In public affairs, in which youth seldom takes part, many are confused by pretences7 which they understand when too late. A person puts forward an excellent project, and finds it assailed8 and disparaged9 by some one he thought would support it. Discouraged by opposition10, he comes to doubt the validity of the enterprise he had in hand. When he has abandoned it he finds it taken up by the very person who denounced it, and who claims credit for what he has opposed. All the while he has thought highly of the scheme, but wanted to have the credit of it himself, and therefore defamed it until he could get it into his own hands. This sort of thing is done in Parliament as well as in business. It is only by listening to the experience of others that youth can acquire wariness11 and guard against serious mistakes.
The young on entering life are often dismayed by dolorous12 speeches by persons who have never comprehended the nature of the world in which they find themselves. People are told "a great crisis in public affairs is at hand." There never was a time in the history of the world when a "crisis" was not at hand. Nature works by crises. Progress is made up of crises through which mankind has passed. Again there breaks forth13 upon the ears of inexperienced youth the alarming information that society is "in a transition state." Every critic, every preacher, every politician, is always saying this. Yet there never was a time when society was not in a "transition state." According to the Genesian legend, Adam discovered this in his day, when, a few weeks after his advent14, he found himself outside the gates of Paradise, and all the world and all the creatures in it thrown into a state of unending perturbation and discomfort15 which has not ceased to this day. The eternal condition of human life is change, and he who is wise learns early to adapt himself to it. As Dr. Arnold said, there is nothing so dangerous as standing16 still when all the world is moving.
The young are bewildered by being left under the impression that they should learn everything. Whereas all they need is to know thoroughly17 what their line of duty in life requires them to know. No man can read all the books in the British Museum, were arrangements made for his sleeping there. No one is expected to eat all he finds in the market, but only so much as makes a reasonable meal. Lord Sherbrooke translated from the Greek guiding lines of Homer who said of a learner of his day:—
"He could not reap, he could not sow,
Nor was he wise at all:
For very many arts he knew,
But badly knew them all."
The conditions of personal advancement can only be learned by observing the steps of those who have succeeded. Disraeli, whose success was the wonder of his time, owed it to following the shrewd maxim18 that he who wants to advance must make himself necessary to those whom he has the opportunity of serving. This can be done in any station in life by skill, assiduity and trustworthiness.
Practical thoroughness is an essential quality which gives great advantage in life. Spurgeon had a great appreciation19 of it A servant girl applied20 to him for a situation on the ground that she "had got religion." "Yes," said the great pulpit orator21, "that is a very good thing if it takes a useful turn; but do you sweep under the mats?" he asked, cleanliness being a sign of godliness in the eyes of the sensible preacher.
Cleanliness is possible to the very poorest—walls which have no paper might have whitewash22. Children should never see dirt anywhere. They should never come upon it lying out of sight. Fever and death lurk23 in neglected corners. Children may be in rags, but if they are clean rags and the children are clean, they are, however poor, respectable. When I first went to speak in Glasgow, it was in a solemn old hall, up a wynd. The place was in the Candleriggs. Everybody knows what a dark, clammy, pasty, muddy, depressing thoroughfare is the Candleriggs in wintry weather.
The passage leading to the lecture hall and the steps which had to be ascended24 were all murky25 and dirty; as in those days the passage leading to the publishing house of the Chambers26 Brothers was, as I have seen it, an incentive27 to sickness. My payment for lecturing was not much, but out of it I gave half a crown to an active woman I found in the wynd to wash down the stairs and the passage leading to the Candleriggs, and the space as wide as the passage along the causeway to the curb-stone. People passing along might see signs of cleanliness leading to the hall.
I never forget what the woman said to some of the assembly as they passed by her: "I don't know what this man (or "mon") is, who you have to lecture to you to-day, but at least he has clean principles." That was precisely28 the impression I wanted to create. My tenets might be poor, my arguments badly clothed, but to present them in a clean state was in my power.
