The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-03-21

Things or life, and then relapse into a
hopeless fatalistic acceptance of our
condition.
We envy the ucces Of others, when
we should emulate the process by
which that success came. We see the
splendid ply steal development of San
dow, yet we forget that as a babe and
| child he was so weak there was little
hope that his life might be spared.
We nay sometimes envy the power
and spiritual strength Of a Paul, with
out realizing the weak Saul of Tarsus
from which he was transformed
through his self control.
We shut our eyes to the thousands Of
instances Of the worlds successes
mental, moral, physical, financial or
spiritual-wherein the great final sue
cess came from a beginning far weaker
and poorer than Jul oWp.
All men may attain self control il
they only will. They must not expect
to gain it save by long, continued pay
ment Of price, in small progressive
expenditures of energy. Nature is a
thorough believer in the installment
plan in her relations with the individ-
ual. No mar is so poor that &c can
not begin TO pay for what he wants,
and every small, individual payment
Nature ct pres and Rccumulates for him
as a reserve fund in his hour Of need.
TIE patience man expends in bearing
he little trials Of his daily life Nature
8 ores for him as a wordrous reserve
/ n a crisis of life. With Nature, the
mental, the physical or the moral en-
! ergy he expends daily in right doing is
| all stored for him and transmitted into
strength. Nature never accepts a
cash payment in full for anything
this would be an injustice to the poor
and the weak.
1t is only the progressive, install
ment plan Nature recognizes. No man
can make a habit in a moment or
break it in q moment. 1t is a matter
of development, of growth. But at
any moment man may begin to make
or begin.to break any habit. This view
of the gro tn of character should be
a mighty stimulus to the man who
sincerely desires and determines to
live nearer to the limit Of his posei-
bilities.
Self-control may be developed in
precisely he same manner as we tone
up a weak mu C e-by little exercises
day by day. Let US zach day do, as
mere exercises of discipline in moral
gymnastics, a few acts that are disa
greeable to us, the doing of which will
help us in instant action in u hour
of need. The exercises may be very
simple-dropping for a time an in
tensely interesting book at the most
thrilling page OF the story, jumping
out Of bed at the first moment of wax
ing, walking home when n is per
tectly able TO do so, but when the temp
tatlon is to take a car, talking to some
d~isagreeable person and trying to make
the conversation pleasant. These
daily exercises in moral discipline will
have a wondrous tonic effect on mans
whole moral nature.
The individual can attain self CON
troll in greas things only through self
control in little things. He must study
himself to discover what is the weak
point in his armor, what is the element
within him that keeps him from his
fullest SUCCESS. This is the character
istic upon which be he should begin
his exercise in self control. Is it sci
fshness, vanity, c~owardice, morbid
ness, temper, lazness, worry, mind
wandering, lack OF purpose7-What
ever form human weakness assumes
in the masquerade of life he must dis
cover. He must then live each day as
If his whole existence we're t~elescOped
Down GO the single day before him,
With no useless regret for the past, no
useless worry for the future, he should
live that day as if it we're his only day
. the only day left for him TO assert
all that Is best in him, the only day
left for him o o Ter all that Is worst
| in him. He should master he weak
| element within him at each slight man
? Hesitation from moment TO moment
Each moment then must be q victory
for il or for him. Will he be KIng OF
, g ave2-the answer rests with him
| Saturday Evening Post.