Perseverance in Christian preaching emphasizes steadfast endurance in faith despite trials and opposition, reflecting a determined commitment to God's promises (James 1:12). Illustrations often use metaphors of overcoming obstacles, persistent effort, and the pursuit of a heavenly reward to encourage believers to remain faithful until the end (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Persistent work and results answer critics more effectively than words.
What does the criticism of others do to our inner self? Take the case of Col. George Washington Goethals. While contending with the manifold problems of geography and climate in the building of the Panama Canal, he had to endure the carping criticism of countless busybodies back home who freely predicted he would never complete his task. But he pressed steadily forward in his work and said nothing. "Aren't you going to answer your critics?" a subordinate inquired. "In time," Goethals replied. "How?" The great engineer smiled. "With the canal," he said. A Mirrored Image
The story is told of a man and an angel who were walking along together. The man was complaining about his neighbors. "I never saw such a wretched set of people," he said, "as are in this village. They are mean, greedy, selfish, and careless of the needs of others. Worst of all, they are forever speaking evil of one another." "Is it really so?" asked the angel. "It is, indeed," said the man. "Why, only look at this fellow coming toward us! I know his face, though I cannot remember his name. See his little shark-like, cruel eyes, darting here and there like a ferret's, and the lines of hardness about his mouth! The very droop of his shoulders is mean and cringing, and he slinks along instead of walking." "It is very clever of you to see all this," said the angel, "but there is one thing that you did not perceive-that is a mirror we are approaching."
After injury, the boy perseveres to climb the tree again, showing determination and endurance.
When Dr. Carey, the celebrated missionary, was a boy, he tried one day to climb a tree; but his foot slipped, and he fell to the ground, breaking his leg by the fall. This accident confined him to his bed many weeks, and caused him much suffering. When the broken limb was healed, the first thing he did was to go and climb that tree.
Diligent study and perseverance lead to unexpected success and opportunity.
Two boys were apprentices in a carpenter's shop. One determined to make himself a thorough workman; the other "didn't care." One read and studied, and got books that would help him to understand the principles of his trade. He spent his evenings at home, reading. The other liked fun best. He often went with other boys to have a good time. "Come," he often said to his shopmate, "leave your old books; come with us. What's the use of all this reading?"—"If I waste these golden moments," answered the boy, "I shall lose what I shall never make up." While the boys were still apprentices, an offer of two thousand dollars appeared in the newspapers for the best plan for a state house, to be built in one of the Eastern States. The studious boy saw the advertisement, and determined to try for it. After a careful study, he drew out his plans and sent them to the committee. We suppose he did not really expect to gain the prize;
but still he thought, "There is nothing like trying." In about a week afterwards, a gentleman arrived at the carpenter's shop, and inquired if an architect by the name of Washington Wilberforce lived there. "No," said the carpenter, "no architect; but I've got an apprentice by that name."—"Let's see him," said the gentleman. The young man was summoned, and informed that his plan had been accepted, and that the two thousand dollars were his. The gentleman then said that the boy must put up the building; and his employer was so proud of his success, that he willingly gave him his time and let him go. The studious young carpenter became one of the first architects in our country. He made a fortune, and stands high in the estimation of everybody; while his fellow-apprentice can hardly earn food for himself and family by his daily labor.
Persistent diligence transforms weakness into excellence and success.
DILIGENCE, Reward of Long ago, a little boy was entered at Harrow school. He was put into a class beyond his years, and where all the scholars had all the advantage of previous instruction denied to him. His master chid him for his dulness; and all his efforts then could not raise him from the lowest place in the class. But, nothing damned, he procured the grammars and other elementary books which his class-fellows had gone through in previous terms. He devoted the hours of play, and not a few of the hours of sleep, to the mastering of these; till, in a few weeks, he gradually began to rise: and it was not long before he shot ahead of all his companions, and became not only leader of the division, but the pride of Harrow. You may see the statue of that boy, whose career began with this fit of energetic application, in St. Paul's
Cathedral; for he lived to be the greatest
Oriental scholar in modern Europe: it was
Sir William Jones. The most illustrious in the annals of philosophy once knew no more than the most illiterate now do. And how did he arrive at his peerless dignity? By dint of diligence; by downright painstaking.
— Dr. J. Hamilton
Perseverance and doing well in small tasks lead to greater opportunities and respect.
A noble saying is on record of a member of the British House of Commons, who, by his own industry and perseverance, had won his way to that high position. A proud scion of the aristocracy one day taunted him with his humble origin, saying, "I remember when you blacked my father's boots."—"Well, sir," was the noble response, "Did I not do it well?"
Steadfast faith and courage enable believers to endure severe persecution and torture.
