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 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
WINCHESTER HALL 
 
SELF-DEVELOPMENT 
 
 OR THE 
 
 UNFOLDING OF THE FACULTIES 
 UNDER SELF-CULTURE. 
 
 A SERIES OF ESSAYS, 
 
 ADDRESSED TO YOUTHS 
 IN COLLEGE, AND AT HOME. 
 
 By 
 
 WINCHESTER HALL. 
 
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 BROADWAY 
 COMPANY :: 
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 PUB LISHING 
 
 835 BROADWAY 
 
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 Copyright, 190S1 
 
 WINCHESTER HALL. 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
To THE Youths of our 
 
 Free and United States^ 
 
 Who are Eager to move Upward, 
 
 AS They move Onward: 
 
 I Dedicate these Essays. 
 
 WINCHESTER HALL. 
 
 PocoMOKE City, Md. 
 May, 1904. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 There is to me no more interesting spectacle, 
 than a youth on the threshold of a career — the 
 future hopeful ; with an unconscious yearning in 
 his heart to have the world better for his living. 
 He carefully overlooks that career, and feels that 
 he must pursue it, so as to win the approval of 
 good men, and the approbation of his conscience. 
 Perhaps he stands alone, amid unfriendly sur- 
 roundings, without material aid ; without an eye 
 to mark him, or a voice to whisper, "God speed 
 thee!" Perhaps his genial and attractive man- 
 ners have already surrounded him with friends, 
 solicitous for his welfare ; or perhaps, he may 
 have ample material aid; and kin, very dear, 
 who expect him to keep lustrous a family name. 
 In one case or the other, natural parts so far 
 transcend all environment as to differ only in 
 individuality. 
 
 In that career the battle of life is to be 
 fought ; he wishes to be in the thickest of the fray, 
 and knows he must equip himself for the combat, 
 with a completeness that will bear down all op- 
 position ; and force the struggle to end in victory. 
 I tender to him aid and sympathy. Over four 
 
vl Preface. 
 
 score years have I walked the earth, and the scars 
 of battle are mute reminders of a record. 
 
 Youth has all the requirements which ensure 
 success, commensurate with ability, save the ex- 
 perience which in the nature of things he cannot 
 have. I purpose to give it to him as I have re- 
 ceived it from others; and in a lesser measure 
 from my own. Armed as he may be, still he 
 may often be defeated ; let him never be disheart- 
 ened. A triumphant end will crown an indom- 
 itable will; and the full-rounded and elevated 
 character, which are the fruits of victory, will be 
 full indemnity for the self-denial he has prac- 
 tised, and the toil he has undergone. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Introductory ' 
 
 ESSAY II. 
 Object of Life 7 
 
 ESSAY III. 
 The Subject of Self-Development 12 
 
 ESSAY IV. 
 Self-IQiowledge ^5 
 
 ESSAY V. 
 On Self-Reliance 20 
 
 ESSAY VI. 
 On Self-Denial 23 
 
 ESSAY VII. 
 Individuality 25 
 
 ESSAY VIII. 
 Discipline 3° 
 
 ESSAY IX. 
 Method of Discipline 35 
 
 ESSAY X. 
 The Epochs of Intellectual Life 40 
 
 ESSAY XI. 
 Result of Elemental School Training 44 
 
 ESSAY XII. 
 College Life 47 
 
 ESSAY XIII. 
 Hygienic 54 
 
 ESSAY XIV. 
 The Moral Faculty 57 
 
 ESSAY XV. 
 On Religion 61 
 
viii Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ESSAY XVI. 
 The Perceptive Faculties 65 
 
 ESSAY XVII. 
 The Imagination 70 
 
 ESSAY XVIII. 
 The Memory 76 
 
 ESSAY XIX. 
 The Will 80 
 
 ESSAY XX. 
 Reflection and Reasoning 85 
 
 ESSAY XXI. 
 Method 90 
 
 ESSAY XXII. 
 The Economy of Time 93 
 
 ESSAY XXIII. 
 Thrift f 97 
 
 ESSAY XXIV. 
 On Style in Speech and Writing 100 
 
 ESSAY XXV. 
 Reading 105 
 
 ESSAY XXVI. 
 Study 112 
 
 ESSAY XXVII. 
 Conversation » 115 
 
 ESSAY XXVIII. 
 The Affections 119 
 
 ESSAY XXIX. 
 Habits 126 
 
 ESSAY XXX. 
 Manners 130 
 
 ESSAY XXXI. 
 On a Course of General Studies 136 
 
 Conclusion 145 
 
SELF-DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 I PURPOSE, in the following essays, to outline 
 a system of self-culture, tending to self-develop- 
 ment; to state the main objective points to be at- 
 tained ; and the fundamental principles by which 
 the self culturist is to be guided. 
 
 With the objective points noted, and the prin- 
 ciples to guide, the details that may be required, 
 varying, to a certain extent, with the individual, 
 will naturally be suggested, as the branches of a 
 plant grow out of a stem. 
 
 It may be observed of all education, whether 
 by others, or by ourselves, that its object is to 
 bring out and discipline the faculties of the in- 
 corporeal being; and that it is assumed these 
 faculties exist in greater or lesser degrees of 
 strength. 
 
 Voluntary effort, on our part, is required to 
 bring out the faculties ; the necessity to do so 
 must be felt ; the purpose must be clear ; and the 
 motive power furnished by us ; hence at the very 
 outset the beginner should be impressed with the 
 fact that the cause of all advancement, its in- 
 
2 Self-Development. 
 
 centive, and its purpose, must originate with him- 
 self ; and that teachers, books and appliances are 
 simply helps in his progress, and instruments for 
 his use. Others may suggest : he must decide 
 and direct; instruction may be tendered, but it 
 must be received and assimilated to the needs 
 within him, in order to serve, as food must be 
 assimilated in order to nourish. 
 
 The distinction between education by others, 
 and education by ourselves, does not involve the 
 difference commonly supposed. Indeed, all sys- 
 tems of education by others, are so many by-paths 
 leading to the broad highway of self-culture ; the 
 difference is in kind, not in degree ; a difference 
 in means, and not of the end to be reached. 
 
 Nor is there the difference commonly supposed 
 between the position of a youth dependent on 
 his own exertion, and a youth with ample means 
 at his command, in their preparation for the act- 
 ive life of the nobly ambitious ; each must put 
 forth his strength, and train his faculties as a 
 courser for the race; each must struggle onward 
 with a diligence that never weakens, and a pa- 
 tience that never wearies ; each has so much to do, 
 by himself and of himself, that help from others 
 seems of secondary importance, and insignificant 
 in comparison with the help that must be derived 
 from his innate resources and his individual ex- 
 ertion. 
 
 While these essays, therefore, are intended to 
 meet the wants of a youth unfavored by circum- 
 stance, they have also in view the needs of a 
 youth favored in that respect ; for the latter even 
 with every advantage will find only in self-culture 
 
Introductory. 3 
 
 the way to high achievement ; the faculty and ap- 
 pliances of a college may facilitate his labors, but 
 will be of little avail, save in subordination to a 
 plan of self-culture he should mark out, and a 
 resolution he should take, to adhere to a course 
 indicated by his individuality, and commended to 
 his understanding. 
 
 Let it be conceded, that in the beginning, edu- 
 cation should be conducted by others, on account 
 of inexperience of the pupil ; the rule should 
 cease when the reason for it ceases ; as the youth 
 approaches adult age, and is competent to think 
 for himself. 
 
 When our spiritual parts have quickened and 
 blossomed into life, when the landscape about us 
 seems invested with a beauty not hitherto per- 
 ceived, when the calm and infantine soul recog- 
 nizes its heart-beats, and for the first time is 
 "ruffled with the troublings of strange joy," and 
 the faint morning rays of an outer and beautiful 
 world light up our inner consciousness, and 
 evolve yearnings — crude and ill-defined perhaps 
 — but imperious and constant, to have the world 
 within us harmonize with the world without, in 
 its symmetry, its adornment and its glory — these 
 conditions, of themselves, assert that the days of 
 our tutelage are over; and while we still greatly 
 need counsel and help, they must now be of our 
 own seeking, and we must rely upon ourselves 
 to select. Our wants speak for themselves, and 
 in speaking, indicate a path clear to our individ- 
 uality — while it may be obscure to others. 
 
 In the self-culture which now engages the at- 
 tention of the youth, he should feel a grave re- 
 
4 Self-Development. 
 
 sponsibility, and exercise the prudence necessary 
 to fix upon a course of discipline, which wisdom 
 may approve and conscience sanctify. Before he 
 adopts a course, let him feel the gravity and mag- 
 nitude of the task. Let him feel what self-cul- 
 ture is, in full significance — the ignorance it will 
 lay bare, the pitiful weakness it will disclose in 
 him, and the slow progress over the weary and 
 painful road by which it is attained or even ap- 
 proached; but let him determine the end justifies 
 and glorifies the means ; and let him reckon the 
 success of his endeavor, and the fruits of victory. 
 
 To one standing on the isthmus between boy- 
 hood and manhood, there is no grander incentive 
 than the reflection that life is a lofty career, which 
 opens to him opportunities for noble usefulness; 
 and that it is a solemn duty to prepare himself ac- 
 cordingly, with all the appliances at his com- 
 mand ; and the very preparation gratifies the soul, 
 because each step gained strengthens us for the 
 next ; and as we move onwar-d, we also move up- 
 ward. 
 
 Self-culture must have special relation to the 
 needs of a lifetime. It must provide for youth, 
 manhood and age. It should equip us for inter- 
 course with the world, and it should serve us in 
 those moments of solitude, irksome to the' un- 
 furnished mind, but in which cultivated natures 
 find lively satisfaction. It must embrace our en- 
 tire immaterial being; each faculty must have 
 our attention, and be subjected to such discipline 
 as may improve it; and all must move in unison, 
 as our individuality may direct, toward the ful- 
 fillment of the wise purpose of our being. 
 
Introductory. 5 
 
 In order to improve our faculties we must 
 first know just what they are, in their primitive 
 and unripe state. Self-knowledge, therefore, 
 must be acquired, and this of itself is a study; and 
 a study in which the greatest circumspection is 
 required ; lest in the search for truth, we be lured 
 by the false lights of our own vain conceits, and 
 make the investigation in pride of heart, and not 
 in humbleness of spirit. 
 
 The health of the body must have precedence 
 over every other consideration, as upon it de- 
 pends the proper and thorough use of faculties; 
 and the immaterial parts must be dominated by 
 a moral nature, that decides without fear or fa- 
 vor, for the right and the good, and moves us 
 to duty with steady and resistless 'force. These 
 the tasks to the aspiring youth ; let him give his 
 heart to their achievement, and resolve to use 
 whatever good there is in him, as far as finite 
 capacity and human infirmity will allow. 
 
 When the faculties are disciplined, knowledge 
 is to be acquired, that shall make him a useful 
 member of society; and increase the enjoyments 
 of solitude and age. 
 
 It may be conceived this culture demands 
 earnest thought, continuous painstaking, and a 
 perseverance without limit ; and that in our prog- 
 ress we shall meet with many impediments, and 
 sad reverses, and at times be utterly confounded ; 
 nor could we rally our strength, and move for- 
 ward, if we were not encouraged by the blessed 
 assurance, that we are encompassing the noblest 
 work that could occupy our time, or engage our 
 attention. 
 
6 Self-Development. 
 
 Let him, therefore, who aspires to self-culture, 
 take heart. Let him bear in mind that all outer 
 help is insignificant to the help from within, 
 "Paul may plant and Apollos water" but this 
 increase must come from soil, made kind and 
 generous by his own careful and thorough till- 
 age; and must be the result of his own diligent 
 and steadfast labor. 
 
Object of Life. 
 
 ESSAY TWO. 
 
 OBJECT OF LIFE, 
 
 In the dawn of his reflective faculties, as the 
 youth looks abroad in the world, he may note 
 that all objects, animate and inanimate, have been 
 created for a purpose. He may note there is 
 purpose in the creation of the beasts of the field, 
 the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea; of tree 
 and flower, of forest and plain, of hill and dale 
 and waterfall. Purpose is so generally written 
 upon all created things, that, by inductive reason- 
 ing it may be adopted as a rule ; and, even in the 
 exceptional cases, which seem without purpose, 
 we may give a purpose, although not exposed to 
 mortal vision. 
 
 In this atmosphere, redolent of purpose, the 
 youth may well ponder and reflect, "all created 
 things, in the order of nature, are below me, and 
 subserve my will ; if they have a purpose, there is 
 a greater reason, if possible, that I should have a 
 purpose. To stand purposeless, with purpose on 
 every hand, would be an anomaly, and nature 
 knows no such deviation from her law." 
 
 Although it seems reasonable life should have 
 an object; few, comparatively, endeavor to seek 
 the purpose of existence, and to follow the lines 
 that reach or approach it. 
 
8 Self-Development. 
 
 One starting on a journey, usually fixes in his 
 mind the point of destination, and the road he 
 should travel; yet in the journey of life, of such 
 vital import to our well-being; we take without 
 thought, blind and misleading paths; or wander 
 about aimlessly; without seeking a way our judg- 
 ment may approve, and of which true success 
 may crown the end. 
 
 It is probable a young man may not be able 
 at the outset, to fix specifically his object in Hfe, 
 and all the details requisite to attain it; still, he 
 can determine upon certain fundamental princi- 
 ples, as to the end and means, which will cut off 
 many useless digressions, and confine his efforts 
 to a proper and restricted channel. 
 
 In order to ascertain our object in life, we must 
 consider our place in the economy of nature. We 
 are here on earth, amid our fellow mortals, and 
 necessarily hold certain relations to them, by 
 reason of a common bond of sympathy ; the 
 effect of a common origin ; a common nature, and 
 a common destiny. Naturally, everything that 
 concerns them, concerns us ; we nurse them in 
 sickness, comfort them in sorrow ; seek to make 
 them contented, and share their joy. We help 
 those of tender years, and accede to age the rev- 
 erence due. We have a fellow feeling for all, 
 as a whole, or individually ; nor is there any- 
 thing in nature more attractive to us, or upon 
 which we so lavish our sympathy and our assist- 
 ance. Not only does human instinct draw us to 
 our kind, but if we note their condition, they 
 require all the aid and comfort we can tender, 
 whether connected with us by the ties of blood. 
 
Object of Life. 9- 
 
 or association, or the broader bonds of a common 
 humanity. The infant requires continuous care 
 and attention : Youth needs our experience, and 
 counsel, to direct him in wisdom's ways — those 
 "ways of pleasantness" : Manhood would be 
 barren of interest without our sympathy ; and age 
 appeals to us for succor, in the feebleness of de- 
 clining years. 
 
 Under these circumstances, it is apparent, that 
 whatever course we may shape unto ourselves, 
 we should remember the duty to our family, our 
 neighbor and our kind. 
 
 Having settled this point as to the world about 
 us, we may unselfishly turn to the world within 
 us, and note its claim on our consideration. If 
 we examine ourselves, we will reach the conclu- 
 sion that in order to advance our well-being, the 
 peace of mind no condition in life can effect, and 
 no circumstance alter, must be sought for and se- 
 cured, as far as it may be attainable. A peace of 
 mind not of that negative character, which is the 
 offspring of supineness or selfishness, but the out- 
 growth of earnest attempts to do our duty to 
 others, and that not grudgingly but cheerfully — 
 "beautifully done.'^ A peace of mind not readily 
 attained, but attainable ; and worthy our highest 
 endeavor. A peace of mind, the result of disci- 
 pline, which keeps us undisturbed by the shock of 
 outward circumstance — ever surrounded by a se- 
 rene atmosphere ; and leaves us untrammeled in 
 the exercise of the duties, in the pursuit of knowl- 
 edge, and the cultivation of the tastes which dig- 
 nify and adorn human nature. 
 
 Let the youth, at once, have these two broad 
 
10 Self-Development. 
 
 propositions fixed as beaconlights by which to 
 steer his course ; good to his fellow man — to him- 
 self, peace of mind; and he will, in good time, 
 note the specific channel to be taken, and the de- 
 tails necessary to reach the desired termination. 
 
 I am aware it may be said these broad propo- 
 sitions should be narrowed in order to serve as 
 a guide in our career. 
 
 The propositions are necessarily broad, as they 
 are meant to extend to all vocations, and embrace 
 all individualities. 
 
 There is no pursuit we may undertake, no in- 
 dividuality we may wish to foster, no natural and 
 proper tendency we may follow, which may not 
 redound to the good of our fellow man, as well 
 as our own. It may also be said, I am asking of 
 human nature more than it is ready to accede, 
 when I expect men to think of others, as well as 
 of themselves. 
 
 I recognize the fact that selfishness is a dom- 
 inant element in the affairs of mankind. Praise- 
 worthy efforts, however, have been and are now 
 put forth to lessen its influence, and check its 
 growth, by the Benevolent Organizations of Civ- 
 ilization — earnest in purpose, and formidable in 
 numbers; and individual examples of unselfish- 
 ness are common in every hamlet, and not limited 
 to race or country. With all this, the more hope- 
 ful of us, can hardly perceive, in distant aeons 
 of time, selfishness — source of all crime — thrust 
 from Earth, as Lucifer was thrown from heaven. 
 Even with this prospect we feel the world is 
 growing better, and that every unselfish thought 
 
Object of Life. 'I I 
 
 adds something to the condition, and every un- 
 selfish act aids in the growth. 
 
 The course indicated may be objected to as 
 Ideal, and unsuited to the Actual; but we must 
 bear in mind that it is only by keeping the Ideal 
 before us, that we may improve the Actual. In 
 our human condition we cannot be perfect, still 
 we must set perfection before us, and approach 
 it as near as may be permitted by our fallible na- 
 ture. 
 
 The poet had an ideal life before him when he 
 wrote : 
 
 Who that surveys this span of earth we press, 
 This speck of life in Time's great wilderness, 
 This narrow isthmus 'twixt two boundless seas. 
 The Past — the Future — two eternities; 
 Would sully the bright spot, or leave it bare. 
 When he might build him a proud temple there, 
 A name that long shall hallow all its space. 
 And be each purer soul's high resting place. 
 
1 2 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY THREE. 
 
 THE SUBJECT OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 The immaterial being, which is the Subject 
 of Self-Development, is considered in these es- 
 says, as consisting of the Perceptive Powers, Re- 
 flection and Reasoning, Memory, Imagination, 
 Will, and the Moral Nature. 
 
 Metaphysicians may make other divisions, but 
 other divisions would not seriously affect our 
 subject matter. 
 
 Observation discloses the fact that these facul- 
 ties are not of the same strength in each indi- 
 vidual ; but each faculty has a degree of strength 
 varying from the lowest to the highest. Under 
 this condition, it is readily perceived that the fac- 
 ulties combined in one individual, will rarely have 
 a counterpart of a like combination in another 
 individual. 
 
 If we take a hundred or more individuals, and 
 test their intellectual capacity, there will not be 
 two of precisely the same mental attributes ; and 
 which, acting together in the various operations 
 of the mind act precisely alike; although all the 
 individuals had been brought up under the same 
 influences, and accustomed to the same environ- 
 ment. 
 
The Subject of Self-Development. 13 
 
 It is these differences of our immaterial being 
 that form individuality of character. Our im- 
 material parts, as the parts of the material body, 
 varying with the individual. 
 
 Individuality of character is a fact of para- 
 mount importance in self-culture, and must be 
 kept in view as a prominent land-mark, to guide 
 us in a proper direction. 
 
 A fact also to be noted is, that a faculty may 
 possess a degree of strength that creates a 
 tendency or natural inclination in a particular di- 
 rection. It may be doubtful whether this tend- 
 ency exists universally, it is sufficient for our pur- 
 pose that it exists to a considerable extent. 
 
 This tendency or natural inclination moves 
 along a path exclusively its own, and congenial 
 to its peculiar impelHng force ; and individuals in 
 thus following their natural inclination, each by 
 a different route, may be likened to the twigs 
 of a tree, each seeking for itself the air and sun- 
 shine necessary to the development of its health 
 and strength. 
 
 It may be remarked that whether this natural 
 inclination is upward, toward an improved con- 
 dition, or downward toward a depraved condi- 
 tion, still it moves along a path exclusively its 
 own, and seeks nourishment suited to its partic- 
 ular craving. 
 
 It may be further observed, that this natural 
 inclination of the individual is the primal and 
 main cause of all singular achievements of man, 
 whether for good or ill. Hence the necessity for 
 restraint upon natural inclinations which have a 
 downward tendency, and an endeavor to lift 
 
14 Self-Development. 
 
 them up ; on the other hand the necessity to foster 
 and encourage all of an upward tendency. 
 
 There is another observation to be made in ref- 
 erence to our spiritual parts ; one or more may be, 
 apparently, tardy of development; the cause of 
 which may not be assuredly known, but the effect 
 is manifested in indifference to a subject at one 
 time, which is supplanted by interest at a subse- 
 quent time; it may be that in the earlier period, 
 the subject was not presented in a favorable 
 light, or so as to kindle an interest ; whatever the 
 cause, the fact remains the same, that a faculty 
 may not show its strength at the usual time for 
 development ; and in this wise, an inclination may 
 be latent long after it should naturally appear. 
 
 Again as our bodies require change of diet, at 
 succei^^sive periods of existence; in like manner 
 our Faculties, as they gradually unfold, require 
 change of aliment at stated periods of the unfold- 
 ing. 
 
 Hence a system of self-culture should have ref- 
 erence to our peculiar individuality; to our nat- 
 ural tendency whenever it asserts itself; and to 
 the gradual unfolding of the Faculties. 
 
Self- Knowledge. 15 
 
 ESSAY FOUR. 
 
 SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 "Know thyself" — trite theme — often preached 
 — seldom practised. The many admit the lesson 
 it inculcates, but only the few take it to heart! 
 
 A knowledge of ourselves, however, is a pre- 
 requisite to self-culture; without it every effort 
 in that direction is based upon conjecture, and 
 builded in ignorance of its fitness. 
 
 It seems, indeed, the part of wisdom, to build 
 the fabric of Self-Culture, upon knowledge as- 
 certained by observation and experiment, and not 
 upon an assumption of facts concerning our fac- 
 ulties, of which we know not anything. 
 
 The subject is now introduced in order it may 
 command the early attention of the reader, and 
 not with a view of suggesting it must be pri- 
 marily acquired. It can only be gained in time. 
 Even then it is frequently erroneous and incom- 
 plete. So many hindrances have we within us, 
 to its profound knowledge ! 
 
 On the other hand it is feasible, by careful ob- 
 servation and an unbiased judgment, during the 
 period of discipline, to know ourselves to a suffi- 
 cient extent to avoid the gravest errors that may 
 
1 6 Self-Development. 
 
 beset us ; and to use the faculties with which 
 we are endowed, usefully, if not to the uttermost 
 limit. 
 
