The load of to-morrow, added to that of yesterday, carried to-day
makes the strongest falter. Shut off the future as tightly as the
past. No dreams, no visions, no delicious fantasies, no castles in
the air, with which, as the old song so truly says, "hearts are
broken, heads are turned." To youth, we are told, belongs the
future, but the wretched to-morrow that so plagues some of us has no
certainty, except through to-day. Who can tell what a day may bring
forth? Though its uncertainty is a proverb, a man may carry its
secret in the hollow of his hand. Make a pilgrimage to Hades with
Ulysses, draw the magic circle, perform the rites, and then ask
Tiresias the question. I have had the answer from his own lips. The
future is to-day,--there is no to-morrow! The day of a man's
salvation is _now_--the life of the present, of to-day, lived
earnestly, intently, without a forward-looking thought, is the only
insurance for the future. Let the limit of your horizon be a
twenty-four hour circle. On the title page of one of the great books
of science, the _Discours de la M├ęthode_ of Descartes (1637) is a
vignette showing a man digging in a garden with his face towards the
earth, on which rays of light are streaming from the heavens; beneath
is the legend "_Fac et Spera_." 'Tis a good attitude and a good
motto. Look heavenward, if you wish, but never to the horizon--that
way danger lies. Truth is not there, happiness is not there,
certainty is not there, but the falsehoods, the frauds, the
quackeries, the _ignes fatui_ which have deceived each
generation--all beckon from the horizon, and lure the men not content
to look for the truth and happiness that tumble out at their feet.
Once while at College climb a mountain-top, and get a general outlook
of the land, and make it the occasion perhaps of that careful
examination of yourself, that inquisition which Descartes urges every
man to hold once in a lifetime,--not oftener.
Waste of energy, mental distress, nervous worries dog the steps of a
man who is anxious about the future. Shut close, then, the great
fore and aft bulkheads, and prepare to cultivate the habit of a life
of Day-Tight Compartments. Do not be discouraged,--like every other
habit, the acquisition takes time, and the way is one you must find
for yourselves. I can only give general directions and
encouragement, in the hope that while the green years are on your
heads, you may have the courage to persist.