s an example of
shrinking modesty which it would be well to imitate.

It does not in the least trouble the phrase-makers and the followers of
the ideas that they have spread broadcast through the world that the
violet which hides timidly behind its sheltering leaves nearly always
dies unnoticed, and that it is in most cases anemic and faded in color.
The type that wins the admiration of the world is that, which,
disengaging itself from its leafy shield, springs up with a bound above
its green foliage just as men of poise rise triumphantly above the
accidents and the petty details which bury the timid under their heavy
fronds.

If one were minded to carry out the comparison properly, it is far more
exact to liken the timid to these degenerate flowers, which are indebted
to the shade in which they hide for their puny and abortive appearance.

The timid have then no sort of excuse for complaining of their ill-luck.

To begin with, it is to their own defects solely that their obscurity is
due.

Furthermore, by ceaselessly complaining, they gradually become absorbed
by these ideas of ill-fortune, which grow to be their accomplices in
their detestation of effort and suggest to them the thought of
attempting nothing upon the absurd pretext that nothing they do can
succeed.

One must add here--and this is extremely important--that in acting in
this way they always manage to provoke the hostile forces that are
dormant in everything and that array themselves the more readily against
such people because of their lack of the resolution to combat them and
the energy to overcome them.

This is the reason why people who are gifted with poise find themselves
better qualified than others to succeed.

Their faith is so beautiful and so convincing that it compels conviction
in others and seems to be able to dominate events.

It is by no means an illusion to believe in the worth of this
confidence. People to whom it is given become of the most wonderful help
to others, their faith aiding and sustaining that of those who have
resolved to make an effort.

However strong the soul of man may be, it is nevertheless subject to
hours of discouragement, to moments of despair, in which some comfort
and sympathy are needed.

The man of resolution will recover from his failures the more easily the
more certain he is that he has created in those about him an atmosphere
of friendliness which will not allow his defeats to be made public.