[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, American Philosopher, Statesman, Diplomatist, and Author. _b. Boston, 1706; d. Philadelphia, 1790_. ] AN IRON WILL _By_ ORISON SWETT MARDEN AUTHOR OF "PUSHING TO THE FRONT, " ETC. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OFABNER BAYLEY _ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS_ New York:THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANYPUBLISHERS 1901BY THOMAS Y. CROWELL & COMPANY. AN IRON WILL. CHAPTER I. TRAINING THE WILL. "The education of the will is the object of our existence, " saysEmerson. Nor is this putting it too strongly, if we take into account the humanwill in its relations to the divine. This accords with the saying of J. Stuart Mill, that "a character is a completely fashioned will. " In respect to mere mundane relations, the development and discipline ofone's will-power is of supreme moment in relation to success in life. Noman can ever estimate the power of will. It is a part of the divinenature, all of a piece with the power of creation. We speak of God'sfiat "_Fiat lux_, Let light be. " Man has his fiat. The achievements ofhistory have been the choices, the determinations, the creations, of thehuman will. It was the will, quiet or pugnacious, gentle or grim, of menlike Wilberforce and Garrison, Goodyear and Cyrus Field, Bismarck andGrant, that made them indomitable. They simply would do what theyplanned. Such men can no more be stopped than the sun can be, or thetide. Most men fail, not through lack of education or agreeable personalqualities, but from lack of dogged determination, from lack of dauntlesswill. "It is impossible, " says Sharman, "to look into the conditions underwhich the battle of life is being fought, without perceiving how muchreally depends upon the extent to which the will-power is cultivated, strengthened, and made operative in right directions. " Young people needto go into training for it. We live in an age of athletic meets. Thosewho are determined to have athletic will-power must take for it the kindof exercise they need. This is well illustrated by a report I have seen of the long race fromMarathon in the recent Olympian games, which was won by the young Greekpeasant, Sotirios Louès. A STRUGGLE IN THE RACE OF LIFE. There had been no great parade about the training of this championrunner. From his work at the plough he quietly betook himself to thetask of making Greece victorious before the assembled strangers fromevery land. He was known to be a good runner, and without fuss or bustlehe entered himself as a competitor. But it was not his speed alone, out-distancing every rival, that made the young Greek stand out fromamong his fellows that day. When he left his cottage home at Amarusi, his father said to him, "Sotiri, you must only return a victor!" Thelight of a firm resolve shone in the young man's eye. The old father wassure that his boy would win, and so he made his way to the station, there to wait till Sotiri should come in ahead of all the rest. No oneknew the old man and his three daughters as they elbowed their waythrough the crowd. When at last the excitement of the assembledmultitude told that the critical moment had arrived, that the racerswere nearing the goal, the old father looked up through eyes that were alittle dim as he realized that truly Sotiri was leading the way. He_was_ "returning a victor. " How the crowd surged about the young peasantwhen the race was fairly won! Wild with excitement, they knew not how toshower upon him sufficient praise. Ladies overwhelmed him with flowersand rings; some even gave him their watches, and one American ladybestowed upon him her jewelled smelling-bottle. The princes embracedhim, and the king himself saluted him in military fashion. But the youngSotirios was seeking for other praise than theirs. Past the ranks ofroyalty and fair maidenhood, past the outstretched hands of his owncountrymen, past the applauding crowd of foreigners, his gaze wanderedtill it fell upon an old man trembling with eagerness, who resolutelypushed his way through the excited, satisfied throng. Then the youngface lighted, and as old Louès advanced to the innermost circle witharms outstretched to embrace his boy, the young victor said, simply:"You see, father, I have obeyed. " MENTAL DISCIPLINE. The athlete trains for his race; and the mind must be put into trainingif one will win life's race. "It is, " says Professor Mathews, "only by continued, strenuous efforts, repeated again and again, day after day, week after week, and monthafter month, that the ability can be acquired to fasten the mind to onesubject, however abstract or knotty, to the exclusion of everythingelse. The process of obtaining this self-mastery--this complete commandof one's mental powers--is a gradual one, its length varying with themental constitution of each person; but its acquisition is worthinfinitely more than the utmost labor it ever costs. " "Perhaps the most valuable result of all education, " it was said byProfessor Huxley, "is the ability to make yourself do the thing you haveto do when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is thefirst lesson which ought to be learned, and, however early a man'straining begins, it is probably the last lesson which he learnsthoroughly. " DOING THINGS ONCE. When Henry Ward Beecher was asked how it was that he could accomplish somuch more than other men, he replied: "I don't do more, but less, than other people. They do all their workthree times over: once in anticipation, once in actuality, once inrumination. I do mine in actuality alone, doing it once instead of threetimes. " This was by the intelligent exercise of Mr. Beecher's will-power inconcentrating his mind upon what he was doing at a given moment, andthen turning to something else. Any one who has observed business menclosely, has noticed this characteristic. One of the secrets of asuccessful life is to be able to hold all of our energies upon onepoint, to focus all of the scattered rays of the mind upon one place orthing. CENTRALIZING FORCE. The mental reservoir of most people is like a leaky dam which wesometimes see in the country, where the greater part of the water flowsout without going over the wheel and doing the work of the mill. Thehabit of mind-wandering, of worrying about this and that, "Genius, that power which dazzles mortal eyes, Is oft but Perseverance in disguise. " Many a man would have been a success had he connected his fragmentaryefforts. Spasmodic, disconnected attempts, without concentration, uncontrolled by any fixed idea, will never bring success. It iscontinuity of purpose alone that achieves results. LEARNING TO SWIM. The way to learn to run is to run, the way to learn to swim is to swim. The way to learn to develop will-power is by the actual exercise ofwill-power in the business of life. "The man that exercises his will, "says an English essayist, "makes it a stronger and more effective forcein proportion to the extent to which such exercise is intelligently andperseveringly maintained. " The forth-putting of will-power is a means ofstrengthening will-power. The will becomes strong by exercise. To stickto a thing till you are master, is a test of intellectual discipline andpower. DR. CUYLER. "It is astonishing, " says Dr. Theodore Cuyler, "how many men lack thispower of 'holding on' until they reach the goal. They can make a suddendash, but they lack grit. They are easily discouraged. They get on aslong as everything goes smoothly, but when there is friction they loseheart. They depend on stronger personalities for their spirit andstrength. They lack independence or originality. They only dare to dowhat others do. They do not step boldly from the crowd and actfearlessly. " THE BIG TREES. What is needed by him who would succeed in the highest degree possibleis careful planning. He is to accumulate reserved power, that he may beequal to all emergencies. Thomas Starr King said that the great trees ofCalifornia gave him his first impression of the power of reserve. "Itwas the thought of the reserve energies that had been compacted intothem, " he said, "that stirred me. The mountains had given them theiriron and rich stimulants, the hills had given them their soil, theclouds had given their rain and snow, and a thousand summers and wintershad poured forth their treasures about their vast roots. " No young man can hope to do anything above the commonplace who has notmade his life a reservoir of power on which he can constantly draw, which will never fail him in any emergency. Be sure that you have storedaway, in your power-house, the energy, the knowledge that will be equalto the great occasion when it comes. "If I were twenty, and had but tenyears to live, " said a great scholar and writer, "I would spend thefirst nine years accumulating knowledge and getting ready for thetenth. " "I WILL. " "There are no two words in the English language which stand out inbolder relief, like kings upon a checker-board, to so great an extent asthe words 'I will. ' There is strength, depth and solidity, decision, confidence and power, determination, vigor and individuality, in theround, ringing tone which characterizes its delivery. It talks to you oftriumph over difficulties, of victory in the face of discouragement, ofwill to promise and strength to perform, of lofty and daring enterprise, of unfettered aspirations, and of the thousand and one solid impulses bywhich man masters impediments in the way of progression. " As one has well said: "He who is silent is forgotten; he who does notadvance falls back; he who stops is overwhelmed, distanced, crushed; hewho ceases to become greater, becomes smaller; he who leaves off givesup; the stationary is the beginning of the end--it precedes death; tolive is to achieve, to will without ceasing. " Be thou a hero; let thy might Tramp on eternal snows its way, And through the ebon walls of night, Hew down a passage unto day. _Park Benjamin_. CHAPTER II. THE RULERS OF DESTINY. There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, Can circumvent, or hinder, or control The firm resolve of a determined soul. Gifts count for nothing; will alone is great; All things give way before it soon or late. What obstacle can stay the mighty force Of the sea-seeking river in its course, Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait? Each well-born soul must win what it deserves. Let the fool prate of luck. The fortunate Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, Whose