his Will is a thousand times more fortunate than if he could govern
the world. For to govern the Will is to be without fear, superior and
indifferent to all earthly follies and shams, idols, cants and
delusions, it is to be lord of a thousand isles in the sea of life,
and absolutely greater than any living mortal, as men exist. Small
need has that man to heed what his birth or station in society may be
who has mastered himself with the iron will; for he who has conquered
death and the devil need fear no shadows.

He who masters himself by Will has attained to all that is best and
noblest in Stoicism, Epicureanism, Christianity, and Agnosticism; if
the latter be understood not as doubt, but free Inquiry, and could men
be made to feel what all this means and what power it bestows, and how
easily it really is to master it, we should forthwith see all humanity
engaged in the work.

It has been declared by many in the past in regard to schooling their
minds to moral and practical ends that, leading busy lives, they had
not time to think of such matters. But I earnestly protest that it is
these very men of all others who most require the discipline which I
have taught, and it is as easy for them as for anybody; as it, indeed,
ought to be easier, yes, and far more profitable. For the one who
leads by fortune a quiet life of leisure can often school himself
without a system, while he who toils amid anxious thoughts and with
every mental power severely taxed, will find that he can do his work
_far_ more easily if he determines that he _will_ master it. The
amount of mental action which lies dormant in us all is illimitable
and it can all be realized by the hypnotism of Will.