 Self-knowledge, indeed, is the only safe guide 
 to advancement in Self-Culture. Our means 
 place a limitation on our purpose. In providing 
 for the career of Hfe, we must consider our means 
 before we can determine the bounds of our pur- 
 pose, and set about its execution. Self-knowl- 
 edge informs us of our means, and indicates those 
 bounds within which success may be attained, 
 and beyond which we may not pass. It assigns 
 to us the part we have to perform in the Drama 
 of Life — humble, it may be, but not less useful 
 — high, perhaps, but not less responsible. We 
 may not all become wise statesmen or profound 
 philosophers, but improving each faculty, and 
 following the line of our individual tendency, 
 as it may be developed by Self-Knowledge, we 
 can fill the measure of a full-rounded life, in all 
 the completeness of which we are capable. 
 
 If we forego the acquisition of Self-Knowl- 
 edge, as a basis of Self-Culture, the alternative 
 is to be governed by the accident of position and 
 surroundings, and to accept whatever they may 
 tender, whether in accord or not with our incli- 
 nations ; or we are compelled to await the occa- 
 sion of outward circumstance, which may be long 
 delayed or never happen, in order to reveal our 
 strength. Surely the purpose of existence cannot 
 be limited to such modes, or subject to like con- 
 tingencies. 
 
 The acquisition of Self-Knowledge requires a 
 patient and thorough investigation of each fac- 
 
Self-Knowledge. 17 
 
 ulty, and the relation of the faculties to each 
 other; because it is frequently the case that it is 
 not one faculty, but a combination of two or 
 more, that makes up the strength of the imma- 
 terial being. The study of ourselves, as it, step 
 by step, develops Self-Knowledge, not only shows 
 the strength of each faculty, or the strength of 
 a combination of faculties, but in some individ- 
 uals it brings forward a faculty of such unusual 
 strength, that it draws all other faculties to its 
 support, and enlists them in its service. A com- 
 mon effect of a proclivity of this character is not 
 only to act in a certain direction, but acting in 
 that direction is the best means of serving a use- 
 ful purpose ; and if constrained to forego the in- 
 clination, or if thwarted or neglected, the entire 
 immaterial being is affected and becomes, com- 
 paratively, barren of result. 
 
 The investigation necessary in order to acquire 
 Self-Knowledge calls into operation, introspec- 
 tion and reasoning. By introspection we discover 
 the facts showing the nature of our mind ; by rea- 
 soning we deduce the consequences. 
 
 In this introspection we must beware of mis- 
 leading guides, and not be allured by theory or 
 fancy ; but investigate thoughtfully until a result 
 is reached commended to our judgment — an en- 
 deavor in which we have to contend with that 
 element within us, that strives to have our deci- 
 sion correspond to our desires, and not with our 
 reason. 
 
 With the acquisition of Self-Knowledge de- 
 termined upon, and an earnest desire on the part 
 of the young man to ascertain just what there is 
 
1 8 Self-Development. 
 
 in him, and what there is not; let him scrutinize 
 his perceptive faculties ; let him tax his memory 
 to the verge of rebellion ; note his imagination, 
 and how far influenced by a love of the beautiful ; 
 let him examine his powers of reflection and rea- 
 soning, and know to what extent he may rely 
 upon their aid : enquire into his will power — 
 above all, search his heart with all diligence, in 
 order to provide against the weakness of his 
 moral nature, and to avail himself, in due time, 
 of its strength. 
 
 Let him note the subjects to which his mind re- 
 verts naturally and lovingly, and those it takes 
 to unkindly, or with aversion; or those in which 
 even duty cannot beget a lively interest. Let him 
 note the tendency of his thoughts — the cause of 
 his actions — wherein his strength — wherein his 
 deficiencies. Let him keep a record, if he choose, 
 of all manifestations. Let him subject every fac- 
 ulty over and over again, to a searching cross- 
 examination, with stern and unbiased determina- 
 tion to know the truth, regardless of conse- 
 quences ; what he seeks and what he shuns ; what 
 interests him and what does not; what task he 
 lingers over and wishes it were longer — what 
 task though brief is tedious. 
 
 Is he adapted to society or to solitude? Can 
 he acquire languages readily? Does the science 
 of mathematics concern him? Has he the imag- 
 ination, and the perception of form and color, 
 that would succeed at the easel? or the reasoning 
 faculty that would succeed at the Bar? — these 
 are some of the questions he must put to himself, 
 and test by every conceivable method, until he 
 
Self-Knowledge. . 19 
 
 has formed a theory of his individuality ; even 
 when he has done so, he must not cease his vigils 
 over his faculties, in order to note an error he 
 may have made, or an omission he should supply. 
 And in this watching let him be patient as well 
 as careful. Self-Knowledge cannot spring up in 
 a night under the best husbandry; it is of slow 
 growth, but the slowest growth makes the hard- 
 est timber; and haste may develop the leaf, but 
 not the blossom. 
 
20 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY FIVE. 
 
 ON SELF-RELIANCE. 
 
 Our first lesson in S elf-Reliance is learned in 
 babyhood. As an infant's limbs wax in strength, 
 the mother gradually and tenderly withdraws her 
 protecting arm, in order the babe may rely upon 
 himself to stand alone; when he has learned to 
 do so, she coaxes him to further rely upon him- 
 self, in taking a few toddling steps, to his own 
 delight, as well as his mother's. While the mother 
 is ready to tender all possible aid in the practice, 
 still there is a point reached where the babe must 
 rely entirely upon himself. 
 
 So it is in life. No matter how much we may 
 have relied upon others, for aid and counsel, 
 there are periods of life reached, from time to 
 time in our career, when we are compelled to act 
 independently of all help; and there are prob- 
 lems to be solved all through life, which no one 
 can solve for us, and which we must personally 
 unriddle. 
 
 When school and college days are over, and the 
 youth enters upon an active career, usually, he 
 is compelled, day by day, to rely upon himself. 
 
On Sclf-Reliance. 2 1 
 
 If he has accustomed himself to be self-reliant, 
 he may face the future without misgivings of his 
 success. If he has not acquired the habit, he will 
 feel embarrassed in the very beginning and un- 
 equipped to fight the battle of life. There are 
 many conditions in life, where, if we have not 
 learned to be self-reliant, we shall feel, not only 
 anxiety, but the condition oft repeated, will give 
 rise to an infirmity of purpose which, it need not 
 be said, is highly prejudicial to success ; while 
 one who is self-reliant, under a like condition, 
 may pass through it, as though anticipated and 
 provided for. 
 
 Self-Reliance must be founded on Self-Knowl- 
 cdge. It must assert itself only within the com- 
 pass of our powers. To base it upon powers we 
 nave not, is to build upon the sand. A self-re- 
 liance involving facts and forerunning action, 
 must carefully embrace all the facts ; a partial 
 array is hazardous, and might be our undoing. 
 
 A self-reliance beyond the compass of our 
 power, or based only on a partial array of facts, 
 IS simply Self-Will which provokes defeat and 
 disaster. 
 
 As we advance and rely less upon others, and 
 more upon ourselves, we should never feel that 
 we have reached a point where we are entirely 
 independent of the help and counsel of others ; 
 but with this distinction : we took such aid in 
 youth, in implicit faith because too young to test 
 its correctness ; now, we take it, and test it, be- 
 fore we act upon it. 
 
 The aspiring youth, with a self-reliance 
 founded on his capacity, and knowledge of all 
 
22' Self-Development. 
 
 the facts, where facts are involved, may carry- 
 all things before him; brush aside all impedi- 
 ments, and plant his standard on the heights of 
 Victory ; while the timid youth looks on, admires, 
 but dares not follow the example! 
 
On Self-Denial. 23 
 
 ESSAY SIX. 
 
 ON SELF-DENIAL, 
 
 Self-Denial! what a volume of meaning is 
 infolded by the very word ! From the lowliest 
 duty to the loftiest heroism; from the woman 
 who bathed His feet with her tears, to the igno- 
 minious death on the cross ! 
 
 Self-denial embraces all condition of the moral 
 nature, from asceticism to self-indulgence; al- 
 though the golden mean between these extremes, 
 is the self-denial that serves and is helpful. 
 
 The self-denial that serves, denies to us the 
 hours given to a social life which neither in- 
 structs nor elevates ; the time given to amuse- 
 ments which do not recreate; or the luxuries 
 which are a part of an idle life ; but it does not 
 deny the hours necessary to sleep ; the sustenance 
 of nourishing food; seasonable clothing; nor the 
 time required for recreative exercise, or for the 
 duties we owe to our kind. 
 
 Self-Denial is an effect, of which the cause, 
 in the student's view, is a high settled purpose 
 in life; which, to be carried out, must overcome 
 all obstacles in its path, and sacrifice whatever 
 superfluity stands in the way of its achievement. 
 
 What the superfluities are which may impede 
 
24 Self-Development. 
 
 our progress, or delay our course, must be deter- 
 mined by the circumstances of each individual 
 case. I beheve the ambitious youth may be 
 trusted with their classification. The simple 
 question before him will be, "does the proposed 
 indulgence stand in the way of my purpose in 
 life?" If it does it must be sacrificed on the 
 altar of Self-Denial. 
 
 Take the matters of time and money as illus- 
 trative. He will realize the value of tiine; check 
 all superfluous ways of passing it, and take care 
 of the minutes, leaving the hours to take care of 
 themselves. 
 
 As to the expenditure of money, he will re- 
 member that thoughtlessness is at the bottom of 
 many of our indiscreet outlays. "With judg- 
 ment wise to spend or spare" is the rule he will 
 follow. With his soul moved to its depths by 
 a noble ambition, he will look upon money as 
 simply a means to encompass his glorious aim 
 and endeavor; why should he divert it into in- 
 significant channels, or pervert it to ignoble use? 
 
Individuality. 25 
 
 ESSAY SEVEN. 
 
 INDIVIDUALITY. 
 
 Individuality is our separate and distinct ex- 
 istence apart from all mankind, and distingishes 
 us, spiritually, from all others, just as our form 
 and features distinguish us bodily from all 
 others. In both the spiritual and physical make- 
 up, while there is a general resemblance, there 
 are also shades of difference, slight though they 
 may be; and it is reasonable to assume there is 
 purpose in these differences, although, in many 
 cases they are almost imperceptible. In physical 
 structure the necessity of the difference is appar- 
 ent as a means of identification ; in spiritual con- 
 formation, there does not seem to be the same 
 need, yet a moment's reflection convinces us 
 there is even greater need, by reason of the 
 diversified uses of the spiritual parts ; as the 
 duties of life require an almost illimitable 
 number of toilers, each with a different 
 combination of faculties ; so philanthropists 
 are required ; so are moralists, logicians, teachers, 
 tillers of the soil, scientists, inventors mu- 
 sicians, artizans, architects, painters, sculptors, 
 poets, novelists ; some to meet the duties of outer 
 
26 Self-Development. 
 
 practical life, others to supply the needs of inner 
 spiritual life. 
 
 It has been already stated that a faculty may 
 possess a degree of strength that creates a tend- 
 ency in a certain direction. It is this tendency 
 that marks our individuality more or less dis- 
 tinctly, according to its strength ; hence, in using 
 the term individuality, I include the tendency 
 which aids in its formation. 
 
 In some natures individuality may be of so 
 feeble a character as to be scarcely perceptible. 
 In others it may be of such strength as to plainly 
 outline and indicate a special career; with others, 
 of intermediate degrees of strength, it still 
 marks the main channel of mental activity, of 
 which we should avail ourselves, in order to move 
 onward to the greatest advantage. Indeed, the 
 current of our individuality, arising as it does 
 from the various sources of our intellect meet- 
 ing in a common course, is an impelling power 
 that cannot be ignored without serious injury; 
 and to move counter to it renders our efforts 
 puny, if not unavailing. 
 
 Individuality as a factor in self-education is 
 illustrated by numerous and unmistakable in- 
 stances in history and biography, which estab- 
 lish that much of the intellectual labor of man- 
 kind has been accomplished, by reason of the pro- 
 clivity of the individual, as already mentioned; 
 indeed, an individual trait dominating our spir- 
 itual nature, revolts at any attempt to lessen or to 
 ignore it; and innate conviction calls upon us as 
 a duty, to cherish and advance it; because it is 
 through a proclivity, as it resolves itself into an 
 
Individuality. 27 
 
 individuality, and rules our purpose, that we rise 
 to higher planes of life. 
 
 The careful observation of what is passing in 
 our minds and an impartial decision of the result, 
 under which we advance in self-knowledge, and 
 which has been noted in a preceding essay, will 
 enable us to trace the current of our individuality. 
 With many of us that current moves sluggishly 
 — we have fair parts — a good memory — average 
 reasoning power — a will equal to foreseen ne- 
 cessities — yet no decided turn for a special line 
 of thought ; and no lively concern in a particular 
 pursuit. In this contingency it is prudent to fore- 
 go the essay of a prominent career in which suc- 
 cess is doubtful, and accept one more humble in 
 which we feel success can be assured. The pur- 
 pose of life usually fails when we attempt more 
 than we can achieve; and he who creditably fills 
 the position in life to which he is called by his 
 capacity, completes the measure of his duty to 
 his fellow man and himself. 
 
 But if a young man's proclivity is made appar- 
 ent by self-knowledge, and tends to a useful pur- 
 pose, let him hold to the fair possession ; lavish 
 his time upon its diligent cultivation, and he may 
 assuredly reckon upon a bounteous harvest as 
 his reward. 
 
 The self-communings which enable us to bring 
 out and use our individuality of character, not 
 only serves in indicating the course we should 
 pursue, but it has another weighty consequence. 
 The habit of considering our individuality, ac- 
 customs us to distinguish ourselves from the re- 
 mainder of mankind — to separate our individual 
 
28 Self-Development. 
 
 self from the mass — not to weaken the bond of 
 Humanity, but to discharge the duty each man 
 owes to himself. Having, made the separation, 
 it is natural to be the more interested in our per- 
 sonality, and to maintain it conformably to our 
 views of propriety and right. 
 
 It is in this manner individuality evolves the 
 sentiment of honor — that old-fashioned virtue 
 • — falling into desuetude in these days when so 
 many are inclined to regard man simply as a cog 
 in the wheel of civilization, to aid its movement. 
 I refer not to the pseudo-honor of the swash- 
 buckler, but that honor which is only a high con- 
 ception of duty to others and to ourselves. 
 
 Self-Culture, in accord with individuality, is 
 not, necessarily, to the detriment of less prom- 
 inent faculties, which in the meanwhile should 
 be improved to the extent of their capacity, and 
 much of this improvement may be accom- 
 plished through our individuality; for it calls 
 to its aid all other faculties to the extent of its 
 need, and it will absorb all knowledge requisite 
 for its purpose; and the knowledge it does not 
 absorb, but passes by without concern, is of 
 little avail, for the reason no interest in it can 
 be invoked ; and where there is not any interest, 
 there can be no assimilation of the knowledge, 
 consequently no benefit. 
 
 The genius of Shakespeare has spoken on this 
 subject. It need hardly be said he has spoken to 
 the point, and left little unsaid. 
 
 In the "Taming of the Shrew" Tranio's advice 
 to his master, Lucentio, who had come to Padua 
 for the purpose of study was, 
 
Individuality. 29 
 
 "Talk logic with acquaintance that you have, 
 And practice rhetoric in your common talk; 
 Music and poesy use to quicken you; 
 The mathematics and the metaphysics, 
 Fall to them as you Und your stomach serve you. 
 No profit grows, where is no pleasure ta'en, 
 In brief, Sir, study what you most affect." 
 
3© Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY EIGHT. 
 
 DISCIPLINE. 
 
 It seems an ungracious task to whisper to the 
 youth of high resolve, that discipHne is the only- 
 road by which he may enter upon possessions 
 made fair by self-culture — a road uninviting in 
 its early stages — in which many fall by the v^■ay- 
 side from sheer exhaustion ; and in which serious 
 impediments often hinder an advance; that if 
 he has not the moral nature that can withstand 
 the temptations of the enemies that will beset 
 him, and a stout heart that will surmoant every 
 obstacle, it were in vain to attempt the journey. 
 Yet these are facts he must lay to his heart. He 
 must serve as apprentice before he can rule as a 
 master. He must pass through the stern novi- 
 tiate of discipline before he can dedicate himself 
 to the serious obligations of a career ; but he can 
 be comforted in the expectation that the fruits 
 of the struggle will be noble recompense for the 
 privations he has endured, and the obstacles he 
 has encountered. 
 
 Before a young man enters upon a course of 
 discipline, as a basis of self-culture, he should set 
 before him an Ideal Life — not a life evolved from 
 
Discipline. 31 
 
 a vision — ^but founded upon a conception of his 
 capacity, his opportunity and his Duty — an ideal 
 which should embody his aspirations, and have 
 upon it the impress of his purpose in Hfe, with its 
 outhne kept undimmed by his earnestness, and 
 its color kept unspotted by his enthusiasm. 
 
 Let the youth note the Ideal suggested is with- 
 in his capacity — not something in the clouds and 
 unattainable. Within that capacity lies the pos- 
 sibility of a full rounded life in all its complete- 
 ness — a life made of all his faculties diligently 
 cultivated. This Ideal he should set up, and 
 should look to, especially in his periods of dis- 
 couragement, as worthy his noblest efforts to 
 attain ; and let him be assured diligence and pa- 
 tience will transfigure the actual into the Ideal. 
 
 In having an Ideal life before him, and in the 
 endeavor to rise to its level, it is well for the 
 youth to read, from time to time, biographies of 
 men who have risen in spite of unfavorable cir- 
 cumstances, as they serve to arouse — to quicken, 
 and to encourage. 
 
 Discipline must not be confounded with the 
 acquisition of knowledge. Knowledge, indeed, 
 may be acquired while undergoing discipline, but 
 at this period, knowledge must be regarded as 
 an incidental and secondary matter. 
 
 Discipline is a preparative to the acquisition 
 of knowledge. It is the training that enables us 
 to acquire and to use knowledge, as the drill of 
 the soldier enables him to do service in battle; 
 and as in the drill, the soldier's attention is called 
 to the movement ordered, independent of its use; 
 so in discipline, the attention should be devoted 
 
3* Self-Development. 
 
 to the habit being formed, rather than to any 
 association of the habit, or its connection witn 
 any subject. 
 
 Discipline in a general way must embrace the 
 entire immaterial being, so that we may improve 
 each component part: and does not refer to spe- 
 cial training for a particular purpose. 
 
 In this general discipline, the earliest efforts 
 must be devoted to arousing the interest to ob- 
 serve all that is going on without and within us, 
 to reflect on what we observe, and to reason on 
 our reflections. 
 
 When the interest is roused, it must be kept 
 attentive and prepared to receive whatever may 
 minister to the fancy, instruct the mind, or ele- 
 vate the moral nature ; and this interest must be 
 maintained until, in the course of time, it becomes 
 fixed in its place, as a permanent motor of the im- 
 material machinery. 
 
 This motor of interest is the source of the fix- 
 ity of attention, which closes the door of the 
 senses to all else save the subject in hand, and 
 enables our spiritual parts to absorb the subject, 
 and cause it to permeate the entire being. 
 
 The fixity of attention secures the aid of mem- 
 ory — the faithful ally that is ever ready to re- 
 ceive and retain whatever is earnestly impressed 
 upon it. 
 
 When this interest is kept up and concentration 
 of thought becomes less and less difficult — ^mem- 
 ory favoring our earnestness — all by continued 
 efforts — these efforts in the course of time be- 
 come a habit; and habit is discipline. 
 
 In subsequent essays some suggestions will be 
 
Discipline. 33 
 
 submitted as to the general discipline of each 
 faculty. 
 
 Self-educated students know the drill required 
 to attain habit — the slow advance — the painful 
 errors — the partial successes of the enemies of 
 our time and attention — but they hear paeans of 
 victory in the distance, and know that indomit- 
 able courage will win the fight. 
 
 It is perhaps unnecessary to add that when these 
 habits are formed, they must be maintained by 
 the same methods under which they were ac- 
 quired. The maintenance is indispensable, al- 
 though the task, relatively, is light. 
 
 General discipHne of the Faculties will advance 
 us in Self-Knowledge. It will enable us to dis- 
 tinguish the differenece between facts on the one 
 hand, and fancies, theories, assumptions, and in- 
 ferences, on the other; and to decide a mooted 
 point uninfluenced by passion or predilection. 
 
 If we take each Faculty in its untrained condi- 
 tion, we note each may be improved in a greater 
 or less degree ; and it is, doubtless, by their culti- 
 vation to the highest point to which each may sev- 
 erally reach, that we accomplis-h the most. 
 
 The youth, therefore, must keep watch over 
 his entire mental Faculties, and suffer no single 
 one to be neglected. The weaker must be 
 strengthened as far as practicable, and the 
 stronger must be maintained in their strength. 
 
 What faculty can we spare, however unimpor- 
 tant it may seem, and what faculty, however 
 weak, but that its improvement will add material 
 strength to the other faculties? 
 
 While the mind must act as a unit, let the 
 
34 Self-Development. 
 
 youth keep each component part under special su- 
 pervision as far as he may. 
 
 Let observation be constant, so that it may 
 furnish food for reflection and reasoning. Let 
 reflection on things without and within him be a 
 habit; let him learn to reason properly and not 
 accept dogmas for axioms, assertions for truths, 
 or have conclusions unwarranted from the pre- 
 mises. Let him keep on the best terms with that 
 faithful ally, memory; let his imagination learn 
 to take in the beautiful, and make beautiful all 
 things that should interest; let his will-power be 
 maintained steadfast, and the moral nature give 
 to his entire being the glow of its sunlight and 
 strength. 
 
 The zealous youth should not lose a day in be- 
 ginning this discipline. Every day he is forming 
 a habit which if not beneficial to this work, nulli- 
 fies it by indifference, if it does not injure it by 
 contrary habits. Youth, particularly, is the season 
 when the faculties can be best exercised. 
 Above all, let it be kept in mind that in "the 
 capacity for infinite pains" which discipline 
 will in time yield to him, if he is true to him- 
 self — lies the chief instrument and mystery of 
 that success which is credited to genius. 
 
Method of Discipline. 35 
 
 ESSAY NINE. 
 
 METHOD OF DISCIPLINE. 
 
 If the student has aspirations for a higher life ; 
 if he has determined he will use his moral and 
 mental powers to the uttermost ; if he is deeply 
 and thoroughly impressed with the idea that dis- 
 cipline alone can yield to him the guerdon of a 
 noble ambition ; let him promptly execute what he 
 has deliberately planned ; let him cast aside faint- 
 heartedness and every fear — keep his eye fixed 
 on the goal of his high hopes, and resolve he will 
 dedicate himself to his self-imposed task, with all 
 the strength of his will, and all the concen- 
 tered energy of his nature. 
 
 As to the method of discipline, it may be ob- 
 served, in a general way, that every student must 
 decide for himself the course to be pursued, ac- 
 cording to his own individuality. The mode 
 which serves one may not serve another ; no two 
 minds as no two bodies, are alike in every par- 
 ticular. The homely adage applies, "where there 
 is a will, there is a way." 
 
 I can tender suggestions, leaving the student 
 to interlace them with views coincident to his 
 individuality. 
 
