Men in the Making

Excerpt

The addresses which make up this book are printed, almost exactly, as
they were spoken from my pulpit in Glasgow.  I have yielded to repeated
requests that I would put them in a more permanent form than memory, or
notes, can supply.  There is always room for a book to young men; whether
or not the book I now offer them is worth its room, is a matter about
which I, possibly, am not the best judge.  This I can say:  There was a
time in my life when I should have been helped, had I met through the
spoken word, or printed page, some of the things I have tried to say as
faithfully as I know how to say them, within the limits of taste and
discretion.  Whatever these addresses lack in thought, and in the
handling of the subjects discussed, I have done my best to make them
readable.  In the case of the average young man of to-day, if a book does
not interest him in the matter of style, any other merits it may possess
will have a weakened chance of making themselves felt.  If I have failed
to meet this one condition of securing his attention—­provided he give me
a fair trial—­I shall be disappointed and, to be candid, surprised. 
Should, however, his interest be tolerably well sustained through the
ethical part of these addresses, say to the end of the chapter on “The
Royal Law,” I shall, perhaps, have no reason to complain.  At the same
time I would advise him to persevere with the rest, even at the cost of
some effort.