"
Above all things, do not lose your confidence in your fellow men. You
are not a very great man if you are not great enough to stand
betrayal. You would better have your confidence broken a dozen times a
day than to fall into the attitude of universal suspicion.
Keep your sweet faith in our common humanity, do not excite your
nerves and intellect by intoxicants, keep close to the saving and
elevating influence of women, and then--go ahead and work as hard as
you please, be as keen as you choose, fight as savagely as you like,
and there is no power that can stay your conquest of the world; for
the very nature of things themselves and the whole order of the
universe are your allies and your servants. But do not get the
impression that you are to be maudlinly "good." Oh, no! that is as
fatal almost as wickedness.
X
THE YOUNG MAN AND THE NATION
You are an American--remember that; and be proud of it, too. It is the
noblest circumstance in your life. Think what it means: The greatest
people on earth--to be one of that people; the most powerful
Nation--to be a member of that Nation; the best and freest
institutions among men--to live under those institutions; the richest
land under any flag--to know that land for your country and your home;
the most fortunate period in human history--to live in such a day.
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