Transcriber's Note:
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
For more transcriber's notes, please go to the end of this text.
HAPPINESS
HORACE FLETCHER'S WORKS
THE A. B.-Z. OF OUR OWN NUTRITION.
Thirteenth thousand. 462 pp.
THE NEW MENTICULTURE; OR, THE A-B-C OF
TRUE LIVING. Forty-Eighth thousand.
310 pp.
THE NEW GLUTTON OR EPICURE; OR,
ECONOMIC NUTRITION. Fifteenth
thousand. 344 pp.
HAPPINESS AS FOUND IN FORETHOUGHT MINUS
FEARTHOUGHT. Fourteenth thousand.
251 pp.
THAT LAST WAIF; OR, SOCIAL QUARANTINE.
Sixth thousand. 270 pp.
HAPPINESS
AS FOUND IN
Forethought minus Fearthought
BY
HORACE FLETCHER
_Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science_
FOURTEENTH THOUSAND
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY
HORACE FLETCHER
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION, 7
HYPOTHESIS, 29
THEORY, 38
PREFATORY DEFINITIONS, 43
THE VALUE OF SIMILE, 63
ANALYSIS OF FEAR, 69
BALEFUL EFFECTS OF FEAR, 78
HOW TO ELIMINATE FEAR, 89
HOW TO CURE SPECIAL FORMS OF FEAR, 100
THE NOW-FIELD, 109
PERTINENT PAGES, 117
STOP IMPORTING, OR, ERADICATION VERSUS REPRESSION, 145
THE IMPOTENCE OF PAIN, 153
UNHAPPY UNLESS MISERABLE, 160
THOU SHALT NOT STRIKE A WOMAN, 169
THE POINT-OF-VIEW, 177
DON'T BE A SEWER, 187
CALL SUSPICION A LIAR, 190
I CAN'T _Not_ DO IT, 192
A MILLION TO ONE ON THE UNEXPECTED, 198
LOVE CANNOT BE QUALIFIED, 203
LAST SOMETIMES FIRST, 211
A BEGINNING AND NOT AN END, 217
APPENDIX A--DR. WM. H. HOLCOMB, 223
APPENDIX B--GEORGE KENNAN, 242
EXPLANATION OF THE A. B. C. SERIES, 253
PREFACE
TO
SIXTH THOUSAND
"Happiness" was written in answer to many questions elicited by the
publication of "Menticulture."
The "Introduction" is not material to the subject except to show the
sources of the suggestions relative to profitable living contained in
the two books.
The vital truths underlying the philosophy of life can be intelligently
stated in a few hundred words, both as regards the proper cultivation
of the body, or physical equipment, and as regards the cultivation
of the mind, so that they may do the best work of which they are
capable. False example and false teaching, however, have so impressed
habits of weakness on the body and the mind that the chief aim of
curative suggestion should be to disabuse. That is, to cause people to
discard bad habits of thinking and doing in order that normal, healthy
tendencies of action and of thought may take their place.
The difficulty of the task undertaken by any student and advocate of
reform is not the intelligent statement of the simple truth, but the
discovery and refutation of a complication of errors which have assumed
the reality of truth. Simile and illustration, some logic and much
ridicule, are among the weapons that have been effective in combating
old habits of wrong thinking, but it is impossible to say which
argument will fit a particular case.
Each of the illustrations used in this book has been the means of
curing some one person of some phase of fearthought, and together they
have released many from that dread enemy of health and happiness called
"Fear."
The normal condition of Nature is healthy growth--evolution or
progression--and Man's chief function in assisting her is first the
removal of weeds, or other deterrents to the natural process, and
afterwards the maintaining of quarantine against their return.
_True Happiness is the Evidence and Fruit of Conscious Usefulness._
The wider the opportunity for usefulness the greater and keener the
happiness resulting therefrom. Consciousness of _being_ one's best and
_doing_ one's best, however, regardless of scope, is the only way to
unalloyed happiness, and to the accomplishment of the highest ideals.
There can be no more miserable, sorry and harrowing condition than
that called "Indifference."
The separating of fearthought from forethought is not alone valuable
because of the personal comfort of being fearless, but it is especially
useful in that the energy made possible by the divorce is available in
assisting others to be strong and helpful to themselves and to each
other.
If attention is once directed to the pulling of weeds, to the removal
of deterrents, to the eradication of the germs of disorder, the pursuit
will become most fascinating, owing to the quick and happy response of
Nature in her willingness to "Do the rest."
One of the marvels revealed by study of the question of the possibility
of a Perfect Social Quarantine, having for its aim a protection that
will not permit any child _to escape care_, is the comparatively small
areas of the propagating centers in which are bred the germs of social
disorder.
This subject is treated in a book, now in press, called "That Last
Waif; or, Social Quarantine."
The same insignificance of origin applies to individual, moral and
physical deterrents to happiness which afflict otherwise healthy men
and women. The _tap-roots_ of all unhappiness are not formidable in the
light of present knowledge.
