The Man. A Story of To-day

“From his grief at the death of Harriette, Shakespeare never rallied. He left London, the scene of his mighty success, and back to his boyhood’s home did he turn, broken in health and spirit. City men who were once country boys, always look forward to the coming of old age, when they can return again to their childhood’s home. In less than two short years those simple villagers carried to its last resting-place the worn out body of the mightiest man of thought the world has ever known.

“When Shakespeare took Harriette Bowenni as his wife, at once they began their life-work in earnest. Women then were never recognized in literary work, and in fact did not ever act upon the stage, their parts being taken by boys. Harriette knew English history probably better than any man in England at that time, having studied it for several years with her father, and written it out for the nobleman. The first successful plays of Shakespeare were those of English history. Then followed tragedy and comedy in rapid and startling succession. Thirty-seven plays are known positively to be Shakespeare’s, all written in the space of twenty-six years; there being scarcely any repetition of plot or plan, all sweeping forward in that matchless and noble diction possessed by no other writer. The source of nearly all the plots have been well traced. Many of the plays are combinations of two or three others. In several instances the story is taken pure and simple from other writers, and the dialogue changed, modified, interpolated, as if it was necessary to get the play out at a certain time; yet the work is always nobly done, although many of the plays show very plainly the work of two persons.

“In every one of these thirty-seven plays William Shakespeare and Harriette Bowenni worked side by side, she supplying the plot and historical connection and he the language. The philosophy and by-play was worked in between them.

“Shakespeare’s conception of womanhood is higher than that of any other dramatist, even of modern time. Generally we find the saints and sinners pretty evenly divided between the sexes. Not so with the Master! His women are wise, gentle and good. Look at Portia, Rosalind, Cecelia, Viola, Jessica and others. The character of Lady Macbeth was worked out by Harriette alone, as I will show you in her diary where she protests against William parsing excellencies in the feminine gender continually, and she asks leave to portray Lady Macbeth herself alone.

“Each was constantly alert for metaphor, hyperbole, figure, trope, philosophy or poetical expression. Nothing escaped – every thought or fancy to which love could give birth was woven in. Neither went in society, and the fact that Shakespeare could not present this woman as his wife, was rather an advantage than otherwise. They had no friends but books, and thus were not distracted, diverted or dragged down by common-place connections, ignorant or vain people. To be with people was to lose their relationship to the whole. They were merely onlookers in Venice – the world knew them not. This fully accounts for the total lack of knowledge we possess of Shakespeare’s life. It has been stated that Shakespeare belonged to the club to which belonged Sir Walter Raleigh, Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Donne, Selden and others, that met at the Mermaid Tavern, but there is no proof at all that he ever attended these meetings. How such a man lived with such a mind and still was not known, has astounded humanity; and it is not to be wondered at that many now doubt that he ever wrote at all, and very plausibly prove (or think they do), that this unlettered, untraveled and untutored man could not (mark the words) have written Shakespeare. It is not to be wondered at that they cast about for the most learned man of his time, and pick out Lord Bacon, not knowing that six Lords Bacon all melted into one could never (mark my words) equal the work of one great man and one great woman, who having put away all society but each other, cast out all frivolity, set themselves the task (if task it may be called) solely to assist that alchemist, the only one who can transmute base material into good – Love, undying Love. Love is creative. It is the one and only source of all creation!”

I had been taking the words of The Man at the rate of one hundred words a minute. Suddenly they came faster, faster. I could scarcely keep up. For the first time I saw The Man had lost his composure. I looked up. The tears were streaming down his cheeks. He arose from his seat, paused, raised his hands and exclaimed:

“This woman, Harriette Bowenni; she was my mother!!”

CHAPTER XVIII.

SEVENTH SUNDAY. – THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

I began the conversation by a protest against attributing the success of Shakespeare so entirely to woman’s influence for “you cannot make a statue out of basswood,” I said.

“Yes, you are right,” answered The Man, “but Shakespeare, you must remember, won the love of this great woman, and thus proved his capacity and ability to succeed. We succeed by means, that is by the help of, others. Now take your pencil and paper and write what I speak —

“The word success scarcely carries the same meaning to two people, and I will make no attempt now to a pedagogic definition of the word, but simply a statement of facts which will not be disputed by any thinking person.

“There are certain conditions which we see surrounding men that are the reverse of success, and on these we are all agreed. So it might be easier to state what success is not, than what it is.

