The Opelousas courier., 1889-03-09
DISCIPLINE OF HlNDRANc4

Success Not o Matter of ConlplstT ana
Symmetrical Achlevement.Y
There is an instructive feelingin the
heart of every man that he hs Alright
to a clean opportunity to do siis work
in the world and bring orF in full
measur whatever force is il him. 1t
is this instinct which resenss the OBJ
struction of obstacles as Asomething
foreign to life, as accidents which
break up the order of things. as Useless
~interferences which weaken effort, de-
Law achievement and exhaust strength.
Every man ave a free field for MS
work and q clean opportunity for mis-
talent. If these are granted he is con-
fdent of the success wf1eh would
crown his efforts; if these r secured
he is certain of the useful and vlctorl-
GUS life which he will lead. Every
energy and every gift contains within
it an impulse for action. The man who
discovers in himself the ability to
write feels that the opportunity to
write ought to be given to him; the
man who develops a gift OF oratory
Graves the opportunity of the platform,
and feels wronged if he does not Sc
| cure it; the man who is conscious OF
executive force demands an am
4 pie field in which to exercise it, and
feels defraud& if he does not secure
it. Behind every gift there is n en-
ergy sufficient to send it with the i'm
pulsion which powder gives to the ball.
If success in life lay entirely in the
working out of ones gifts symmetric-
ally and in doing ones work with the
| completeness and finish of a fine piece
of mechanism, obstacles and llmlta.
lions would be interferences with the
normal order of thinTs, obvtructions
thrown in the way of the runner wf&ch
ought not to be there. But real suc-
cess is not a matter of complete and
symmetrical achievement; it is the
outcome of a mans life when the mora.
force within him is measured against
the difficulties he has to overcome
These obstacles, which SO I'M
necessary, these constantly recurring
vexatious and often meaningless in
terruptions, serve a high moral pur-
pose in our lives. There is no busl-
ness. profession or art which is not be-
set by them. One of the most inter-
esting and suggestive chapters which
Mr.. Hamerton has ever written en-
phasizes the moral qualities which the
technical difficulties in painting bring
out in an artist. Instead of being able,
without flaw, interruption or break
in the effort, to put on canvas the
perfect representation Of the ideal
picture in his own soul, the artist is
obliged to overcome all name Of
small, vexatious difficulties in the
mere mechanical work of putting his
vision into a visible form But in
surmounting these difficulties, vexa'
tious as they are. the vision bec~-es
clearer, the purpose stronger, the vii
steadier, and when the work Is done
there is a moral as well as al artistic
quality in it. Interruptions and OBJ
stacles arising from the details which
abound in every occupation. which
grow out of difficulties of personal ad
justment, out of valuations of physica
condition, out of changing moods ant
diverse temperameat dts, are vexatiou'
and exhausting, but they play a grea'
part in our lives, and the spirit il
which we meet them largely de
termines our character Many a mar
puts forth more moral strength il
removing obstacles from his patti
than another puts forth in achieving
the highest distinction. In such a case
who shall say the man whose whol'
effort has been spent in clearing hi
way, has not done as much and wol
as noble a success as he who has rul
with swift and unincumbered feet II
the goal at the end?-Christian Union