 The student must bear in mind that while the 
 
36 Self-Development. 
 
 effects of early discipline must tinge his entire 
 career, the period is limited during which dis- 
 cipline may be exercised to advantage, in order 
 to merge it into habit. This limited period of 
 (discipline, if we would make the most of it, must 
 be employed methodically and frugally; methodi- 
 cally, because method not only saves time, of 
 so much value to us, but discipline is sooner ac- 
 quired, in being methodically pursued. Frugally, 
 because duties other than discipline — duties, 
 which we dare not evade — often take up so 
 much of our time, that we can gather only its 
 fragments for our particular use. 
 
 In order to use his time methodically, the stu- 
 dent should plan, every morning, his duties for 
 the day ; in the evening he should review what 
 he has done during the day, and note in a journal, 
 the progress he has made, and whatever reflections 
 may occur to him. If he has loitered on the way, 
 the review will spur him to greater effort; if he 
 has been diligent it will cheer and encourage. 
 
 I am aware many students will regard keep- 
 ing a journal as useless drudgery; indeed, all 
 discipline is drudgery to many, who, eventually, 
 fall by the way-side. The thoughtful student, 
 however, will find it helpful to take his reckon- 
 ing, day by day; as the master of a ship takes 
 his reckoning, in order to know the speed he has 
 made, and the point he has reached. 
 
 The employment of our time methodically, will 
 duly give to us those regular habits which help 
 us greatly in our efforts at discipline. Our mind 
 seems to prefer to move in a regular orbit. It 
 prefers to have a duty return at the same time 
 
Method of Discipline. 37 
 
 every day. The mind Hke the body yearns for 
 regular habits. You may swing one or the other 
 from its normal condition, as you would a pendu- 
 lum from its point of rest; like the pendulum, it 
 will naturally return. There is regularity in all 
 of Naure's ways, from the sprouting of an acorn, 
 to the movement of the spheres; and man was 
 made to conform to universal law — but though 
 made upright, "he has sought out many inven- 
 tions." 
 
 In suggesting a method of discipline, it is well 
 to keep in mind, not only the limitations of dis- 
 cipline in point of time, but the purpose it is 
 meant to subserve. It is rather preparatory to 
 his career, than the career itself — as the training 
 of a courser for the race is not the race ; and the 
 drill of the soldier for the conflict, is not the con- 
 flict. 
 
 The period of discipline, to which I have ref- 
 erence, is three years between fourteen and twen- 
 ty years of age, varying according to circum- 
 stances in its beginning. The student should 
 have a course of study for this period. If he is 
 undergoing a curriculum at a school of learning, 
 the course may serve, although he would not have 
 selected it; as it is discipline he seeks, and the 
 media are of secondary importance. I say sec- 
 ondary, with a reservation. I submit, the media 
 while they serve as discipline must be of a char- 
 acter to interest ; and why may they not also be 
 a channel for the acquisition of useful knowledge, 
 without foregoing the discipline? 
 
 If he is not at school, he should make out a 
 course. It is probable he has in mind one or more 
 
38 Self-Development. 
 
 studies in which he has an interest; if he has 
 not, and believes he could become interested in 
 any useful study, let him take counsel of some 
 learned and judicious friend, to aid him in the se- 
 lection. 
 
 The course to be adopted should consist of few 
 studies, pursued consecutively and not concur- 
 rently, if interest does not flag in doing so. If 
 he conquers to completeness, logic ; geometry for 
 itself, and as an aid to logic; and English gram- 
 mar; he may be assured he is well on the road 
 to proper discipline, and may then undertake 
 other studies for the purpose. 
 
 It may be said that for a youth of fourteen, 
 Logic is a study in advance of his years. I fail 
 to see the correctness of the supposed assertion. 
 His reasoning power is developed. He is re- 
 garded in law as a reasonable being, responsi- 
 ble for his acts ; why should not his untrained 
 reason be trained at once? 
 
 The hours of discipline and study often depend, 
 more or less, on other duties. I think the early 
 morning hours, if they can be secured, are best 
 for the purpose: In my own case, an early morn- 
 ing hour is worth two hours later in the day. 
 The mind seems more clear, and relieved of all 
 outer influences ; more eager to receive impres- 
 sions, than at any other period of the day. 
 
 The zealous youth must bear in mind that the 
 course of study during the novitiate of discipline 
 is only part of the training he must undergo. 
 Study will aid him to develop the Reflective and 
 Reasoning Faculties, and strengthen his memory ; 
 but observation must ever be on the alert as a 
 
Method of Discipline. 39 
 
 further aid to reflection: the will power kept 
 ready to execute promptly, what he has judi- 
 ciously planned ; the imagination must be brought 
 out to recognize beauty, in whatever shape it 
 may assume; and the moral nature must rule 
 over all, with the clear perception to distinguish 
 the right and the good, and to follow both with 
 firm step and a joyous heart. If I iterate, it is to 
 impress. 
 
 I tender these suggestions as an illustration of 
 what the student should do ; trusting that in his 
 self-reliance, he may adopt a plan of his own, 
 suitable to his individuality, and conforming to 
 the circumstances in which he may be placed. 
 
40 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY TEN. 
 
 THE EPOCHS OF INTELLECTUAL LIFE. 
 
 The characteristics of our immaterial parts 
 seem to be as follows : 
 
 The moral nature is developed in childhood, 
 grows and gathers strength in manhood, under 
 proper training; and is maintained by discipline 
 until the close of life. 
 
 In childhood and youth, running into man- 
 hood, at stages varying with the individual, the 
 memory is most impressible, and retentive. 
 
 At stages of manhood, varying with the indi- 
 vidual, the memory becomes less and less im- 
 pressible and retentive ; in age in a general way, 
 and apart from subjects of special interest, it is 
 of slight service, save in its retentiveness of early 
 impressions. 
 
 The imagination is developed in childhood, al- 
 ways retains its normal condition, and is not af- 
 fected by age. 
 
 The perceptive faculties have much the same 
 characteristics as the imagination, being devel- 
 oped early, retaining their normal condition, and 
 being unafi'ected by age. 
 
 The mental powers of reflection and reasoning 
 do n6t usually develop as soon as the memory or 
 
Epochs of Intellectual Life. 41 
 
 the imagination. They appear in youth, but are 
 hardly prepared for effective discipline before the 
 approach of adult age, although they are retained 
 in their full power up to the approach of age, 
 and sometimes to advanced life. 
 
 The will matures with the body, is strongest 
 in manhood and grows feeble in the decline of 
 life. 
 
 These broad propositions involve many excep- 
 tions, and serve, only in a general way, to mark 
 our intellectual condition at various periods of 
 existence. 
 
 Our intellectual life may be divided into three 
 parts : 
 
 The period of discipline — say up to twenty 
 years of age. 
 
 The period of acquisition or knowledge — say, 
 from twenty to forty years of age. 
 
 The period of using and imparting knowledge 
 — say from forty to sixty years of age ; these 
 periods varying with the individual as to time 
 and circumstances. 
 
 During the first period, it is understood, 
 knowledge may be acquired while undergoing 
 discipline, but at this time it is only an incident 
 of education. 
 
 During the second period, it is also understood 
 that discipline will be maintained in the acquisi- 
 tion of knowledge; and that the period is fixed, 
 because the memory grows less and less retentive 
 as we approach age ; when an attempt at the ac- 
 quisition is of little avail, save, as stated, in mat- 
 ters of special interest. 
 
 But this gradual weakening of the memory is 
 
42 Self-Development. 
 
 usual only with contemporary subjects ; and while 
 the weakening may render further acquisition, 
 nearly, if not altogether fruitless, it leaves us 
 free to devote our entire time to using and im- 
 parting the knowledge we have garnered and as- 
 similated. 
 
 In this view of the subject, it is apparent the 
 discipline of all our faculties, save the powers of 
 reflection and reasoning, may be begun, even in 
 childhood; and the discipline of the excepted 
 powers may begin with the approach of adult 
 age; that all the faculties, save memory and will, 
 usually remain in their integrity, and may be 
 maintained by discipline up to the confines of 
 age, if not to advanced life; and that effectual 
 service of the memory and will cannot always be 
 expected after manhood. 
 
 In the endeavor to mark the limit of discipline 
 as to age by broad propositions, the numerous 
 exceptional cases do not suffer; for instance, if 
 the discipline of the reflective and reasoning pow- 
 ers is begun only on the approach of adult age, 
 prior to that period the discipline of the remain- 
 ing faculties, and the bodily exercise indispens- 
 able during the period of growth, will absorb all 
 the time the student has at his disposal. 
 
 Again, if on the approach of age, the memory 
 begins to fail as to contemporary subjects, and 
 the will grows feeble, still as this is the period 
 for using and dispensing our unsunned acquisi- 
 tions, there is slight need of the memory of con- 
 temporaneous subjects, and the will is sufficient 
 for the purpose in hand. 
 
 It seems expedient that during our entire ca- 
 
Epochs of Intellectual Life. 43 
 
 reer we should keep in touch with the knowledge 
 which creates and amuses. It is prudent to pro- 
 vide suitable mental resources to fill what, other- 
 wise, would be idle moments caused by mental or 
 bodily condition or unfavorable circumstance. 
 Ever keeping in touch with this kind of knowl- 
 edge, as we approach age we will take up 
 our Shakespeare, Pope, Scott or Dickens with 
 renewed and increasing delight. 
 
 But if we have not kept up our reading of 
 this character, our wayward fancy, when we 
 are old, and need it most, may feel averse to 
 it, and coquettishly decline the tardy atten- 
 tion it would have earlier welcomed. 
 
44 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY ELEVEN. 
 
 RESULT OF ELEMENTAL SCHOOL TRAINING. 
 
 As this treatise is intended for the youth 
 who has passed the period usually devoted to 
 the Elemental School, and who, presumably 
 has had some experience in its teachings; it 
 seems proper and necessary that prior to his 
 decision as to his future course, he should, in 
 a calm and impartial spirit, review and sum 
 up the results of such elemental training as he 
 may have had; inasmuch as the more dis- 
 cipline he may have been subjected to in the 
 past the less will be required in the future, 
 and vice versa. 
 
 I invite special attention to this review, be- 
 cause I believe a youth in his own hopeful- 
 ness, and through pedagogical influence, is apt 
 to overrate the circumstances of his common- 
 school course, and the degree in discipline he 
 has reached; and the overrating is prejudicial 
 to future training, and must be dispelled as an 
 illusion, in order it may not impede his ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 A serious fault common to schools and all 
 means of education by others, is that they sub- 
 stitute other's views for our own. They sugf- 
 
Elemental School Training. 45 
 
 gest a groove into which our thoughts should 
 fall, and where they should remain ; so that in 
 time one's views and opinions are simply a re- 
 flex of those around him, instead of being the 
 result of his own enquiry and investigation. 
 
 It is for this reason it often happens we 
 have to unlearn as well as learn ; we have con- 
 stantly to be on our guard against impercep- 
 tibly imbibing the opinions of others, without 
 thought of their correctness ; instead of weigh- 
 ing their value, and being guided by our own 
 criterion, and influenced by our own judg- 
 ment. 
 
 When the pedagogue has publicly pro- 
 claimed or tacitly acknowledged his pupil has 
 had all the benefit an elemental school may 
 confer; it is quite natural the pupil should be- 
 lieve his attainments have been measured by 
 competent authority; and that his education 
 has gained a certain mile-stone on his jour- 
 ney; the belief is strengthened in many cases, 
 in view of the fact that he has attended 
 school continuously, from the age of six years 
 until he is sixteen. However it may be, if 
 the youth determines he will take the reins of 
 culture into his own hands, and prepare him- 
 self for a career, he must make an inventory of 
 past acquisitions in order to be advised of 
 future necessities. He will, therefore, insti- 
 tute a searching enquiry into the strength and 
 discipline of each faculty : as, for instance, how 
 far his powers of observation have been 
 strengthened; whether his reasoning power 
 has been brought out and attained a rudi- 
 
46 Self-Development. 
 
 mentary stage; how far his imagination has 
 been improved; and whether school influence 
 has tended to elevate his moral nature. When 
 he has enquired into the advancement of the 
 several faculties, let him note how far the 
 school has otherwise prepared him for a 
 career. Has it taught him habits or manners? 
 Has it aroused an interest in study, or a de- 
 sire to be useful? 
 
 Commencing in this wise he may be able 
 to distinguish between the apparent and the 
 actual advantages of his elemental course. 
 
 If he discovers a broad difference between 
 one and the other, let him be thankful he has 
 made the discovery in time to retrieve errors 
 for which he is not accountable; and if such 
 self-pxamination wounds his pride of opinion 
 in his acquisitions, it will at the same time im- 
 part to him that humbleness of spirit, which is 
 the proper frame of mind to commence self- 
 culture. 
 
College Life. 47 
 
 ESSAY TWELVE. 
 
 COLLEGE LIFE. 
 
 Among youths who have completed a course 
 of study in common or high school, there are 
 usually a certain number who are expected by 
 their parents or guardians to take a Collegiate 
 course ; and if not already prepared to enter 
 college, preparation is made for the purpose. 
 
 It happens frequently that a youth is not 
 consulted on this important subject, save in a 
 perfunctory manner. His inexperience sub- 
 jects him as clay in the hands of the potter; 
 and, too often, there is not even an explana- 
 tion tendered to him, as the governing motive 
 in sending him to college. " 
 
 It seems to me, a youth, prior to his prepara- 
 tion for a college life, should be fully advised 
 of the object of that life; the proper way to 
 attain the object, the discipline necessary, the 
 self-denial he must practice ; the habits he 
 must form ; the advantages that will accrue if 
 he uses properly this grand opportunity, 
 
 " — which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune,'* 
 
 To have a youth prepared for college without 
 informing him of the reason for the step, and 
 the advantage it will be, leaves him to find 
 
48 Self-Development. 
 
 out the reason and advantage for himself, and 
 of his own motion ; now, if he is too young to 
 be consulted on the matter, and an explana- 
 tion could not be understood on account of his 
 inexperience; is he not also too inexpert to 
 discover the advantage for himself, from his 
 own crude standpoint? Yet he must know the 
 advantage in order to arouse his interest, as 
 without interest his attempt to study is of no 
 avail. 
 
 It is true that a youth is not given to re- 
 flection, at the time of life when the prepara- 
 tion for college is usually made. Still, if ex- 
 pected to go through a college course, he 
 should know beforehand, as far as practicable, 
 the leading part he is to perform in that sec- 
 ond act of the Drama of his existence; and 
 that leading part should be faithfully im- 
 pressed upon his memory. Whilst he may not 
 understand at the time, all that may be men- 
 tioned on the subject, he will doubtless under- 
 stand much of it ; and be better equipped to fulfill 
 the expect^ations of all interested in his wel- 
 fare, than if he had not received any prior ex- 
 planation whatever. 
 
 As there may be youths preparing for a col- 
 lege life, who are not favored with explana- 
 tions of this character, I will tender a few 
 hints that may enable them to supply the 
 omission, and arouse an interest in their col- 
 lege studies when the time favors. 
 
 I would approach a youth under these cir- 
 cumstances and say: "Now, my dear bo}^ you 
 are about to travel over the same road I have 
 
College Life. 49 
 
 travelled, and I think I can give to you some 
 suggestions which will be useful on the jour- 
 ney. I can advise you of its rough, as well as 
 of its smooth places ; its delights and its dan- 
 gers; its trials, temptations, and glorious ex- 
 pectations. 
 
 "Of course, your views as to your object in 
 life are yet unshaped ; but I feel you would 
 like to be, not altogether useless in the world, 
 and not discontented with your lot in life. If, 
 then, you would desire to be useful to others, 
 and contented within yourself ; you must serve 
 others, and try to know good from evil, so that 
 you may follow the good. The more exten- 
 sive the bounds of your knowledge, the better 
 you can serve and help others, because their 
 wants will still o'erstep your limited re- 
 sources. 
 
 "In order to increase your knowledge you 
 must undergo discipline. You know the drill 
 required in using the bat, or catching the 
 ball; now, discipline is a drill of the inind, as 
 using the bat is a drill of the eye and arm. 
 
 "Discipline enables you to acquire knowl- 
 edge, as drill enables you to catch the ball. 
 
 "College life is a life of discipline which 
 tends to aid you in the acquisition of knowl- 
 edge, so as to make you useful to others, and 
 in order to cultivate and cherish a contented 
 spirit. 
 
 "This discipline in college assumes many 
 forms, among which are : 
 
 Exercising the memory. 
 
 Fixing the attention, 
 
50 Self-Development. 
 
 Encouraging meditation, 
 
 Bringing out the reasoning power. 
 This discipline is evolved in a great measure 
 from study. In order to study effectually, 
 you will require all the time you can possi- 
 bly have at your disposal ; therefore must fore- 
 go many ways you have in spending it for less 
 useful purposes. In foregoing these ways, 
 your self-denial is exercised. Self-denial in 
 one matter suggests self-denial in another and 
 still another; until it becomes a habit, and 
 gives you the strength of will to put away 
 many other inclinations, habits and cravings 
 which, otherwise, would stand between you 
 and your expectations. 
 
 "You may not understand all this just now; 
 but I know you will reflect on it, and I be- 
 lieve you will understand it in good time. 
 
 "Remember, there are two educations — one 
 from others — the more important from your- 
 self: in fact, you must rely less and less upon 
 others in all your efforts as you progress; 
 and more and more upon yourself; until a 
 teacher's aid, while still helpful, is not a neces- 
 sity; because you will have learned to teach 
 yourself, which is the aim and endeavor, in- 
 deed, the main object of all education. 
 
 "Do not begin a study without arousing a 
 lively interest in it; otherwise you go, as it 
 were, to a feast without an appetite. If you 
 do not perceive the uses and advantages of 
 the study; and the discipline it will give to 
 you close the book until you do. To en- 
 deavor to pursue a study without being in- 
 
College Life. 51 
 
 terested in it in any manner will not benefit 
 you, and is simply a waste of time. It is 
 probable, however, that you will reflect that 
 all discipline is self-sacrifice, more or less ; and 
 that Duty may move you when other incen- 
 tives fail. 
 
 "Emulation among members of your class 
 in various studies is often put forward as an 
 incentive to exertion ; but emulation is a sorry 
 motive. Whilst friendly rivalry is not ob- 
 jectionable, the motive in your endeavors 
 should spring from a higher source. You 
 should excel, not to score a victory over your 
 fellows, but for the sake of the excellence 
 and in order to reach perfection, as far as 
 your capacity will allow. 
 
 "Already you know something of habits, 
 because day by day you are now forming 
 them. I commend your thoughtfulness to 
 the subject. Good habits will be allies in your 
 aspirations. Bad habits will be enemies. 
 Slight introspection will enable you to dis- 
 tinguish one from the other. Brilliant men 
 have failed in life, because they had acquired 
 indolent habits or idle ways, from which they 
 could have freed themselves while young; 
 but which, in time grew fixed and irresistible. 
 Cleave to the habits which help, and when you 
 find a habit that cumbers your path ; put it by 
 promptly and for all time. You will soon 
 know, if you do not already know, that habit 
 makes the man, and that you will serve 
 others and yourself, and reach real success in 
 life; just in proportion as you have freed 
 
52 Self-Development. 
 
 yourself from any ill habit you may have 
 formed, and cleaved to the good. 
 
 "Prepare your habits, as well as your 
 mathematics for college, and when you enter 
 it feel that its doors have closed upon any ill 
 habits you may have formed, and that you 
 have brought to your studies all the good 
 habits which help. 
 
 "It is well, also, for you to remember that, 
 while it is commonly supposed a college course 
 of study fits one for the sphere of ordinary 
 life, a College Faculty usually does not hold 
 out any such proposition. It does not even 
 propose to embrace the entire field of disci- 
 pline in its curriculum. It proposes to the 
 collegian only a certain limited course of 
 study, which leaves out many subjects im- 
 portant for you to know and to practice. A 
 College Faculty does not propose to instruct 
 in manners, the cultivation of the affections, 
 self-denial, and many other subjects. You 
 will, therefore, accept what a College Faculty 
 may tender to you in the way of instruction 
 and discipline, but keep in mind what it does 
 not offer, and the needs it does not supply. 
 Those needs I have referred to in these essays. 
 Read one of them carefully. Meditate upon 
 it. Do not adopt a suggestion offered unless 
 it has the voluntary homage of your unquali- 
 fied approval. If, upon a suggestion made, you 
 can build something better than I have done, 
 I am willing mine should serve as the humble 
 foundation hidden beneath your superstruc- 
 ture. 
 
College Life. 53 
 
 "When you shall have, in this wise, com- 
 pleted one essay, go on to another, and an- 
 other; meditating upon each in like manner. 
 Build something better; something of your 
 own — that will be better, for it will be tinged 
 with your individuality. All this will require 
 infinite pains, but infinite pains are the method 
 under which genius wins the laurel." 
 
 With these explanations, the youth may en- 
 ter college as an heir, prepared to cultivate a 
 fair and goodly heritage. He will find there 
 the learned professors who instruct ; a library 
 and appliances for his use ; youths of his own 
 age to meet in hours of recreation ; and the 
 very atmosphere redolent of happy influences. 
 There he may, in the seclusion of his cham- 
 bers, have the solitude necessary for study and 
 meditation ; a solitude where he may nurse 
 his infant thoughts, and callow aspirations 
 until they grow, wax in strength, and in the 
 fulness of time move men, communities and 
 empires. 
 
54 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY THIRTEEN. 
 
 HYGIENIC. 
 
 The object of self-culture is to bring out, dis- 
 cipline, and strengthen each faculty of our 
 immaterial being; these faculties have such re- 
 lation to, and sympathy with, our material 
 being that it is indispensable to maintain the 
 latter in sound condition, in order to have the 
 full benefit of the former. 
 
 It is in vain, therefore, that a young man 
 expects intellectual advancement, commensur- 
 ate with his capacity, unless he commences 
 with health, and maintains it in a normal con- 
 dition, under regular habits, and temperate 
 and inexorable rules. 
 
 In order to ensure faithful obedience to the 
 laws of health he must be moved by that im- 
 pelling power, which under the name of Duty 
 IS the cause of all praiseworthy action. Duty 
 here, as elsewhere, should be 
 
 "a light to guide." 
 Let the young man settle the point at once 
 and for all time, that without health he can- 
 not be useful to others, he cannot have his 
 own peace of mind; and that the proper care 
 of it shall be of primary importance to him and 
 paramount to all other duties, because all other 
 duties of life depend upon it. 
 
Hygienic. 55 
 
 Our sensations, if we only heed their warn- 
 ing note, indicate the food we should use, the 
 garments which should protect, and the habits 
 we should adopt; otherwise, ordinary pru- 
 dence reveals to us the care to be given to 
 our physical structure. It is usually the 
 thoughtless who suffer, and the remedy of 
 thoughtfulness is in their own hands. 
 
