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  IV.  DOING BUSINESS FOR OTHERS 150   V.  PRAYING AND HELPING 152   VI.  GIVING THAT COUNTS 155   VII.  EXPENSIVE ECONOMY 157 7.  COURAGE THROUGH COMPANIONSHIP 161   I.  COMPANIONSHIP WITH FRIENDS 162   II.  SUCCESSFUL COMRADES 165   III.  COMPANIONSHIP WITH THE PAST 171   IV.  COMPANIONSHIP WITH NATURE 176   V.  COMPANIONSHIP WITH GOD 183   VI.  A CHAPTER OF—ACCIDENTS? 190 8.  GOD THE SOURCE OF COURAGE 196   I.  THAT'S FOR ME! 197   II.  BANING ON GOD'S PROMISES 201   III.  PRACTICAL PRECEPTS FROM PROVERBS 205   IV.  GETTING CLOSE TO THE BIBLE 210   V.  THE BIBLE AND ONE MAN 213   VI.  OUT OF THE DEPTHS 218

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THE BOOK OF COURAGE

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CHAPTER ONE

THE COURAGE OF SELF-CONQUEST

Alexander the Great conquered most of the world he knew, but he permitted his lower nature to conquer his better self, and he died a disappointed, defeated man.

Before the days of Alexander there was a man named Nehemiah from whom the world-conqueror might have learned a few secrets. He was a poor exile in the service of a foreign ruler. That ruler sent him down to Jerusalem, the capital city of his own home land, with instructions to govern the people there. Now, in those days, it was a common thing for governors of cities to plunder the people unfortunate enough to be in their charge. Thus Nehemiah would have had ample precedent to fill his own coffers by injustice, profiteering and worse: he had the power. Possibly he was tempted to do something of the sort. But he had the courage to shut up tight all baser passions, and then to sit firmly on the lid. In the brief record of his service he referred to some of the self-seeking governors, and told of their rascally deeds. Then he added the significant words, "So did not I."

That was certainly courage—the courage of self-conquest.

As a young man Ulysses S. Grant was a brave soldier, but he nearly wrecked his life because of weak yielding to his appetite. His real career began only with self-conquest. When he found the courage to fight himself—and not until then—he became ready for the marvelous life of high courage that never faltered when he was misunderstood by associates and maligned by enemies, that pressed steadily onward, in the face of biting disease, until work was done, until honor was satisfied.

A little girl four years old came trembling to her mother and asked for pencil and paper. Then, teeth set and eyes flashing, she pounced on the paper and began to make all sorts of vicious marks. Asked what she was doing, she said she was writing a letter to a sister who had offended her by an act that had been misunderstood. "She is not a nice girl," the little critic said, "and I'm telling her so. I don't like her any more, and I'm saying that." As she wrote her hand trembled; she was carried away