Manhood's morning : a book to young men between fourteen and twenty-eight years of age

Front matter

MARILYN HAGERMAN

By SYLVANUS STALL

Fifth Edition METHODS OF CHURCH WORK

II. The best years of life 35 III

What some young men have done 61 IV.

Wild oats and other weeds 105 V.

Reasons why young men go wrong 141 VI.

Paying the piper 181 VII.

What young men must be 219 VIII.

Author's Preface To Revised Edition

Few things are treasured more than our best thoughts. Time only makes them more welcome to the mind and more precious to the heart. To no one is this fact so manifest as to the one who throws his soul into a subject and after devoting days and nights to its development sends his labor forth to the world in the form of a book.

Manhood's Morning was first issued seven years ago and although lacking in typographical features it rapidly gained widespread attention. About twelve thousand copies have been published, and from every source have come hearty words of approval.

In transferring the copyright to the Vir Publishing Company the author recognizes that the book is entering upon a new career where it will secure a more extensive patronage and fill a more extended mission of usefulness.

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PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.

The Vir Publishing Company herewith announce that they have secured the copyright of Manhood's Morning, by Dr. Conwell, and will in the future issue the volume in its present form. The book has been revised by the author and such changes made as new conditions require. The book in its general features, admirably blends with those already issued and will be added to our regular Series of Publications.

Dr. Joseph Alfred Conwell, the author of Manhood's Morning, was born in Delaware, forty-seven years ago, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1880. In 1881 he settled in Vineland, New Jersey, where he has taken a prominent part in the church, Young Men's Christian Association and other work of public interest. Dr. Conwell is at present the Mayor of the city of Vineland, he leading the reform forces on a non-partisan ticket. Manhood's Morning is a model book ix for young men and, as such, is acknowledged to be one of the best so far issued. The volume is not a medical work. It can be read by young women as well as by young men, and can occupy a place on the centre-table. It covers a wide range of subjects and is comprehensive in its scope. As a gift book to a young man between the age of fourteen and twenty-eight years it has no rival.

Preface

Modern civilization has been richly blessed in many ways, but its chief glory has always been the strength, patriotism and character of its young manhood.

No class of individuals occupy such vantage-ground in a nation as its young men. They must, of necessity, be an essential factor in all that counts for greatness and progress.

It might be claimed that, to a certain extent, the book herein presented champions the cause of young men. No apology is deemed necessary for this feature inasmuch as the author is himself no longer young. I believe that young men are men in the highest, fullest and best sense, and that they should be so considered. No personal or selfish interests have entered into the thoughts incorporated.

There are two mistakes easily, and too often, made in writing for the young. One is to deal only with great men — famous statesmen, generals, orators, heroes, scholars and financiers — and the gigantic and wonderful in history. The other is to scribble insipid yarns and twaddle. Both are apt to* do harm. Those who read either are apt to miss their xi place in life — one by aiming beyond it, and the other by failing to aim at all. God has a place in the world for every man — for the high and the low ; for the prominent and the obscure. To fill that particular place, no matter whether it be the chief executive chair or a cobbler's bench, is the highest achievement. To aid and encourage men to seek their divinely intended sphere in life, and cheer and inspire them to do their best therein is the highest possible mission of a book.

It is not anticipated that this volume will escape criticism. Many, no doubt, will feel that too much is claimed for young men, that their sphere has been enlarged to an unwarranted scope. No innovations have been striven after. The book has been written under a firm conviction of its truth though, of course, not without a strong sense of its fallibility.

A portion of what the volume contains has formed the basis of a number of addresses delivered upon various occasions, chiefly to audiences of young men. These addresses were appreciated far beyond expectations and the numerous and pressing requests, from sources claiming my highest respect, that they be published have greatly encouraged me in sending forth the book.

The book has been written in a somewhat xii fragmentary manner, here a little and there a little, and under a great variety of circumstances. Consequently, to the critical reader, it will appear somewhat disconnected and desultory. A large number of books, more or less related to the subjects in hand, have been read and studied and to their authors, too numerous to name, I cheerfully acknowledge my indebtedness. Extensive quoting has, however, been avoided and, as a rule, limited to the preludes to each chapter and an occasional verse, couplet or short extract emphasizing the thought to be conveyed. The volume is essentially a new book. It is the result of an extended and close study among young men. The world as it is, and not the thoughts written in books, has been my school. The chief aim has been to help young men to think in the right direction and inspire them with courage to walk and act accordingly. If there is a lack of charity at any point my pen has proven unfaithful to my desire.

