Project Gutenberg 2003-10-01 Public domain in the USA. 186 Marden, Orison Swett 1848 1924 Eclectic School Readings: Stories from Life Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines "Eclectic School Readings: Stories from Life" by Orison Swett Marden is a collection of inspirational stories written during the late 19th century. The book aims to motivate young people by sharing life stories and incidents of notable figures who overcame adversity, displaying themes of ambition, perseverance, and the transformative power of hard work, regardless of one's humble beginnings. The opening portion of the collection introduces the overarching theme of the value of time and the importance of utilizing the present moment to achieve greatness. Marden emphasizes that today holds the key to one’s future, urging readers to take full advantage of their opportunities. Following this, the story of Henry Clay, famously known as the "Mill Boy of the Slashes," illustrates how a young boy from a poor background aspired to become an orator. Despite facing numerous hardships and societal discouragements, Clay dedicated himself to his dream, ultimately rising to prominence as one of America’s leading statesmen. This setup not only sets the tone for the motivational narratives to follow but also serves to inspire readers that hard work and tenacity can lead to remarkable achievements in life. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 66.7 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Readers PE PZ Text Category: Short Stories Category: Children & Young Adult Reading Category: Parenthood & Family Relations 331881 2025-08-02T12:05:31.939418 text/html 319615 2020-12-28T03:48:15 text/html 211385 2025-08-02T12:05:39.723888 application/epub+zip 215571 2025-08-02T12:05:35.137359 application/epub+zip 189282 2025-08-02T12:05:33.932393 application/epub+zip 396217 2025-08-02T12:05:42.979823 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 382932 2025-08-02T12:05:38.960840 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 317517 2022-09-02T15:24:29.874233 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 301532 2025-08-02T12:05:31.293457 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 301449 2020-12-28T03:48:15 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18692 2025-08-02T12:05:43.110877 application/rdf+xml 15016 2025-08-02T12:05:34.442345 image/jpeg 3473 2025-08-02T12:05:34.187368 image/jpeg 123244 2020-12-28T03:48:15 application/octet-stream application/zip 120312 2020-12-28T03:48:15 application/octet-stream application/zip 203959 2025-08-02T12:05:31.968365 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia