Doyourememberthatgreenthingsgrow?
\"Isnotshethelimit?\"theyoftspakeonetoanother。Shewas。Shemademanyblunders。Butitisnowrecalledthatshenevermadethesameblundertwice。Shelearnedthelessonwithonehelpingtothebumps。
Andshenever\"gotdone。\"Whenshehadfinishedherwork,theworkshehadbeenputat,shewoulddiscoversomethingelsethatoughttobedone,andshewouldgorightonworking,contrarytotherulesoftheunion!Withoutbeingtold,mindyou。Shehadthatrarefacultytheworldisbiddingfor——initiative。
Theothergirls\"gotdone。\"Whentheyhadfinishedtheworktheyhadbeenputat,theywouldwait——O,sopatientlytheywouldwait——tobetoldwhattodonext。
WithinthreemonthseveryothergirlinthatofficewasaskingquestionsofthelittleDutchgirl。Shehadlearnedmoreaboutbusinessinthreemonthsthantheothershadlearnedinallthetimetheyhadbeenthere。Nothingeverescapedher。Shehadbecomethemostcapablegirlintheoffice。
Thebarreldidtherest。Todaysheisgivingorderstoallofthem,forsheistheofficesuperintendent。
Theothergirlsfeelhurtaboutit。Theywilltellyouinconfidencethatitwastherankestfavoritismeverknown。\"Therewasnothingfairaboutit。Jennieoughttohavebeenmadesuperintendent。Jenniehadbeenherefouryears。\"
The\"Unlucky\"OneTheotherdayinapaper-millIwasstandingbesidealongmachinemakingshinysuper-calenderedpaper。Iaskedthemanworkingtheresomequestionsaboutthemachine,whichheansweredfairlywell。
ThenIaskedhimaboutamachineinthenextroom。Hesaid,\"I
don’tknownothingaboutit,boss,Idon’tworkinthere。\"
Iaskedhimaboutanotherprocess,andhereplied,\"Idon’tknownothingaboutit,Ineverworkedinthere。\"Iaskedhimaboutthepulpmill。Hereplied,\"No,Idon’tknownothingaboutthat,neither。Idon’tworkinthere。\"Andhedidnotbetraytheleastdesiretoknowanythingaboutanything。
\"Howlonghaveyouworkedhere?\"
\"Abouttwelveyears。\"
Goingoutofthebuilding,Iaskedtheforeman,\"Doyouseethatmanoverthereatthesupercalenderedmachine?\"pointingtothemanwhodidn’tknow。\"Isheahumanbeing?\"
Theforeman’sfaceclouded。\"Ihatetotalktoyouaboutthatman。
Heisoneofthekindest-heartedmenweeverhadintheworks,butwe’vegottolethimgo。We’reafraidhe’llbreakthemachine。Heisn’tinterested,doesnotlearn,doesn’ttrytolearn。\"
Sohehadbeguntorattle。Nobodycanstaywhereherattles。Itisgroworgo。
Life’sBarreltheLevelerSobookscouldbefilledwithjustsuchstoriesofhowpeoplehavegoneupanddown。Youmayhavenoticedtwobrothersstartwiththesamechance,andpresentlynoticethatoneisgoingupandtheotherisgoingdown。
Someofusbeginlifeonthetopbranches,rightinthesunshineofpopularfavor,andgetournamesintheblue-bookatthestart。
Someofusbegindownintheshadeonthebottombranches,andwedonotevengetinvited。Weoftenbecomediscouragedaswelookatthetop-branchers,andwesay,\"O,ifIonlyhadhischance!IfI
wereonlyupthereImightamounttosomething。ButIamtoolowdown。\"
Wecangrow。Everybodycangrow。
Andafterwhileweareallinthebarreloflife,shakenandbumpedabout。Theretherealpeopledonotoftenaskus,\"Onwhatbranchofthattreedidyougrow?\"Buttheyofteninquire,\"Areyoubigenoughtofillthisplace?\"
TheFatalRattle!
Nowlifeismainlyroutine。YouandIandeverybodymustgoondoingprettymuchthesamethingsoverandover。Everydayweappeartohaveaboutthesameroundofduties。
Butifweletlifebecomeroutine,weareshakingdown。Theveryroutineoflifemusteverydayflashanewattractiveness。Wemustbelearningnewthingsanddiscoveringnewjoysinourdailyroutineorwebecomeunhappy。Ifwegoondoingjustthesamethingsinthesamewaydayafterday,thinkingthesamethoughts,oureyesgluedtoprecedents——justturningroundandroundinourplacesandnotgrowingany,prettysoonwebecomemeremachines。Wewearsmaller。Thejoyandjuicegooutofourlives。Weshrivelandrattle。
Thesuccess,joyandgloryoflifeareinlearning,growing,goingforwardandupward。Thatistheonlywaytoholdourplace。
Thefarmermustbelearningnewthingsaboutfarmingtoholdhisplacethisprogressiveageasafarmer。Themerchantmustbegrowingintoagreater,wisermerchanttoholdhisplaceamonghiscompetitors。Theministermustbegettinglargervisionsoftheministryashegoesbackintothesameoldpulpittokeeponfillingit。Theteachermustbeseeingnewpossibilitiesinthesameoldschoolroom。Themothermustbegettingalargerhorizoninherhomemaking。
Weonlyliveaswegrowandlearn。Whenanybodystaysinthesameplaceyearafteryearandfillsit,hedoesnotrattle。
Unlesstheplaceisagrave!
