The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1877-07-20
srUrFrNa vs. = rDUcArroN.

|
shocked By the suicide Of e young
man at one Of our most aspiring coll
leges, whose ambition had prompted
bin TO over work his nervous organ
izs.ion in an attempt, to excel bis
competitors at a certain examination
or exhibition. Such ambition was
not culpable, but the reverse, and
quite probably, with stronger ply
sique, the unfortunate victim might
have borne with IMMUNITY the severe
strain upon his nervous system, in,
volved in accomplishing the object
of bis very earnest aspiration. But
the, sad fact remains that, filled with
dependency at the feebleness of the
bodily organization, which could not
respond TO the demands Of his will,
the disappointed aspirant now fills a
suicides grave, and society has lost
a member whose promise Of future
usefulness was singularly excellent.
Not o week since, the writer Of
this read a joyous letter from young
girl, student at the same institution,
gladly reporting her recent recovery
from severe sickness Of several
weeks, and proudly adding that, by
a weeks almost incessant devotion to
her studies, she had Caught up with
her class" Three days later, her
friends received a telegram that she
was at the point Of death, and then
came the sad intelligence that she
was dead. a.do.ri - 81 NJ
One Of the most distinguished
among the present editors Of our New
York daily papers, when student
at Harvard, not satisfied with the
labors of the prescribed course, de-
termined to do double work. His
physical constitution and powers of
endurance were exceptionally excel
lent, and neither intellectual paraly.
sis nor suicidal dependency results
ed, but he was stricken with blind
ness, and was fortunate in being able
to 90 to work again after the loss Of
much more time, through enforced
inactivity, than he had gained by his
| overwork, and also mourning debt
for treatment and personal expenses
which at the time it seemed impossi-
Bile to pay. Hte
The full record of such experien>
ces would show that similar victims
Of stufing as contrasted with educa>
ton are numbered by thousands
perhaps tens Of thousands. We say
etuffing as contrasted with education,
since every one at all familiar with
our schools knows that immense
power of the memory in recitation of
rules, or glibly rehearsing passages
| of the classics, as contrasted with full
power to analyze the same, goes far
in most cases to ensure liberal hon
ors at examinations and commence
ments. That the tendency Of our
educators is to more thorough Gull
ture we do not deny, and we are not
sure that now current proposition
to forbid verbatim recitation Of rules,
substituting the students own state
rhent, would not be good regulation
to adopt and rigidiy enforce. But,
ia the mean time, what is TO become
of our brightest students, who are
permitted, if not encouraged, to out
rage their physical pewefsin such
cases as are noted above = %
More consideration is shown even
| for our animals. Gentlemen who are
/ the fortunate possessors of blooded
colts are extremely careful not to
pernitthem to overtax their powers,
and the curb rein and soothing talk
are much more 10 requisition than
the whip and spur Andshali those
who are the custodians Of our human
blooded stock--of beings in whose
/ veins is the blood of-heroes aud mar
ltyrs---he less careful of their nobler
trusts in this regard than are the
eroone in our stables I The lethar-
gic and fat Connestoga horse Is in no
danger from unrestraiued ambition.
! But we do earnestly plead for snch
self%sacrifeing and heroic students
of our schools as, without there
straining influences which their eda-
cstionAl guardians have the power to
ase, will either fill an early grave or
4 pass their lives with an intellect more
or less paralyzed, and health pros
trated or destroyed. The N. Y.
! Druggists Journal.
THEREhas been fly sitting on
our left ear all this week. We have