The constant
dependence on the captives of war to do the thousand details of life
for them, killed self-reliance in the nation and in the individual.
Then, through weakened self-reliance and the increased opportunity for
idle, luxurious ease that came with it, Rome, a nation of fighters,
became,--a nation of men more effeminate than women. As we depend on
others to do those things we should do for ourselves, our self-reliance
weakens and our powers and our control of them becomes continuously
less.
Man to be great must be self-reliant. Though he may not be so in all
things, he must be self-reliant in the one in which he would be great.
This self-reliance is not the self-sufficiency of conceit. It is daring
to stand alone. Be an oak, not a vine. Be ready to give support, but do
not crave it; do not be dependent on it. To develop your true self-
reliance, you must see from the very beginning that life is a battle
you must fight for yourself,--you must be your own soldier. You cannot
buy a substitute, you cannot win a reprieve, you can never be placed on
the retired list. The retired list of life is,--death. The world is
busy with its own cares, sorrows and joys, and pays little heed to you.
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