“If we see a person whose face is filled with lines of anxious care, proving to every passerby that the wearer of this look is nervous, apprehensive, restless, fast losing the capacity for enjoying the good things of life, we cannot call this person successful, though he is a millionaire. Yet we find men whom we know are not worth a hundred dollars, but their faces beam with the health that comes only from right living. Their entire bodily attitude tells that they are in line with the harmony of the universe. They are successful.

“The world is rich beyond the power of man to compute. We are just beginning to turn the wheels of commerce with a motive power the vast extent of which seems limitless, and which we use over and over again without destroying its substance. The material things which go to make life comfortable are in extent as boundless as is the oxygen which makes the combustion that we call life possible. For do you think for a moment that the Supreme Intelligence that quickened life into being would make too much of this and only half enough of that, so men would have plenty of air to breathe and plenty of water to drink, but only half enough food or raiment?

“No, the world is rich – surpassing rich, but, alas! men are poor.

“One man gets many things more than he can use and makes himself poor, that is, unsuccessful, by a vain attempt to keep that which in fact is not his. He draws on the material world for more than he needs, but fails to absorb from the world of spirit of the pure oxygen of life to aid digestion; he is like a man who has eaten twice as much as he can digest, he is full of fear and distrust and his life is a failure. He is not a success.

“And we see men great and good in soul whose bodies are not properly nourished and who shiver with the cold. This is not success.

“There is no virtue in poverty. To do without things we do not need is both manly and right (for to do right is manly), but to deprive ourselves of the bounties and blessings that have been provided for us, is not only to be lacking in common sense, but it is to be guilty of sin.

“So we say that the unsuccessful man is he who does not secure for his use all that which his being needs for its growth and advancement.

“I have spoken of the pure air we should breathe being supplied in limitless quantities, but every physician knows that the most prolific cause of disease is the breathing of a bad atmosphere. People deliberately fire up the coal stove, close the drafts so that the poison cannot escape up the chimney, shut down the windows and pray for sweet, refreshing sleep. This is done as much out in the open country as in the crowded city. At daylight this morning, just as the summer sun was coming up from behind the far-away hills, I walked through the sleeping village and noticed that in almost every house the windows were tightly shut, blinds closed, and, of course, the doors locked to keep out burglars, forgetful that the murderer who sought their lives was already in the house.

“The rich in cities ride in closed carriages, breathing the same air over and over. They are pale, yellow and despondent. The coachman rides outside ruddy and full of life.

“Thousands upon thousands die yearly of consumption, a disease coming entirely from improper breathing. If we use only a part of the lungs, the rest of the cells collapse, decay and we die – die through poverty – die through not using enough of that which is supplied so plenteously. And, yet, air is free, but whether through ignorance or inability (and ignorance is inability) we die, for nature takes no thought of the individual. You must comply with her rules or suffer from noncompliance. ‘Here are these good things,’ she says, ‘use them freely;’ and if we do not know how to use them we suffer just as surely as though we wilfully rebelled and knowingly said, ‘We will not use them.’

“So if you ask me to define success, I will say that he is successful who uses that which his well-being requires for its best development. To fail is not to use what your physical, mental and moral well-being demands. Whether you fail through ignorance of your needs or inability to supply them makes no difference.

“Thus it might truthfully be said that no life is a complete success, for no man lays hold on the forces of the universe and uses to the fullest extent. So there are all degrees of success. Now I propose to give a few plain and simple rules for securing to yourself that which your body and soul demand, and when I speak of one’s ‘Being’ I always mean body and soul – one no less than the other, for without soul there would be no body – body is here the instrument of soul. And what is more, I mean worldly success, for the world is but the sensual manifestation of spirit. You cannot separate spirit from matter – matter from intelligence.

“One of the worst mistakes man has made in times past has been the attempt to separate things into two parts – the ‘sacred’ and the ‘worldly.’ All things are sacred. There is nothing above the natural. There can be no ‘Super-Natural,’ without we say the supernatural is natural, which is in fact the truth.

“The wheeling stars, the great sun which warms our planet into life and light, every manifestation of beauty which we behold, man himself with his aspirations, his longings and his unknown possibilities, are natural. The natural is the all in all.

“We are here for growth, and live on the world. To achieve a success here, is to achieve a worldly success; and the highest ambition any man can have is to secure success, and the only success you can achieve here is a worldly success.

