Men are by nature imitators. All people are more or less impressed by the speech, the manners, the gestures, and even the habits of thinking of those around them. ”Example is the school of mankind,” said Burke, ”and they will learn from no other.” In man, as in the lower animals, imitation is for the most part unconscious; impressions are made without our knowing it. But though they are unheeded, they sink in none the less deeply and their effects are none the less permanent.
Though the force of example is for the most part spontaneous and is acquired unconsciously, the young need not necessarily be the passive followers or imitators of those about them. Not only can they select their companions and decide which are most worthy of imitation, but their own conduct tends to fix the purpose and form the principles of their lives.
Let a young man seek, if possible, the society of men better than himself, and especially of those who do not possess the kind of fault to which he finds himself peculiarly liable, or who possessed it once, but have conquered it. Their example is always inspiring. He corrects his own conduct by theirs, and becomes a partner in their wisdom. If they are stronger in will or character than he is, he becomes a participator in their strength.
Most young men of generous minds, especially if they are readers of books, find heroes to admire. On the contrary, small and ungenerous minds cannot admire anyone heartily. To their own misfortune they cannot recognize, much less reverence, great men and great things. The mean man admires what is mean, as the toad admires nothing but a toad. The small snob finds his ideal of manhood in the great snob. A glutton cannot look beyond his dinner. A man of inferior type, instead of trying to raise himself to the level of his betters, is struck with envy, and regards the success of others, even in a good cause, as a personal offence. On such men example is thrown away. A silk purse cannot be made out of a sow's ear.
One of the great uses of biography is to teach what a man can be and what he can do. The humblest, when they read of this, may admire and take hope. The examples set by the great and good do not die.