Whoever is less than keenly happy is the victim of errors or illusions
whose germs are easy to kill when found. It is the especial object
of this book to help those who are suffering unhappiness to find the
tap-roots of their troubles.
Auditorium Annex,
Chicago, September 5th, 1898.
HAPPINESS
AS FOUND IN
FORE MINUS FEAR
THOUGHT.
INTRODUCTION.
How to be happy is the one desire common to all humanity.
How to be happier is a better statement, for there is no one so
miserable but has some degree of happiness at times--enjoys some
moments when he forgets to be unhappy, and looks with appreciation,
even if with only dull and bleared appreciation, upon the things that
are always beautiful and joyful and free.
In highly civilized life there is everything to encourage, and there
should be nothing to prevent, happiness.
The normal condition of man in civilized life is that of happiness.
So great, and so greatly increasing, has been the acceleration of
progress, that the possibility of unrestrained and unfettered
happiness has come to us in advance of our being prepared to accept the
freedom of it, owing, mainly, no doubt, to the weight of traditions
under the habit of which we are prone to struggle long after the
conditions that gave birth to the traditions have ceased to exist.
The experience of the world has revealed, and is constantly revealing,
simple expedients applicable to every possible combination of
evils--except the evil of perverse ignorance--the use of which will
insure the success of honest and reasonable aims, no matter how
unfavorable the equipment and environment have been or are at the
present time.
In a singularly adventurous career I have passed through many of the
conditions in which discomfort, fear and unhappiness breed, including
the direst straits to which life can be exposed, and have also been
possessed, at different times, of the means to comfort and happiness
that broad opportunity, keen appreciation and affluence are supposed to
furnish.
I have shared the occupations and sympathies of persons of many
different nationalities and of every degree of opportunity and
intelligence; in torrid, temperate and frigid climes; in the Americas,
in Africa, in Europe, in Asia, and in the far-off islands of distant
seas; on shipboard and on the farm; in the mine and in the factory; in
the camp and on the commons; in the arts of war and in the pursuits of
peace; in the country cross-roads school-house and in the university;
in service and in command--in all of which change it was possible only
to serve apprenticeships, however, for in such variety of occupation
no great accomplishment could develop, except the accomplishment of
variety itself; but, at the same time, it was not possible for any
of the occupations to become stale to criticism, and the ability to
analyze, in the light of comparison, is the natural result and the
impelling motive in these essays.
I have pushed ways through tangled chaparral, led by hopes of
discovering precious metals; and have chopped out roads in the jungle,
allured by the excitement of the chase and the spirit of adventure. I
have observed nature in the vastness of her wild domains; in the calm
and in the terror of the mighty deep; in the harmonious quiet of rural
cultivation, and in the supreme picturesqueness of rugged mountain
landscapes, studded about, here and there, with golden-roofed temples
and cloistered parks. I have not only seen nature with appreciative
eye when she has displayed her million moods and when she has taken on
myriad aspects, but I have tried to interpret her in terms of line and
color in famous studios in Europe, under the advice of world-honored
masters of the art.
The numerous occupations engaged in were, in many cases, used as
necessary means to desired ends. While I have enjoyed making _le grand
tour_ as a "globe trotter," I have also had to "work my way" at times,
and in "working my way" have had to undertake occupations leading
that "way." So successful have I been in finding means or excuses for
travel, that among my intimates the saying is current that if I "took
it into my head" to want to go to either of the poles, I would engage
in a business that would make it _necessary_ for me to go there, thus
conserving my respect for duty and my desire for travel at the same
time.
I once sought and secured a place on the staff of one of the great
American daily journals in order to gain access to famous studios in
Europe and America, and to become acquainted with the personality of
great artists who had become inaccessible to anyone except plutocratic
buyers of works of art, intimate friends and critics. This was while
I was studying art with a view to learning some of the secrets of its
inspiration in practice, and thus journalism served a useful purpose,
as well as satisfied a burning curiosity. In this connection I will
say that I have since been able, directly and indirectly, to create
appreciation that has led to the purchase of works of art in which very
large sums of money have been involved, so that I cannot be charged
with imposture upon a profession which I respect to the point of
reverence for its mission in holding a "true mirror up to nature" and
in teaching us to appreciate the subtle beauties that nature shows in
all of her aspects, but which become commonplace to the many without
the assistance of art.
The Japanese have a proverb which declares that "once seeing is better
than an hundred times telling about," and this good proverb has
been the guiding star of my roamings, and has suggested practical
participation in some of my occupations. My first attempt to see the
antipodes was not successful. It did not have the necessary parental
sanction, and I was _brought back_ before I had measured very much
longitude and latitude; but the determination shown in the attempt
indicated so strong a tendency that it led to promise of assistance and
permission to travel as a reward for certain accomplishments in study
that were considered to be impossible, as judged by former efforts, but
which became surprisingly easy to the boy who saw a way to the other
side of the world in the task.