 The young man eager to advance in intel- 
 lectual pursuits feels that the shortness of 
 life is a reason why every available moment 
 of time should be employed for the purpose; 
 and if, when nature appeals to him for the 
 sleep through which she restores ; the exercise 
 to which she is entitled ; or moderation and 
 judiciousness in his diet; he haggles with her 
 and concludes by defrauding her of her rights 
 — as he conceitedly supposes ; let him remem- 
 ber that nature never yet was baffled in this 
 wise without resenting it. She favors those 
 who obey her law, but punishes those who do 
 not with unsparing justice, and without hope 
 of reprieve or pardon. Let the aspiring youth 
 be her loyal subject and she will honor him; 
 but if he dare be an outlaw, let him be as- 
 sured a price will be set upon his head, and in 
 due time he will feel the terrible might of her 
 vengeance. 
 
 Our best schools of learning provide in- 
 structors and appliances for athletic sports, 
 and encourage them in every manner, but it 
 seems questionable whether the exciting na- 
 ture of many, is not incompatible with the ab- 
 straction required in application to study. In 
 
^6 Self-Development. 
 
 this case the student might observe a golden 
 mean, by eliminating from his recreations all 
 those which are of this nature. 
 
 Schools where students may have exercise 
 in mechanical, farm, or garden labor, or other 
 pursuits having some practical object in view, 
 and not of an exciting character, yet giving 
 the needful recreation, commend themselves 
 to the young aspirant. 
 
 Before a youth attains full growth he re- 
 quires more exercise than when mature. Na- 
 ture has so ordered it, as exemplified in the 
 daily life of children, who are usually in mo- 
 tion from morn to night. 
 
 Six hours a day before maturity, and four 
 hours a day afterward might be considered a 
 lavish and hazardous investment of our pre- 
 cious time, for purposes of recreation ; but it 
 would yield noble and assured dividends. 
 
 These matters of diet, clothing, habits, and 
 exercise require our utmost caution from the 
 fact that ill effects from one or another of 
 these causes do not always appear at once, 
 and in a manner to retrieve an error, but they 
 are frequently developed tardily, or when too 
 late to remedy. 
 
 Let it be borne in mind, as an illustration, 
 that instances of longevity resulting from 
 health, are commonly from the ranks of those 
 whose circumstances compelled them to be 
 simple and frugal in their diet, whose lives 
 were passed much in the open air, devoid of 
 excitement, and under the exaction of constant 
 labor. 
 
The Moral Faculty. SI 
 
 ESSAY FOURTEEN. 
 
 THE MORAL FACULTY. 
 
 In the self-culture to which a youth may 
 dedicate himself, there is no discipline more 
 important than that which seeks to bring out 
 the Moral Faculty in its full strength, and to 
 elevate it to its full height; because it is the 
 sole guide by which the discipline of the re- 
 maining faculties may be directed into proper 
 channels, and achieve desirable ends. 
 
 The Moral Faculty enters into the concerns 
 of daily life; its cultivation tinges that life 
 with a supernal hue, no training of the intel- 
 lect without it, could impart; it furnishes to 
 the intellect its grandest incentives, and gives 
 to it an impetus it cannot have from arty other 
 source. 
 
 In the discipline of the Moral Faculty the 
 precepts are few — their practice invites our 
 utmost thoughtfulness, and calls into service 
 all happy restraining influences. 
 
 Leaving aside the religion of Christ to be 
 discussed by Jew or Gentile, His ethics may 
 be accepted by mankind without qualification, 
 and embody a code which in its completeness, 
 its simplicity and its brevity leaves no point 
 unnoticed, and no part misunderstood. 
 
58 Self-Development. 
 
 Let the youth who ^eeks self-culture take 
 the few precepts of this code to his heart, and 
 in the solitude of his chamber, meditate upon 
 the manner in which its great Expounder car- 
 ried out its spirit in his daily walk and con- 
 versation. 
 
 When we reflect that discipline of the 
 Moral Faculty enables us to reach an eleva- 
 tion of character indispensable to all who 
 would lead a life of completeness ; and that 
 a relaxation may entail serious and far-reach- 
 ing consequences ; it seems impossible to over- 
 rate its importance, or that we can be over- 
 zealous in its acquisition. 
 
 The discipline of the Moral Faculty, as dis- 
 tinguished from the discipline of other facul- 
 ties, demands unceasing vigilance; and while 
 habit aids this, as well as other faculties, there 
 must be joined to it constant introspection 
 and endeavor; as long as life lasts we are 
 never secure against the temptation that may 
 disturb our serenity of mind, nor the selfish- 
 ness that may come between our neighbor and 
 ourselves. 
 
 But if the discipline is life-long and with- 
 out remission; the good result is immeasurable 
 and without a disquieting element. 
 
 Humanity ofifers no grander spectacle than 
 the man whose life is governed by law; whose 
 conscience applies that law with the impartial- 
 ity of a judge; and whose decisions under the 
 name of Duty are executed in justice to others 
 and to himself. 
 
 It is presumed that in the early morning, if 
 
The Moral Faculty. 59 
 
 not in the previous evening, the young man 
 will plan his occupations for the day. As the 
 evening closes he can safely follow the coun- 
 sel of the heathen philosopher: 
 
 "Let not sleep close thine eyelids until 
 thou hast thrice reviewed the actions of the 
 past day. What have I done? What have I 
 left undone? Where have I turned from the 
 path of rectitude? Begin thus at the first ac- 
 tion and proceed to the last. At the evil 
 thou hast done be troubled, but rejoice for the 
 good." 
 
 It is a happy incident in our moral nature, 
 that where even a single virtue becomes a 
 habit it attracts other virtues to it; as one vir- 
 tue grows, others grow in sympathetic rela- 
 tion; and these virtues in time, aid in the for- 
 mation of that combination called character, in 
 which each virtue not only remains intact, but 
 the combination gives to us an armor that re- 
 sists alike the temptations of prosperity; the 
 hardships of adversity; and secures from out- 
 ward shock that contentment without which 
 busy life is without joy, and age without re- 
 pose or cheer. 
 
 In the field of discipline to which his im- 
 material being bids him, the young man can 
 find no portion, as in this, in which self-cul- 
 ture must be so entirely relied upon, and in 
 which earnest endeavor will achieve greater 
 results. 
 
 The school of learning he may attend could 
 aid him, but it is not a part of its programme. 
 It is a neutral power in the preparation for this 
 
6o Self-Development. 
 
 stern and prolonged conflict of his life, be- 
 tween his good and his evil genius, for the 
 noblest end to which he could aspire. If he 
 gives promise of becoming a Greek scholar 
 or a mathematician of renown, it is of no con- 
 sequence to it, whether he has the moral cour- 
 age to maintain the truth and the right, or the 
 wholesome fear to do a wrong. 
 
 Let the young man supply the grave omis- 
 sion, if not the criminal neglect. Let him con- 
 sider that all learning is of little avail, save it 
 be deeply tinctured with a sense of life's re- 
 sponsibility; a thorough conviction of Diity to 
 others and to himself; a high conception of 
 moral worth; and a discipline that will serve 
 him in the hour of temptation. 
 
 Our moral nature is a potent instrument 
 for intellectual growth. Illustrations could 
 be furnished from many lives in which a dis- 
 ciplined and lofty moral nature wrought won- 
 ders under the conviction of Duty; and Duty 
 is the expression of our moral nature when it 
 becomes sanctified by its elevation. 
 
On Religion. 6l 
 
 ESSAY FIFTEEN. 
 
 ON RELIGION. 
 
 In my imaginings on the natural parts of a 
 youth it never occurs to me that he may have 
 low instincts or sordid motives of action ; that 
 he may be without definite purpose, and with- 
 out an object in life to lift him above the beasts 
 of the field. I seem to realize that he has high 
 desire, pure motive, fixed purpose, and a 
 determination to rise. What would the world 
 be to him, or, indeed to any of us, if we had 
 not aspirations for a higher life? 
 
 These aspirations of themselves are a re- 
 ligion; they are emanations of the Divine 
 Power within us. We have only to watch 
 over them vigilantly, nurture them thought- 
 fully, discipline them thoroughly, and they 
 will lead us onward and upward until we reach 
 the plane where we will find the footprints of 
 the Grand Master, which we may safely take 
 and follow to the end. 
 
 I have stated these aspirations for a higher 
 life emanate from the Divine Power within us ; 
 because in spite of all that has been said to the 
 contrary, I believe that mankind are more dis- 
 posed to good than to evil ; that our conscience 
 
62 Self-Development. 
 
 came unspotted into the world; and though 
 often checked or stunted in its growth by un- 
 friendly surroundings, or warped by passion or 
 selfish interest, its voice asserts itself when- 
 ever the environment is changed, the passion 
 subsided, and the selfishness thrust aside. 
 Were it otherwise man would never turn from 
 his evil ways, and repentance would be a word 
 without meaning. 
 
 Sheldon's "In His Steps" made a profound 
 impression on me. He showed a highway so 
 clear no one could miss ; and all could take. 
 The journey he suggests requires neither scrip 
 nor purse. The sole requirement to reach 
 the end is to leave behind whaC could well 
 be spared — all considerations of self. The 
 story he tells is simple; the lesson it imparts 
 elevates and inspires. Let the youth lay it to 
 his heart, until he has fixed self-denial in his 
 moral system, as the sun in the universe, 
 around which all other virtues, like planets, 
 may revolve. 
 
 It may be said that in this instance, as in 
 many others, it is easier to give the precept 
 than to illustrate it by example. This is true, 
 but there is no dififiiculty in the illustration 
 that may not be overcome by him, who is 
 moved by a noble ambition. Let the youth 
 grapple with the first self-indulgence that 
 stands in the way of his high hopes. It will 
 prove a puny adversary in determined hands. 
 Each combat strengthens him for the next 
 conflict, until his enemy gives way at his ap- 
 proach. 
 
On Religion. ^3 
 
 The student will feel cheered on his way to 
 
 self-abnegation if he will call to mind the many 
 good souls about us who practice self-denial, 
 seemingly without thought. Wordsworth re- 
 fers to this class in his ode to Duty — one of 
 the finest spiritual poems of the language: 
 
 "There are who ask not if Thine eye 
 Be on them; who in love and truth. 
 Where no misgiving is, rely 
 Upon the genial sense of youth. 
 Glad hearts! Without reproach or blot: 
 Who do Thy work, and know it not." 
 
 If others can fulfil Life's Duties in this wise 
 unconsciously, who do their work, and "know 
 it not," why may not the eager youth reach 
 through training, what these have reached at 
 a bound? 
 
 If we hearken to the sublime teachings of 
 the Grand Master, and seek to follow "In His 
 Steps" — and even an agnostic could do so con- 
 sistently — our spiritual life would grow until 
 every thought felt the sweet influence; and 
 every object about us would be softened with 
 the haze of a summer day. It would make 
 every flower more splendidly hued ; every 
 blade of grass more richly tinted ; every bab- 
 bling brook more musical. It would take the 
 form of honor to manhood, reverence to wo- 
 manhood, tenderness to the young, thought- 
 fulness to the old. 
 
 When the zealous youth reaches that period 
 of his existence wherein he feels the heart 
 
64 Self-Development. 
 
 throb palpably with aspirations for a higher 
 life; when these aspirations are moulded into 
 a resolution to achieve in substance what he 
 perceives in form ; when he decides that every 
 self-indulgence in the way shall be met and 
 fought with all the force of his nature; when 
 he sees plainly the pathway he should take 
 imprinted with His feet; in His steps let him 
 walk to the end. Let him walk assuredly, 
 glad in heart and humble in spirit; and as he 
 moves on beams of light from above will make 
 his path brighter, and his heart more and more 
 joyous with a great joy. 
 
 When he has fairly started on this pilgrim- 
 age, if systems of Faith are tendered to him on 
 one side or forms of Worship on the other, he 
 is prepared to decide whether one or both 
 will help or hinder on the way; and accept or 
 reject as his necessity requires, or his judg- 
 ment may determine. 
 
The Perceptive Faculties. 65 
 
 ESSAY SIXTEEN. 
 
 THE PERCEPTIVE FACULTIES. 
 
 The effect of training upon the Perceptive 
 Faculties is well known. The sailor discovers 
 an object on the horizon, the landsman's vision 
 sweeps in ignorance. The Indian notes the 
 trail of an animal, the unpracticed eye fails to 
 perceive; the musical ear finds discord un- 
 noticed by another; the money-changer detects 
 a false bill by the touch, and wine-tasting is an 
 occupation ! Other facts might be adduced 
 tending to show that through training the Per- 
 ceptive Faculties may be cultivated, and in the 
 cultivation, widen the field of their usefulness, 
 and minister to our gratification. 
 
 It is well to mark that while some are pe- 
 culiarly adapted to this training, as the musi- 
 cal ear to perceive harmony ; the main portion 
 of those subjected to it are not selected by 
 reason of personal fitness, but taken indiscrim- 
 inately, and without reference to other than an 
 average condition of these Faculties : Indians, 
 generally, know more or less of wood-craft, 
 and sailors' visions are acute and far-seeing. 
 
 If we turn from a normal condition of the 
 faculties to an abnormal condition, we note 
 
66 Self-Development. 
 
 that the loss of sight tends to bring out the 
 sense of hearing and of touch, perhaps of taste 
 and smell; and these are unconsciously trained 
 to supply, as far as practicable, the loss of vi- 
 sion : in like manner the deaf unconsciously 
 educate the eye-sight. 
 
 These circumstances are encouraging to him 
 who desires to discipline his perceptive facul- 
 ties. If the untutored savage, or the sailor be- 
 fore the mast, or the blind or deaf, can train 
 himself in this manner ; surely there is no seri- 
 ous difficulty to overcome, and something in 
 that way may be accomplished by the aspiring 
 youth himself. 
 
 It is evident the discipline of the Percep- 
 tive Faculties cannot be materially aided by 
 books, and the young man at college may be 
 invited to learn what these Faculties are 
 theoretically, but not to discipline them prac- 
 tically. 
 
 The senses of touch, taste and smell have 
 manifest uses. It is through the ear that a 
 proclivity for music may be fostered, to the 
 delight of others and of ourselves : otherwise 
 the sense of hearing ministers to our pleasure 
 in human speech, in the melody of instru- 
 ments, the carol of birds, the sighing of the 
 wind in the forest, the sound of falling waters, 
 and the moaning of the ocean waves as they 
 break upon the shore. 
 
 The sense of sight seems pre-eminent in its 
 usefulness. As a great Purveyor it forages 
 the visible world with keen and thorough 
 adeptness, and lays its spoils at the feet of th*.- 
 
The Perceptive Faculties. 67 
 
 Reflective Powers, in order they may be 
 wrought into philosophic thought or poetic 
 sentiment : yet how few accept the spiritual en- 
 tertainment it offers, and bids us to feast upon 
 it and be filled ! 
 
 The discipline of the faculty of sight must 
 begin by a conception of its importance which 
 will arouse the interest (the mainspring of 
 intellectual progress) and which will move us 
 towards the objective point with all the force 
 of our nature. 
 
 When a young man is thoroughly impressed 
 with the importance of observing, of its utility, 
 and of its capability to inform and to gratify; 
 his interest, doubtless, will be aroused to keep 
 eye and ear attent on whatever may be pass- 
 ing, or whatever may be disclosed. When he 
 is thus aware of the importance of observing, 
 interested in observation, and desirous of en- 
 larging these powers — this frame of mind per- 
 sisted in, will gradually give him the habit 
 which is only another name for discipline. 
 
 It is necessary to impress the importance of 
 this discipline upon the young man, because so 
 many pass through life and find so little use 
 for eye or ear when there is always something 
 along our path which may interest and in- 
 struct. 
 
 It is observation — untiring in its vigilance — 
 persistent in its office — that opens to us mat- 
 ter of enquiry and investigation, and uncovers 
 facts like those from whose deductions science 
 has made mighty strides ; not only in the dis- 
 cernible horizon, but in the heavens above 
 
68 Self-Development. 
 
 and the earth beneath. It is to the patient, 
 persevering observer that nature discloses her 
 phenomena and reveals her laws. 
 
 Observation has not only contributed vast 
 stores to scientific lore, but it has opened to us 
 a more enlarged vision of the Beautiful. Who 
 can read Jeffries, or our Thoreau and Bur- 
 roughs and not have noble envy of their acute 
 and finished powers of observation? Doubt- 
 less the result of long training, yet what vol- 
 umes of reflection it made known to them, as 
 it may make known to us ! As the alchemists 
 of old are said to have transmuted baser metals 
 into gold, so these alchemists of nature have 
 taken bleak down or lonely wilderness and 
 shown they are peopled with flowers and musi- 
 cal with birds, the unobservant eye failed to 
 perceive, and the unobservant ear failed to dis- 
 tinguish. 
 
 Let the young man, therefore, use his powers 
 of perception ; let his capacity for observation 
 be ceaselessly on the "qui vive." It will soon 
 become a habit of unalloyed delight. Let him 
 note aspects of nature as revealed in hill, in 
 dale, mountain top and gorge — where wildest 
 • — where the peaceful triumphs of toil. 
 
 Let him note beast and bird and reptile — the 
 tiniest creature — the lowliest flower. Let him 
 turn to monuments of architectural skill — to 
 the glories of the Old Masters as they seem 
 ready to start out from the canvas; and let 
 him note those forms in marble which combine 
 "the grace of every model and the perfection 
 of every master." Let him note clouds and 
 
The Perceptive Faculties. 69 
 
 mists — rain and snow — the first leaf-buds of 
 spring — the hues of autumn — the death of win- 
 ter, yet enclosing in its mortal and visible 
 parts, the buds and hope of spring's resurrec- 
 tion. Let him be assured there is no disci- 
 pline which has a greater tendency to enlarge 
 his understanding, and which induces those 
 reflections that shape themselves into prac- 
 tical measures of utility, or which will gratify 
 that love and reverence for the Beautiful which 
 charms and sweetens existence. 
 
70 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY SEVENTEEN. 
 
 THE IMAGINATION. 
 
 While other faculties of the mind require 
 serious and aggressive discipline in order to 
 bring out their power, the Imagination, like 
 Minerva, from the brain of Jove, springs, full- 
 fledged, into perfect being. It knows neither 
 youth nor age. Unfriendly causes may impede 
 its free movement, but cannot control or sub- 
 due it. It was given to us for a beneficent 
 purpose — to make glad the pathway of Hfe, 
 that, otherwise would be rugged and barren 
 of interest. It is to our daily walk what sun- 
 shine is to the world. It gilds 
 
 "pale streams with heavenly alchemy." 
 
 To mountain top it adds to its exquisite haze, 
 to the valley it gives more than its dreamy 
 repose. 
 
 It discovers beauty in every scene — and 
 "beauty unadorned" is adorned by it. It 
 smiles under the thatched roof of Poverty, and 
 the bolt of the dungeon cannot bar it out. It 
 is with us in every vicissitude of life, and age 
 finds it unwearied in its ministrations to our 
 pleasure. 
 
The Imagination. 7^ 
 
 Yet how unimportant a feature is the culti- 
 vation and direction of the Imagination in the 
 curriculum of a college ! What youth may say 
 he owed to a College Professor his awakening 
 to the glories of the Imagination, and that the 
 good influences of its culture could be traced to 
 that source? 
 
 As in many other contingencies, the youth, 
 in this respect, must buckle on his armor of 
 self-reliance and shape his own course. He 
 will discover that of all children of the brain 
 the Imagination is the most docile. It re- 
 quires not so much discipline as direction ; it 
 is not so much like the drill of the soldier for 
 the conflict, as it may be compared to the 
 training of the vine on the wall. 
 
 It must be borne in mind by the aspiring 
 youth that the cultivation of the Imagination 
 through the medium of books, is only a cul- 
 tivation at second hand. In books he reads the 
 gloss and not the text, he studies a copy, not 
 the original ; while many glosses are faithful 
 chronicles, and many copies wonderful of 
 themselves ; the text and the original are still 
 more wonderful. Sculptor never equalled his 
 model, nor painter ever given the glow of 
 beauty's cheek before him. The grandeur of 
 Shakespeare, the sublimity of Milton, have 
 their sources in nature without and within us. 
 Let the youth seek the fountain-head of their 
 inspiration. Let him search nature and then 
 turn to its interpretation by its great masters. 
 He who would emulate Turner in his land- 
 
72 Self-Development. 
 
 scapes, must look at the landscapes and then at 
 the picture. 
 
 Let the student seek nature and let him feel, 
 
 "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, 
 There is a rapture on the lonely shore" 
 
 It is a novitiate in the great monastery of 
 nature that fits him to enjoy the lessons of na- 
 ture's great high priests. The vow of observa- 
 tion performed — the probation over — he may 
 learn of the Beautiful at the feet of Shake- 
 speare, and in Wordsworth he will find a com- 
 panion, 
 
 " — wedded to this goodly universe . 
 In love and holy passion." 
 
 In the selection of such books as may serve 
 to cultivate the Imagination, the student in his 
 own mother-tongue, will find no dearth in vari- 
 ety or number. It would be well to choose a 
 few of the best, and "dare be ignorant" of the 
 remainder. His time will not allow him to be 
 familiar with many, nor is it indispensable. 
 Withal he should remember that the tempta- 
 tion is great, and sometimes overpowering to 
 give an excess of time to creations of the 
 Fancy, to the impairment of time that should 
 be devoted to other purposes; so anxious is 
 this faculty to entertain, and to be ever ready 
 to please. 
 
 It is idle to read what one does not assimi- 
 late, or what does not interest, although what 
 
The Imagination. 73 
 
 does not interest at one time may interest at 
 another time. When I was sixteen I read sev- 
 eral parts of Paradise Lost and gave it up, as 
 it failed to interest. A few years later I read 
 and re-read it with unadulterate delight. 
 
 As to authors who have chosen this portion 
 of letters, it may be observed no author has 
 written uniformly well, as a rule, but the cus- 
 tom of editors has been to throw pell-mell to- 
 gether all that a distinguished author ever 
 wrote, leaving the reader to select. When a 
 novelist has written much, usually his early 
 novels are the best, in my experience; Bulwer, 
 however, is an exception ; his latest novels sur- 
 pass his earlier productions. Dickens' power 
 was better sustained to the end than most writ- 
 ers. Scott's later novels are considered the 
 least interesting. 
 
 Shakespeare's best plays and sonnets should 
 be studied. There is little of Milton, and per- 
 haps less of Pope that should not permeate the 
 imagination with their happy influences. 
 
 Of the plays under the joint names of Beau- 
 mont and Fletcher: 
 
 The Maid's Tragedy, 
 
 Philaster, 
 
 The Humorous Lieutenant, 
 
 Valentinian, 
 
 The Knight of Malta, 
 
 Thierry and Theodoret, 
 
 The Honest Man's Fortune, 
 
 The Two Noble Kinsmen, 
 merit careful reading. They are replete with 
 what are considered by many the obsolete 
 
74" Self-Development. 
 
 ideas of a chivalric age — Honor, Courtesy, 
 Dignity, — some of the mile-stones, 
 
 "In the white way of virtue." 
 
