in general4 ,action is an essential as seen in the beating heart1 the throbbing pulse1 the coursing blood1 and various other functions4 ,in fact1 the body is the engine that runs the machinery of our lives4 ,generating energy and storing it up1 it gives impetus to all that we achieve4 ,with all its mysteries1 beauty1 and strength1 this human organism is worthless1 a burden to society unless vitalized with that majestic force that makes man industrious4 ,in the words of a great man1 ,nature fits all her children with something to do4 ,the first man on earth was a gardener4 ,milton hears ,adam conversing with ,eve thus3 ,man hath his daily work of body or mind ,appointed1 which declares his dignity1 ,and the regard of ,heaven on all his ways2 ,while other animals inactive range1 ,and of their doings ,god takes no account4 ,to-morrow ere fresh morning streaks the east ,with first approach of light1 we must be ris'n ,and at our pleasant labor1 to reform ,yon flowery arbors1 yonder alleys green4 ,work is the great law of life4 ,no man1 says ,lowell1 is born into the world whose work is not born with him4 ,there is always work and tools to work withal1 for those who will2 and blessed are the horny hands of toil4 ,true work1 the judicious employment of our powers for the accomplishment of the noblest object in life1 is the only thing that will satisfy the waiting capacity of men and women4 ,neither gold nor scholarship nor any other acquisition can meet the requirement like the application of one's self to some kind of work4 ,work is a tonic which exuberates mentally1 morally1 and physically the man who wisely adjusts himself to it4 ,and he who is able to work and refuses is out of harmony with nature4 ,the cardinal question of life is that of achievement4 ,in every human being there is the desire to rise to something great4 ,the most thoughtless boy on the street looks serious as the ,presidential carriage rolls past4 ,in the deep recesses of his nature there is kindled by the spectacle a momentary yearning for fame--he would like to be ,president some day4 ,likewise does every man1 when he seriously views the pageantry of life's ideals and purposes1 have aspiration1 for such is the natural state of man4 ,the allurements of a passive life are known to them only who have no knowledge of the charms of an active life4 ,leisure is found only in the dictionary of the slothful4 ,dionysius is asked if he is at leisure1 and rebukes the question1 saying1 ,god forbid that it should ever befall me4 ,the indulgence in the activities of life comprises not only ultimate accomplishment1 but is productive of present enjoyment as well4 ,and not infrequently does the pursuit of an object give more pleasure than the possession of it4 ,expectation often outshines experience4 ,therefore1 all should cultivate a taste for work1 which1 through the alchemy of influence1 transmutes duty into privilege4 ,moreover1 it is fundamental in the law of success that one's pursuit must be congenial if he is to excel4 ,on the contrary1 however1 lassitude can not be condoned if we find ourselves engaged in uncongenial employment4 ,no kind of work1 to the man who possesses dominion over his feelings and his faculties1 is painful but proceeds with pleasure when once the habit of industry is acquired4 ,our efforts should not be casual1 but causal4 ,he who does most and does it well1 becomes most4 ,horatius received as much land as he could plow around in a day4 ,and you and ,i get each day just as much as1 by putting our hand to the plow of activity1 we are able to encompass by faithful plodding4 ,hard work is the price of all that is valuable4 ,all the great strides in the world's achievements were made possible only by forced activity and prolonged effort4 ,spontaneity is a foreign element in the process of healthy and rugged development4 ,the spider spins its web and the morning bespangles it with dew1 creating a thing of beauty1 but valueless4 ,it would require the entire existence of several hundred silkworms to produce an equal amount of silk fabric4 ,the mushroom grows up in a night1 and dies in the glare of the morning sun2 while the oak1 struggling through the years1 battling with the elements1 lives a perpetual blessing to man4 ,it is the intense struggle with the problems of life that produces in men the sturdy qualities4 ,the short cuts to fame are few and not abiding4 ,success is not reached by a thornless path1 but is attained by the path of plain1 hard work4 ,all things come to him who waits4 ,such is the very essence of an idle doctrine6 ,all things come to him who works4 ,walter ,scott working tirelessly in the attic while his companions below carouse the night away2 ,thoreau banishing himself into the lonely forest that he might prepare for larger usefulness2 ,dryden1 thinking on for a fortnight in a perfect frenzy2 ,heyne1 the ,german scholar1 allowing himself no more than two nights of weekly rest for six months1 that he might finish a course in ,greek2 ,reynolds1 the greatest portrait painter of ,england1 applying his brush for thirty-six hours without stopping2 ,balzac1 determined to be a king in literature1 fighting his way with eternal diligence2 ,william ,pitt spurning difficulty and trampling upon impossibility2 ,elihu ,burritt grappling with mathematics at the forge2 or ,isaac ,newton turning his back upon a life of ease and setting off to college1 where the midnight wind swept over his papers the ashes of his long extinguished fire4 ,these examples and thousands of others remind us that ,heights by great men reached and kept ,were not attained by sudden flight2 ,but they while their companions slept1 ,were toiling upward in the night4 ,they had brains and hands too active1 ambitions too