Choice Selections

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CHOICE SELECTIONS.

The Punishment of Indolence* One of the saddest sights in the world is that of a soul which has been starved by indolence, an undeveloped, stunted man, who has never sufficiently exerted himself to unfold his godlike power, to cultivate his finer sentiments and faculties. It is not necessary for a man to be actively bad, in order to

make a failure of life, simple inaction will accomplish it. Nature has everjrwhere written her protest against idleness; everything which ceases to struggle, which remains inactive, rapidly deteri- orates. It is the struggle toward an ideal, the constant effort to get higher and further, which develops manhood and character. All occupations and avenues of endeavor are overcrowded to the indolent, the nerveless and the incompetent. There is no room anjrwhere for a lazy man without sufficient ambition to enable him to rise. The world is looking for the man who can produce results, the leader, the aggressive man, and the man who has a purpose. No field is overcrowded for the original man who can think for him- self and is not afraid of hard work. The young men who are cry- ing that there is no chance, that the trusts have ruined their opportunities, would not succeed anjrwhere. The cry of overcrowded positions is a bugbear only to the weak and the incompetent. Those who feel the power within them to make their place in the world never give "no chance" as an ex- cuse for inaction. Success.