Self reliance. Every young man ought to read Emerson's Essay on self Reliance.
It is the manliest, most virile essay that was ever penned. It is
calculated to cure alike those two mental maladies common to youth, namely self deprecation
and self conceit. It is almost as sure to reveal to the prig the
smallness and emptiness of his vanity as it is to show the bashful man the
weakness and ineffectuality of his dividends. It is a new revelation of manly dignity,
as much a revelation as any that was vouchsafed to ancient seer and profit,
and perhaps a more practical, eminently suited to his mechanic age, coming
as it does from a modern prophet of a new type and called in a
new race. And its chief merit is its powerfully tonic quality. Let not
self reliance be confounded with self conceit, For as high and excellent as the
one, just so low and worthless as the other, there cannot be anything
mean in self reliance, while in self conceit there cannot be anything great.
The man that never says no when questioned on subjects of which he is entirely
ignorant to avoid as he imagines being thought ignorant, but confidently puts forth guesses
and assumptions as knowledge, will be known for his ignorance and ill esteemed for
his added conceit. An honest confession of ignorance will command respect, where a
conceited assumption of knowledge will elicit contempt. The timid, apologetic man who seems
almost afraid to live, who fears that he will do something not in the
approved way and will subject himself to ridicule, is not a full man.
He must imitate others and has no independent action. He needs that self reliance
which will compel him to fall back on his own initiative, and so become
a new example instead of the slavish follower of an old one. As for
ridicule, he who is hurt by it is no man. The shafts of
mockery and sarcasm cannot pierce the strong armor of the self reliant man. They
cannot reach the invincible citadel of his honest heart to sting or wound it.
The sharp arrows of irony may rain upon him, but he laughs as they
are deflected by the strong breastplate of his confidence, and fall harmless about him.
Trust thyself, says Emerson. Every heart vibrates to that iron string.
Throughout the ages, men have so far leaned, and do still lean upon
external makeshifts instead of standing upon their own native simplicity and original dignity. The
few who have had the courage so to stand have been singled out and elevated
as heroes. And he is indeed the true hero who has the hardihood to
let his nature speak for itself, who has that strong metal that enables him
to stand upon his own intrinsic worth. It is true that the candidate for
such heroism must endure the test of strength. He must not be shamed from
his ground by the bugbears of the initiate conventionalist. He must not fear for
his own reputation or position, or for his standing in the church, or
his prestige in local society. He must learn to act and live as independently
of these considerations as he does of the current fashions in the Antipodes. Yet,
when he has endured this test, and stander and odium have failed to
move or afflict him, he has become a man, indeed one that society
will have to reckon with and finally accept on his own terms. Sooner or
later all men will turn to the guidance of the self reliant man, And
while the best minds do not make a prop of him, they respect and
value his work and worth, and recognize his place among the goods that have
gone before. It must not be thought in indication of self reliance to scorn
to learn. Such an attitude is born of a stubborn superciliousness, which has
the elements of weakness and is prophetic of a fall, rather than the elements
of strength and the promise of high achievement, which are characteristic of self reliance.
Pride and vanity must not be associated with Self rests upon incidentals and impertinencies
on money, clothing, property, prestige, position, and these lost all
is lost. Self reliance rests upon essentials and principles, on worth, probity,
purity, sincerity, character, truth, and whatever may be lost is
of little account, for these are never lost. Pride tries to hide its
ignorance by ostentation and assumption, and is unwilling to be thought a learner in
any direction. It stands during its little fleeting day on ignorance and appearance,
and the higher it is lifted up to day, the lower it will be
cast down tomorrow. Self reliance has nothing to hide and is willing to learn.
And while there can be no humility where pride is, self reliance and
humility are compatible. Nay more, they are complimentary. And the sublime form
of self reliance is only found associated with the profoundest humility. Extremes meet,
says Emerson. And there is no better example than the haughtiness of humility.
No aristocrat, no prince born to the purple, can begin to compare with
the self respect of the saint. Why is he so lowly but that he
knows that he can well afforded resting on the largness of the God in him.
It was Buddha who, in this particular said, those who either now
or after I am dead, shall be a lamp unto themselves, relying upon
themselves only, and not relying upon any external help, but holding fast to
the truth is their lamp, and seeking their salvation in the Truth alone,
shall not look for assistance to any one beside themselves. It is they among
my disciples who shall reach the very topmost height. But they must be willing
to learn. In this saying, the repeated insistence on the necessity for relying
upon oneself alone, coupled with the final exhortation to be eager to learn,
is the wisest utterance on self reliance that I know. In it, the
great teacher comprehends that perfect balance between self trust and humility which the man of
truth must acquire. Self trust is the essence of heroism. All great men
are self reliant, and we should use them as teachers and exemplars, not
as props and perambulators. A great man comes who leans upon no one,
but stands alone in the solitary dignity of truth and straightway, the world begins
to lean upon him, begins to make him an excuse for spiritual indolence and
a destructive self abasement. Better than cradling our vices in the strength of the
great would be to newly light our virtues at their luminous lamp. If we
rely upon the light of another, darkness will overtake us. But if we
rely upon our own light, we have to but keep it burning. We
may draw light from another and communicate with it, but to think it sufficient
while our own lamp is rusting is neglect, is shortly to find ourselves abandoned
in darkness. Our own inner light is the light which never fails us.