I spent my sixteenth birthday on the Island of Java, and saw Japan and
China at the most interesting periods of their recent history--Japan,
in Feudal Times, before any of the changes that have made her the last
and greatest wonder of the world; and China, at the close of the
Taiping rebellion, wherein more than thirty millions of persons lost
their lives, and about which there hovered a lawlessness the like of
which the world has not witnessed elsewhere.
Chance and restless change have thrown me into companionship with
the most elemental of human beings; and have also led me to the
acquaintance, and into the affections of the wisest and loveliest of
men and women--the rarest blossoms of our generation. Opportunity has
found me available for the command of a crew of Cantonese pirates, on
a Chinese lorcha, at a time when piracy was a common occupation in the
China Sea; and for the mismanagement of a French Grand Opera Company,
when no one else was foolish enough to undertake it.
The foregoing are but glimpses of the opportunities for observation
out of which I draw my deductions relative to profitable living.
Four complete trips around the world--two of them before the time
of ocean steamship lines and continental railroads; thirty-six trips
across the American Continent by various rail, water and stage routes;
sixteen voyages across the Pacific Ocean, and many across the Atlantic;
intermittent periods of residence in many different countries of
Europe, in China, in India, in Japan and in different localities in the
Americas; as well as visits to parts remote from the lines of travel,
such as South Africa, Yucatan and the mountain regions of Mexico
and Central America, that are the type of all of the South American
countries; and all of which residences and visits have been chosen
at times of greatest interest in each locality; in response to the
invitation of the Spirit-of-Adventure by which I have been led--these,
together with no less than thirty-eight distinct occupations, embrace
the sum of my opportunities.
Fortune has always been kind to me when I have trusted her; when my
aims and ambitions were worthy, and when I have been sufficiently
appreciative and grateful for the things I already possessed to merit
and invite continued favors; but, she has always passed me by whenever
I have doubted her goodness or questioned her intentions. And so
consistent has been the course of Fortune, as viewed in the retrospect,
that I can assert, with all the assurance of firm belief, that "Unto
him who hath (appreciation and gratitude) shall be given; but unto him
who hath not (appreciation and gratitude) shall be taken away even that
which he hath."
Until I began to collect my remembrances into groups, form them into
classes for review and deduct from them suggestions for profitable
living, I had thought that my chronic restlessness was aimless as
measured by the common estimate of usefulness; but the sympathy
aroused by the publication of my little volume--first, privately
printed,--_Menticulture, or the A-B-C of True Living_--revealed the
possibility of utilizing my varied experiences and observations to
good advantage in calling attention to uses-of-energy, points-of-view,
habits-of-thought and habits-of-action, that made for happiness in some
persons in some parts of the world, while they were entirely unknown to
others as well fitted to enjoy them.
I was led to serious study of the causes and effects of happiness and
unhappiness by observations of the pitiable neglect of the science
of menticulture, (which is the science of fundamental means), and
the science of happiness (which is the science of ultimate desirable
ends), in materially civilized communities, and by persons who have
mastered, and are already possessed of, the physical means to comfort
and happiness. This neglect is not surprising when we reflect that all
available time and all available thought have been excitedly employed
in developing material, physical _means_, to the exclusion of the
thought of cultivating the end; to the harnessing and training of the
forces of Nature, to the exclusion of planning for their best uses; but
it will be surprising if, however, in the near future, the ends are
not scientifically cultivated, now that the fundamental as well as the
physical means are understood, and the leisure to apply them is secured.
More than forty years of observation, and upwards of three years of
study, analysis and arrangement with a fixed purpose, have enabled
me to suggest changes of attitude towards the problems of life that
have not failed to bring more or less strength and happiness to
all who have adopted them, as attested by thousands of written and
verbal communications and by report. This is literally true, and the
statement of it is warranted by the merit of the results, removed from
any personality in connection with it.
The underlying cause of all weakness and unhappiness in Man, heredity
and environment to the contrary notwithstanding, has always been, and
is still, _weak habit-of-thought_. This is proven by the observed
instances in which _strong habit-of-thought_ has invariably made its
masters superior to heredity, and to environment, and to illness,
and to weakness of all kinds, and has redeemed them from non-success
and misery, to the enjoyment of success, honor and happiness. It has
also been proven that none are so ill-favored as to be exempt from
regeneration by the influence of optimistic thinking, and none so
plain, nor even so ugly, as judged by the world's standards of beauty,
but that the radiance of pure thought will make them more beautiful
than their brothers of nobler mien and more symmetrical physique, but
whose thoughts are poisoned by fear and by selfishness.
Happiness is not dependent upon wealth, and wealth does not necessarily
bring happiness, but both are dependent upon _good-habit-of-thought_;
for _good-habit-of-thought_ develops _appreciation_, which is
the measure of all wealth, and _appreciation_ leads to the
_habit-of-feeling_ and the _habit-of-action_ which produce happiness.
Notwithstanding the words of Jesus of Nazareth, by which one-half of
the world's inhabitants are supposed to be governed; notwithstanding
the admonitions of the other great teachers to whom the other half
of humanity turn for counsel; notwithstanding the lessons taught
by all of nature's processes of growth, especially the teachings
of later evolution; fear--fear of death, fear of disaster, fear of
non-attainment, fear of non-preferment, and fear of the things that
never happen as feared, and the anger and the worry growing out
of these fears--have been looked upon as afflictions necessary to
humanity, repressible only during life, and eradicable only at the
change called death.
