THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS 



out to learn the language lets nothing interfere with his 

 purpose. At the end of a week he may not have gone 

 half as far as the other student has gone. But at the 

 end of ten, twenty weeks he is still plodding on. When 

 six months are gone he is still giving just as many hours 

 a day to his task as when he began. Presently he has 

 added that language to his stock of knowledge in such 

 form as to be available for his purpose; then he is 

 ready for new conquests. 



Of course I use the illustration of the language only 

 as a symbol. The man who falters and vacillates about 

 the language will similarly falter about all the serious 

 tasks of life ; the other will as surely work on faithfully 

 and steadily towards his desired goal. The first, though 

 "brilliant," will fail of great accomplishment; the other, 

 though "dull," may achieve great results in the battle of 

 life. Perception, memory, and association are the brick 

 and mortar; volition is the builder. And with mind 

 as in the material world, the finest brick and the best 

 mortar make but a shapeless mass of useless material 

 until placed in position by the master builder. Or, 

 to adopt yet another figure, it may be said that volition 

 is the king of mind. The other faculties are the sub- 

 jects. With their aid the king wins his battles, but 

 without the king the subjects can do nothing. What 

 were Napoleon's finest army without Napoleon ? 



The lesson of it all is that he who would become an 

 able man must strive to gain volitional control over his 

 faculties. A good king will have good subjects, and he 

 whose volition has been trained to act firmly will find the 



