ve money enough to do
more than you want to do at present; but, if you learn habits expensive
enough to spend the whole of it, you are going to be hard up when your
expenses increase, as they will if you marry or assume greater
responsibilities. Therefore, it is necessary for you to practise
self-denial and deny yourself wisely. We have seen that self-denial of
some sort is necessary to everybody who have not fixed their habits, and
by that I mean fixed their habits to such an extent that no change in
their circumstances will induce them to lead a more expensive life. It
becomes obvious that those who have fixed their habits on economical and
praiseworthy lines will not only be the wealthiest, but will be the people
who enjoy the most freedom. It is to them that wealth is a real blessing;
and it is they who make their wealth a blessing to others, always keeping
in mind the personal equation.

It is therefore up to you to choose habits and fix them, so they will
bring about the best result, and thus conduce to your happiness, the merit
of your actions, and the use of your money. How, then, among all the
opportunities which arise shall you choose, how tell which ones of the
luxuries to which you have been accustomed you shall discard?

We have several times spoken of the touchstone we were seeking, one that
will tell what actions are good and what bad, which desires to fulfil and
which to deny. We have now reached something pretty close to our
definition. Gratify those which contribute toward the success of the
object you have in mind: deny yourself those which are detrimental to it,
and which do not tend directly or indirectly toward its accomplishment.

We wish to attain the attitude of mind of a Stoic toward the first class
of desires, and that of a spendthrift almost toward the second. For
example, keep your personal comfort well in bounds, and train yourself to
disregard it entirely; otherwise, you may say farewell to freedom.

Be temperate in eating your food, drinking cold water, taking exposure, in
your hours and in general. For example, it is not a good plan to have too
much of anything which you like particularly. It immediately dulls the
sense of pleasure in that thing, and, raising the level of your likes to a
degree that makes you dislike some other thing, perhaps, which you liked
before, thus working a loss rather than a gain. Therefore, temperance,
which is synonymous of moderation, in my use of the word,