Poverty is a bitter thing; but it is not as bitter as the existence of restless vacuity and physical, moral, and intellectual flabbiness, to which those doom themselves who elect to spend all their years in that vainest of all vain pursuits—the pursuit of mere pleasure as a sufficient end in itself.
In an essay promoting a life of effort and purpose, this passage contrasts the hardship of poverty with the emptiness of a life devoted solely to pleasure.
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The fate of the leader for the time being is of little consequence, but the cause itself must in the end triumph, for its triumph is essential to the well-being of the American people.
Like all other good citizens, I accept the result with entire good humor and contentment.
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