THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS 



futile; with its guidance, even small knowledge may 

 accomplish wonders. 



I have just said that this matter of common sense 

 or judgment is one regarding which individuals differ 

 vastly. I have suggested that some children possess it 

 in marvellous degree, while some learned men lack it 

 quite as marvellously. It follows that the mere ac- 

 quisition of knowledge does not necessarily lead to im- 

 proved judgment. What, then, can be done toward 

 the acquisition of so desirable a trait ? I must not pause 

 here to discuss at length so large a topic. But one 

 fundamental rule may be laid down as a sort of chart 

 for guidance. It is this: subject your judgment to the 

 test of comparison; let experience teach you. After 

 all, that is the only true test. The tree is known by its 

 fruit. Study the people about you; observe their 

 actions and note the character of their decisions. You 

 will find that certain men of your acquaintance seem 

 almost uniformly "lucky" while others are almost as 

 uniformly "unlucky." The former succeed in what 

 they attempt; the latter fail. But the word "lucky" 

 as thus applied is a misnomer. The man who is 

 "lucky" throughout a long series of transactions is as- 

 suredly the man whose judgment on the average is 

 better than that of his fellows. The habitually " un- 

 lucky" man is the man who lacks the all-essential ele- 

 ments of common sense, about which we are talking. 



Study the successful man, then; note the character 

 of his decisions as applied to the particular conditions 

 in which he is placed, and you will gain valuable lessons 

 in selective judgment. Similarly analyse your own 