aggressive1 aspirations too lofty for a quiet existence1 and they pressed their way onward and upward till they stood near the summit of a lofty ideal4 ,when ,xerxes1 that great ,persian monarch1 seated upon a throne of ivory and gold1 viewed for the last time the magnificent array of his armies and his fleets1 we read that he buried his face in his hands and wept1 because he had reached the zenith of his glory2 his ambition had been spent1 his work had come to an end4 ,and more desolate should be the man to-day who does not feel the passion of an earnest life1 who does not yearn for some noble activity4 ,he who sits with folded arms in the craft of civilization to be borne idly along while others ply the oars1 must soon part company with the brave1 loyal sons of activity to launch his idle bark in the dead waters of life1 where the currents never come and the winds of energy are never felt4 ,at the flaming forge of life ,our fortunes must be wrought2 ,on its sounding anvil shaped1 ,each burning deed and thought4 ,v ,ethics of ,activity ,the busy world shoves angrily aside ,the man who stands with arms akimbo set1 ,till the occasion tells him what to do2 ,and he who waits to have his task marked out4 ,shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled4 --,james ,russell ,lowell4 ,a ,man's ,relation to ,society ,this question of activity is a twofold problem4 ,in the preceding chapter we viewed it from the standpoint of the individual--as if he were the sole occupant of the boat1 rowing toward a purely selfish end2 going1 as it were1 in quest of the prize of life for purely personal aggrandizement4 ,whereas1 strictly speaking1 no man exists in a purely individualistic sense4 ,he can not regard himself as separable from a social whole4 ,every individual is a vital element of an organized force working toward a mutual end4 ,you are an integral factor1 so to speak1 of the social problem1 but your value is determined by your relation to other quantifies in the complex system with which you are identified4 ,as a segregated unit1 you diminish in value4 ,a combination of diverse and multi-form contributions assimilated from a complex human life1 your being looks to many sources for its development2 from the lowest phase of experience to the highest4 ,these influences you must acknowledge as emanating from a social system--influences which you are totally powerless1 alone1 to exert upon yourself4 ,for instance1 a man can not be his own educator in all that the term implies--he can not make his own books1 print his own newspapers2 if he could he would have to look outside of himself for the data necessary for his use4 ,in other words1 no man lives to himself alone4 ,he can no more be separated from the social order of things and retain character value1 than any one of a hundred square inches of canvas in an oil painting1 separated from the rest1 would constitute a picture4 ,a single note in a musical composition1 however exquisite the piece may be1 has comparatively little value taken by itself2 only when it assumes relationship with other notes and becomes governed by the law of harmony1 does it fulfill its mission and become a valuable factor4 ,then1 as units of a social whole1 we have obligations other than those affecting individual problems4 ,society has a rightful claim upon every one of its members4 ,you are not your own1 you are bought with a price1 is true in a larger sense than a merely ,scriptural one4 ,for what one becomes is really1 as already stated1 but the effect of combined influences brought to bear upon one's life by the forces of human society4 ,therefore1 society expects us to reciprocate1 and is just in its claim2 just as parents are entitled to the high esteem and reciprocation of their offspring4 ,it demands of each one of us all that we are capable of producing1 exacting the highest order of service as well4 ,the paying of taxes does not placate the demands which society makes upon you4 ,it demands yourself--body1 mind1 and soul--not in a passive sense1 but in active relationship to your environment4 ,and every man is morally bound to respect the claims thus made upon him4 ,the highest socialistic conception is not that which contemplates an equitable distribution of property and labor4 ,but assuming a more rational ground1 it believes in equal rights to all2 is based upon a right proportion of motives rather than upon the equalization of property considerations4 ,it is both humanitarian and utilitarian4 ,it seeks its own principally1 yet is generous in the ulterior aim4 ,this is the ideal relation between the individual and the social order4 ,the greatest duty confronting each one in the world1 and the one which all should earnestly embrace1 is the duty of making the most of one's self with the ulterior view of contributing the largest measure of usefulness to his fellow-men4 ,on the other hand1 to employ an extreme example--and yet it is shown by statistics that there are one hundred thousand tramps and vagrants in this country--the man who folds his arms and defiantly proclaimes that the world owes him a living1 mutinies against the sacred order of things--fouls his own nest1 as it were4 ,to that man society replies3 ,if any man is not willing to work1 neither let him eat4 ,and this is the dominant note of the twentieth century as truly as it was in the first when spoken by the ,roman philosopher4 ,to harbor the doctrine that the world owes every man a living1 not only discounts the character value of the individual1 but has a reflex action on the entire social organism4 ,just as one wheel out of play in the mechanism of a watch throws the entire works out of order1 or one team in a procession halting the whole train behind it1 the individual