 Of the plays of Ben Jonson, 
 
 Every Man in His Humor, 
 
 Sejanus, His Fall, 
 
 Volpone, 
 
 Epicoene, 
 
 The Alchemist, 
 
 The Sad Shepherd, 
 are worthy of attention. I think Sejanus is 
 the best testimony to his classical attainments. 
 
 All of Gray's poems should be read, and so 
 of Shelley and Keats, Moore's Melodies, 
 Burns, Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel, Mar- 
 mion and Lady of the Lake. 
 
 Wordsworth is instructive : many of his 
 poems should not have been published, but if 
 he had never written a line more than his "In- 
 timations of Immortality," or his "Ode to 
 Duty," either would have stamped him as a 
 poet ; and it would be difficult to find one who 
 out of simple lives and humble surroundings 
 could draw so much cheerful philosophy and 
 sweet content as he has done in "The Excur- 
 sion." 
 
 Among novelists, Scott, Bulwer, Dickens, 
 and our own Cooper and Irving offer entertain- 
 ing reading. Thackeray and "George Eliot" 
 merit careful attention. Blackmore's "Lorna 
 Doone," "The Maid of Sker" and "Cradock 
 Nowell" are fine studies of creative fancy. 
 
The Imagination. 75 
 
 These are simply suggestions taken from my 
 own reading, and not intended to exclude other 
 writers of merit, nor is it intended that much 
 of the matter suggested should be read only 
 once. The student as he becomes more and 
 more interested in cultivating his imagination, 
 will instinctively turn again and again to the 
 choice portions of his readings ; and these in- 
 dications may serve if he is ever at a loss to 
 guide him to some of the elect spirits of the 
 language, who have given "a local habitation 
 and a name" to "airy nothings of the brain." 
 
76 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY EIGHTEEN. 
 
 THE MEMORY. 
 
 In the acquisition of knowledge, as in the 
 acquisition of money, it is not so much what 
 we acquire, as what we are able to keep, that 
 constitutes true gain. Memory, mother of 
 the Muses, must be invoked and interested in 
 the acquirement, or we fail in our purpose. 
 Habit here, as in other contingencies, is dis- 
 cipline ; and "I'habitude peut tout," as the Gaul 
 hath it, must be our motto ; or, in our vernacu- 
 lar, "Habit wins." 
 
 To the youth who desires to have memory's 
 faithful aid, the thought is full of hope that no 
 faculty responds more readily to discipline, nor 
 advances more rapidly. Still the discipline 
 costs effort, and continued effort, if we would 
 have its generous service and not its unreliable 
 help. 
 
 The means to effect this discipline will vary 
 to some extent with the peculiarities of the in- 
 dividual ; all methods, however, must converge 
 to the point of retentiveness in order to serve. 
 
 An idea must not only be conceived, but im- 
 pressed upon the memory. The impression, 
 usually, is faint or clear, according to the inter- 
 
The Memory. 77 
 
 est we take in the idea. It is well to retain the 
 idea in mind until its impress is distinct. In 
 reading, for instance, not allow anxiety to 
 cover much ground, outpace the interest which 
 impresses each idea advanced. In the food we 
 eat it is not the quantity used, but the quantity 
 assimilated that sustains our bodily health ; so, 
 in reading, it is not the pages read, but the 
 ideas acquired that is of service. The man who 
 has read a few books on a subject, and read 
 them to advantage, is more formidable as an an- 
 tagonist, than he who has read many books on 
 the same subject, in a perfunctory manner. 
 Hence the saying, "Beware of the man of few 
 books." 
 
 In a treatise on Education, written by me, 
 there are the following paragraphs on the sub- 
 ject: 
 
 "When interest is thoroughly aroused, a 
 study may be commenced. Interest fixes the 
 attention, and when the attention is fixed and 
 absorbed, memory acts up to the measure of its 
 capacity." "When it is considered that all 
 knowledge is almost, if not altogether, use- 
 less to us, unless memory has made it part of 
 us, spiritually; it becomes matter of profound 
 and far-reaching concern that it should be 
 thoroughly and efifectively disciplined. There 
 are various methods suggested for doing so, 
 but the natural is the most simple, and the 
 more reasonable — create first the interest, fix 
 the attention, and the memory will take care 
 of itself." 
 
 "The fixed attention necessary to success- 
 
78 Self-Development. 
 
 ful exercise of the memory can be acquired 
 only by patient and persistent effort. Con- 
 stant practice is the royal road to it ; and labori- 
 ously, step by step, must we advance; but the 
 fatigue of the journey will be forgotten in the 
 reward of a retentiveness of the memory, with- 
 out which it is in vain to seek to increase our 
 store of knowledge ; and in the further reward, 
 induced by discipline of the memory, of that 
 concentered attention, which is a grand char- 
 acteristic, leading all others to the highest 
 peaks of intellectual achievement." 
 
 A subject may be well impressed upon the 
 memory ; yet in many cases the imprint grad- 
 ually fades. Hence students review a book or 
 subject which they expect to use in order it 
 may retain its pristine freshness in the mem- 
 ory. Thorough reviewing, indeed, is indis- 
 pensable to the complete acquisition of a sub- 
 ject. Memory, as your lady-love, must have 
 the curtesy of your attention ; if you manifest 
 neglect, it is likely that when you expect her to 
 smile upon you, she will repel you with a frown ! 
 
 Let the young man keep in mind that inter- 
 est is the very life of memory. Let him never 
 begin a study save under the impetus of in- 
 terest, as the engine starts with a full head of 
 steam, and when interest flags, let him close 
 the book; when the interest is thoroughly 
 aroused and maintained, the memory is dis- 
 tinctly impressed, is in its best condition, and 
 the student should "strike while the iron is 
 hot." 
 
 Multifarious reading, such as is afforded by 
 
The Memory. 79 
 
 the columns of a daily newspaper, impairs the 
 memory, and should be indulged in sparingly; 
 it is simply teasing the memory, or taxing it 
 to no purpose to do more than skim over it — 
 noting only matters of general or personal in- 
 terest. The greater part of the monthly maga- 
 zines really contain very little serviceable mat- 
 ter. Even of useful matter, in ephemeral liter- 
 ature, we do not avail ourselves of it as we 
 should ; we do not attempt to arrange or classify 
 it — to store it in our memocy in such order as 
 to have it ready for use, when the occasion 
 serves ; or file away interesting slips ; or note a 
 subject treated in our Index Rerum as here- 
 after explained, as aids to our memory; so as 
 to refer to them when needed — all of which 
 should be done by those who devote valuable 
 time to this kind of reading in order to meet 
 the truth of the proposition with which we set 
 out — that it is not what we acquire but what 
 we keep, which constitutes actual gain. 
 
8o Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY NINETEEN. 
 
 THE WILL. 
 
 The Faculties of the mind show design in 
 their creation, whether we consider them apart 
 or in their relation to each other ; not one may 
 be spared without limiting the capacity of the 
 mind to a certain extent ; not one may be 
 strengthened but all participate in the addi- 
 tional strength. 
 
 In many natures a faculty is of such force 
 that habit or discipline adds little to it, while 
 in other natures continuous efforts are neces- 
 sary to attain the habit that develops the 
 strength. 
 
 The man of innate strength of will notes 
 what is to be performed, determines promptly 
 the manner of performance, gives his energy 
 to the achievement, and success usually crowns 
 his endeavor. The man of feeble will in not- 
 ing what is to be done, doubts and hesitates as 
 to the manner, and begins his undertaking in 
 the in different way that forebodes failure. In 
 one case nature seems to have given the well- 
 conditioned will, in the other it is feeble, and 
 must be strengthened by discipline. 
 
 Can it be disciplined? Mankind commonly 
 
The Will. 8 1 
 
 use the will in its untrained state, without 
 thought of attempting its discipline in view of 
 adding to its power. 
 
 But the moral faculty may be disciplined, so 
 of the reasoning power, the memory and the 
 perceptions ; therefore, it appears reasonable 
 in the light of analogy, this power was not 
 created different from others, and may be dis- 
 ciplined as well as other faculties. 
 
 Let us analyse the will-power, and note 
 whether there is any impediment to its culture 
 and improvement. 
 
 The will-power in its usual exercise unfolds 
 three stages on its way to successful effort. 
 I. — An incentive to exertion. 
 II. — Decision on the manner of exertion. 
 
 III. — Energy in carrying out the decision. 
 The will-power may be improved by the selec- 
 tion of a proper incentive to exertion ; and 
 there is a choice of many, varying from the 
 sordid to the exalted. It will materially 
 strengthen the will-power to choose the ele- 
 vated and to keep our vision upon it, as the 
 Israelites the cloud by day, and the fire by 
 night; and Duty is the grand incentive. It is 
 our duty to use each and all our faculties to 
 the greatest advantage. Our moral nature, 
 speaking through conscience, demands it in the 
 imperative and commanding tone that cannot 
 pass unheeded. 
 
 Conscience not only tells us our duty under 
 ordinary circumstances, but in all doubt, de- 
 cides ; in our sluggishness, it arouses; and in 
 our faint-heartedness cheers and inspires. 
 
82 Self-Development. 
 
 Decision is the next characteristic of proper 
 will-'power, and how many of us lack it ! Lack 
 it to our sorrow ! We doubt — hesitate — decide 
 — then doubt the decision — again hesitate, and 
 in this wise move in a circle, which has neither 
 beginning nor end, and indecision and delay 
 soon merge into habit. 
 
 Indecision is simply the result of neglect to 
 weigh in our minds all questionable matter as 
 soon as presented, note carefully the points in 
 favor of or against one view, and the points in 
 favor of or against another view; determine 
 which preponderates, and act promptly on the 
 determination. There is no impediment to 
 this process, and discipline will encompass it. 
 
 It may be said that the vacillating purpose 
 which gives rise to indecision is really the ef- 
 fect of a feeble will-power — so it is — but every 
 surrender to such a power is a cause of further 
 weakness, as resistance diminishes with each 
 recession. On the other hand it is encourag- 
 ing to know that if we have canvassed debat- 
 able matter and reached a conclusion which 
 we adopt, and act upon without further re- 
 flection, each decision so made advances us in 
 strengthening our will-power and tends to 
 subdue indecision. 
 
 Energy in carrying out a decision is the next 
 step in the exercise of the will-power, and here 
 training is no light task. Energy is greatly a 
 matter of constitutional temperament. 
 
 To see an indolent man really active has an 
 element of unfamiliarity about it, and we await 
 the result with solicitu4e, All men are ener- 
 
The Will. 83 
 
 getic occasionally, as when the dwelling is on 
 fire, or the cattle in the corn; if they are not 
 energetic at other times it is because they have 
 no incentive in view sufificient to compel de- 
 cision and enforce activity. Give the incentive 
 and you obtain the result. In this manner en- 
 ergy may be strengthened through the medium 
 of an incentive to exertion, and there is no in- 
 centive that has wrought such wonders as 
 Duty. Elevate the moral nature to a high con- 
 ception of Duty, and it will call out all the energy 
 of our nature. 
 
 Energy may be strengthened by creating an 
 interest in any project we undertake: if, for 
 instance, we wish to read a book ; let us first 
 get up a lively interest in it, and let our atten- 
 tion be fixed and absorbed in the subject before 
 we read a page. 
 
 In fine we may discipline our energy by do- 
 ing nothing indifferently, be it in great things 
 or small. If we note the energetic man we 
 shall see that he rarely does a single act of the 
 slightest consequence in a perfunctory man- 
 ner. He moves briskly, thinks actively — takes 
 in a situation at a glance — determines promptly 
 and fearful "the flighty purpose" may not be 
 overtaken, 
 
 " — unless the deed go with it,** 
 
 links purpose and deed in bonds that cannot be 
 dissolved. 
 
 It will be seen, therefore, that in these vari- 
 ous stages of development the will may be im- 
 
84 Self-Development. 
 
 proved, and that it is feasible to look beyond 
 its natural tendency, note these stages, and 
 discipline it to its utmost capacity. 
 
 It may be urged — how strengthen the will 
 by its exercise, when perhaps the will-power 
 is too feeble to start and keep up the exercise? 
 
 It cannot be doubted that there are many 
 feeble souls who have not the force of character 
 to exercise the will when the occasion solicits 
 — these "letting I dare not wait upon I would" 
 accomplish little for themselves, less for 
 others. But the average individual has gener- 
 ally ample will-power to achieve whatever de- 
 sign embodies the interest of his heart, and the 
 earnestness of his nature, if he will only 
 maintain it in proper condition, and strengthen 
 it as far as he is really able. Arouse the in- 
 terest thoroughly in any pursuit sanctioned by 
 Duty: the will — an ever faithful ally — becomes 
 infected with "the strong contagion" of the inter- 
 est, and requires only proper discipline and su- 
 pervision to execute whatever has been conceived. 
 
Reflection and Reasoning. 85 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY. 
 
 REFLECTION AND REASONING. 
 
 The term reflection is usually applied to 
 thoughts in which the reasoning power is not 
 involved, such as thoughts on our past Ufe: 
 when a thought takes in matter susceptible of 
 debate, the reasoning power is invoked to note 
 each opposing point, and to decide. It is be- 
 cause there are many instances in which we 
 may be called upon simply to reflect, and not 
 to reason, that the distinction is made between 
 reflection and reasoning; it is well, therefore, 
 to remember the distinction ; as reflection, 
 whenever it is sufficient, is a readier and more 
 simple process than reasoning, to reach the 
 conclusions necessary to be made from time to 
 time in our interior life. 
 
 There are two phases of reflection to which 
 the youth's attention is invited. 
 
 I. — The reflection that should come after 
 and be linked to observation. 
 
 11. — The reflection which should precede 
 the determination to perform an act, whose 
 consequences would materially aflFect us. 
 
 I. — In the chapter on the Perceptive Facul- 
 ties I have written of the uses of observation : 
 
L 
 
 / 
 
 86 Self-Development. 
 
 it is when observation is succeeded by reflec- 
 tion, and moulded into serviceable thought, 
 that its high office is shown in its true light; for 
 instance, the observation of the phenomena of 
 nature is naught of itself; it is only when we 
 apply reflection to it, that nature's mystery is 
 unfolded, and its law disclosed. 
 
 11. — As to the reflection which should pre- 
 cede the determination to commit or perform 
 a consequential act, it is of the essential char- 
 acter that experience spontaneously seeks its 
 aid; as the man who acts without reflection, 
 and the fool are synonymous terms. Man- 
 kind are aware of this ill conclusion, and many 
 in good faith seek to avoid it ; the difficulty is, 
 they do not go far enough ; they reflect in 
 many cases ; in some cases they forego reflec- 
 tion through negligence; in other contingen- 
 cies they will not reflect through passion or 
 folly — all for lack of that discipline, hard to 
 be acquired, yet worthy of our best efforts — 
 to allow reflection — calm, dispassionate, and 
 heedful of consequences, to precede every act 
 without exception, as sponsor for its propriety, 
 and as a valid commission for its execution. I 
 am aware this discipline is inseparable from 
 human infirmity, but the thought is full of 
 blessed hope and assurance, that the more we 
 act upon proper reflection, the nearer the 
 Actual will approach the Ideal. 
 
 The art of reasoning or logic has been fitly 
 called the science of sciences ; it is not only a 
 necessity in the sciences, but it is of constant 
 use in all human affairs, in order to properly 
 
Reflection and Reasoning. 87 
 
 decide all debatable matter in our daily lives. 
 
 In the discipline of the various faculties, 
 there is no branch in which progress depends 
 so entirely upon the student himself, as m the 
 cultivation of the reasoning faculty ; and, be it 
 said to the nobly ambitious, there is no other 
 in which intellectual triumph is more com- 
 plete or more enduring. 
 
 As the student may not wish to go mto all 
 the learning of treatises on logic, and, indeed it 
 is not desirable; still he can extract from them 
 the fundamental rules of reasoning, and the 
 principles upon which they are founded. 
 
 Let the youth search out these rules, study 
 them thoroughly, apply them to feigned issues, 
 as well as to all practical questions that may 
 arise in his daily occupation. Let him note 
 examples of skilful and incontrovertible argu- 
 ment within the forum of debate. Let him 
 learn to detect fallacies in his own reasoning, 
 or the reasoning of others. Let him devote 
 himself to the study with all his heart, and 
 with a full determination to handle its weapons 
 with the hand of a master. 
 
 There is no better training of the reasonmg 
 powers than the discipline of debate. If the 
 student has not opportunities he should make 
 them. In debate his defeats will be a lesson, 
 and his victories will cheer and encourage. 
 
 Men who possess what is called common 
 sense, have a logical turn of mind which is 
 nothing more than an endeavor to take cor- 
 rect views of all questionable matter. A man 
 of common sense will distinguish between as- 
 
88 Self-Development. 
 
 sumption and fact; between an admitted prop- 
 osition and a proposition which may be debatable. 
 He does not allow one proposition to be joined to 
 another without there is a proper and necessary 
 connection ; nor does he allow a certain num- 
 ber of propositions or facts to form a conclu- 
 sion unless they inevitably lead to it, and to 
 no other. 
 
 If we take a common occurrence of every- 
 day life, and note the reasoning of the mass 
 of mankind upon it, we will find usually that 
 they allow prejudice or sentiment to influence 
 reason ; or they will take a partial view of the 
 matter by leaving out some of the elements 
 which belong to it, and are necessary to reach 
 a right decision ; or they will include elements 
 which do not belong to it; or they will join 
 one element to another with which it has no 
 connection ; and by one or the other, or all 
 these means deduce a consequence which is 
 erroneous or absurd. 
 
 These hints may serve as to the course to 
 be pursued in order to discipline the reason- 
 ing faculty, and reach a proper conclusion 
 upon all controverted matter which may be 
 necessary for us to determine. 
 
 Forensic display is the best illustration of 
 practical logic. Here the slightest deviation 
 from correct reasoning, is detected by a wary 
 adversary, or exposed by the Judge. 
 
 There is no "royal road" to logic, but there 
 is no mystery about it, as learned professors 
 would have us believe; there is nothing in- 
 tangible or uncertain in its progressive cours' 
 
Reflection and Reasoning. 89 
 
 It is as true, as certain, as inexorable in its 
 principles, in its procession, and in its conclu- 
 sion as a problem of Euclid, which is, in fact, 
 only an illustration of logic. Patient reflec- 
 tion, proper analytic power, careful proceeding 
 will reach a proper result. Its rules are 
 founded upon common sense, and any one ot 
 average understanding, with proper discipline, 
 can learn to apply them skilfully and effectually, 
 particularly in the ordinary affairs of life; be- 
 cause ordinary affairs are usually composed of 
 simple elements ; and do not involve an array of 
 facts, or a number of propositions, and do not re- 
 quire more than an ordinary power of analysis 
 to be resolved into their component parts, or 
 to be marshalled in order from premises to 
 conclusion. 
 
 I have said it was not desirable the student 
 should go into all the learning of treatises on 
 logic, because I believe those who have writ- 
 ten on the subject have rather obscured it 
 than otherwise; but the student may select 
 the fundamental rules from much extraneous 
 matter, and these rules he must understand, he 
 must know the principles upon which they 
 are based ; so that the study be thorough, and 
 the subject matter completely assimilated. 
 
 Let the sciolist beware of logic, a study 
 short of a thorough study may leave a weak 
 point in an argument, as quickly perceived by 
 a skilful adversary, as Hood perceived the gap 
 in the Federal lines at Chickamauga. 
 
9d Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-ONE. 
 
 METHOD. 
 
 The subject of method already has been 
 mentioned. It is referred to now in a more 
 distinct and direct manner; because it is not 
 only a necessity in the disposition of our time, 
 but it tends to diminish the cares that are con- 
 tinually thrusting themselves between us and 
 our mental labors, and disturbing the serene 
 atmosphere which invites and nourishes study 
 and meditation. 
 
 I am aware the very name of method is re- 
 pellent to many. Nevertheless, in the orderly 
 disposition of time, and in the methodical ar- 
 rangement of books, papers and appliances, 
 lies the secret of despatch. 
 
 A busy man without method in his affairs 
 regrets the lack of it, and sometimes seeks to 
 supply the deficiency. The sagacious man 
 perceives hi§ want of it, and undertakes at 
 once the discipline that meets the emergency. 
 
 The discipline involved does not require 
 strenuous exertion. Tt is of a passive rather 
 than of an active nature. It is simply to en- 
 large the thoughtfulness we bring to our 
 •studies ; to make our thoughtfulness better ac- 
 
Method. 91 
 
 quainted with, and act more in sympathy with 
 our daily life; not only in its great, but in its 
 little ways, and in its small, but not unim- 
 portant acts and affairs. 
 
 Some busy men are forced to be methodical 
 of time. Eminent physicians of great cities 
 must use their hours, not only with thrift but 
 method; otherwise they could not discharge 
 their duties of the day. 
 
 In the seclusion of our library, method 
 speaks for itself; how much time is often lost, 
 and anxiety roused, in looking for a book or 
 paper out of place. 
 
 In the arrangement of books, papers and 
 appliances, the first need is to have a place 
 set apart exclusively for all things of the same 
 character, with such subdivisions as may be 
 necessary, as a place for pamphlets, letters, 
 etc. Simple as the suggestion appears many 
 busy men have not taken the trouble to have 
 places set apart in this manner and for this 
 purpose. 
 
 There is no mystery about acquiring the 
 habit of having every thing in its place; "a 
 place for every thing and every thing in its 
 place," is a stale old saw, but a labor and 
 worry-saving device. The wise student will 
 class method among those lesser duties, which 
 render substantial aid to the more weighty. 
 
 A student — his attention fixed — absorbed in 
 writing — suddenly must refer to a paper in his 
 desk; he turns over a disorderly mass of 
 papers, but does not find it — and looks else- 
 where in vain ; after spending considerable 
 
92 Self-Development. 
 
 time in the search, he resumes, or attempts to 
 resume his writing; but his attention has been 
 distracted, his mind is overcast by the per- 
 plexing query, "Where could I have put that 
 paper?" How different from an orderly stu- 
 dent, under similar circumstances, who can lay 
 his hand on any paper in a moment, without a 
 relaxation of interest, or a disturbance of his 
 unruffled calm. 
 
 Thoughtfulness should precede every act of 
 life. Why reject its happy influence whenever 
 needed? Why revolt against its beneficent 
 sway? Thoughtfulness is the motive power of 
 method. It is as steam to the engine; the 
 student holds the lever in his own hands, and 
 under plenary power. 
 
 There is method in all the operations of na- 
 ture. The tides of the ocean evince method. 
 The seasons have a method. The acorn has a 
 method in producing the oak which, in turn, 
 has a method in reproducing the acorn. The 
 apple follows the blossom, and the rose the 
 bud, in orderly succession. How can men 
 read these lessons, and not feel that order is 
 not only "Heaven's first law," but a law on 
 earth ! 
 
The Economy of Time. 93 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-TWO. 
 
 THE ECONOMY OF TIME. 
 
 The Banker's capital is money; the Farm- 
 er's, land; the Student's, time; each must go 
 through a probation of discipline, in order to 
 acquire the knowledge of using his capital 
 properly and thriftily. 
 
