The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1867-08-15

purpose IS always Iallufe. lno
first thing therefore that every young
man should do is to determine what
part he will act in the great drama
of life. When that purpose is matured,
pursue it with unremitting vigor, re-
solved that every thing shall be made
subservient to it and that every OBJ
stacle shall be overcome. Learn to
control circumstances. The reason
so many young men fail of accom-
plishing anythingworthy offnanhood
is they have no fixed purpose. They
are waiting for something to turn upl
They have no life plcn. The young
man who resolves to he anything that
is useful and makes himself master OF
the business of his choice, possesses a
power within him that he could not
otherwise exercise. He can always
command the highest price for his
labor, because he knows how to per.
form it. Besides, the more skilled
the workman The less liability of be-
ing out of employment, 1t is SO in
all departments of life. The greater
the excellence the greater the de-
mand. A young lawyer once ex-
pressed his fears to Webster that the
profession was so crowded that he
would find it difficult to find clients.
The reply Of the distinguished jurist
was: aThcre IS plenty OF room up
stairs r. No matter what your call.
ing is (ifan honest one) strive to get
up stairs. The higher you go the
more room you willfind, forthe great
mass of men would rather be jostled
and elbowed in the basement Of soci.
ETY. than expend the labor necessary
to place them in a higher sphere. 1t
is law that can never be repealed,
that ssthere is no excellence without
labor Frequent change Of business
is only preferable to no business at
all. 1t is the lesson OF all experience
and observation that the man of some
trade" is usually the successful man,
The reason that men sometimes be
comes dissatisfied with their business
is they know the dark side of it bet
ter than something else with which
they are not practically acquainted.
Industry and economy are the only
sure roads to competence: Both
should be Systematically observed.
Every day should have its allotted
task, and its duties SO distributed
that the performance of one part
will form relaxation Of the organs
most taxed in the labor of the pre-
ceeding part. If the body is weary
rest it by engaging in mental labor
and vice versa. Sometimes the stu
dent can find relief by simply chang
ing from study another. Rest,
therefore, does not imply the neces-
sity Of idleness. When nature be-
comes exhausted, sleep is the great
restorative, but there should be no
idlcness during the waking hours
Most Of the valuable improvements
in all departments Of physical labor
have their origin in tho thorough
ness of the inventor in the particu-
lar craft which he has improved.
The steam engine, and the thousand
inventions Of the 10th CEN
fury, are only the result of intelligent
thoughfsuch as could never have en-
tered the brain Of the superficial
thinker. Men have to understand a
subject before they can think irtelli-
gently uponit, and it is by correct
thinking that perfectexecutive action
is obtained.
Words being the signs of ideas, it
follows that a knowledge Of the
meaning of words lies at the founda-
tion Of all intellectual excellence
Every young man should therefore
secure copyof Webster's Unabridged
Dictionary, and make it constant
companion during the hours Of study.
No word should be allowed to pass
without knowing its exact meaning,
whether found in book, newspaper,
discourse, or conversation. It is the
only way to obtain a command Of
language. It would be matter Of
surprise to many persons to find how
few Of tho words in common use
they could accurately define. Hence,
they do not convey their own
ideas correctly, nor receive clearly
those of the speakers and writers
with whom they come in contact
But the Dictionary is also indispen
sable as astandard of correct orthog-
raphy and pronunciation, both Of
which should be labored for BY those
starting in the pathway Of matuli-
ty. Thoroughness should be the
young mans motto.
Affoctionataly ssa TnaNvru