第10部分(第4/5 页)

idual。

We　do　not　admire　the　man　of　timid　peace。　We　admire　the　man　who　embodies　victorious　efforts；　the　man　who　never　wrongs　his　neighbor；　who　is　prompt　to　help　a　friend；　but　who　has　those　virile　qualities　necessary　to　win　in　the　stern　strife　of　actual　life。　It　is　hard　to　fail；　but　it　is　worse　never　to　have　tried　to　succeed。　In　this　life　we　get　nothing　save　by　effort。　Freedom　from　effort　in　the　present　merely　means　that　there　has　been　effort　stored　up　in　the　past。　A　man　can　be　free　from　the　necessity　of　work　only　by　the　fact　that　he　or　his　fathers　before　him　have　worked　to　good　purpose。　If　the　freedom　thus　purchased　is　used　aright；　and　the　man　still　does　actual　work；　though　of　a　different　kind；　whether　as　a　writer　or　a　general；　whether　in　the　field　of　politics　or　in　the　field　of　exploration　and　adventure；　he　shows　he　deserves　his　good　fortune。

But　if　he　treats　this　period　of　freedom　from　the　need　of　actual　labor　as　a　period；　not　of　preparation；　but　of　mere　enjoyment；　even　though　perhaps　not　of　vicious　enjoyment；　he　shows　that　he　is　simply　a　cumberer　on　the　earth’s　surface；　and　he　surely　unfits　himself　to　hold　his　own　place　with　his　fellows；　if　the　need　to　do　so　should　again　arise。　A　mere　life　of　ease　is　not　in　the　end　a　very　satisfactory　life；　and；　above　all；　it　is　a　life　which　ultimately　unfits　those　who　follow　it　for　serious　work　in　the　world。

As　it　is　with　the　individual；　so　it　is　with　the　nation。　It　is　a　base　untruth　to　say　that　happy　is　the　nation　that　has　no　history。　Thrice　happy　is　the　nation　that　has　a　glorious　history。　Far　better　it　is　to　dare　mighty　things；　to　win　glorious　triumphs；　even　though　checkered　by　failure；　than　to　take　rank　with　those　poor　spirits　who　neither　enjoy　much　nor　suffer　much；　because　they　live　in　the　gray　twilight　that