Self-mastery of men and nations

Front matter

Class

Book

Copyright N°

Contents

PREFACE, 9

APPEAL TO BUSY MEN, 11

INTRODUCTION, 13

Chapter I

THE ESSENTIALS OF THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM, 21 Intelligence. — Capability. — Honesty. — Freedom. — Personal Liberty. — Free Belief.

AGENCIES OF THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM, .... 26 Religion. — Education. — Business. — Science. — A General Self-Mastery Council. — Saving a Degenerate. — General Principles. — Equality. — Evolution. — Aim of the Self-Mastery System.

TESTS OF THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM, 41

General Test. — Justice Test. — Quadruple Test. — Companion Test. — Triple Test of Science. Religion, and Business. — Tendency Test.

TWO SYSTEMS OF MASTERY, 43

Comparative Cost of Mastery-of-Self and Mastery-of- Others.

Chapter II

What Self-Mastery Means to Me. — Care of the Body. — Respect for Others' Rights. — The Mastery of Money. — My Introduction to Mr. Money.

CONTENTS

Chapter III. The Individual And Self-mastery, 61

Serving One's Self. — Notes in Algiers. — The Human Family as an Individual. — The Mob Spirit. — Independence of the Individual. — Individuality of the Child. — A Better Public Sentiment Needed.

Chapter IV. God And Man In The Self-mastery System, - - 74

What God Could Do. — Worshiping God According to One's Conscience. — Confession to God. — Adam's Sin. — Does God Call Special Men to Do Special Work? — Are Trials Sent from God? — Reflections in Brussels. — Man in Partnership. — God's Methods Reasonable. — A Vision of the Future.

Preface

Since the time of history, the talent, devotion, and perseverance expended in striving for better things has been enormous; yet, in spite of all this labor, sacrifice, and suffering endured in wars and persecutions in the name of God and humanity, how vast the catalogue of wrongs and misfortunes which beset humanity to-day!

The slow progress of the forces of good against the powers of evil since the coming of Christ, nineteen hundred years ago, convinced me long since that some vital errors are lurking in the methods of carrying out the Redeemer's plans to save the world, and years ago I began a diligent search to detect those errors and discover the truth. The formulas under which I have studied the problems of life are the following questions:

What is wrong with myself?

What is wrong with my neighbor?

What is wrong with the Churches and reformers?

What is wrong with the world in general?

The two inquiries which naturally follow these questions are:

Who is to blame in each case?

What is the remedy?

After searching diligently for many years, I have found out what has been of inestimable value to me, and as the principles involved are of universal application, I assume that they can be equally valuable to others.

The first draft of this book was written while I was traveling and constantly seeing the abuses which are keeping the people in weakness and ignorance in foreign coun-

PREFACE

tries. My impressions were thus emphasized by the conditions about me, and this fact explains the stress laid on some practices which may be regarded as of minor importance by those unfamiliar with other parts of the world. As I have given my time and effort to studying the people in as many countries and in as many conditions of life as possible, I have not yet been at liberty to make myself well acquainted with the literature bearing directly on the subjects treated in the following pages. Being written in part as a diary, it must discuss different subjects somewhat as they occurred to me in travel, and not entirely after a topical arrangement. With the efficient help of my wife, as together we have gone over every line in review, I have labored hard to keep this volume of very moderate size, without sacrificing too much valuable material contained in the first writing. By this effort I believe we have retained only what the public will find well worth reading

The purpose of this book is to encourage and preserve the good and true wherever these are found, and it would gladly aid any persons or institutions to free themselves from the false and erroneous. It assumes that it is no privilege to a person in any position whatsoever to be allowed through the force of circumstances to continue to wrong himself and others. Surely no one has the right to teach a child false doctrine and errors in religion or anything else. If the practices and lives of any persons are condemned, it is solely that childhood may be protected from wrong. We want the truth, at whatever cost, whether in money, in effort, or in sacrificing the cherished traditions of the past.

The author does not boast that this book is original. He has traveled far, studied long, and labored hard to make it a faithful interpretation of the Original.

AN APPEAL TO BUSY MEN

" Divinely fashioned man, best work of God, Made in His image, life-breath of His soul: How canst thou love the soil beneath thy feet More than thy fellow- man?"

"The earth is fair, And beautiful its fields of waving grain; Its iron v strong, its gold and diamonds rare. Its Maker called it 'good.' Why should not I?" "Yes, fairer than the morning is the earth; Yet lovlier far the children of thy home, That will be men and women ere the sun Has numbered many journeys in his course.