Early theology wrestled with conditions wherein it was thought
necessary to use the whip of fear as well as the attraction of love to
incline men to religion. Modern theology teaches the religion of love
alone, but it has not yet sufficiently denounced the former teaching
of fears, perhaps in the interest of consistency or because of filial
respect, inasmuch as its parents once put the label of _truth_ upon
the religion of fear. Science also has taught, and still continues to
teach, the potency of the _crowding-out_ stimulant in growth, without
proclaiming a line where attraction became the stronger motive in
civilization--an intangible line already far astern in the wake of
present progress.
Fear has had its uses in the evolutionary process, and seems to
constitute the whole of forethought, as instinct seems to constitute
the whole of intelligence in most animals, but that it should remain
any part of the mental equipment of human civilized life is an
absurdity. There are, undoubtedly, human beings that are still so
nearly animal that fear alone will restrain them from wrong-doing,
or stimulate them (or, rather, _push_ them) to peaceful and useful
living, but none such will read this book, and neither you nor I should
be burdened by their limitations or necessities. We have passed the
point where we need to be _pushed_; or, if we have not, we are ashamed
to confess it, thereby acknowledging that it is unnecessary; and are
within the atmosphere of appreciation and attraction where fear and
its expressions have no proper place, and where the toleration of
fear beclouds not only our own clear vision, but also the vision of
those who are still below us in the scale of intelligence, to whom,
as beacon-lighters on the heights above them, we owe the influence of
right example.
I have made especial study of the reports of the Society for Psychical
Research, the book entitled "Fear," by Prof. Angelo Mosso, of Turin,
Italy, and the contributions to the _American Journal of Psychology_
by President G. Stanley Hall, of Clarke University, Worcester,
Massachusetts; Dr. Colin A. Scott, Professor of Psychology and Child
Study at Cook County Normal School, Chicago, Illinois; and others who
are devoting particular attention to the causes and effects of fears in
children; together with the after-effect of early fears upon persons
when they are fully grown. The claim of these students is that the
consideration of the future that constitutes _forethought_ is a mixture
of hope, faith and fear, the sum of which is the stimulant to action
and progress, hope and faith being the civilized or divine motives,
and fear being the animal motive. My own experience and observations
corroborate this contention, but I find that the fear element of
forethought is _not_ stimulating to the more civilized persons, to
whom duty and attraction are the natural motives of stimulation, but
is weakening and deterrent. As soon as it becomes unnecessary, fear
becomes a positive deterrent, and should be entirely removed, as dead
flesh is removed from living tissue. I have also demonstrated, beyond
the possibility of doubt, that _the fear element can be eliminated_ out
of forethought _as soon as it becomes evident that it is unnecessary,
separable and eliminable_, and that _energy_ and _desire_ for
progress and growth _are beautifully stimulated as the result of its
elimination_.
To assist in the analysis of fear, and in the denunciation of
its expressions, I have coined the word "_fearthought_" to stand
for the unprofitable element of forethought, and have defined
that variously-interpreted word "worry" as _fearthought, in
contradistinction to forethought_. I have also defined "fearthought" as
the _self-imposed_ or _self-permitted_ suggestion of _inferiority_, in
order to place it where it really belongs, in the category of harmful,
unnecessary, and, therefore, not-respectable things.
Darwin and Spencer and other biologists have asserted that if primitive
man had not been urged by fear of discomfort he would have sat upon
a stone, naked, near the roots or the herbs that served to appease
his hunger--if it also happened to be near to a spring where he could
quench his thirst--until he died; and that fear has been the impelling
motive in the progress of the race. This was undoubtedly true up to a
certain point, but, like many of the laws of _ye olden tyme_, is not
applicable to the present nor to us.
There is now sufficient protection vouchsafed by forethought, and
sufficient attraction furnished by affection and duty, to lead the van
in the pursuit of progress, and to set an example that will be its own
torch-bearer in guiding the trend of thought and of action.
When the motto, "Fearlessness," becomes embroidered upon the banners of
all of our religious and other fraternal organizations; when "Freedom
from Fear" becomes the slogan of Reform, and when Appreciation, Love
and Altruism are admitted to the councils of men, then, and only then,
will famine end, selfishness fade, strikes become unnecessary, misery
depart, and Happiness become enthroned as the ruler of a joyously
industrious and universally prosperous people.
Increase is prodigal, and accumulation is already prodigious, so that
it is no longer a question of physical means, but a question of wise
distribution and adjustment, to accomplish all that society requires
to insure it unremitting happiness.
