Excerpt from Alfred the Great
Preliminary Word. - Great men, in the high sense Of that term, do not become such by acci dent. They have that within them which impels them, constrains them, to great deeds. Their souls reach up and out for conquests. They find it no insuperable task to rise above the commonplace in endeavor, and to soar where others creep. Wheth er by superior genius Or noble resolve such ac quire genuine distinction by sheer force of charac ter - never by chance. Let him believe in chance greatness who may; the verdict of a thinking world is that cause produces effect, and that the doers of the ages are those to whom Faith and Duty are the bugle-calls to achievement.
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