It is a grave responsibility to send forth a book to be read and discussed by young men. The issues of life often originate over the printed page. Thousands owe their success and perhaps a greater number owe their ruin to books. Franklin said of a small volume, read when a youth: "If I have been a useful xiii citizen the public owes the advantages of it to that little book/'

One of the chapters of this volume was loaned to a family and read by one whose fortunes are yet to be made. He read it intently and when he had finished he stood up and with a countenance seriously set, and with a determined emphasis exclaimed: "I will be somebody ; I am determined to be of some account in the world." May it so influence and inspire all who read its pages.

Every morning in the year, within our nation, more than fifteen hundred boys get out of bed and romp, play, sing, serve at home, study at school and make hilarious and glad city, hamlet and farm. When the shades of night settle deep over hill and valley, weary, innocent and hopeful of the morrow, they retire. They sleep and dream, view fair and enchanting visions and live in floating castles. At dawn they awake from their slumbers, arise, and, in the light of a new day, go forth, not boys or children any longer, but men — divinely endowed men — to begin anew the things of life — to put away childish things — to begin at the foot of the hill and aspire to its summit, to learn lessons of patience, industry, self-denial and endurance.

They go out from home into the world to meet and mingle with fifteen hundred other xiv men one day older than themselves, and with others still older, thus forming a mighty legion — thirteen million in. number — all of them young, yet men ; all of them men, yet young. Together they plod and labor and press upward and on ; some in high and some in humble paths; they build homes, they woo and wed and establish firesides ; they sow and reap, endow the race with power and clothe the earth in beauty. Some wax strong and grow in fame ; some struggle in weakness and want ; some rejoice in success and health ; some weep in sorrow and misfortune, and not a few fall by the wayside.

But the period of young manhood is transient. Time brings age and age claims all. With hands hardened by toil, with fortunes fixed by fate and with ranks broken by death, manhood's morning vanishes forever.

Thus do young men come forth and act their part, and borne by the flight of time pass on into age, where, one by one, as the years roll by, like weary and footsore travellers, they enter the final rest. As in the sleep of another childhood let it be hoped, they will rest and slumber, and at the dawn of another day, and at the music of another clime, they will awake and, redeemed and glorified arise, and go forth rejoicing, clothed in youthful beauty, like unto heaven, and as lasting as the sunshine of the eternal morning. J. A. C.

XV

CHAPTER I Thirteen Million Strong Let no man despise thy youth

Paul.

"Not in life's ebbing twilight,

Nor during its noontide glow; The best of life is manhood's morning, They reap rich harvests who wisely sow."

"Among the works of man, which human life is rightly employed in perfecting and beautifying, the first in importance surely is man himself."

What a piece of work is man ! How noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty, in form, in moving how express and admirable ! in action how like an angel ! in apprehension how like a God! the beauty of the world ! the paragon of animals.

Shakespeare.

Manhood in its fresh embodiment — healthful, strong, and majestic — and womanhood in its rosy morning — fragrant with sweet thoughts and hopes and radiant in its dewy beauty — attract the love and admiration of all.

/. G. Holland.

Yield your young heart up cheerfully to the battle of life. Calculate upon difficulty; but calculate also upon success ; only be sure you do it wisely.

Daniel Wise.

CHAPTER I.

THIRTEEN MILLION STRONG.

THE Science of Man is the most difficult branch of knowledge to learn, yet of all the subjects we are called upon to investigate and study, it is the most interesting and important. The subject is so complex and comprehensive that he who undertakes to master it is apt to become bewildered by what he sees existing beyond the extreme limits of his greatest research. Although the subject is beyond complete comprehension, the fact remains that "The proper study of mankind is man."

There never was a time perhaps, in the whole history of the human race, when the lives of men were singled out individually and made subjects for study as now. Let a man acquire great wealth, become eminent in any profession or calling, or achieve greatness or fame among his fellow men, and he at once becomes a closely studied object lesson for the rest of the world. The methods of such a man become mottoes and his utterances become

Manhood's Morning.

maxims of accepted wisdom to direct and inspire others in climbing the difficult but royal road to fame and fortune. Indeed, the secret of success is the modern oracle, and he who by wisdom, wit, or genius, unfolds it in his life, secures for his name the homage and admiration of the generations of earth.

