Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-05-11

'l'storicai So. atsst man he
'Vi building shoemaker In
ais Shoemak.
er's shop NO.. plies. William
Starr Jordan and other notables used
to spend much time there. This man
of a lowly calling was q man who
knew life as II came from Plato and
Socrates-wno knew Shakespeare as
few know it. and most Of all, knew
life itself. The speaker made the as
sertion in most emphatic terms: II
know there is NO calling IN fffs IN
compatible with culture; II you can
rise to the higher things ~ shoe
maker. YOU can do 1t As anything
else. | know the iowliest work eau
be gloriied by something higher. II
one sees nothing but work, of course
they can get no higher"
Peter Bell, in looking At the prim.
rose, could see nothing but the hower:
but Tennyson could see more-if be
could understand what the flower was
ne would know what God was. II is
the different clutch that we get OH
life. Burns could follow the plow
and sec The mouse and get inspira-
tloL from it; Herman noted that n
beautiful lily grew in an ugly bog; 1t
is not where we are put, but what we
get out OF life. No position is In.
with the highest form of
growth.
Sometimes the best preparation for
work is to abandon work entirely for
a time; get away from It. and instead
of wracking the brain go up into the
There is one kind Of teacher. the
Look at her a few min.
utes and you will see that she has
been dead the last ten years. There
is another kind-she may b all
thumbs, but her soul is white with
growth. The former can't inspire,
ihoueh she may perspire. The teach
er who feels that her greatest duty
is TO grow is the one who looks NJ
night for something better-some
new truth TO take into the school
room with her the next day-to show
new things unseen before. you
must be born again each night in or
der to teach the scnool each day"
The speaker dwelt at length upon
he necessity of the teacher familiar
izing herself or himself with the best
thought of the past and gave ~ the
four most important works. the fol-
lowing: The illiad, Dante's Divine
Comedy, Shakespeare and Goethe's
Faust. Several others were named.
and the teacher who had not read
them was urged to lose no time in do
ing so. He ridiculed the idea that a
teacher or any one should say they
nad not time, and told them that they
had all time. They had as much time
as anybody ever mad or ever will
have. They have the present. aud
no one ever had more. The past Is
gone, the future has not arrived and
he present is with US.
He called attention to the man
made famous by David Starr Jordan
the old man whose only duty In life
was to take an old COW out to the pas
Iure in the morning, watch her all
day and bring her back at night. The
COW was the only excuse for living
hat man had. What would ne do II
he COW should die?
And he asked the teachers: What
is your COW? What pasture do you
drive her to? WHAT is your excuse
for living?"
He advised the teacher to live with
The children; TO give them the deep
est and the fullest that is within
them. There is a process OF getting
as well as giving. We are entitled
to get as well as to give. and 1t is
necessary that we must get In order
hat we may give. Scoldlns was one
of the things which the teacher was
urged to beware OF. In closing. he
said:
IF we do just little thing each
day, and remember these things, we
will soon have our answer to the ques-
tion. Is life worth living?"