CHAPTER V.

THE THREE STEPS TO WISDOM, WEALTH, AND WORTH.

HAT is true WISDOM? A right UNDERSTANDING, a faculty of discerning good from evil; what is to be chosen and what rejected-a judgment grounded upon the value of things, and not the common opinion of them-an equality of force and a strength of resolution. Wisdom sets a watch over our words and deeds; it makes us invincible both in good and evil fortune; it fashions the mind, governs our actions, tells us what to do, and what not to do; it sits at the helm, and guides us through all hazards; it points out to us all the DUTIES of life.Love to God, duty to our parents, faith to our friends, and charity to the distressed.

To be WISE, therefore, we require a stable, well-regulated MIND, which makes men judge what are the best ends, what the best means to attain them, and gives them the advantage of the RESOLUTIONS of wisdom, which are free, absolute, and

constant.

To attain WEALTH, the mind must be firm-not constantly on the change-a rolling stone of mental purpose-ever shifting, sick, and dissatisfied.

To be WORTHY, we must be STEADFAST, conscious of our own integrity, strong in our loves, moderate in our desires.

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The great requisite, then, to attain WISDOM, Wealth, and WORTH is to possess

THE POWER OF KNOWING HOW TO DETERMINE.

To know how to determine is the great secret of man's rise in life, for a man without decision does not belong to himself; he is in the power of any one, belongs to every one, and is the victim of an infirmity that makes him the slave of all.

How is determination to be acquired?

Acquire knowledge, for knowledge gives DETERMINATION ; knowledge leads to a course of thinking that partakes of the nature of reasoning—a reduction of thought to a conclusion, as a mechanic decides upon the mode of working a certain piece of wood or iron to produce a given result.

Study biography, watch the starting acts of all great men; note how they acted regardless of the timid surmises and sarcasms of the incredulous. You will perceive that a step once taken, the man of decision pursues his course with firmness, and each obstacle that he encounters only increases his energy and perseverance. You will find that he achieves what the weak man considers impossible. His mind is well regulated, which constitutes a DETERMINED mind, and it takes for its shield the twin sister of perseverance

PATIENCE.

And with Patience man can accomplish everything, do anything that comes within the boundaries of reason.

There is not a quality in the human mind that is more important to the prosperity of man than decision of character. "Without it,” as Foster says in his clever "Essays,” “a human being-with powers at best but feeble, and surrounded by innumerable things tending to perplex, to divert, to frustrate their operations-is, indeed, a pitiable atom, the sport of divers and casual impulses."

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THE THREE STEPS TO

Decision shapes and fashions everything, and saves us dreads and anticipations which are baneful to our prosperity in life. A false step thoughtlessly or undecidedly taken has marred the prospects of a whole life. A man who is decided is respected, for a man of decision is a thoughtful man-a man of sound judgment who weighs matters with the scale of reason. It is necessary to think and weigh to a conclusion-not to act as the simpleton who says, Well, what I have done I did for the best, and I hope it will turn out luck." He who puts faith in LUCK will soon find reason for considering himself UNLUCKY. In matters of life, CERTAINTY is the rule of judgment, LUCK is the exception.

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It is truly pitiable to see people anxiously hesitating between opposite determinations. Impulse sways the mind, now to one side, now to the other; then doubt makes it halt between both; and so a great opportunity in a man's life may be frittered away in miserable suspense. The tide has ebbed, and the chance has flowed with it.

The casualties of life bow to a bold spirit, because the brave man will not bow to them; he grapples with casualties, and makes them subservient to his own use; while the man of indecision becomes the TOOL of CIRCUMSTANCES, and is buffeted passively from one side to the other, wondering how all the embarrassments in the world happen to fall to his lot. "Incapable," as Foster says, "of setting up a firm purpose on the basis of things as they are, he is often employed in vain speculations on some different supposable state of things, which would have saved him from all this perplexity and irresolution. thinks what a determined course he could have pursued IF his talents, his health, his age, had been different; IF he had been acquainted with some one person sooner; IF his friends were in this or the other point different from what they are. And he

He

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gives himself as much licence to complain as if all these advantages had been among the rights of his nativity, but refused by a malignant or capricious fate. Thus is he occupied, instead of marking with a vigilant eye and seizing with a strong hand all the POSSIBILITIES of his actual situation.”

The man of decision balances with caution; he weighs with the scales of reason, poised by honesty and integrity; and next day there is no hesitation, for he has determined the. plan which he will adopt, and it requires reasons the most subtle to induce him to make a change. Temporary doubt gives him pain; he plans, determines, and acts; then trusts to perseverance and patience for success. He deals not in shadows, he must have a tangible reason for what he does; he must grasp the whole in an arranged form, not in unconnected fragments; he deals in the visible and tangible world, he leaves the shadows of castle-building to the sanguine, less calculating, and ever-erring enthusiast. He forms his plan from the experience of the past, and from present observation; from each of which he draws his analogies and inferences. He may not succeed in his plans, as the best laid schemes are often thwarted by unforeseen causes. He knows the rock, although he could not foresee it, upon which his bark foundered. The vessel is only wrecked. Its cargo, the mind and determination, are still left him. He constructs a fresh bark, and then, with the cheerfulness of a strong mind, once more tries his fortune on the quicksands of life.

Pamphilius, in his Head and Heart Legacy, records an instance in life of one of those indomitable characters-an event in the life of one of those men of decision who rose from comparative obscurity to goodness, greatness, and worth.

He, like the man of decision just pictured, entered into a speculation. A crisis disturbed the usual course of trade, and he found himself a loser of upwards of 20,000l.

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DECISION OF CHARACTER EXEMPLIFIED.

Did he sink into a state of despondency? No. On the contrary, that great loss opened up to his mind's eye a fresh career in life, and while negotiating with his creditors for a proper arrangement of his affairs, he wrote a careful pamphlet, with elaborate figures, instinct in every line with vigour and energy, on the "Influence of the Corn Laws," written when struggling with extreme pecuniary calamity, and daily harassed with its painful details.

It is out of all reason to imagine that a man can always succeed in his undertakings; the best laid scheme, as Nature's Caledonian bard says, "gangs aft agee." The man of a decided character is a close observer, and draws upon the fund of examples and precepts with which biography abounds.

Another striking case of decision of character, worthy of noting, came under the observation of Pamphilius. Mr. - had been for a considerable period in India, and on returning to his native land determined on supplying a want which he had felt in India-certain mercantile intelligence. To supply that want he started a newspaper, and all who have had anything to do with publications know the uphill fight of a proprietor. Mr.

struggled on, regardless of the warnings of his friends. He toiled night and day, spent a considerable capital on his undertaking, and persisted in carrying on the newspaper. He listened to his advisers, but the arguments set forth failed in creating a wavering of the mind. No. He knew his task was great, but there was something TANGIBLE in his undertaking. His answer to his friends was, “I know such a paper IS WANTED, and when it is properly known people MUST BUY it. I would have given five times the money for such a paper when I was in India." He instanced the struggle that other people had had with newspapers, and their ultimate success, and, summing up, he said, "I know that an organ IS WANTED, and MINE shall be that organ."