Horace Fletcher - Menticulture

This little paper; being a Kindergarten presentation of a theory of menticulture through the elimination of the germs of the evil passions; proven to be of practical benefit by a personal experience in every-day life; was read before a gathering of Mental Scientists at New Orleans. At the request of a number of my friends I have had it put into printed form for them.

I have added the substance of a discussion which followed the reading of the paper, a diagnosis, a prescription, some scraps of evidence from influential sources which have come to me, some suggestions relative to the tendency to far-away search for happiness, and a ray of hope that it can be found near at hand, through Emancipation.

Medical science had struggled for centuries with the repression and amelioration of physical disease before it discovered the possibility of prevention by killing the germ.

Mental science pursued the same course of attempted repression in this country until quite recently it was found that mental afflictions have germs also, and it naturally follows that any who are interested in the subject should try to discover, not only the germs themselves, but methods of getting rid of them.

The discovery that I have made is not new, as Christ, Buddha, Aristotle, Omar Khayyam and many others, have all suggested that the elimination of the evil passions is entirely possible; but my special analysis of them, and the easy method of defeat that I have found possible to myself, have excited such interest, that I have been induced to publish them, without attempting to follow the subject beyond the elementary stage.

The theory that I have built up is based on a proper estimation of the limitations of mental weaknesses, a discovery that they have roots, and also that they can be "pulled out by the roots" and disposed of just like any other weeds; only that the task, being mental and not physical, can be more easily performed.

Literary grace has been sacrificed in the belief that redundant reference to the germs will be effective in bringing them into contempt.

All of the evil passions are traceable to one of two roots.

Anger is the root of all the aggressive passions.

Worry is the root of all the cowardly passions.

Envy, spite, revenge, impatience, annoyance, selfishness, prejudice, unrest, and the like are all phases of anger.

Jealousy, fear, the belittling of self, the blues, and all the introspective forms of depression are the children of worry.

Anger and worry are the most unprofitable conditions known to man. While they are in possession of the mind, both mental and physical growth are suspended.

Anger and worry are thieves that steal precious time and energy from life.

Anger is a highway robber and worry is a sneak thief.

Anger and worry are the most potent forms of self-abuse, for the reason that in many cases anger is the result of misunderstanding, and in most cases worry's prophecies never come true; or, if they do, the fulfilment is generally caused by the worry itself.

Anger and worry do not stimulate to any good end.

Anger and worry not only dwarf and depress, but sometimes kill.

Anger and worry are bad habits of the mind and not necessary ingredients.

Anger and worry are no more necessary than other passions civilized man has learned to control, and it is only needful to realize that they are unnecessary in order to make it impossible to feel, much less to show them.

Anger and worry cannot be eliminated through process of repression any more than a weed can be killed by cutting down the stalk, or a cancer can be cured from the surface, or the drinking habit can be gotten rid of by "tapering off." Germ eradication is not only the easiest , but the only sure cure for all physical diseases and mental handicaps.

The dispossession of anger and worry does not cause indifference or encourage indolence.

The natural tendency of the emancipated mind is towards growth, both intellectual and spiritual, just as the tendency of plant life is towards vigorous growth and perfect blossoming, if it is kept free from the gnawings of cankerous worms.

Anger and worry are as much parasites as are the cankerous worms that attack plants. The intelligent horticulturist knows that the worms are parasites, picks them off his plant, and throws them away too far to return. The intelligent menticulturist of the future will treat anger and worry in the same intelligent manner.

It is not necessary to engage in battle the small army of lesser passions if you concentrate your efforts against anger and worry, for they are all children of these parents. Oppose them with a bold front; make one heroic stand against them and they and all of their children will fly. Disown them once and the ability to re-adopt them will have disappeared with them.

Anger and worry, especially worry, are the cause of most of the drunkenness and other dissipations which are the curses of the age. Excuse for them or temptation to them is found in the desire to smother the depression which they themselves cause.

Anger and worry are creations of the mind, and can be dispelled by the same power that gave them birth.

Anger and worry are caused by phantoms that we create within ourselves and whose only strength is that with which we endow them.

Anger and worry are like echoes; they do not exist until we call for them, and the louder we call, the louder is their response. We can never drown them; yet, if let alone, they drown themselves.

Fear is possibly the truer name for the cowardly root-passion than worry; but as they are synonymous, and as anger and worry are more frequently used together, and worry has a less formidable sound, I have chosen to present it for attack under that title.

While the evil passions align themselves into two classes, as the offshoots of Anger and Worry; they are, in fact, all growths from one root. Worry (or fear) is the male principle, as it were, without which, all the others wither and die. For instance; if we do not worry, we do not fear; and if we do not fear aggression, or insult, or slight, we do not become angry. We quarrel most frequently with what we fear is thought or intended by our adversary, and least frequently with what he actually does or thinks. On the other hand our adversary endows us with intentions which he himself creates, and each puts his own fuel on the fire, to increase the heat of the controversy.

In Emancipation there is no fear, (or worry) and consequently no fuel for discord.

Emancipation is a disarmament which disarms others, but adds strength to itself.

To the Emancipated every moment is a delight, or a moment of calm, during which he is susceptible only to good impressions, and the best interpretation of everything, no matter what the external conditions. Even in cases of sickness, the tendency of the emancipated mind is so inclined to gratitude for the limitations of the calamity, that it has little if any room left for regret. Its thankful appreciation of a half loaf of blessings, leaves no place for disappointment that it is not a whole one, and it certainly has no desire to question the wisdom of the process of evolution to which it is related.

To question or to regret the inevitable seems to the emancipated mind the greatest folly imaginable. It certainly is as foolish as barking at the moon.

"Sweet sorrow" must not be classed with the depressing passions. It is the tenderest expression of love. If tears of love or of sympathy spring to the eyes, do not repress them; do not be ashamed of them; they are like dew from Heaven and promote the growth of the soul.