Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1858-07-07
For the Spirit of the Age.
Snnness the Result of Perseverance.

1t ought to he early and deeply impress
cd on the mind of every aspiring youth,
that spirit of perseverance is an essential
clement of successful man. A constant,
persevering course of conduct is the only !
guarantee of success. There may be ex-
ceptions to this rule; there are cases, few of
them, in which success was merely the re-
suit of combination of fortuitous circum-
stances. Such cases seldom occur few
are recipients of such success but when
they do happen, they are so bold and stri
king, and withal so fattering and agreea-
Bile, that all who witness them, or ever hear
of them, become animated with an expec-
tation of succeeding in the same way
Such expectations being groundless are al
ways disappointed. There is nothing,
whatever its nature or benefit of possession,
that can be obtained without an expendi-
ture of labor and pains in proportion to the
value of the coveted object. In order to
possess, in order to gain and hold whatev-
er is desirable, if the probability of getting
it is in the bounds Of reason, labor is the
price that must be paid. In all the bust
ness operations of mankind in acquiring
wealth in making comfortable, easy iy-
ing; in amassing such things around home
as will make it agreeable and pleasant; in
furnishing residences with the comforts and
elegances of refined society: in obtaining
the best or the greatest enjoyment, in all
cases labor or. its equivalent, must be ex-
pended. While labor, hard, persevering,
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the common walks of life, can there be any
statement more easily proven, or more ap-
parent to the observer, than, that perse-
vering spirit is an indispensable requisite to
success in the higher pursuits of life, the
learned professions requiring intense energy
and profound thought!
Let me address myself, then, to noble
generous ambitious youth, whose heart.
beat high with expectation, who are waited
over a smooth sea by pleasant breezes, anc
who in imagination roam over many ar
enchanting field of prospective beauty
You may enjoy a respectable show of ma
ture's best gift; you may be endowed Will
more than medium talent; you may be
bright genius and soar as high above you
lClIO"S do CIS AlS1o VI Vic CdSlC ia Ills pau
to the glorious Sun exceeds the hopping c
the tiny sparrow you may be all this
and yet, without the application of pains
taking, constant, indomitable energy an
perseverance,, you will never be distinguish
ed from those around you. By the mum
fcent wealth of your mind-the later
powers of soul-you may, like the sun ths
rises in darkness and, scattering his golde
beams, give light and health and beaut
to the world around you; blazing up,
sun in the armament of mind, drive fro
the world the prejudices and errors of age
solve mysteries sealed to curious eye
E open new fields Of thought, pull down o
t systems, erect new ones, send the mighty tx
of human thought in other channels, al
n shed your light across the track Of dista
n ages. Your father may by industry al
;, economy, at the close of his career, lea
you sum of money that will place y
S, in af1uent circumstances, and give you
d position in society your unaided effo
" could never have attained; he may lea
you good example and on honorablefan
be he NAV leave you with glorious prosp