Menticulture
Horace Fletcher
Horace Fletcher
Menticulture / or the A-B-C of True Living
This little paper; being a Kindergarten presentation of a theory of menticulture through the elimination of the germs of the evil passions; proven to be of practical benefit by a personal experience in every-day life; was read before a gathering of Mental Scientists at New Orleans. At the request of a number of my friends I have had it put into printed form for them.
I have added the substance of a discussion which followed the reading of the paper, a diagnosis, a prescription, some scraps of evidence from influential sources which have come to me, some suggestions relative to the tendency to far-away search for happiness, and a ray of hope that it can be found near at hand, through Emancipation.
PREFACE
Medical science had struggled for centuries with the repression and amelioration of physical disease before it discovered the possibility of prevention by killing the germ.
Mental science pursued the same course of attempted repression in this country until quite recently it was found that mental afflictions have germs also, and it naturally follows that any who are interested in the subject should try to discover, not only the germs themselves, but methods of getting rid of them.
The discovery that I have made is not new, as Christ, Buddha, Aristotle, Omar Khayyam and many others, have all suggested that the elimination of the evil passions is entirely possible; but my special analysis of them, and the easy method of defeat that I have found possible to myself, have excited such interest, that I have been induced to publish them, without attempting to follow the subject beyond the elementary stage.
The theory that I have built up is based on a proper estimation of the limitations of mental weaknesses, a discovery that they have roots, and also that they can be "pulled out by the roots" and disposed of just like any other weeds; only that the task, being mental and not physical, can be more easily performed.
Literary grace has been sacrificed in the belief that redundant reference to the germs will be effective in bringing them into contempt.
THEORY
В В В В Anger and Worry are Germs
All of the evil passions are traceable to one of two roots.
Anger is the root of all the aggressive passions.
Worry is the root of all the cowardly passions.
Envy, spite, revenge, impatience, annoyance, selfishness, prejudice, unrest, and the like are all phases of anger.
Jealousy, fear, the belittling of self, the blues, and all the introspective forms of depression are the children of worry.
Anger and worry are the most unprofitable conditions known to man. While they are in possession of the mind, both mental and physical growth are suspended.
В В В В Anger and Worry are Thieves
Anger and worry are thieves that steal precious time and energy from life.
Anger is a highway robber and worry is a sneak thief.
Anger and worry are the most potent forms of self-abuse, for the reason that in many cases anger is the result of misunderstanding, and in most cases worry's prophecies never come true; or, if they do, the fulfilment is generally caused by the worry itself.
Anger and worry do not stimulate to any good end.
Anger and worry not only dwarf and depress, but sometimes kill.
Anger and worry are bad habits of the mind and not necessary ingredients.
Anger and worry are no more necessary than other passions civilized man has learned to control, and it is only needful to realize that they are unnecessary in order to make it impossible to feel, much less to show them.
Anger and worry cannot be eliminated through process of repression any more than a weed can be killed by cutting down the stalk, or a cancer can be cured from the surface, or the drinking habit can be gotten rid of by "tapering off." Germ eradication is not only the easiest, but the only sure cure for all physical diseases and mental handicaps.
The dispossession of anger and worry does not cause indifference or encourage indolence.
The natural tendency of the emancipate