Agatha was a native of Catania, Sicily, who suffered in the Decian persecution. Quintianus ruled there, and, having heard of the great beauty of maiden Agatha, ordered her before him, and tempted her with flatteries and rich presents; all of which she scorned. She was then given over to a practical courtesan to be subjugated, whose arts also failed. The courtesan reported to Quintianus, that "sooner shall the sword at thy side become liquid lead, and the rocks dissolve and flow like water, than the heart of this damsel be subdued to thy will." Again she was ordered before him, and commanded to abjure Christ, whom she boldly confessed. Then, threatened with torture, she replied, "If thou shouldst throw me to the wild beasts, the power of Christ would render them meek as lambs; if thou shouldst kindle a fire to consume me, the angels would quench it with dews from heaven; if thou shouldst tear me with scourges, the Holy Spirit would render thy tortures harmless." Her flesh was mangled, and her breasts lacerated. St. Peter came to her dungeon at midnight, saying, "I am come to heal thee, my daughter." Then he healed her. Her dungeon was opened, and her guards dismayed; but she refused to fly from the crown of martyrdom. When Quintianus heard of this marvel, he caused her to be bound and cast into a great fire, from the effects of which her pure spirit took its flight to eternal glory.
Skill and perseverance, not tools alone, produce excellence and great achievements.
It is not tools that make the workman, but the trained skill and perseverance of the man himself. Indeed, it is proverbial that the bad workman never yet had a good tool. Some one asked Opie by what wonderful process he mixed his colors. "I mix them with my brains, sir," was his reply. It is the same with every workman who would excel. Ferguson made marvellous things — such as his wooden clock, that accurately measured the hours — by means of a common penknife, a tool in everybody's hand; but then everybody is not a Ferguson. A pan of water and two thermometers were the tools by which Dr. Black discovered latent heat; and a prism, a lens, and a sheet of pasteboard enabled Newton to unfold the composition of light and the origin of color. An eminent foreign savant once called upon Dr. Wollaston, and requested to be shown over his laboratories, in which science had been enriched by so many important discoveries; when the doctor took him into a little study, and, pointing to an old teatray on the table, containing a few watch-glasses, test-papers, a small balance, and a blow-pipe, said, "There is all the laboratory I have." Stothard learned the art of combining colors by closely studying butterflies' wings: he would often say that no one knew what he owed to these tiny insects. A burnt stick and a barn-door served Wilkie in lieu of pencil and canvas. Bewick first practised drawing on the cottage-walls of his native village, which he covered with his sketches in chalk; and Benjamin West made his first brushes out of the cat's tail. Franklin first robbed the thundercloud of its lightning by means of a kite made with two cross-sticks and a silk-handkerchief. Watt made his first model of the condensing steam-engine out of an anatomist's old syringe. Gifford worked his first problem in mathematics, when a cobbler's apprentice, upon small scraps of leather, which he beat smooth for the purpose; whilst Rittenhouse, the astronomer, first calculated eclipses on his plough-handle.
A woman’s meek endurance of persecution led to her husband’s changed heart and permission to worship.
A very passionate woman experienced religion, and attended the means of grace, though greatly persecuted by her husband. On her return from service, he felled her to the floor with a violent blow. She rose up, and said, "My dear, if you serve this side the same, I hope I shall bear it with patience." He saw the change in her, gave her full permission to attend service, and was soon found accompanying her.
Success in life is often due to perseverance, as shown by famous historical figures.
The secret of every successful life—of Sir Isaac Newton, Columbus, Washington, Wellington, Wilberforce, Stephenson, Morse, Grant, and Stewart—is PERSEVERANCE.
A spider's repeated failures teach the value of perseverance leading to ultimate success.
Robert Bruce was driven one night to take shelter in a barn. When he awoke in the morning, he saw a spider climbing a beam of the roof. It fell to the ground twelve times in succession: the thirteenth time, it succeeded, and gained the top of the beam. He arose, and said, "This spider has taught me perseverance. I will follow its example. Twelve times have I been beaten; the thirteenth I may succeed." He rallied his followers, met and defeated Edward, and was crowned king.
Daily small efforts in perseverance eventually lead to reaching great spiritual goals.
One told Socrates, that he would fain go to Olympus; but he distrusted his sufficiency for the length of the journey. Socrates told him, "Thou walkest every day, little or much, continue this walk, forward thy way, and a few days shall bring you to Olympus." Every day every man takes some pains. Let him bestow that measure of pains in travelling to heaven; and the farther he goes the more heart he gets, till at last he enter through the gates into the city. T. Adams.
Long missionary efforts with few converts show perseverance leads to abundant later success.
In Western Africa, it was fourteen years before one convert was received into the church; in East Africa ten, in New Zealand nine years before there was one baptism, two more before a second, and five years more before one communicant. In Burmah, Dr. Judson labored seven years before he had one; and, in Tahiti, it was sixteen. Yet it is remarkable, that, in most of those missions where the faith of the Church was peculiarly tried at the commencement, the success has been most rich and abundant afterward. Bowes.