IshiverasIseethepagesofschooladvertisementsinthejournalslabeled\"FinishingSchools,\"and\"APlacetoFinishYourChild。\"Iknowtheschoolsgenerallymeanallright,butIfearthestudentswillgettheideatheyarebeingfinished,whichfinishesthem。Weneverfinishwhilewelive。Aschoolfinishingisacommencement,notanend-ment。
Iamsorryfortheonewhosays,\"Iknowallthereistoknowaboutthat。Youcan’ttellmeanythingaboutthat。\"Heisgenerallyrattling。
Thegreaterandwisertheman,themoreanxiousheistobetold。
Iamsorryfortheonewhostrutsaroundsaying,\"Iownthejob。
Theycan’tgetalongwithoutme。\"ForIfeelthattheyaregettingreadytogetalongwithouthim。Thatnoiseyouhearisthedeath-rattleinhisthroat。
Bigbusinessmenkeeptheirearsopenforrattlesintheirmachinery。
Iamsorryfortheman,communityorinstitutionthatspendsmuchtimepointingbackwardwithprideandtalkingabout\"inmyday!\"
Foritismostlyrattle。Theliveone’s\"myday\"istodayandtomorrow。Thedeadone’sisyesterday。
WeMustGetReadytoGetWeyoungpeoplecomeupintolifewantinggreatplaces。Iwouldnotgivemuchforayoungperson(oranyotherperson)whodoesnotwantagreatplace。Iwouldnotgivemuchforanybodywhodoesnotlookforwardtogreaterandbetterthingstomorrow。
Weoftenthinkthewaytogetagreatplaceisjusttogoafteritandgetit。Ifwedonothavepullenough,getsomemorepull。Getsomemoretestimonials。
Wethinkifwecouldonlygetintoagreatplacewewouldbegreat。
Butunlesswehavegrownasgreatastheplacewewouldbeagreatjoke,forwewouldrattle。Andwhenwehavegrownasgreatastheplace,thatsizedplacewillgenerallycomeseekingus。
Wedonotbecomegreatbygettingintoagreatplace,anymorethanaboybecomesamanbygettingintohisfather’sboots。Heisingreatboots,butherattles。Hemustgrowgreaterfeetbeforehegetsgreaterboots。Buthemustgetthefeetbeforehegetstheboots。
Wemustgetreadyforthingsbeforewegetthem。
Alllifeispreparationforgreaterthings。
Moseswaseightyyearsgettingreadytodofortyyearswork。TheMasterwasthirtyyearsgettingreadytodothreeyearswork。Somanyofusexpecttogetreadyin\"foureasylessonsbymail。\"
Wecanbeapumpkininonesummer,withtheaccentonthe\"punk。\"
Wecanbeamushroominaday,withtheaccentonthe\"mush。\"Butwecannotbecomeanoakthatway。
Theworldisnotgreatlyimpressedbytestimonials。Themanwhohasthemosttestimonialsgenerallyneedsthemmosttokeephimfromrattling。Atestimonialsooftenbecomesacrutch。
Manyamanwritesatestimonialtogetridofsomebody。\"Well,I
hopeitwilldohimsomegood。Anyhow,Ihavegottenhimoffmyhands。\"IheardaChicagosuperintendentsaytohisforeman,\"Givehimatestimonialandfirehim!\"
Itisdangeroustooverboostpeople,forthehigheryouboostthemthefarthertheywillfall。
TheMenaceofthePress-NoticeNowtestimonialsandpress-noticesveryoftenserveusefulends。Inlyceumwork,inteaching,inverymanylines,theyareoftenusefultointroduceastranger。Aletterofintroductionisuseful。A
diploma,adegree,acertificate,alicense,arebutdifferentkindsoftestimonials。
Thedangeristhattheheroofthemmaygettoleaninguponthem。
Thentheybecomeamirrorforhisvanityinsteadofamonitorforhisvitality。
Mosttestimonialsandpress-noticesarefrankflatteries。Theymagnifythegoodpointsandsaylittleaspossibleaboutthebadones。IlookbackovermylyceumlifeandseethatIhinderedmyprogressbyreadingmypress-noticesinsteadoflisteningtotheverdictofmyaudiences。Iavoidedfrankcriticism。Itwouldhurtme。WheneverIheardanadversecriticism,Iwouldgoandreadafewpress-notices。\"There,Iamallright,forthisclippingsaysIamthegreatestever,andshouldhereturn,nohallwouldbeabletocontainthecrowd。\"
Andmyvanitybumpwouldagainrise。
Alas!HowoftenIhavelearnedthatwhenIdidreturnthehallthatwasfilledbeforewasentirelytoobigfortheaudience!TheeditorsofAmerica——Godblessthem!Theyarealwaystryingtoboostahomeenterprise——notforthesakeoftheimportedattractionbutforthesakeofthehomefolkswhoimportit。
Wemustreadpeople,notpress-notices。
Whenyougettotheplacewhereyoucanstandasideand\"seeyourselfgoby\"——whenyoucankeepstillandseeeveryfibreofyouandyourworkmercilesslydissected,shakehandswithyourselfandrejoice,forthekingdomofsuccessisyours。
TheArtificialUpliftTherearesomanyloving,sincere,foolish,cruelupliftmovementsintheland。Theyspringup,fail,wail,disappear,onlytobesucceededbytwiceasmanymore。Theyfailbecauseinsteadofhavingthebarreldotheuplifting,theytrytodoitwithaderrick。
Thevictimsoftheartificialupliftcannotstayuplifted。Theyrattleback,and\"thelastestateofthatmanisworsethanthefirst。\"
Youcannotupliftabeggarbygivinghimalms。Youareusingthederrick。Wemustfeedthehungryandclothethenaked,butthatisnothelpingthem,thatisproppingthem。Thebeggarwhoasksyoutohelphimdoesnotwanttobehelped。Hewantstobepropped。Hewantsyoutolicensehimandprofessionalizehimasabeggar。
Youcanonlyhelpamantohelphimself。Helphimtogrow。Youcannothelpmanypeople,fortherearenotmanypeoplewillingtobehelpedontheinside。Notmanywillingtogrowup。
WhenPeterandJohnwentuptothetempletheyfoundthelamebeggarsittingatthegateBeautiful。Everydaythebeggarhadbeen\"helped。\"Everydayastheylaidhimatthegatepeoplewouldpassthruthegateandseehim。Hewouldsay,\"Helpme!\"\"Poorman,\"
theywouldreply,\"youareinabadfix。Hereishelp,\"andtheywouldthrowhimsomemoney。
Andsoeverydaythatbeggargottobemoreofabeggar。Thepublic\"helped\"himtobepoorerinspirit,morehelplessandamorehopelesscripple。Nodoubthebelongedafterafewdaysofthe\"helping\"totheJerusalemBeggars’Unionandcarriedhiscard。
Maybehepaidacommissionforsuchachoicebeggars’beat。
ButPeterreallyhelpedhim。\"SilverandgoldhaveInone;butsuchasIhavegiveIthee:InthenameofJesusChristofNazarethriseupandwalk。\"
FixthePeople,NottheBarrelIusedtosay,\"Nobodyusesmeright。Nobodygivesmeachance。\"
Butifchanceshadbeensnakes,Iwouldhavebeenbittenahundredtimesaday。Weneedoculists,notopportunities。
Iusedtoworkonthe\"section\"andgetadollarandfifteencentsaday。Irattledthere。Ididnotearnmydollarfifteen。ItriedtoseehowlittleIcoulddoandlooklikeIwasworking。IwastheArtfulDodgerofSectionSixteen。Whenthewhistlewouldblow——O,joyfulsound!——Iwouldleavemypickhangrightupintheair。I
wouldnotbringitdownagainforasoullesscorporation。
IusedtowonderasIpassedBillBarlow’sbankonthewaydowntothesection-house,whyIwasnotpresidentofthatbank。IwonderedwhyIwasnotsittingupononeofthosemahoganyseatsinsteadofpumpingahandcar。Iwasnaturallybright。Iusedtosay\"Iftherichwasn’tgettingricherandthepoorpoorer,I’dbepresidentofabank。\"
Didyoueverhearthatlineofconversation?Itgenerallycomesfromsomebodywhorattleswhereheis。
IamsogladnowthatIdidnotgettobepresidentofthebank。
Theyareglad,too!Iwouldhaverattleddowninaboutfifteenminutes,downtothepeanutrow,forIwasonlyapeanut。Remember,thehand-carjobisjustashonorableasthebankjob,butasIwasnotfaithfuloverafewthings,Iwouldhaverattledovermanythings。
Thefairybookslovetotellaboutsomeclodhoppersuddenlyenchantedupintoaking。Butlife’sgoodfairiesseetoitthattheclodhopperisenchantedintoreadinessforkingshipbeforehelandsuponthethrone。
Theonlywaytoruleothersistolearntoruleourself。
Iusedtosay,\"JustwaittillIgettoCongress。\"Ithinktheyareallwaiting!\"I’llfixthings。I’llpasslawsrequiringallapplestobethesamesize。Yes,I’llpasslawstoturnthebarrelupsidedown,sothelittleoneswillbeonthetopandthebigoneswillbeatthebottom。\"
ButIhadnotseenthatitwouldn’tmatterwhichendwasthetop,thebigoneswouldshakerightuptoitandthelittleoneswouldshakedowntothebottom。
Thelittlemanhasthechancenow,justasfastashegrows。Youcannotfixthebarrel。Youcanonlyfixthepeopleinsidethebarrel。
Haveyouevernoticedthatthemanwhoisnotwillingtofixhimself,istheonewhowantstogetthemostlawspassedtofixotherpeople?Hewantssomethingfornothing。
ThatCruelFateO,IamsogladIdidnotgetthethingsIwantedatthetimeI
wantedthem!Theywouldhavebeencoffee-pots。Thankgoodness,wedonotgetthecoffee-potuntilwearereadytohandleit。
TodayyouandIhavethingswecouldn’thaveyesterday。Wejustwantedthemyesterday。O,howwewantedthem!Butacruelfatewouldnotletushavethem。Todaywehavethem。Theycometousasnaturallytoday,andweseeitisbecausewehavegrownreadyforthem,andthebarrelhasshakenusuptothem。
TodayyouandIwantthingsbeyondourreach。O,howwewantthem!
Butacruelfatewillnotletushavethem。
Doyounotseethat\"cruelfate\"isourownsmallnessandunreadiness?Aswegrowgreaterwehavegreaterthings。Wehavetodayallwecanstandtoday。Morewouldwreckus。Morewouldstartustorattling。
Gettingupisgrowingup。
Andthisblessedoldbarreloflifeisjustwaitingandanxioustoshakeeverybodyupasfastaseverybodygrows。
ChapterV
GoingUpHowWeBecomeGreatWEgoupaswegrowgreat。Thatis,wegoupaswegrowup。Butsomanyaretryingtogrowgreatontheoutsidewithoutgrowinggreatontheinside。Theyrattleontheinside!
Theyfoolthemselves,butnobodyelse。
Thereisonlyonegreatness——insidegreatness。Alloutsidegreatnessismerelyanincidentalreflectionoftheinside。
Greatnessisnotmeasuredinanymaterialterms。Itisnotmeasuredininches,dollars,acres,votes,hurrahs,orbyanyotheroftheworld’syardsticksorbarometers。
Greatnessismeasuredinspiritualterms。Itiseducation。Itislifeexpansion。
Wegoupfromselfishnesstounselfishness。
Wegoupfromimpuritytopurity。
Wegoupfromunhappinesstohappiness。
Wegoupfromweaknesstostrength。
Wegoupfromlowidealstohighideals。
Wegoupfromlittlevisiontogreatervision。
Wegoupfromfoolishnesstowisdom。
Wegoupfromfeartofaith。
Wegoupfromignorancetounderstanding。
Wegoupbyourownpersonalefforts。Wegoupbyourownservice,sacrifice,struggleandovercoming。Wepushoutourownskyline。Weriseaboveourownobstacles。Welearntosee,hear,holdandunderstand。
Wemaybecomeverygreat,veryeducated,riseveryhigh,andyetnotleaveourkitchenorblacksmithshop。Wetakethekitchenorblacksmithshoprightupwithus!Wemakeitagreatkitchenorgreatblacksmithshop。Itbecomesourthrone-room!
Come,letusgrowgreater。Thereisathroneforeachofus。
\"GettingtotheTop\"
\"Gettingtothetop\"istheworld’spetdelusion。Thereisnotop。
Nomatterhowhighwerise,wediscoverinfinitedistancesabove。
Thehigherwerise,thebetterweseethatlifeonthisplanetisthegoingupfromtheFinitetotheInfinite。
Theworldsaysthattogetgreatnessmeanstogetgreatthings。Sotheworldisinthebusinessofgetting——gettinggreatfortunes,greatlands,greattitles,greatapplause,greatfame,andfolderol。Afterwhilethepooroldworldhearstheemptyrattleoftheinside,andwails,\"Allisvanity。Ifindnopleasureinthem。
Lifeisafailure。\"Alloutsidelifeisafailure。Reallifeisinbeingthingsontheinside,notingettingthingsontheoutside。
Iwearyoftheworld’spink-sheetextrasabout\"GettingtotheTop\"
and\"ForgingtotheFront。\"Toooftentheyarethesordidstoryofafewscramblingovertheheadsoftheweakerones。Sometimestheyarethestoryofonepigcrowdingtheotherpigsoutofthetroughandcorneringalltheswill!
TheSecretofGreatnessChristJesuswasagreatTeacher。Hismissionwastoeducatehumanity。
Therecametohimthosetwodiscipleswhowantedto\"gettothetop。\"ThosetwosonsofZebedeewantedtohavethegreatestplacesinthenewkingdomtheyimaginedhewouldestablishonearth。
Theygotverybusypursuinggreatness,butIdonotreadthattheywerehalfsobusypreparingforgreatness。Theyevenhadtheirmotheroutelectioneeringforthem。
\"O,Master,\"saidthemother,\"grantthatthesemytwosonsmaysit,theoneonthyrighthand,andtheotherontheleft,inthykingdom。\"
TheMasterlookedwithloveandpityupontheirunpreparedness。
\"Areyeabletodrinkofthecup?\"Thenhegavetheonlydefinitionofgreatnessthatcaneverstand:\"Whosoeverwillbegreatamongyou,lethimbeyourminister;andwhosoeverwillbechiefamongyou,lethimbeyourservant。\"
Thatiswecannotbe\"borngreat,\"nor\"havegreatnessthrustupon\"
us。Wemust\"achievegreatness\"bydevelopingitontheinside——developingabilitytoministerandtoserve。
Wecannotbuyagreatarm。Ourarmmustbecomeagreatservant,andthusitbecomesgreat。
Wecannotbuyagreatmind。Ourmindmustbecomeagreatservant,andthusitbecomesgreat。
Wecannotbuyagreatcharacter。Itisearnedingreatmoralservice。
TheFirstStepatHandThisistheBigBusinessoflife——goingup,gettingeducated,gettinggreatnessontheinside。Gettinggreatnessontheoutsideislittlebusiness。Muchofitmightylittle。
Everybody’sprivilegeanddutyistobecomegreat。Andthejoyofitisthatthefirststepisalwaysnearestathand。WedonothavetogoofftoNewYorkorChicagoorgochasingaroundtheworldtobecomegreat。Itisagreatstairwaythatleadsfromwhereourfeetarenowupwardforaninfinitenumberofsteps。
Wemusttakethefirststepnow。Mostofuswanttotakethehundredthsteporthethousandthstepnow。Wewanttomakesomespectacularstrideofathousandstepsatoneleap。Thatiswhywefallsohardwhenwemissourstep。
Wemustgorightbacktoouroldplace——intoourkitchenorourworkshoporourofficeandtakethefirststep,solvetheproblemnearestathand。Wemustmakeouroldworkluminouswithanewdevotion。Wemustbattleupovereveryinch。Andasfastaswesolveanddissolvethedifficultiesandturnourburdensintoblessings,wefindlove,theuniversalsolvent,shiningoutofourlives。Wefindourspiritualinfluencesgoingupward。Sothewindsofearthareborn;theyrushinfromthecoldlandstothewarmupwardcurrents。Andsoasourproblemsdisappearandourlifecurrentssetupward,theworldisdrawntowarduswithitsproblems。
Wefindourkitchenorworkshoporofficebecominganewthroneofpower。Wefindtheworldaroundusrisinguptocallusblessed。
Aswegrowgreaterourtroublesgrowsmaller,forweseethemthrugreatereyes。Weriseabovethem。
Aswegrowgreaterouropportunitiesgrowgreater。Thatis,webegintoseethem。Theyarearoundusallthetime,butwemustgetgreatereyestoseethem。
Generallyspeaking,thesmallerourvisionofourwork,themoreweadmirewhatwehaveaccomplishedand\"pointwithpride。\"Thegreaterourvision,themoreweseewhatisyettobeaccomplished。
Itwasthesweetgirlgraduatewhoatcommencementwonderedhowonesmallheadcouldcontainitall。ItwasNewtonaftergivingtheworldanewsciencewholookedbackoveritandsaid,\"Iseemtohavebeenonlyaboyplayingontheseashore***whilethegreatoceanoftruthlayallundiscoveredbeforeme。\"Thatgreatoceanisbeforeusall。
TheWidow’sMitesThegreatTeacherpointedtothewidowwhocasthertwomitesintothetreasury,andthentotherichmenwhohadcastinmuchmore。
\"Thispoorwidowhathcastinmorethantheyall。ForallthesehaveoftheirabundancecastinuntotheofferingsofGod:butsheofherpenuryhathcastinallthelivingthatshehad。\"
Thotherichmenhadcastinmore,yetitwasonlyapartoftheirpossessions。Thewidowcastinless,butitwasallshehad。TheMastercaredlittlewhatthefootingsofthemoneywereinthetreasury。Thatisnotwhywegive。Wegivetobecomegreat。Thewidowhadgivenall——hadcompletelyovercomeherselfishnessandfearofwant。
Becominggreatisovercomingourselfishnessandfear。Hethatsavethhislifeshallloseit,buthethatlosethhislifefortheadvancementofthekingdomofhappinessonearthshallfinditgreatandglorified。
Ourgreatnessthereforedoesnotdependuponhowmuchwegiveoruponwhatwedo,whetherpeelingpotatoesorrulinganation,butuponthepercentageofouroutputtoourresources。Upondoingwithourmightwhatourhandsfindtodo。Quitworryingaboutwhatyoucannotgettodo。Rejoiceindoingthethingsyoucangettodo。
Andasyouarefaithfuloverafewthingsyougouptoberulerovermany。
Theworldsayssomeofushavegoldengiftsandsomehavecoppergifts。Butwhenwecastthemallintothetreasuryofrightservice,thereisanalchemythattransmuteseverygiftintogold。
Everyworkisdrudgerywhendoneselfishly。Everyworkbecomesgoldenwhendoneinagoldenmanner。
FindingtheGreatPeopleIdonotknowwhofittedtheboardsintothefloorIstandupon。I
donotknowallthegreatpeoplewhomaycomeandstanduponthisfloor。ButIdoknowthattheonewhomadethefloor——andtheonewhosweepsit——isjustasgreatasanybodyintheworldwhomaycomeandstanduponit,ifeachbedoinghisworkwiththesamelove,faithfulnessandcapability。
Wehavetolookfartherthanthe\"Who’sWho\"andDunandBradstreettomakearosterofthegreatpeopleofacommunity。YouwillfindthecommunityheartintheprecioushandfulwhobelievethattheserviceofGodistheserviceofman。
Thegreatpeopleofthecommunityserveandsacrificeforabettertomorrow。Theyarethefaithfulfewwhogetbehindthechurches,theschools,thelyceumandchautauqua,andalltheothermovementsthatgoupward。
Theyaretheoneswhoare\"alwaystryingtorunthings。\"Theyarethehappyones,happyforthelargervisionthatcomesastheygohigherbyunselfishservice。Theyarediscoveringthattheirsweetestpaycomesfromdoingmanythingstheyarenotpaidfor。
Theyrarelygetthanked,forthecommunitydoesnotoftenthinkofthankingthemuntilitcomestimetodraftthe\"resolutionsofrespect。\"
Ihadtogotothemouthofacoal-mineinalittleIllinoistown,tofindthemanthebureauhadgivenaslyceumcommitteemanthere。
Iwonderedwhatthegrimy-facedmanfromtheshaft,wearingtheminer’slampinhiscap,couldpossiblyhavetodowiththelyceumcourse。ButIlearnedthathehadalltodowithit。Hehadsoldtheticketsandhaddoneallthemanaging。HewassuperintendentoftheSundayschool。Hewasthestorm-centerofeveryaltruisticeffortinthetown——thegreatestmanthere,becausethemostserviceable,thoheworkedeverydayfulltimewithhispickathisbread-and-butterjob。
Thegreatpeoplearesobusyservingthattheyhavelittletimetostrutandposeintheshowplaces。Fewofthemare\"prominentclubmen。\"Yourarelyfindtheirnamesinthesocietypage。Theyrarelygive\"brilliantsocialfunctions。\"Theiridlefamiliesattendtosuchthings。
AGlimpseofGunsaulusIfoundagreatmanlecturingatthechautauquas。HepreachesinChicagoonSundaystothousands。Hewritesbooksandrunsacollegehefoundedbyhisownpreaching。Heisthemainspringofsomanyupliftmovementsthathisnamegetsintothepapersabouteveryday,andyoureaditinalmosteverycommitteedoinggoodthingsinChicago。
HehadbrokenawayfromChicagotohaveavacation。Manypeoplethinkthatavacationmeansgoingoffsomewhereandstretchingoutundertreesorlettingthemindbecomeablank。ButthisChicagopreacherwentfromonechautauquatowntoanother,andtookhisvacationgoingupanddownthestreets。Hedugintothelocalhistoryofeachplace,andbeforedinnerheknewmoreabouttheplacethanmostofthenatives。
\"Thereisasermonforme,\"hewouldexclaimeveryhalf-hour。Hewenttoseepeoplewhoweredoingthings。Hewenttoseepeoplewhoweredoingnothing。Ineverytownhewoulddiscoversomebodyofunusualattainment。Hemadeeverytownanunusualtown。Heturnedthehumdrumtravelmapintoawonderland。Hescoldedlazytownsandpraisedenterprisingones。Hestoppedyoungfellowsonthestreets。
\"Whatareyougoingtodoinlife?\"Perhapstheyoungmanwouldsay,\"Ihavenochance。\"\"YoucometoChicagoandI’llgiveyouachance,\"themanonhisvacationwouldreply。
SothisChicagopreacherwasbusyeveryday,workingovertimeonhisvacation。Hewasbusyaboutotherpeople’sbusiness。Hedidnotonceaskthepriceofland,norwheretherewasagoodinvestmentforhimself,buteverydayhewastryingtomakeaninvestmentinsomebodyelse。
Hisfriendswouldsometimesworryabouthim。Theywouldsay,\"Whydoesn’tthedoctortakecareofhimself,insteadoftakingcareofeverybodyelse?Hewearshimselfoutforotherpeopleuntilhehasn’tstrengthenoughlefttolectureanddohisownwork。\"
Sometimestheywererightaboutthat。
Buthethatsavethhislifeshallloseit,andhethatlosethhislifeinlovingservicefindsitreturningtohimgreatandglorious。Thisman’spreachingdidnotmakehimgreat。Hiscollegedidnotmakehimgreat。Hisbooksdidnotmakehimgreat。Thesearetheby-products。Hislifeofserviceforothersmakeshimgreat——makeshispreaching,hiscollegeandhisbooksgreat。
ThisChicagomangiveshislifeintotheserviceofhumanity,anditbecomesthefueltomakethesteamtoaccomplishthewonderfulthingshedoes。Lethimstopand\"takecareofhimself,\"andhiscareerwouldstop。
Ifhehadbegunlifeby\"takingcareofhimself\"and\"lookingoutfornumberone,\"stipulatinginadvanceeverycenthewastogetandwritingitalldowninthecontract,mostlikelyDr。FrankW。
Gunsauluswouldhaveremainedastruggling,discouragedpreacherinthebackwoodsofMorrowcounty,Ohio。
GiveItNowGunsaulusoftensays,\"Youareplanningandsavingandtellingyourselfthatafterwhileyouaregoingtogivegreatthingsanddogreatthings。Giveitnow!Giveyourdollarnow,ratherthanyourthousandsafterwhile。Youneedtogiveitnow,andtheworldneedstogetitnow。\"
ChapterVI
TheProblemof\"Preparedness\"
PreparingChildrentoLiveTHEproblemof\"preparedness\"istheproblemofpreparingchildrenforlife。Allotherkindsof\"preparedness\"fadeintoinsignificancebeforethis。Thehistoryofnationsshowsthattheirstrengthwasnotinthesizeoftheirarmiesandinthevastnessoftheirpopulationandwealth,butinthestrengthandidealsoftheindividualcitizens。
Aslongasthenationwasyoungandgrowing——aslongasthepeoplewerestrugglingandovercoming——thatnationwasstrong。Itwas\"prepared。\"
Butwhenthestrugglestopped,thestrengthwaned,forthestrengthcamefromthestruggle。Whenthepeoplebecamemateriallyprosperousandsurrenderedtoeaseandindulgence,theybecamefat,stall-fedweaklings。
Thentheyfellapreytoyounger,hardierpeoples。
HastheAmericannationreachedthatperiod?
Manyhomesandcommunitieshavereachedit。
AlloverAmericaarefathersandmotherswhohavestruggledandhavebecomestrongmenandwomenthrutheirstruggles,whoaresaying,\"Ourchildrenshallhavebetterchancesthanwehad。Wearelivingforourchildren。Wearegoingtogivethemthebesteducationourmoneycanbuy。\"
Then,forgetfulofhowtheybecamestrong,theyplantotakeawayfromtheirchildrentheirbirthright——theiropportunitytobecomestrongand\"prepared\"——thrustruggleandserviceandovercoming。
Most\"advantages\"aredisadvantages。Givingachildachancegenerallymeansgettingoutofhisway。Manyanorphancanbegratefulthathewasjoltedfromhislife-preserverandcruellyforcedtosinkorswim。Thushelearnedtoswim。
\"Wearegoingtogiveourchildrenthebesteducationourmoneycanbuy。\"
Theythinktheycanbuyaneducation——buywisdom,strengthandunderstanding,andgiveittothemC。O。D!Theyseemtothinktheywillbuyanybrandtheysee——buythehomebrandofeducation,orelsesendofftoNewYorkorParisorto\"SearsRoebuck,\"andgetabucketfuloratankfulofeducation。Iftheyarerichenough,maybetheywillhaveaprivatepipelineofeducationlaidtotheirhome。Theyaregoingtoforcethiseducationintothemregularlyuntiltheygetthemfullofeducation。Theyaregoingtogetthemfullyinflatedwitheducation!
Tollthebell!There’sgoingtobea\"blowout。\"Thoseinflatedchildrenaregoingtohavetorunon\"flattires。\"
Fatherandmothercannotbuytheirchildreneducation。Alltheycandoistobuythemsometools,perhaps,andopenthegateandsay,\"Sic’em,Tige!\"Thechildrenmustgetitthemselves。
Afatherandmothermightaswellsay,\"Wewillbuyourchildrenthestrengthwehaveearnedinourarmsandthewisdomwehaveacquiredinalifeofstruggle。\"Aswellexpecttheathletetogivethemhisphysicaldevelopmenthehasearnedinyearsofexercise。
Aswellexpectthemusiciantogivethemthetechnichehasacquiredinyearsofpractice。Aswellexpectthescholartogivethemtheabilitytothinkhehasdevelopedinyearsofstudy。AswellexpectMosestogivethemhisspiritualunderstandingacquiredinalonglifeofprayer。
Theycanshowthechildrentheway,buteachchildmustmakethejourney。
Hereisatypicalcase。
TheStoryof\"Gussie\"
TherewasafactorytownbackEast。Notaprettytown,butjustagreat,dirtymillandalotoflittledirtyhousesaroundthemill。
Thehandslivedinthelittledirtyhousesandworkedsixdaysoftheweekinthebigmill。
Therewasalittle,oldmanwhowentaboutthatmill,oftensaying,\"Ihain’tgotnobookl’arnin’liketherestofyou。\"Hewasthemanwhoownedthemill。Hehadmadeitwithhisowngeniusoutofnothing。Hehadbecomerichandhonored。Everymaninthemilllovedhimlikeafather。
Hehadanidolatryforabook。
Healsohadalittlepinkson,whosenamewasF。GustavusAdolphus。
Thelittleoldmanoftensaid,\"I’mgoingtogivethatboythebesteducationmymoneycanbuy。\"
Hebegantobuyit。HebegantopolishandsandpaperGussiefromtheminutethechildcouldsitupinthecradleandnoticethings。
Hesenthimtotheastrologer,thephrenologerandallother\"ologers\"theyhadaroundthere。WhenGussiewasoldenoughtoexport,hesenttheboytooneofthegreatestuniversitiesintheland。Thefaultwasnotwiththeuniversity,notwithGussie,whowasbrightandcapable。
Thefaultwaswiththelittleoldman,whowassowiseandgreatabouteverythingelse,andsofoolishabouthisownboy。Intheblindnessofhisloveherobbedhisboyofhisbirthright。
Thebirthrightofeverychildistheopportunityofbecominggreat——ofgoingup——ofgettingeducated。
Gussiehadnochancetoserve。Everythingwashandedtohimonasilverplatter。GussiewentthruthatuniversityaboutlikeasteerfromTexasgoesthruMr。Armour’sinstituteofpacknologyinChicago。DidyouevergooverintoPackingtownandseeasteerreceivehiseducation?
Youremember,then,thatafterhematriculates——afterhegetsthegrandbump,saidsteerdoesnothavetodoanotherthing。Hiseducationisallarrangedforinadvanceandhemerelyridesthruandreceivesit。Thereisarowofprofessorswiththeirsleevesrolledupwhogivehimthedegrees。SoasMr。T。SteerofPanhandlegoesridingthruonthatendlesscablefromhisA-B-C’stohiseternalcoldstorage,eachprofessorhitshimadab。Heridesalongfromdepartmenttodepartmentuntilheiscanned。
They\"canned\"Gussie。Hehadamanhiredtostudyforhim。Herodefromdepartmenttodepartment。Theyupholsteredhim,enameledhim,manicuredhim,sugar-curedhim,embalmedhim。FinallyGussiewasdoneandthepaintwasdry。Hewasathingofbeauty。
GussieandBillWhackemGussiecamebackhomewithhiseducationinthebaggage-car。Itwaschecked。Themillshutdownonaweekday,thefirsttimeinitshistory。Thehandsmarcheddowntothedepot,andwhentheyounglordalighted,thefactorybandplayed,\"See,theConqueringHeroComes。\"
Afewyearslaterthemillshutdownagainonaweekday。Therewascrapehangingontheofficedoor。Menandwomenstoodweepinginthestreets。Thelittleoldmanhadbeentranslated。
Whentheynextopenedupthemill,F。GustavusAdolphuswasatitshead。
Hehadinheritedtheentireplant。\"F。GustavusAdolphus,President。\"
Poorlittlepeanut!Herattled。Hehadnevergrowngreatenoughtofillsogreataplace。Intwoyearsandsevenmonthsthemillwasawreck。Themonumentofafather’slifetimewaswreckedintwoyearsandsevenmonthsbytheboywhohadallthe\"advantages。\"
Sothemillwasshutdownthethirdtimeonaweekday。Itlookedasthoitnevercouldopen。Butitdidopen,andwhenitopenedithadanewkindofboss。IfIweretogivethenewbossadescriptivename,Iwouldcallhim\"BillWhackem。\"Hewasanorphan。Hehadlittlechance。Hehadanewblackeyealmosteveryday。Butheseemedtofattenonbumps。Everytimehewasbumpedhewouldswellup。Howfasthegrew!Hebecamethemostusefulmaninthecommunity。PeopleforgotallaboutBill’slowlyorigin。Theygottolookinguptohimtostartandrunthings。
Sowhenthecourtswerelookingforsomebodybigenoughtotakechargeofthewreckedmill,theysimplyhadtoappointHon。WilliamWhackem。
ItwasHon。WilliamWhackemwhoputthewreckagetogetherandmadethewheelsgoround,andfinallygotthehungrytownbacktowork。
CollegesGiveUsToolsAfterthatagoodmanypeoplesaiditwasthecollegethatmadeafoolofGussie。TheysaidBillsucceededsowellbecauseheneverwenttooneof\"themhighbrowschools。\"IamsorrytosayIthoughtthatwayforagoodwhile。
ButnowIseethatBillwentupinspiteofhishandicaps。IfhehadhadGussie’sfineequipmenthemighthaveaccomplishedvastlymore。
Thebookandthecollegesufferatthehandsoftheirfriends。Theysaytothebookandthecollege,\"Giveusaneducation。\"Theycannotdothat。YoucannotgetaneducationfromthebookandthecollegeanymorethanyoucangettoNewYorkbyreadingatravelers’guide。
Youcannotgetphysicaleducationbyreadingabookongymnastics。
Thebookandthecollegeshowyoutheway,giveyouinstructionandfurnishyoufinerworkingtools。Buttherealeducationisthejourneyyoumake,thestrengthyoudevelop,theserviceyouperformwiththeseinstrumentsandtools。
Gussiewasinthepositionofamanwithaveryfineequipmentoftoolsandnoexperienceinusingthem。Billwasthemanwiththepoor,homemade,crudetools,butwiththeenergy,visionandstrengthdevelopedbystruggle。
The\"HardKnocksGraduates\"
Foreducationisgettingwisdom,understanding,strength,greatness,physically,mentallyandmorally。IbelieveIknowsomepeopleliberallyeducatedwhocannotwritetheirownnames。Buttheyhaveservedandovercomeanddevelopedgreatliveswiththepoor,crudetoolsattheircommand。
Inalmosteverycommunityarewhatwesometimescall\"hardknocksgraduates\"——peoplewhohaveneverbeentocollegenorhavestudiedmanyoranybooks。Yettheyareeducatedtothedegreetheyhaveacquiredtheseelementsofgreatnessintheirlives。
Theyrealizedhowtheyhavebeenhandicappedbytheirpoormentaltools。
Thatiswhytheysay,\"AllmylifeIhavebeenhandicappedbylackofproperpreparation。Don’tmakemymistake,children,gotoschool。\"
Theyoungpersonwithelectricalgeniuswillmakeanelectricalmachinefromafewbitsofjunk。ButsendhimtoWestinghouseandseehowmuchmorehewillachievewiththesamegeniusandwithfinerequipment。
Getthebesttoolsyoucan。Butrememberdiplomas,degreesarenotaneducation,theyaremerelypreparations。Whenyouarethruwiththebooks,remember,youarehavingacommencement,notanend-ment。Youwilldiscoverwiththepassingyearsthatlifeisjustoneseriesofgreatercommencements。
Gooutwithyourfineequipmentfromyourcommencementsintotheschoolofserviceandwriteyoureducationintheonlybookyouevercanknow——thebookofyourexperience。
Thatiswhatyouknow——whatthecourtswilltakeasevidencewhentheyputyouuponthewitnessstand。
TheTragedyofUnpreparednessThestoryofGussieandBillWhackemisbeingwrittenineverycommunityintears,failureandheartache。ItispeculiarlyatragedyofourAmericancivilizationtoday。
Thesefathersandmotherswhotoilandsave,whogetgreatfarms,finehomesandlargebankaccounts,sooftenthinktheycangivegreatnesstotheirchildren——theycanmakegreatplacesfortheminlifeandputthemintothem。
Theydoallthisandthechildrenrattle。Theyhavehadnochancetogrowgreatenoughfortheplaces。Thechildgetstheblameformakingthewreck,evenasGussiewasblamedforwreckinghisfather’splant,whenthechildisthevictim。
AmanheardmetellingthestoryofGussieandBillWhackem,andhewentoutofmyaudienceveryindignant。Hesaidhewasverygladhisboywasnottheretohearit。Butthatgood,deludedfathernowhashisheadbowedinshameoverthecareerofhisspoiledson。
Irarelytellofitonaplatformthatatthecloseofthelecturesomebodydoesnottakemeasideandtellmeastoryjustassadfromthatcommunity。
ForyearspoorHarryThawwasfront-pagedonthenewspapersandgibbetedinthepulpitsastheshockingexampleofyouthfuldepravity。Heseemsnevertohavehadafightingchancetobecomeaman。Heseemstohavebeenrobbedofhisbirthrightfromthecradle。YetthefatherofthisboywhohascostAmericamillionsincourtanddetentionexpenseswasoneofthegreatestbusinessgeneralsoftheKeystonestate。Hecouldplatgreatcoalempiresandcommandarmiesofmen,butheseemstohavebeenpitifullyignorantofthefactthatthebarrelshakes。
Itistheeducated,therichandtheworldlywisewhoblundermostinthetrainingoftheirchildren。Povertyisabettertrainerfortherest。
ThemenaceofAmericaliesnotintheswollenfortunes,butintheshrunkensoulswhoinheritthem。
ButNature’seliminatingprocessiskindtotheraceinthebarrelshakingdowntherattlers。Somebodysaiditisonlythreegenerationsfromshirtsleevestoshirtsleeves。
HowlongthisnationwillenduredependsuponhowmanyGussieboysthisnationproduces。Steamheatisafinething,butdoyounoticehowfewofourstrongmengettheirstartwithsteamheat?
Children,LearnThisEarlyYouboysandgirls,Godblessyou!Youliveingoodhomes。Fatherandmotherloveyouandgiveyoueverythingyouneed。Yougettothinking,\"Iwon’thavetoturnmyhandover。Papaandmammawilltakecareofme,andwhentheyaregoneI’llinheriteverythingtheyhave。I’mfixedforlife。\"
No,youareunfixed。Youareacandidatefortrouble。Youaregoingtorattle。Fatherandmothercanbegreatandyoucanbeapeanut。
Youmustsolveyourownproblemsandcarryyourownloadstohaveastrongmindandback。Anybodywhodoesforyouregularlywhatyoucandoforyourself——anybodywhogivesyouregularlywhatyoucanearnforyourself,isrobbingyouofyourbirthright。
Fatherandmothercanputmoneyinyourpocket,ideasinyourheadandfoodinyourstomach,butyoucannotownitsaveasyoudigestit——putitintoyourlife。
Ihavereadsomewhereaboutamanwhofoundacocoonandputitinhishousewherehecouldwatchitdevelop。Onedayhesawalittleinsectstrugglinginsidethecocoon。Itwastryingtogetoutoftheenvelope。Itseemedintroubleandneededhelp。Heopenedtheenvelopewithaknifeandsetthestrugglinginsectfree。Butoutcameamonstrositythatsoondied。Ithadanover-developedbodyandunder-developedwings。Helearnedthathelpingtheinsectwaskillingit。Hetookawayfromittheverythingithadtohave——thestruggle。Foritwasthisstruggleofbreakingitsownwayoutofthatenvelopethatwasneededtoreduceitsbodyanddevelopitswings。
NotPackhorseWorkButrememberthereislittlevirtueinworkunlessitisgettingussomewhere。Justworkthatgetsusthreemealsadayandaplacetoliedowntosleep,thenanotherdayofthesamegrind,thenayearofitandyearsfollowinguntilourmachineiswornoutandonthejunkpile,meanslittle。\"Onedaynearerhome\"forsuchaworkermeansonedaynearerthescrapheap。
Suchaworkerislikethepackhorsewhogoesforwardtokeepaheadofthewhip。Suchaworkeristhehorseweusedtohavehitchedtothesorghummill。Roundandroundthathorsewent,seeingnothing,hearingnothing,hisheaddown,withoutambitionenoughtoprickuphisears。Suchworkdeadensandstupefies。Themassesworkaboutthatway。Theyregardworkasanecessaryevil。Theyareright——suchworkisanecessaryevil,andtheymakeitsuch。Theyfollowtheirnose。\"Dumb,drivencattle。\"
Butgettingavisionoflife,andworkingtogrowupwardtoit,thatistheworkthatbringsthejoyandthegreatness。
Whenwearegrowingandlettingourfacultiesdevelop,wewillloveeventhepackhorsejob,becauseitisour\"mealticket\"thatenablesustotravelupward。
