_THE COURAGE OF SELF-CONQUEST_
THE highest courage is impossible without self-conquest. And
self-conquest is never easy. A man may be a marvel of physical courage,
and be a coward in matters of self-government. Failure here threatens
dire disaster to his entire career.
Alexander the Great conquered most of the world he knew, but he
permitted his lower nature to conquer his better self, and he died a
disappointed, defeated man.
Before the days of Alexander there was a man named Nehemiah from whom
the world-conqueror might have learned a few secrets. He was a poor
exile in the service of a foreign ruler. That ruler sent him down to
Jerusalem, the capital city of his own home land, with instructions to
govern the people there. Now, in those days, it was a common thing for
governors of cities to plunder the people unfortunate enough to be in
their charge. Thus Nehemiah would have had ample precedent to fill his
own coffers by injustice, profiteering and worse: he had the power.
Possibly he was tempted to do something of the sort. But he had the
courage to shut up tight all baser passions, and then to sit firmly on
the lid. In the brief record of his service he referred to some of the
self-seeking governors, and told of their rascally deeds. Then he added
the significant words, "_So did not I._"
That was certainly courage--the courage of self-conquest.
As a young man Ulysses S. Grant was a brave soldier, but he nearly
wrecked his life because of weak yielding to his appetite. His real
career began only with self-conquest. When he found the courage to fight
himself--and not until then--he became ready for the marvelous life of
high courage that never faltered when he was misunderstood by associates
and maligned by enemies, that pressed steadily onward, in the face of
biting disease, until work was done, until honor was satisfied.
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