Arizona silver belt., 1895-07-20
THEINFLUENCE OF BOOKS
Prof Mol san's Advice to Both
 Old and Young
Judge Mar by What ISo Rcads--rhs Power of Concentrnt,on ta Neees- aary t, All Who Deslre to
 Bs Cultured.

A man may usually be known by the
 books he reals, as well as by the com pany he keeps, for there is compan-
 iouship of books as well as of men, and one should always live in the best com pany, whcthcr it be of books or men,
 All danger pus, useless, irreligious,
 trashy and sensational books should be avoided, say, the Jewish Messenger, not only as . sinful waste of time, but
 because such reading is dcmoraliaiug to the tast1 for fine culture. Such works arc tllc poison weeds in the field
 of literature.
 "IgnorGlce is the curse of God: knowledg' thc wings whcrcwith we fly to heaven, Knowledge cannot be stolen from us. 1t cannot be pur- chased or sold, We may be insolvcnt, and the sheriff may come and sell our effects and leave us both homeless and pcnnilcss. but he cannot lay the laws hand upon the jewclry of our minds
 Endcavor to accumulate choice aud well-sclcctcd library, and add to it con gtantly as fast as your circumstances will perloit. Money spent for good books is always well spent, and the in- vostmcnt will afford more profit, com. fort and improvement than any other possibly can. Books introduce us into tho best society; they by their pcrusal bring us into the presence of the great est minds that havo ever lived We have what they said and did, wc par ticipatc in their thoughts, their expo rioncc becomes ours, and we feel as if they were onr friends.
 Genius ig rare gift, but every man has talents of some kind, and ell may acquire tact. Most of wEat men call genius is a talent for hard work. No greatness was ever acquired without patient, persistent and woll-directed labor
 The superficial person who has Q smattcriug of SO many thiags, but knows nothing well, may pride himgelf upon his gifts, but the wise ,lan hum. bly, confcsscs, lilsc Newton that he has only been engaged in picking shells upon the shore while the great ocean of truth extends itself ali uneXplored before him.
 The most efficient culture of all re- solves itself into sclf-culturc The cdu- cation received at school ana Clllcgc is but begianing, and is mainly valu- able in SD fa- that jt trains us iu the habit of continuous application end facilitates sClf-edUgatiou after a def mite plan and system, Economy of time is a5 necessary to the student as Co the business man. Take an inventory of your time as you would of your capital, in order that you may invest it wisely. Lay aside a certain number of hours every day for regular study and reading.
 lt IS only by meditation that a man can understand himself Yet all other knowledge without this is splendid ig norlnce. Close examination will be req uisitc for the forraing of a true opinion of ones own powers, temper anu dis position Ignorance mud seE-aouacit tend to make us ovcrratc our persona, ability. Common sense i5 dcuucd as sound practical judgment; tho pro.apl decision of impcrvcrtcd reason IL is practical wisdom applied Co everyday affairs The possession of sound com mon S,ns1 is rare and valuable gift. and can only be acquired by thorough self-lnowIcdgc and judiciou5 mental culture.
 Moral and intellectual philosophy is nct only useful and practical study, but it affords 8 valuable means of high culture and mental devclo2-lcnt IL teaches the principle of sound reason ing and enables the student t5 cultivate those habits of correct th0lgAt which 1 arc as necessary to succ il life However, by attempting too many studies the student incurs tha rick of l becoming superficial, and by deyotiDg | too much time to Q single study h i must neglect others. The chief objee' | of mental culture is not merely to ml | the mind with other mems thoughts 1 and to be tho passive recipient of their | impressions of things, but to enlarge l our individual intelligence and render us more useful and efficient workers in | our sphere of life.
 To study effectively the mind muat ! be concentrated on its work. nIakcit | the first object to be ablc to Gx and | hold your attention upon oar g.udics. l He who can do this has mas tered iaany | difficulties, and he who cannot do it | will never succeed as a student The | most profitable study is that which is | conducted with a definite and special | object, all reading attention. oEscrya | tion and reflection being directed upon | it for the tine being By thoroughly i mastering any given branch of ..uowl- i edge we render it much more valuable | for use at any moment
 The gtudy of the higher mathematics, ! besides being mental discipline, is cs- | pecially useful to one whose calling re- i quires such knowledge. 4 courac of | mathematics is also good preparation for any pursuit requiring habits of | close, exact reasoning, careful anaIyais | and minute investigation. The study | of natural philosophy opens up a field | of investigation which IS as interesting i as it is uulirlitcd, and Q knowledge of ! the principles of each of thc physical sciences is not only a necessary part of liberal education, but most use ful ana entertaining pursuit.
 Schools and Gcadcmies, however usc- ful, arc not absolutely necessary to the attainment of the highest mental cul- turc, Many of the greatest minds have , been solf-tauGht, and have reached the | highest plane of intellectual develop ] ncnt by pcrsistcut atudy and force of | will. School education, even the best, very often fails of effect through the | incidence of the student The char | actcr of great men is essentially their ' own work. EIucation must come froIl | within, whether aided by all tho arts of i the schools or worked out under every difficulty by strength of will persc-