\"Helping\"theTurkeysOnetimeIputsometurkeyeggsunderthemotherhenandwaiteddaybydayforthemtohatch。Andsureenough,onedaytheeggsbegantocrackandthelittleturkeysbegantosticktheirheadsoutoftheshells。Someofthelittleturkeyscameoutfromtheshellsallright,butsomeofthemstuckintheshells。
\"Shellout,littleturkeys,shellout,\"Iurged,\"forThanksgivingiscoming。Shellout!\"
Buttheystucktotheshells。
\"Littleturkeys,I’llhavetohelpyou。I’llhavetoshellyoubyhand。\"SoIpickedtheshellsoff。\"Littleturkeys,youwillneverknowhowfortunateyouare。Ordinaryturkeysdonothavetheseadvantages。Ordinaryturkeysdonotgetshelledbyhand。\"
DidIhelpthem?Ikilledthem,orstuntedthem。Notoneoftheturkeyswas\"right\"thatIhelped。Theywererunts。OneofthemwasaregularHarryThawturkey。Theyhadtoomanysilksocks。Toomany\"advantages。\"
Children,youmustcrackyourownshells。Youmustovercomeyourownobstaclestodevelopyourownpowers。
Arichboycansucceed,buthehasapoorerchancethanapoorboy。
Thecardsareagainsthim。Hemustsucceedinspiteofhis\"advantages。\"
Iampleadingforyoutogetagreatarm,agreatmind,agreatcharacter,forthejoyofhavingalargerlife。Iampleadingwithyoutoknowthejoyofovercomingandhavingtheangelscomeandministertoyou。
HappinessinOurWorkChildren,Iampleadingwithyoutofindhappiness。Alltheworldisseekinghappiness,butsomanyareseekingitbyrattlingdowninsteadofbyshakingup。
Thehappinessisingoingup——indevelopingagreaterarm,agreatermind,agreatercharacter。
Happinessisthejoyofovercoming。Itisthedelightofanexpandingconsciousness。Itisthecryoftheeaglemountingupward。Itistheproofthatweareprogressing。
Wefindhappinessinourwork,notoutsideofourwork。Ifwecannotfindhappinessinourwork,wehavethewrongjob。Findtheworkthatfitsyourtalents,andstopwatchingtheclockandplanningvacations。
Lovingfriendsusedtowarnmeagainst\"breakingdown。\"Theyscaredmeinto\"takingcare\"ofmyself。AndIgottotakingsuchgoodcareofmyselfandwatchingforsymptomsthatIbecameaphysicalwreck。
Isavedmyselfbygettingbusier。IplungedintoworkIlove。I
foundmyjobinmywork,notawayfromit,andtheworkrefreshedmeandrejuvenatedme。NowIdotwomen’swork,andhavegrownfromaskinny,fretful,nervouswreckintoahearty,happyman。Thishasbeenagreatsurprisetomyfriendsandagreatdisappointmenttotheundertaker。Iamaneditorinthedaytimeandalectureratnight。
Ieditalldayandtakeavacationlecturingatnight。Ilecturealmosteverydayoftheyear——maybetwoorthreetimessomedays——andthentakeavacationbyeditingandwriting。Thuseverydayisjamfullofplayandvacationandgoodtimes。Theyearisoneroundofjoy,andIoughttopaypeoplefortheprivilegeofspeakingandwritingtotheminsteadofthempayingme!
IfIdidnotlikemywork,ofcourse,Iwouldbecarryingaterribleburdenandwouldspeedilycollapse。
Yousee,Ihavenotimenowadaystobreakdown。Ihavenotimetothinkandgruntandworryaboutmybody。AndlikePaulIamhappytobe\"absentfromthebodyandpresentwiththeLord。\"ThusthisoldbodybehavesjustbeautifullyandwagsalonglikethetailfollowsthedogwhenIforgetallaboutit。Thegrunterletsthetailwagthedog。
Ihaveneverknownacaseofgenuine\"overwork。\"Ihaveneverknownofanyonekillinghimselfbyworking。ButIhaveknownofmultitudeskillingthemselvesbytakingvacations。
Thepeoplewhothinktheyareoverworkingaremerelyoverworrying。
Thisisonespeciesofselfishness。
ToworryistodoubtGod。
Toworkatthethingsyoulove,orforthoseyoulove,istoturnworkintoplayanddutyintoprivilege。
Whenweloveourwork,itisnotwork,itislife。
ManyKindsofDrunkardsTheworldistryingtofindhappinessinbeingamused。Theworldisamusement-mad。Vacations,CocaColaandmoviemania!
Whatasad,emptylotofrattlers!Lookoverthebillsofthemovies,lookoverthenewsstandsandseeapictureofthepopularmind,fortheseplaceskeepjustwhatthepeoplewanttobuy。Whatalotofmentalfrog-pondandmoralslumourboysandgirlswadethru!
Therearetenliterarydrunkardstoonealcoholicdrunkard。Thereareahundredamusementdrunkardstoonevictimofstrongdrink。
Andalljustashardtocure。
Wehavetohaveamusement,butifwefillourliveswithnothingbutamusement,wenevergrow。Wegothruourlivesbabieswithnewrattleboxesand\"sugar-tits。\"
AlmosteverydayasIgoalongthestreettosomehalltolecture,Ihearsomebodyasking,\"Whataretheygoingtohaveinthehalltonight?\"
\"Goingtohavealecture。\"
\"Lecture?\"saidwithashiverasthoitwas\"smallpox。\"\"Iain’tgoin。’Idon’tlikelectures。\"
Thespeakerisperfectlyhonest。Hehasnoplacetoputalecture。
Iamnotsayingthatheshouldattendmylecture,butIamgrievingatwhatunderlieshisremark。Hedoesnotwanttothink。Hewantstofollowhisnosearound。Otherpeoplegenerallyleadhisnose。
Themanwhowillnotmaketheefforttothinkisthegreatmenacetothenation。Thecrowdthatdriftsandlivesforamusementisthecrowdthatfindsitselfbacknearthecaboose,andasthetrainofprogressleavesthem,theywail,they\"neverhadnochanct。\"Theywanttostartanewpartytoreformthegovernment。
TheLureoftheCityDoyouevergetlonelyinacity?Howfewmenandwomenthere。A
jamofpeople,mostofthemimitations——mostofthemtryingtolookliketheygetmoresalary。Poor,hungry,dopedbutterfliesofthebrightlights,——hopers,suckersandstraphangers!Downthegreatwhitewaytheygochasingamusementtofindhappiness。Theymustbeamusedeverymoment,evenwhentheyeat,ortheywillhavetobealonewiththeiremptylives。
TheProdigalSoncametohimselfafterwhileandthoughtuponhisways。Thenhearoseandwenttohisfather’shouse。Wheneveronewillstopchasingamusementslongenoughtothinkuponhisways,hewillariseandgotohisfather’shouseofwisdom。Butthereisnohopeforthepersonwhowillnotstopandthink。Andthedevilworksdayandnightshiftskeepingthecrowdmovingon。
Thatiswhythecrowdisnotfurnishingthestrongmenandwomen。
Wemusthaveamusementandrelaxation。Studyyourmuscles。Firsttheycontract,thentheyrelax。Butthemusclethatgoesoncontinuallyrelaxingisdegenerating。Andtheindividual,thecommunity,thenationthatgoesonrelaxingwithoutcontracting——withoutstrugglingandovercoming——isdegenerating。
Themoreyoustudyyourmuscles,themoreyoulearnthatwhileonemuscleisrelaxinganotheriscontracting。Soyoumustlearnthatyourrealrelaxation,vacationandamusement,aremerelychangingovertocontractinganothersetofmuscles。
Gotothebankpresident’soffice,gototherailroadmagnate’soffice,gotothegreatpulpit,tothecollegechair——gotoanyplaceofgreatresponsibilityinacityandasktheonewhofillstheplace,\"Wereyouborninthiscity?\"
