Advice to Young Men Part 9

What is competence, what is health, if the possessor be _a slave_, and hold his possessions at the will of another, or others; as he must do if dest.i.tute of the right to a share in the making of the laws? What is competence, what is health, if both can, at any moment, be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by the grasp or the dungeon of a master; and his master he is who makes the laws without his partic.i.p.ation or a.s.sent? And, as to _character_, as to _fair fame_, when the white slave puts forward pretensions to those, let him no longer affect to commiserate the state of his sleek and fat brethren in Barbadoes and Jamaica; let him hasten to mix the hair with the wool, to blend the white with the black, and to lose the memory of his origin amidst a dingy generation.

351. Such, then, being the nature of the duty, _how_ are we to go to work in the performance of it, and what are our _means_? With regard to these, so various are the circ.u.mstances, so endless the differences in the states of society, and so many are the cases when it would be madness to attempt that which it would be prudence to attempt in others, that no _general_ rule can be given beyond this; that, the right and the duty being clear to our minds, the _means_ that are _surest_ and _swiftest_ are the _best_. In every such case, however, the great and predominant desire ought to be not to employ any means beyond those of reason and persuasion, as long as the employment of these afford a ground for rational expectation of success. Men are, in such a case, labouring, not for the present day only, but for ages to come; and therefore they should not slacken in their exertions, because the grave may close upon them before the day of final triumph arrive. Amongst the virtues of the good Citizen are those of fort.i.tude and patience; and, when he has to carry on his struggle against corruptions deep and widely-rooted, he is not to expect the baleful tree to come down at a single blow; he must patiently remove the earth that props and feeds it, and sever the accursed roots one by one.

352. _Impatience_ here is a very bad sign. I do not like your _patriots_, who, because the tree does not give way at once, fall to _blaming_ all about them, accuse their fellow-sufferers of cowardice, because they do not do that which they themselves dare not think of doing. Such conduct argues _chagrin_ and _disappointment_; and these argue a _selfish_ feeling: they argue, that there has been more of private ambition and gain at work than of _public good_. Such blamers, such general accusers, are always to be suspected. What does the _real_ patriot want more than to feel conscious that he has done his duty towards his country; and that, if life should not allow him time to see his endeavours crowned with success, his children will see it? The impatient patriots are like the young men (mentioned in the beautiful fable of LA FONTAINE) who ridiculed the man of fourscore, who was planting an avenue of very small trees, which, they told him, that he never could expect to see as high as his head. 'Well,' said he, 'and what of that? If their shade afford me no pleasure, it may afford pleasure to my children, and even to you; and, therefore, the planting of them gives me pleasure.'

353. It is the want of the n.o.ble disinterestedness, so beautifully expressed in this fable, that produces the _impatient_ patriots. They wish very well to their country, because they want _some of the good for themselves_. Very natural that all men should wish to see the good arrive, and wish to share in it too; but, we must look on the dark side of nature to find the disposition to cast blame on the whole community because our wishes are not instantly accomplished, and especially to cast blame on others for not doing that which we ourselves dare not attempt. There is, however, a sort of _patriot_ a great deal worse than this; he, who having failed himself, would see his country enslaved for ever, rather than see its deliverance achieved by others. His failure has, perhaps, arisen solely from his want of talent, or discretion; yet his selfish heart would wish his country sunk in everlasting degradation, lest his inefficiency for the task should be established by the success of others. A very hateful character, certainly, but, I am sorry to say, by no means rare. _Envy_, always a.s.sociated with meanness of soul, always detestable, is never so detestable as when it shows itself here.

354. Be it your care, my young friend (and I tender you this as my parting advice), if you find this base and baleful pa.s.sion, which the poet calls 'the eldest born of h.e.l.l;' if you find it creeping into your heart, be it your care to banish it at once and for ever; for, if once it nestle there, farewell to all the good which nature has enabled you to do, and to your peace into the bargain. It has pleased G.o.d to make an unequal distribution of talent, of industry, of perseverance, of a capacity to labour, of all the qualities that give men distinction. We have not been our own makers: it is no fault in you that nature has placed him above you, and, surely, it is no fault in him; and would you _punish_ him on account, and only on account, of his pre-eminence! If you have read this book you will startle with horror at the thought: you will, as to public matters, act with zeal and with good humour, though the place you occupy be far removed from the first; you will support with the best of your abilities others, who, from whatever circ.u.mstance, may happen to take the lead; you will not suffer even the consciousness and the certainty of your own superior talents to urge you to do any thing which might by possibility be injurious to your country's cause; you will be forbearing under the aggressions of ignorance, conceit, arrogance, and even the blackest of ingrat.i.tude superadded, if by resenting these you endanger the general good; and, above all things, you will have the justice to bear in mind, that that country which gave you birth, is, to the last hour of your capability, ent.i.tled to your exertions in her behalf, and that you ought not, by acts of commission or of omission, to visit upon her the wrongs which may have been inflicted on you by the envy and malice of individuals. Love of one's native soil is a feeling which nature has implanted in the human breast, and that has always been peculiarly strong in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of Englishmen.

G.o.d has given us a country of which to be proud, and that freedom, greatness and renown, which were handed down to us by our wise and brave forefathers, bid us perish to the last man, rather than suffer the land of their graves to become a land of slavery, impotence and dishonour.

355. In the words with which I concluded my English Grammar, which I addressed to my son James, I conclude my advice to you. 'With English and French on your tongue and in your pen, you have a resource, not only greatly valuable in itself, but a resource that you can be deprived of by none of those changes and chances which deprive men of pecuniary possessions, and which, in some cases, make the purse-proud man of yesterday a crawling sycophant to-day. Health, without which life is not worth having, you will hardly fail to secure by early rising, exercise, sobriety, and abstemiousness as to food. Happiness, or misery, is in the _mind_. It is the mind that lives; and the length of life ought to be measured by the number and importance of our ideas, and not by the number of our days. Never, therefore, esteem men merely on account of their riches or their station. Respect goodness, find it where you may.

Honour talent wherever you behold it una.s.sociated with vice; but, honour it most when accompanied with exertion, and especially when exerted in the cause of truth and justice; and, above all things, hold it in honour, when it steps forward to protect defenceless innocence against the attacks of powerful guilt.' These words, addressed to my own son, I now, in taking my leave, address to you. Be just, be industrious, be sober, and be happy; and the hope that these effects will, in some degree, have been caused by this little work, will add to the happiness of

Your friend and humble servant,

WM. COBBETT.

Kensington, 25th Aug. 1830.