Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1874-04-16


| remained idle till he got first rate
scythe, he would have missed his OPP
portunity of making fortune.
Do not remain idle waiting for better
advantages for mental Improvement
Begin to-day .he diligent use of those
you have. Tie world wants men who
| feel that work must be done, and will
do it with poor tools if they cannot &c.
good ones. Make UP your mind that
you will be an intelligent, able, and
| honorable man, and the world will call
for your services, and give you credit
for all that you do. The men who
complain that they are not appreciated
are not the men who are ready to do
their best at whatever comes to hand.
The desire for improvements may be
strengthened by associating with in
telligent. cultivated men, You are not
qualified to associate with them on
terms of equality but can seek their
acquaintance. You say, s'you did not
wish to thust yourself on the notice of
able men they would not be pleased
by your SO doing
If your motive is self improvement,
every really able man will sympathize
with it. 1t is characteristic of every
truly great mind, that it wishes to lift
others up to its level-not to cast them
down. The well-educated man sympa-
thizes with the desire Of the young to
obtain an education. A few words of
encouragement and counsel from such
a man may greatly strengthen you for
your work.
Do not repress any enthusiastic ad-
mIration you may feel for certain books
and for certain great men-or men
whom you regard as great. | have
sometimes heard young people rebuked
for the enthusiastic admiration they ex
pressed for the characters of great men.
The persons who administered the re
buke did not understand the value of
enthusiasm in contributing to mental
growth. 1t is great stimulus to ex
ertion. Never repress your enthu~
siasm because those around you do not
sympathize with it. 1t may not, in all
cases be perfectly judicious, but what
of that? A living dog is better than a
dead lion. He who has no enthusiastic
admiration for what he regards as ex-
cellent will never do much to awaken
admiration.
You wish to become an educated
man. I am not sure that you have the
true idea of education You.think that
education consists in knowing. You
think that the more man knows, the
better he is educated You will get
more correct ideas of education as you
make progress in it.
Man was not made merely to know.
He was made to do, as well as to know
and he was made to know in order that
he may do. To do, to act, requires
strength. A man may know great
deal and yet be very feeble man that
is have very feeble mind.
1t is commonly said of such a man,
that he does not know how to use his
knowledge. The truth is, he has not
strength to use bis knowledge,
knowledge may be compared to a tool.
1t is not enough that man has good
scythe. He must have strength to
swing it in the right way. A good
sledge hammer will be of little use to
the blacksmith unless he has an arm
strong enough to use it. You want
not knowledge merely, but mental
power. I know it is said knowledge
is power" 1t is so in a certain sense
knowledge is not strength of mind
mental power-though it sustains an
important relation to tit is useful in
directing ones strength, and thus rem
deling it more efficient.
You may ask, does not man gain
mental strength by acquiring know
ledge7 He does. but mainly in conse
quence of the exercise of mind thus
occasioned. The mind, like the body
grows strong by exercise and in no
other way. If a man should never use
his limbs, they would soon become ut,
terly useless through want of action.
The strong man bodily is the man of
hard work. The strong man mentally
is the man of hard work. What you
need in order TO gain mental strength
is not to go to this school or to that
school, not to pursue this study or that
study, but to give vigorous exercise to
| your mind. 1t would be we'll for you
if you could 60 to good school; but
if you cannot don't let your mind be
inactive, and don't use it laz,ly. In
one sense you haye many teacher
Hugh Miller had no teachers. sAnd
yet he wrote a book entitled "MA
School and my Schoolmasters.' 1t
would do you good to read that book