Seeing the heavenly reward motivates weary travelers to persevere to the journey's end.
A traveler after a long journey, when he is weary and faint, and sits down, if he see the town before him, it puts life into him, and he plucks up his feet, and resolves not to be weary till he be at his journey's end. Oh! look at the crown and white robe set before you, and faint if you can; get on the top of Mount Nebo; look on the land of promise, — those good things set before you!
Enduring hardships is necessary to enjoy the sweet rewards, like honey guarded by bees.
He will never enjoy the sweets of the spring, nor will he obtain the honeycombs of Mount Hybla, if he dreads his face being stung, or is annoyed by briers. The rose is guarded by its thorn, the honey is defended by the bee.
From the Latin.
After loss, persistent labor restored valuable work, demonstrating patient perseverance.
Audubon, by years of labor, completed a set of drawings of birds made in their native haunts. These he intrusted to a friend for safe-keeping; but, when he called for them, it was discovered, to his dismay, that they had been destroyed by rats. Again he plunged into the forest, and, after three years' incessant labor, repaired the loss, and laid the foundation of a lasting fame.
A simple poem repeating 'Go on' encourages continual perseverance in Christian work.
I have heard of an Indian, who one day came to a missionary, and told him he had been making some poetry, which he wished to show him. It was found to be several verses in very "common metre," and all exactly like the first verse, which ran as follows:—
"Go on, go on, go on, go on,
Go on, go on, go on,
Go on, go on, go on, go on,
Go on, go on, go on."
The Indian's poem is a grand motto for all Christian workers. C. D. Foss.
Perseverance enables success despite small resources or difficult obstacles.
After a great snow-storm, a little fellow began to shovel a path through a large snow-bank before his grandmother's door. He had nothing but a small shovel to work with. "How do you expect to get through that drift?" asked a man passing by. "By keeping at it," said the boy cheerfully.
Perseverance is a universal principle leading to success and victory over time.
One may go far after he is tired. — French. — With time a mulberry-leaf becomes satin. — Chinese. — Perseverance kills the game. — Spanish. — Hard pounding, gentlemen; but we will see who can pound the longest. — Wellington at Waterloo.
Steady perseverance wins over natural talent when talent becomes complacent.
A hare and tortoise engaged to run a race; but the hare, depending on the swiftness of his foot, delayed so long that the tortoise reached the goal, and won the prize.
Christians must persevere faithfully to the end to receive the crown of eternal life.
As he who runs in a race must run to the end to be crowned, so the Christian must be faithful unto death to receive eternal life. Caudray.
Success comes through labor and perseverance, like opening a door with the right word.
There was, according to fable, a woodman in a forest cutting down trees, when he heard a band of robbers approaching, and saw a long train of horses come winding over the hills where he was. He quickly climbed into one of the trees, where he could watch their motions without being seen. They rode up on their horses till they came to a great rock, where, dismounting, the captain of the band walked up to the rock, and said, "Open Sesame!" The very moment this word was spoken, a great door flew open; and they all went in, and stowed away their plunder in the cave. The woodman watched in great surprise while all this was going on. He remembered the wonderful word "Sesame," which opened the door. So he remained quiet until the robbers were gone. As soon as they were out of sight, he came down from the tree, and went up to the rock, and cried out, "Open Sesame!" Instantly the door flew open, and he went in. Then he gazed in wonder on all the precious things which were gathered together. He filled his panniers, or donkey-baskets, with gold and silver, as much as the animals could carry, and went home a rich man. He was made rich by the power of the word "Sesame." Our key to wealth is labor and perseverance.
Success is achieved by persistent effort along the same hard path as others.
It is the old route of labor, along which are many landmarks and many wrecks. It is lesson after lesson with the scholar, blow after blow with the laborer, crop after crop with the farmer, picture after picture with the painter, step after step, and mile after mile, with the traveller, that secures what all desire, success. Alexander desired his preceptor to prepare for him some easier and shorter way to learn geometry; but he was told that he must be content to travel the same road as others.
A rough ploughboy seeks education by offering to work for it at a college.
The president of a well-known college in Kentucky, was one morning, while sitting in his study, astonished by the entrance of a single visitor.
The visitor was a boy of some seventeen years, rough and uncouth in his appearance, dressed in coarse homespun, with thick clumsy shoes on his feet, an old tattered felt hat on his head, surmounting a mass of uncombed hair, which relieved swarthy and sunburnt features, marked by eyes quick and sparkling, but vacant and inexpresfrom every judge, and let the most culpable of the two be made an example by the rigor of the law. I am resolved that this barbarous custom, which is worthy of the age of Tamerlane and Bajazet, and which is so often fatal to the peace of families, shall be punished and suppressed, though it should cost me half my officers. There will be still left men who can unite bravery with the duties of a faithful subject. I wish for none who do not respect the laws of the country. JOSEPH."
