The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-22
most interesting predictions in the annals

po"Si va iOleSeelLg the 1uIuTe' w Hae AS
wrote was q conclusion reasoned out from
the conditions then existing. The people
OF Continental Europe had lost faith in all
their institutions. Toward the church, the
state and the society they held an attitude
OF mockery more or less disguised by the
practice of the forms of conventional
respect. They doubted everything. They
wllled nothing very strongly. Meantime
the drift of things was forcing Corsica into
closer relations with the Continent, and 1t
was easy to foresee that in another genera
ton many Corsicans would go to Paris in
search OF fortune. Then the vigor of the
primitive race would assert itself over the
weak indifference of the age, and as soon
as one OF the strong-willed fellows came
with brains in his head asswell as force in
his character he would dominate Europe
as matter of course. The reasoning by
which the prediction was reached is about
as interesting as the prediction itself, and
the story has this much of instruction for
US that it shows how seemingly absurd
prediction having no basis other than the
assumption Of the superiority of the will
over every other faculty in men was
fulfilled In manner that seems to dem
onstrate the correctness of that assumption
with the precision of geometry.
The need Of some system of training the
will as part of our public instruction is
the more urgent because the general
course of education tends to fill the mind
with doubts and hesitations and make it
wavering and uncertain. When youth
has learned there are so many religions, so
many forms of government, so many ideas
OF morality, so many standards of conduct,
so many aims in life, so many things de-
sirable and so many different ways of get
ting them, it is by no means easy for him
on leaving school to make up his mind
with absolute certainty what is best for
him to do. AS consequence large pro-
portion OF our brightest young men simply
drift out into the world and let time and
chance determine the course they take.
About seven out of every ten failures in
life are due to defects of will. The thing
has become SO common that men of in
firm purpose are getting to be a public
nuisance. 1t is really time, therefore, for
educators to put their minds to the sub
ject OF Withdrawing as part of mental dis
cipline. There may be no widespread de-
sire that man should come out of Amer
lea to govern Europe, but he might at leas
be taught to govern himself.
Ages ago the philosophers of India did
reverence to the power OF the will and they
gave it part in their theosophy scarcely
less splendid than that assigned to the
gods. In the mighty volumes which con-
tain the records of their lore are many
strange and wonderful tales of its awful
force and almost infinite influence. We
regard these tales as of no more worth
than Poe's romance of will which, raised
to its highest power by the inspiration of a
great love, was strong enough to overcome
death and angels; but even in our own
records there is evidence enough to show
that whatever else we teach in our schools
we should teach some good method of de-
veloplng the will Discipline should mean
the forceful assertion of the highest self,
and not subordination to some law en-
forced from the outside. ii the will force
of the individuals of this Nation could be
increased ever SO little the effect would be
shown in an immense betterment Of pub
lie affairs. 1t may not be true that we
yield ourselves unto death and to the an
gels utterly only through the weakness of
our feeble wills, but it is certain that only
through such weakness do we yield our
selves unto bosses and corporations.
I do not know what form of exercise
could be used to strengthen the will, but l
am sure that such exercise is possible
Some years ago one of our leading states
men told me of a plan he employed. He
said he considered his success in life to be
due mainly to his will power, and when
ever he had an undertaking before him his
first care was to rouse in himself a resolute
determination to succeed. If the work
was of nature that did not sufficiently
interest him to excite this resolution he
would study it in all its bearings and all
its relations to other things until it became
in his mind the center of a great complex
problem, and therefore interesting enough
to rouse the energies of his will. "When
once / have got my will worked up" he
said" Il regard my success as virtually
sure, for as the rest of the world is more or
less Indifferent and careless on any par
ticular subject, it readily permits the reso-
lutte man to have his way rather than
make fuss about what it regards as
little thing"
Kossuth recalled this long forgotten
passage from one of the minor writings of
Rousseau in order to use the reasoning and
the marvellous verifcation OF it as basis
on which to rest little prediction of his
own. He said similar course of argu-
ment from conditions prevailing now
wonld lead to the conclusion that in the
next generation man of the Slav race
would dominate in Europe. 1t is quite
possible, however, that Kossuth took too
narrow view of the probabilities. Grant
ing that the Slavs have great deal OF
primitive force and fervor, it must be re-
membered that in America, also, there is
large amount of pristine vigor. Perhaps
the man who is to rule Europe in the next
generation may be native son of this
golden cline.
over in the East society requires a man
to drop his summer hat on the 1st of Sep
TENDER, but in this happy land the rule of
the best circles is rnyer to throw awav the