--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Hickman, J. E. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 12 number: 9 published: 1909-07 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'J. E. Hickman, "The Tragedy and Triumph of Youth—VII. The Riches of Adversity vs. the Poverty of Opulence," *Improvement Era* 12, no. 9 (July 1909): 728–732.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1209unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1209unse start_page: 728 end_page: 732 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1909-07) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1209unse publication_year: 1909 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1909, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Tragedy and Triumph of Youth—VII. The Riches of Adversity vs. the Poverty of Opulence THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF YOUTH. BY J. E. HICKMAN, A. M., PRESIIENT OF THE MUBDOCK ACADEMY. VII. — THE RICHES OF ADVERSITY VS. THE POVERTY OF OPULENCE. "It is not birth, nor rank, nor state: 'Tis get-up- and-git that makes men great." The Emperor of Germany, realizing the bane of ease and plenty, had his sons schooled in the most severe study and physi- cal endurance. He gave them training in the strenuous life. That is an antidote to the poisons to which fortune is heir.But humanity is eager to plunge into the lap of wealth and ease and dream of the state of Nirvana. Money, beyond the needs of life and the aiding of projects that bring new light or thought into the world, is a hindrance. It does not bring true happiness, but rather the reverse, A wealthy banker and mine owner some time ago confessed to me that wealth produced al- most anything but happiness. He said that through it he had lost confidence inmankind. ''No man ever approaches me," he said, "but I feel, 'What advantage does he wish to take of me now?' A similar remark was once made by Jay Gould when ' confessing the sorrows of a wealthy man. Wealth in itself is a blessing, but poor, silly humanity, like moths seeing the brilliant flame, attempt to plunge into the glare. Man possessing wealth should use it as a directing force to up-lift humanity not to wrap himself in it and glut his lusts. Almost every one desires to make money, which is a legiti- mate wish, if it is a means to a worthy end; but let money- THE TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH OF YOUTH. 729 making be subordinate to character-building. The spirit of get- rich-quick is destructive of the nobler sentiments of life. It has ruined its thousands. With that sentiment predominant, succeed or fail, the moral standard has been lowered. Such a sentiment is a blight upon the soul. Norman had for his motto: "I will engage in business that I may serve God in it, and with the ex- pectation of getting to give." The result was growth in graces and increase in spirituality. It is said of him, that he rose to- wards heaven like a lark of the morning. Until men reach the high intellectual plane where they take more pleasure in doing good with the money they earn, than in money-making itself, business will be debased to a species of gam- bling. The speculations of Wall Street exemplify this thought. Scarcely ever has money softened the human heart, but it has turned man from his God and his fellowmen. It has dried up the fount of human kindness and strewn the earth with debauchery. Give me the storms of tempest and adversity. Give me the in- spiration of want, the yearning for greater things. Then, as I ascend the crags of Sinai, I shall hear the voice of Jehovah declar- ing, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness and give drink unto the thirsty." Wholesome opposition met with in life's struggles stimulates man to his best. No one should shrink from opposition if in that opposition his duty lies. The earth was filled with opposing forces to make man great. Every worthy task implies opposition. Friction is opposi- tion, yet without it no structure could stand nor be erected. Oppo- sition gives stability and inspires progress. Without the oppos- ing forces of winter and the Arctic blizzards, the sterility of the earth, and the withering blasts, civilized men would degenerate forests. into painted savages lounging in earth's tropical "Cursed is the ground for thy sake," was the blessing God vouchsafed to Adam and gave as a heritage to his offspring. Man has found true happiness in overcoming the obstacles that It is a mistake to think that God cursed the earth lie in his path. take vengeance on Adam. Toil develops both mind to punish or happiness. Toiling com- and body, [t brings health, wealth and always noticed are the happiest. Idleness brings munities, I have and degeneracy to both mind and body. Honest labor discontent — physical and mental — produces its own enjoyment; but the idler, the street-loafer and the tramp, if they have joy, must seek it outside of idleness. When man runs away from work, he runs away from progress. God could have put no surer curse upon man than to have left him in his fallen state in an Edenic world. The redeeming of a fallen world has flooded the earth with wisdom and intelligent joy. When Rome turned from honest toil and became a parasite, she lost her prowess and groaned with crime, -while other peoples came in and trod upon ruins of that self-defeated nation. Young reader, turn from life's task and tbe world will write upon your brow, "Ichebod," — your glory is departed. There is no triumph except in overcoming. Heaven is victory; hell is failure — the failure to accomplish life's mission. Struggle, not the mere fact that you have succeeded, gives power and exquisite joy. Row up the stream of time, not float down. The drift wood goes down, the trout swims up. The drift not only goes down, but it becomes soggy and worthless. It