New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-01-02
"PRSOIVED THAT L"

II ia the general and, in some respects, the
vbolesome custom of mankind-which includes
womanlind-to take fresh departures. lhou-
sands of young gentlemen, upon Their twenty
first birthday, give up cigars, for longer OF
shorter period. AS many young ladies', upon
achieving eighteen years. determine to loosen
their corset-strings, and to read through Ban
croft,s History of the United States. Omission
and commission are legion; and about the
First of January, looking forward and back
ward. it is habit of everybody to arrange a
little moral campaign, OF which the spells Will
be first-cass virtues and some money-the
laurels good name and fame in the
mouths of men. Some buy small memo
randum-books, in which all pecuniary
disbursements are to be entered "Washing, Sd
"cents; shoes, IS; sundries, $40 go" Smoking,
late going to bed and late rising, theatcr-
haunting, swearing, general lazincss, scandal
GUS talk, white lying, novel reading. VINE
drinking, card playing, dancing hirtlng-a'l
these and many more, are put under the taboo
of "Resoved That l." Moreover, to be per-
fectly serious, as the completion of another
wear reminds us how short the longest life Is
in comparison with the work which should be
done in it, most of US, unless we are more
thoughtess than thoughtleSsness itself, form
some plan for wise economy Of time, and
taking out the uninvested talent from
its napkin, we gaze upon it with pang
or two Of conscience. and then we
wrap up the coin again, and put the
bundle IN the closet, and 80 go on
in the old hand-to-mouth way. Not all of Us,
perhaps-thank Heaven, not oil of us, nor
many of us always, because if all were
failure, if all these oaths only brought forth
a progeny of perjuries, the world might cease
to go round, or if it continued spinning, it
would be to little purpose. We might be
able by dint of hard thinking to separate
certain forms of successful human energy
from Predetermined plan. But it is hardly
worth while. There may be ends of which
we may not be able to fix the beginnings,
but so far as the economy of single life is
concerned it Is a waste of thought to seek
for them.
There is good deal more in what DR..
johnson said Of the pavements of certain
warm place than appears upon the surface of
his sharp remark, which is usually quoted as
lightly as if there were not a dreary tragedy
involved in it. Work as diligently, fight as
doughtily, persist as doggedly as we may, the
lives of all of us are full of failures which
may be easily traced to our own weakness or
mistake. 1t is the fullest who knows best his
own emptiness, the most heroic his own cow
ardice; the largest acquisition seems small to
its possessor and when some rich old men
SWIVEL and groan about the danger which they
are in of coming to want they are right; in
an1
success, after all, is SO comparative
what we know is so finite, what we do not
know is so infinite; what we do is so little,
what we leave undone so .illimitable! The
first thing to which we must reconcile ourselves
as best we can, is, that what we miss is worth
far more than what we attain, by moral, intel
lectual, or material work. Having determined
this, we should next remember that the ac-
uuired gets all its positive value from the I'M
acquirable-that our units are OF worth only in
their relation to hundreds and thousands and
that orr little savings make us IN certain
sense, the holders in fee of all Golconda. The
best is worth what it cost to win it, over
and above its conventional value-conscious-
ness of well-doing in its pursuit, muscularity
developed in the battle for it, past which is
golden guaranty of the future.
And now, without in the least meaning to
discourage them, there is one point upon
which we wish to caution our younger read
ers. We would not have them to be like
Members of Congress, who whenever they are
detected in doubtful doings, say that they are
sorry, make speech with tears in their eyes,
promise never to do so again, and then-go
and do it, or something still more uncleanly.
The worst habit into which We can fall, is
habit of repenting; for nothing Is less desira-
BILE, less likely to amount to more than signs
and groans, than chronic regret. We have
known those who actually boosted of the
frequency with which they abandoned sin
only to renew it upon tho first or second
temptation. SO Our. New Years advice to the
young, and to the older. if they need II, u to