The subject of this book is man. The treatment of so broad a topic however, must of necessity be only partial and cannot be considered in its fullest sense. In the more modern and improved methods of study, when a subject is to be considered, it is divided and subdivided into various parts and appropriately classified in order to gain specific and definite knowledge, and fix the knowledge thus gained in the mind. In this manner the astronomer divides the stars into various systems and constellations, and classifies them according to their behavior in the heavens ; the botanist divides plants into various orders or groups and classifies them still further according to special characteristics, in order to make their study both tangible and interesting.

So in the study of man, it is essential to divide the subject into various classifications in order to bring clearly to mind special knowledge, and to learn special lessons therefrom. As occasion requires, we select for study the different kinds and types of men; the noble

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and the base, the learned and the ignorant, the patriotic and the anarchal, the rich and the poor, the native born and the foreign, the thrifty and the shiftless, the industrious and the indolent, the upright and the vicious, and from any of these classes we can learn lessons both interesting and profitable.

In this book, devoted to the study of the subject of man, but one distinction will be named, — that of age, — and the subject briefly and specifically stated is

THE YOUNG MEN OF OUR NATION.

During the past few years a very great deal has been said and written about young men, and we have been taught to look upon them as comprising a distinct and separate class of individuals. Indeed it is perfectly proper and natural that they be singled out as a distinct group, because in a pre-eminent degree, they possess characteristics not applicable to any other class of individuals.

They compose a distinct and separate portion of our national greatness. The young men of America form a more exclusive and representative class than any other equal number of individuals that could possibly be selected.

That there is a period of life known as the

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age of "Young Manhood" none will deny. It is a period characterized by special traits of mind and character, and fraught with special endowments, opportunities, difficulties, temptations and duties.

The questions arise — and they are important ones in this connection — "What is a Young Man?" "When does a boy become a Young Man ?" and "When does a Young Man cease to be a Young Man?" "When does ( Young Manhood' begin and when does it end?" "When is a man a man, and when is that man a young man?" "What are the peculiar features and characteristics of this age, and what are the special endowments and duties belonging to this period of life?"

When the above questions are settled, the subject of young men deepens in interest and broadens in significance. Their sphere among men and the relation they hold towards business and social affairs, towards education, religion and politics and the enterprise and activities of life in general, become subjects for discussion and settlement.

As a rule, a boy begins to be transformed into a Young Man at about the age of fourteen years. Occasionally the transformation begins earlier, but much more often somewhat later. Physiologists and medical writers place it between the twelfth and the eighteenth year, but

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in the vast majority of cases it begins, and for all practical purposes it may be considered as beginning, at the fourteenth birthday.

At this period many well-marked changes take place, involving not only the physical but the intellectual and moral natures. These changes are the result of a natural development or growth, and they are so gradual that the evolution takes place in many instances quite unperceived. The voice changes from the thin piping tone to the full rich voice of manhood, the body grows more erect, the shoulders broaden and grow more nearly square ; the chest expands, the muscles increase in size, firmness and strength ; the hair on the head becomes coarser, and the fine downy hairs which cover the body begin to grow longer and take on more color ; the hair on the face begins to show itself, first as a primitive mustache, usually of much more interest to the owner than to others, and finally a beard appears upon the face ; the skin becomes coarser in texture, and thicker; the taste regarding dress and personal appearance becomes more pronounced, and thus gradually, but inevitably, the boy crosses the threshold of manhood. He is no longer a boy. He now enjoys a mental enthusiasm and moral courage inexperienced before. He becomes gallant and chivalrous. A new affinity draws him to the

Manhood's Morning.

opposite sex. It becomes natural and pleasurable to him to associate with and protect ladies ; he becomes energetic, and averse to restraint, he begins to think for himself, and to feel that he is surrounded by a new environment, actuated by new impulses and subject to new laws. He becomes restless, is desirous of choosing an avocation, is inclined to render an equivalent for what he receives and seeks independence in thought, will-power and action, There comes to life few moments more joyful and triumphant than that in which the heart swells and youth exclaims,

"Time on my brow hath set its seal ; I start to find myself a man."

He is a new creature, and it is of the greatest importance to him to know and realize it. His parents may continue to call him a child, the people may call him a boy as formerly, the law may call him a minor or an infant, but God, who made him, through the magic and unerring voice of nature, has proclaimed him a man.

