Is one of the greatest of God's gifts to man, and, as every man has the germ of this quality, it can be cultivated to great advantage. It outstrips even talent and genius in the race for success in life. Thousands and thousands of brilliant men have failed for the want of courage, faith and decision, perishing in the sight of less gifted, but more adventurous competitors. As Sidney Smith says: "We must not stand shivering on the brink and thinking of the cold and the danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can." The old poem says:

"He either fears his fate too much, Or his deserts are small, That dares not put it to the touch. To gain or lose it all."

Decision of character enables one to do the right thing at the right time. Every one knows that "There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;" but not every one has the ability to tell the time of flood, and many, after telling it, have lost its advantages through lack of nerve to embark upon it before the ebb came, and the opportunity was lost. In the smoke and din of battle, it was the genius of Napoleon, which enabled him to see where one or two bold and rapid movements would secure the advantage; but it was his decision of character which enabled him to profit to the full by the discovery. To be decisive on important occasions, one must keep cool. The Duke of Wellington's calmness never forsook him, even in the most trying emergencies. At sea, one terrible night, the captain of the vessel rushed to the Duke, who was preparing for bed, and announced that the vessel would soon sink. "Then I shall not take off my boots," the imperturbable hero of Waterloo responded as he paused in his preparations for sleep. There is need for this coolness of manner and decision of action in all lines of business.

The surgeon, brought face to face with a sudden complication in the case beneath his knife; the lawyer, surprised by the springing of the trap which his wily opponent had prepared for him; the merchant, apprised of a turn in his enterprises that threatens immediate disaster - all are called upon to exercise this quality, and in thousands of cases the dullest man in a company has obtained the prize simply because he grasped it while others were revolving in their minds what they had better do in order to secure it.