Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1868-09-08
DANGERS TO FERTILE MINDS.

DANGERS TO FERTILE MINDS.
Every farmer of experience is we'll
of the wonderful difference 10
the final results of seed in itself good.
In some instances, through the poverty
of the soil, it is periled, but, in other
cases, the very fertility helps to produce
the same result by the luxuriance ofthe
weeds that surround and choke it. SO
also in human life ; whatever in either
constitution or circumstances might
enable the good seeds Of character to
Weld a richer than ordinary harvest,
will be sure to bring with it correspond
ing dangers, that may, without dill
gent watchfulness, render the SOIL Of
the heart fatally unproductive. Some
minds, like some soils, are naturally
fertile. The reason quickly masters
every difficulty, detects every sophistry,
and grasps a distant truth, bringing 1t
nearer by rapid induction. The mem
ory is tenacious, and holds with but
slight effort all the forms o. knowledge
once mastered. Other minds attain to
an equal productiveness by industry
and cultivation. Though not so distin-
guished for the ease and celebrity with
which they bring forth their ripe fruits,
their patient and unvarying assiduity
gives a permanent value to their pro.
ductious. Both Of these classes OF
mind may be termed fertile, and both,
while exer,ing n vast influence on a
kind, are liable to special dangers.
Genius often lacks stability, and ex.
cessive application frequently enfeeble'
the will. Intellectual brilliancy is often
purchased at the expense of a great
moral weakness, and we sometimes see
a tendency to reaction from the loftiest
imagiuings to the lowest designations.
In Europe this tendency is the great
bane Of college life. Sometimes there
is a fckleness in the IA Of genius that
prevents the success that only un.
wearying perseverance in one pursuit
| can insure and on the other hand we Of
ten see every energy, which either natu-
raj fertility or the intensest culture can
give to the mental soil, so completely
absorbed in purely intellectual pursuits,
aud so completely exhausted by them,
as to leave no elements for the cultiva-
ton of the moral or religious nature.
This is, perhaps, the most common, as
we'll as the most fatal danger Of the fer
tile mind. Where the thoughts are OK
clusively strained upon intellectual SUBJ
jects, the emotional nature is apt to
grow rusty from disuse, and an apathy
to moral and religious topics may ensue
without rigid watchfulness. A real
growth of nature will demand an in
creasiug proportion Of mental stimulus
in every subject that is pursued, and the
man Of intellect must, therefore, secure
more intense and thoughtful re-
ligious exercises than will suffice for
others, if he would have his moral ma
ture keep pace with his mental. Many,
however, mistake on intellectual ad-
miratiou of religion for the pious fol-
lowing Of it, and love theology as they
do Euclid, to please the mind, but not
to touch the heart. Some are wrought
up to lofty enthusiasm by the poetic
glowings of the sacred bsrds, and for
this believe themselves to be the truly
religious characters, and others rest
satisfied in what they conceive to be
clear views Of truth, without u practical
working Of them in their lives.
A consideration Of these and other
dangers to the fertile mind, may make
those less distinguished contented with
their own advantages. Those who
mourn that their range Of vision cannot
be extended by rising to the summit OF
some mountain, should remember that
the same hight that would enlarge their
field Of vision, would also take away
the distiuctness Of their perception. 1t
is those who make the best use Of the
advantage, and opportunities that God
has granted them, that best fulfill the
high purposes of their creation. And
those who may DO favored with unusual
abilities, should ever bear in mind the
great responsibilities that accompany
them. Every faculty possessed should
be improved to the utmost, not in q one
sided manner, but in its proper relations
to all others, thus to promote and Sc
cure a perfectly balanced character.
Those who have ten talents entrusted
to their care, must give more labor and
industry in their occupation, and the
richness of the increase will more than
reward all the toll, for where " much
Is given, much shall also be required"
RouGH OLD FIGHT.-A paper called
The Future of Nicaragua, says For