At this period parents realize that a change has taken place in their boy, and that he has entered into a new life. They begin to loosen restraint and to expect on the part of their offspring a self-assertion and desire to be and to do something. Paternal love is rewarded

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with new joys or confronted with a deeper and more anxious care. It is just as natural and as much a sacred duty for parents to welcome and recognize the advent of the man-life in their sons as it was to anticipate and prepare for their coming at birth.

The other extreme — the ending of the period of young manhood — is not so well marked, but it is none the less real. There are various characteristics peculiar to the period of young manhood only, which now disappear. These changes are not so closely looked for, nor are they so apparent as those which accompany the ushering in of manhood. They are consequently much less discussed. They are not hailed with the same amount of expectancy, because the eyes have ceased to look so hopefully into the future. The milestone in life's pathway which carries into the past the period of young manhood, is unwelcomed, unexpected, and as a rule unnoticed. It is marked by a partial cessation of certain pleasant hopeful ideas regarding life, in the place of which supervenes a modified conservative spirit, accompanied by an inclination to settle down and enjoy the comforts of home ; poetry is turned into prose, romance is transformed into reality, fancy into fact and experiment into experience ; man begins to see his shadow, the joy and the sorrow, the sweet and the bitter of life

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h^ve become accepted and inevitable verities, and whether man is conscious of it or not his fortunes become fixed by fate.

At this age most men can truthfully say

"That year by year, and ray by ray Romance's sunlight dies away,

And long before the hair is gray The heart is disenchanted."

The question arises : — When does this transformation from the period of young manhood into that which follows take place? When may it be said that a man is no longer a "Young Man?" As a rule the change takes place between the ages of twenty-five and thirty years, and it comes to every one. For all practical purposes the time may be placed at twenty-eight years of age. Indeed in most instances it takes place not far from this time. The changes wrought at this period of life may not afTect the happiness nor the general character of the individual at all. He may live on just as light-hearted and joyful as before; his life may be filled with sunshine, and fortune may attend his every footstep, but at an unbidden hour in life, and, as a rule, not far from the age of twenty-eight, every man, no matter what his condition or experience may be, leaves behind him certain definite characteristics, opportunities and duties and

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they are gone forever. The transition is real and such an individual is no longer a genuine young man.

A definite period — a distinctive epoch of life— is embraced between these years. The Young Men of America, therefore may be considered to be composed of all male individuals between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight years.

These fourteen years embrace just two links, of seven years each, in the chain of life — one link before reaching the prevailing legal age of twenty-one, and one link after the legal majority has been attained.

According to the Census of 1900, the total population of the United States was 76,303,- 387, and of this number 39,059,242 were males. Almost exactly one-third of this number or 13,019,747 were young men between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight. There are therefore at the present time in the United States 13,000,000 male children and boys under fourteen, between fourteen and twenty-eight and 13,- 000,000 men beyond the period of young manhood.

This vast army of young men, taken as a whole, constitutes a distinct class of individu-

Manhood's Morning.

als, in many respects resembling each other, and in various ways interested in each other to a remarkable degree. Their natural sympathies are more uniform and mutual, and their business interests and social relations are more closely allied than those of any other similar number of individuals that now live or perhaps ever did live. While they are scattered throughout the length and breadth of three and one-half million square miles of territory, their intercourse with each other is more free, their interests and aims are more of a unit, and they are more universally in touch, through a common sympathy, than is the case with the inhabitants of the most closely populated city. They are more easily influenced by each other, and each in turn is more directly responsible for the acts and welfare of his fellows, than can be said of any other class of individuals. During this period of life, friendship and good-will are purest and most sincere, personal magnetism is at its height and the social and fraternal ties are now at their strongest.

Says the eminent Lord Brougham : "At this enviable age, everything has the lively interest of novelty and freshness ; attention is perpetually sharpened by curiosity; and the memory is tenacious of the deep impressions it thus receives, to a degree unknown in after life."

During these years, opportunity is at its

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flood, ambition, courage and hope heed naught but conquest and victory, care and anxiety are at the ebb ; disappointment now is only discipline, failures simply stepping stones to greater success, and at this time every loyal hearted and truly courageous "Young American', should possess that kind of determination, valor, and zeal which shirks no duty, fears no obstacle, and knows no defeat.

The thirteen million young men of America are a potent factor, not only in promoting national advancement, but in shaping the world's history. They represent the greatest available power of concerted human force the world can produce. Their patriotic loyalty, moral worth, and manly strength render our land absolutely invulnerable to any and every external foe.

