BUSINESS AND BRAINS.
Many, prompted no doubt by a feeling of envy, are apt to sneer at the
culture and mental ability of the men who have won in business. "Dumb
luck," "mean plodding," "the robbery of employees," these and other
reasons are assigned by the unreasoning and uncharitable for the
prosperity of men who won with fewer advantages than themselves.
Every student of the world's progress knows that business men have
done even more than great authors for the advance of civilization.
And we all know, though the world is apt to kneel to military idols,
that inventors have done far more than have soldiers for the good of
humanity.
The man who succeeds in commerce, trade, or manufactures, thereby
shows a foresight and executive ability that would surely have
commanded success in any other calling. Men who know books and
nothing else are apt to imagine that the merchant, whose life is
devoted to facts, figures, and results, must by reason of that be
wanting in the higher intellectual faculties. Nor is this belief
wholly confined to authors in America.
Hazlitt, in one of his clever essays, represents the man of business
as a mean sort of person put in a go-cart, yoked to a trade or
profession; alleging that all he has to do is, not to go out of the
beaten track, but merely to let his affairs take their own course.
"The great requisite," he says, "for the prosperous management of
ordinary business is the want of imagination, or of any ideas but
those of custom and interest on the narrowest scale." but nothing
could be more one-sided, and in effect untrue, than such a
definition. Of course, there are narrow-minded men of business, as
there are narrow-minded scientific men, literary men and legislators;
but there are also business men of large and comprehensive minds,
capable of action on the very largest scale. As Burke said in his
speech on the India bill, he knew statesmen who were peddlers, and
merchants who acted in the spirit of statesmen.
If we take into account the qualities necessary for the successful
conduct of any important undertaking--that it requires special
aptitude, promptitude of action on emergencies, capacity for
organizing the labor often of large numbers of men, great tact and
knowledge of human nature, constant self-culture, and growing
experience in the practical affairs of life--it must, we think, be
obvious that the school of business is by no means so narrow as some
writers would have us believe. Mr. Helps spoke much nearer the truth
when he said that consummate men of business are as rare almost as
great poets--rarer, perhaps, than veritable saints and martyrs.
Indeed, of no other pursuit can it so emphatically be said, as of
this, that "business makes men."
It has, however, been a favorite fallacy with dunces in all times
that men of genius are unfitted for business, as well as that
business occupations unfit men for the pursuits of genius. The
unhappy youth who committed suicide a few years since because he had
been "born to be a man and condemned to be a grocer," proved by the
act that his soul was not equal even to the dignity of grocer. For it
is not the calling that degrades the man, but the man that degrades
the calling. All work that brings honest gain is honorable, whether
it be of hand or mind. The fingers may be soiled, yet the heart
remain pure; for it is not material so much as moral dirt that
defiles--greed far more than grime, and vice than verdigris.
The greatest have not disdained to labor honestly and usefully for a
living, though at the same time aiming after higher things. Thales,
the first of the seven sages; Solon, the second founder of Athens,
and Hyperates, the mathematician, were all traders. Plato, called the
Divine by reason of the excellence of his wisdom, defrayed his
traveling expenses in Egypt by the profits derived from the oil which
he sold during his journey. Spinoza maintained himself by polishing
glasses while he pursued his philosophical investigations. Linnaeus,
the great botanist, prosecuted his studies while hammering leather
and making shoes. Shakespeare was the successful manager of a
theatre--perhaps priding himself more upon his practical qualities in
that capacity than on his writing of plays and poetry. Pope was of
opinion that Shakespeare's principal object in cultivating literature
was to secure an hones independence. Indeed, he seems to have been
altogether indifferent to literary reputation. It is not known that
he superintended the publication of a single play, or even sanctioned
the printing of one; and the chronology of his writings is still a
mystery. It is certain, however, that he prospered in his business,
and realized sufficient to enable him to retire upon a competency to
his native town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
Chaucer was in early life a soldier, and afterward an effective
Commissioner of Customs, and Inspector of Woods and Crown Lands.
