Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-04-06
rs EAkLNRA

THIRiS the ere OF doing things sclentlfl-
ely People make ascienfidc cakulaeon
Of the weather, and the averrgehumbef of
murders for the next year. They measure
the stars, and they measure the affections,
both scientifically. They dress, dance,
sing, and die scientifically. The only
thing they fail to do scientifically is to
manage themselves. As rule, they drift,
and then find fault with fate and Provi-
dence because they don't drift into the
right port, They drift into life with q
multiplicity of vague dreams, which are
somehow to be realized, but they Nave .
very dim idea Of ways and means. They
drift through it carelessly, with an made
quate knowledge of their own resources,
and q still more inadequate notion Of using
them to the best advantage; they drift out
Of it with melancholy sense of failure,
both absolutely, as to Themselves, and fel-
atively, as to the world OF, all stheir
splendid possibilities none are realized.
Nothing is completed. They start wrong,
Of tha make one fatal step, and every
thing goes wrong all the way through.
IL seems g il most lives were only ex-
periments. Now and then ono is turned
out which fits in it's niche, and is tolera-
hlv symmetrical. 4 The rest are all awry,
unfinished, misplaced, and merely faint
suggestions of what might have been
Much of this is doubtlcss beyond moral
foresight, but d far greater proportion Is
due to the lack Of wise direction Of
forces The human mechanism is com
plicated, and very slight law sets it all
wrong. There may be too much stem,
or too much friction, or too little power,
ar too little balanca. But, clearly, the first
step is to strengthen its weak points, to
gauge its capabilities, to set it running
smoothly, and to give it definite aim.
If existence were simply passive, and
the mission of man was to be, instead of to
Do, he might, perhaps be, left to develop
as the trees do, according to his own will
or fancy, or according TO certain natural
laws. But, - e y the uniHAca) wish,
wherever one is, to be someWhere Use, q
little higher in the scale, II seems - be q
part Of wisdom, as well as Humanity, to
fit one for climbing. But many an aspirer
finds his wings clipped in the beginning
Of his career, through the ignorance or
carelessness of his friends who never took
the trouble to measure his capacities. He
is treated as receptacle into which GER
tain amount of ideas are to, be poured.
No matter whether they answer to any
thing within him or not. No matter
whether his learning be available or not.
He is turned out of an educational mill
with five hundred others, and, with
plenty Of loose knowledge, but without
che remOtest idea what I'd do With 1T, or
what nature Intended him for, and with
no especial fitness for any one thing He
oanNthink, probably, if he hassthe fequisite
amount Of brains, but how 10, establish a
reiation between thought and brs41 and
butter is the problem. He has the mo-
tive power, bat it is not attached to any
thing. He dosent know how to attach it,
so he revolves In a circle, or makes a
series of fioundering experiments that
bear meagre fruit, perhaps, when the bet
ter part of his life is gone. He knows
books, but he does not know, men. He is
master of theories, bat cannot apply them.
If he has small amount Of brains, he
is yet more hopelessly adrift., To be sure,
proper quantity Of knowledge has been
poured in, but it has all slipped through
He might have assimilated some other
kind of knowledge, perhaps, but that par
acular kind has left him with mental dys-
pepsia and vague feeling of discourage
1nent which is likely to prove fatal to all
future efforts. .sA4s.
Or, perhaps, he has talent, but is destir
tute of the tact and address t0 make il ten
upon the world. His success depends
largely upon his poYer to move 0ther re, but
he has no lever, and is forced to rely upon
main strength, which involves serious
expenditure of vitality, with only doubt
full results He works all his life against
perpetual friction, because no0neshad the
foresight, or the insight, TO- discern that
tirfs was the flaw in his nA1hinsry. And
so he misses his destiny, and counts among
the failures.
Another fatal point of error is in the
choice of vocation. Having drifted
through his education, he next drifts, into
his business or profession. He rarely
stops to take an inventory OF his capital,
or, at best, ,he takes a very partial one.
His calculations are made from without
himself, instead of from within. Chance
Or circumstances decide him. His grand
father sits on the Judges bench. He
thinks the Judges bench desirable place,
90 he takes to the law. La puts on his
gsandfather's coat without the slightest
reference a. 70 whether II w fit or not
Perhaps he intends 10 groNto it, but a
willow sapling cannot grew into an oak,
no matter how hard it tries 1t may grow
into q very respectable willow, but if 1t
aSplIcS W tuc ulSuC uiSuisy, ~ "hA uoSs
likely get crushed or blown OVAL -
1t may be that he has grand visions Of
commercial splcndor, and plungeS into
business life, with very good idea of
Sophocles and Horace, and NO. idea what
ever Of trade; withe very good talent for
theories, but none whatever for fActs; with
some insight into metaphysics, but none at
all into people INSTEAD Of trying his
strength in shallow waters, he starts to
cross the Atlantic in a very small skiff. BY
the time he has reached mid ocean, he dis
covers his error, but it is too late to turn
back; so he is buffeted about by wind
and ware Until he, too, goes down
and counts among the failures 1t is not
that a knowledge of creek is inconsistent
with knowledge Of business, but that a
knowledge Of Greek is not sufndent CAPT
tai to st lrt upon.
Another Of the few points upon which
life hinges. is marriage, and people drift
into that as they do into everything else.
1t is one of the things to be done in order
tocomplete the circle Of human expert
ence. A man is caught bya pretty face or
winning smile. He takes no thought Of
the new element he is adding to his exist.
ence, either with reference to mis- outward
career or his inward needs sy Sickness is
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