"Vienna August, 1711."
A poor lad walks miles seeking education and perseveres despite obstacles.
The following anecdote was related by a gentleman at Utica, at a meeting of the friends of education:—
In the month of December, 1807, Mr. Maynard was teaching school in the town of Plainfield, Mass. One cold blustering morning, on entering his school-room, he observed a lad that he had not seen before, sitting on one of the benches. The lad soon made known his errand to Mr. M. He was fifteen years old; his parents lived seven miles distant; he wanted an education; and had come from home on foot that morning, to see if Mr. M. could help him to contrive how to obtain it.
Mr. M. asked him if he was acquainted with any one in that place. "No." "Can your parents help you towards obtaining an education?"
"No." "Have you any friends that can give you assistance?" "No." "Well, how do you expect to obtain an education?" "I don't know, but I thought I would come and see you." Mr. M. told him to stay that day, and he would see what could be done. He discovered that the boy was possess of good sense, but no uncommon brilliancy, and he was particularly struck with the cool and resolute manner in which he undertook to conquer difficulties which would have intimidated weaker minds. In the course of the day, Mr. M. made provision for having him boarded through the winter in the family with himself, the lad paying for his board by his services out of school. He gave himself diligently to study, in which he made good, but not rapid proficiency, improving every opportunity of reading and conversation for acquiring knowledge, and thus spent the winter.
When Mr. M. left the place in the spring, he engaged a minister who resided about four miles from the boy's father, to hear his recitations; and the boy accordingly boarded at home, and pursued his studies. It is unnecessary to pursue the narrative further. Mr. M. had never seen the lad since; but this was the early history of the Rev. Jonas King, whose exertions in the cause of oriental learning, and in alleviating the miseries of Greece, have endeared him alike to the scholar and philanthropist, and shed a bright ray of glory on his native country.
Job perseveres faithfully despite losing all earthly comforts and possessions.
Job perseveres in the way of duty though it costs him all that is dear in the world. Do we rejoice in God when we have nothing else to rejoice in?
Small, persistent efforts can achieve what seems impossible to stronger forces.
Out in the state of California there is a great valley known as the Yosemite Valley, and here once lived a tribe of Indians who tried to explain how the wonderful streams and trees and rocks came to be. The story of one of the highest peaks, El Capitan, is very interesting. One day some Indian boys went fishing in a beautiful lake in the Yosemite, and after they had grown tired they lay down in the sun upon a rock beside the lake. They soon fell fast asleep. How long they slept they did not know, but when they awoke they found that during their sleep the rock on which they lay had been stood on end, so that they were now nearly a mile high in the air and had no means of getting down. They were in a bad plight. But the animals in the valley which were friendly to mountaineers saw their misfortune and held a conference as to how to help the boys get down. They decided that the only thing to do was to try to climb up the face of the cliff. But the rock, was too steep, and so they tried to jump up. First the raccoon tried it, then the bear, then the squirrel, then the fox, and finally the mountain-goat. It was all to no avail, however, and they gave up in discouragement, and were about to leave the boys to perish, when the inch-worm came along and offered her services. The animals laughed her to scorn. What could she do, with her snail-pace, when they all, who were so fleet of foot, had to give it up! But she would not be laughed out of her purpose, and she began to climb up the cliff. Slowly, inch by inch, she crawled up, so slowly that it seemed as if she would take a thousand years to get there. But as she passed crag after crag the animals below ceased making fun of her and began to shout encouragement. At last she reached the top. And then the Great Spirit turned her into a huge butterfly so strong that she flew down, with the boys on her back, to safety. There is a verse in the Old Testament which says that the race is not always to the swift, which means that it is not always the strongest who win. It is the one who keeps at it. Many a bright boy fails in school because the lessons come so easily he does not work. Many a dull boy wins because he sticks to it and plods away. If you are tempted to trust too much to your brightness, remember the animals who made fun of the inch-worm. If you are dull, remember the inch-worm, take courage, and plod away. You will get there sometime.
Good works must be completed to be effective; unfinished efforts are fruitless.