The latent force represented by these thirteen million young men is quite beyond mental comprehension. Were they to form in line, marching ten abreast and twelve feet apart, they would form one unbroken column 2800 miles long. Were they to clasp hands they would form two unbroken lines, reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. If each one built a house, of the average size, the buildings would line both sides of eight streets reaching across our continent. They represent sufficient labor to dig the iron ore from the mines, manufacture it into wire, lay the foundations, and construct

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and complete the great New York and Brooklyn Bridge in three hours.

The great Chinese wall is the unrivalled wonder of the world's industry. It is 1259 miles long, 20 feet high, 25 feet thick, and contains 20,000 towers 40 feet square at the base and 37 feet high. It took hundreds of years to build it and it is the most stupendous structure erected by man. If laid down in the United States it would reach from Niagara Falls to Dallas, Texas, or from New Orleans to New York. It would wall our Atlantic seaboard from Nova Scotia to Florida ; yet with the aid of modern machinery, the Young Men of America represent enough force to dig the clay from the earth, manufacture the bricks and construct the wall complete in five days. If they would begin to save and place at interest one dollar per week and continue to do so until sixty years of age, they would thus accumulate a sum surpassing the entire wealth of every kind and nature, both personal and real, public and private, of the United States at the present time.

For each one to be sick one day is equal to 31,000 being sick an entire year. They represent enough labor to go into the forests and hew the timbers, to go into the mines and dig the iron, and manufacture it into steel rails and spikes, and construct a railroad reaching from

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New York City to San Francisco between the rising and the setting of the sun.

For each one to invest one hundred dollars, would capitalize thirteen thousand banks, each having a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. Two cents daily from each wrould send three hundred thousand young men to college. For each one to waste ten cents daily is equal to the destruction of three hundred and seventy-five thousand houses, costing twelve hundred dollars each, annually, or equal to reducing to ashes a town of five thousand inhabitants every day in the year.

That these thirteen million young men represent fully as much intellectually and morally as they do physically, is a fact too often overlooked. In every way they represent the dominating factor in our national make-up.

Perhaps no class of individuals is so little understood as young men. Yet no class exhibits qualities more natural and uniform.

Those older in years, under the guise of leadership and philanthropy, have spent much time trying to solve the problem as to what to do with our young men.

Young men have been looked upon as a care — as wards and dependents — in the realm of business activity and progressive civilization. The world is slow to learn, and when it is taught is quick to forget, that young men are

V

Manhood's Morning.

strong in muscle, mind and character, and that they, more than any others, are capable of carrying on the world's work. Another mistake made is, men in general and young men in particular are belittled by a low estimate being made of their possibilities. Men are the highest expression of the Infinite Mind, and the best kind of man is a young man. They may be limited in their abilities, as most men are, yet they are not on this account in any sense insignificant. Each man, however humble in position or limited in powers, is an essential part of an important whole. There are stars in the heavens which seem of little account, yet if one were to fall it would disturb the entire heavens. There are men, weak in influence, yet they belong in their several places and for them to forsake duty embarrasses society as a whole.

"What is really needed," says Gladstone, "is to light up the spirit that is within a young man" .... "There is in every young man the material for good work in the world ; in every one, not only in those who are brilliant, not only those who are quick, but in those who are solid, and even those who are dull or seem to be dull."

"Arouse him then ; this is thy part ;

Show him the claim; point out the need, And nerve his arm and cheer his heart ;

Then stand aside, and say : 'God-speed.' 99

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The greatest duties, the most difficult to perform— are small duties. The greatest achievements are not those historic deeds of greatness which are held up for admiration, but the small acts that are performed by the millions. As the stones for Solomon's Temple were hewn and chiseled by men in obscurity, and were brought together and piled into the magnificent structure without fault or blemish, so it is with the faithful toil and loyal lives of men to-day. The great army of America's common people, such as most young men are, is the force which hews and chisels the worthy deeds which, when taken together, make our history noble and our nation prosperous,

CHAPTER II The Best Years of Life

Rejoice, O young man * * * and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes.

Solomon.

"Young man — go forth in thy strength.

Strike out — God will lead the way; Why wait for the noontide sun?

Morning is the best of day."

It is with men as with plants ; from the first fruits they bear we learn what may be expected in the future. Demophilus.