"You delve among the jewels of the mine, You follow plow or reaper day by day; You spend long years amid the noise and din And whir of factory wheels, to gather wealth. Oh busy, anxious man! have you forgot Those little ones, part of your better self, To whom belongs your first and greatest care? Too oft they wander from your heart and home, And many go astray while you pursue Some fleeting, fading bauble in the mart.

"You rush with feverish haste and anxious brow, To field or mine or market, lest perchance, Some other hand should grasp the envied prize. And why such haste? That you may soon return Laden with treasures for the ones you love? Alas! the tempter in your absence came And stole the heart, and wrecked the youthful life.

"While you were busied with those lesser things, Did you forget that little hands and feet Need guidance, lest they go astray and break The heart that loved them, but bestowed its first And best attention on the things that fade? II

APPEAL

"Oh brother man, be just! To Caesar give All Caesar's due, but render God His own. For your best love He gave those little ones, That in their noble lives, led by your care, They might bring honor to His name and yours. What God loves most is worthiest of thy love. Be faithful to this trust and thou shalt know, When kindred earth receives again the form In which you served mankind and honored God, He then will greet thy spirit with 'Well done! Earth toils are past, life's victories are won.' " — Albion Eh Smith.

Could I have one supreme wish granted, it would be to make conditions such that every child born into this world would be intelligent, strong, trustworthy, and free. No such wish will ever be granted me, but there is a lesser privilege that is practical. A pathway that has been traveled by one ordinary person can become a highway for the multitude. I have traveled far and wide to get acquainted with my fellow beings in foreign lands. I went to see them and live among them for a brief time, feeling that they were all my neighbors, and now this neighborly feeling is the uppermost sentiment in my mind as I meet the people of any land, either here or elsewhere.

In my travels and studies of the later years I have been seeking the shortest path to a useful, happy life that may be followed by the children of every country. What some genius here and there might do has no bearing on my problems and does not deflect the needle of my compass. Those who have plenty of money or a special gift in some direction may by these means secure special favors, but the great crowd of humanity can not follow them. My claim is not that I have done an unusual thing, and others can not equal it; but that I have done an unusual thing, and everybody can do as well or go far enough to secure great benefits. There are forces and means within reach of humanity which make it practical and feasible to give to every child a good degree of all the privileges I have enjoyed. Not that all should do the same as I have done — people will never become like quails, each one looking and acting just like the rest — but all can become strong, capable, and honest, all can become good citizens. I have used my travels to illustrate a great principle, not to serve as a mold into which every person must be crowded. My experience would give every one the freedom to do what he would like to do, and then he can make whatever use he prefers of the money or other powers thus placed within his hands. He may travel, go to college, buy a farm, or simply lay aside his accumulations and decide later what use he will make of them.

I have gathered ideas and practices from different parts of the earth, and tested their value for the average person. My aim has been to know whether human nature is so much alike the world over that a composite life might be constructed by choosing the best knowledge from many peoples, incorporating this into one life and holding that one up as a general model for all mankind. I have no hesitation in stating positively that this can be done. So many millions are living the simple life, with no thought of suffering or sacrifice, that that principle is established. These are strong and vigorous, and if they are behind other people in any respect, it is not due to their simple mode of life; other causes are to blame for any defects in their fiber or character. So many persons in the varied ranks of life have denied themselves for others and worked on faithfully with little concern for their own comfort that the fact of such a possibility is thoroughly proved.

The thinking world will surely agree with me when I say there have been numerous cases of heroic fidelity scattered all along man's pathway, from the earliest times to the present ; the fault is, there have been too few of them. The point of importance is, can their kind become the rule instead of the exception? Can conditions so change that the multitude will be going the right way, and only a few stragglers going the wrong way ? I say most emphatically, they can. When one steamboat had crossed the ocean it proved the possibility of such a voyage. Now the waters of the Atlantic hardly become quiet from the churning of one propeller before another follows in its wake. I believe all good things should become common, especially good men and women ; and one great object of this writing is to offer my experiences and my studies in proof of this statement.

