me a bored man, whom nothing will amuse. If you
have comfort, you will be the discontented man who is never comfortable;
for you soon fix in your mind the ideal combination of temperature,
garment, palate, belly, and entertainment, and, seldom being able to get
them all at once, you will seldom quite reach your ideal.

You might remark that I have made the statement that employment in
something useful is the element of happiness; but I have not proved it by
reasoning, nor have I led up to it by any line of argument. Let it rest at
that. I shall let your intelligence and experience supply the proof that a
definite object of employment with something in view of interest and
benefit to the human race is, if not an essence of happiness, perhaps the
easiest way to obtain the elements of happiness; namely, an object for
yourself, a sense of usefulness, and the respect of your associates.

In addition to this, you must not be unpleasant to the senses. You must be
morally and physically clean. You must have good manners, which is mostly
being courteous and sympathetic and doing sundry social things according
to the social code which happens to be then in vogue. You must learn,
though it bores you as much as your Latin composition did, the proper way
to dress at various functions and to answer people's invitations and
generally do the correct thing.

It won't take long to learn these things; and you need not remember them,
as, if you once have in mind that there is a correct way of doing things,
you can always find out the particular one at issue by asking.

It seems to me that I can best illustrate my point by comparing you to a
tool, of which there are two ends,--the handle and the working or cutting
end.

It is your business for your first thirty years of existence to make as
good a tool of yourself as you can, and your business for the rest of your
life to do as much work as possible; that is, let the tool be used after
it is made. Thus, then, let us divide your experiences and acquirements
into the handle and the edge of your tool. The handle,--your manners,
education on general topics, such as history, literature, art, etc., your
habits of cleanliness, promptness, etc., and your physical ability,
health, etc.

Your edge is your special fitness for work; that is, your education,
experiences, aptness, power of concentration, and accomplishment.

Now I am going to ask you to keep this division clearly in mind, as I
thi