slightest action or inaction serves The one great aim. _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_. There is always room for a man of force. --_Emerson_. The king is the man who can. --_Carlyle_. A strong, defiant purpose is many-handed, and lays hold of whatever isnear that can serve it; it has a magnetic power that draws to itselfwhatever is kindred. --_T. T. Munger_. What is will-power, looked at in a large way, but energy of character?Energy of will, self-originating force, is the soul of every greatcharacter. Where it is, there is life; where it is not, there isfaintness, helplessness, and despondency. "Let it be your first study toteach the world that you are not wood and straw; that there is some ironin you. " Men who have left their mark upon the world have been men ofgreat and prompt decision. The achievements of will-power are almostbeyond computation. Scarcely anything seems impossible to the man whocan will strongly enough and long enough. One talent with a will behindit will accomplish more than ten without it, as a thimbleful of powderin a rifle, the bore of whose barrel will give it direction, will dogreater execution than a carload burned in the open air. "THE WILLS, THE WON'TS, AND THE CAN'TS. " "There are three kinds of people in the world, " says a recent writer, "the wills, the won'ts, and the can'ts. The first accomplish everything;the second oppose everything; the third fail in everything. " The shores of fortune, as Foster says, are covered with the strandedwrecks of men of brilliant ability, but who have wanted courage, faith, and decision, and have therefore perished in sight of more resolute butless capable adventurers, who succeeded in making port. Were I called upon to express in a word the secret of so many failuresamong those who started out with high hopes, I should say they lackedwill-power. They could not half will: and what is a man without a will?He is like an engine without steam. Genius unexecuted is no more geniusthan a bushel of acorns is a forest of oaks. Will has been called the spinal column of personality. "The will in itsrelation to life, " says an English writer, "may be compared at once tothe rudder and to the steam engine of a vessel, on the confined andrelated action of which it depends entirely for the direction of itscourse and the vigor of its movement. " Strength of will is the test of a young man's possibilities. Can he willstrong enough, and hold whatever he undertakes with an iron grip? It isthe iron grip that takes and holds. What chance is there in thiscrowding, pushing, selfish, greedy world, where everything is pusher orpushed, for a young man with no will, no grip on life? The man who wouldforge to the front in this competitive age must be a man of prompt anddetermined decision. A TAILOR'S NEEDLE. It is in one of Ben Jonson's old plays: "When I once take the humor of athing, I am like your tailor's needle--I go through with it. " This is not different from Richelieu, who said: "When I have once takena resolution, I go straight to my aim; I overthrow all, I cut down all. " And in business affairs the counsel of Rothschild is to the same effect:"Do without fail that which you determine to do. " Gladstone's children were taught to accomplish _to the end_ whateverthey might begin, no matter how insignificant the undertaking might be. WHAT IS WORSE THAN RASHNESS It is irresolution that is worse than rashness. "He that shoots, " saysFeltham, "may sometimes hit the mark; but he that shoots not at all cannever hit it. Irresolution is like an ague; it shakes not this nor thatlimb, but all the body is at once in a fit. " The man who is forever twisting and turning, backing and filling, hesitating and dawdling, shuffling and parleying, weighing andbalancing, splitting hairs over non-essentials, listening to every newmotive which presents itself, will never accomplish anything. But thepositive man, the decided man, is a power in the world, and stands forsomething; you can measure him, and estimate the work that his energywill accomplish. Opportunity is coy, is swift, is gone, before the slow, the unobservant, the indolent, or the careless can seize her. "Vigilance in watchingopportunity, " said Phelps, "tact and daring in seizing upon opportunity;force and persistence in crowding opportunity to its utmost of possibleachievement--these are the martial virtues which must command success. ""The best men, " remarked Chapin, "are not those who have waited forchances, but who have taken them; besieged the chance; conquered thechance; and made chance the servitor. " Is it not possible to classify successes and failures by their variousdegrees of will-power? A man who can resolve vigorously upon a course ofaction, and turns neither to the right nor to the left, though aparadise tempt him, who keeps his eyes upon the goal, whatever distractshim, is sure of success. "Not every vessel that sails from Tarshish will bring back the gold ofOphir. But shall it therefore rot in the harbor? No! Give its sails tothe wind!" CONSCIOUS POWER. "Conscious power, " says Mellès, "exists within the mind of every one. Sometimes its existence is unrealized, but it is there. It is there tobe developed and brought forth, like the culture of that obstinate butbeautiful flower, the orchid. To allow it to remain dormant is to placeone's self in obscurity, to trample on one's ambition, to smother one'sfaculties. To develop it is to individualize all that is best withinyou, and give it to the world. It is by an absolute knowledge ofyourself, the proper estimate of your own value. " "There is hardly a reader, " says an experienced educator, "who will notbe able to recall the early life of at least one young man whosechildhood was spent in poverty, and who, in boyhood, expressed a firmdesire to secure a higher education. If, a little later, that desirebecame a declared resolve, soon the avenues opened to that end. Thatdesire and resolve created an atmosphere which attracted the forcesnecessary to the attainment of the purpose. Many of these young men willtell us that, as long as they were hoping and striving and longing, mountains of difficulty rose before them; but that when they fashionedtheir hopes into fixed purposes aid came unsought to help them on theway. " DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF? The man without self-reliance and an iron will is the plaything ofchance, the puppet of his environment, the slave of circumstances. Arenot doubts the greatest of enemies? If you would succeed up to the limitof your possibilities, must you not constantly hold to the belief thatyou are success-organized, and that you will be successful, no matterwhat opposes? You are never to allow a shadow of doubt to enter yourmind that the Creator intended you to win in life's battle. Regard everysuggestion that your life may be a failure, that you are not made likethose who succeed, and that success is not for you, as a traitor, andexpel it from your mind as you would a thief from your house. There is something sublime in the youth who possesses the spirit ofboldness and fearlessness, who has proper confidence in his ability todo and dare. The world takes us at our own valuation. It believes in the man whobelieves in himself, but it has little use for the timid man, the onewho is never certain of himself; who cannot rely on his own judgment, who craves advice from others, and is afraid to go ahead on his ownaccount. It is the man with a positive nature, the man who believes that he isequal to the emergency, who believes he can do the thing he attempts, who wins the confidence of his fellow-man. He is beloved because he isbrave and self-sufficient. Those who have accomplished great things in the world have been, as arule, bold, aggressive, and self-confident. They dared to step out fromthe crowd, and act in an original way. They were not afraid to begenerals. There is little room in this crowding, competing age for the timid, vacillating youth. He who would succeed to-day must not only be brave, but must also dare to take chances. He who waits for certainty neverwins. "The law of the soul is eternal endeavor, That bears the man onward and upward forever. " "A man can be too confiding in others, but never too confident inhimself. " Never admit defeat or poverty. Stoutly assert your divine right to holdyour head up and look the world in the face; step bravely to the frontwhatever opposes, and the world will make way for you. No one willinsist upon your rights while you yourself doubt that you have any. Believe you were made for the place you fill. Put forth your wholeenergies. Be awake, electrify yourself; go forth to the task. A youngman once said to his employer, "Don't give me an easy job. I want tohandle heavy boxes, shoulder great loads. I would like to lift a bigmountain and throw it into the sea, "--and he stretched out two brawnyarms, while his honest eyes danced and his whole being glowed withconscious strength. [Illustration: CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN, English Naturalist. _b. Shrewsbury, 1809; d. Down, 1882_. ] The world in its heart admires the stern, determined doer. "The worldturns aside to let any man pass who knows whither he is going. " "It iswonderful how even the apparent casualties of life seem to bow to aspirit that will not bow to them, and yield to assist a design, afterhaving in vain attempted to frustrate it. " "The man who succeeds, " says Prentice Mulford, "must always in mind orimagination live, move, think, and act as if he gained that success, orhe never will gain it. " "We go forth, " said Emerson, "austere, dedicated, believing in the ironlinks of Destiny, and will not turn on our heels to save our lives. Abook, a bust, or only the sound of a name shoots a spark through thenerves, and we suddenly believe in will. We cannot hear of personalvigor of any kind, great power of performance, without freshresolution. " CHAPTER III. FORCE OF WILL IN CAMP AND FIELD. Oh, what miracles have been wrought by the self-confidence, theself-determination of an iron will! What impossible deeds have beenperformed by it! It was this that took Napoleon over the Alps inmidwinter; it took Farragut and Dewey past the cannons, torpedoes, andmines of the enemy; it led Nelson and Grant to victory; it has been thegreat tonic in the world of discovery, invention, and art; it has helpedto win the thousand triumphs in war and science which were deemedimpossible. The secret of