 The Banker who wastes his money; the 
 Farmer who leaves his land untilled ; the 
 Student who dissipates his time ; — all will soon 
 be classed among the unsuccessful. 
 
 Of what profit is thorough culture, and the 
 acquisition of knowledge; if we allow the 
 hours to pass in idleness, or devote them to 
 trivialness or unwise pursuits? 
 
 It would be well for the student, at an early 
 stage of his novitiate, to ponder on, and fix in 
 his mind the importance of Economy of Time. 
 It is possible that in the self-communings of 
 evening reviews, he may discover that during 
 the day he has lost many moments in one idle 
 way or another, which might have been better 
 employed. The reviews are helpful for the 
 purpose, and may stir and provoke him to fur- 
 ther effort to mend his ways. 
 
 As a merchant, with capital at command, is 
 
94 Self-Development. 
 
 able to make ventures which otherwise he 
 must forego; in like manner the student, with 
 the capital of time at his command, may do 
 much which otherwise he dare not attempt; 
 and as the field open to intellectual labor is 
 nigh boundless, it is a fair inference that the 
 more time at our disposal, the more labor we 
 may perform. 
 
 The discipline required to attain a proper 
 economy of Time varies to a certain extent, 
 from other kinds of discipline. It requires a 
 vigilance that never slumbers. Even when we 
 seem to have merged it into habit, we are still 
 often tempted to waive the habit, by enemies 
 without and within. 
 
 Without, — from all those interruptions by 
 others, — too familiar to students — many of 
 which do not involve a duty, therefore, may be 
 disposed of summarily. 
 
 Within. Ah! Here our enemies are in 
 strength, and we must meet them with all the 
 forces we can mass. It is not so much the 
 time that others take from us ; as the time we 
 take and devote to vain pursuits, that consti- 
 tutes the bulk of time lost forever. 
 
 In the dark catalogue of the causes of 
 squandered time, and the subjects which oc- 
 cupy misused time, may be found the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 Procrastination, 
 
 Idle Colloquy, 
 
 Amusements which do not recreate. 
 
 Recreations arousing mental excitement, un- 
 favorable to study. 
 
The Economy of Time. 95 
 
 Acquisition of a smattering of the Sciences. 
 
 Attainment of a superficial knowledge of 
 effete languages. 
 
 Attempting to pursue studies without first 
 arousing interest, or continuing in their pur- 
 suit after interest has ceased. 
 
 Pursuing studies that are curious, and com- 
 manding interest, more or less, but of no prac- 
 tical application whatever. 
 
 Pursuing special studies adapted only to a 
 special career, we do not expect to follow. 
 
 A cheerless array of the enemies of Time! 
 and these are not all that are ready to beset 
 the student, if they are not already disputing 
 his advance. Let him single out those that 
 already annoy him, and smite them with an un- 
 sparing hand. They will fall before an in- 
 domitable will, as grass before the scythe of 
 the mower. 
 
 When he has in this wise subdued the ene- 
 mies of his time he has also conquered him- 
 self; the way is unobstructed, and he is pre- 
 pared for any achievement within the scope of 
 his powers. 
 
 The student can have no greater incentive 
 to Economy of Time, than the reflection that 
 Life has its limitations ; and that, of the 
 twenty-four hours of the day, there are few 
 hours he may call his own ; after deducting the 
 time lost by mental or bodily indisposition, or 
 given to sleep, repasts, recreation and social 
 duties. The latter necessities must have their 
 honest dues paid in full, promptly, in spirit, 
 and to the letter, but not overpaid. When the 
 
g6 Self-Development. 
 
 student has faithfully discharged these obliga- 
 tions, he may in justice to himself claim the 
 remainder of the cycle. When he looks upon 
 the little' time left to him, I feel assured he will 
 prize it too much to waste it in useless studies, 
 or idle pursuits. The discipline required to 
 bring about this consummation cannot be ac- 
 quired, save by a determined will. Even 
 when discipline is merged into habit, as al- 
 ready stated, it still requires watchfulness; 
 but the splendid results deserve his noblest 
 efforts ; and "the rose and expectancy of the 
 fair state" must not allow his glorious hope 
 and promise, to dwindle to the ignominy of 
 feeble and unworthy performance. 
 
Thrift. 97 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-THREE. 
 
 THRIFT. 
 
 To the youth full or ardor and eager to 
 advance and achieve, it seems a forbidding 
 task to suggest there are many little things, 
 apparently despicable in view of his aspira- 
 tions ; which, however, will embarrass him in his 
 career; if he declines to give them proper at- 
 tention, or derides their power to harm. 
 
 Among these little things is the judicious 
 use of his income, whether limited or not. He 
 should give to this matter the prompt and 
 thoughtful attention a business man gives to 
 his affairs. He should manage his finances 
 
 "With judgment wise to spend or spare." 
 
 There are many who have a vague desir^ to 
 economize, but spare where they should spend, 
 and spend where they should spare. It is not 
 economy to deprive ourselves of sufficient 
 nourishing food, or suitable clothing. It is not 
 extravagance to follow the advice of Polonius 
 to Laertes : 
 
 "Costly thy habit, as thy purse can buy.*' 
 
98 Self -Development. 
 
 Many confound economy and meanness ; but 
 noble and unselfish natures may economize 
 under a praiseworthy effort to live independ- 
 ently within their income ; and not live depend- 
 ently on the means of others, by going in debt. 
 This unselfish class have something always to 
 spare for the needy. It is only the selfish 
 man who is mean in his economy; his benevo- 
 lence begins and ends with himself. He has 
 more needs than the neediest; his sordid views 
 should never be confused with the aim of 
 those who know when to spend, and when to 
 spare. 
 
 If the student wishes an incentive in the 
 proper management of his income, let him 
 class the matter where it really belongs, under 
 the head of Duty. Though it may be a duty 
 of a lesser degree, it is obligatory, and that is 
 all he need to know ; as an order from a su- 
 perior officer to a subaltern, it must be obeyed 
 promptly, and without question. This duty, 
 however, is not inconsequent. Its practice 
 evolves the grand virtue of self-denial ; as it 
 is fair to assume the means of the student are 
 limited, and that he must forego many wants. 
 
 Judicious management of an income will 
 vary with circumstance. In the beginning of 
 a fiscal year the student can look forward 
 twelve months, note his income for the time, 
 and decide upon his necessities for the period. 
 If he discovers his wants exceed his income, 
 let him forego the less important and artificial, 
 and confine them strictly within his income ; 
 Otherwise he must go in debt; and that is 
 
Thrift. 99 
 
 bartering manly independence for a mess of 
 pottage, and is a subterfuge of the weak and 
 shiftless. 
 
 We are often discontented, because we are con- 
 tinually adding to our wants, until they outrun 
 our income. The thoughtful student will pur- 
 sue a contrary course ; he will seek to diminish 
 his wants, and dispense with a supposed want, 
 whenever he can do so, without lessening his 
 comforts, or surrendering a noble desire. 
 
 These suggestions will have accomplished 
 their purpose if they lead the student to re- 
 flection on the subject matter; and induce him 
 to form a plan of his own for the management 
 of his income, suitable to his circumstances, 
 and to his peculiar needs. 
 
 As the exquisite odor of the violet comes 
 from the lowliest flower of the glen ; so the 
 lofty virtue of self-denial may arise, like per- 
 fume, from the humble spot of a student's 
 home; a self-denial begun with the manage- 
 ment of a modicum, which became a habit in 
 middle hfe; and which age crowns with simple 
 tastes, that may be gratified without money, 
 and indulged in harmlessly without limit ; in 
 an abode where Content and Poverty dwell in 
 harmony. 
 
100 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-FOUR. 
 
 ON STYLE IN SPEECH AND WRITING. 
 
 There is to me ineffable delight in the 
 beauty of a proper delivery of speech ; and its 
 sequence of graceful emanations of the pen. I 
 am solicitous the student should possess the 
 art, in as high degree as possible. I trust he 
 will learn to look upon speech, as a grand 
 heritage, worthy of thorough tillage; and 
 which will yield a rich and bounteous harvest. 
 
 The triumph of speech lies in a distinct 
 enunciation, a modulated tone, and cultivated 
 language. The triumph of the pen lies in a 
 style — clear, concise and chaste — simply a re- 
 flex of utterance. Lo ! the prize, and the pa- 
 tient and resolute shall winr! 
 
 The discipline of the Faculties is for the pur- 
 pose of preparing us to acquire knowledge. 
 
 The acquisition of knowledge, in the main, 
 should be for the purpose of imparting it. 
 
 Knowledge must be imparted in a manner 
 to impress, in order to be serviceable. 
 
 It is more likely to be impressed, if set 
 forth, not only clearly, but in choice language. 
 
 Therefore, to have a style, not only clear, 
 but in choice language, is the more effective 
 form of speech or writing. 
 
On Style In Speech and Writing. loi 
 
 These considerations should be sufficient to 
 impel the student to form a style of speech 
 and writing, which would embody these char- 
 acteristics. 
 
 Choice language is more to the student than 
 an elegant accomplishment ; it is an imperious 
 necessity, if he desires to use his acquisitions 
 of knowledge to the utmost advantage. 
 
 The proper way to acquire style in writing, 
 is to practice style in speaking. Let the stu- 
 dent not only enunciate distinctly, and modu- 
 late his voice properly, but let him learn to 
 frame a sentence rapidly, correctly, and in 
 choice words, before it is uttered. This will 
 require deliberation, more, perhaps, than is al- 
 lowed in conversation : but the hesitancy will 
 grow less and less, until it will not be ob- 
 served. I commend the practice to him, and 
 that he begin it with a determination to have 
 from it the best result ; it will require pluck 
 and persistence, but it may be done ; and when 
 he scores a victory, he has acquired not only 
 a useful art, but a polished and graceful at- 
 tainment. 
 
 When the habit is acquired, in this wise, of 
 forming a sentence rapidly, correctly, and in 
 choice words, before it is spoken, it is not 
 more difficult to write, than to utter it : so 
 that, framing a sentence in this manner, ac- 
 complishes the double object of speaking and 
 writing with clearness and elegance. 
 
 Many educated men form a habit of speak- 
 ing in an indifferent or inexact manner; hence 
 they write in the same fashion. If they at- 
 
102 Self-Development. 
 
 tempt to write properly, this indifferent manner 
 will reveal itself sooner or later. Like the 
 sloven, who seeks occasionally to dress neatly; 
 his careless ways will obtrude at one point or 
 another. 
 
 There is, perhaps, this distinction between 
 speaking and writing. It may be pardonable 
 in speaking to be occasionally incorrect ; but it 
 is not pardonable in writing; because one has 
 usually an opportunity to read what one has 
 written. 
 
 If the student would determine that every 
 paragraph he writes, even in his journal or in 
 a note to a friend, shall be written with care, 
 and in the choicest language at his command, 
 he will soon find the practice pleasant, the 
 labor lighter and lighter, and that his style is 
 gradually growing better. He may have to 
 write over many times a simple note to a 
 neighbor before he is satisfied with its cor- 
 rectness and language, as I have often done. 
 It has always been a matter of pride with me 
 to make even such a note as nearly proper as 
 I was able to write it. 
 
 Some students think it well to take a single 
 author noted for his style, and endeavor to 
 imitate it. It is not entirely objectionable to 
 do so, particularly if the author has a simple 
 style; although in this wise one is apt to imi- 
 tate defects, rather than follow merits. The 
 judicious method seems to become familiar 
 with our best writers. In that free intercourse 
 the student, doubtless, will be able to form a 
 style of his own. 
 
On Style in Speech and Writing. 103 
 
 Let him turn to the home-like Saxon of 
 Bunyan, or Swift ; to the gracefulness of Addi- 
 son or our own Irving; to the terrible denun- 
 ciations of Junius ; the stately and unexcelled 
 periods of Dr. Johnson ; the smooth flowing 
 paragraphs of De Quincey, or the splendid dic- 
 tion of Macaulay. His familiarity with some 
 or all of these, or writers of equal merit, will 
 enable him to form a style fitted to his intel- 
 lectual life, and as if, 
 
 " — to the manner horn." 
 
 There can be no higher eulogium of style in 
 writing than the fact that its effects are felt 
 long after the subject matter is forgotten, or 
 ceases to interest. The invectives of Junius 
 are sought by scholars for their style, while 
 slight heed is paid to the political strife in 
 which they originated. 
 
 What dress is to the man, style is to the 
 writer. We pay respectful attention when we 
 encounter one who seems, by his dress, to be 
 a gentleman. We pay less heed, or are in- 
 different to one who seems by his dress to be 
 a vagabond. In like manner we are eager to 
 read whatever is clearly and beautifully writ- 
 ten. We yawn over a book in which the sub- 
 ject-matter is treated turbidly and ungrace- 
 fully. 
 
 Style, like apparel, should be, 
 
 " — rich, not gaudy f* 
 
ro4 Self-Development. 
 
 and let it be remembered that, as in the orders 
 of architecture, there is Doric simpHcity, as 
 well as Corinthian splendor; so, in writing, 
 there is the grand diction of Macaulay, and 
 there is also the Doric simplicity of Bunyan. 
 Either is effective. On my own part, I should 
 be content to approach the style of the "Pil- 
 grim's Progress." Its unadulterate S9.xon al- 
 ways had a peculiar charm to me. 
 
 After that excellence in style is acquired, 
 which waits upon patient labor, there is no 
 height the student may not aspire to. He 
 may sit before a desk in his solitary chamber — • 
 pen in hand — ''mightier than the sword" and 
 like an editor of the London Times, dictate 
 peace or war; announce to great states their 
 responsibilities and correlative duties ; de- 
 nounce tyranny, and wrong, although emanat- 
 ing from crowned heads, or imperial combi- 
 nations; and declare to governments and all 
 aggregations of men, they must move on the 
 lines of right, justice, mercy, and a high civili- 
 zation. 
 
Reading. 105 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-FIVE. 
 
 READING. 
 
 To the appreciative soul there is much in 
 life to comfort and cheer. Poor blind crea- 
 tures as we are, we do not see it. There is 
 beauty in every aspect of nature we do not 
 know. There is music in the air we do not 
 hear. Fancy's wealth, more precious than 
 argosies freighted with silver and gold, is 
 lavished upon us, yet we cornf)lain of our 
 poverty. All nature ministers to our delight, 
 and in our libraries, the sages, heroes and poets 
 of the earth await our coming, and tender their 
 companionship. What more could we possi- 
 bly desire? 
 
 A famous author never entered his librar\' 
 without being in full dress; doubtless, he 
 looked upon it as a feast to which he was 
 called, and he considered it proper to have ap- 
 parel suitable to the occasion, and which would 
 show due courtesy to the assembled guests, it 
 was his privilege to meet. 
 
 It seems to me he entered the library in a 
 becoming spirit, was prepared to be enter- 
 tained, and that he would value the entertain- 
 ment. 
 
 If books are not sentient beings, yet in their 
 
io6 Self-Development. 
 
 passiveness, they speak. They decline the 
 company of the idle ; show scant civility to the 
 sciolist ; but to those that seek them with loyal 
 hearts, they yield treasures more precious than 
 rubies. They unbar the portals of science, re- 
 vealing its rich stores, which may be used 
 without stint ; they give the Poetry, which is a 
 reflex of all beauty in nature or art; they 
 give the Divine Philosophy which will safely 
 carry us over dark and troubled waters, into a 
 haven of peace and rest. 
 
 Gentle Student ! If you would have a 
 friend — true as the Toledo blade — faithful as 
 the Marys at the tomb — make a friend of your 
 books. The student will ever keep in mind 
 that one of the important objects to be at- 
 tained during his novitiate, is the cultivation 
 of those tastes, and the formation of those 
 habits which result in a love of learning. The 
 love of learning, which is the fascination of 
 early life, the delight of manhood, the tran- 
 quil pleasure of age. A love of learning which 
 does not unfit us for the more serious duties 
 of life, but aids us to fulfil them cheerfully. 
 A love of learning which does not allow us to 
 linger on that low plane of intellectual life, 
 where reading simply for amusement is a pre- 
 dominant feature, but a love that continually 
 inspires us to mount higher and higher in the 
 scale of Being. 
 
 There is so much of good reading matter 
 tendered to the student in excess of what he 
 can possibly read in a life time, it is indispens- 
 able before he ventures his time for such a 
 
Reading. 107 
 
 purpose, that he should detennine what he 
 really needs; just as he must know what he 
 wants, when going into a shop where goods 
 are sold, in order to make a purchase. 
 
 The student at first may have only a limited 
 conception of what would be proper reading; 
 and his first selection would correspond with 
 his crude views; but he could add to the selec- 
 tion from time to time, as his judgment ap- 
 proached ripeness, or his experience dictates. 
 
 In a subsequent essay I have suggested a 
 course of general reading and studies, as an 
 illustration to enable the student to frame 
 proper reading, as well as study for himself. 
 Now, if the student will adopt a course of this 
 character, and have his reading, as well as his 
 studies, conform to it, he will derive more ad- 
 vantage from it, than from indiscriminate, des- 
 ultory reading, so common and so often un- 
 profitable. To keep up our comparison — the 
 desultory reader may be likened to one going 
 into a shop, not knowing what he needs, and 
 buying the first article offered to him, whether 
 he needs it or not. 
 
 The reading matter adopted by the student 
 would embrace one or more subjects; and 
 probably each subject would be treated by sev- 
 eral authors independently of each other. Of 
 course the student will not fail to ascertain by 
 whom the subject is best treated. 
 
 If the student does not ascertain the best 
 author on a subject he wishes to investigate, 
 and meets with a book that appears proper for 
 the purpose; let him note the publishing house 
 
io8 Self-Development. 
 
 whence it issued. While this is not a criterion, 
 it is a circumstance in its favor, if from a well- 
 known and reputable house. Let him note the 
 preface and remark in what manner the author 
 makes his bow to the public, and his apology for 
 inflicting another book on a book-ridden com- 
 munity. Let him then examine the table of con- 
 tents, where the critical eye may determine to go 
 no further ; or, if the reader is willing to give 
 the author another trial, let him select a single 
 chapter, and note how the subject matter is 
 treated. 
 
 It seems to me that a book, even of fiction, 
 should be read, if at all, carefully and thought- 
 fully, if one desires to be compensated for the 
 time employed. If a reader is disposed to hasten 
 through a book, it were better he closed it al- 
 together. If he does not pause at every para- 
 graph, in which some idea is uttered, he should 
 endeavor to impress on his mind, he is probably 
 losing his time, as well as the idea. 
 
 Marginal marks are useful, especially in re- 
 viewing a subject. As it is possible the student 
 may not be familiar with them, I will state they 
 are marks on the margin of the pages of a book, 
 made by the reader, opposite a paragraph, de- 
 noting its measure of importance. Any system of 
 marks may be adopted by the student for the 
 purpose, and any meaning may be inferred from 
 them, which he chooses to allow. 
 
 Those I have used are as follows : 
 
 X. — This mark opposite a paragraph, denotes 
 an elemental truth or principle, or matter of spe- 
 cial interest or importance. 
 
Reading. 109 
 
 S. — This, to show matter of general impor- 
 tance. 
 
 Paragraphs marked X and S should be read in 
 reviewing. 
 
 =. — This, to show matter germane to the sub- 
 ject, which, however, may be omitted in review- 
 ing. 
 
 N. — Denotes superfluous matter. 
 
 V. — This, to denote an iUustration of the sub- 
 ject matter. The crowning effort to impress the 
 memory with what we read is thorough review- 
 ing; not only just after the reading is completed; 
 but at such subsequent times, as may be needed 
 to refresh the student's memory on the subject. 
 
 Bibliography, or a knowledge of books in re- 
 gard to their authors, subjects and editions, is a 
 valuable acquisition, and should have attention 
 from the beginning. It happens frequently that a 
 subject of interest arises which one desires to in- 
 vestigate, and the first thought that occurs, is 
 "Where shall I find the best treatise on it?" : hence 
 it is well to remember the main contents of such 
 books as we may handle, and to whose subjects 
 we may expect to refer ; this exercise will soon 
 grow into a habit whereby one will, in time, ac- 
 cumulate much useful knowledge ; and acquire 
 the art of knowing where to look for information 
 on a subject, which all students are aware is in- 
 valuable. 
 
 The Index Reruni or Index of subjects, in 
 common use among students, is as valuable to 
 them, as a ledger to a merchant. The student 
 fearing lest his memory may fail him, indexes in 
 a book alphabetically arranged for the purpose, 
 
no Self-Development. 
 
 any subject brought to his attention, to which he 
 may expect to refer, and notes where it is treated, 
 or what author has written the best treatise on 
 the subject. 
 
 For instance, I wish to refer to an article on 
 the production of gold written many years ago : 
 all I recollect is, that it came out in Blackwood 
 between the years 1855 and i860. Now it would 
 take some time to' look over the contents of the 
 various volumes issued between those years, in 
 order to find it. I turn to my Index Rerum, un- 
 der the letters "Go" and find : 
 
 Gold, fall in value, review of Chevalier's work, 
 Blackwood's Mag., Vol. 85, p. 441. 
 
 The Index Rerum may serve other purposes. 
 There is much valuable matter, of more than 
 epher-.eral interest in the newspapers of the day, 
 whi>h, if catalogued and filed away, so as to be 
 readily referred to, would be of future service. 
 I have been in the habit of clipping such matter, 
 and putting it under an appropriate head in a 
 common letter file, with movable leaves, alpha- 
 betically arranged, and noting the volume of the 
 file, and the head under which it was placed, in 
 the Index Rerum. 
 
 A few years since, a lady, educated abroad and 
 familiar with the writings of the present genera- 
 tion of French novelists, gave me a list of their 
 best works, which I copied in the Index Rerum 
 under the head of "Bibliography" and sub-head 
 of "French Fiction." 
 
 As the student advances in his reading, he will 
 frequently remark the different ways in which 
 various authors treat the same subject. Sciolists 
 
Reading. 1 1 1 
 
 often obscure with a cloud, what a philosophic 
 mind makes luminous as day, and he will accord- 
 ingly note in the Index Rerum, not only where a 
 subject is treated, but where best treated. 
 
 These illustrations serve to show the use of an 
 Index Rerum, and the necessity of using the 
 method or some similar method, as the card cata- 
 logue, in order to make our reading available 
 when the occasion serves. 
 
 I have referred to the Card Catalogue system 
 of indexing. It came into use after I had adopted 
 and became habituated to the Index Rerum, as 
 above noted. The general use, at present, of the 
 Card Catalogue, is the best commentary on its 
 invaluable service ; and the student would do well 
 to study the system and adopt it. 
 
 If the student is desirous of entertaining a few 
 friends or the public, occasionally, let him learn 
 to read aloud. It is an elegant accomplishment, 
 and rare as elegant. I have heard the service of 
 the Church of England read by, perhaps, a hun- 
 dred different clergymen. I never heard it read 
 well, save by one. 
 
