Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-01-05
Burdette 60 Young Men.

Telemaohus, it will do you ever 10 much
good, If every once in while you will 20
away by yourself for an hour or two and get
real well acquainted with yourself "As a
man thinketh, so is he" Aud you will never
know thyself" thoroughly unless now and
then you get alone and sit down and talk to
yourself, cross-examine yourself learn what
you know what are your ambitions, your
aims, your hopes; what is your real character;
because, my dear boy, your reputation may
be one thing and your character quite another.
Sometimes it does happen, in this faulty old
world, that really good man, a man whose
character is above reproach, may bear the
reputation of a rascal, and once in while,
two or three times in a while, in fact, a ras-
cal wears the stolen reputation of an honest
man. Go away now and then, my boy, and
sit down all by yourself and think. Think Of
nothing under the sun only yourself. Yes,
know, my son, there are men who never think
Of anything else, and God never made more
useless men but that is because they do all
their thinking about themselves publicly and
aloud. They never think alone.
You will be honest with yourself when you
are alone, my boy. A man is apt to be hon
est with himself in the dark. He does not
pose in heroic postures when he has no audi
ence. When he stands face to face with him
self, with no human eye to watch him, and no
human ear to listen to his confession, and
only his Maker, who knows every secret mo-
tive and thought of his life. to see aud TO list
en-, a man has to be honest. How could he
be hypocrite then? Why, my boy, some
times think when the 1.-TWO men went up into
the temple to pray" the Pharisee was partly
led to pray as he did because he prayed for
an audience to the congregation rather than
to God. He had his position in society and
in the synagogue to maintain, and he wanted
every man who heard that prayer to know Just
what kind of man he was and how good he
was, and so he told ell the good things about
himself that he knew. II am not as other
men are-extortioners, unjust adulterers, or
even as this publican" But the poor publ-
can, standing afar of"-ah, that was what
made him honest he was away from the
crowd nobody could hear him he was alone
with God the omnipotent and omniscient,
who knew the secret heart Of the publican
better than the poor man knew it himself
and knowing this, standing face to face with
himself, The had TO be honest he saw and he
knew how weak and faulty he was how
marred was all his life with bright promises
and poor, broken, incomplete fulflment, and
as he faced himself and realized how weak
and faulty all his life had been and was he
could not and would not so much as lift up
his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his
breast and from his penitent heart and quiv-
ering lips broke the old prayer the cry for
mercy that has welled up from human hearts
ever since, echoing the wsiling cry of the
poor man who stood afar off: "God be mer-
ciful to me, a sinner"
Get away from the crowd little while
every day, my boy. Stand one side and let
the world go by while you get acquainted
with yourself, and see what kind of fellow
you are. Ask yourself hard questions about
yourself find out all you can about yourself
Ascertain from original sources if you are
really the manner Of man people say you are.
Find out if you are always honest if you al
ways tell the square, perfect truth in business
deals if your life is as good and upright at II
o'clock at night as it is at noon if you are as
sound temperance man on a fishing expedi-
tion as you are at a Sunday school picnic if
you are as good boy when you go to Chica-
go as you are at home if, in short, you really
are the sort Of young man your father hopes
you are, and your sweetheart believes you are.
Get on intimate terms with yourself, my boy,
and, believe me, every time you come out
from one of those private interviews you will
be better, stronger, purer man. Don't for
get this, Telemachus, and it will do you
good. Huntington Hdukeye