What is the inner light of the Quakers but another name for self reliance.
We should stand upon what we are, not upon what another is. But
I am so small and poor, you may say, will stand upon that
smallness, and presently it will become great. A babe's needs are to suckle
and cling, but not so a man. Henceforth he goes upon his own
limbs. Men pray to God to put their hands that which they are framed
to reach out for, to put into mouth the food for which they should
strenuously labor. But men will outgrow this spiritual infancy. The time will come
when men will no more pay a priest to pray for them and preach to
them. Man's chief trouble is a mistrust of himself, so that the self
trusting man becomes a rare and singular spectacle. If a man look upon himself
as a warm what can come out of him but an ineffection wriggling. Truly,
he that humbleth shall be exalted, but not he that degradeth himself.
A man should see himself as he is, and if there is any unworthiness
in him, he should get rid of it and retain and rely upon that
which is of worth. A man is only debased when he debases himself.
He is exalted when he lives an exalted life. Why should a man with
ceaseless iterations draw attention to his fallen nature? There is a false humility which
takes a sort of pride in vice. If one has fallen, it is
that he may rise and be the wiser for it. If a man falls
into a ditch, he does not lie there and call upon every passer by
to mark his fallen state. He gets up and goes on his way with
greater care. So if one has fallen into the ditch of vice, let
him rise and be cleansed, and go on his way rejoicing. There is
not a fear in life wherein a man's influence and prosperity will not be considerably
increased by even a measure of self reliance. And to the teacher, whether
secular or religious, to organizers, managers, overseers, and in all positions
of control and command, it is an indispensable equipment. The four grand qualities
of self reliance are one decision two steadfastness three dignity four independence. Decision makes
a man strong. A man who is to play a speaking part, however
small, in the drama of life, must be decisive and know what he
is about. Whatever he doubts, he must not doubt his power to act.
He must know his part in life and put all energy into it.
He must have some solid ground of knowledge from which to work and stand securely
on that. It may only be the price and quality of stock, but
he must know his work thoroughly and know that he knows it. He must
be ready at any time to answer for himself when his duty is impugned.
He should be so well grounded upon his particular practice as to not be effected
with hesitation on any point or in any emergence. It is a true saying
that the man that hesitates is lost. No one believes in him who does
not believe in himself, who doubts, halts and wavers, and cannot extricate
himself from the tangled threads of two courses. Who would deal with the tradesman
who did not know the price of his own goods or was not sure where
to find them. A man must know his business. If he does not
know his own, who shall instruct him. He must be able to give
a good report of the truth that is in him. He must have that
touch which skill in knowledge can only impart. Certainty is a great element in
self reliance. To have weight, a man must have some truth to impart,
and all skill is a communication of truth. He must speak with authority,
and not as the scribes. He must master something and know he has
mastered it, so as to deal with it lucidly and understandingly, in the
way of a master, and not to remain always as an apprentice. Indecision
is a disintegrating factor. A minute's faltering may turn back the current course of
success. Men who are afraid to decide quickly for fear of making a mistake
nearly always make a mistake. When they do act the quickest in thought and
action are less liable to blunder. And it is better to act with decision
and make a mistake than to act with indecision and make a mistake, for
in the former case there is but error, but in the latter weakness is
to error. A man should be decided always both where he knows and where
he does not know. He should be as ready to say no as to
say yes, as quick to acknowledge his ignorance as to impart his knowledge.
If he stands upon fact and acts from the simple truth, he will find
no room for halting between two opinions. Make up your mind quickly and act
decisively. Better still, have a mind that is already made up, and
then the decision will be instinctive and spontaneous. Steadfastness arises in the mind that
is quick to decide. It is indeed a final decision upon the best course
of conduct and the best path of life. It is the vow of the
soul to stand firmly by its principles, whatever betide. It is neither necessary
nor unnecessary that there be any written or spoken vow, for unswerving loyalty to
a fixed principle is the spirit of all vows. The man without fixed principles
will not accomplish much. Expediency is the quagmire in a thorny waste, in
which a man is continually sticking in the shifting mud of his own moral looseness,
and is pricked and scratched with the thorns of his own self created disappointments.
