The Young Man and the World — Albert J. Beveridge
Beveridge. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org . If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title : The Young Man and the World Author : Albert J. Beveridge Release date : November 20, 2005 [eBook #17110] Most recently updated: December 13, 2020 Language : English Other information and formats : www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17110 Credits : Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Jeannie Howse and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net *** START OF Beveridge D. Appleton and Company New York 1905 Copyright , 1905, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY Published October, 1905 PREFACE The chapters of this volume were, originally, papers published in The Saturday Evening Post of Philadelphia. The first paper on "The Young Man and the World," which gives the title to the book, was written, at the request of the editor of that magazine, as an addition to a series of articles upon the Philippines and statesmen of contemporaneous eminence. This paper called for another, and each in its turn called for the one that followed it. And so the series grew from day to day, largely out of the suggestions of its readers—a sort of collaboration. A considerable correspondence resulted, and requests were made that the articles be collected in permanent form. This is the genesis of this book. I hope it will do some good. While addressed more directly to young men, these papers were yet written for men on both sides the hill and on the crest thereof. I would draw maturity and youth closer together. I would have the sympathy between them ever fresh and vital. I would have them understand one another and thus profit each by the strength of the other. The manner in which these papers were written created certain repetitions. After careful consideration I have concluded to let them remain. They are upon subjects of vital concern. Where it is necessary to remember, it is better to be wearied than to forget. And these papers were meant to be helpful. They are merely plain talks as of friends conferring together. Albert J. Beveridge. Indianapolis , May 1, 1905. CONTENTS Page I.— The Young Man and the World 1 II.— The Old Home 54 III.— The College? 83 1. The Young Man who Goes. 2. The Young Man who Cannot Go. IV.— The New Home 152 V.— The Young Lawyer and His Beginnings 186 VI.— Public Speaking 217 VII.— The Young Man and the Pulpit 246 VIII.— Great Things yet to be Done 278 IX.— Negative Fundamentals 310 X.— The Young Man and the Nation 334 XI.— The World and the Young Man 366 XII.— The Young Man's Second Wind; or, Facing the World at Fifty 387 THE YOUNG MAN AND THE WORLD I ToC THE YOUNG MAN AND THE WORLD Be honest with the world and the world will be honest with you. This is the fundamental truth of all real prosperity and happiness. For the purposes of every man's daily affairs, all other maxims are to this central verity as the branches of a tree to its rooted trunk. The world will be honest with you whether you are honest with it or not. You cannot trick it—remember that. If you try it, the world will punish you when it discovers your fraud. But be honest with the world from nobler motives than prudence. Prudence will not make you be honest—it will only make you act honest. And you must be honest. I do not mean that lowest form of honesty which bids you keep your hands clean of another's goods or money; I do not mean that you shall not be a "grafter," to use the foul and sinister word which certain base practices have recently compelled us to coin. Of course you will be honest in a money sense. But that is only the beginning; you must go farther in your dealings with the world. You must be intellectually honest. Do not pretend to be what you are not—no affectations, no simulations, no falsehoods either of speech or thought, of conduct or attitude. Let truth abide in the very heart of you. "I take no stock in that man; he poses his face, he attitudinizes his features. The man who tries to impress me by his countenance is constitutionally false," said the editor of a powerful publication, in commenting on a certain personage then somewhat in the public eye. You see how important honesty is even in facial expression. I emphasize this veracity of character because it is elemental. You may have all the gifts and graces but if you have not this essential you are bankrupt. Be honest to the bone. Be clean of blood as well as of tongue. Never try to create a deeper impression than Nature creates for you, and that means never attempt to create any impression at all. For example, never try to look wise. Many a front of gravity and weight conceals an intellectual desolation. In Moscow you will find the exact external counterpart of Tolstoi. It is said that it is difficult to distinguish the philosopher from his double. Yet this duplicate in appearance of the greatest of living writers is a cab driver without even the brightness of the jehu. Be what you are, therefore, and no more; yes, and no less—which is equally important. In a word, start right. Be honest with yourself, too. If you have started wrong, go back and start over again. But don't change more than once. Some men never finish because they are always beginning. Be careful how you choose and then stick to your second choice. A poor claim steadily worked may be better than a good one half developed. The man who makes too many starts seldom makes anything else. But don't pretend that you have a thousand dollars in bank when you hold in your hands the statement of your overdraft. Face your account with Nature like a man. For Nature is a generous, though remorseless, financier, delivering you your just due and exacting the uttermost of your debt. Also Nature renders you a daily accounting. And, at the very beginning, Nature writes upon the tablet of your inner con