The purpose of this book is in no sense to give a detailed account of my travels. Far more skillful pens have described the different countries and peoples of the world. My aim is to show the triumphs of certain principles over what have been considered great difficulties, and to prove how easy and universal these triumphs may become. Travel on the earth used to be very slow and difficult; now it has become rapid and comfortable. The journey of life on the way to satisfactory happiness and contentment has been and still is uncertain and perplexing. A few find the way ; many travel only a short distance, and half give up ; while still more fail utterly to reach the goal. The success of temporal things by right principles proves the possibility of the success of spiritual things by right principles.

ECONOMY 0# SIXF-MAST^RY.

A host of good people are paying a dollar for fifty cents' worth of comfort. The reader of this book will see that the author has learned to get a dollar's worth of comfort out of fifty cents.

My wife and I have undertaken to live and make ourselves content with that degree of comfort which is possible for all the world to have who will work as hard as we do, waste no more than we do, and be as easily satisfied as we are with what is reasonable and possible for the multitude to have.

We have needed food, lodging, clothing, and traveling expenses. The emphasis must be laid not on the travel, but on the principles of economy involved, and those who stay at home could consequently have more money for some other purpose.

I give here the figures for our several journeys, which are more fully described in Chapter XVII, to show what it is possible for one to do by following the self-mastery system.

My first journey was a tour of the world covering a distance of 30,000 miles and one year's time, at a cost of something over $800. For convenience I speak of it as $70 per month, which is above the actual cost.

My second trip was from Puebla, Mexico, southward along the coast, and somewhat into the interior of Central America; then to Panama; thence across the Isthmus and up through the West Indies, visiting Jamaica and taking the greater length of Cuba. From Havana I went northward through Florida and the Atlantic States to Washington. With side-trips, I traveled 5,000 miles in three months' time at a cost of $180, or $60 per month.

My third trip was from Munich, Germany, via Vienna and Warsaw to St. Petersburgh ; thence returning via Koenigsburg, Posen, and Berlin to Munich. With side-trips, the distance covered was 2,900 miles in one month's time, at a cost of $50.

I will give the journeys of myself and wife in three sections, as this method best illustrates the principles of economy involved.

At the end of ten and a half months we reached Munich, Germany, having visited Ireland, France, Spain, Algiers, and Italy. My wife had traveled 8,670 miles, and I had traveled 9,500 miles, at a combined cost of $500.

At the end of one year I had added my Russian trip, which made the figures 8,670 miles for my wife, who remained in Munich, and 12,400 miles for myself. The whole year's expenses for two persons was $586.

Then going northward through Germany, Holland, Belgium, and England, at the end of fourteen months, when we had reached Wisconsin, my wife had traveled 15,400 miles and I 19,000 miles, at a cost of $800 for both. For convenience we call it $60 per month, which more than covers all expenses, including some clothing for each of us.

These journeys were of such an extent, and were taken under such a variety of circumstances, as to make them of real value in testing the system. We did not feel pinched : we provided our own good, wholesome food and led a free life generally. I should not like to mislead any one into thinking that this was a simple matter. It required a knowledge of the languages of the country, experience in travel, and a good degree of mastery over one's tastes and desires, or one would not be entirely satisfied as he goes along. People do remarkable things and endure hardships of all kinds on a wager. Our experiments have little in common with that, except in being controlled by a great purpose. Our great purpose had much to do with our being content and enjoying life as we lived it from day to day.

It will be of interest to note the cost to us of a list of things which to many people figure up quite a sum. In fourteen months' time our combined expenses did not exceed one dollar for the following items: Drives, dances, theaters, operas, shows, wine, beer, or any liquor, tobacco, tea, coffee, ice-cream, and soda-water. We boiled the water if it was not safe to drink without boiling, and we required no medicine. If it be urged that at our age we did not need certain of these things, I reply that this depends not on the age, but on the training. You have heard the adage, "There is no fool like an old fool." It depends on where the mastery in any person is centered, whether in his spirit and his best judgment or in his animal nature, making him a slave to a dozen different appetites and habits ; and also whether he finds a great sufficiency in the companionship of his near friends, and in other people generally. I find a great deal of satisfaction in the companionship of my Maker, my better self, my wife, and also in the company of whatever fellow-beings I live among at any time or place. In all my journey ings I was not conscious of denying myself, but rather of having an unusual freedom and of choosing the best course.

