Show AIMS AND > OBJECTS BY GASSLLL That virtue only mak our blue below And all our knowledge Is ounelYei to know Pope Use begets facility and the latter in turn increases relatively our strength Habit becomes to a certain cer-tain extent as a second nature to us and long continued grows almost to be spontaneous in its action How much better then that what ever habits we do form should be good and beneficial such as under no circumstance need we be shamed of them To the young such things are very important though perhaps few may appreciate their real magnitude or significance while the glamor and light hearted ness of youth rosetint all things round Youthful vigor and exuberant exuber-ant vitality awaken the imaginative powers increase enjoyment and gild in rainbow hues of glory the vistas of future life and only as experience is won as well digested plans end in failure as hope after hope like shimmering mirage of the plain recede before the traveler do they estimate things at their proper value It remains for ma urer years or for age to rejoice at good habits po sassed or mourn the misspent time unprofitably exemplified exem-plified In sinful deceitful bad actions No aim is wholly bad t that results in good to its possessor to others nor can any finite mind point out the exact pathway or course of study best suited for each individual to follow As morally tree agents we ourselves have a choice as to what we will be though many of us are compelled by mate ial wants to labor in a cer tain occupation or follow a certain gieove of breadwinning from the cradle to the grave Association goes a long way in forming form-ing i our habits nor can we at all times choose our company yet we can ever zealously try to elevate the more ignorant to our level rather than to descend to theirsThe adages Tell me what company you keep and I will tell you what you are Evil communications corrupt good manners Birds of a feather flock ogether each has a similar bearing bear-ing and he who recognizes the truth of them to the fullest extent has greatest care in marking out his course Fools rush in where angels an-gels fear to tread and ignorance is often more presuming than knowledge As the higher elevatIOn eleva-tIOn gives the more extended view displaying each frowning precipice and dangerous chasm before unknown un-known and unseen by the dweller of the valley so wisdom detects the deceitful pitfalls of sophistry and the dangers of a hardened unbelief Cautious in expressing a dissent because be-cause knowing to the wide range of possibilities in nature knowledge must weigh and test and prove before be-fore deciding appreciating the fact that there is no truth but correlates with all other truths Reason never goes at anything haphazard trusting to chance for a proper solution solu-tion nor is any great success ever acheived unless study and application applica-tion have been used to cultivate the faculties and develop the powers both of body and mind inithat particular partic-ular directionThereis no such thing as accident in the develpoment and formation of characterthough accident ac-cident may give rise to certain trains of thought or arouse feelings otherwise dormant that followed up consistently and continuously may lead to eventual success in a certain directionas the rising and falling of his mothers teakettle lid led Watts to investigate the expansive ex-pansive power of steam and I invent the steamengine thus multiplying more than a thousand times the productive powers of manor man-or as Martin Costar idly amusing himself in cutting the letters of the alphabet out of bark as playthings for his grandchildren seized the idea perfected by Guttenberg when birth was given to movable type and printingthe means of diffusing diffus-ing knowledge broadcast among all civilized peoples making the chances of the poorest peasants obtaining ob-taining learning more than equal to I those of a despot centuries before or as Prince Rupert in his campaigning cam-paigning from the rust on his sword scabbard inventing the art of mezzotint mezzo-tint engraving Steam and printing print-ing have been the greatest civilizers the world has ever had Where they have flourished side by side tyranny ignorance and superstition have receded Let us hope no more to return They have made possible the beforetimes impossible impos-sible they have tunnelled the hugest mountains spanned the deepest valleys swam thetrackless seas explored deserts and Continents conti-nents before unknown to man they have made Jhe cottager and artisan of today more intelligent more comfortable more generous and emulative and free from prejudice and sin than the noble or king of a few centurIes ago The obstacles ve have to meet in life may generally be put into two ciases those that arise from ourselves our-selves and those proceeding from or arising from contlict with others The urst is lack of judgment or immaturity im-maturity of thoughtaction before theory has developed sufficiently to show all its sequences That is the most universal and widespread of all other causes of failure in human life A man may be a learned man and yet be a very foolish oneas the Duke of Sully said of King James I of England He was the most learned fool of Europe We are pretty much all foolish in some particular thing for few ndeed are > without their peculiar es and theft hobbies We may succeedin hiding our hobby from others but it will still be pa tent to our own consciousness if we are not taken up with vanity and are honest to ourselves Few persons IJ per-sons really can judge correctly of their own powers and capabilities Some hit the nail on the head once < and become famous though they may never have been heard of before be-fore nor are ever heard of afterwards after-wards as displaying superior ability abil-ity In seeking a fortune or an aim glitter and show are too often sought after more than utility and worthiness Nor are we alone to blame for this state of things Society at large is responsible for a great number of these follies fallacies and fancies as we can but notice that oftentimes often-times higher regard is shown and more reward and honor bestowed on the brilliant and beautiful than on the worthy The lady who is beautiful will take hours in adorning adorn-ing making herself more beautiful and graceful still if possible nor is it much use to tell her to do otherwise other-wise while men are fallible as they are often more governed by their eyes than by their judgment She sees that at times a beautiful face and graceful form obtain a larger followlngsweeter and greater worship than the most cultivated mind or powerful intellect if I not enshrined in a form ot beauty Indeed it would seem i to be almost a rule the more powerful power-ful and selfreliant the mind of a woman the less acceptable she is to the generality of men either that they are afraid of being eclipsed or the ignoble feeling jealousy of sex or the dissimilarity of fact to the r simile of the vine and the oak and I the clinging if there was any needed might have to be reversed causes many to seek tokeep her in the thrall of ignorance But cannot a women be intelligent and wise beautiful in appearance appear-ance and graceful in action at the same time be lovable and tender and true and such as a sensible man might be willing to live for for there is more sense in living for one than to die for one without just and proper cause She most certainly can Intelligence In-telligence and knowledge give additional and added charms to a true womans attractions But fashion in all ages bas had powerful influence over the human mind Custom and usage have influenced the actions and directed the hopes of millions and a Nash and a Brum uel have exhausted their energies in devising a new neck tie or shap inc the cut of a vest with as deep a satisfaction to themselves as a Solon and a Webster have experienced experi-enced in framing laws freighted with weal or woe to nations However How-ever inconsistent many customs and fashions may appear to us to those possessing and practicing they are the maximum of human wisdom The Chinaman without his queue is looked upon by his countrymen as disgraced as is the Indian warrior war-rior denuded of his scalplock looked upon by his friends or the white man who sports a ball and chain is viewed by the average American citizen Though all persons cannot be beautiful in appearance for nature is ever varied in her creationsall can at least be courteous and kind in conduct and such traits of excellence ex-cellence are never thrown away The celebrated Wilkes was one of the ugliest men of his time yet he bantered Townshend one of the handsomest that he could give him I half an hour the start and then supersede him in the good graces of any of the fair dames of London fashionable society Nor was it looked on as an idle toast for all writers agree that he was so agreeable agree-able in talk and gentlemanly in deportment de-portment that he won their regards so far that his ugliness was forgotten forgot-ten in the greater charms of his converse con-verse andaction So if we are ugly we must not dispair cultivate what talent we have so that our ladylove may forget our looks in thoughts of our superior virtue and intelligence |