failing to do his part affects the equilibrium of the whole4 ,napoleon lost the ,battle of ,waterloo and died in exile1 a prisoner at ,st4 ,helena1 because one of his marshals1 failing to comply with orders1 arrived too late with re-enforcements4 ,remember that you have an important part to perform1 that1 as in mathematics1 you are a quantity so connected with another quantity that if any alteration be made in the former there will be a consequent alteration in the latter4 ,in the busy hive of twentieth-century civilization scant space has been provided for drones4 ,the drone is a minus quantity in the problem of life2 instead of adding to the common weal1 he is ever subtracting from it4 ,like an owl he sits in the gloom of indolence hooting at the caravan of events4 ,the eye of the world is quick to observe the man who is resting on his oars4 ,a more graphic picture of the man who is ever magnifying the world's duty to him1 and minimizing his duty to the world1 could not be painted than that one which ,james ,russell ,lowell has penned3 ,the busy world shoves angrily aside ,the man who stands with arms akimbo set4 ,the world has but one duty to this man1 namely1 to dispel the cloud from his vision and arouse him to worthy action4 ,to contend that the world owes every man a living would be as preposterous as to assert that the government owes every citizen under the flag a pension4 ,the world owes no man anything except that for which he pays a just equivalent4 ,every man is indebted to the world2 he owes it all his best possessions--his talent1 time1 and effort4 ,and the individual who attempts to throw off this yoke of duty is violating one of nature's great laws4 ,even the lower forms of life afford example of this supreme law4 ,solomon startles the sluggard with his sharp admonition to betake himself to the ant4 ,and ,sir ,john ,lubbock points men to the insect world to learn real diligence and thrift4 ,individual stagnation means public pollution4 ,the man who arms himself with a rake1 ever reaching out after something without giving an equivalent1 instead of championing the hoe1 determined to exercise his faculties in the interests of humanity1 becomes hostile to the noblest sentiment and the highest aims of society2 as in the case of the tramps mentioned above who are a national menace1 ,idleness breeds vice4 ,industry enhances the virtues4 ,when a man ceases to work he retrogrades2 he becomes a stranger to lofty ideals and wholesome activities4 ,the man with an ambition ever finds himself in the ascendency2 while he who deplores the exercise of his powers1 avoiding work as he would a powder magazine or a pest1 is in the descendency toward a state of groveling and low ideals4 ,and the difference between these two men marks the difference between success and failure4 ,we are ever obligated to a great duty1 namely1 to reach the maximum of our possibilities4 ,our greatest prerogative in the economy of life is the wise husbanding of resources1 and the skillful marshaling of our forces on the field of common duty4 ,the great duty of leading a useful life confronts us always4 ,we can by no stratagem1 whatsoever1 escape its presence4 ,we ever hear its voice calling after us1 and can no more flee from it than we can flee from the voice of conscience4 ,like ,poe's raven1 it sets up a never ceasing appeal at the door of our lives4 ,prudence forbids that we turn our back on this duty of self-devotion4 ,for as ,michael ,angelo saw in the block of marble the hidden angel1 a wise man sees in duty an infinite opportunity4 ,galileo was so absorbed in his pursuit that he forgot personal comfort and even personal safety1 and lost his eyesight in quest of the mountains in the moon1 the rings around ,saturn and the star-heaps in the sky4 ,and when that distinguished man of science1 ,professor ,agassiz1 was invited to lecture at a great price1 his reply was1 ,i have no time to make money4 ,likewise did the great ,spurgeon1 when offered almost fabulous prices to cross the ,atlantic and lecture1 refuse because of a zealous devotion to the purpose of his life4 ,and every one should learn that the thorough and faithful performance of duty is the first essential of a worthy life4 ,every human soul was made with some design1 invested with the possibility of a useful life1 a noble destiny4 ,whether it be the mercenary ,greek vending his wares on the street corner1 or the roaming ,italian with his harp strapped over his shoulder1 or the dissolute man behind prison bars paying the penalty of misspent days--all are invested with latent power and talent to fill a loftier place in the world4 ,but1 unfortunately1 while most men have the desire1 not all have the determination to rise above the ordinary and the common state in which they find themselves4 ,this is a deplorable condition1 seriously detracting from the sum of human greatness4 ,every man has been called for dominion4 ,each1 in the divine plan1 is to be a ruler in the universe1 not a mollusk with aimless revery2 he is to be a man with vitality1 not dead matter known only as avoirdupois4 ,by this measure a man is not worth so much as a sheep which furnishes two substantial commodities--food and clothing4 ,minus the attributes which qualify him for a high rank1 man is a being with a buried talent1 only a unit in the great world around him4 ,plus these attributes1 no system of mathematics can compute his worth4 ,let me but do my work from day to day1 ,in field or forest1 at the desk or loom1 ,in roaring market place1 or tranquil room2 ,let me but find it in my heart to say1 ,when vagrant wishes beckon me astray1 ',this is my work2 my blessing not my doom2 ,of all who live ,i am the one by whom ,this work can best be done in the right way4'