Jeanne d'Arc's success was not alone in rare decision ofcharacter, but in the seeing of visions which inspired her toself-confidence--confidence in her divine mission. It was an iron will that gave Nelson command of the British fleet, atitle, and a statue at Trafalgar Square It was the keynote of hischaracter when he said, "When I don't know whether to fight or not, Ialways fight. " It was an iron will that was brought into play when Horatius with twocompanions held ninety thousand Tuscans at bay until the bridge acrossthe Tiber had been destroyed--when Leonidas at Thermopylæ checked themighty march of Xerxes--when Themistocles off the coast of Greeceshattered the Persian's Armada--when Cæsar finding his army hard pressedseized spear and buckler and snatched victory from defeat--whenWinkelried gathered to his breast a sheaf of Austrian spears and openeda path for his comrades--when Wellington fought in many climes withoutever being conquered--when Ney on a hundred fields changed apparentdisaster into brilliant triumph--when Sheridan arrived from Winchesteras the Union retreat was becoming a route and turned the tide--whenSherman signaled his men to hold the fort knowing that their leader wascoming. History furnishes thousands of examples of men who have seized occasionsto accomplish results deemed impossible by those less resolute. Promptdecision and whole-souled action sweep the world before them. Who wasthe organizer of the modern German empire? Was he not the man of iron? NAPOLEON AND GRANT. "What would you do if you were besieged in a place entirely destitute ofprovisions?" asked the examiner, when Napoleon was a cadet. "If there were anything to eat in the enemy's camp, I should not beconcerned. " When Paris was in the hands of a mob, and the authorities werepanic-stricken, in came a man who said, "I know a young officer who canquell this mob. " "Send for him. " Napoleon was sent for; he came, he subjugated the mob, he subjugated theauthorities, he ruled France, then conquered Europe. May 10, 1796, Napoleon carried the bridge at Lodi, in the face of theAustrian batteries, trained upon the French end of the structure. Behindthem were six thousand troops. Napoleon massed four thousand grenadiersat the head of the bridge, with a battalion of three hundred carbineersin front. At the tap of the drum the foremost assailants wheeled fromthe cover of the street wall under a terrible hail of grape andcanister, and attempted to pass the gateway to the bridge. The frontranks went down like stalks of grain before a reaper; the columnstaggered and reeled backward, and the valiant grenadiers were appalledby the task before them. Without a word or a look of reproach, Napoleonplaced himself at their head, and his aids and generals rushed to hisside. Forward again over heaps of dead that choked the passage, and aquick run counted by seconds only carried the column across two hundredyards of clear space, scarcely a shot from the Austrians taking effectbeyond the point where the platoons wheeled for the first leap. _Theguns of the enemy were not aimed at the advance. The advance was tooquick for the Austrian gunners_. So sudden and so miraculous was it all, that the Austrian artillerists abandoned their guns instantly, and theirsupports fled in a panic instead of rushing to the front and meeting theFrench onslaught. This Napoleon had counted on in making the boldattack. What was Napoleon but the thunderbolt of war? He once journeyed fromSpain to Paris at seventeen miles an hour in the saddle. "Is it _possible_ to cross the path?" asked Napoleon of the engineerswho had been sent to explore the dreaded pass of St. Bernard. "Perhaps, " was the hesitating reply, "it is within the limits of_possibility_. " "_Forward, then_. " Yet Ulysses S. Grant, a young man unknown to fame, with neither moneynor influence, with no patrons or friends, in six years fought morebattles, gained more victories, captured more prisoners, took morespoils, commanded more men, than Napoleon did in twenty years. "Thegreat thing about him, " said Lincoln, "is cool persistence. " "DON'T SWEAR--FIGHT. " When the Spanish fire on San Juan Hill became almost unbearable, some ofthe Rough Riders began to swear. Colonel Wood, with the wisdom of a goodleader, called out, amid the whistle of the Mauser bullets: "Don'tswear--fight!" In a skirmish at Salamanca, while the enemy's guns were pouring shotinto his regiment, Sir William Napier's men became disobedient. He atonce ordered a halt, and flogged four of the ringleaders under fire. Themen yielded at once, and then marched three miles under a heavycannonade as coolly as if it were a review. When Pellisier, the Crimean chief of Zouaves, struck an officer with awhip, the man drew a pistol that missed fire. The chief replied:"Fellow, I order you a three days' arrest for not having your arms inbetter order. " The man of iron will is cool in the hour of danger. "I HAD TO RUN LIKE A CYCLONE. " This was what Roosevelt said about his pushing on up San Juan Hill aheadof his regiment: "I had to run like a cyclone to stay in front and keepfrom being run over. " The personal heroism of Hobson, or of Cushing, who blew up the"Albemarle" forty years ago, was but the expression of a magnificentwill power. It was this which was the basis of General Wheeler'sunparalleled military advancement: a second lieutenant at twenty-three, a colonel at twenty-four, a brigadier-general at twenty-five, amajor-general at twenty-six, a corps commander at twenty-seven, and alieutenant-general at twenty-eight. General Wheeler had sixteen horses killed under him, and a great numberwounded. His saddle equipments and clothes were frequently struck by themissiles of the enemy. He was three times wounded, once painfully. Hehad thirty-two staff officers, or acting staff officers, killed orwounded. In almost every case they were immediately by his side. Noofficer was ever more exposed to the missiles of death than JosephWheeler. What is this imperial characteristic of manhood, an iron will, but thatwhich underlies all magnificent achievement, whether by heroes of the"Light Brigade" or the heroic fire-fighters of our great cities? CHAPTER IV. WILL POWER IN ITS RELATION TO HEALTH AND DISEASE. I. There is no doubt that, as a rule, great decision of character isusually accompanied by great constitutional firmness. Men who have beennoted for great firmness of character have usually been strong androbust. As a rule it is the strong physical man who carries weight andconviction. Take, as an example, William the Conqueror, as he ispictured by Green in his history: "The very spirit of the sea-robbers from whom he sprang seemed embodiedin his gigantic form, his enormous strength, his savage countenance, hisdesperate bravery. No other knight under heaven, his enemies confessed, was William's peer. No other man could bend William's bow. His macecrashed through a ring of English warriors to the foot of the standard. He rose to his greatest heights in moments when other men despaired. Noother man who ever sat upon the throne of England was this man's match. " Or, take Webster. Sydney Smith said: "Webster is a living lie; becauseno man on earth can be as great as he looks. " Carlyle said of him: "Onewould incline at sight to back him against the world. " His very physiquewas eloquent. Men yielded their wills to his at sight. The great prizes of life ever fall to the robust, the stalwart, thestrong, --not to a huge muscle or powerful frame necessarily, but to astrong vitality, a great nervous energy. It is the Lord Broughams, working almost continuously one hundred and forty-four hours; it is theNapoleons, twenty hours in the saddle; it is the Franklins, camping outin the open air at seventy; it is the Gladstones, firmly grasping thehelm of the ship of state at eighty-four, tramping miles every day, andchopping down huge trees at eighty-five, --who accomplish the greatthings of life. To prosper you must improve your brain power; and nothing helps thebrain more than a healthy body. The race of to-day is only to be won bythose who will study to keep their bodies in such good condition thattheir minds are able and ready to sustain that high pressure on memoryand mind, which our present fierce competition engenders. It is healthrather than strength that is now wanted. Health is essentially therequirement of our time to enable us to succeed in life. In all modernoccupations--from the nursery to the school, from the school to the shopor world beyond--the brain and nerve strain go on, continuous, augmenting, and intensifying. As a rule physical vigor is the condition of a great career. StonewallJackson, early in life, determined to conquer every weakness he had, physical, mental, and moral. He held all of his powers with a firm hand. To his great self-discipline and self-mastery he owed his success. Sodetermined was he to harden himself to the weather that he could not beinduced to wear an overcoat in winter. "I will not give in to the cold, "he said. For a year, on account of dyspepsia, he lived on buttermilk andstale bread, and wore a wet shirt next his body because his doctoradvised it, although everybody else ridiculed the idea. This was whilehe was professor at the Virginia Military Institute. His doctor advisedhim to retire at nine o'clock; and, no matter where he was, or who waspresent, he always sought his bed on the minute. He adhered rigidlythrough life to this stern system of discipline. Such self-training, such self-conquest, gives one great power over others. It is equal togenius itself. "I can do nothing, " said Grant, "without nine hours' sleep. " What else is so grand as to stand on life's threshold, fresh, young, hopeful, with a consciousness of power equal to any emergency, --a masterof the situation? The glory of a young man is his strength. Our great need of the world to-day is for men and women who are goodanimals. To endure the strain of our concentrated civilization, thecoming man and woman must have an excess of animal spirits. They musthave a robustness of health. Mere absence of disease is not health. Itis the overflowing fountain, not the one half full, that gives life andbeauty to the valley below. Only he is healthy who exults in mere animalexistence; whose very life is a luxury; who feels a bounding pulsethroughout his body; who feels life in every limb, as dogs do whenscouring over the field, or as boys do when gliding over fields of ice. II. Yet in spite of all this, in defiance of it, we