The Investment of Influence: A Study of Social Sympathy and Service

Newell Dwight HillisProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.8

Word count: 334K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Investment of Influence: A Study of Social Sympathy and Service by HillisAuthor: Hillis, Newell Dwight, 1858-1929,Language: English, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Dec 10, 2005

Editor's review

This book is a collection of ethical essays by the late nineteenth-century American minister and writer Newell Dwight Hillis on social sympathy and the spirit of service, a classic in the public domain. Centered on the metaphor that influence is a kind of investable capital, it discusses how personal character, interpersonal sympathy, and selfless service produce chain effects in society. Hillis writes in the rhetorical style of Victorian sermon literature, skillfully using anecdotes about historical figures and moral exhortation; the reading retains both the persuasive power of moral suasion and the social observational perspective of that era. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it is easily accessible and serves as a sample of popular writing on late nineteenth-century American moral philosophy and religious ethics, and as a reference for readers studying the origins of social service thought. It is best read as material for intellectual history rather than as a modern self-help manual, noting its historical limitations while drawing on its enduring themes of responsibility and interpersonal care.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late nineteenth-century American moral philosophy and religious ethics
Humanities students studying the intellectual origins of social service and volunteerism
Readers who enjoy classic moral essays and are willing to read the original English slowly
Self-learners who need free public-domain English texts for close reading

Not a good fit for

Self-help readers expecting modern empirical psychology or practical methods
Readers who prefer fast-paced narrative and lack patience for sermon style
Those who struggle with English reading and are unwilling to use reference tools

Reading tips

Read the table of contents first to grasp the argumentative thread of "influence—sympathy—service," then read chapter by chapter.
After each chapter, write a two- or three-sentence summary in your own words to check whether you have grasped the author's core claims.
Look up the background of historical allusions as you go, so that unfamiliarity does not interrupt comprehension.
After finishing the book, revisit the preface or conclusion to assess whether its arguments still hold today.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a collection of essays?

It is a collection of discursive essays on social sympathy and service, belonging to ethical and religious writing rather than fictional narrative. The book advances its views through argument and example at a slow pace, requiring the reader to read thoughtfully.

Can someone with average English read this book?

The text is late nineteenth-century English, with many long sentences and rhetorical flourishes and fairly formal vocabulary. Intermediate or higher English reading ability is recommended, or reading alongside a dictionary or translation; otherwise it is easy to lose the thread in long sentences.

Why is this book worth reading today?

It offers a window into late nineteenth-century American moral discourse, and its discussion of personal influence and social responsibility can be compared with contemporary issues of public life. It is better read as intellectual history than as an action guide.

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About the author

Newell Dwight Hillis Author · American · 1858–1929

Newell Dwight Hillis (1858–1929) was an American Congregational minister, author, and lecturer, born in 1858 in Magnolia, Iowa. From 1899 he served for more than twenty years as pastor of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, and after Beecher he became one of America's prominent preachers. He wrote more than twenty books, six of which are held in this collection, mostly on religion, self-improvement, and current affairs. His representative works include A Man's Value to Society, The Investment of Influence, and Right Living as a Fine Art, which focus on self-culture, character formation, social sympathy, and service; two further works address German questions during the First World War and bear a clear polemical stamp of their time. His writing combines moral exhortation with practical concern, and his lecturing style shaped his prose.