Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1876-12-09
Neglected Opportunities.

,v.,niJ ever have become ":ii' IL - 'c
nresen. if it could, AT any period OF
It's fife, have stopped Gro"ln5 stopper
reaching out after, aud obtaining
nourishment from the earth and al
surrounding and ;.Sai! die sources
Did the contemplation OF such IA SUP
iect ever suggest to your mind t'c
idea tia: You were placed mere un"ef
conditions, in MANY respects, lii ie-
,r.r,l f. your mind, similar IL ihose
wulc:. govern the sievc!op'a>n H. OF
.;.s ..uy acorn INFO the Si5ai:!.c oar
.,, II, we'll. i. IS Il ;A.:.tii-4t'i1
..ct :i;.,, with ali sn: 'oa7'e" h''o"-
r. -. ,,i utiier tiiGaa. oaf aHO' dr'
=; selves, III proportion, - 'rf'
:u.;. re. Lei Is nc icint'ii''>ito -
&c ..;ur, oi m:nalnd, tt'a;, "n''c ~
ur. raen place.: here. lower /" ,"e
~, u, 4 iutelliaencs tHaH ~: o,hef
| ..... i anii.i;..s, yet ii,riS' il ~ i.!hit
i, ...,. ;..,i. or glory oi the pJa'si"f
,..i,..y ,sS,i,in by tie ';i'!5' Il III
| a...y, !. eat OF oar oi'i'"! ,i!-''.to-'.
,.y piaut, and the animal are moi
.,,l.sa 10 become ANYTHING differ
chi i,um what they already are.
Unreasoning and instructive LIE nev-
er leaves its sphere. The beaver
builds its dam, lives and dies just as
lit did six thousand years ago; the bee
builds the same kind of hexagonal
cell she built before the food. There
is an all-pervading order in the phys
ical world; but with man it is quite
otherwise. He is not solely undsr
| the dominion of mere nature-c ondi-
tons. and is therefore progressive
being. Ispeak here OF the intellect
ual man, which grows up with the
body, aud to which the physical man
is Il servant and minister.
Il 1t has been said that the formation
of noble human characters is the
highest work that man, or, as far as
, wo know, that God could be engaged
in. EspecisIly is this true when we
take into consideration the fact that
we act from the dictates of our own
personal free will The distinguished
. professor of Moral Philosophy in the
! University of Edinburgh, Dir. Calder
wood, teaches the doctrine that it is
in our consciousness of self-control
! that we obtain our only knowledge
of causation. Every one knows him
e self to be the cause Of his own ac'
5 tions. AS in the vegetable world
, plants and trees which mature soon
i, | "a l., no xph
2 soonest after maturity, so, in the III
, tellectual world, those minds Which
, mature with the greatest rapidity are
5 the ones which first pass into decay
, and oblivion. To speak of this idea
little more plainly, I might say, in
the language of one OF America S
master minds; There is 10 exce,;enc;
, without great labor.
How is it with you, my friend
Are you going on from one step to
another in your upward and out
wand mental growth? Or, are you
spending the golden hours OF youth
in idleness? Do you stand alooi
from literary societies simply because
you are afraid of having to either ex.
, pose your ignorance, or go to work
and obtain knowledge in order to
keep pace with others? Do you
stand around street corners studying
your attitudessknd trying to hide the
great hollow place in your head with
little outside show ? My friend,
, think of these things. and let your
: heart be attuned to the noblest am
, bition that-ever swayed q human
7 heart getting knowledge for the
value Of it. And you, ladies; do you
! labor 'as doth the busy bee, improv-
ing each shining hour?" Or, are you
t simpering and frittering away your
, lives, for want of something substan'
7 tial to occupy your minds? Remem-
) Der that manufacturing frills and
frizzles, and mincing over the retailed
gossip of the day is not exactly cult.
waiting the nobler attributes of you,
natures. Let us all remember that
!, besides the duty we owe to ourselves
we each owe something to society
Yes; we have no right to be drones
> and, in fact, we cannot be, because
!. whether we wish to or not, we are
!. each daily contributing something tc
8 the education of those around US.
,, Society is indeed the great instructor
Even books, which are daily assuming
larger space in human training, are
but the influence of ono portion oil
society on the rest. Let US, then,
see that our influence, example and
conversation is of the right character,
and if the literary society can be
made lever to raise us in the scale
of intellectual ability, let us nobly,
earnestly use it.
The progress OF knowledge, if it be
Eof kind morally elevating and pu-
: rifying, is the only true and perma-
. nent progress of our race. 1t is the
master minds that sway the world;
!. men of thought and of action; men
with brains, and who know how to
use them; these are the stalwart
specimens of Gods creatures who
lead, with noiseless step, the ever on
/ ward marching army of the human
race. Let not the ambitious aspirant
to enroll himself among this illus
J trous band be discouraged if he can
not do SO by one. two. or dozen ef-
. forts, even though they be herculean
| in character. Let him remember
that success, permanent and lasting,
will attend only lifetime of ear
nest labor. To this end, let him i'm