“Success is the result of right thinking. ‘As a man thinketh so is he,’ and what is most encouraging to me is the thought that a gigantic brain and a mighty grasp of mind are not at all necessary to success. The secret is simple, and the wayfaring can comprehend it as well as the prince. A few plain rules well followed and you are in the majority, for all nature is on your side and working in your behalf. What need you of influential friends? And yet the kind of thinking I am about to describe will bring the noble and the powerful to your side. They will seek your acquaintance, they will be your friends, and it will be their delight to help you, for it is the way nature assists her children by sending the love of good people. Night and day your spirit thinks. Stop thinking now for five minutes and tell me what you thought. No, you cannot stop. You may not remember what you thought, when you were in your sleep, but you thought just the same. But, while you cannot stop thinking you can direct the thought. You can control its tendency, and in the course of time (not long either), you will think only good thoughts – thoughts that will insure success to yourself and assist all those with whom you come in contact.

“Success in every undertaking has come from a right mental attitude. But your ambition must be worthy and founded on right or there can be no success. There can be no such thing as a successful burglar, for the act that is wrong brings a reaction that is weakness, defeat, and disgrace – the end may be postponed for a day, but the result is no less sure; while the reaction from a good act brings to the person an increased self-respect, a power for good, and this is his reward.

“I will not attempt to give one plan for success in business, another for success in religious work, and another set of rules for scholarly attainment. We cannot separate life into parts, for there can be no success in a business that is not right, but if your business is honorable it affords you a most excellent opportunity for the exercise of spiritual and mental attainment. You cannot imagine a sincere follower of Truth being engaged in a bad business, and the personal contact which a profession or business gives a man with other men affords him the opportunity to let his light shine.

“The first requisite of success is to know what you desire. Misty, uncertain hopes and changing wishes bring uncertain results. The reason we hear so much of luck and chance in life is on account of the absence of clear ideals. You must work out in your own mind what you wish to achieve. Are you a clerk in a big store, and see yourself in the future always as a clerk, you will always be one. Suppose, on the other hand, you see yourself in imagination as the head of the establishment, and hold this constantly in mind as you work away in your lowly position day after day. This very thought is bringing you toward your ideal. You will have an alertness for business, a desire to please, and the welfare of the establishment will be constantly before you. You will always be on time, and when there is extra work you will remain a little later and never think of asking if you are to be paid for over time.

“This cheerful and attentive disposition is sure to bring you promotion, and even over the heads of older employees. When a foreman is wanted for the head of a department you will be the one selected – no mistake, it cannot be otherwise. The ideal you hold in your mind is coming toward you sure. The whirligig of time, which is ever sifting, assorting, and bringing to the top the best, is a spiritual law as strong as fate – in fact, it is fate – and you will be the head of this establishment, and a rich man.

“We do not say that to be the head of a big business and to be rich are the chief ends for which to work, but as far as you prize these things, you can only secure them in the way I have mentioned.

“If you are a country school-teacher, on a small salary, and never expect to be invited to teach in a higher school, you never will. But if your ambition is to be principal in a college, you can attain this position. You will read the educational journals, and will know all of the great teachers who now live, and all of those who have gone before. Their names and lives will be familiar to you. You will dwell in thought on the virtues of Roger Ascham, and Arnold of Rugby will be your friend. You will attend the Teachers’ Institutes and take part, too, and encourage the leader by your sympathy. You will attract to your side all the good teachers in the neighborhood, and will soon be in communication with the chief educators in the country, and your promotion is sure as sunrise. As soon as you are made worthy by holding fast to the ideal, you will be called up higher. But suppose you seek to attain promotion by connivance and wire-pulling, your defeat is certain. The thing to do is to be worthy and be ready to accept the invitation promptly, and it will come.

“The necessity of this clearness of ideal which brings a calm certainty of manner is more marked perhaps in the professions of law and healing than elsewhere.

“We are just beginning to appreciate the fact that the good physician heals more by his presence than his potions. A physician who believes that man is made in the image of his Maker and that his body is the dwelling-place of an immortal spirit, has ever before him a most lofty ideal. To come within the atmosphere of such a man, clean in body and pure in heart, is to absorb to a certain extent his qualities of mind, which is a powerful force acting on the body for health. He fills the patient with hope and faith, allays apprehension, calms the mind of disorder, and allows the vis medicatrix natura to act. A doctor of this kind believes in his power to succeed – and he does. The lawyer who fears the other side and is doubtful of his case and who believes the judge is partial, has already lost his cause. But if he believes his client is innocent and that the jury will clear him, if they can be made to see the true state of affairs, brings judge and jury to this way of thinking, and receives the verdict he asks for.

