Take two boys， as nearly alike as possible. Place one in the country away from the hothouse culture and refinements of the city， with only the district school， the Sunday school， and a few books. Remove wealth and props of every kind； and， if he has the right kind of material in him， he will thrive. Every obstacle overcome lends him strength for the next conflict. If he falls， he rises with more determination than before. Like a rubber ball， the harder the obstacle it meets the higher it rebounds. Obstacles and opposition are but apparatus of the gymnasium in which the fibers of his manhood are developed. He compels respect and recognition from those who have ridiculed his poverty. Put the other boy in a Vanderbilt family. Give him French and German nurses； gratify every wish. Place him under the tutelage of great masters and send him to Harvard. Give him thousands a year for spending money， and let him travel extensively.
The two meet. The city lad is ashamed of his country brother. The plain， threadbare clothes， hard hands， tawny face， and awkward manner of the country boy make sorry contrast with the genteel appearance of the other. The poor boy bemoans his hard lot， regrets that he has “no chance in life，” and envies the city youth. He thinks that it is a cruel Providence that places such a wide gulf between them. They meet again as men， but how changed！ It is as easy to distinguish the sturdy， self-made man from the one who has been propped up all his life by wealth， position， and family influence， as it is for the shipbuilder to tell the difference between the plank from the rugged mountain oak and one from the sapling of the forest. If you think there is no difference， place each plank in the bottom of a ship， and test them in a hurricane at sea.
“如果没有绞刑架，我们的职业将会多么美好！”两个强盗恰巧路过一个绞刑架，其中一个如是说。“傻瓜，你真笨！”另一个回答说，“对我们来说，绞刑架必不可少，因为如果没有它，人人都能做强盗了。”同样的道理，每一门艺术、一桩买卖或任何领域，都会存在着困难，将那些不值得一提的竞争者吓跑。