Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-12-13
ENERGY VERSUS LUCK.
The Isnorant Superstition which Prevails
in Regard 70 the Latter.

in Regard to tho Latter.
aGiye man luck and throw him into the
.ea.n is, perhaps, one Of the oldest savings
sYtaut all over the world, for we find It's
equivalent in every language spoken. It is
a pity we are not all gifted with this fort
mate grace; IL we were we need never
trouble at any time. But it happens, how.
syer. says the London STANDARD, that the 40.
called lucky ones are very few and very
Tar between; and yet, to note the obserya.
tons of everyday life, one would imagine
that the contrary were the case-that is To
say, IL we may judge from the fact that
everybody asserts that, every body else is
lucky except himself. "Inever knew such
luck as that man has," says Jones of
Brown, and Brown Of Jones remarks that
aJones has the very DEVILS own luck
every thing he does turns out wellp and
still they may be both In the same boat
struggling against impending adversely, or
calmly gliding along the stream of COM
narrative prosperity.
It is merely the outcome Of an unfathom-
able discomfort that pervades all, or nearly
all human creatures-that semi-iealous
feeling Of each others neighbor that finds
lodging in every, breast Now, risking the
wrath Of the superstitious and the believ-
ers in omens and odd numbers, we firmly
maintain that there is no such thing as luck
at oil Perseverance and circumstance are
the secret OF all success, and, as nothing
succeeds like success, luck is the natural
sequence Of perseverance,. II is mainly the
kickers and lazy people who perpetually
rave about lack of luck, forgetting that, if
there be any virtue in this tantalizing tails.
man, II 10 very like the philosophers stone.
and requires Q considerable amount of
deving and diving to secure.
Shakespeare gives evidence that he was
not free from this peculiar failing. In the
"Merry Wives Of Windsor he makes that
genial and obese old rogue "Falstaff' saw
to "Dame Quickly" "Good luck lies IN odd
numbers They say there is a divinity in
odd numbers either in nativity, chance or
desthl" This idea is, Of course, founded on
the PythaRorean system, GAN nature is a
harmony; man is full chord, and all beyond
is Deity, SO that nine represents Deity"
And thus A major chord consists Of funda-
mental or tonic, its major third and its just
fifth. Seven notes complete the octave,
and nine is Deity. The odd numbers being
the primary notes Of nature, it is easy to
see how they came to be considered the
great or lucky numbers, but then the luck
belongs exclusively to the numbers and not
to the application thereof, as is the popular
impression.
But to enter into or properly explain the
positions and qualities of odd numbers
would paralyze the great Euclid himself.
80, to return to our luck If there be such
an uncanny thing, how is it that never since
the creation has one man ever been known
to credit his success in life to lucks His
downfall, yes, TO bad luck; his rise and
progress to luck, good, bad or indifferent9
Never. II any one had the temerity to sug-
gest such thing the notion would be
secuted as not only preposterous but i'm
pious. The answer would be something like
this: my success, sir, which you vulgar
ly attribute to luck, has been achieved by
sheer hard work and determination; and
what have earned I deserve" And in
most cases it would be right.
Certainly there are at times fortuitous
circumstances that make man successful,
whether he will or not, but then such is not
luck, 1t is pure accident. And as we are all
liable 10 meet with disagreeable accidents,
10 are we all likely to meet with agreeable
ones Only we never own It, supposing we
think so. We 60 ON declaring that SIT is
better to be born lucky than rich," and yet
we are quite incapable Of explaining what
we exactly mean In the commercial sense
and 1t is only in the commercial sense
that we think upon the subject-if we are
rich, we don't want luck, and II we are
lucky we re- rich. Lord Beaconsfeld says
in "Venetia:" Luck, 10 be who has neither
creditors nor offspring, and who owes
neither money nor affection-after all the
most dificult TO pay Of the two" This Is so
cynically true that not o soul believes 1t.
Faith In the charm Of the horseshoe Is
held sacred to this day, In town and coun-
try by ignorant persons; but we do not
imagine that they nail 1t up over the door as
. protection against witches, as was once
the custom. It Is supposed to rather bring
good luck than TO avert any evil. MANY
otherwise sane individuals will stoop TO pick
up shoe In the street, and others would
rather deliver up all their goods and chat
tells than walk under Q ladder. There is
more common sense In this latter idiosyn-
cracy than may appear at first sight. One
does not run SO great Q risk OF receiving
psntpot or Q brick, that may be on the
journey from the roof TO the pavement, out.
aide the range OF the ladder as immediately
s'sot Auto - eSoat stsS S"sy ~st~'-
lion that is worth preserving,
Generally speaking, logical people discard
tho conceit OF any thing coming 70 pass
through mere "lusk.p though numbers on
the surface profess unshskable belief there
10, Asa rule, those who complain about
helr bad luck are those who complain about
my thing-th9se who expect fortunes to
drop into their laps without any exertion. on
their part 70 obtain them, People are fre'
sssntly heard 70 lament they are down on
hflr luck, and then they absolutely DO slt
down on their luck spd stay there Most
hugs come 70 the man who works, but very
low V the man who calmly sits down aud
wsiis, hoshing upsets superstition 40 mu.h
~ common sense. There 10 no such qunllly
Nj luck, except II bs IN . very nnknewn
sssauty People have had luck when lhey
esa not take the rough with the smooul
shes thsy wear out the smooth ana fofEe'
Wei u ever sslslsd, Good luck means 5000
assnieas vel carried outi snd, s'tsf All'
sAs eaiy lucky man IN The world 10 hs wa
slseAy saoush " Esl what hs deserves
Flash 'Gishs shsssssspss
4 coaasotlsut fsnkss suggests 'hs VA