know that an iron willis often triumphant in the contest with physical infirmity. "Brave spirits are a balsam to themselves: There is a nobleness of mind that heals Wounds beyond salves. " "One day, " said a noted rope-walker, "I signed an agreement to wheel abarrow along a rope on a given day. A day or two before I was seizedwith lumbago. I called in my medical man, and told him I must be curedby a certain day; not only because I should lose what I hoped to earn, but also forfeit a large sum. I got no better, and the doctor forbade mygetting up. I told him, 'What do I want with your advice? If you cannotcure me, of what good is your advice?' When I got to the place, therewas the doctor protesting I was unfit for the exploit. I went on, thoughI felt like a frog with my back. I got ready my pole and my barrow, tookhold of the handles and wheeled it along the rope as well as I ever did. When I got to the end I wheeled it back again, and when this was done Iwas a frog again. What made me that I could wheel the barrow? It was myreserve will. " "What does he know, " asks the sage, "who has not suffered?" Did notSchiller produce his greatest tragedies in the midst of physicalsuffering almost amounting to torture? Handel was never greater thanwhen, warned by palsy of the approach of death, and struggling withdistress and suffering, he sat down to compose the great works whichhave made his name immortal in music. Beethoven was almost totally deafand burdened with sorrow when he produced his greatest works. Miltonwriting "Who best can suffer, best can do, " wrote at his best when infeeble health, and when poor and blind. ". .. Yet I argue not Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot Of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer Right onward. " The Rev. William H. Milburn, who lost his sight when a child, studiedfor the ministry, and was ordained before he attained his majority. Hehas written half a dozen books, among them a very careful history of theMississippi Valley. He has long been chaplain of the lower house ofCongress. Blind Fanny Crosby, of New York, was a teacher of the blind for manyyears. She has written nearly three thousand hymns, among which are:"Pass Me not, O Gentle Saviour, " "Rescue the Perishing, " "Saviour Morethan Life to Me, " and "Jesus keep Me near the Cross. " "The truest help we can render one who is afflicted, " said BishopBrooks, "is not to take his burden from him, but to call out his bestenergy, that he may be able to bear. " What a mighty will Darwin had! He was in continual ill health. He was inconstant suffering. His patience was marvellous. No one but his wifeknew what he endured. "For forty years, " says his son, "he never knewone day of health;" yet during those forty years he unremittingly forcedhimself to do the work from which the mightiest minds and the strongestconstitutions would have shrunk. He had a wonderful power of sticking toa subject. He used almost to apologize for his patience, saying that hecould not bear to be beaten, as if it were a sign of weakness. Bulwer advises us to refuse to be ill, never to tell people we are ill, never to own it ourselves. Illness is one of those things which a manshould resist on principle. Do not dwell upon your ailments nor studyyour symptoms. Never allow yourself to be convinced that you are notcomplete master of yourself. Stoutly affirm your own superiority overbodily ills. We should keep a high ideal of health and harmonyconstantly before the mind. Is not the mind the natural protector of the body? We cannot believethat the Creator has left the whole human race entirely at the mercy ofonly about half a dozen specific drugs which always act with certainty. There is a divine remedy placed within us for many of the ills wesuffer. If we only knew how to use this power of will and mind toprotect ourselves, many of us would be able to carry youth andcheerfulness with us into the teens of our second century. The mind hasundoubted power to preserve and sustain physical youth and beauty, tokeep the body strong and healthy, to renew life, and to preserve it fromdecay, many years longer than it does now. The longest-lived men andwomen have, as a rule, been those who have attained great mental andmoral development. They have lived in the upper region of a higher life, beyond the reach of much of the jar, the friction, and the discordswhich weaken and shatter most lives. Every physician knows that courageous people, with indomitable will, arenot half as likely to contract contagious diseases as the timid, thevacillating, the irresolute. A thoughtful physician once assured afriend that if an express agent were to visit New Orleans in theyellow-fever season, having forty thousand dollars in his care, he wouldbe in little danger of the fever so long as he kept possession of themoney. Let him once deliver that into other hands, and the sooner heleft the city the better. Napoleon used to visit the plague hospitals even when the physiciansdreaded to go, and actually put his hands upon the plague-strickenpatients. He said the man who was not afraid could vanish the plague. Awill power like this is a strong tonic to the body. Such a will hastaken many men from apparent death-beds, and enabled them to performwonderful deeds of valor. When told by his physicians that he must die, Douglas Jerrold said: "And leave a family of helpless children? I won'tdie. " He kept his word, and lived for years. CHAPTER V. THE ROMANCE OF ACHIEVEMENT UNDER DIFFICULTIES. What doth the poor man's son inherit? Stout muscles, and a sinewy heart, A hardy frame, a hardier spirit! King of two hands he does his part In every useful toil and art: A heritage it seems to me, A king might wish to hold in fee. _Lowell_. Has not God given every man a capital to start with? Are we not bornrich? He is rich who has good health, a sound body, good muscles; he isrich who has a good head, a good disposition, a good heart; he is richwho has two good hands, with five chances on each. Equipped? Every manis equipped as only God could equip him. What a fortune he possesses inthe marvellous mechanism of his body and mind. It is individual effortthat has achieved everything worth achieving. THE FUN OF THE LITTLE GAME. A big Australian, six feet four, James Tyson, died not long since, witha property of $25, 000, 000, who began life as a farm hand. Tyson caredlittle for money. He used to say of it: "I shall just leave it behind me when I go. I shall have done with itthen, and it will not concern me afterwards. But, " he would add, with acharacteristic semi-exultant snap of the fingers, "the money is nothing. It was the little game that was the fun. " Being asked, "What was the little game?" he replied with an energy ofconcentration peculiar to him: "_Fighting the desert_. That has been mywork. I have been fighting the desert all my life, and I have won. Ihave put water where was no water, and beef where was no beef. I haveput fences where there were no fences, and roads where there were noroads. Nothing can undo what I have done, and millions will be happierfor it after I am long dead and forgotten. " Has not self-help accomplished about all the great things of the world?How many young men falter, faint, and dally with their purpose becausethey have no capital to start with, and wait and wait for some good luckto give them a lift. But success is the child of drudgery andperseverance. It cannot be coaxed or bribed; pay the price, and it isyours. A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success frominhospitable surroundings, is the price of all great achievements. CONQUERORS OF FORTUNE. Benjamin Franklin had this tenacity of purpose in a wonderful degree. When he started in the printing business in Philadelphia, he carried hismaterial through the streets on a wheelbarrow. He hired one room for hisoffice, work-room, and sleeping-room. He found a formidable rival in thecity and invited him to his room. Pointing to a piece of bread fromwhich he had just eaten his dinner, he said: "Unless you can live cheaper than I can, you cannot starve me out. " It was so that he proved the wisdom of Edmund Burke's saying, that "Hethat wrestles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill:our antagonist is our helper. " The poor and friendless lad, George Peabody, weary, footsore, andhungry, called at a tavern in Concord, N. H. , and asked to be allowed tosaw wood for lodging and breakfast. Yet he put in work for everything heever received, and out-matched the poverty of early days. Gideon Lee could not even get shoes to wear in winter, when a boy, buthe went to work barefoot in the snow. He made a bargain with himself towork sixteen hours a day. He fulfilled it to the letter, and when frominterruption he lost time, he robbed himself of sleep to make it up. Hebecame a wealthy merchant of New York, mayor of the city, and a memberof Congress. COMMERCIAL COURAGE. The business affairs of a gentleman named Rouss were once in acomplicated condition, owing to his conflicting interests in variousstates, and he was thrown into prison. While confined he wrote on thewalls of his cell: "I am forty years of age this day. When I am fifty, I shall be worthhalf a million; and by the time I am sixty, I shall be worth a milliondollars. " He lived to accumulate more than three million dollars. "The ruin which overtakes so many merchants, " says Whipple, "is due notso much to their lack of business talent as to their lack of businessnerve. " Cyrus W. Field had retired from business with a large fortune when hebecame possessed with the idea that by means of a cable laid upon thebottom of the Atlantic Ocean, telegraphic communication could beestablished between Europe and America. He plunged into the undertakingwith all the force of his being. It was an incredibly hard contest: theforests of Newfoundland, the lobby in Congress, the unskilled handlingof brakes on his Agamemnon cable, a second and a third breaking of thecable at sea, the cessation of the current in a well-laid cable, thesnapping of a superior cable on the Great Eastern--all these availed notto foil the iron will of Field, whose final triumph was that of mentalenergy in the application of science. FOUR NEW YORK JOURNALISTS. To Horace Greeley, the founder of the "Tribune, " I need not allude; hisstory is or ought to be in every school-book. James Brooks, once the editor and proprietor of the "Daily Express, " andlater an eminent congressman, began life as a clerk in a