Library / Philosophy

Self-Help

Samuel Smiles

Stop waiting for others to fix what is up to you. The great Victorian classic of effort: dozens of real lives showing how character is forged by patient work.

Reading: 13 chapters
Format: Text + tutor
Price: $4.99

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About the book

A work to return to, not to consume.

Published in 1859, Self-Help was one of the best-selling books of Victorian England. Samuel Smiles starts from a well-known maxim, “Heaven helps those who help themselves”, and backs it with concrete stories rather than theory. Inventors, potters, scientists, artists, merchants and workers who studied at night pass through thirteen chapters on perseverance, energy, order in business, the use of money, self-culture, example and character. His central idea is that daily persistence counts for more than genius and effort for more than origin. Some ideas about class and nation belong to their time, and the tutor helps you read them in context. What lasts is a gallery of lives, told with names, dates and setbacks, that make you want to get to work.

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Answers from this edition and says when it interprets beyond a quote.

“HEAVEN helps those who help themselves” is a well-tried maxim

Samuel Smiles · — Chapter 1

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Inside the book

Chapters

01
Chapter I: Self-Help—National and Individual38 min read
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02
Chapter II: Leaders of Industry—Inventors and Producers58 min read
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03
Chapter III: Three Great Potters—Palissy, Böttger, Wedgwood39 min read
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04
Chapter IV: Application and Perseverance36 min read
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05
Chapter V: Helps and Opportunities—Scientific Pursuits54 min read
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06
Chapter VI: Workers in Art73 min read
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07
Chapter VII: Industry and the Peerage31 min read
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08
Chapter VIII: Energy and Courage61 min read
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09
Chapter IX: Men of Business39 min read
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10
Chapter X: Money—Its Use and Abuse36 min read
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11
Chapter XI: Self-Culture—Facilities and Difficulties70 min read
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12
Chapter XII: Example—Models34 min read
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13
Chapter XIII: Character—The True Gentleman41 min read
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The author

Samuel Smiles

Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) was a Scottish doctor, journalist and reformer. After practicing medicine in his hometown of Haddington, he moved to Leeds, where he edited a newspaper and later worked in railway administration. This book grew out of talks he gave to young workers who studied in the evenings. He also wrote biographies of engineers and other books on character, thrift and duty.

Questions

Is it too old for today?

Some ideas about class or nation are from 1859, and the tutor helps you read them in context. The stories of persistence still work.

Am I really talking with Samuel Smiles?

No. The conversation is an AI recreation* inspired by the text: it is not Samuel Smiles and it can be wrong. Use it to think the book through, not as the author's own word.

How much does it cost?

The book costs US$4.99, or it comes included in ChaTutor Plus. You can read the opening of chapter 1 without signing up. A free account unlocks the whole chapter, the tutor and a full book free every week.

Is the book complete?

Yes: the complete text, chapter by chapter, in English and Spanish.

* AI recreation. Not the author; it may contain errors.