A Fleece of Gold; Five Lessons from the Fable of Jason and the Golden FleeceGiven, Charles Stewart
Philosophy
A Fleece of Gold; Five Lessons from the Fable of Jason and the Golden Fleece
Given, Charles Stewart
Conduct of life; Jason -- (Mythological character); Success
Said Mr. A. B. Farquhar in a baccalaureate address to the students of
McDonough College: "Success colors everything. It is the essence of all
excellencies, the latent power which compels the favor of fortune and
subjugates fate. The world worships success regardless of how acquired;
makes it a standard for judging men, an indispensable credential for all
approval. If a man succeeds he is held to be wise, even though mediocre;
if he fails, whatever his learning and intrinsic merit, little regard is
paid to him. Success gilds and glorifies a multitude of blunders and
littlenesses, and people are thought merely to exist who do not keep
themselves on the road leading to it. In view of all this, it is no wonder
that we see all humanity looking earnestly toward success and moving with
eager step in search of it.
"Success is essentially the accomplishment of one's desires and purposes,
the realization of one's ideals. But this definition does not necessarily
imply a high state of being. As I sit by my window writing, the hoarse
cry of a rag-man and the mournful strains of a hand-organ come to my ears.
That able-bodied Greek, who is so lavish with his 'music,' and the
rag-man, who is buying what the other is distributing freely, both are in
quest of the same thing--'success.'"
Alas! the world too often measures success by false standards--worships
the Golden Fleece, forgetting the high purpose it might be made to serve;
so dazzled by means that ends become oblivious. The spirit of the age is
to pay homage to great riches. The finely attired custodian of a money bag
too often is regarded as an exponent of success. On this point we should
guard ourselves, first ascertaining if the gorgeous equipage is the
"genuine fleece," or only a sham intended to deceive. A mansion on a
valuable corner lot does not constitute the "golden quality," nor does a
million dollars in bank epitomize its character. Its language is not
spoken in the dialect of Wall Street or of wheat pits. Gold, grain,
stocks, and bonds and estates too often mean the perversion of those
qualities most valuable to human life. Realty is not the prime issue of
life, but _reality_. If that which a man gets in his pay envelope, however
lucrative that may be, constituted his only reward, his effort would be
miserably compensated.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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