store in Maine, and when twenty-one received for his pay a hogshead of New England rum. He was so eager to go to college that he started for Waterville with histrunk on his back, and when he was graduated he was so poor and pluckythat he carried his trunk on his back to the station as he went home. When James Gordon Bennett was forty years old he collected all hisproperty, three hundred dollars, and in a cellar with a board upon twobarrels for a desk, himself his own typesetter, office boy, publisher, newsboy, clerk, editor, proofreader, and printer's devil, he started the"New York Herald. " He did this, after many attempts and defeats intrying to follow the routine, instead of doing his own way. Never wasany man's early career a better illustration of Wendell Phillips'dictum: "What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the firststeps to something better. " Thurlow Weed, who was a journalist for fifty-seven years, strong, sensible, genial, tactful, and of magnificent physique, who did so muchto shape public policy in the Empire State, tells a most romantic storyof his boyhood:-- "I cannot ascertain how much schooling I got at Catskill, probably lessthan a year, certainly not a year and a half, and this was when I wasnot more than five or six years old. I felt a necessity, at an earlyage, of trying to do something for my own support. "My first employment was in sugar-making, an occupation to which Ibecame much attached. I now look with great pleasure upon the days andnights passed in the sap-bush. The want of shoes (which, as the snow wasdeep, was no small privation) was the only drawback upon my happiness. Iused, however, to tie pieces of an old rag carpet around my feet, andgot along pretty well, chopping wood and gathering up sap. But when thespring advanced, and bare ground appeared in spots, I threw off the oldcarpet encumbrance and did my work barefoot. "There is much leisure time for boys who are making maple sugar. Idevoted this time to reading, when I could obtain books; but the farmersof that period had few or no books, save their Bibles. I borrowed bookswhenever and wherever I could. "I heard that a neighbor, three miles off, had borrowed from a stillmore distant neighbor a book of great interest. I started off, barefoot, in the snow, to obtain the treasure. There were spots of bare ground, upon which I would stop to warm my feet. And there were also, along theroad, occasional lengths of log-fence from which the snow had melted, and upon which it was a luxury to walk. The book was at home, and thegood people consented, upon my promise that it should be neither tornnor soiled, to lend it to me. In returning with the prize, I was toohappy to think of the snow or my naked feet. "Candles were then among the luxuries, not the necessaries, of life. Ifboys, instead of going to bed after dark, wanted to read, they suppliedthemselves with pine knots, by the light of which, in a horizontalposition, they pursued their studies. In this manner, with my body inthe sugar-house, and my head out of doors, where the fat pine wasblazing, I read with intense interest the book I had borrowed, a'History of the French Revolution. '" Weed's next earning was in an iron foundry at Onondaga: "My business was, after a casting, to temper and prepare the molding'dogs, ' myself. This was night and day work. We ate salt pork and ryeand Indian bread, three times a day, and slept on straw in bunks. Iliked the excitement of a furnace life. " When he went to the "Albany Argus" to learn the printing business heworked from five in the morning till nine at night. FROM HUMBLEST BEGINNINGS. The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, themore significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be. --_HoraceBushnell_. The story of Weed and of Greeley is not an uncommon one in America. Someof the most eminent men on the globe have struggled with poverty inearly life and triumphed over it. The astronomer Kepler, whose name can never die, was kept in constantanxieties; and he told fortunes by astrology for a livelihood, sayingthat astrology, as the daughter of astronomy, ought to keep her mother. All sorts of service he had to accept; he made almanacs and worked forany one who would pay him. Linnæus was so poor when getting his education that he had to mend hisshoes with folded paper, and often had to beg his meals of his friends. During the ten years in which he made his greatest discoveries, IsaacNewton could hardly pay two shillings a week to the Royal Society ofwhich he was a member. Some of his friends wanted to get him excusedfrom this payment, but he would not allow them to act. Humphry Davy had but a slender chance to acquire great scientificknowledge, yet he had true mettle in him, and he made even old pans, kettles, and bottles contribute to his success, as he experimented andstudied in the attic of the apothecary store where he worked. George Stephenson was one of eight children whose parents were so poorthat all lived in a single room. George had to watch cows for aneighbor, but he managed to get time to make engines of clay, withhemlock sticks for pipes. At seventeen he had charge of an engine, withhis father for fireman. He could neither read nor write, but the enginewas his teacher, and he a faithful student. While the other hands wereplaying games or loafing in liquor shops during the holidays, George wastaking his machine to pieces, cleaning it, studying it, and makingexperiments in engines. When he had become famous as a great inventor ofimprovements in engines, those who had loafed and played called himlucky. It was by steadfastly keeping at it, by indomitable will power, thatthese men won their positions in life. "We rise by the things that are under our feet; By what we have mastered of good or gain. " TALENT IN TATTERS. Among the companions of Sir Joshua Reynolds, while he was studying hisart at Rome, was a fellow-pupil of the name of Astley. They made anexcursion, with some others, on a sultry day, and all except Astley tookoff their coats. After several taunts he was persuaded to do the same, and displayed on the back of his waistcoat a foaming waterfall. Distresshad compelled him to patch his clothes with one of his own landscapes. James Sharpies, the celebrated blacksmith artist of England, was verypoor, but he often rose at three o'clock to copy books he could not buy. He would walk eighteen miles to Manchester and back after a hard day'swork, to buy a shilling's worth of artist's materials. He would ask forthe heaviest work in the blacksmith shop, because it took a longer timeto heat at the forge, and he could thus have many spare minutes to studythe precious book, which he propped up against the chimney. He was agreat miser of spare moments, and used every one as though he mightnever see another. He devoted his leisure hours for five years to thatwonderful production, "The Forge, " copies of which are to be seen inmany a home. It was by one unwavering aim, carried out by an iron will, that he wrought out his life triumph. "That boy will beat me one day, " said an old painter as he watched alittle fellow named Michael Angelo making drawings of pot and brushes, easel and stool, and other articles in the studio. The barefoot boy didpersevere until he had overcome every difficulty and become the greatestmaster of art the world has known. Although Michael Angelo made himselfimmortal in three different occupations, --and his fame might well restupon his dome of St. Peter as an architect, upon his "Moses" as asculptor, or upon his "Last Judgment" as a painter, --yet we find by hiscorrespondence, now in the British Museum, that when he was at work onhis colossal bronze statue of Pope Julius II. , he was so poor that hecould not have his younger brother come to visit him at Bologna, becausehe had but one bed in which he and three of his assistants slepttogether. Yet "The star of an unconquered will Arose in his breast, Serene, and resolute and still, And calm and self-possessed. " CONCENTRATED ENERGY. The struggles and triumphs of those who are bound to win is anever-ending tale. Nor will the procession of enthusiastic workers ceaseso long as the globe is turning on its axle. Say what we will of genius, specialized in a hundred callings, yet thefact remains that no amount of genius has ever availed upon the earthunless enforced by will power to overcome the obstacles that hedge aboutevery one who would rise above the circumstances in which he was born, or become greater than his calling. Was not Virgil the son of a porter, Horace of a shopkeeper, Demosthenes of a cutler, Milton of a moneyscrivener, Shakespeare of a wool stapler, and Cromwell of a brewer? [Illustration: THURLOW WEED, American Journalist and Politician. _b. Cairo, N. Y. , 1797; d. New York, 1882_. ] Ben Jonson, when following his trade of a mason, worked on Lincoln's Innin London with trowel in hand and a book in his pocket. Joseph Hunterwas a carpenter in youth, Robert Burns a plowman, Keats a druggist, Thomas Carlyle and Hugh Miller masons. Dante and Descartes weresoldiers. Cardinal Wolsey, Defoe, and Kirke White were butchers' sons. Faraday was the son of a hostler, and his teacher, Humphry Davy, was anapprentice to an apothecary. Kepler was a waiter boy in a German hotel, Bunyan a tinker, Copernicus the son of a Polish baker. They rose bybeing greater than their callings, as Arkwright rose above merebarbering, Bunyan above tinkering, Wilson above shoemaking, Lincolnabove rail-splitting, and Grant above tanning. By being first-classbarbers, tinkers, shoemakers, rail-splitters, tanners, they acquired thepower which enabled them to become great inventors, authors, statesmen, generals. John Kay, the inventor of the fly-shuttle, James Hargreaves, who introduced the spinning-jenny, and Samuel Compton, who originatedmule-spinning, were all artisans, uneducated and poor, but were endowedwith natural faculties which enabled them to make a more enduringimpression upon the world than anything that could have been done by themere power of scholarship or wealth. It cannot be said of any of these great names that their individualcourses in life would have been what they were, had there been lacking asuperb will power resistless as the tide to bear them upward and onward. Let Fortune empty her whole quiver on me, I have a soul that, like an ample shield, Can take in all, and verge enough for more; Fate was not mine, nor am I Fate's: Souls know no conquerors. _Dryden_. CHAPTER