 As the years roll by, the student will find his 
 books more and more a necessity, dear, soul- 
 soothing companions, when, perhaps, all his loved 
 ones in the flesh, have passed away ; and he turns 
 to them for comfort. In their genial intercourse 
 and happy influence, the ills of life are lessened, 
 the joy and content increased, and the mortal 
 seems to have put on immortality, for it dwells 
 among the Immortals. 
 
Ill Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-SIX. 
 
 STUDY. 
 
 It will be noted that subjects which may be 
 embraced in a treatise of this character, run, as 
 it were, into each other. It is because they are 
 parts of a whole — members of a body, — these 
 parts and members form a certain relation to 
 each other, and one may not be touched, with- 
 out others feel the touch in their sympathetic 
 relation. So it is, that what seems iteration is 
 only bringing into prominence, what has been 
 noticed only incidently, but not unthought- 
 fully. Under the title of this essay, however, 
 little has been left unwritten in this treatise. 
 
 Studies may be divided into three classes : 
 I. — Studies for the purpose of Discipline. 
 II. — General studies suitable for the ordi- 
 nary conditions of life. 
 
 III. — Special studies necessary to a particu- 
 lar pursuit. 
 
 The studies in the first class are mainly: 
 
 To fix the attention ; 
 
 To exercise the memory; 
 
 To arouse reflection ; 
 
 To call the reasoning powers into action. 
 1 am aware that, practically, when a student is 
 left to himself, he often passes over the studies 
 
Study. 113 
 
 for discipline, and plunges in medias res, re- 
 lying upon his energy and earnestness to carry 
 him through ; and he often meets with com- 
 mendable success, but would he not do even 
 better under previous training? 
 
 Would not the task have been, not only 
 lighter, but more thoroughly completed, if it 
 had been based upon prior cultivation of his 
 powers ? 
 
 An untrained youth may begin with geom- 
 etry, arithmetic or similar studies, in which 
 the elements are simple, easy of apprehension, 
 and the subject, by gradual and easy stages, 
 tends towards the more complex, in such man- 
 ner, the student is hardly aware of the progress 
 made. When he has thoroughly mastered a 
 few subjects of this character; he is prepared 
 to grapple with what has seemed more formid- 
 able studies. 
 
 As to general studies, I shall refer to them in 
 a future essay. 
 
 Special studies depend upon the vocation 
 the student may adopt. He may readily dis- 
 criminate between general and special studies, so 
 as to assign to each its proper place, and avoid 
 following the mischievous practice of confound- 
 ing one with the other. 
 
 Special studies are not only necessary in adop- 
 ted vocations, but are proper under certain con- 
 ditions ; if, however, these condition do not exist, 
 or do not arise, they are comparatively useless, 
 and can be pursued only by taking valuable time 
 which might be better employed. 
 
 Why should the student learn the French or 
 
114 Self-Development. 
 
 German language, when he expects to limit his 
 career to a locaHty where these languages are not 
 spoken, or when he has only casual use for one 
 or the other? Why should Latin or Greek be 
 studied in a general course? Is there one in a 
 hundred of American youths who expects to 
 speak or write or even read one or the other, after 
 he has left school or college? 
 
 Yet neither Latin nor Greek can be spared 
 from their niche in the Temple of Belles-Lettres. 
 The scholar who seeks sublime thought, or beauty 
 of sentiment, may learn lofty philosophy of the 
 Roman, or the lines and curves of beauty from 
 the Greek. They are worthy of profound and 
 special study, in view of a special purpose, but 
 cannot be classed among general studies. 
 
 Let the student apply the test, "cui bono" to 
 any study, apart from a general course he may 
 have adopted, which may be suggested by others, 
 or questioned by himself. 
 
 Elemental and higher schools of learning, em- 
 body in their course of study, several subjects 
 for different hours of the day. I never could per- 
 ceive the wisdom of the system. It seems to me 
 that the proper method of study is to take sub- 
 jects not concurrently but consecutively. 
 
 Take one subject at a time. Let it be the men- 
 tal pabulum, morning, noon and night, until it 
 seems to permeate the entire intellectual system. 
 Whenever the mind wearies, close the book, 
 recreate, but not with another study; recreate 
 with light literature ; one method is simply as put- 
 ting a new string on an already bended bow, the 
 other is to unbend the bow entirely, 
 
Conversation. 115 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-SEVEN.^ 
 
 CONVERSATION. 
 
 The youth who has been taught to read and 
 to write, and thenceforth must rely upon his un- 
 aided efforts to drill his faculties, and to gather 
 a few pebbles cast upon the beach from the great 
 depths of knoweldge is still far removed from 
 privation, and more fortunate than many imag- 
 ine. 
 
 His individuality has not been narrowed to fit 
 a groove made by a learned Faculty ; but may as- 
 sert itself in a culture adapted to future exigen- 
 cies ; and a practical, not speculative life. He 
 may reject the college curriculum, tendered as a 
 model of a course of study ; and give his days and 
 nights to subjects for which a high school of 
 learning does not give a diploma, nor confer a 
 degree : Self-knowledge, self-denial, self-reliamce, 
 the affections, manners, style in writing and 
 speech, and not least, the art of conversation. 
 
 Conversation as an art, even in homes of cul- 
 ture and refinement (which are among our best 
 educators), is not given the position to which it 
 is entitled, as an art whose usefulness is far- 
 reaching, and which charms and captivates all 
 conditions of men. 
 
 The art is not difficult to acquire ; continuous 
 effort which is within reach of all, will advance 
 
ii6 Self-Development. 
 
 us to a point where we may have noble returns 
 for the care we shall have taken, and the time 
 we shall have spent. Nor is the discipline exact- 
 ing. Indeed, it is more in the light of a recrea- 
 tion than otherwise. When one feels the need 
 of company, as a relaxation, the opportunity 
 serves to practice a lesson; and the discipline, as 
 usual, soon merges into habit. I commend to 
 the earnest youth to determine he will exert him- 
 self, so that he may take part in the conversa- 
 tion of any circle however exclusive, and 
 perform that part creditably. Skilled in it, he 
 will ever be a welcome guest, at home or abroad, 
 in the best society ; and there is no social emi- 
 nence to which he may not aspire. 
 
 Should a political career be his choice, of 
 which public speaking is a necessary qualifica- 
 tion, the art facilitates his adva^nce, and strength- 
 ens his influence. What is public speaking, but 
 conversing with the many, instead of the few? 
 The brilliant Thomas F. Marshall, of Kentucky, 
 usually addressed large audiences, aroused by his 
 eloquence, in a colloquial style and tone, as if 
 he were talking at a small dinner-party. 
 
 Books give some hints on the subject, but the 
 art can be learned only practically, not theoretic- 
 ally. Incessant, persistent practice, albeit through 
 many failures, is the only road to success. 
 
 The first tribute to conversation is good man- 
 ners — the good manners, founded on self-control, 
 and which have sound sense and good feeling 
 as guides. The student, in the first place, 
 must have the manners of a gentleman, then he 
 may be a colloquist. 
 
Conversation. 117 
 
 Constant efforts to modulate the voice ; to ac- 
 quire the calm tone, that comes from self-control, 
 to enunciate distinctly, to use choice diction, to 
 rapidly frame a sentence, before utterance, and 
 to utter it without improper pause, earnestly, and 
 as though every word came from the heart : Lo ! 
 some of the points to be observed, and to be 
 reached by the resolute and painstaking. 
 
 It is idle to suppose one may converse well, 
 and not be well-informed, particularly on those 
 subjects usually mentioned in the highest circles 
 of the community in which we dwell, or where 
 we may reside. 
 
 A gentleman told me that when he entered so- 
 ciety, being then a young man, if he heard a sub- 
 ject mentioned or discussed with which he was 
 not familiar, he did not sleep until he garnered 
 from his library all the information about it that 
 his books could disclose. He was, perhaps, the 
 best informed man I ever met, and the best coUo- 
 quist. 
 
 The art of conversing well requires infinite 
 tact ; the attention, that makes a good listener, as 
 well as a good talker ; and the thoughtfulness 
 that draws out those of a company, who, other- 
 wise, would be silent members — a generous and 
 graceful act and gratifying to the recipient. 
 
 Some vainly suppose that in order to appear 
 to advantage in company, it is simply necessary 
 to have a fund of what is termed "small talk." 
 "Small talk" may answer for circles of limited 
 intelligence. If the student happens to enter a 
 circle of this character, he should seek to elevate 
 its tone; failing in that, he should abandon it. 
 
1 1 8 Self-Development. 
 
 Conversation is a fruitful source of knowledge 
 not found in books. There are people in society 
 who read very little, and who imbibe all they 
 know from their social associations. In conver- 
 sation, too, we may impart knowledge. We may 
 be, and should be, lavish of our unsunned stores, 
 and serve those who may not have had the like 
 opportunities. 
 
 It need not be said that, on entering company, 
 one leaves behind prejudice and partiality, and 
 brings into it all the good, unselfish feeling in his 
 power ; determined to please and be pleased ; and, 
 m return for contributions from others, contrib- 
 ute his own share to the general entertainment. 
 
 In the student's efforts to improve himself in 
 this elegant art, he cannot afford to pass heed- 
 lessly by the society of women. There is no better 
 school, nor better teachers, in which or from 
 whom, he may learn self-composure, ease of man- 
 ner, gracefulness of utterance, and the tact that 
 is unwearying and never fails ; and these are in- 
 dispensable to success. Moreover, more than 
 men, they will readily forgive the errors and 
 omissions he may make, in his incipient efforts 
 in the art of conversation. 
 
 It is expected that the early surroundings of 
 J many students, may have rendered familiar much 
 
 \ _ of what has been said on this subject; but itera- 
 tion is not always out of place ; and "line upon 
 line, precept upon precept," is not an unwise 
 phrase. I write, not only for youths of this class, 
 I write also for a class that has not had the ad- 
 vantage of fortunate circumstances, and of genial 
 and happy environment. 
 
The Affections. 1 19 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-EIGHT. 
 
 THE AFFECTIONS. 
 
 The germ of the affections exists in childhood. 
 It develops slowly, yet all the while it is gaining 
 strength. At an early age, we feel, in a vague 
 way ; just as in a crude manner, we think. In the 
 course of time, childhood passes away. The 
 child is a child no longer. The affections have 
 taken their appointed place in his heart, and he 
 has become a man. His vision made clear by the 
 affections, notes the landscape about him invested 
 with a beauty hitherto unperceived ; and his ear, 
 attuned to the affections, is greeted with a mel- 
 ody hitherto unheard. 
 
 Now, as a man, he not only sees many beauti- 
 ful things about him, but he feels a sense of their 
 beauty in his heart. With an appreciative spirit, 
 he looks with delight upon sun, moon, and stars, 
 verdant plains, bosky dells, meads decked with 
 blossoms, and all that is fair on earth ; or he 
 listens, with gleeful fancy, to the carol of birds, 
 or the lisp of children. The affections have re- 
 vealed to him all the beauties of beauteous nature. 
 He rejoices in an existence, which, till now, had 
 seemed lifeless, and which the affections have 
 warmed into being. 
 
120 Self-Development. 
 
 Gentle student, have you ever considered the 
 part the affections play in the drama of our exist- 
 ence? Give to the subject patient thought, and 
 you will realize the extent of their influence on 
 all that interests mankind ; how many of our acts 
 have reference to their sway, how few in which 
 they are, as a thing apart. 
 
 Duty is the touch-stone of our Moral Nature; 
 Sympathy is the touch-stone of our affections ; to 
 think is an intellectual desideratum; to feel is a 
 moral desideratum. 
 
 I am aware some natures seem to come into 
 being bereft of the affections, just as some seem 
 to lack moral sense from birth; whether such 
 malformations are inherited, or arise from de- 
 based surroundings and associations; I leave for 
 moralists to argue, or casuists to determine. It 
 appears to me that lack of the affections, as well 
 as the lack of moral sense, can be placed in the 
 category of exceptions to the rule — that the affec- 
 tions and the moral nature are our birthright, and 
 like other natural parts, require cultivation and 
 direction in order to bring forth desirable fruit- 
 age. 
 
 I have hinted that the affections have much to 
 do in all human affairs. They may be regarded 
 from many points of view — each aspect will dis- 
 close their power, and verify their dominion. View 
 them from the single standpoint of zealousness. 
 Now, zeal, is an outgrowth of the affections. 
 Ponder on the fact, worthy student! Consider 
 how much of the world's work has been done; 
 how much civilization has been advanced by the 
 zealous — the earnestly and enthusiastically zeal- 
 
The Affections. 12 1 
 
 ous ! I am deeply and thoroughly impressed with 
 the fact that the affections must be cherished as 
 allies to any grand purpose in life, and to any 
 grand manner of furlfilling it. I implore the 
 student to take them to his heart, and invoke their 
 power, as indispensable aids in every undertak- 
 
 The affections are an emanation of the Divine 
 within us ; their first-fruits are good will to all 
 men; they are concerned in whatever concerns 
 the human race; girt with them. Duty chastises, 
 but not in anger ; and smites, but not with venge- 
 ance; they temper judgment with mercy, spare 
 the vanquished, and stay the hand of cruelty. 
 
 Does the student desire illustrations? Biog- 
 raphies are replete — every hamlet furnishes ex- 
 amples. Why does the zealous missionary leave 
 all the happy influences of civilization to plant 
 the cross among barbaric hordes, if he does not 
 sympathize with them, in their sad and benighted 
 condition ? Duty called him to labor, and the af- 
 fections pointed out the path he should take. 
 
 Why does the patriot leave the endearments of 
 a home, to suffer the perils and privations of war, 
 if he does not love his country, with a love 
 stronger than death? 
 
 Why does a physician visit the sick, until he 
 becomes affected with disease, and imperils his 
 life; if he did not offer himself a sacrifice to his 
 love for his kind ? Duty called him to the post of 
 danger and affection bade him stay. 
 
 There are many Florence Nightingales in the 
 world, many Sisters of Charity and Mercy ; every 
 village has its helpless, tended by patient devoted 
 
122 Self-Development. 
 
 hands. Take the affections from humanity, it 
 would be as the body without a heart. 
 
 I desire to give Duty the lofty niche to which 
 it is entitled. There is no higher, nobler incen- 
 tive to action; but, weak mortals as we are, our 
 sense of duty must often be stirred and moved 
 on its course, by the affections, in order it may act 
 when the occasion serves. 
 
 It was, therefore, for a wise and beneficent 
 purpose the affections were given to us, among 
 other precious gifts by an All-wise Creator; and 
 it seems our bounden duty not to thwart that pur- 
 pose, nor to pass it by heedlessly ; but to aid it, 
 and by cultivation, facilitate the functions of the 
 affections, and enable them to fill their appointed 
 places in our immaterial being. 
 
 It seems superfluous to state that the affec- 
 tions may be nourished and cultivated by daily 
 practice; and it is a practice "twice blessed." It 
 blesses donor and donee. It is more than a recre- 
 ation. It not only relaxes the mind, but 
 strengthens and sweetens the heart. 
 
 The affections never lack objects upon which 
 to exercise their good offices, or bestow their 
 sympathy: There are our parents to venerate, 
 our friends and neighbors upon whom to 
 lavish the "small, sweet courtesies of life" ; the 
 aged to respect; the young to give our tender- 
 ness; womanhood to honor and revere. A vast 
 array ! but our affections are of infinite breadth — 
 unfathomed depth, and may embrace all. 
 
 The affections are the main source of manners. 
 The student who does not foster the affections, 
 practices manners without a license, without even 
 
The Affections. 123 
 
 acquaintance with their rudiments. Good feel- 
 ing is a fundamental rule of manners. How may 
 he acquire good manners, if he does not cultivate 
 the affections? 
 
 Discipline is power. "Knowledge is power." 
 The power derived from one or the other, or 
 both, placed in evil hands, may be abused ; in 
 untrained hands, it may be ill used, unwittingly; 
 under proper control it may serve good and use- 
 ful purposes ; that proper control, in our imma- 
 terial economy, is given to the moral nature 
 stirred to duty by the affections. 
 
 It is well, therefore, even before we undertake 
 the training of the intellect, that we should be- 
 gin the training of the heart ; in order that as 
 we rise in discipline, and advance in knowledge, 
 we may be under proper influences and directed 
 by proper authority. It is, perhaps, sufficient to 
 have the education of the intellect advance, pari 
 passu, with the education of the heart. But to 
 discipline the intellect, and to acquire knowledge, 
 leaving those affections untrained, which are to 
 inspire us to use this discipline and knowledge to 
 wise purposes, is injudicious, imprudent; nay, is 
 it not dangerous to put our little craft out to sea, 
 as it were, without compass or guide? 
 
 It is true that mental discipline, and the acqui- 
 sition of knowledge, of themselves, are elevat- 
 ing, and give rise to a feeling which naturally 
 seeks congenial associations and fit environment, 
 such associations and environments become an 
 incentive to a proper direction of our discipline 
 and a proper use of our acquisitions ; but these 
 helps of association and environment may be de- 
 
1 24 Self-Development. 
 
 nied to us, and if we have not cherished the affec- 
 tions, our discipHne will lack a noble incentive 
 to exertion ; and our acquisitions will be of as 
 little avail, as gold hidden in the bowels of the 
 earth. 
 
 The intellect and the heart are interdependent; 
 each is only a part of the whole — the immaterial 
 being. The heart requires the intellect to reason 
 and determine; the intellect requires the heart to 
 prompt it to good works, and to inspire it to 
 achieve noble ends through noble means. Of 
 what avail is it to make the student learned in 
 the sciences ; apt in many languages ; if he has not 
 been taught to be kind to his fellow man ; humane 
 to the dumb brute in his power ; and considerate 
 to the sick, the afflicted and the distressed? Of 
 what avail is learning if he has not learned that 
 his integrity must be maintained unimpeached, 
 and his honor unsullied ; and that it is a perver- 
 sion of the very knowledge he may have ac- 
 quired, if he fails to use it for the benefit of 
 others, as well as himself? 
 
 The student will note carefully how far aca- 
 demic life educates the heart, and, if necessary, 
 supplement his curriculum with the study and 
 exercise of the affections. His education, with- 
 out this study and practice may satisfy others, 
 but he must, himself, be satisfied. 
 
 I trust I have said enough to arouse the stu- 
 dent's attention to the affections, and that he will 
 take up the subject thoughtfully; consider it with 
 deliberation, and note carefully the extent and 
 importance of their function. Doubtless he will 
 accept their aid to advance, and their sympathy 
 
The Affections. 125 
 
 to aspire; and that he will cultivate those affec- 
 tions which will enable him not only to serve 
 others to the full capacity of his nature, but in- 
 sure to himself that content which is the glori- 
 ous triumph of a well-ordered life. 
 
126 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY TWENTY-NINE. 
 
 HABITS. 
 
 As the youth merges into maturity, or soon 
 afterward, he acquires certain habits of mind as 
 well as of body, which become fixed through life, 
 and which tend to make or mar his usefulness, 
 and his peace of mind; according to their good- 
 ness, their supineness or their weakness. 
 
 He who earnestly seeks self-culture must seri- 
 ously consider there are certain habits to be 
 formed, certain habits to be avoided ; and that 
 unless he has the resolution to acquire the one, 
 and avoid the other, it is in vain for him to expect 
 intellectual advancement. 
 
 Habits, indeed, are the man, common experi- 
 ence tells us naught should be expected of the 
 man of indolent habits ; nor one without method 
 in his ways, without patience in his pursuits; but 
 that much may be reckoned from him who has 
 acquired habits of industry, of method, and of 
 perseverance. 
 
 The youth, earnest in his endeavor to reach 
 high mental development, requires slight intro- 
 spection to discover the habits which help, and 
 the habits which hinder, on his way. It is not so 
 much knowledge in this wise that he requires, as 
 a determination to forsake a bad habit, of which 
 
Habits. 127 
 
 one bold step breaks the tyranny; and to cleave 
 to a good habit, in which each step taken 
 strengthens him for the next. The following 
 suggestions, however, may aid the youth in his 
 introspection; and, perhaps, advance him in his 
 endeavor. 
 
 He who maps out for himself a career of use- 
 fulness, must acquire the habit of employing his 
 time to advantage, and of availing himself of its 
 precious fragments. 
 
 When one reflects upon the brevity of life; 
 upon the unyielding demands of sleep; the hours 
 necessary for recreation; the social demands we 
 cannot forget ; the hours we are indisposed to 
 study, from physical or mental causes ; there 
 seems to remain moments, only, that can be de- 
 voted to intellectual pursuits. Yet of these mo- 
 ments we waste many ! It is because we have 
 not the habit of watching for, and appropriating 
 all available time. Some endeavor to make up 
 for time lost by abridging the hours that belong 
 to sleep or recreation, but the custom will reduce 
 the vigor of the body, react on the mind, and avail 
 nothing. 
 
 It is the orderly settlement of our time that 
 puts us in a proper way for its right disposition. 
 Every evening a plan should be formed for the 
 occupation of the following day, and carried out 
 as far as practicable. 
 
 Interruptions cannot be avoided, but the youth 
 should be jealous of any undue infringement 
 upon his time, and seek to acquire the habit of 
 constant zvatchfulness over it, in order it may be 
 thoroughly and usefully employed. 
 
128 Self-Development. 
 
 Social life has claims upon him which cannot 
 be ignored; but he must observe the distinction 
 between the hours given to it for a good purpose, 
 and the time wasted in idle gossip, or amuse- 
 ments which do not recreate. 
 
 When a student, after passing an evening in 
 society, communes with himself, and cannot re- 
 member any way in which he has served others 
 or himself; it would be well for him to consider 
 whether it is proper to continue such useless in- 
 roads upon his time. 
 
 Unprofitable reading takes up much valuable 
 time. Newspapers, magazines, trashy literature, 
 even some sciences of no possible use, in a gen- 
 eral way, offer constant temptation to the stu- 
 dent; which can be resisted by the habit of em- 
 ploying his time to such advantage that he has 
 not a moment to spare, even if he had the inclina- 
 tion, for idle reading. The habitual endeavor to 
 use our time properly involves the dispatch of 
 our affairs in order, and relegates to far away 
 regions the demon of procrastination, which all 
 of us know, and too many of us serve. 
 
 He who has not method should cultivate it, 
 until it becomes a habit. The man of method has 
 advantages over him who lacks it, and will not 
 seek to acquire it. It can be acquired, as one may 
 note, where a busy man who has numerous en- 
 gagements of his time, is compelled to adopt 
 method in its disposition. 
 
 Method disposes us to make an orderly ar- 
 rangement of our time.. It enables us to be punc- 
 tual in our appointments ; it induces regular hab- 
 its, as sleep and recreation; it gives to us regular 
 
Habits. 129 
 
 hours for study; and these regular hours serve 
 to maintain interest in study. It forms the habit 
 of planning, which is necessary before we under- 
 take ; it enables us, in a moment, to put our hand 
 on any paper in our library we may require. 
 These are some advantages of method. Let it 
 become a habit, cost what it may. It will repay 
 whatever efforts may be made for its acquisi- 
 tion. Let it not be said it cannot be acquired ; for 
 the discipline is mechanical, and patience will se- 
 cure it. 
 
