The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1906-02-14

HO> ~"~ AO ou ACoAH nave eve Uccu rdLcU more
highly than in this age, when the confidence in another
life is abating. He is the aleviator of pain and a kind
of father confessor and priest. He is retcent, and the seal on his lips
makes him a professional expert in KEEPING HIS W C0UN-
Sci.
No wonder, then, that the whole world listens when the physician
speaks, as DR.. Oser has done in his "Counsels and Ideals" a somewhat
scrappy collection of his writings. The author seeks to impress splen-
didly idealstic views of life. The student, he urges, should not con-
slider his life as a business, but AS CONSECRATED SERVICE.
and the practice of his profession not as an art, but IS a science. He
enjons travel, friction with other minds and what he quantity terms
"quinquennal brain dusting'-that is, he should go back to school, as
He advises, too, the threefold classification of cases into the clear
cases, the doubtful AND THE MISTAKES. To have a private
notebook, in which we would put down our mistakes in plain black and
white, would be a excellent method for all.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SUCCESSFUL AND the IN.
SUCCESSFUL MAN LIES IN THE POSSESSION OF THE POWER
TO LEARN FROM HIS MISTAKES.
The attention paid to Dr.. Oslcr's remarks on old age was IS re-
markahIe as the remarks themselves. They ecipsed for a time in the
newspapers foreign and home news of the greatest interest, for thou
sands and tens OF thousands of people have come to regard this life as
the only one, and with grim determination THEY WANT TO
KNOW THE FACTS about it. There is something heroic in their
attitude. The beginning and end Of life have ever been enshrouded in
darkness, and now if a deeper shadow has fallen on it, if only twenty
years re worth dignifying with the name of life, they want to know
it. So when the PHYSICIAN speaks they listen.
~ ~ it' '"t = =
Then, too, though he spoke only of science and literature. Dr.
Osler expressed a real tendency in the industrial world. The old,
nay, the middle aged, are crowded out, and those who can keep up the
pace and even with feverish energy ACCELERATE IT arc pre-.
terrcd. This is one of the gravest problems Of modern civilization.
ANo =" """u Ao"0o"'' "0 P"0"aAA6 Pr oCIsIu, LIN malnJalnS tnero
is a complete paralleism between a mans physical and his mental
strength. But this is not completely true, and there is no reason why
we should capitulate and consider that OF NECESSITY mental de-.
cline follows on physical. .
Some men blossom early, some late. There is no reason why wei
should not blossom late, or, if we have already blossomed, should not
have a SECOND TIME OF BLOSSOMING. The synthetic pow
es OF the mind, which we call judgment, depend on the store of expe-
r1ences that we have gathered, and this we cannot learn from text
books, BUT FROM LIFE ITSELF.
Men sometimes picture life a a gradual ascent of a hill followed
by a descent. l would rather consider it as a steady riding from one
terrace to another into the higher, freer air. Old age is friendly to
our MORAL growth. 1t frees us from our carnal passions; it brings
peace and increases our disinterestedness. 1t is the time of being, not
doing, and what are all mems doings, their universities, their railways,
their canals, their industries, but the GROVEIINGs OF PETTY
BEINGS on the ant hil2
Old age may not be able to do anything, but it may bring a radiant
presence into tho household. 1t may take a second youth by identif-
cation with youth, and then we shall learn to distinguish between the
outer shell, all withcred and SCARED, and the beautiful INNER LIFE.
l say this may be. | know that there are plenty of old men who are
old fools, but it depends upon what sort Of old age you will have.
AS You approach old age approach tt as you would the altar with a.
gift, for if you can do little the intent to serve is more than the actual
service.
As PENELOPE SAID TO ULYSSES WHEN HE RETURNED FROM
TWENTY YEARS OF WAR; "F THE GODS WISH, THEY CAN SC
TRANSFORM OLD AGE THAT IT WILL BE THE FINAL ESCAPE
FOR MAN" AND WE MAY REGARD IT AS THE LAST AND THE
HIGHEST AND MODEST TERRACE OF OUR LIVES.