Churches there are, clubs there are, lodges there are, guilds there
are, and many other fraternal organizations whose aims are practically
the same, but whose members are attracted together into separate
groups by sympathies of traditions, race, occupations or general
trend-of-thought. It would be a useless iconoclasm to separate from
these or to attempt to dismember them. They are all good organizations,
wherein they conserve the principles of brotherhood and promote
practical altruism; and are only imperfect wherein they tolerate
slavery to the fears, slavery to wealth, slavery to the harmful
conventions, and slavery to the antagonisms, intolerances and other
evil passions that prevent economic co-operation, harmony and happiness.
The contention of this book is that, with means already secured, there
is a way to individual happiness, _even under existing conditions_;
and also, that the present acceleration of progress, and certain
already accomplished tests of possible industrial and economic reform,
coupled with an optimism that has for its motto, "All _can be_, and,
therefore, _shall be_ well," not only promise, but assure, to mankind,
in a not remote future, equal opportunities for securing happiness by
means altogether honest and altruistic.
To _all_ who will follow me through this volume, I promise to show
ways and signs that will assist the weak to become strong, the poor to
become rich in appreciation of their opportunities, and the rich to
better enjoy their good fortune without impoverishing others to do so.
My special desire is to enlist general aid in eradicating deterrents to
growth, and in the acceleration of progress.
HYPOTHESIS.
The object of Life is Growth.
Harmony is the condition favorable and necessary to growth.
Harmony is the normal condition of Nature, as proven by the unfailing
and immediate response of growth to its influence.
Harmonic conditions are created by the removal of deterrents to growth.
Mind is the first essential in the growth of Man. A healthy mind
insures a healthy body, and a rational cultivation of the mind cannot
fail to result in the attainment of the highest ideals.
All of the processes of Nature are consistent, and Man and Mind are no
exception to the rule regulating the growth of other things, except
that their functions as chief assistants in evolution are unique, and,
therefore, involve greater responsibility.
Unselfishness is necessary to the harmonic condition in Man, and
service to fellow-man is essential to his growth.
Happiness is the evidence and fruit of Growth.
There can be no real happiness except in Growth.
Acts are thoughts materialized; or--thoughts realized.
Forethought is an essential aid to Growth.
Fearthought is the cause of all deterrents to growth in Man.
Forethought minus Fearthought is the ideal Mind Equipment.
Fearthought serves no useful purpose; neither is it a necessary
infliction of intelligent, civilized manhood or womanhood.
* * * * *
Culture is necessary to the best growth.
Mind-culture, or _menticulture_, is the most important of all
the divisions of culture; for, out of Mind thoughts spring, and
accomplishments grow; but it has been the last to receive the same
scientific and reasonable attention that the other cultures have
received, and had not even been given a distinctive name until
_Menticulture_ was published.
In Agriculture and in Horticulture, plants that seem to have no
profitable nor agreeable use, but are deterrent to the growth of useful
plants, are denominated "weeds," and are not allowed to retain root
in the same soil; animals and other living and moving things that
are not serviceable, and can not be domesticated, are exterminated
from civilized environment; the air that Man breathes is cleared of
poisonous malaria by draining the swamps in which the bad air forms;
and friction is minimized in machines, in order that the energy applied
to them may meet with least resistance, and suffer the least waste.
But no such care is commonly given to the mind.
Fearthought is the element of friction, as expressed in anger; it is
the predatory element, as expressed in waste of energy--the result of
worry; and it is also the weed element, as shown by the uselessness of
it in any form. It is, however, permitted to encumber, muddy and prey
upon divinely ordained forethought, as weeds encumber good soil, as
mud clouds pure water, and as savage and venomous things prey upon the
comfort and life of animals useful to Man, and even upon Man himself.
Man's place in the process of evolution is that of assistant only. Man
selects, arranges, brings together, separates, waters, fertilizes,
waits upon and otherwise cultivates Nature; but he has not been able to
add one cell to growth; neither has he succeeded in drawing an atom of
color from the sunlight and in infusing it into the sap of any growing
thing.
By Man's attention in removing the deterrents, the skimpy little wild
flower that grows upon the hillsides of China, that I gathered when
I was a boy--of less importance than the common field daisy--has
become the royal chrysanthemum of the Flower Shows; by Man's care in
the breeding, feeding and training of the primitive horse described
by Professor Marsh, the almost-human Kentucky thoroughbred--the
"Black Beauty" of our pride--has been evolved; and the clumsy effort
of the first inventor of steam applied to machinery has become the
wonderful quadruple-expansion engine of the present, by the harmonizing
adjustment of parts, and the reduction of friction to the point of
noiseless efficiency, through the genius of invention.
Mind is the great machine behind all other machines and out of which
all accomplishment comes. Fearthought and what grows out of it, under
the class names of anger and worry, are like rust and sand in the
journals, and wear out the bearings of the machine. They are also like
the impurities in water that cause foaming in a boiler and prevent the
accumulation of energy. They are productive of nothing but wear and
waste, _wear and waste_, as long as they are permitted to encumber the
splendid man-machine and its source of power.
