Cañon City record., 1897-12-23
THOUGHTS ABOUT THINKING.

thc Alikh schooi eh w ifOAs q. II
Allen:
"As a man thinks, so he is This
principle Of metaphysics SO long recog-
nized by the worlds great philosophers
and foremost thinkers is principle Of
stupendous importance, and when prop.
erly considered and applied, becomes
an energizing power Of practical utility
What constitutes man? Is it the
external which we see when we meet
our friends in daily intercourse? Is il
the pleasant smile, the cordial grasp OF
the hand? Is 1t the frown, the stern,
inexorable look? These outward mani
festations are only part of q man.
To know the man himself we should
be able to enter his inmost soul There
the ego sits enthroned: and although
the expression of the face may disclose
TO some extent persons thoughts, he
alone knows just what they are. A
mans heart is his castle and no one
may enter there.
It is not the condition of birth or
early life that makes a man. Condi-
tions and circumstances, it is true, have
their influence, bnt the most potent
factor in determining destiny is the
mind, and the mind is bundle of
thought-habits.
Perhaps boy was thrilled as he saw
a general marshalling his forces for
war. Another boy was equally inter
ested as he listened TO the eloquent
words Of great orator The objective
impression was made upon their minds
the objectiye-subjective transmission.
They thought it over from das to day
and from year to year-the subjective
subjective action of the mind They
each dweit upon the one the ught which
was dear to them. That thought then
became determination-an indomi-
table purpose. In a great crisis the
world is startled by the sudden appear
ance Of successful general and an able
statesman. The action of the mind
has now become subjective-objective
The thongbt has become reality. The
thought-habits have worked out .
character.
In sunny France Jeanne dare thinks
and dreams out her destiny. Laplace
thought and thought as he contempla-
ted the starry heavens He thought
out mans deep problems of astronomy,
aud, yet. with all his knowledge and
origin ii talent he was humble On his
death bed he gazed from his window
up into The calm. star spangied sky and
said: what know is dnite: what I
do not know is Infinite
Thinking-what We think. how we
thinks something Of inestimable
valae to high school Students The
days we spend In the high school are
some Of the best days Of our lives. II
is formative period Our little habits
seemingly so trifiing, are slowly form
ing our characters. The personality is
now coming into being which will
characterize us for time and eternity.
Systematic habits of thought should
be assiduously cultivated System is
one of the fundamentals of success In
the preparation of our daily work we
should think ont plan and adhere to
It, We should do one thing at time,
devoiing to it our undivided attention
and being oblivious TO what is going on
around us. we should concentrate our
thoughts on what we are doing until
VIC master it 1t may be a problem in
geometry, a principle of physics. or a
Latin translation. Whatever it is let
the mind absorb it thoroughly and
completely.
Many of the greatest thoughts ever
thought are too deep for expression and
have never been transferred to lam
guage; but usually We think in words
When We do. let our thoughts be clothed
in language that is correct, concise and
forcible. As a result We should express
ourselves in corresponding language
Tie study of the classics aids more than
any other study in developing versatile
expression.
We have all listened TO speakers who
had beautiful ideas but who would fail
to hold the attention OF their audience.
A careful analysis would usually reveal
the fact that the speaker lacked the
power to arrange the subject matter of
his discourse logically. Comparatively
few of us master the intricate lab
yrinth of the many sy'logisms of logic,
but we can easily learn to employ logi-
cal reasoning Geometry develops the
reasoning powers mere effectively than
the study of logic.
When we consider the great events
and minor details which 90 to make up
history, we cannot fail to observe tha,
each nation has possessed some dis.
tinguishing characteristics. The Jews
were eminent in religion. Greece ex-
celled in fine arts. Rome held the
world in subsection by the power of
law and discipline, Certain thoughts
predominant in the mind of one race,
other thoughts in the mind of another
From philosophy, history and biology
we obtain thoughts to strengthen our
minds: from poetry, sculpture, painting
aud music we obtain ideas which beau
tify the mind and endow our thoughts
with grace aud symetry.
There are thoughts which leave
smirch on the mind like foul soot.spot
on n calla lily. There are thoughts
which leave an ugly scar on the mind
which remainn therp m an ralv ma the