In the heathery turf you will often find a plant chiefly remarkable for its peculiar roots; from the main stem down to the minutest fibre, you will find them all abruptly terminate, as if shorn or bitten off, and the quaint superstition of the country people alleges, that once on a time it was a plant of singular potency for healing all sorts of maladies, and therefore the great enemy of man in his malignity bit off the roots, in which its virtues resided. The plant with this odd history, is a very good emblem of many well-meaning but little-effecting people. They might be defined as radicibus praemorsis , or rather inceptis succisis . The efficacy of every good work lies in its completion, and all their good works terminate abruptly, and are left off unfinished. The devil frustrates their efficacy by cutting off their ends; their unprofitable history is made up of plans and projects, schemes of usefulness that were never gone about, and magnificent undertakings that were never carried forward; societies that were sot agoing, then left to shift for themselves, and forlorn beings who for a time were taken up and instructed, and just when they were beginning to show symptoms of improvement were cast on the world again.— James Hamilton, D.D.
Count Zeppelin's perseverance led to eventual success despite many failures.
Gen. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, in the world’s first aerial liner, at the ripe age of nearly seventy-two years, performed a magnificent flight of 250 miles from Friedrichshafen to Düsseldorf. The New York _Times_ says of him:
He presents one of the finest examples in history of effort concentrated on a single object, of failure after failure borne with courage, of refusal to give up, of final triumph.
He has had a career which in the case of most men would have been regarded as sufficiently full of honor many years ago. He served in the American civil war as a cavalry officer on the Union side, becoming an intimate friend of the late Carl Schurz, and when he returned to Europe he took part in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
As late as 1907 such words as these could be written about Count von Zeppelin and generally regarded as describing him: “He has sacrificed half a century of time, his wealth, his estates, his reputation, his happiness, his family life, in a futile attempt to solve the problem of flying. It is practically certain that after fifty years of unexampled perseverance Count Zeppelin is doomed to complete failure. There is something unspeakably tragic in the fate of this high-minded aristocrat.”
His failures continued for some time after this verdict was written, but at length the world was startled by the splendid flights made by his dirigible “No. 4,” and when that vessel was wrecked in August, 1908, the German Government and the German people combined to aid the old patriot and inventor to make good his loss.
True freedom and existence come from daily conquering life's challenges with perseverance.
Goethe uttered a true word where he sings:
Yes! to this thought I hold with firm persistence;
The last result of wisdom stamps it true:
He only earns his freedom and existence
Who daily conquers them anew. (Text.)
Great achievements become commonplace after persistent, faithful effort over time.
Even the conquest of the North Pole takes on an aspect of the commonplace, especially after many years of hard work. The New York _Times_ quotes this entry from Peary’s journal:
The pole at last! The prize of three centuries, my dream and goal for twenty years, mine at last! I can not bring myself to realize it.
It all seems so simple and commonplace. As Bartlett said when turning back, when speaking of his being in these exclusive regions which no mortal had ever penetrated before:
“It is just like every day!”
Persistent effort is needed to overcome social difficulties and personal obstacles.
See ILLITERACY.
DIFFICULTIES, SOCIAL
The only way to get De Quincey to a dinner-party was to send an able-bodied man to find him and bring him by force. Occasionally he revenged himself by making a stay of several weeks, so that the difficulty of getting him into a friend’s house was forgotten in the more appalling difficulty of how to get him out again.--W. J. DAWSON, “The Makers of English Prose.”
Spiritual growth requires continual effort and loyalty, not a single victory.
Parsifal emphasizes the fact that “heaven is not gained with a single bound.” After Parsifal had won the great victory and gained the Sacred Spear, still he had not grown enough to be worthy to rule in the council-chambers of Monsalvat. He had to grow to new heights. Thus, many years yet of struggle, temptation, and trial awaited him. Self-mastery and spiritual supremacy are attained, not by one victory, but by many. They come only as the rich fruition of a life of strenuous endeavor, a life of loyalty to duty and to love. (Text.)--B. O. FLOWER, _The Arena_.
Indomitable energy overcomes paralysis through persistent effort and faith.
See MOMENTUM.
ENERGY, INDOMITABLE
Seldom has there been seen a more inspiring example of indomitable energy triumphing over fate than that which the Engraver Florian is now giving to the world, says the New York _World_.
Six years ago, while at work upon the designs for the new French bank-notes, he was suddenly stricken by paralysis. His right side became as if dead; he was bereft of speech; the hand whose skill had made him famous was useless forever. Did he complain? Did he resign himself to the inevitable? Did he sit down in despair and allow his young wife and daughters to support him? Not for a moment. He let the women work, it is true, but only while he learned to engrave with the left hand.
Hour after hour, day after day, month after month he passed, struggling with that awkward, untrained left hand, drawing at first crudely like a little child, then with ever-increasing precision. Gradually he educated the refractory member to obey his will. Drawing, water-color painting, designing for typographers succeeded one another, until to-day he has again attained absolute mastery over the engraver’s tools. Arsene Alexandre, the famous art critic, saw him at work recently, his wooden block screwed to a table, his left hand plying the tools with all the deftness his now dead right hand formerly possest, his speechless lips smiling and his face radiant with happiness.
