It is the possession of such empty capacities
which makes us personal. Well has it been said that he who can
declare, "I am that I am," is either God or a brute. No human being
can say it. To describe myself as if I were a settled fact is to make
myself a thing. My life is in that which may be. The ideals of
existence are my realities, and "ought" is my peculiar verb. "Is" has
no other application to a person than to mark how far he has advanced
along his ideal line. Were he to pause at any point as if complete, he
would cease to be a person.
VIII
But it is necessary to trace somewhat carefully the method of such
self-development. How do we proceed? Before the architect built the
State House, he drew up a plan of the finished building, and there was
no moving of stone, mortar, or tool, till everything was complete on
paper. Each workman who did anything subsequently did it in deference
to that perfected design. Each stone brought for the great structure
was numbered for its place and had its jointing cut in adaptation to
the remaining stones. If, then, each one of us is to become an
architect of himself, it might seem necessary to lay out a plan of our
complete existence before setting out in life, or at whatever moment
we become aware that henceforth our construction is to be in our own
charge.
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