Life is a leaf of paper white, Whereon each one of us may write His word or two, and then comes night. Greatly begin! Though thou have time But for a line, be that sublime, - Not failure, but low aim, is crime. - LOWELL. -Chapter IX One in a series of phenomenal bestsellers in its day, CHARACTER: THE GRANDEST THING IN THE WORLD was first published in 1899 and remains a little-known classic in the literature of personal development. As a predecessor of today's personal success gurus reminiscent of Stephen Covey and Anthony Robbins, Marden's goal here is to catalog those traits essential who set high ideals for themselves in seeking "the grandest thing in the world." Also available from Cosimo Classics: Marden's Cheerfulness as a Life Power and Pushing to the Front, Vols. 1 and 2. AUTHOR BIO: American writer and editor ORISON SWETT MARDEN (1850-1924) was born in New England and studied at Boston University and Andover Theological Seminary. In 1897, he founded Success Magazine.