Spenser was secretary to the Lord Deputy of Ireland, was afterward
Sheriff of Cork, and is said to have been shrewd and attentive in
matters of business. Milton, originally a schoolmaster, was elevated
to the post of Secretary to the Council of State during the
Commonwealth; and the extant Order-book of the Council, as well as
many of Milton's letters which are preserved, give abundant evidence
of his activity and usefulness in that office. Sir Isaac Newton
proved himself an efficient Master of the Mint, the new coinage of
1694 having been carried on under his immediate personal
superintendence. Cowper prided himself upon his business punctuality,
though he confessed that he "never knew a poet, except himself, that
was punctual in anything." But against this we may set the lives of
Wordsworth and Scott--the former a distributor of stamps, the latter
a clerk to the Court of Session--both of whom, though great poets,
were eminently punctual and practical men of business. David Ricardo,
amidst the occupations of his daily business as a London stock-
jobber, in conducting which he acquired an ample fortune, was able to
concentrate his mind upon his favorite subject--on principles of
political economy; for he united in himself the sagacious commercial
man and the profound philosopher. Baily, the eminent astronomer, was
another stock-broker; and Allen, the chemist, was a silk
manufacturer.
We have abundant illustrations, in our own day, of the fact, that the
highest intellectual power is not incompatible with the active and
efficient performance of routine duties. Grote, the great historian
of Greece, was a London banker. And it is said that when John Stuart
Mill, one of the greatest modern thinkers, retired from the
Examiner's office of an important company, he carried with him the
admiration and esteem of his fellow-officers, not on account of his
high views of philosophy, but because of the high standard of
efficiency which he had established in his office, and the thoroughly
satisfactory manner in which he had conducted the business of his
department.
The path of success in business is usually the path of common sense.
Patient labor and application are as necessary here as in the
acquisition of knowledge or the pursuit of science. The old Greeks
said, "To become an able man in any profession, three things are
necessary--nature, study, and practice." In business, practice,
wisely and diligently improved, is the great secret of success. Some
may make what are called "lucky hits," but like money earned by
gambling, such "hits" may only serve to lure one to ruin. Bacon was
accustomed to say that it was in business as in ways--the nearest way
was commonly the foulest, and that if a man would go the fairest way
he must go somewhat about. The journey may occupy a longer time, but
the pleasure of the labor involved by it, and the enjoyment of the
results produced, will be more genuine and unalloyed. To have a daily
appointed task of even common drudgery to do makes the rest of life
feel all the sweeter.
One of the best illustrations we know of, of great natural abilities
winning great success in mechanical fields is the career of the now
famous Andrew Carnegie, of Pennsylvania.
This remarkable man was born in Scotland in 1835. When ten years of
age, his parents, who were poor, moved to Pittsburg. Then, as now,
there were excellent public schools in the "Smoky City," but young
Carnegie was not able to avail himself of their advantages, as he
desired to do. While still in his teens he found employment in
running a stationary engine. He did his work well, and every moment
not required by his engine was devoted to study.
Before the youth had seen a practical keyboard, he had mastered the
principles of telegraphy, and succeeded, by reason of the knowledge
obtained in this way, in getting a position as an operator. At that
time all messages were read from rolls of paper, on which the Morse
characters were indented; but Andrew Carnegie, while still under
twenty-one, was the first operator in the world to demonstrate, that
to a skillful man the roll was unnecessary. He learned to read by
sound then, as all operators do now. What scholar will say that a
high order of intellect was not involved in this achievement?
"Hard work, close observation, strict economy, and the determination
to give my employer the best that was in me, without regard to the
compensation, these were my impelling motives in those early days,
and to these I attribute all the prosperity with which Heaven has
blessed me." This is what Mr. Carnegie says of himself, and his words
are full of encouragement and inspiration to the young man who has
the same obstacles to overcome.
"It is not what you make, but what you save that brings wealth." Mr.
Carnegie discovered this early in life, and while he helped his
parents like a dutiful son, he never spent an unnecessary cent on
himself.
"I was too busy working and studying to contract the habits that make
such inroads on the health and pockets of young men," says Mr.
Carnegie, "and this helped me in many ways."
While still young he had an opportunity to invest his savings in the
first sleeping car, invented by Woodruff, and out of this he got his
first good start.
Active, industrious, and quick to foresee results, he took an
interest in the oil discoveries of Pennsylvania, and with such
success that from the profits he was enabled to organize the greatest
series of rolling mills and foundries in the world.
Mr. Carnegie is still in the prime of life. He has spent several
fortunes in good works, and is still a very rich as he is certainly a
highly honored man. But the point we wish to make is that Mr.
Carnegie is a fine example of the high order of intellect necessary
for the greatest success in the business world.
Although self-educated, Mr. Carnegie is an author of world-wide
reputation. His work "Triumphant Democracy" is splendid vindication
of the institutions of his adopted country. "He knows more about
books," says one who knows Mr. Carnegie well, "than half the authors,
and he can find himself in no society where he does not find himself
the peer of the best."
Those who fail in life are, however, very apt to assume a tone of
injured innocence, and conclude to hastily that everybody excepting
themselves has had a hand in their personal misfortunes. An eminent
writer lately published a book, in which he described his numerous
failures in business, naively admitting, at the same time, that he
was ignorant of the multiplication-table; and he came to the
conclusion that the real cause of his ill-success in life was the
money-worshiping spirit of the age. Lamartine also did not hesitate
to profess his contempt for arithmetic; but, had it been less.
probably we should not have witnessed the unseemly spectacle of the
admirers of that distinguished personage engaged in collecting
subscriptions for his support in his old age.
Again, some consider themselves born to ill-luck, and make up their
minds that the world invariably goes against them without any fault
on their own part. We have heard of a person of this sort who went so
far as to declare his belief that if he had been a hatter, people
would have been born without heads! There is, however, a Russian
proverb which says that Misfortune is next door to Stupidity; and it
will often be found that men who are constantly lamenting their ill-
luck, are in some way reaping the consequences of their own neglect,
mismanagement, improvidence, or want of application. Dr. Johnson, who
came up to London with a single guinea in his pocket, and who once
accurately described himself in his signature to a letter addressed
to a noble lord, as Impransus, or Dinnerless, has honestly said, "All
the complaints which are made of the world are unjust; I never knew a
man of merit neglected; it was generally by his own fault that he
failed of success."
Did you ever think of the intellectual qualifications essential to
the successful business man? No? well, it would be very difficult to
name such a qualification which the business man cannot make
available.
Attention, application, accuracy, method, punctuality and dispatch,
are the principal qualities required for the efficient conduct of
business of any sort. These, at first sight, may appear to be small
matters; and yet they are of essential importance to human happiness,
well-being, and usefulness. They are little things, it is true; but
human life is made up of comparative trifles. It is the repetition of
little acts which constitutes not only the sum of human character,
but which determines the character of nations. And where men or
nations have broken down, it will almost invariably be found that
neglect of little things was the rock on which they split. Every
human being has duties to be performed, and, therefore, has need of
cultivating the capacity for doing them; whether the sphere of action
be the management of a household, the conduct of a trade or
profession, or the government of a nation.
In addition to the ordinary working qualities, the business man of
the highest class requires quick perception and firmness in the
execution of his plans. Tact is also important; and though this is
partly the gift of nature, it is yet capable of being cultivated and
developed by observation and experience. Men of this quality are
quick to see the right mode of action, and if they have decision of
purpose, are prompt to carry out their undertakings to a successful
issue. These qualities are especially valuable, and indeed
indispensable, in those who direct the action of other men on a large
scale, as for instance, in the case of the commander of an army in
the field. It is not merely necessary that the general should be
great as a warrior, but also as a man of business. He must possess
great tact, much knowledge of character, and ability to organize the
movements of a large mass of men, whom he has to feed, clothe, and
furnish with whatever may be necessary in order that they may keep
the field and win battles. In these respects Napoleon and Wellington
were both first-rate men of business.
Not only does business require the highest order of intellect, but
successful business men, particularly in America, have been the
patrons of the arts and sciences and the founders of great schools.
The prosperity of Princeton is largely due to Marquand and Bonner.
the great Cooper Institute for the free education of poor boys and
girls, in the applied arts and sciences, will endure as long as New
York city, as a monument to the intellectual forethought and noble
munificence of Peter Cooper. Girard College, in Philadelphia, which
yearly sends out hundreds of young men--orphans on entrance, but
admirable fitted to work their way in life--is a refutation of the
charge that successful business men do not appreciate culture.
Lehigh University was founded by Judge Asa Packer, of Mauch Chunk,
who began life as a canal-boat man. Lafayette College, Easton, points
with pride to Pardee Hall, the gift of a man who began the life-
battle without money or friends. Vanderbilt University, Stanford
University, and scores of great schools go to prove that the great
business men who endowed them, were not indifferent to culture and
the needs of higher education.
Yes, business requires brains, and the better the brains and the more
thorough their training, the greater the assurance of success.