Love, Life & Work - Being a Book of Opinions Reasonably Good-Natured Concerning - How to Attain the Highest Happiness for One's Self with the - Least Possible Harm to Others by Elbert Hubbard
page 74 of 103 (71%)
page 74 of 103 (71%)
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A man's quarrel with the world is only a quarrel with himself. But so
strong is this inclination to lay blame elsewhere and take credit to ourselves, that when we are unhappy we say it is the fault of this woman or that man. Especially do women attribute their misery to That Man. And often the trouble is he has given her too much for nothing. This truth is a reversible, back-action one, well lubricated by use, working both ways--as the case may be. Nobody but a beggar has really definite ideas concerning his rights. People who give much--who love much--do not haggle. That form of affection which drives sharp bargains and makes demands, gets a check on the bank in which there is no balance. There is nothing so costly as something you get for nothing. My friend Tom Lowry, Magnate in Ordinary, of Minneapolis and the east side of Wall Street, has recently had a little experience that proves my point. A sturdy beggar-man, a specimen of decayed gentility, once called on Tammas with a hard-luck story and a Family Bible, and asked for a small loan on the Good Book. To be compelled to soak the Family Bible would surely melt the heart of gneiss! Tom was melted. |
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