The creative--the growing part--of Nature never fails to do her part
if the deterrents to growth are removed. What she does for the growth
of plants and of animals, and for the creation of power from the use
of her forces called steam and electricity, she will also do for the
growth and development of the mind of man. If fearthought and its
various expressions are eradicated; or, more correctly speaking,
are not sought and nursed, as they always are, nothing can prevent
Growth and Service and Happiness from occupying their own; and if the
carbonic-acid-gas of passion is kept out of the mental atmosphere, a
vitalized, altruistic and spiritualized energy will take its place.
_Good comes to whatever is prepared for it._
It is an easy matter to separate fearthought from forethought if it is
known that they are separable; not by suppression, nor by process of
gradual repression; because, as long as a spark of fearthought remains,
any excitement or draft of surprise may revive the flame to destructive
proportions; but by absolute eradication,--determination not to suffer,
nor permit, nor tolerate.
The method of eradication is, by the way, the method that is easier
than not, as soon as conviction of the possibility of it is nursed into
a belief.
_Effective methods are always easy methods._
Repression acknowledges, and therefore strengthens, the evil to be
repressed, is never-ending and altogether ineffectual.
Eradication is the simple method of ceasing to import or admit evil
counsel or report, and is the only effective method in menticulture.
* * * * *
While the future is the field in which growth must take place, the now
or, rather, the immediate-next-future, is the _only_ time for action.
Are you possessed of fearthought, or anger, or worry, or suspicion,
or jealousy, or envy, or malice, or indifference at this moment? No!
You cannot be, for two distinct thoughts cannot occupy the mind at
the same time, and your thought is occupied with the subject matter
of this hypothesis. The next time you have any of these poisons you
will have to import them afresh in response to the invitation of so
mean a liar as Suspicion, or at the command of so silly a coward as
Fear. Habit-of-thought-of-evil--_the devil_--will return to you for the
usual easy conquest, but newly-acquired knowledge of his impotency to
harm can aid Determination to resist him until Habit-of-Thought is no
longer Bad-Habit-of-Thought and will, therefore, no longer assist in
the materialization of the spook. And then, and _only_ then, will you
be free--free to grow, eager to serve, and altogether happy.
All time--all eternity--is made up of a succession of _nows_. If
you are free in the present _now_, you may more easily be free from
temptation in the succeeding _nows_ until emancipation shall be
complete and the very atmosphere of your freedom shall exorcise all
evil before it can come near enough to attract your consciousness.
You are free this moment; you can be free in the succeeding moments;
_you can be free forever_! IT IS EASIER THAN NOT!
THEORY.
The perfect man is the harmonious man.
Perfection in man is attained when he is _doing his best_.
Symmetry of face or of form, quality of voice, or strength of mind
or muscle at birth are the responsibility of the Creator and of
progenitors.
The birth of the body of man is accomplished when it attains
consciousness of its physical requirements.
The birth of the soul of man is accomplished when he attains
consciousness of what is good, of what his functions and duties are
relative to his own best growth, and also relative to his uses and
duties as a member of society.
Man is not fully born until his mind is conscious of his body and
conscious of his soul, and knows the functions and duties of each
relative to the best growth.
Until man is fully born, as described above, the responsibility of his
perfection or imperfection rests with his teachers and their teachings.
Everything that man is conscious of is his teacher.
You are the teacher of every person who sees or is otherwise conscious
of you or of your example.
It is unmanly, and especially unchristian, not to seek the greatest
possible enlightenment relative to the functions and duties in growth,
not only for your own sake, but as an example for others; and, being
enlightened, not to do all possible to assist growth.
Whoever reads and assents to the above, takes upon himself the
responsibility of his future growth, and will be respectable or
not-respectable insofar as he seeks enlightenment and assists growth,
or neglects to seek enlightenment and thereby retards growth.
Happiness, the evidence, fruit and reward of growth, rests in
self-respect first, and, incidentally, in the measure of respect held
by others.
No one is respectable who is not _doing his best_.
When a man finds fault with the material with which he has been
furnished--with his form, with his face, with his mind, with his
muscle, with his equipment of wealth, or other means or tools of
growth, at the time of his being fully born, he puts blame upon, and
thereby blasphemes, his Creator, as well as discredits his progenitors.
Whoever reads, and assents to, the foregoing is fully born, in that he
has learned and now _knows what is best_. The question then is: "What
will he do with it?"
In highly-civilized life it is _not-respectable not to be fully born_.
The fully-born is _not doing his best_, and is therefore
_not-respectable when he suffers himself to retain or cultivate the
habit-of-fearthought_.
The fully-born is _not doing his best_, and therefore is
_not-respectable, when he entertains and nurses worry_.
The fully-born is _doing his worst when he allows himself to be angry_.
The fully-born is unmanly, especially unchristian and altogether
not-respectable when he is not doing his best, and is always a subject
for pity, and frequently a subject for contempt, when he is doing his
worst.
The fully-born-and-entirely-respectable individual knows that
fearthought is an unprofitable element of forethought, knows that it
can be eliminated from the habit-of-feeling by persistent, intelligent
habit-of-thought, and, knowing this, prepares the field of his mind for
unhampered growth by eradicating all of the expressions of fearthought,
as well as all other deterrents to growth.
