, teem with
mysteries. He is surrounded with problems incapable of mortal
solution. He must grasp many of them and he foiled. He must attack
many foes and be repulsed. He may be stupidly blind, or selfish, or
cowardly, and make no endeavor,--in which case he will of course endure
no defeat. If he sets out with small aims, he may accomplish them; but
it is not a thing to boast of. It is better to fall below a high
standard than to come up to a low one,--to try great things and fail,
than to try only small ones and succeed. For he who attempts grandly
will achieve much, while he whose very desires are small will make but
small acquisitions. Of course, I am not speaking now of definite,
measurable matters of fact, in which the reverse is the case. Of
course, it is better to build a small house and pay for it, than to
build a palace and involve yourself in debt. It is wiser to set
yourself a reasonable task and perform it, than a prodigious one and do
nothing. I am endeavoring to present only one side of a truth which is
many-sided,--and that side is, that great deeds are done by those who
aspire greatly. You may not attain perfection, but if you strive to be
perfect, you will be better than if you were content to be as good as
your neighbors. You are not, perhaps, the world's coming man; but if
you aim at the completest possible self-development, you will be a far
greater man than if your only aim is to keep out of the poor-house. "I
have taken all knowledge to be my province," said Lord Bacon. He did
not conquer; he could not even overrun his whole province; but he made
vast inroads,--vaster by far than if he had designed only to occupy a
garden-plot in the Delectable Land. True greatness is a growth, and
not an accident. The bud, brought into light and warmth, may burst
suddenly into flower; but the seed must have been planted, and the
kindly soil must have wrapped it about, and shade and shine and shower
must have wrought down into the darkness, and nursed and nurtured the
tiny germ. The touch of circumstance may reveal, may even quicken, but
cannot create, nobility.

This I reckon to be success in life,--fitness,--perfect adaptation. I
hold him successful, and him only, who has found or conquered a
position in which he can bring himself into full play. Success is
perfect or partial, according as it comes up to, or falls below, this
standard. But entire success is rare in this world. Success in
busi