For some place to go we attended public meetings and religious and other gatherings in connection with Churches and missions. Here we met many congenial people and made numerous friendships. Some would say these are rather dry places. That depends on one's power of appreciation of values. Some persons I have met spend time and money in places that are entirely too wet for one of my tastes and training ; much depends on the ideal of companionship which rules. To be explicit, I went where I thought my Great Companion would go, and kept away from the places I thought He would avoid, and found it to my advantage financially and socially, and to my entire personal satisfaction in every way. This, to me, does not mean an ascetic or monkish life, but simply taking the course dictated by the best wisdom and by sound common sense.

It is now my purpose to give the principles by which so much can be accomplished with so little money. In these times of universal complaint of high prices and consequent privation and discontent, it is important to know one's possibilities and limitations, and also to realize the privileges lying within reach of the multitude. The few who have plenty of money may think this does not concern them, but in view of the present popular unrest it is well worth their time to seriously ponder these problems and help teach the disaffected people to use common sense rather than dynamite in getting their rights.

THE PRINCIPLES BY WHICH MY PRIVILEGES HAVE BEEN

SECURED.

I must have the intelligence to know what to do in different circumstances and conditions.

I must wait on myself, and not be dependent on others for little things; I must be capable of doing whatever is necessary. xg

I must have the courage to live within my means — small means, some would call them. I must not be ashamed of the virtues of economy. I must see that it is a mark of the savage, and not of distinction, to spend money in personal extravagance, as though it had no value.

I must be content with what the millions of busy people the world over have, and find sufficient in the matter of personal comforts.

I must teach myself to be satisfied with a small amount of any luxury, such as expensive food, clothing, or conveniences. The type of the soldier's life is in my mind and has for me turned many dollars into wiser channels and given me the mastery of circumstances.

I must be in a good degree a self-master, able to police myself, to support myself, and to pension myself.

THE KEY TO THE SITUATION.

I must believe there has been a complete self-master who, with all possible paths open to him, chose the best one for him and every person to follow from the standpoint of common sense, business, health, and happiness. In other words, he did the things he did and in that particular manner because it was the right way and the best way to do them. This was the Infinite Man, Christ Jesus, who lived an actual man among men, and by His example and words taught the great principles of life. Because He, the Infinite Man, was entirely successful in His sphere, I, a finite man, can be successful in mine by the aid of His example and the help of His infinite spirit in directing my finite spirit. In doing this I must have a definite knowledge of Him, I must have His companionship, I must co-operate with Him, and I must have His help to get the mastery of my desires.

Jesus of Nazareth lived among the common people, shared their simple fare and accommodations, and engaged in the same labors in which they were employed. All this

*9 time He was in touch and close sympathy with them, yet independent of their sins and follies. He did this by the principles of self-mastery and the power of a great purpose which every human being can have. His companionship and His inspiration make me more than content to share the average personal comforts of my fellow-men, and if anything is not good enough for me, to use my strength and money to make it better for all, rather than to simply lift myself above discomfort and let the masses go to ruin. His companionship makes me comfortable in body and triumphant in mind while sharing the plain fare of my brother who speaks a different language, has a different-colored skin, and whose less cultured manners would otherwise be intolerable to me. Jesus was not satisfied with those people as they were, but He lived in the future of what all are to be when His life and teaching become the universal standard.

Chapter I The Essentials Of The Self-mastery System

Self-mastery is the system of life and government which is based on absolute truth and reality, and these are made known by the co-operative action of true Religion, true Education, true Business, and true Science. This system means the complete control and development of one's self and the resources of the earth, and requires every one to do his part and to take no more than his share. The self-master must be able to police himself, to support himself, and to pension himself.

The great essentials of self-mastery are intelligence, capability, honesty, and freedom.

Intelligence means that one must have the knowledge necessary for his use and for any service he may have to perform.

Capability means that one can do whatever is required of him, that he has the usual senses and the strength and skill to employ them in actual work.

Honesty means that one can be trusted. He will not do less than his part of the work or service, and he will not take more than his share of the desirable things, whether it be money, honor, power, or anything of value that men desire to possess. One may do more than his part and take less than his share. The world is advanced by the services of this class, and it is retarded by those who do less than their part and take more than their share. An honest person who lives to maturity must by some useful activity, which helps and does not harm humanity, earn and return to the world as much as he or she gets from the world's supplies and consumes in personal expenses during life ; otherwise that person is sponging on the labors of others, and living as a parasite. Being born rich or poor, prince or peasant has nothing to do with one's obligation to support himself and not sponge on others.

HONKSTY ILLUSTRATED.

