Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1870-05-21
HUnAN POSSIBILITIES

HUMAN PoesIBILrTIEd
The truth that there can be no obli-
cation without the ability to fulfil it,
Il sometimss made IN excuse for neg
lect of duty. Many who are feeble in
purpose, indolent in nature, or lack
ing in true Misrepresentation, persuade
themselves that they have no power to
discharge the various duties that pre-
sent themselves, and deem themselves
therefore exempt from the responsible
ity attached to their performance.
They may 90 on from dry to day under
this delusion, and fill out ayapid and
useless life, never attempting anything
great or good, because they feel in
themselves no present ability, to per
form it. Such persons have failed to
recognize a great principle lying at
the foundation Of human achievements,
that In all effort there Is a constantly
accruing ability. The most stupen-
dous machine ever constructed can
never gain an iota Of strength by use,
but all the faculties of man are DEEPEN
dent upon exercise for their develop
ment, and are thus constantly gaining
fresh powers. Physical ability is only
known In the degree to which we call
it forth, and much Of the physical fee
bleness so manifest at this day Is
simply the result of the cowardice
that holds men back from trying to
perform what their hands find to do.
Within certain limits, muscular
strength and endurance accrue in the
exact proportion that they are needed,
and great emergencies often reveal an
amount Of reserved power that aston
ishes its unconscious possessor, The
same is true of mental powers. If we
would have them grow, We must task
them. They are elastic, and will
stretch to meet our exigencies. Every
difficulty overcome, every new problem
solved, every victory gained, gives an
actual accession Of power to meet new
difficulties and to achieve higher re-
suits. Every earnest worker becomes
conscious Of this daily accruing ability,
and feels courage in undertaking what
may appear beyond his present powers,
knowing that his capacity will be un-
folded and enlarged in proportion to
his efforts. Thus it Is that the faithful
student Is able to learn with increasing
accuracy and celebrity every year Of his
school life; that the mechanic and
artisan are able to produce results that
would once have been to them impos-
sibilities; that the able merchant can
consummate in a day results which
weeks Of toll would have failed to
reafize in earlier life. Equally is
this principle a law Of u moral
nature. The power Of choosing the
right and resisting the evil, Of carrying
out great and worthy purposes and ful-
filling our obligations, is given in
exact proportion to the degree in
which We exercise It. Character Is Of
slow but steady growth, and the small
est child and the humblest and weak
est individual may attain to nights
that now seem inaccessible, by the
constant and patient exercise Of just
as much moral power as from time to
time they possess. The faithful dis
charge Of daily duty, the simple in
tegrity Of purpose and purity Of life
that all can attain with effort and none
can reach without, contribute silently
but surely to the building up Of a
moral character that knows no limit I'd
its powers, no bounds to its heroism.
There are those who shrink from max
ing beginning in religious life, be-
cause they conceive that they lack
the ability to pursue it. They
would like to have strength but re-
fuse the only of obtaining it. In
this, as In all else, power is only gained
by action. He who avoids the water
because he has no ability to swim, must
forever forfeit that ability, and it is no
less certain that he who shrinks from
entering upon a religious life because
of his deficiencies, will fail Of attain
ing any higher point Of excellence
than that at which he now haltingly
remains. If this life Is worth the liv-
ing, it must be one Of continual pro
gress. We have loads to bear, under
which If we trust alone to present or
inherent strength, we may we'll sink.
Indeed, those who always feel them
selves equal to every emergency, who
have exaggerated ideas of their own
powers, are often really the weakest in
action. But while the vainest need
never boast, the humblest need never
despond, If this great principle be rec
ognized and acted upon, that each is to
begin just where he stands, putting
forth every energy, and exerting every
power, and trusting for tho renewed
strength and increasing abilities that
will ever follow the persevering and