詹姆斯·艾倫/James Allen
Men do not attract that which they want,but that which they are.Th eir whims,fancies and ambitions are thwarted at every step,but their i nmost thoughts and desires are fed with their own food,be it foul or cl ean.The "divinity that shapes our ends" is in ourselves;it is our ve ry self.Only himself manacles man:thought and action are the gaolers o f fate-they imprison,being base;they are also the angels of freedom-they liberate,being noble.Not what he wishes and prays for does a man get,but what he justly earns.His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.
In the light of this truth,what,then,is the meaning of "fighting against circumstances"?It means that a man is continually revolting ag ainst an effect without,while all the time he is nourishing and preserv ing its cause in his heart.That cause may take the form of a conscious vice or an unconscious weakness;but whatever it is,it stubbornly retar ds the efforts of its possessor,and thus calls aloud for remedy.
Men are anxious to improve their circumstances,but are unwilling to improve themselves;they therefore remain bound.The man who does not sh rink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set.This is as true of earthly as of heavenly things.Even the man whose sole object is to acquire wealth must be prepared t o make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his object;an d how much more so he who would realize a strong and well-poised life?
Here is a man who is wretchedly poor.He is extremely anxious that h is surroundings and home comforts should be improved,yet all the time h e shirks his work,and considers he is justified in trying to deceive hi s employer on the ground of the insufficiency of his wages.Such a man d oes not understand the simplest rudiments of those principles which are the basis of true prosperity,and is not only totally unfitted to rise o ut of his wretchedness,but is actually attracting to himself a still de eper wretchedness by dwelling in,and acting out,indolent,deceptive,a nd unmanly thoughts.