“To make people work against you and get the world in opposition to you, just hold in thought that you are unfortunate and unlucky and that no one appreciates you, and then the world is down on you sure enough. You bring about the thing you fear. But what we want is men who are positive without being pugnacious; men who are cheerful but not frivolous. These are the successful men, and wherever they go they carry help, health and healing.

“The second requisite of success is that you shall hold your thought in the positive and not in the negative mood.

“Be on the lookout for good, and it will come to you. Avoid negation. Shun controversy. Religious (?) disputes have hurt the cause of Truth a thousand times more than all infidels and barbarians, for controversy stirs up a train of thought and feeling that should never be aroused, and which brings a reaction in the form of distrust, jealousy, bickering and hate. The exercise of such hateful emotions disturbs the poise of your mind and invites failure. If a man voices wrong thoughts in your presence, do not be so vain as to imagine you can set him straight by argument. Conversions are not made in that way. You need not lend your assent to his wrong statements, but your silence will be a powerful force acting on him and will tend to make him doubt his infallibility, will set him to thinking seriously and may bring him back into the line of Truth. If you had argued with him, the chances are that his efforts to refute you would have sunk him deeper into his error, for while you were talking to him he would have been thinking up an argument to overthrow your efforts to put him right, and failure to do so would have reacted on you and made you hot and impatient.

“Again I say, a positive and not a negative attitude are necessary to success. Parents and teachers say to children, ‘don’t, don’t, don’t,’ thus sending to them and putting them in a negative element. Their powers are not directed by this ‘don’t’ to secure what they need. They drift rapidly, aimlessly from one worthless, mischievous waste of power to another. Let the parent and teacher say ‘do,’ direct this force, open a way for its use. You cannot gain force, power, by refraining from doing. Power is gained by doing, and gained only by doing. What is the great difference between the spirit of the Old and New Testaments? The Old Testament is full of ‘Thou shalt nots,’ while the New is full of positive force. Contrast Leviticus with the Sermon on the Mount, the Ten Commandments with ‘Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.’

“Positive moods come to all in greater or less extent. If we court them, entertain them, they remain long with us. They only go when we send them from us. If we keep a silent demand for them they will return to us and the visit be longer than before. Put ourselves in the right attitude and they will cease to be visitors, but will take up their permanent abode with us, the mood will then here become a state.

“In such state success is inevitable. Each person may have success, should have it. Should be satisfied with nothing less than success. We have each felt moments of success, the exultation and life coming from it. We must have this as our state of mind, continual success, permanent success. Success, not necessarily, as the world understands it. Success does not need to be defined; each one knows it, none can be deceived about it. Success brings peace and rest and that highest state of happiness we can know here on earth – a foretaste of Heaven. This does not come by striving nor trying, ‘Not by might nor by power but by my spirit, saith the Lord.’ It comes by holding ourselves in a receptive attitude, ‘Hoping all things, believing all things.’ Looking not back, but forward, living to-day. There must be definite, high, pure purpose.

“The positive state is the state of hope and hope is an attribute of God Himself. Nothing in the material or spirit world can withstand the force of this positive state. It is in accordance with the laws of the universe, and all the forces of the universe work with and for us when we are in harmony with nature. We are then one with the Infinite and all things are ours.

“To recapitulate we will say – you must see in your own mind definitely what you wish to become. Hold in your imagination the clear, strong, hopeful ideal.

“Avoid gloomy, despondent, negative people. If the weather is unpleasant, don’t make it your continual theme of conversation. If you have unpleasant bodily sensations or symptoms do not tell people of them. This will cause you to be shunned by those whose help you need, and you draw to yourself a sickly, weakly and uncertain thought element.

“Cultivate the positive state. Take the good wherever you find it, and let the bad go, it will die through lack of attention.”

CHAPTER XIX.

EIGHTH SUNDAY – WOMAN’S LOVE

The next Saturday was rainy the entire day, so I took the 5:30 train to Jamison, which it will be remembered is a small country village. The usual country loafers were about the depot, the coming of the trains being matter of such importance to some of the residents of these out-of-the-way places.