VI. STAYING POWER. "Never give up, there are chances and changes, Helping the hopeful, a hundred to one; And, through the chaos, High Wisdom arranges Ever success, if you'll only hold on. Never give up; for the wisest is boldest, Knowing that Providence mingles the cup, And of all maxims, the best, as the oldest, Is the stern watchword of 'Never give up!'" Be firm; one constant element of luck Is genuine, solid, old Teutonic pluck. _Holmes_. Success in most things depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed. --_Montesquieu_. The power to hold on is characteristic of all men who have accomplishedanything great; they may lack in some other particular, have manyweaknesses or eccentricities, but the quality of persistence is neverabsent from a successful man. No matter what opposition he meets or whatdiscouragement overtakes him, drudgery cannot disgust him, obstaclescannot discourage him, labor cannot weary him; misfortune, sorrow, andreverses cannot harm him. It is not so much brilliancy of intellect, orfertility of resource, as persistency of effort, constancy of purpose, that makes a great man. Those who succeed in life are the men and womenwho keep everlastingly at it, who do not believe themselves geniuses, but who know that if they ever accomplish anything they must do it bydetermined and persistent industry. Audubon after years of forest life had two hundred of his pricelessdrawings destroyed by mice. "A poignant flame, " he relates, "pierced my brain like an arrow of fire, and for several weeks I was prostrated with fever. At length physicaland moral strength awoke within me. Again I took my gun, my game-bag, myportfolio, and my pencils, and plunged once more into the depths of theforests. " All are familiar with the misfortune of Carlyle while writing his"History of the French Revolution. " After the first volume was ready forthe press, he loaned the manuscript to a neighbor, who left it lying onthe floor, and the servant girl took it to kindle the fire. It was abitter disappointment, but Carlyle was not the man to give up. Aftermany months of poring Over hundreds of volumes of authorities and scoresof manuscripts, he reproduced that which had burned in a few minutes. PROCEED, AND LIGHT WILL DAWN. The slightest acquaintance with literary history would bring to light amultitude of heroes of poverty or misfortune, of men and women perplexedand disheartened, who have yet aroused themselves to new effort at everynew obstacle. It is related by Arago that he found under the cover of a text book hewas binding a short note from D'Alembert to a student: "Go on, sir, go on. The difficulties you meet with will resolvethemselves as you advance. Proceed; and light will dawn, and shine withincreasing clearness on your path. " "That maxim, " said Arago, "was my greatest master in mathematics. " Had Balzac been easily discouraged he would have hesitated at the wordsof warning given by his father: "Do you know that in literature a man must be either a king or abeggar?" "Very well, " was the reply, "_I will be a king_. " His parents left him to his fate in a garret. For ten years he foughtterrible battles with hardship and poverty, but won a great victory atlast. He won it after producing forty novels that did not win. Zola's early manhood witnessed a bitter struggle against poverty anddeprivation. Until twenty he was a spoiled child; but, on his father'sdeath, he and his mother began the battle of life in Paris. Of his darktime, Zola himself says: "Often I went hungry for so long, that it seemed as if I must die. Iscarcely tasted meat from one month's end to another, and for two days Ilived on three apples. Fire, even on the coldest nights, was anundreamed-of luxury; and I was the happiest man in Paris when I couldget a candle, by the light of which I might study at night. " Samuel Johnson's bare feet at Oxford showed through the holes in hisshoes, yet he threw out at his window the new pair that some one left athis door. He lived for a time in London on nine cents a day. Forthirteen years he had a hard struggle with want. John Locke once livedon bread and water in a Dutch garret, and Heyne slept many a night on abarn floor with only a book for his pillow. It was to poverty as a thornurging the breast of Harriet Martineau that we owe her writings. There are no more interesting pages in biography than those which recordhow Emerson, as a child, was unable to read the second volume of acertain book, because his widowed mother could not afford the amount(five cents) necessary to obtain it from the circulating library. "Poor fellow!" said Emerson, as he looked at his delicately-rearedlittle son, "how much he loses by not having to go through the hardexperiences I had in my youth. " It was through the necessity laid upon him to earn that Emerson made hisfirst great success in life as a teacher. "I know, " he said, "no suchunquestionable badge and ensign of a sovereign mind as that tenacity ofpurpose, which, through all change of companions or parties or fortunes, changes never, bates no jot of heart or hope, but wearies out oppositionand arrives at its port. " "SHE CAN NEVER SUCCEED. " Louisa Alcott earned two hundred thousand dollars by her pen. Yet, whenshe was first dreaming of her power, her father handed her a manuscriptone day that had been rejected by Mr. Fields, editor of the "Atlantic, "with the message: "Tell Louisa to stick to her teaching; she can never succeed as awriter. " "Tell him I _will_ succeed as a writer, and some day I shall write forthe 'Atlantic. '" Not long after she wrote for the "Atlantic" a poem that Longfellowattributed to Emerson. And there came a time when she wrote in herdiary: "Twenty years ago I resolved to make the family independent if I could. At forty, that is done. Debts all paid, even the outlawed ones, and wehave enough to be comfortable. It has cost me my health, perhaps. " "I TRAMPLE ON IMPOSSIBILITIES": So it was said by Lord Chatham. "Why, " asked Mirabeau, "should we callourselves men, unless it be to succeed in everything everywhere?" "It is all very well, " said Charles J. Fox, "to tell me that a young manhas distinguished himself by a brilliant first speech. He may go onsatisfied with his first triumph; but show me a young man who has notsucceeded at first, and has then gone on, and I will back that man to dobetter than those who succeeded at the first trial. " Cobden broke downcompletely the first time he appeared on a platform in Manchester, andthe chairman apologized for him; but he did not give up speaking untilevery poor man in England had a larger, better, and cheaper loaf. YoungDisraeli sprung from a hated and persecuted race, pushed his way upthrough the middle classes and upper classes, until he stood self-poisedupon the topmost round of political and social power. At first he wasscoffed at, ridiculed, rebuffed, hissed from the House of Commons; hesimply said, "The time will come when you will hear me. " The time didcome, and he swayed the sceptre of England for a quarter of a century. How massive was the incalculable reserve power of Lincoln as a youth; orof President Garfield, wood-chopper, bell-ringer, and sweeper-general incollege! PERSISTENT PURPOSE. We hear a great deal of talk about genius, talent, luck, chance, cleverness, and fine manners playing a large part in one's success. Leaving out luck and chance, all these elements are important factors. Yet the possession of any or all of them, unaccompanied by a definiteaim, a determined purpose, will not insure success. Men drift intobusiness. They drift into society. They drift into politics. They driftinto what they fondly and but vainly imagine is religion. If winds andtides are favorable, all is well; if not, all is wrong. Stalker says:"Most men merely drift through life, and the work they do is determinedby a hundred different circumstances; they might as well be doinganything else, or they would prefer to be doing nothing at all. " Yetwhatever else may have been lacking in the giants of the race, the menwho have been conspicuously successful have all had one characteristicin common--doggedness and persistence of purpose. It does not matter how clever a youth may be, whether he leads his classin college or outshines all the other boys in his community, he willnever succeed if he lacks this essential of determined persistence. Manymen who might have made brilliant musicians, artists, teachers, lawyers, able physicians or surgeons, in spite of predictions to the contrary, have fallen short of success because deficient in this quality. Persistency of purpose is a power. It creates confidence in others. Everybody believes in the determined man. When he undertakes anythinghis battle is half won, because not only he himself, but every one whoknows him, believes that he will accomplish whatever he sets out to do. People know that it is useless to oppose a man who uses hisstumbling-blocks as stepping-stones; who is not afraid of defeat; whonever, in spite of calumny or criticism, shrinks from his task; whonever shirks responsibility; who always keeps his compass pointed to thenorth star of his purpose, no matter what storms may rage about him. The persistent man never stops to consider whether he is succeeding ornot. The only question with him is how to push ahead, to get a littlefarther along, a little nearer his goal. Whether it lead over mountains, rivers, or morasses, he must reach it. Every other consideration issacrificed to this one dominant purpose. The success of a dull or average youth and the failure of a brilliantone is a constant surprise in American history. But if the differentcases are closely analyzed we shall find that the explanation lies inthe staying power of the seemingly dull boy, the ability to stand firmas a rock under all circumstances, to allow nothing to divert him fromhis purpose. THREE NECESSARY THINGS. "Three things are necessary, " said Charles Sumner, "first, backbone;second, backbone; third, backbone. " A good chance alone is nothing. Education is nothing without strong andvigorous resolution and stamina to make one accomplish something in theworld. An encouraging start is nothing without backbone. A man whocannot stand erect, who wabbles first one way and then the other, whohas no opinion of his own, or courage to think his own thought, is ofvery little use in this world. It is grit, it is perseverance, it ismoral stamina and courage that govern the world. At the trial of the seven bishops of the Church of England for refusingto aid the king to overthrow the Protestant faith, it was necessary towatch the officers at the doors, lest they send food to some juryman, and aid him to starve the others into an agreement. Nothing was allowedto be sent in but water for the jurymen to wash in, and they were sothirsty they drank it up. At first nine were for acquitting, and threefor convicting. Two of the minority soon gave way; the third, Arnold, was obstinate. He declined to argue. Austin said to him, "Look at me. Iam the largest and the strongest of the twelve; and before I will findsuch a petition as this libel, here will I stay till I am no bigger thana tobacco pipe. " Arnold yielded at six in the morning. SUCCESS AGAINST ODDS. Yes, to this thought I hold with firm persistence; The last result of wisdom stamps it true: He only earns his freedom and existence Who daily conquers them anew. _Goethe_. "It is interesting to notice how some minds seem almost to createthemselves, " says Irving, "springing up under every disadvantage, andworking their solitary but irresistible way through a thousandobstacles. " Opposing circumstances create strength. Opposition gives usgreater power of resistance. To overcome one barrier gives us greaterability to overcome the next. History is full of examples of men andwomen who have redeemed themselves from disgrace, poverty, andmisfortune, by the firm resolution of an iron will. Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by theopposition he has encountered, and the courage with which he hasmaintained the struggle against overwhelming odds. Not the distance wehave run, but the obstacles we have overcome, the disadvantages underwhich we have made the race, will decide the prizes. "It is defeat, " says Henry Ward Beecher, "that turns bone to flint, andgristle to muscle, and makes men invincible, and formed those heroicnatures that are now in ascendency in the world. Do not, then, be afraidof defeat. You are never so near to victory as when defeated in a goodcause. " Governor Seymour of New York, a man of great force and character, said, in reviewing his life: "If I were to wipe out twenty acts, what shouldthey be? Should it be my business mistakes, my foolish acts (for Isuppose all do foolish acts occasionally), my grievances? No; for, afterall, these are the very things by which I have profited. So I finallyconcluded I should expunge, instead of my mistakes, my triumphs. I couldnot afford to dismiss the tonic of mortification, the refinement ofsorrow; I needed them every one. " "Every condition, be it what it may, " says Channing, "has hardships, hazards, pains. We try to escape them; we pine for a sheltered lot, fora smooth path, for cheering friends, and unbroken success. ButProvidence ordains storms, disasters, hostilities, sufferings; and thegreat question whether we shall live to any purpose or not, whether weshall grow strong in mind and heart, or be weak and pitiable, depends onnothing so much as on our use of the adverse circumstances. Outwardevils are designed to school our passions, and to rouse our facultiesand virtues into intenser action. Sometimes they seem to create newpowers. Difficulty is the element, and resistance the true work of man. Self-culture never goes on so fast as when embarrassed circumstances, the opposition of men or the elements, unexpected changes of the times, or other forms of suffering, instead of disheartening, throw us on ourinward resources, turn us for strength to God, clear up to us the greatpurpose of life, and inspire calm resolution. No greatness or goodnessis worth much, unless tried in these fires. " [Illustration: BENJAMIN DISRAELI(Earl of Beaconsfield), English Statesman and Novelist. _b. London, 1804; d. London, 1881_. ] Better to stem with heart and hand The roaring tide of life, than lie, Unmindful, on its flowery strand, Of God's occasions drifting by! Better with naked nerve to bear The needles of this goading air, Than in the lap of sensual ease forego The godlike power to do, the godlike aim to know. _Whittier_. CHAPTER VII. THE DEGREE OF "O. O. " When Moody first visited Ireland he was introduced by a friend to anIrish merchant who asked at once: "Is he an O. O. ?" "Out and Out"--that was what "O. O. " stood for. "Out and Out" for God--that was what this merchant meant. He indeed isbut a wooden man, and a poor stick at that, who is decided in everythingelse, but who never knows "where he is at" in all moral relations, beingreligiously nowhere. The early books of the Hebrews have much to say about "The Valley ofDecision" and the development of "Out and Out" moral character. Wofully lacking in a well-balanced will power is the man who stands sideby side with moral evil personified, in hands with it, to serve itwillingly as a tool and servant. Morally made in God's image, what is more sane, more wholesome, morefitting, for a man than his rising up promptly, decidedly, to make theDivine Will his own will in all moral action, to take it as the supremeguide to go by? It is the glory of the human will to coincide with theDivine Will. Doing this, a man's Iron Will, instead of being a malignantselfish power, will be useful in uplifting mankind. God has spoken, or he has not spoken. If he has spoken, the wise willhear. We search the world for truth; we cull The good, the pure, the beautiful, From graven stone and written scroll, From all the flower-fields of the soul: And, weary seekers of the best, We come back laden from our quest, To find that all the sages said Is in the BOOK our mother read. _Whittier_. O earth that blooms and birds that sing, O stars that shine when all is dark! In type and symbol thou dost bring The Life Divine, and bid us hark, That we may catch the chant sublime, And, rising, pass the bounds of time; So shall we win the goal divine, Our immortality. _Carrol Norton_. THE MARDENINSPIRATIONAL BOOKS Be Good to YourselfEvery Man a KingExceptional EmployeeGetting OnHe Can Who Thinks He CanHow to Get What You WantJoys of LivingKeeping FitLove's WayMaking Life a MasterpieceMiracle of Right ThoughtOptimistic LifePeace, Power, and PlentyProgressive Business ManPushing to the FrontRising in the WorldSecret of AchievementSelf-InvestmentSelling ThingsTraining for EfficiencyVictorious AttitudeWoman and the HomeYoung Man Entering Business SUCCESS BOOKLETS An Iron WillGood MannersEconomyAmbitionDo it to a FinishOpportunityCheerfulnessCharacterThriftPower of Personality SPECIAL BOOKS AND BOOKLETS Hints for Young WritersSuccess NuggetsI Had a FriendWhy Grow Old?Not the Salary but the Opportunity _Send for Publishers' Special Circular of these Great Books_ OPINIONS OF The Exceptional Employee Uplifting to Humanity "I assure you that the present and future generations must look uponsuch a work as most uplifting to humanity. " CHARLES FRANCIS, _Charles Francis Press, New York City_. Fresh Efforts after Reading "No one will fail to put forth fresh and better directed efforts to workto the front after reading the book. "_Good Health_. The Ladder of Success "The author writes with a purpose in view; that purpose is found on thetopmost rungs of the ladder of success. In order to find the purpose thereader must ascend this ladder. The rest is easy. "_Chamber of Commerce Bulletin_ (_Portland, Ore_. ). A Wise Investment "Any one who employs labor where it requires character and intelligencewould make a wise investment by presenting his employees a copy of thisbook. It has been some time since I have read a more wholesome, inspiring, and fascinating volume. " J. J. COLE, in _Christian Standard_. Brimful of Anecdote and Illustration "The book is not all theory and principle. It is brimful of the anecdoteand illustration from actual business life which gives vigor andacceptance to the writer's ideas. "_Christian Advocate_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY Opinions and Reviews of Dr. Marden's The Secret of Achievement Exasperating "'The Secret of Achievement' is one of those exasperating books whichyou feel you ought to present to your young friends, yet find yourselfunwilling to part with. " WILLIAM B. WARREN, _Former President BostonUniversity_. Art of Putting Things "I have studied Dr. Marden's books with deep interest. He has the art ofputting things; of planting in the mind convictions that will live. Iknow of no works that contain equal inspiration for life. " HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. A Great Service "I thoroughly feel that you are rendering a great service to young menand women in America and throughout the world. " REV. R. S. McARTHUR, D. D. , _New York City_. The Difference "'Pushing to the Front' is a great book and 'Rising in the World' is amagnificent book, but 'The Secret of Achievement' is a superb book. " Success against Odds "This volume contains a series of stimulating anecdotes and adviceshowing how energy, force of well-directed will, application, loftypurpose, and noble ideals serve to win success even against the greatestodds. Many a young man will draw inspiration from it which will aid himin making his life work a success. "_School Journal_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY PRESS REVIEWS OF The Young Man Entering Business "A readable volume on a substantial topic, which discusses actual questions. The counsel ofan experienced person. "_Pittsburgh Post_. Abounds in Specific Advice "We can easily conceive that a young man who gets this book into hishands may, in after life, date his success from reading it. It is sound, wholesome, stimulating. The treatment is concrete. It abounds inspecific advice and telling illustration. "_Southern Observer_. Stimulates and Encourages "Packed as it is with sensible, practical counsels, this volume can becordially recommended to stimulate and encourage young men starting outin business life. "_Brooklyn Times_. A Necessity to Earnest Young Men "There is such a thing as the science of success. Dr. Marden has made astudy of it. He writes in simple, attractive style. He deals with facts. The book should be in the hands of every earnest young man. "_Christian Advocate_. Entertaining as Well as Helpful "So interwoven with personal incident and illustration that it is anentertaining as well as a helpful book. "_Christian Observer_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY Opinions of The Miracle of Right Thought Dr. Sheldon Leavitt says: "I wish to state that I am unusually well pleased with Dr. Marden's'Miracle of Right Thought. ' It is the best work