Thereplyisalmostamonotony。\"Iborninthiscity?No,IwasborninPoseyville,Indiana,andIcametothiscityfortyyearsagoandwenttoworkatthebottom。\"
Heglowsashetellsyouofsomelog-cabinhome,hillsideorfarmsidewherehestruggledasaboy。Personally,Ithinkthislog-cabinancestryhasbeenover-confessedforcampaignpurposes。
Giveussteamheatandpush-buttons。Thereisnovirtueinalog-cabin,savethattherethenecessityforstrugglethatbringsstrengthismostinevidence。Theretheyoungpersongetsthestruggleandservicethatmakesforstrengthandgreatness。Andasthatyoungpersoncomestothecityandshakesinthebarrelamongtheweaklingsoftheartificiallife,herisesabovethemliketheeaglesoarsabovealotofchatteringsparrows。
Thecitiesdonotmaketheirownsteam。Thelittleminorityfromthefarmscontrolsthemajority。Theredbloodofredemptionflowsfromthecountryyearbyyearintothenationalarteries,elsethesecitieswoulddropoffthemap。
IfitwerenotforPoseyville,Indiana,Chicagowoulddisappear。
IfitwerenotforPoseyville,NewYorkwoulddisintegrateforlackofleaders。
\"Hep\"and\"Pep\"fortheHomeTownButsomanyofthehometownsofAmericaaresick。Manyaredying。
Manyaredead。
Itisthelureofthecity——andthelure-lessnessofthecountry。
Thetowntheyoungpeopleleaveisthetowntheyoungpeopleoughttoleave。Somebodysays,\"Thereasonsomanyyoungpeoplegotohellisbecausetheyhavenootherplacetogo。\"
Whatisthematterwiththesmalltown?Donotblameitalluponthecitymailorderhouse。Withruraldelivery,dailypapers,telephones,centralizedschools,automobilesandgoodroads,therearenomoredelightfulplacesintheworldtolivethaninthecountryorinthesmalltown。Theyhavethecityadvantagesplussunshine,airandfreedomthatthecrowdedcitiescannothave。
IaskedthekeeperwhowasshowingmethrutheinsaneasylumatWeston,WestVirginia,\"Yousayyouhavenearlytwothousandinsanepeopleinthisinstitutionandonlyascoreofguardstokeepthemin。Aren’tyouindanger?Whatistohindertheseinsanepeoplefromgettingtogether,organizing,overpoweringthefewguardsandbreakingout?\"
Thekeeperwasnotintheleastalarmedatthequestion。Hesmiled。
\"Manypeoplesaythat。Buttheydon’tunderstand。Ifthesepeoplecouldgettogethertheywouldn’tbeinthisasylum。Theyareinsane。Notwoofthemcanagreeuponhowtogettogetherandhowtobreakout。Soafewofuscanholdthem。\"
Itwouldbealmostunkindtocarrythisfurther,butIhavebeenthinkingeversincethataboutthree-fourthsofthesmalltownsofAmericahaveonethingincommonwiththeasylumfolks——theycan’tgettogether。Theycannotorganizeforthepublicgood。Theybreakupintolittleantagonisticsocial,businessandevenreligiousfactionsandneutralizeeachother’sefforts。
Alotofstrugglingchurchescompetewitheachotherinsteadofmassingforthecommongood。Andwhenthechurchesfight,thedevilstaysneutralandfurnishesthemunitionsforbothsides。
Sothehometownsstagnateandtheyoungpeoplewithvisionsgoawaytothecitieswhereopportunityseemstobeckon。Ninety-nineoutofahundredofthemwilljostlewiththestraphangersalltheirlives,merewheelsturningroundinahugemachine。
Ninety-nineoutofahundredofthemmighthavehadalargeropportunityrightbackinthehometown,hadthetownbeenawakeandunitedandinviting。
Wemustmakethehometownthebrightest,mostattractive,mostpromisingplacefortheyoungpeople。Nohometowncanaffordtospenditsyearsraisingcropsofyoungpeopleforthecities。Thatistheworstkindofsoilimpoverishment——allgoingoutandnothingcomingback。Thatisthedrainthatdevitalizesthehometownsmorethanallthecitymailorderhouses。
Americaistobegreat,notinthegreatnessofafewcrowdedcities,butinthegreatnessofinnumerablehometowns。
Theslogantodayshouldbe,ForGodandHomeandtheHomeTown!
ASchoolofStruggleDr。HenrySolomonLehr,founderoftheOhioNorthernUniversityatAda,Ohio,oneofOhio’sgreatesteducators,usedtosaywithpride,\"Ourstudentscometoschool;theyarenotsent。\"
Heencouragedhisstudentstobeself-supporting,andmostofthemwereworkingtheirwaythruschool。Hemadetheschoolcalendarandcourseselastictoaccommodatethem。Hesawtheneedofcombiningtheschoolofbookswiththeschoolofstruggle。Heorganizedhisschoolintocompetinggroups,sothatthestudentwhohadnostruggleinhislifewouldatleasthavetostrugglewiththeothersduringhisschooling。
Hepittedclassagainstclass。Heorganizedgreatliteraryanddebatingsocietiestocompetewitheachother。Hearrangedcontestsforthemilitarydepartment。Hisschoolwasonesurgingmassofcontestants。Yeteachstudentfeltnocompulsion。Ratherhefeltthathewasinitiatinganindividualorclassefforttowin。Theliterarysocietiesviedwitheachotherintheirprogramsandingettingnewmembers,goingeverytermtounbelievableeffortstowinovertheothers。Theywouldgomilesoutonthetrainstointerceptnewstudents,eventotheirhomesinotherstates。Eacholdstudentpledgednewstudentsinhishomecountry。Themilitarycompaniesturnedtheschoolintoamilitarycampforweekseachyear,scarcelysleepingwhiledrillingforacontestflag。
Thosestudentswentoutintotheworldtrainedtostruggle。IdonotbelievethereisaschoolinAmericawithagreateralumnirollofmenandwomenofuniformlygreaterachievement。
Ibelievethemostusefulschoolstodayareschoolsofstruggleschoolsofferingencouragementandfacilitiesforyoungpeopletoworktheirwaythruandtoactupontheirowninitiative。
MenNeededMoreThanMillionsWearetryinganeweducationalexperimenttoday。
Theold\"deestrick\"schoolispassing,andwithitthesmallacademiesandcolleges,eachwithitshandfulofstudentsaroundateacher,asintheolddaysofthelyceuminAthens,whenthepupilssataroundthephilosopherinthegroves。
Fromtheseschoolscamethemakersandthepreserversofthenation。
Todaywearebuildingwonderfulpublicschoolswithequallywonderfulequipment。Todaywearereplacingthemanysmallcollegeswithafewgreatcentralizedstatenormalschoolsandstateuniversities。Wearespendingmillionsupontheminlaboratories,equipmentandmaintenance。Todaywescourtheearthforspecialiststositinthechairsandspeakthelastwordineverydepartmentofhumanresearch。
O,howthestudentsofthe\"darkages\"wouldhaverejoicedtoseethisday!Manyofthemneversawagerm!
Buteachstudenthasthesamedefiniteefforttomakeinassimilationtodayasthen。Knowingandgrowingdemandthesamepersonalstruggleinthecushionsofthe\"frat\"houseasbackontheoldoak-slabbenchwithitssplinteredsideup。