Part 9 (1/2)

It is more important to make a life than to make a living.--_Ex-Governor Russell of Ma.s.sachusetts_.

I.

THE QUALITIES ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS.

The late Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) advised a young man who desired to enter business to select the firm with which he wished to be a.s.sociated, then ask that they give him work, without mentioning the subject of compensation. Having secured this opportunity to demonstrate his ability and willingness to work, recognition would come in due time. This advice received the approval of many prominent business men. It concretely ill.u.s.trates the fact that the first essential of success is the willingness to serve. It also emphasizes the necessity of being ready to do the work in accordance with the employer's wishes. Ultimate success also requires knowledge and trained ability. These, however, come through apprentices.h.i.+p and a faithful improvement of opportunities.

The Hebrew sages, with true insight, emphasized the importance of knowledge; but they taught also that wisdom, which is not only knowledge, but the power to apply it practically in the various relations of life, was far more important.

What other qualities are essential to the highest success? Is it very important that a man should have the right moral standards?

How do a man's habits affect his efficiency?

Is it only the genius who is able to attain the highest success to-day in business and professional life? Do you accept George Eliot's definition of genius as ”the capacity for unlimited work”?

To what extent does a man's faith in G.o.d and in his fellow men determine his ability to win success? How far are they essential to the attainment of the highest type of success?

II.

THE LIMITATIONS AND TEMPTATIONS OF JOSEPH'S EARLY LIFE.

The Hebrew sage who uttered the prayer:

Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me.

--_Prov. 30:8_.

voiced a great economic as well as moral principle. The men who are handicapped to-day in the race for success are either those who are born in homes of extreme poverty or of extreme wealth where they are unnaturally barred or s.h.i.+elded from the real problems and tasks of life. Which is probably the greater handicap? To which cla.s.s did Joseph belong?

In what ways did his father show his favoritism towards Joseph?

The Hebrew word rendered in the older translations, ”coat of many colors,” means literally, ”long-sleeved tunic.” This garment, like those worn by wealthy Chinese when in native costume, distinguished the rich or the n.o.bility, who were not under the necessity of engaging in manual labor.

The dreams which Joseph told to his brothers reveal his high estimate of his own importance and were probably suggested by his father's att.i.tude toward him. They were indeed a revelation of the ambitions already stirring in the young boy's mind. But Joseph required closer contact with real life in order to transform his ambitions into actual achievements.

Joseph gave his brothers cause for hatred toward him, but their action in selling him to the Ishmaelites was by no means justifiable. Nevertheless it brought to Joseph the experiences and opportunities absolutely essential to the attainment of his ultimate success. Often what seem man's greatest misfortunes are in reality the door that opens to the new and larger opportunities.

In what two ways may a man meet misfortune?

III.

THE CALL OF A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

Egypt, with its marvelous natural resources, its peculiar climate, its irrigation, which usually guarantees good crops, and its versatile people, has always been pre-eminently the land of opportunity. Especially was this true during the reigns of the powerful despots of the eighteenth dynasty, when the relations between Egypt and Palestine were exceedingly close. Thus, for example, according to contemporary records, during the reign of the great reformer king, Amenhotep IV, several Semites rose to positions of great authority. A certain Dudu (David) was one of the most trusted officials of this king. He is addressed by one of the Egyptian governors as ”My lord, my father.” Another Semite named Yanhamu not only had control of the storehouses of grain in the eastern part of the Nile Delta, but also directed the Egyptian rule of Palestine. The local governors of Palestine refer to him in terms which suggest that his authority was almost equal to that of Pharaoh himself. This was perhaps the Joseph of the Biblical account.

Is there any evidence that Joseph complained because of the injustice of his brothers? By loyal attention to his duties he made himself indispensable to his Egyptian master. A great temptation came to him in the new home. What influences led him to resist this temptation? a.n.a.lyze his probable motives in detail.

The great injustice which he suffered and the seeming misfortune proved in turn a new door of opportunity, but this would not have been the case had not Joseph forgotten his own personal wrongs and given himself to the service of his fellow-prisoners. Was the prosperity which generally attended Joseph a miraculous gift or the natural consequences of his courageous, helpful spirit and his skill in making the best of every situation?

In modern life as in the ancient story, the place usually seeks the man who is fitted to fill it. The ever recurring complaint of employers is the scarcity of good men, especially of men able to exercise discretion in positions of responsibility. Was it Joseph's skill in interpreting Pharaoh's dreams, or his wise counsel in suggesting methods of providing for the people during famine that gave him his position of high trust and authority? Was the policy which made Pharaoh practical owner of all the land first inst.i.tuted by Joseph, or was it already in force in Egypt? (_Hist.