The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-10-12
nansas and their Elects.

The vague idea Of gaining certain ad-
yantages without labor, or arriving at
certain results without employing the
necessary means seems to perVade a.
large class Of minds at the present time.
Hence, may be seen those who are per-
petuallv seeking short and easy roads
to knowledge; yainly hoping that by
the perusal of abridgements and com
pendiums, and by the sO-called shorter
courses" in our institutions Of learning,
they shall acquire that character for
thorough scholarship which confers
dignity upon others. They forget that
labor is The price of all excellence, that
ideas must be frequently presented to.
the mind before they become familiar
to it, and that the faculties must De
vigorously exercised before they can
acquire efficiency. Close and cOntlnu-
Gus application is the only means OF
securing the desired result, and all
schemes to acquire intellectual treas
rlres without strenuous effort, all royal
roads to learning are deluSiOn and
cheat. To the same feeling must be
attributed the tendency OF young men
leaving school to engage in business
before even the rudimentS OF education
have been thoroughly mastered. This
is a crying evil which educators every
where deplore, and is a fruitful source
of superfciality in all departments OF
business. From the same source comes
much of the attack on classical educa-
ton and the cry for something less
theoretical and more practical. But it
must be remembered that theory and
- oy11 4h of thnCn
two systems are not contradictory but
supplementary to each other. Theory
is the foundation; practice the super
structure And only by the harmoni-
Gus blending of the two shall we obtain
q building which shall remain as the
imperishable monument Of true pro
gress.
In the field of business as well as Of
education do we find the same error
existing. Men often calculate on ac-
During wealth without industry and
economy, and repine that others should
seem to be more fortunate than them
selves. Or perhaps tired Of this slow
but certain road to competency, they
attempt to accomplish at one master
stroke what has cost others a lifetime
of toll. They see the schemes Of other
adventures constantly failing, but
trusting that they may prove excep-
tiOns to the general rule, they boldly
rush forward. These bold speculati0ns,
it is true, sometimes succeed but these
are the exceptions and not the rule.
But in q still higher sense is it true
in the domain of morals that causes
produce their legitimate effects. Mis-
cry in one shape OF another is the iney-
liable result OF vice, and it is the great
est delusiOn to suppose that happiness
can be secured by the commission of
crime. Even il the criminal escapes
physical punishment and even the sus-
piciOn of his fellow men there is de-
teriOration Of character exceedingly
dangerous to our future happiness, al
self-degradation which it is impossible
to escape.
In no profession is it more necessary
to consider these facts than in that of
teaching. The teacher needs to care
fully Scrutinize the incentives to study
which he employs, the motives that he
places before his pupils to prompt to
higher acquisition, and the underlying
principles OF every course of action i
remembering that causes produce their
legitimate effects, and that they who
SOW the wind must expect to reap the
WhirlWind.