These and many other similar questions have arisen in my mind as I have observed men likeHenry Ford， who started at scratch， and built anIndustrial Empire of huge proportions， with littleelse in the way of a beginning but PERSISTENCE. Or，Thomas A. Edison， who， with less than three monthsof schooling， became the world’s leading inventorand converted PERSISTENCE into the talkingmachine， the moving picture machine， and theincandescent light， to say nothing of half a hundredother useful inventions.
I had the happy privilege of analyzing both Mr. Edison and Mr. Ford， year by year， over a longperiod of years， and therefore， the opportunity tostudy them at close range， so I speak from actualknowledge when I say that I found no quality savePERSISTENCE， in either of them， that even remotelysuggested the major source of their stupendousachievements.
As one makes an impartial study of the prophets，philosophers， “miracle” men， and religious leadersof the past， one is drawn to the inevitable conclusionthat PERSISTENCE， concentration of effort， andDEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE， were the major sourcesof their achievements.
Consider， for example， the strange and fascinatingstory of Mohammed； analyze his life， compare himwith men of achievement in this modern age ofindustry and finance， and observe how they have oneoutstanding trait in common， PERSISTENCE！
If you are keenly interested in studying the strangepower which gives potency to PERSISTENCE， reada biography of Mohammed， especially the oneby Essad Bey. This brief review of that book， byThomas Sugrue， in the Herald-Tribune， will providea preview of the rare treat in store for those who takethe time to read the entire story of one of the mostastounding examples of the power of PERSISTENCEknown to civilization.
THE LAST GREAT PROPHET
Reviewed by Thomas Sugrue“Mohammed was a prophet， but he never performed a miracle. He was not a mystic； he hadno formal schooling； he did not begin his missionuntil he was forty. When he announced that he wasthe Messenger of God， bringing word of the truereligion， he was ridiculed and labeled a lunatic.
Children tripped him and women threw filth uponhim. He was banished from his native city， Mecca，and his followers were stripped of their worldlygoods and sent into the desert after him. When hehad been preaching ten years he had nothing toshow for it but banishment， poverty and ridicule. Yetbefore another ten years had passed， he was dictatorof all Arabia， ruler of Mecca， and the head of a NewWorld religion which was to sweep to the Danubeand the Pyrenees before exhausting the impetus hegave it. That impetus was three-fold： the power ofwords， the efficacy of prayer and man’s kinship withGod.
“His career never made sense. Mohammed was born to impoverished members of a leading familyof Mecca. Because Mecca， the crossroads of theworld， home of the magic stone called the Caaba，great city of trade and the center of trade routes， wasunsanitary， its children were sent to be raised in thedesert by Bedouins. Mohammed was thus nurtured，drawing strength and health from the milk of nomad，vicarious mothers. He tended sheep and soon hiredout to a rich widow as leader of her caravans. Hetraveled to all parts of the Eastern World， talkedwith many men of diverse beliefs and observed thedecline of Christianity into warring sects. When hewas twenty-eight， Khadija， the widow， looked uponhim with favor， and married him. Her father wouldhave objected to such a marriage， so she got himdrunk and held him up while he gave the paternalblessing. For the next twelve years Mohammedlived as a rich and respected and very shrewd trader.
Then he took to wandering in the desert， and oneday he returned with the first verse of the Koran andtold Khadija that the archangel Gabriel had appearedto him and said that he was to be the Messenger ofGod.
“The Koran， the revealed word of God， was theclosest thing to a miracle in Mohammed’s life. Hehad not been a poet； he had no gift of words. Yet theverses of the Koran， as he received them and recitedthem to the faithful， were better than any verseswhich the professional poets of the tribes couldproduce. This， to the Arabs， was a miracle. To themthe gift of words was the greatest gift， the poet wasall-powerful. In addition the Koran said that all menwere equal before God， that the world should be ademocratic state—Islam. It was this political heresy，plus Mohammed’s desire to destroy all the 360 idolsin the courtyard of the Caaba， which brought abouthis banishment. The idols brought the desert tribesto Mecca， and that meant trade. So the business menof Mecca， the capitalists， of which he had been one，set upon Mohammed. Then he retreated to the desertand demanded sovereignty over the world.
“The rise of Islam began. Out of the desert came a flame which would not be extinguished—a democratic army fighting as a unit and preparedto die without wincing. Mohammed had invitedthe Jews and Christians to join him； for he was notbuilding a new religion. He was calling all whobelieved in one God to join in a single faith. If theJews and Christians had accepted his invitationIslam would have conquered the world. Theydidn’t. They would not even accept Mohammed’sinnovation of humane warfare. When the armies ofthe prophet entered Jerusalem not a single personwas killed because of his faith. When the crusadersentered the city， centuries later， not a Moslem man，woman， or child was spared. But the Christians didaccept one Moslem idea—the place of learning， theuniversity.”