Do not crawl on your belly, like a worm; do not humble yourself in the dust and call upon heaven to witness what a despicable creature you are; do not call yourself a "miserable sinner," worthy only of eternal damnation. No! A thousand times, No! Rise to your feet; raise your head and face the skies; throw back your shoulders, and fill your lungs with Nature's ozone. Then say to yourself, I AM a part of the Eternal Life Principle: I AM created after the Divine image; I AM filled with Divine Breath of Life; Nothing can hurt ME, for I AM a part of the ETERNAL.

Go your way, friend, strong in your new resolves, strong in your newfound strength. Do your duty, first to yourself; then to your fellowmen. Recognize the Brotherhood of Man; realize that all men are your brothers - pretty poor lot of relations, but brothers at that. Do not impose on your brother-man, but do not let him impose on you. If you give in to him against your judgment and conscience, you not only hurt yourself, but also injure him. Do not start fights; but let no man smite you with impunity. If a man smites you on one cheek, do not turn to him the other, but do a little smiting on your own account - and smite hard. Do not smite him with Hate in your heart, and do not hesitate to forgive him after he has "come to." The doctrine of nonresistance is misunderstood; it does not mean that you should be a backboneless creature - a sheep-like, rabbit-hearted specimen of humanity. No, no; when you allow a man to impose on you and wrong you, you are not acting right toward the other man; duty to him demands that you let him know just "where he is at." I am speaking of real aggression or invasion of your rights, now, not of fancied wrongs or mountains made of molehills; that is the other extreme. But do not allow Hate to find a lodging place in your heart. Go through the world "with the grace of God in your heart, and a good, strong hickory club in your hand." Don't use the club for offense (never do that), but keep it around to defend yourself with. If you are "clad in the armor of a righteous cause," and the world sees that you have self-respect and will stand no nonsense, it will treat you with respect. The dog who maintains a confident, calm demeanor, is in but little danger of feeling the boot-toe of the passerby but the white-livered cur who draws himself up, and places his tail between his legs that he may present a better aim for the kick - gets the kick. He gets what he expects. What is true of the dog is equally true of the man. If you have followed the advice and instructions contained in this little work, you will not have many kicks aimed at you. But, remember - no kicking of dogs on your part - you must be above that.