One must have some solid ground on which to stand among one's fellows.
He cannot stand on the bog of concession. Shiftiness is a vice of weakness,
and the vices of weakness do more to undermine character and influence than the
vices of strength. The man that is vicious through excess of animal strength takes
a shorter cut to truth. When one understands that power is adaptable to both
good and bad ends, it will not surprise him that the drunkards and harlots
should reach the Kingdom of Heaven before the diplomatic religionists. They are at least
thorough in the course which they have adopted, vile though it may be,
and thoroughness is strength. It only needs that strength to be turned from bad
to good, and lo the loath sinner has become the lofty saint. A
man should have a firm, fixed, determined mind. He should decide upon
those principles which are best to stand by in all issues, and which will
most safely guide him through the maze of conflicting opinions and inspire him with unflinching
courage in the battle of life. Having adopted his principles, they should be
more to him than gain or happiness, more even than life itself. And
if he never deserts them, he will find that they will never desert him.
They will defend him from all enemies, deliver him safely from all dangers,
light his pathway through all darkness and difficulties. They will be to him
a light in darkness, a resting place from sorrow, and a refuge from
the conflicts of the world. Dignity clothes as with a majesty garment. The
steadfast mind, he who is as unyielding as a bar of steel when he
is expected to compromise with evil, and as supple as a willow wand in
adapting himself to that which is good, carries about with him a dignity that
calms and uplifts others by its presence. The unsteady mind, the mind that
is not anchored to any fixed principles, that is stubborn where its own desires
are threatened, and yielding where its own moral welfare is at stake, has
no gravity, no balance, no calm composure. The man of dignity cannot
be downtroddened and enslaved because he has ceased to tread upon and enslave himself,
he at once disarms with a look, a word, a wise and suggestive
silence, any attempt to demean him. His mere presence is a wholesomer proof
to the flippant and the unseemly, while it is a rock of strength to
the lover of the good. But the chief reason why the dignified man commands
respect is not only that he is supremely self respecting, but that he graciously
treats all others with a due esteem. Pride loves itself and treats those beneath
it with supercilious contempt. For love of self and contempt for others are always
found together in equal degrees, so that the greater the self love, the
greater the arrogance. True dignity arises not from self love, but from self
sacrifice, that is, from unbiased adherence to a fixed central principle. The
dignity of the judge arises from the fact that, in the performance of his
duty, he sets aside all personal consideration and stands solely upon the law.
His little personality, impermanent in fleeting, becomes nothing, while the law,
enduring and majestic, becomes all. Should a judge in deciding a case forget
the law and fall into personal feeling and prejudice, his dignity would be gone.
So the man of a stately pure character stands upon the divine law and
not upon personal feeling. For immediately when a man gives way to passion,
he has sacrificed dignity and takes his place as one of the multitude of the
unwise and uncontrolled. Every man will have composure and dignity in the measure that
he acts from a fixed principle. It only needs that the principle be right
and therefore unassailable, so long as a man abides by such a principle and
does not waver or descend into the personal element attacking passions, prejudices, and
interests. However, powerful will be weak and ineffectual before the conquerable strength of
an incorruptible principle, and will at last yield their combined and eyes unseemly confusion
to his single and majestic right. Independence is the birthright of the strong and
well controlled man. All men love and strive for liberty. All men aspire
to some sort of freedom. A man should labor for himself or for the
community unless he is a cripple, a chronic invalid, or is mentally irresponsible.
He should be ashamed to depend upon others for all he has, giving
nothing in return. If one imagines that such a condition is freedom, let
him know that it is one of the lowest forms of slavery. The time
will come when to be a drone in the human hive, even as matters
are now, a respectable drone and not a poor tramp, will be a
public disgrace, and will no longer be respectable. Independence, freedom, glorious
liberty come through labor, and not from idleness. And the self reliant man
is too strong, too honorable, too upright to depend upon others like a
sucking babe for his support. He earns, with hand or brain the right
to live as becomes a man and a citizen, and thus he does,
whether born rich or poor. For riches are no excuse for idleness. Rather,
they are an opportunity to labor with the rare faculties which they afford for
the good of the community. Only he who is self supporting is free,
self reliant, and independent. Thus is the nature of the eight pillars,
explained on what foundation they rest, the manner of their building their ingredients,
the fourfold nature of the material of which each is composed, what positions they
occupy, and how they support the temple all may now build, and he
who knew perfectly may rejoice in this systemaization and simplification of the moral order and
prosperity. Let us now consider the Temple itself, that we may know the
might of its pillars, the strength of its walls, the endurance of its
roof, the architectural beauty and perfection of the whole