Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-07-29
YourrrruL Amnlrnos.

uhan about entering upon the duties
md responsibilities Of manhood,
should aspire to u future Of distinc-
ton, based upon wealth, or profess
Ional success. IAired OH by the brill
liant career OF some isolated case,
which favoriny circumstances, i'm
proved by more than ordinary intel
lect and judicious perseverance, has
in fame and wealth, the
over sanguine youth is apt to mistake
the rare exception for the general
rule--a mistake always dangerous
and often fatal. "What has been
done, can be done again." is the de-
lusive but inspiring motto Of very
many youthful aspirants who learn,
too late, that they have done what
has been often done--mistaken their
own capacity and sacrificed their best
interests while dreaming of a power
and fame beyond the reach of the
many, and rarely attained by the
most favored few.
II wealth were always attended by
virtuous happiness, and fame the
synonyme of all that is pure, such
early ambition would be highly COM
mendable because 1t would be ennob-
ling, even though falling short Of Its
high aims. But since the expert
ence Of the world proves that the
heaIthiest virtue and the truest hap
piness are found In the middle ranks
Of life, and rarely In either extreme,
every young man shoald set out with
q firm determination to gain safe
footing on the middle ground, bear
ing 1t In mind, that In reaching for
the topmost round Of the ladder the
chances are that he will land upon
the lowest.
The damaging effect OF modern lit
erature and the example Of men who
have succeeded in attaining wealth
and position through the tortuous
paths OF vice, have impressed upon
young men the belief that The chan
ces to rise in life, lie in those fields
where brilliant successes have been
achieved. They see the triumph,
but not the means by which it was
won neither do they see how thick
ly the field is strewn with those who
have fallen In the vain effort to rise
above the level OF their natural ca
pacities--fallen not to rise again, but
to sink lower into the depths of pow
erty and vice--the too common fate
Of mistaken ambition and misgui-
ded effort. Basing their estimate of
life upon the few examples of success
which Observation-Disclosures the
level Of that happy medium where
the aggregate virtue, ccntent and in
dependence Of human life are found,
and looking to the point of extreme
elevation as their assured destiny,
they despise the efforts of plodding
industry, as the means Of reaching
that fancied destiny, and, while
waiting for something to turn up,
they Gle around loose" wasting the
little energy they may possess, and
contracting habits of idleness, extrav-
agance and vice, until losing sight Of
the elevation to which their ambi-
ton once aspired, they are content to
drag out an existence worse than
worthless. From the lowest point,
there is a path to tho highest, but
how few travel it!
In contrast with this, how much
nobler is the ambition of the young
man, if poor, to win, by honest in
dustry, comfortable independence
and a good name, and, If rich, to as
sert true manhood, through an use
full employment, rather than hold
himself up to society rs an example
Of supercilious arrogance and vicious
extravaganza. Educated, as the ris-
ing generation Is, to worship the al
mighty dollar, and misled by every
beguiling influence that appeals to
the senses, II is not surprising that so
many young men look upon money
rs the only good, and upon oil means
Of acquiring 1t as honest and legiti-
mate, and the worst OF those means,
as more honorable than honest in
dustry. 1t is not to he wondered at,
under the circumstances, that young
men turn from labor and seek the
crowded marts Of commerce In search
Of easy births where their hands can
be kept soft and their cheeks untan'
ned by the healthy action OF sun and
air.
The ambition TO improve their con.
dition, is the innate impulse of all
men, who deserve the name, and II
would, perhaps, be n worse evil tc
eradicate 1t, than to suffer II to run
wild seeking its qualification in idle
and hopeless fancies. 1t Is not of thi,
ambition, that we have cause to com
plain, but of its want OF proper gui
dance, and OF tho senior and sinister
examples that prompt 1t to forsaks
the path Of integrity and usefulness
and 10 despise those avocations hon
orahlo and hcalth-giving-which de
nand an expenditure of muscular
force, instead OF the conscience-hard
eniug arts and wlics OF those preca
rious pursuits which thoughtles'
youths SO eagerly desire TO follow AZ
the os.Iy pleasant road to honorable
distinction and wealth. When pro