Success often comes through persistent trial and error, not immediate perfection.
Our most valuable successes usually are achieved on the principle followed by this dog:
In his “Introduction to Comparative Psychology” (1894), Dr. Lloyd Morgan told the story of his dog’s attempts to bring a hooked walking-stick through a narrow gap in a fence. The dog “tried” all possible methods of pulling the stick through the fence. Most of the attempts showed themselves to be “errors.” But the dog tried again and again, until he finally succeeded. He worked by the method of trial and error. (Text.)
Failures are steps toward eventual success when guided by wisdom and perseverance.
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About all of the great enterprises of mankind are built on earlier experiments that seemed to fail. Hiram Maxim and S. P. Langley each spent laborious years constructing flying-machines that would not fly. Yet those who later succeeded made use of all the important devices that these earlier experimenters had invented.
Some years since it was seen that by damming, controlling, and releasing the waters of the Colorado River in southern California and Mexico a vast tract of land, which was hot, arid, and uninhabitable, might become a fertile valley, giving homes and sustenance to millions. The opportunity was great, the power to be controlled and regulated was as great as the opportunity, but a failure came in the mind and executive ability of the men who were drawn to this great task. The waters escaped their control, and, where they intended to irrigate flowering gardens and fruitful plantations, they let loose a devastating flood, which burst all barriers, and threatened to establish in place of the desert an inland sea. In time the intellect of man solved the problem, met the opportunity with due achievement, and now the original promise is in the way of fulfilment. (Text.)
Despite crippling loss, perseverance and toil restored a man's skill and success.
Charles A. Spencer was a lens-maker, and devoted years to the perfection of achromatic lenses. He had devised a process so delicate that he could adjust the curve of the lens so as to increase the defining and resolving power of the lens beyond all other opticians. But a fire destroyed his shop and nearly all of his tools, which had taken years of toil and study to construct, together with a large amount of finished and unfinished work. He was badly crippled, and had to begin all over again, and only with the utmost toil and perseverance was he able, little by little, to replace the necessary tools and recover his former position.--JAMES T. WHITE, “Character Lessons.”
Persistent small efforts can eventually move even the largest obstacles.
The gentlest and least noticed efforts if repeated persistently enough will have their effect in due time. This is a lesson to be learned by those who are trying forward movements of reform:
In a gun-factory a great bar of steel, weighing five hundred pounds, and eight feet in length, was suspended vertically by a very delicate chain. Near by a common bottle-cork was suspended by a silk thread. The purpose was to show that the cork could set the steel bar in motion. It seemed impossible. The cork was swung gently against the steel bar, and the steel bar remained motionless. But it was done again and again and again for ten minutes, and lo! at the end of that time the bar gave evidence of feeling uncomfortable; a sort of nervous chill ran over it. Ten minutes later, and the chill was followed by vibrations. At the end of half an hour the great bar was swinging like the pendulum of a clock. (Text.)
Indomitable perseverance and intense practice lead to mastery and success.
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It is not clear that Paganini owed much to any one but himself--his indomitable perseverance and his incessant study. His method is to be noted. For ten or twelve hours he would try passages over and over again in different ways with such absorption and intensity that at nightfall he would sink into utter prostration through excessive exhaustion and fatigue. Tho delicate, like Mendelssohn, he ate at times ravenously and slept soundly. When about ten he wrote twenty-four fugues, and soon afterward composed some violin music, of such difficulty that he was unable at first to play it, until incessant practise gave him the mastery.--H. R. HAWEIS, “My Musical Memories.”
Repeated attempts with consistent effort lead to eventual success despite difficulty.
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I once thought I would like to test the perseverance of a large moth in performing its first upward journey; and as it was one from a chrysalis to be found in nature at the foot of a tree that attains some considerable height, I was, of course, prepared to exercise a little patience myself.
As soon as the moth had emerged, I placed it at the bottom of a window curtain that hung about eight feet high to the floor. In less than half a minute it had reached the top and was struggling hard to get still higher. I took it down and again placed it at the bottom. Up it went as fast as before, and this was repeated nine times with exactly the same result.--W. FURNEAUX, “Butterflies and Moths.”
Persistent prayer and refusal to give up led to a breakthrough in missionary work.
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“Years of fruitless and apparently hopeless toil had almost determined the directors of the London Missionary Society to abandon altogether the work at Tahiti. Dr. Haweis, chaplain to the Countess of Huntingdon, one of the founders of the society, and the father and liberal supporter of the South Sea Mission, earnestly opposed such abandonment of the field, and backed his arguments by a further donation of a thousand dollars. The Rev. Matthew Wilks, the pastor of John Williams, declared that he would sell the clothes from his back rather than give up the mission, and proposed, instead, a season of special prayer for the divine blessing. Such a season was observed; letters of encouragement were written to the missionaries, and--mark it!--while the vessel was on her way to carry these letters to Tahiti, another ship passed her in mid-ocean, which conveyed to Great Britain, October, 1813, the news that idolatry was entirely overthrown on the island, and bore to London the rejected idols of the people.” (Text.)--PIERSON, “The Miracles of Missions.”