Do not readily be deterred29 from a good cause because you will be told it is unprofitable, but take sides with it if need be. You will find persons born with a passion of putting the world to rights. A very good passion for the world, but now and then a very bad thing for him who is moved by it They have no engagement to undertake that work, no salary is allotted30 for it, nor even any income coming in to pay expenses "out of pocket," as the prudent31, open-eyed lawyer puts it. Nevertheless, it may be well to follow the Jewish rule of giving a tithe32 of your time to the public service. There are a large amount of tithes33 contributed in other ways which are not half so beneficial to mankind. Many whose names now are luminous34 in history, whose fame is on every tongue, have been personally known to the old. The magical notes of great singers the living can never know, the triumphs of the great masters of speech in Parliament and on the platform, whom it was an education to hear—only the old can recount. What they looked like, and how they played their memorable35 parts, are the enchanting36 secrets of the old, who tell to the young what passed in a world unknown to them, and which has made them what they are. The purport37 of this chapter is to stimulate38 individuality and self-reliance. Disraeli's maxim of self-advancement was to make himself necessary by service in the sphere in which he found himself. In public affairs committees are not, as a rule, suggestive; they can amend39 what is submitted to them; they originate nothing, and generally take the soul out of any proposal brought before then. If they advance business it is when some individual provides a plan to which their consent may be of importance. Individual ideas have been the immemorial source of progress. A committee of one will often effect more than a committee of ten; but the committee of ten will multiply the force of the one, and lend to it influence and authority. Seeing that ideas come from individuals, a young person cannot do better in life than by considering himself a committee of one, and ponder himself on every matter of importance. This gives a habit of resourceful thought—renders him cautious in action, and educates him in responsibility. In daily life a man has continually to decide things for himself without the aid of a committee. It is thus that self-trust becomes his strength.
If youth could see but a little with the eyes of their seniors, some pleasures would seem less alluring40, and they would avoid doing some things which they will regret all their lives. Now and then some young eye will glance at a page of bygone lore41 and see a gleam of inspiration, like a torch in a forest, which reveals a bear in a bush which he had chosen for a picnic, or discovers a bog42 which he had taken to be solid ground. Proverbs come around the young observer, so fair seeming he trusts them on sight, and does not know they are only in part guiding and in part elusive43, and have limitations which may betray him into confident and futile44 extremes. Even professors will beguile45 him with statements which he doubts not are true, and finds, all too late, that they are false.
He will hear forebodings which fill him with alarm at some new undertaking46, not knowing that they are but the sounds of the footfalls of Progress, which every generation has heard, the ignorant with terror, and the wise with gladness. Only the relation of bygone experiences can save the young from perilous47 illusions. Of course, youth is always asked to look at things with the eyes of age, but they never do. They never can do it, because the eyes of the old look at things with the light of experience which, in the nature of things, youth is without. Nevertheless, the experience of others may be good reading for them.
If in the generous eagerness of youth the heart inclines to a forlorn
hope, take it up notwithstanding its difficulties, for if youth does
not, older people are not likely to attempt it. The older are mostly too
prudent to do any good in the way of new enterprise. This is where youth
has its uses and its priceless advantage. However, it is well not to let
enthusiasm, noble as it may be, blind the devotee. Take care that the
"The lid, if the pot be broken,
It is no use mending."
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1
incited
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| 刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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credulous
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| adj.轻信的，易信的 | |
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advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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6
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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7
pretences
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| n.假装( pretence的名词复数 )；作假；自命；自称 | |
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8
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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9
disparaged
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| v.轻视( disparage的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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wariness
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| n. 注意,小心 | |
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dolorous
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| adj.悲伤的；忧愁的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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16
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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17
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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19
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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20
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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21
orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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22
whitewash
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| v.粉刷，掩饰；n.石灰水，粉刷，掩饰 | |
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23
lurk
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| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
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24
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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26
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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27
incentive
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| n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机 | |
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28
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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29
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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32
tithe
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| n.十分之一税；v.课什一税，缴什一税 | |
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33
tithes
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| n.（宗教捐税）什一税，什一的教区税，小部分( tithe的名词复数 ) | |
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34
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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35
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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37
purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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38
stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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39
amend
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| vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿 | |
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40
alluring
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| adj.吸引人的，迷人的 | |
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41
lore
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| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
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42
bog
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| n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖 | |
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43
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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44
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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45
beguile
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| vt.欺骗，消遣 | |
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46
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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47
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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48
espoused
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| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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