Here are two bins of wheat : one contains sixty measures, and is to be carried by twelve men to a certain storehouse ; the other contains twelve measures, and is to pay for the work. Twelve rations are ready in the dining-room. The men must do all this one at a time, and each must go in alone, measure his own load and his own pay, and take his dinner alone. Will each of these men measure out his load fairly, and divide to himself no more than his share of the pay and the food? If these are all honest, the last man will have a little less to carry, and will get his full pay and dinner, because each of the others will be careful to require himself to do his full part of the work, and take no more than his share of the pay and the food.

The great question for each human being to ask is this : "Could the world trust me to be the first to measure and divide to myself my load and my pay, and take my dinner ; would they dare to be the last one with eleven others like me ahead of them?" If I am a strictly honest man or woman, the world could safely take the twelfth chance in this supposed case which covers the whole range of life's service, labor, and reward. You could trust eleven persons like Jesus of Nazareth to precede you. All ranks and conditions of people can accept this definition of honesty, and nothing less than this will satisfy the needs of human beings who must all measure up to the divine image.

The merchant is required by law and by honesty to give full weight and measure, and to pay in honest money. Then

22, any one who does any service in the street, the factory, or in any governmental or other office is bound by the principles of honesty to give a full day's measure of service, and neither cheat in time nor shirk on his job. An honest man must give a reasonable equivalent for whatever he receives from others, or else he would have to live by gifts and be placed in the beggar class, or he must live by dishonesty and be classed as a criminal. If a man receives a fortune from his parents, uses it wisely, and then passes it on to others, he can be an honest man. If he consumes that fortune on himself, he has not given an equivalent for what he received ; he can not be called an honest man.

Again, there is another side. The tradesman, the cabman, and the carman are not allowed to overcharge. There is expected to be a standard price for their services or commodities ; a greater charge is dishonest. Then, plainly, the exorbitant charges of some doctors and lawyers are dishonest. Both these professions claim that they can charge rich men more than others. If so, then one of two things is implied: either that the rich man has gotten his wealth dishonestly and consequently should pay more, or that those who pay less are in the pauper class and must have a portion of their bills remitted in the name of charity. If the rich man is to pay more for doctors and lawyers, why not more for eggs, street-car fare, and everything else ? In that case there would have to be an indefinite list of different prices on all commodities, gauged by the wealth of the purchaser. That would simply carry the customs of those doctors and lawyers to a full consistency, and would be to adopt the ways of the Orient, where each gets all the purchaser can be made to pay. If the members of these professions can not live without such discrimination, let them help to do away with poverty and injustice, and then all can pay for needed services.

Freedom, or liberty, means the permission to do right. It means the permission to do what every one may do without harm to any one. Freedom can not include the permission to do wrong to another in any degree, because this would open the way for a combination against the offender, and he would be thus deprived of his liberty by the use of his liberty, which is contradictory to itself. Freedom to one can never mean the bondage of others. Any wrongdoing leads finally into bondage to that wrong. Teaching others to follow the principles of freedom promotes one's own freedom; teaching others to follow the principles of bondage leads one into bondage.

Freedom belongs primarily to the realm of the spirit rather than the body. The body is the natural servant of the spirit. The body is animal, and as such must compete with other animals. Brute force is the power by which the animal rules, and two or more can vanquish one by its use. Sin and ignorance are the only enemies capable of mastering the spirit. Several spirits can not combine and conquer one, except through the agency of sin and ignorance. I am inclined to believe sin is the only final enemy that can remain master, since whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. Satan can not master even a child unless he first persuades him to sin. The child is, after that, in bondage to his own sin until released from it by divine power. The only way God can set a man free is to forgive or release him from past sins, and get him to stop sinning. To be kept free, knowledge is necessary, or he will again blunder into all sorts of trouble.

God is the only absolutely free being. He is made free by His complete knowledge and by His not committing any sin. Jesus, the Son of God, was absolutely free in spirit, but not in body. His body was subject to the animal law of brute force. Why could not His spirit protect His body? Because His spirit could not do what was wrong for every one else to do. That is to say, He could not kill others in self-defense, and protect Himself in that way. Christ must conquer by the principles of freedom and righteousness. His mission was not to master others, and keep order by that means, but to keep order by teaching and equipping each one to master himself. Jesus, as the Founder of the true system, could not protect His body by force and keep His spirit from sin. Had He done so, He would by that act have entered the arena on the level of any other brute force, which would mean mastery by the strongest.