XXIII.
SELF-HELP.
MEMORY GEMS.
Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie, which we ascribe to Heaven.
—Shakespeare
Be sure, my son, and remember that the best men always make themselves.
—Patrick Henry.
God gives every bird its food, but he does not throw it into the nest.
—J. G. Holland
Every person has two educations, one which he receives from others, and
one, more important, which he gives himself.—Gibbon
In battle or business, whatever the game,
In law, or in love it is ever the same:
In the struggle for power, or the scramble for pelf,
Let this be your motto, "Rely on yourself."—J. G. Saxe
History and biography unite in teaching that circumstances have rarely favored great men. They have fought their way to triumph over the road of difficulty and through all sorts of opposition. Boys of lowly origin have made many of the greatest discoveries, are presidents of our banks, of our colleges, of our universities. Our poor boys and girls have written many of our greatest books, and have filled the highest places as teachers and journalists. Ask almost any great man in our large cities where he was born, and he will tell you it was on a farm or in a small country village. Nearly all the great capitalists of the city came from the country.
Frederick Douglass, America's most representative colored man, was born a slave, reared in bondage, liberated by his own exertions, educated and advanced by sheer pluck and perseverance, to distinguished positions in the service of his country, and to a high place in the respect and esteem of the whole world.