Independent Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1842-1844, 1842-11-26

very.
Postage on letters must be paid, or they
will not be attended to.
The following letter written by Mr..
Writ a short time before his death, will be
found very interesting. 1t was written
under these circums lances.-A young
man who looked to the law as his profess
sion, was induced by the high estimate he
had formed of Mr.. Wirt's character, to
ask from him some advice as to the line
of study, and course of mental discipline
most proper to be pursued. Mr.. Writ re-
sponded thus:
BALTIMORE, Dec. 90, 1888.
N.Y.. Dear Sir: Your letter dated "Uni-
versrty of -, December H." was
received on yesterday morning-and al
though it finds me extremely busy in pre-
pairing for the Supreme Court of the Uni
ted States, am so much pleased with its
spirit, that cannot reconcile it with my
self to let it pass unanswered. If were
ever so well qualified to advise you, to
which | do not pretend, but little good
could be done by single letter, and !
have not time for more.-Knowing no.
thing of the pecuIiarities of your mental
character, can give no advice adapted to
your peculiar case. am persuaded that
education may be so directed by saga
cious and skillful teacher, as to prune and
repress those faculties of the pupil which
are too prone to luXuriousness, and to train
and invigorate those which are dispropor-
tionably weak or slow; so as to create
just balance among the powers, and ena-
BILE the mind to act with the highest effect
of which 1t is capable. But it requires
previous acquaintance with the student,
to ascertain the natural condition OF his
various powers, in order to know which
requires the spur and which the rein. In
some minds Imagination overpowers and
smothers all the other faculties: in others,
reason, like sturdy oak, throws all the
rest into a sickly shsde. Some men have
a morbid passion for the study Ofpoetry-
others, of mathematics, &c. &c. All this
may be corrected by discipline, SO far as
it may be judicious TO correct it. But the
physician must understand the disease,
and become acquainted with all the lido
syncracies of the patient, before he can
prescribe. | have no advantage of this
kind with regard to you; and to prescribe
by con ecture, would require me to con.
lecture every possible case that may be
yours, and to prescribe for each, which
would call for ponderous volume inatead
Of letter. believe that in all sound
minds the germ of all the faculties exists,
and may, by skilltul management, be
woed into expansion; but they exist nat
urally, in different degrees of health and
strength. and as this matter is generally
left TO the impulses of nature in each in
dividual, the hoalthiest and strongest
germs get The stait--give impulse and d.
rectioI to the efforts of each mind-stamp
its character and shape its destiny. As
education, therefore, now stands among
us, each man must be his own preceptor
in this respect, and bp turning his eyes
upon himself, and describing the compar-
alive action of his own powers, discover
which OF them requires most tone-which,
if any, less. We must take care, howev-
ever, not TO make an erroneous estimate
OF the relative value of the faculties, and
thus commit the sad mistake of cultvating
The snowy at the expense of the solid.-
with these preliminary remarks, by way
OF XPltining why | cannot be more par
iicular In regard TO your case, permit me
instead OF chalking out course of study
ny furnishing you with lists of books and
the order in which they should be road,
land no list of books and course of study
would be equally proper for all minds
to close this letter with few general re-
marks.
If your spirit be as stout and pure as
your letter indicates, you require little adj
vice beyond that which you will find with.
in the walls of your University. A brave
and pure spirit is worth than shalt the
battle" not only in preparing for life, but
IN all It's conflicts. Take it for granted,
that there is no excellence Witiout great Ia.
DOR. No mere aspirations for eminence,
however ardent, will do the business