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Life Advice for Young Men That Went Viral in the 1850's
- swombat 13y ago"Never play at any kind of game."??? Right... This may have been of interest and gone "viral" 150 years ago, but I fail to see how it's of much interest today... That some of the advice is still relevant is hardly surprising. After all, human nature has changed very little over the last few thousand years...
- humanrebar 13y agoI'm guessing that's either a reference to gambling or a caution against unproductive fun in general.
- nikz 13y agoAre you sure it's not more along the lines of "don't 'play' at it, do it properly?" Perhaps I'm reading too much into it. I guess that's the problem with this sort of vague generalised advice :)
- coldtea 13y ago>Right... This may have been of interest and gone "viral" 150 years ago, but I fail to see how it's of much interest today... And then you go to someplace like Vegas and see people playing in some kinds of games and losing it all. One example of how it can be of interest today. Or you see young people be X times more productive than another, because they don't waste their time playing some BS console game. Another example.
- dasil003 13y agoOn the other hand, I doubt they could have imagined the riches earned by professional athletes today. And what about professional gamers? I think they're heads might explode.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- coldtea 13y agoTrue, but since those are 1 in a million or less, their advice still holds. (Except for people who always assume the will be the exception -- Vegas is full of them also).
- grecy 13y agoI assumed the meaning was about "playing games" in the sense of gossip, innuendo and lies. Don't be devious and underhanded, be genuine.
- dmazin 13y agoSome of these are outdated, some are flawed, and some are plain Victorian silliness. But this maxim is one of the most important that I guide myself by, and the way it's stated really resonates with me: "Your character can never be essentially injured except by your own acts." And if it spoke to you too, you should read Marcus Aurelius.
- cperciva 13y ago> "Your character can never be essentially injured except by your own acts." In a similar direction, but I think more powerful, is this one: "If any one speak ill of you, let your life be so virtuous that none will believe him."
- dmazin 13y agoAbsolutely not. This is not about others' opinions, which you cannot ultimately control. This is about your own action, which is the only thing you can.
- cperciva 13y agoI believe the word "character" means "reputation" in this context.
- dmazin 13y agoIf we define it that way, I agree, but this is not a useful guide, imo. You cannot control your reputation, though of course treating others well should be extremely important.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- brc 13y agoNot really. If you conduct yourself in a way that makes a lie of half-truth seem implausible, then those lies will never catch on. There are a great many 'trtuhs' about people out there that are actually complete untruths. But they gain traction because they confirm an exiting belief about a person. Presidents are particularly susceptible to that, especially where the lie adheres to an impression of character. A person who is forthright and honest in their dealings, and consistently hard working and punctual will find that other people gossiping about them will have little effect. This you can control what others think by being of good character.
- gaius 13y ago"Have no very intimate friends"?
- rfnslyr 13y agoFuck buddies.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- HarryRotha 13y agoThat sounds like a stereotypical victorian thing.
- im3w1l 13y agoWhat is it meant to achieve?
- lobo_tuerto 13y agoBe cautious of the backstabbing, blackmail, gossip you might/can get involved in if you trust the wrong person. Personally it's hard for me to imagine life without deep trust friendships.
- auggierose 13y agoYou can separate this into two statements: 1) Your wife/husband is not your friend. 2) Your friend is not your wife/husband.
- brc 13y agoI take it as don't really, deeply trust anyone. It's hard to unpack given the drift in meanings of things like 'intimate'. It could mean don't have affairs with women, or it could mean don't go sharing your secrets. Given the very next line is about keeping secrets to yourself, that's how I take it.
- cup 13y agoReminds me of some of the advice early Islamic scholars would give people, particularly contemplating over God and death regularly.
- humanrebar 13y agoConsidering that America was overwhelmingly Christian and that many of the maxims borrow ideas from Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Psalms, it isn't surprising.
- Tycho 13y agoI like the one about how if you cannot be employed, rather than being idle you should cultivate your mind. True now more than ever with all our access to online university education etc.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- JasonFruit 13y agoThere are a lot of comments here asserting that this advice is outdated. That is exactly why it is important. The present is a vast echo chamber, which constantly repeats what we now believe, what is consistent with our values; it is critical that we listen to voices from the past that can make us question our beliefs and values. Many — even most — of these seem to me excellent guides to an upright and moral life.
- dmazin 13y agoEr, yeah, I feel like a lot of the outdated comments are regarding the sexually negative or blatantly sexist maxims. And honestly, I don't mind an echo chamber of treating ourselves and others right.
- FellowTraveler 13y agoWhich maxims, specifically, did you think were sexist?
- tommorris 13y ago"Do not marry till you are able to support a wife." It's not so much sexist as just outdated. Sometimes the wife will be supporting the husband. Sometimes the "wife" will actually be a husband. Sometimes there will be something close to parity between partners. At some points in a person's life they'll be economically on the up-and-up while the other isn't, and the situation might reverse, in which case the direction of support ought to change.
- Unosolo 13y agoI believe this still to be a very good advice and applies to both sexes. In family life circumstances when a household must depend only on a single source of income are abound. Families where each participating adult can provide a basic standard of living for the entire family in times of need are much stronger financially.
- 13y ago
- thenerdfiles 13y ago"Never question a qoat by the horns." And nebulously: "You might put a kitten in the oven, but that won't make you biscuits." Anyway. All of these lines given describe natural behavior ("Mull over your day's work before bed"), are practically useless ("Always speak the truth"), or are outright naive, for any time period ("Your reputation cannot essentially..." — "Essentially"? Essentialism, really?) Victorian existentialist hubris embodies men's egalitarian negligence thoroughly (VEHEMENT).