The fully-born-and-entirely-respectable individual is the one to
whom come health, strength, memory, inspiration, love, preferment,
altruistic impulses, and the appreciation necessary to find the
greatest enjoyment in them all.
The fully-born-and-entirely-respectable individual needs not symmetry
of form nor beauty of face nor accumulation of wealth to make him
happy, for the light from within will give grace to his form, reflect
beauty from his face, and attract all of the things that constitute
wealth.
The fully-born-and-entirely-respectable condition is the condition
that is easier than not, pleasanter than any, and in which only true
happiness dwells.
Out of the fully-born-and-entirely-respectable habit-of-being
and habit-of-thinking, nursed within our professedly-altruistic
organizations, will the impulse spring which will so shape conditions
that unhappiness can no longer exist, except as the result of
perversity.
PREFATORY DEFINITIONS.
Much misunderstanding arises from the various interpretations of the
meaning of terms. So different are the interpretations given to some
words, that a large part of the dictionaries is taken up with synonyms
whose varied applications are nearly as wide apart as the limits of the
greatest misunderstanding.
Many of these different applications of words are the result of
corruptions of the original meaning, but they are none the less
misleading, and furnish an excuse for agreeing on specific definitions.
As an example of corrupt uses given to words that should be held to
convey only a sacred meaning, take the word "love," as promiscuously
applied, for instance. It should be removed from all selfishness,
and attach only to such holy application as that implied by the
expression, "God is Love." In its application to individuals, as in
mother-love, child-love, love between husband and wife, or between
brothers, it should only have spiritual significance, unalloyed by any
suggestion of liking, approval, desire, or lust; and should even extend
its mantle to spread alike over all created things.
Love had already been so corrupted in its uses in the time
of Comte, that he was impelled to coin a new word to express
unselfishness between brother-men, and hence gave the word
"altruism"--(other-self)--to the world.
"Altruism," also, in its turn, has suffered by contact with the
selfish habit-of-thought of the present time, until it does not longer
express the highest quality of love--the spiritual--but rather the
socio-commercial quality that seeks and expects reward of praise or
material emolument.
Although it is some time since "altruism" was first used--and it is
a word of most important meaning to sociology--there are few who can
define it.
Probably the material rush of the time has allowed little opportunity
for acquaintance with it. It is rarely seen in the magazines, and
almost never in the daily papers. This is probably the reason why
the author was able to find only three, out of thirty persons asked,
who could define "altruism." These thirty were met haphazard, and
represented a fair average of city intelligence. It follows, by
inference, that there is not as much altruism as there should be in
existence among us, for, if there were, the word chosen by Comte to
express it would be more widely used and known.
In presenting a set of definitions, there is no intention of calling
into question the intelligence of any reader. The idea was suggested
by the wide difference of understanding of the meaning of the word
"worry." This difference of understanding became apparent in the
discussion of _Menticulture_.[1]
It was found that many persons defined "worry" as "any consideration of
the future," whereas only apprehensive consideration of the future was
intended to be meant by its use in _Menticulture_.
Reference to the origin of the word revealed that it was first used to
express the "barking of a small dog," probably in contradistinction to
the biting of a large dog. It was first "worrit," and became "worry,"
as now, later on. "Picking" and "nagging" were its synonyms in slang
until they were taken into the language as sober expressions.
In the attempt to separate "worry" from "forethought," the word
"fearthought" was coined, and hence our present title, and also the
definitions hereunder, whose object is to render misunderstanding as
nearly impossible as possible.
Only a few of the words relative to our treatise are defined--only such
as have been found to cause discussion in consideration of the subject.
GOD.
No definition of the Christian conception of God can be adequate.
God is the source of all, in all, and around all. "The Absolute,"
"Father," "Creator," "Jehovah," "Source" and other terms are used for
euphony and to express separate God-qualities. Whoever attempts to
define God, shows pitiful limitations thereby. We may _feel_ God, but
we cannot _define_ God. _Appreciation_ of God is the measure of man's
possibilities of growth and the key to power and happiness.
APPRECIATION.
Even in its material application, "appreciation" is a word of greatest
importance, and should mean _the highest form of intelligence_. It
is commonly used to express only a simple knowledge of value, but it
should have a larger significance, by conveying the idea of fullest
cultivation and enjoyment as well as knowledge.
Wealth, for instance, can be measured only by appreciation. The
child in appreciating a toy is richer than a drowning man with a
thousand dollars in gold in his pocket. We will therefore understand
appreciation to mean _knowledge and full cultivation and enjoyment_.
"Appreciation" might justly be given first place in the language, as,
in its spiritual application, it implies the knowledge of God that
gives birth to Love.
Our definition, "knowledge--or understanding--cultivation and full
enjoyment," conveys the largest and highest meaning of "appreciation,"
but the realization of it is not complete until every God-expression is
included, even to the smallest wonder of the universe.
Neglect of the cultivation of appreciation of _everything_--of the
commonest things in our surroundings--is loss of opportunity to
conserve the greatest aid to progress and growth; because, appreciation
of lesser things insures a better appreciation of the most important
things.