is neither fit for fuel nor timber. Finally reaching its lowest level a wave flings it upon the shore. There it lies dead and unavail- ing. How many youths have turned driftwood and now lie dead to the world, dead to progress, dead to all that is holy. They would better be a scar upon the brow of time than a piece of driftwood upon the shores of eternity, for then nothing would ever be expected of them; but, on the other hand, they are the sad record of what they migh*; have been. Strong language, but there is no language forceful enough to express the rebuke for the debasement of young man or womanhood. Why this struggle with horny hands, sweated or thoughtful brow? Is it worth the candle? Aye, a thousand times! Hunt pleasure and it flees from you; turn to progress, and pleasure fol- lows you. The getting brings new thought, gives power. The aim of life is power— power to know and to do. "Know the truth, and the truth make you free." will Have an aim in life, and work for it. Should the getting make you feel that you want to rest from further toil, then the getting is harmful. When the coveted task is accomplished, the true spirit of growth gives new inspiration for higher ideals. Thomas A. Edison once said: THE TRAGDEY AND TRIUMPH OF YOUTH. 731 "Anything I have begun is always on my mind, and I am not easy while away from it, until it is finished, and then I hate it. Yes," he added, "when it is all done, and is a success, I can't bear the sight of it. I haven't used a telephone for ten years, and I would go ©ut of my way any day to miss an incandescent light." Mr. Edison has produced over a thousand inventions, and still his love and inspiration lie in the unfinished task. I have a number of diplomas in my trunk, but I have not appreciated them enough to have them framed. Yet when the truths they represent were in the getting stage, they absorbed all other thoughts. The scripture administers a severe rebuke to him who is satisfied with what he has gained and bids his soul rest. "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.'' How often you see a young man who is will- ing to overturn the earth t© win a young lady of his choice ; but once he succeeds, he settles down in stupid poverty, a slave to indifference, while he worse than beggars wife and children. Christ in one of his parables tells of a servant who rejected heaven because he had married a wife. Thus an ideal accom- plished instead of becoming an inspiration, is a hindrance to him who is easily satisfied. A true wife should be a living inspira- tion; not an opiate that deadens progress. Young man, when you are doing your level best, you are none too good for a noble woman. "There is no success," said a noted painter, "as valuable as the failure which leads to greater effort. There is no failure so complete as the success which paralyzes earnest work." Remember that honest, earnest labor, hallowed by inspiration, has moved the world from darkness to light, swept ignorance back, and flooded the earth with intelligence. Remember, too, that the block of granite that is a stumbling block to the weak, becomes a stepping stone to the strong. Reverses in your life are not signs of failure, but prophecies of triumph. The strenuous hours of a nation have brought out all that was good in her people, and have stamped the names of her sons in imperishable fame. Switzerland's struggle for liberty immortalized her name. During the dark night of the Revolution the names of Washing- ton, Jefferson, Adams, and a galaxy of others were made famous, hence their names became household words in many lands. Had it not been for our national crisis, their names like their influence would have been confined to their colonial homes. Again, there rises before us the name of Commodore Dewey. He, unknown to the world, his ships rotting in the harbor of Singapore, flashed into world-wide prominence in twenty-four hours by annihilating the Spanish fleet in Manila bay. It was like the sudden bursting of a comet upon our horizon with a noonday brilliancy. As a final example of what reverses and the breaking of ideals will do, I cannot refrain from citing the indomitable courage and valor of the Latter-day Saints. They owe half their greatness to their cruel banishment. "They went to the heart of the great American desert," as one writer has said, "willingly because they had to." Working under the inspiration of adversity, a mighty human kaleidoscope has ever been turning its magic-like impossi- bilities to the admiration of thinking men. Then it was solitude and desolation; today it is civilization and culture. Then the desert; today a garden of Hesperides. Then the crow and the magpie filled the valleys with their dismal cries; today the lark and the thrush make them glad with their songs. The wolfs lonely howl and the savage's wild wail have been supplemented by the hymn of devotion. Then the desert was the altar; today it is the temple. Philosophy tells us that man is subject to his environment. But in this case the environment has been subject to the people. The Redman was influenced by this wild and sterile country, hence he became a savage. But the modern pioneer permitted only the influence of the broad valleys, the intense and lofty inspiration of these majestic mountains to "electrotype themselves upon the medallions" of their brains. The granite hills gave stability to the character, and endurance to the people's thrift and education. During the long night of their banishment, they dreamed dreams that no mortal ever dreamed before, and their dreams became their prophets. They turned opposition, hatred, and mistrust of their enemies to further their cause, as the experienced mariner uses the opposing winds to reach the harbor for which he is bound. Be strong, warring soul! For very sooth, Kings are but wraiths, republics fade like rain,