Repeated practice over years leads to outstanding achievement and recognition.
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A young girl sat singing at the piano. “Sing it again,” said the singing teacher, and the tired girl sang it again and again and again. “But you do not sing it properly, and I question if you will ever make a great singer.” But the little girl tried hard and practised the next day and the next; the next week and the next; the next year and the next. One day she stood before 5,000 men and women, and she sang till she seemed to take them out of themselves and to carry them up in the clouds of enchantment, over seas of melody, into an ecstasy of delight, until the people wept from the excess of their emotions. That girl was Lillian Nordica.--JAMES T. WHITE, “Character Lessons.”
Faithful perseverance in prayer can revive a discouraged church community.
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A pious woman, when it was decided to close the prayer-meeting in a certain village, declared it should not be, for she would be there if no one else was. True to her word, when, the next morning, some one asked her jestingly, “Did you have a prayer-meeting last night?” “Ah, that we did!” she replied. “How many were present?” “Four,” she said. “Why, I heard you were there all alone.” “No, I was the only one visible; but the Father was there, and the Son was there, and the Holy Spirit was there, and we were all agreed in prayer.” Before long others took shame to themselves at the earnest perseverance of the poor woman, the prayer-meeting was revived and the church prospered. (Text.)
Women’s persistent labor in harsh conditions illustrates perseverance in daily life.
See CRIMINALS, TRACING; PERSISTENCE.
PERSIA, THE MOSLEM SITUATION IN
Perhaps I can not illustrate the degraded condition of the people in Persia better than by referring to the condition of women, because the key to the condition of the entire people is the condition occupied by their women. I will illustrate it by describing the manner of cultivating rice in northern Persia, in that portion bordering on the Caspian Sea. Among the people there, the planter as a rule marries as many women as he needs for the cultivation of his rice. They prepare the fields and sow broadcast in a seed-plot. These fields are not very large usually. The women further prepare it for cultivation by flooding the fields with water and then by plowing and cross-plowing under the water, standing in the great pools knee-deep or more. When the rice has grown to the height of six inches or more, the women go out in the early dawn and often they work with their babes strapt on their backs. It is necessary for them to transplant the little blades that have come up in the seed-plot; so they pull the rice plants up by the handful and transplant them, a few plants at a time, working steadily all day long until the evening twilight deepens and it is too dark to work any more, when they take refuge on a little elevation that may or may not be protected by a booth. There they remain during the night and are ready to start work again at the dawn. This they do, day after day. And when the harvest has come, and the crops have been gathered and safely placed in the storehouses, these women are probably divorced and turned out to live lives of misery and shame and degradation, until they may be so fortunate, as they would consider it, as to become the wives of other planters.
I will give you another illustration of their condition. Not long ago I was sitting in my study when a department representative came to me and said that, lying out in the open, behind the Legation, was a poor old sick woman; and he thought perhaps I might be able to do something for her, as she needed attention very badly. I went and investigated the case and found a poor, decrepit old woman. I say old woman, for tho she was only about thirty-five years of age, at thirty-five in Persia they become broken down and decrepit. I investigated her case, and my investigation revealed this story. She had been the wife of a certain man and had gradually been getting blind. She had also fallen and broken her hip-joint, and, being no longer able to do his work, he had carried her out in the open desert and left her to die there. We took her in our hospital, where our doctor cared for her; and when they washed her in order to dress her wounds, they found that she had maggoted bed-sores on her body. We did everything we could for her, and God in His mercy relieved her of her physical sufferings. It was His mercy that placed her in our hands for the last few days of her life, in order that she might hear the story of the love of Christ.--LEWIS F. ESSELST, “Student Volunteer Movement,” 1906.
Success requires enduring many failures and continuing efforts without discouragement.
If the wind is in the east with a blue hazy atmosphere it seems to affect the fish in some unaccountable way, and while it lasts a rise can rarely be got out of them. I have noticed this hundreds of times, often when the water was in splendid fishing order, and the river full of new run fish, but whatever quarter the wind blows from there is always a chance while the fly is in the water, and to insure success the angler must make up his mind to have many blank days. He must never tire of throwing his fly, and never be put out by failure.--H. CHOLMONDELEY-PENNELL, “Fishing.”
Overcoming ridicule and hardship can fuel ambition and personal growth.
I knew a student paying his way through college who was so poor that the wealthier students made fun of him. They were always guying him about his short trousers, seedy clothes, and general out-at-elbow condition. He was so stung by their jibes that he made a vow not only to redeem himself from ridicule, but to make himself a power in the world.
