Hygiene. Conduct. Method. — I swear to myself henceforth to take the following rules as the eternal rules of my life:

Every morning, say my prayer to God, reservoir of all strength and all justice, to my father, to Mariette and to Poe, as intercessors; ask them to grant me the strength necessary to perform all my duties, and to grant my mother a life long enough to enjoy my transformation; work all day, or at least as long as my strength allows; trust in God—that is, in Justice itself—for the success of my plans; say another prayer every evening, to ask God for life and strength for my mother and for myself; divide everything I earn into four shares—one for daily living, one for my creditors, one for my friends and one for my mother;—obey the principles of the strictest sobriety, the first of which is the elimination of all stimulants, whatever they may be.