The Young Man's Guide
First published in 1834, this is one of the earliest American guides to self-improvement, written by a physician and moralist who happened to be cousin to Bronson Alcott and great-uncle to Louisa May Alcott. William A. Alcott addresses young men at a pivotal moment in American history, when the new nation was still defining what it meant to be a virtuous citizen. The book offers earnest, deeply practical guidance on forming character, cultivating industry, managing finances, and conducting oneself in social and business matters. It pulses with the conviction that personal virtue and public usefulness are inseparable, that a young man who strives for excellence will naturally become a better son, neighbor, and citizen. Some passages feel dated in their assumptions about who deserves counsel, but the underlying ambition feels startlingly modern: the belief that you can shape your own destiny through deliberate choice and moral discipline. For readers curious about the roots of American self-help culture, or anyone interested in what Victorians thought it meant to live well, this guide remains surprisingly absorbing.
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“He who only aims at little, will accomplish but little. Expect great things, and attempt great things.””
— William A. Alcott
“Of all persons living, he who does not remember that he has once been young, is the most completely disqualified for giving youthful counsel.””
— William A. Alcott
“Too many young men expect happiness from wealth. This is their great object of study and action, by night and by day. Not that they suppose there is an inherent value in the wealth itself, but only that it will secure the means of procuring the happiness they so ardently desire. But the farther they go, in the pursuit of wealth, for the sake of happiness, especially if successful in their plans and business, the more they forget their original purpose, and seek wealth for the sake of wealth. To get rich, is their principal motive to action. So it is in regard to the exclusive pursuit of sensual pleasure, or civil distinction. The farther we go, the more we lose our original character, and the more we become devoted to the objects of pursuit, and incapable of being roused by other motives.””
— William A. Alcott
“He who would pass the latter part of his life with honor and decency, must, when he is young, consider that he shall one day be old, and when he is old, remember that he has once been young.””
— William A. Alcott
“He who will not work shall not eat.' Yet, so strong is the propensity to be thought 'gentlemen;' so general is this desire amongst the youth of this proud money making nation, that thousands upon thousands of them are, at this moment, in a state which may end in starvation; not so much because they are too lazy to earn their bread, as because they are too proud!””
— William A. Alcott
“Nearly every person you meet is aiming at a situation in which he will be exempted from the drudgery of laboring with his hands. We cannot all become “lords” and “gentlemen.””
— William A. Alcott
“To live in idleness, even if you have the means, is not only injurious to yourself, but a species of fraud upon the community, and the children”
— William A. Alcott
“Resolution is almost omnipotent. Those little words “try” and “begin” are sometimes great in their results. “I can’t” never accomplished anything. “I will try” has achieved wonders.””
— William A. Alcott
“Some start in life without any leading objective at all; some with a low one; and some aim high”
— William A. Alcott
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Alcott, William A.. The Young Man's Guide. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-young-man-s-guide-1db277db-b699-437e-a87e-c43dd3f35af9.Alcott, W. A. (n.d.). The Young Man's Guide. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-young-man-s-guide-1db277db-b699-437e-a87e-c43dd3f35af9Alcott, William A.. The Young Man's Guide. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-young-man-s-guide-1db277db-b699-437e-a87e-c43dd3f35af9.
