be happy and appreciated, I could not get along
with another set of my own picking. A man who is looking for ideal
human beings to make up his circle of acquaintances would as well go
at once and jump into the river.

The God of Things as They Ought to Be is a humbug. There is but one
God, and He is the God of Things as They Are.

Half of my problem is Me; the other half is Circumstances. My task
is to bring results out of the combination of the two.

Life is not a science, to be learned; it is an art, to be practised.
Ability comes by doing. Wisdom comes not from others; it is a
secretion of experience.

Life is not like a problem in arithmetic, to be solved by learning
the rule; it is more like a puzzle of blocks, or wire rings--you
just keep trying one way after another, until finally you succeed,
maybe.

I think it was Josh Billings who said that in the Game of Life, as
in a game of cards, we have to play the cards dealt to us; and the
good player is not the one who always wins, but the one who plays a
poor hand well.

III

IF I WERE TWENTY-ONE I WOULD TAKE CARE OF MY BODY

The comfort and efficiency of my days depend fundamentally upon the
condition of this physical machine I am housed in. I would look out
for it as carefully as I attend to my automobile, so that it might
perform its functions smoothly and with the minimum of trouble.

To this end I would note the four X's. They are Examination,
Excretion, Exercise, Excess.

EXAMINATION: I would have my body thoroughly inspected by
intelligent scientists once a year. I do not believe in thinking too
much about one's health, but I believe in finding out the facts, and
particularly the weaknesses, of one's mechanism, before one proceeds
to forget it.

EXCRETION: By far the most important item to attend to in regard to
the body is the waste pipes, including the colon, the bladder, and
the pores. Most diseases have their origin in the colon. I would see
to it that it was thoroughly cleaned every day. In addition, I would
drink plenty of water, and would take some form of exercise every
day that would induce perspiration. Most of my sicknesses have come
from self-poisoning, and I would make it my main care to eliminate
the waste.

EXERCISE: I would, if I were twenty-one, take up some daily system
of exercise that would bring into play all the voluntary muscles of
the body, and especially those which from my occupation tend to
disuse. I would d