 The difference between the pains necessary to 
 acquire a good habit and the weakness which al- 
 lows us to drift into a bad habit, is not so broad 
 as many imagine. Even if it were so, he who 
 cannot deny himself and respond to the call of 
 duty; he, who would rather linger at Capua than 
 march to Rome, must bear in mind that victory 
 does not come to him who stands idle and help- 
 less, but must be plucked in the heat and fierce- 
 ness of the battle. 
 
 Good habits are allies upon whose fidelity we 
 may rely, and whose support is indispensable; 
 bad habits are our stern enemies for life, ready 
 to thwart every movement we may make, and to 
 place every obstacle in our way ; the young man 
 can decide whether he will accept the aid of one, 
 or incur the opposition of the other. 
 
130 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAL THIRTY. 
 
 MANNERS. 
 
 Self-culture in providing for the needs of a 
 career, is not complete without the cultivation 
 of manners. It is not only incomplete, but with- 
 out manners much of it is unserviceable. 
 
 It is not by what we really .are, nor what our 
 acquisitions are, but by the manner in which we 
 show ourselves to the world, that the world 
 judges us; because outward appearance and visi- 
 ble actions and speech are the only means of de- 
 termining. 
 
 Now if we really desire to serve others, and be 
 served by them, which seems to be the natural 
 and beneficent condition of existence ; we must 
 place ourselves in friendly relations to them, and 
 endeavor to have their good opinion. 
 
 We can secure their good opinion by showing 
 good feehng, carried out in act when circum- 
 stance favors ; and in this wise serve them ; and 
 we may reasonably expect others to serve us, if 
 we show we are entitled to their esteem and re- 
 spect. 
 
 When I mention others serving us, I refer to 
 
 the fact that no one is so independent, as to be 
 
 bove the need, from time to time, of the help. 
 
Manners. 131 
 
 comfort and companionship of his kind ; if he 
 has served others in his day he may expect serv- 
 ice in turn ; cases of ingratitude, though frequent, 
 are exceptional. 
 
 It must not be understood that service to others 
 must be rendered in view of recompense of serv- 
 ice to us, which is only a common result. Service 
 for the sake of service, and because it is right 
 and proper of itself, must influence our conduct 
 and guide our actions. 
 
 These views embody the theory of manners, 
 which is simply ethical culture, illustrated in 
 every-day life ; — to do unto others as we would 
 have others do unto us. 
 
 Good manners are frequently supposed to con- 
 sist of the knowledge and practice of conventional 
 usage, born of the customs of a certain class; 
 but conventional usage, as the etiquette of a court, 
 is matter of form and ceremony, and may be 
 learned mechanically : Good manners hold a 
 higher place, and are based upon the best im- 
 pulses of the heart, sound sense, and settled con- 
 victions of duty. There are gentlemen, igno- 
 rant of the usage of a certain class of society, yet 
 with their good sense and good feeling would 
 honor a court by their presence. Exclusiveness, 
 unapproachableness, "putting on airs," as famil- 
 iarly expressed, do not belong to the school of 
 manners. 
 
 I had the honor of meeting General Grant at 
 a social function, while he was President, and 
 found him as approachable as a child; modest in 
 bearing and manner, simple and genial in speech, 
 and utterly devoid of ostentation. 
 
132 Self-Development. 
 
 It often happens that, as a man rises in the 
 world, or becomes noted among his fellow man, 
 he conceives it proper to assume airs of impor- 
 tance, in order to verify his exalted position ; for- 
 getting that modesty and simplicity are the hand- 
 maids of greatness, if great he considers him- 
 self. 
 
 One has the undoubted right to fortify himself 
 against intrusion in any shape, select his com- 
 pany, indulge in his privacy, marshal his precious 
 time in order, have his hours parcelled out in 
 due proportion, between the library, the drawing- 
 room, his vocation, and his intercourse with 
 others ; but he should never set himself above his 
 fellows; he should never assert the "I am holier 
 than thou" idea; good-heartedness must never 
 fail him ; a tact that is studied and practiced, must 
 show consideration to all, even unto those fill- 
 ing the humblest ofifices in his household. 
 
 The student should aspire to be a gentleman — 
 a word considered one of the most expressive of 
 the language; for the word embodies all that is 
 lofty of thought, tender of sentiment, honorable 
 in speech and act. 
 
 A student may not aspire to be a gentleman un- 
 less he has learned a lofty reverence for women, 
 and is heartily disposed to show to them at all 
 times, the respect and attention their presence 
 may suggest, and courtesy may require. He 
 should bear testimony of his right to be called 
 a gentleman, by his apparel, his bearing and car- 
 riage, the modulation of his voice; his choice 
 language; and his civiHty to all; efven the lowli- 
 est. He should study conversation ?^s an art, 
 
Manners. 133 
 
 practice it on every suitable occasion ; avoid, 
 whenever practicable, using the "small talk" of 
 the Sciolist ; and seek to leave a favorable first 
 impression even upon a casual acquaintance. 
 
 Some are born to please ; with many there is 
 the feeling, arising from conviction of duty, that 
 we must cultivate the gentle art of pleasing. Duty 
 begets discipline, discipline merges into habit, 
 which soon renders the task as light as it is agree- 
 able. 
 
 Dickens, without effort, and it seems to me, 
 without intending it, portrayed a gentleman, 
 when he gave us John Jarndyce of the Bleak 
 House. 
 
 A youth would hardly desire to aim lower than 
 to possess the elements of simple manhood, to 
 have clustered about him those qualities that con- 
 stitute a man in the highest sense of the term ; 
 a man dealing kindly and justly with all, and 
 leading a good, useful and honorable life. I 
 suggest to the aspirant to go only a step farther ; 
 these qualities are precious jewels in his keeping. 
 I invite him to polish them, in order to show what 
 they really are. It is well to know the conven- 
 tional usages of a certain class ; it is indispensable 
 to know and observe good manners on every oc- 
 casion of daily intercourse. 
 
 Good manners involve dress, as we are judged 
 by appearances, in default of knowledge of ac- 
 tualities. Polonius's advice to Laertes was, 
 "costly thy habit as thy purse can buy. But not 
 expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy; for the ap- 
 parel oft proclaims the man." 
 
 Conversation is a concomitant of manners. To 
 
134 Self-Development. 
 
 converse well is an art monarchs might envy. In 
 our intercourse with the world, it is a passport 
 to exclusive circles ; in fact, it draws humanity 
 entire to us. It requires discipline to acquire this 
 charming and useful art; only discipline can 
 achieve the modulation of the voice necessary, the 
 distinct enunciation, the calm utterance, the 
 choice language, the familiarity with subjects that 
 interest; and yet the tact which listens, when lis- 
 tening is courteous and pleasant. 
 
 Books afford few hints on the subject of man- 
 ners. Let the aspiring youth ponder on his re- 
 lations to his kind, and he can solve for himself 
 the problem of manners ; but they cannot be prac- 
 ticed without a thoughtfulness that is far-reach- 
 ing, and a tact that wearies not, nor slumbers. 
 The discipline required in these efforts must be 
 thorough ; a sense of duty is the impelling power ; 
 and the result soothes the conscience and glad- 
 dens the heart. 
 
 Our higher schools of learning have no depart- 
 ment in which manners may be cultivated ; the 
 gentle art of pleasing has no place in their curric- 
 ulum. It is true that in a mass of students there 
 are many whose early surroundings have been 
 favorable to the cultivation of good manners, and 
 these give sufficient tone to intercourse, so that 
 rudeness is repressed and selfishness ostracized ; 
 but there are no earnest efforts in the way of dis- 
 cipline tending to their cultivation, insisted upon 
 by professor, or acted upon by pupil. Self-cul- 
 ture, therefore, is the sole resource of the stu- 
 dent. He must commence with himself, some- 
 what as follows : "Why all this discipline ? Why 
 
Manners. 135 
 
 all this learning? Is it not that I may serve 
 others, as well as myself? How can I serve others, 
 if I win not their esteem and affection? How 
 may I win their esteem and affection otherwise 
 than through the gentle art of pleasing?" 
 
 Bolingbroke kept "his presence like a robe 
 pontifical. Ne'er seen but wondered at." The 
 student may dedicate his life to science, and keep 
 himself as cloistered as a monk ; if, like Boling- 
 broke, his seclusion does not preclude him from 
 appearing to have studied manners, as he would 
 a science, and conversation as he would an art. 
 Association with the best people of the commu- 
 nity in which w^e live is the proper school for man- 
 ners. Let the young man aspire to this associa- 
 tion, and be assured merit will attain it. If his 
 earliest surroundings shall have been unfriendly 
 to the attempt, they are not an absolute impedi- 
 ment, and the triumph all the more worthy. 
 
 Life is made up of little things. "Its small, 
 sweet courtesies" cost us nothing, yet they are 
 current coin, with which we may purchase happi- 
 ness for others, pleasure to ourselves. In the 
 surging mass of humanity, pressing us on every 
 side, there is the friction of passion and ignoble 
 interests, and the repelling frown of antagonistic 
 natures. Civility lessens the friction and dispels 
 the frown. Indeed it is the lubricant without 
 which the machinery of social life would cease 
 and rust, and become unfit for service ; and so- 
 ciety would resolve itself into its original ele- 
 ments of savage life and selfish consideration. 
 
136 Self-Development. 
 
 ESSAY THIRTY-ONE. 
 
 ON A COURSE OF GENERAL STUDIES. 
 
 Independent of help a youth may receive 
 from schools of learning, in order to fulfill those 
 duties he owes to others and to himself, he should 
 adopt and carry out a plan of general studies ; 
 apart from the special studies of the particular 
 pursuit to which he may be called. 
 
 In adopting this plan he must remember the 
 bounds of knowledge are too vast to be taken 
 within the horizon of human capacity. He must 
 therefore, "dare be ignorant of many things," and 
 select a portion of the fair domain ; a portion he 
 may cultivate thoroughly; for it is only by thor- 
 ough cultivation in whatever is undertaken, 
 whether elemental or otherwise, that proper re- 
 sults can be reached. 
 
 The studies to be selected must be of a char- 
 acter to satisfy the constant needs of daily life; 
 and tend to make us useful to others, and con- 
 tented within ourselves. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that life has its limi- 
 tations as to time ; and our physical and intellec- 
 tual parts their limitations as to endurance and 
 achievement. 
 
 Time, valuable to all, is particularly valuable to 
 those who are able to give only precious frag- 
 
On a Course of General Studies. 137 
 
 ments of it to self-culture, by reason of an exact- 
 ing occupation, or other causes. Again, it is 
 well to reflect, that whatever course of study a 
 student may adopt, must be accomplished, usually, 
 in a few early years of his career ; as the ordi- 
 nary cares of life soon engross his time, and tend 
 to take away all interest in study. 
 
 To the student desirous of forming a plan of 
 general studies, I tender these suggestions. 
 
 1. Discard all studies he cannot put to use, or 
 which cannot add to his intellectual advantage 
 and enjoyment. It is not the knowledge we ac- 
 quire, but what we use and enjoy, which is bene- 
 ficial. 
 
 2. It is a common error to confuse special and 
 general studies. There are m.any studies which 
 serve special purposes, which are of slight avail 
 otherwise, even by way of discipline. 
 
 A knowledge of the French language, for in- 
 stance, would be useful in some contingencies ; 
 but to expect to use it, only casually, does not 
 seem to justify classing it with general studies; 
 or to give the time necessary for its acquisition, 
 which could be used to greater advantage in other 
 studies. 
 
 3. He should, as a rule, let one study absorb 
 his attention, and be thorough in it, before he 
 takes up another ; provided he can, without weari- 
 ness, so employ his entire spare time ; otherwise, 
 two studies might be pursued, one after the other, 
 during the day. 
 
 4. Of the studies he may deem essential, he 
 should begin with the more important, and pro- 
 ceed in the order of their importance. 
 
I3S Self-Development. 
 
 5. When it is considered proper to embrace 
 only the elements of a science in general studies, 
 the distinction must be observed between an en- 
 deavor to grasp general principles or great out- 
 lines, and the skimming of the surface that re- 
 sults in smattering; one seeks the mighty deep 
 for its treasure — the other toys with the wave 
 for amusement. 
 
 6. When interest is aroused on a subject, let 
 it take precedence over other studies, and let 
 him investigate it in its completeness, while the 
 interest is lively and eager. 
 
 7. What he is compelled to know empirically, 
 he should learn scientifically, as far as practicable. 
 
 What may be classed as Important Studies are 
 here given, in the order of their importance. 
 
 I. A knowledge of the language, comprising 
 the origin and use of words, grammar, clearness 
 and elegance of expression in speech and writing. 
 
 Thought, which precedes the progress and ele- 
 vation of humanity, is expressed by language. 
 To have the thought clear to our conception, the 
 language must be clear. The language cannot 
 be clear, unless the words used are proper words, 
 and the sentence expresses the thought with pers- 
 picuity. Hence the necessity of studying the lan- 
 guage, in order to give correct expression to our 
 thoughts. 
 
 As we become better acquainted with the lan- 
 guage, force and elegance of expression may be 
 added to correctness, and serve to interest and im- 
 press. 
 
 The language is not only an indispensable 
 study, but its facile use is an elegant accomplish- 
 
On a Course of General Studies. 139 
 
 ment. A clever style charms in writing, captivates 
 in speech; and there is an intellectual delight in 
 learning to frame choice and proper sentences 
 to express our ideas. 
 
 Let the youth eager to advance drink deep of 
 his mother tongue. Let him gradually learn the 
 origin and use of its words ; and the nice dis- 
 tinctions of their shades of meaning. Let him be 
 perfect in his grammar; seek to hear and critic- 
 ally note the pronunciation of the best speakers 
 of the language. Then let him turn to that array 
 of writers who have shown its capabilities, from 
 the simple and beautiful Anglo-Saxon of Bunyan, 
 to the classic diction of a "Junius," or Dr. John- 
 son, of a Macaulay or a De Quince/, not for the 
 purpose of imitating a style, but to form one of 
 his own. 
 
 2. Logic or the art of reasoning, "the science 
 of sciences," is an indispensable study ; our rea- 
 soning power is invoked every hour of the day, 
 almost every minute ; yet how few persons rea- 
 son correctly ! 
 
 In the Essay on Reflection and Reasoning this 
 subject has already been discussed, and attention 
 invited to its importance. 
 
 In the studies which follow a knowledge of the 
 outlines or elemental truths will be sufficient for 
 a course of general studies. 
 
 3. Hygiene, as health is not only the chief ele- 
 ment of content, but a prerequisite in intellectual 
 effort, it is unnecessary to urge a knowledge of 
 the general truths of Hygiene, as essential in this 
 course. 
 
 4. Psychology, as I have already endeavored 
 
140 Self-Development. 
 
 to place before the student the importance of Self- 
 knowledge, it is needless to state more, in this 
 connection, than that this knowledge can be en- 
 larged through study of the law and facts of men- 
 tal operation. 
 
 5. Chemistry, as we are compelled to know 
 something of chemistry through the experience 
 of our daily lives, it is proper that knowledge 
 should be substituted by a scientific knowledge of 
 its fundamental truths. 
 
 6. Physics bear much the same relation as 
 chemistry to our daily needs ; as in the former the 
 phenomena observed are of masses of matter in 
 their external relation ; and the latter deals with 
 the internal constitution of bodies, and the rela- 
 tion of the parts to each other. Electricity should 
 be embraced in this study, and have special atten- 
 tion, in view of its growing importance. 
 
 7. Sociology, or the science of Social life, we 
 should know scientifically, because we are obliged 
 otherwise to know it experimentally. 
 
 8. Politics, or the science of government, as a 
 branch of sociology, must have a measure of our 
 attention, as every one should be fully informed 
 of his relation to the state as a citizen. 
 
 The Federal and State constitutions should be 
 carefully read in connection with this subject, and 
 a commentary on the Federal constitution would 
 repay the time given to its perusal. 
 
 9. Of mathematical studies, arithmetic and ge- 
 ometry, as far as the first six books of Euclid, 
 or the equivalent. 
 
 10. Mechanics, including a knowledge of the 
 steam engine. 
 
On a Course of General Studies, 141 
 
 II. Astronomy, geology, and physical geog- 
 raphy of land and sea. 
 
 The above studies of M^hich elemental knowl- 
 edge is to be acquired, are subject to the quali- 
 fication, that when appliances are necessary to 
 illustrate a truth or principle, such as models in 
 physiology, or a laboratory in chemistry, the 
 study without them has less interest, and while 
 not entirely barren of profit, is shorn of much 
 of its value. 
 
 The subject of Ethics has already been con- 
 sidered in the Essay on Moral Faculty. In a 
 previous chapter I have referred to studies tend- 
 ing to cultivate the imagination ; these may be 
 classed as recreative studies, to be pursued, from 
 time to time; and form an exception to the ob- 
 servation, heretofore made, of attempting to rec- 
 reate by a change of study. 
 
 Students understand the value of reviewing a 
 subject, more or less frequently, as its importance 
 demands, with a view to fixing it in the memory. 
 This matter has been already referred to in the 
 Essay on Reading. 
 
 Stenography and Typewriting are valuable ac- 
 quisitions to a student, and may serve him in 
 special pursuits. Their familiar use is a testi- 
 mony of their value. Every young man should 
 instruct himself in both and be able to use them 
 with skill and rapidity. 
 
 Books, as valuable as they are, must not allow 
 us to ignore what is outside of books. Observa- 
 tion of, and reflection on Nature, mankind and 
 ourselves, must have a proper and liberal share 
 of our attention. Evolving our own ideas from 
 
142 Self-Development. 
 
 what we observe is a direct, exhaustless and un- 
 contaminated source of knowledge. 
 
 The habit of conversing with those we meet, 
 on subjects famihar to them, is a means of ac- 
 quiring useful information, which books might 
 not furnish at all, or only at the expense of much 
 time and research. A friend connected with a 
 banking institution could inform us of the usages 
 of bankers ; another, of the legal profession, could 
 advise us of the office and uses of a bank check, 
 promissory note or bill of exchange. He could 
 also advise us of our rights and duties as a 
 voter, witness, litigant, grand or petit juror; so, 
 a bookkeeper could state the principles of double 
 entry, and the method of analyzing a transaction, 
 in order to make it appear plainly on the record. 
 
 Favorable surroundings, and associations with 
 the best people about us, are educators worthy 
 of all efforts to secure. The imagination feasts 
 upon the sublime and beautiful in scenery, and 
 takes from it color and impression that neither 
 fades nor wears ; but scenery that is tame and 
 subject only to slight changes, gives less nourish- 
 ment and strength. In association we learn, as 
 I have said, much that books do not readily fur- 
 nish, if they furnish at all; we learn also, by as- 
 sociation the modes, customs and sentiments of 
 cultivated people. When, therefore, the young 
 man has the choice, let him choose to dwell amid 
 elevating surroundings, and associate with the 
 best people of the community in which his lot is 
 cast. 
 
 The pursuit of a course of studies is apt to give 
 lis, as we advance, exaggerated views of our ac- 
 
On a Course of General Studies. 143 
 
 quirements, against which we must carefully 
 guard ourselves ; among the first-fruits of Self- 
 knowledge is the discernment that establishes a 
 well-defined line between what we know, and that 
 which we do not know. It is because mankind 
 assume to know what really they do not, and act 
 upon the assumption that many misfortunes and 
 failures befall them ; whereof every phase of life, 
 every condition and every pursuit furnish in- 
 numerable victims. 
 
 History, usually, is profitless reading, on ac- 
 count of the manner in which it has been treated ; 
 written properly, it is of service only as an illus- 
 tration of sociology, and should follow, not pre- 
 cede, as it commonly does, a knowledge of that 
 science. Some recent chroniclers have marked a 
 path others may safely follow, and written of 
 peoples, instead of the crimes of rulers, or the in- 
 trigues of a court. 
 
 I have omitted Latin and Greek from general 
 studies, because if pursued at all, they should 
 form special studies. They are not required in 
 every-day exigencies. It seems questionable, 
 with an English-speaking people, whether the 
 acquisition of one or more modern languages, 
 repays one for the time required for familiar 
 knowledge ; and the usual Academic skimming is 
 simply a waste of time ; when, however, a speci- 
 fic object is in view, the study of one or more 
 of these languages could be pursued under a spe- 
 cial course. 
 
 ^Esthetic culture, in a general way, has rela- 
 tion to ourselves. There are moments in life 
 when we need mental recreation, and must rely 
 
144 Self-Development. 
 
 upon the resources within us. These resources 
 might be too meagre to satisfy, if we have not, 
 from time to time, sauntered into the region of 
 romance, or reahn of poetic thought, and kept 
 ourselves in touch with their creations. This spirit 
 should be maintained by noting high types of ar- 
 chitecture, visiting galleries of paintings and 
 sculpture whenever practicable ; and by keeping 
 up a knowledge of the best fiction and poetry 
 of the language. In this manner our apparently 
 idle moments may be the least idle, and our hours 
 of solitude the most social — with the uncrowned 
 Queens and Kings of Ideal Life, filling the cham- 
 bers of the heart, and gladdening it with their 
 wit and fancy. 
 
 Let it be understood by the student that these 
 remarks on a course of general study are in- 
 tended, not so much recommendatory, as illus- 
 trative of the proper direction of a course. I 
 would regret to know a youth had adopted a 
 single suggestion that had not the approval of 
 his understanding. If they serve him in forming 
 a plan of his own, they will have achieved their 
 purpose. 
 
Conclusion. 145 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Gentle Student ! we now part company, and 
 the parting word must be spoken. I have sought 
 thee from Sympathy, and if my companionship 
 has cheered thee, or words of mine helped, I am 
 content. 
 
 Would that / had your youth, joined to my ex- 
 perience ; but you have my experience, joined to 
 your youth. It is tendered to thee in all the in- 
 tegrity of my heart. Esteem it not lightly ; but 
 accept no expression uttered, save it have the 
 sanction of the judgment. 
 
 The triple inheritance of Conscience, Intellect 
 and Heart are thine. Each an estate worthy of 
 careful stewardship. Let them not lie fallow. 
 Let them not, through poor tillage, grow up in 
 the weeds that tell of lost opportunities, but till 
 each field intensively, and to the uttermost. 
 
 Day by day, quicken and broaden thy mental 
 powers. At the evening hour seek the inner 
 shrine of conscience, review thy actions, confess 
 thy faults, and renew thy vow of fealty to the 
 "Stem Law Giver" — Duty. 
 
 Lo ! thy labors, worthy student ! They are la- 
 bors of love — labors that delight and cloy not. 
 Pray and labor, until thy intellect is disciplined 
 to philosophic thought ; thy conscience hallowed 
 
146 Conclusion. 
 
 to supreme good; and thy heart fragrant with 
 content and good will. 
 
 Let thy motto be: "Onward, Upward." The 
 faint-hearted may fall by the wayside, but pass 
 thou on. Keep Duty as a guiding star, and thou 
 shalt approach near, if not entirely realize, the 
 full-rounded Ideal Life, graven on thy fancy, by 
 The Great Designer. 
 
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