Cultivation of appreciation is cultivation of the germ of all good
and the opening wide of the spiritual flood-gates. Even the complete,
yet simple, dignity of the Lord's Prayer can be epitomized within the
prayer, _Father, teach Thou us Appreciation_.
LOVE.
In its pure form, as Christ meant it, Love makes no distinction between
creatures nor between things; its merit is in the act--or thought--and
not in the object loved.
The divine quality in man, growing out of appreciation, finds first
expression in love; not the passive principle, the opposite of hate,
but the growing, active principle, which is constantly flowing forth
from the spiritually blessed to bathe with warmth of unselfishness the
just and the unjust alike. Love begets altruism.
As "perfect love casteth out fear," so does the eradication of fear
insure the wooing of perfect love.
ALTRUISM.
Next in the scale of importance is Comte's word "altruism," which was
coined to suggest the Christ-like attitude of unselfish service between
fellow-men. It is, however, as before stated, now commonly understood
to be the social or business application of the principle of love which
needs and expects to be reciprocal. Men were asked to become altruists
when they were asked to "do unto others as you would that others should
do unto you." Growth towards divinity is the fruit of perfect altruism.
Perfect Love begets Perfect Altruism. Christ is the Perfect Altruist.
SPONTANEOUS ALTRUISM.
Any degree of altruism is good and is sure to lead to higher degrees,
but the perfect type is best kept in view by the use of the qualified
form expressed by the adjective "spontaneous"--meaning voluntary,
without reward, except as found in the act itself. This qualification
is almost necessary to prevent the lowering of the value of the term,
as "perfect" was required to express Christ-Love, in contra-distinction
to worldly love.
OPTIMISM.
Optimism is _forethought_. Christianity, pure and undefiled, is perfect
optimism. Christ is the Perfect Optimist.[2]
FORETHOUGHT.
"Forethought" is _the logical, trustful, hopeful, Christian, and
therefore stimulating, consideration of the future_.
Forethought cannot be contrasted as the opposite of fearthought for the
same reason that a tree cannot be contrasted as the opposite of its
shadow; one being the growing, fruit-bearing substance; and the other
being the unsubstantial, unillumined simulation of the living reality.
ENVIRONMENT.
_Surroundings which impress themselves upon the mind and assist to
influence and form character and opinions._
SPIRITUAL CEREBRATION.
Sometimes called unconscious cerebration; _intelligence not derived
from experience_; principally obtained during undisturbed sleep,
and, seemingly, supernaturally clear to consciousness on awakening
in natural manner; Spiritual Cerebration is man's best partner, if
confidently listened to, heeded and followed.
NATURAL SELECTION.
_Unconscious physical attraction_; assisting sustenance, protection,
development and reproduction; attribute of all life.
DIVINE SELECTION.
_Attribute only of Man; distinguishing Man from the rest of Creation;
exercised in modifying the brute law of the "survival of the fittest,
or strongest," by cultivating harmonic conditions favoring growth and
producing happiness; God's Higher Law of Harmony executed through Man._
HAPPINESS.
_The evidence and fruit and reward of growth as involved in Altruism._
NATURE.
As commonly used, "nature" means creation apart from man. The accepted
definition is "creation," and as such includes man and all created
things, and also the processes of creation--generation, degeneration
and regeneration--as involved in growth. The common use of the word
"nature" is a convenient one, and hence let us make use of it as
meaning _creation other than man_.
EGOCIATION.
Egociation is, _Appreciation of self as a creation of God and as an
instrument of Altruism_--to be cultivated to its greatest possibilities
in order that it may render _Altruistic service in the execution of the
Higher Law of Harmony_.
There are two distinct kinds of _ego_--self: The _ego_ that is
physically and intellectually born only, and whose tendencies are
egotistically selfish, and therefore, _animalesque_: And the _ego_ that
enjoys Appreciation, realizes God, loves spontaneously, understands the
Higher Law of Harmony and serves with enthusiasm in the execution of
the Law by the exercise of Divine Selection, and thereby attains True
Happiness.
The mental equipment of the unthinking is dulled by a confusion of
these two _egos_, and hence they cultivate egotism, believing it to
be _Egociation_; as they cultivate _fearthought_, believing it to
be forethought; and as they tolerate license, believing it to be an
attribute of liberty.
The desirability of separating the lower, or animal, self from the
Higher Self, warrants the coining of a term, sufficiently new to
attract attention and sufficiently allied to well-known words to
explain itself. With this object in view I have empirically selected
a combination of _ego_ and _appreciation_, and in so doing, have
coined the euphonious term _Egociation_ as an antithesis of "egotism,"
especially useful in inculcating a general understanding of the Higher
Law of Harmony and in securing recognition of the place of the Higher
Self within the Law.
In the cultivation of Egociation, man recognizes and asserts an
_individuality_, or _responsibility_, as a part of the whole, the
result of appreciation, opposed to _personality_ or _separateness_,
which is an attribute of egotism.
* * * * *