of the author. " Ralph Waldo Trine says: "This is one of those inspiring, reasonable and valuable books that arebringing new life and new power to so many thousands all over ourcountry and all over the world to-day. " "You have formulated a philosophy which must sooner or later be universally accepted. Your book shows howthe right mental attitude helps one in the realization of every laudableambition, and the value of cultivating a bright, self-reliant habit ofthought. I congratulate you on it. " G. H. SANDISON, _Editor, The Christian Herald_. "It is marked by sanctified common sense; it is in line with the advance thought of to-day, and yet it is sosimple in statement that unlettered men and untrained youths can masterits best thoughts and translate them into their daily lives. " REV. R. S. MacARTHUR, D. D. , _New York City_. REV. F. E. Clark, President United Societyof Christian Endeavor, says: "I regard 'The Miracle of Right Thought' as one of Dr. Marden's verybest books, and that is saying a great deal. He has struck the modernnote of the power of mind over bodily conditions in a fresh and mostinteresting way, while he has not fallen into the mistake of some NewThought writers of eliminating the personal God from the universe. Noone can read this book sympathetically, I believe, without being happierand better. " THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY Selling Things By ORISON SWETT MARDEN A Book For Salesmen "Deals with the training of salesmen and the necessary attributes tomake them successful. All phases of the subject are considered: clothes, presence, ability to talk, persuasive powers, tact, helping and gettingthe customer to buy. "_Bookseller_. Will be Welcome "A book that will be gladly welcomed by sales managers and salesmen inevery field. "_Philadelphia Public Ledger_. Helps to Prosperity "One of the best things that you have written, and ought to be in thehands of every man who would call himself a salesman. There are manypoints therein that will certainly help him to prosperity. "_Samuel Brill_. A Masterful Work "A masterful work and is filled from cover to cover with practicalusable information for young men and women. I consider this book one ofthe best things you have done, and that is saying a great deal when theexcellence of your previous works is taken into consideration. "_Hudson Maxim_. A Powerful Factor "In our opinion, if 'selling' would be given more thought by such worldfamous writers as you, it would be a powerful factor in the completerevolution of business, and eliminate to a great extent the waste oftime, money and human life that is so recklessly thrown away under thepresent ignorance of true salesmanship. "_N. A. Corking, Sales Mgr. , Ford Motor Company_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY OPINIONS OF Rising in the World "A storehouse of incentive, a treasury of precious sayings; a granary of seed-thoughts capable, under proper cultivation, of a fine character harvest. "--EDWARD A. HORTON. "A stimulating book which is pitched at a high note and rings true. "--EDWIN M. BACON. "Has all the excellences of style and matter that gave to 'Pushing to the Front' its signal success. Dr. Marden's power of pithy statement and pertinent illustration seemsinexhaustible. "--W. F. WARREN, _Former President of Boston University_. Touches the Springs of Life "Dr. Marden has touched the springs of life and set forth withmarvellous and convincing power the results obtained by those inspiredby high resolves, lofty aspirations, and pure motives. No one can risefrom reading this book without cleaner desires, firmer resolutions, andsublime ambition. "--MYRON T. PRITCHARD, _Master of Everett School, Boston_. Its Immortal Possibilities "Has the same iron in the blood, the same vigorous constitution, thesame sanguine temperament, the same immortal possibilities as 'Pushingto the Front. '"--THOMAS W. BICKNELL, _Ex-U. S. Commissioner ofEducation_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY Letters to Dr. Marden concerning Every Man a King Success vs. Failure "One of the most inspiring books I have ever read. I should like topurchase a thousand and distribute them, as I believe the reading ofthis book would make the difference between success and failure in manylives. " CHAS. E. SCHMICK, _House of Representatives, Mass_. Worth One Hundred Dollars "I would not take one hundred dollars for your book, 'Every Man a King, 'if no other were available. " WILLARD MERRIAM, _New York City_. Unfailing Optimism "The unfailing note of optimism which rings through all your works isdistinctly sounded here. " W. E. HUNTINGTON, _Pres. , Boston University_. The Keynote of Life "'Every Man a King' strikes the keynote of life. Any one of its chaptersis well worth the cost of the book. " E. J. TEAGARDEN, _Danbury, Conn_. Simply Priceless "I have just read it with tremendous interest, and I frankly say that Iregard it as simply priceless. Its value to me is immeasurable, and Ishould be glad if I could put it in the hands of every intelligent youngman and woman in this country. " CHAS. STOKES WAYNE, _Chappaqua, N. Y. _ Renewed Ambition "I have read and re-read it with pleasure and renewed ambition. I shallever keep it near at hand as a frequent reminder and an invaluabletext-book. " H. H. WILLIAMS, _Brockton, Mass_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. , NEW YORK The Victorious Attitude By ORISON SWETT MARDEN A Soul Doctor "This book should be read by all discouraged people. It is a tonic--anda moral bracer of the first order. Most of us need to have ourself-confidence stimulated, and Dr. Marden stimulates it. He is a souldoctor. "_Richmond Times Dispatch_. Buoyant and Breezy "Full of fresh ideas couched in straightforward language. Buoyant, breezy and highly stimulating. _San Francisco Bulletin_. A Wallet of Truth "There is a crammed wallet of truth in your book. May it go forth toinspire men with the fine courage of life. "_Edwin Markham_. Excellent Advice "The homely truths and excellent bits of advice contained is Dr. Marden's book will make instructive reading. It is written in forcibleand easily understandable style. "_Buffalo Commercial_. Cannot Fail to Help "Clear, direct and vigorous in expression, and so uplifting andwholesome in subject matter, that it cannot fail to be of help to manypeople who are in need of just such advice. "_Des Moines Register_. Nothing More Valuable "One of the very best books that you ever produced. The book is like amedicine to me. I commended it to our students put it in our library andit has been in great demand. I know of nothing finer or more valuablefor young people who are struggling for an education. "_Rev. O. S. Krisbel, D. D. _ THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY Letters to Dr. Marden concerning He Can Who Thinks He Can Will Do Amazing Good "I believe 'He Can Who Thinks He Can, ' comprising some of youreditorials, which appear akin to divine inspiration in words of cheer, hope, courage and success, will do amazing good. " JAMES PETER, _Independence, Kas_. Greatest Things Ever Written "Your editorials on the subjects of self-confidence and self-help arethe greatest things ever written along that line. " H. L. DUNLAP, _Waynesburg, Pa_. Gripping Power "Presents the truth in a remarkably clear and forcible manner, with agripping power back of the writing. It is beautiful and inspiring. " C. W. SMELSER, _Coopertown, Okla_. Beginning of My Success "Your editorials have helped me mere than any other reading. Thebeginning of my success was when I commenced to practise yourteachings. " BRUCE HARTMAN, _Honolulu, T. H. _ Wishes to Reprint It "I have been very much impressed by the chapter on 'New Thought, NewLife. ' I would like to send a copy of it to two thousand of mycustomers, giving due credit of course. " John D. MORRIS, _Philadelphia, Pa_. Full of Light and Joy "I have studied the subject of New Thought for ten years, but have neverseen anything so comprehensive, so full of light and joy, as yourtreatment of it. When I think of the good it will do, and the thousandsit will reach, my heart rejoices. " LOUISE MARKSCHEFFEL, _Toledo, O_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. , NEW YORK OPINIONS OF The Joys of Living In Every Sense Worth While "A ringing call for a joyful life is just what this old world needs tohear and to heed. A saner, wiser, more helpful book than this we haverarely read. .. . In every sense well worth the while. "_The Examiner_. Wholesome Reading "The book makes wholesome reading. One lays it down with a resolve tofind more happiness in his life and a determination to live more in thepresent. "_Springfield Republican_. One of the Author's Best "The author has been doing uniformly good work, work that has elicitedwarmest commendations from leading men of the country. 'The Joys ofLiving' is one of Dr. Marden's best books. "_Chicago Standard_. More Such Teachers Wanted "Give us more such teachers and writers, more such heralds of the newand ever present kingdom of Good, of joy, of Opulence! Just read thisbook yourself and you will change your whole mental attitude. "_The Truth-Seeker_. A Book for the Nerve-worn "The book is one that our rushing American world needs. If you feelcompassion for any nerve-worn, unhappy man or woman, tell them of thismessage. Better still, send the book to some one who needs it. "_Portland Oregonian_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY Press Reviews of Dr. Marden's Be Good to Yourself "The author is a wonder, -- one of the very best preachers, through the pen, of our time. "_Zion's Herald_. "Just such a discussion of personality as we all need. The titles of the chapters are appetizing and the adviceand lessons taught are good. It will help many a reader to understandhimself better. "_The Advance_. "The kind counsel of a new book by Orison Swett Marden, who says there are many people who are good toothers but not to themselves This is a fine volume from every point ofview. "_The Religious Telescope_. "Of a thoroughly inspirational character, these essays are calculated to awaken and sustain the right sort ofambition and evolve a manly type of character. They are surcharged withfaith, optimism, and common sense. "_The Boston Herald_. "Dr. Marden's friends, who are to be found in all quarters of the globe, wait eagerly for suchadvice as this, on how to be happy, hearty, and healthy. "_Seattle Post Intelligencer_. THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY