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180 only by himself. Thought and action are the jailers of Fate -
181 they imprison, being base; they are also the angels of
182 Freedom - they liberate, being noble. Not what he wishes and
183 prays for does a man get, but what he justly earns. His wishes
184 and prayers are only gratified and answered when they
185 harmonize with his thoughts and actions.
186 In the light of this truth, what, then, is the meaning of
187 "fighting against circumstances"? It means that a man is
188 continually revolting against an effect without, while all the
189 time he is nourishing and preserving its cause in his heart.
190 That cause may take the form of a conscious vice or an
191 unconscious weakness; but whatever it is, it stubbornly
192 retards the efforts of its possessor, and thus calls aloud for
193 remedy.
194 Men are anxious to improve their circumstances but are
195 unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain
196 bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion
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