This young man has had most remarkable success, and he says that the rebuffs he met with and the ridicule that was heaped upon him in his student days have been a perpetual stimulus to his ambition to get on in the world.
A successful business man tells me that every victory he has gained in a long career has been the result of hard fighting, so that now he is actually afraid of an easily won success. He feels that there must be something wrong when anything worth while can be obtained without a struggle. Fighting his way to triumph, overcoming obstacles, gives this man pleasure. Difficulties are a tonic to him. He likes to do hard things because it tests his strength, his overcoming ability, his power. He does not like to do easy things because it does not give one the exhilaration, the joy that is felt after a victorious struggle.--_Success._
Persistent effort and faith lead to breakthrough and success in evangelism.
Persuasion is constantly tried, often with no success whatever. The reason of failure is frequently found in the neglect of perseverance.
In a very small Bible class of young men the fall of Jericho was the subject of discussion on a certain Sunday. One of the members suggested that more members might be brought in if some of the faith of the besiegers of old were used. Another member at once suggested that a list of those advisable should be made, and that each should be “encompassed” by calls on seven days, each day by a different man. The suggestion was adopted. Next day a young business man received a visit and an invitation to attend the class next Sunday. He was indifferent and did not promise. On Tuesday the second called and was treated coldly. But on Wednesday when a third man called the effect showed. “Two men have called already; I am considering,” said he. On Thursday when the fourth visitor called, down came the walls. He promised to attend and attended regularly. Others were won. Among them was a musician, who organized a fine orchestra. (Text.)
Fighting evil requires boldness and using the right approach against it.
The people have suffered too much from the saloon to make concessions and adopt the gentle way of trying to smooth down the tiger’s back. They will insist on using Roosevelt’s way with fierce African lions. Wise was that man who, being remonstrated with for prodding the attacking bulldog with the tines of a pitchfork, and asked why he didn’t use the other end, indignantly inquired, “Why didn’t he come at me, then, with the other end?”
Grant’s steady persistence in study exemplifies the value of tenacity in growth.
After Grant got fairly well started in his studies, the best he could say for himself is in this characteristic sentence to his father: “I don’t expect to make very fast progress, but I will try to hold on to what I get.” Here was somewhat a foreshadowing of the bulldog tenacity which afterward made him so famous.--NICHOLAS SMITH, “Grant, the Man of Mystery.”
Early passion and persistence often reveal a person's destined calling and character.
See CLINGING BY FAITH.
TENDENCIES, INHERITED
From earliest childhood, says his mother, Charles Hamilton (the aviator), has given unmistakable evidence of his desire to leave the earth and invade the skies. The mother--who, with perfect confidence in his ability, saw her son go aloft in an aeroplane for the first time and immediately wanted to take a trip on it with him--dates her first realization of this fact to the day when Charles, but eight years old, surreptitiously borrowed her best parasol, climbed with it tightly clutched in his hands to the eaves of the barn, and then jumped off, employing the parasol parachute-wise to break his fall.
He not only broke his fall, but he completely smashed the parasol in that little escapade. But his mother did not have the heart to punish the child for his act because, as she put it, “I realized that, after all, it was only the budding desire to fly that I myself have felt since early girlhood. How could I punish my boy for doing what I always had wanted to do?”
The interim between that barn-and-parasol episode of Hamilton’s achievement of his insatiable ambition--to fly--was the matter of only a few years. He managed to get a balloon man, who was giving exhibitions in a spherical gas bag just outside of New Britain, to take him up. From that moment his fever to invade the sky knew no bounds, and, as he himself put it only a few days ago, never is he happier than when up in his aeroplane doing the now-famous Hamilton dip.
After a lapse of several years, during which he left his beloved machinery and aerial paraphernalia long enough to get in some schooling, Hamilton turned his attention to ballooning on his own account. Then kites of all fashions, shapes and sizes took up his attention. The dirigible balloon coming in, he turned to that, and for four years gave exhibitions that startled the world by their daring and success. Then he returned to the kite end of the game, working with Israel Ludlow along those lines of aviation. Finally he made his first aeroplane ascension, and since then he has done almost everything possible to do with a heavier-than-air machine of the present-day type.
A dying woman’s strong will extended her life despite natural expectations.
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People will insist on living, sometimes, tho manifestly moribund. In Dr. Elder’s life of Kane, you will find a case of this sort, told by Dr. Kane himself. The captain of a ship was dying of scurvy, but the crew mutinied, and he gave up dying for the present to take care of them. An old lady in this city, near her end, got a little vexed about a proposed change in her will; made up her mind not to die just then; ordered a coach; was driven twenty miles to the house of a relative, and lived four years longer.
— OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
