The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-02-11
impetus In the way OF railroad con-
struction and improvement.
LINCOLN DISCIPLINED HIMSELF.

ing and thinking for himself, he came
| to the word demonstrate" to com
| prehend which We have his own state
ment, he worked until he had master.
ed six books In Euclid.
We are told by his biographer that
, 1t was no brilliant student who devot-
ed himself to acquiring the rudiments
! of education. but patient, painstak-
ing and somewhat plodding boy, for
| Lincoln's mind matured very slowly.
| Indeed, he did not show any signs of
| promise until he was about is, and
even In the prime Of his life his in
tellectual processes were far from
| quick. His mind, he remarked, was
| like a piece of steel-very hard to
scratch, but almost impossible to free
of any mark once made upon 1t. Those
who have had the benefit of good in
struction and understand proper meth
DDS OF study can scarcely conceive the
difficulties under which such a boy
would labor in acquiring knowledge
without assistance. A seyerer discip-
line can hardly be imagined
His slowness and lack of guidance
had, however, the advantage Of max
Ing Lincoln thorough. He never was
sure that he knew anything unless he
understood 1t perfectly.
There never was a man more famil-
lar with the pains and woes of men,
tai drudgery than Lincoln. and 1t re-
quired real courage to keep him at his
task for he was not fond of study for
its own sake, Neither was he natural
ly thorough or methodical. On the
contrary he was inclined to disorderly
habits and slipshod methods, some of
which he never outgrew, and at first
he attempted to clip corners and find
short cuts to learning, quite as often
and rs hopefully as other boys have
done. Indeed. 1t was only through
repeated failure that he learned that
1t was impossible for him to acquire
anything except at the price of good.
hard work. Even when he began to
study law he had heeting hope that
his knack OF speechmaking would re,
lieve him from the drudgery Of the
profession, only to confess, before
many years had passed. that any one
who relied on such an exemption was
failure In advance"
Americans are said to admire smart,
ness. sharpness. and snowy traits of
mind. but these qualities were all con-
spicuously lacking in Lincoln. He
could, upon occasion. make bright re-
ply or neat retort, but as a rule he
required time and careful preparation
to appear at advantage, and he was
often painfully slow in making up his
mind. Perfectly aware Of these liml-
tatlons, he concentrated all his efforts
upon discovering the real issue or
point in any subject and mastering
that to the exclusion of details, and of
this training came one Of the most
pitiless analyzers of facts, one of the
soundest logicians, and one of the
keenest trailers Of truth that the world
has ever known. This was not, how
ever, solely. or even largely the result
of his application to books. He had
neither the tastes nor the opportuni-
ties of book worm. He preferred the
company of his fellow-men, and from
them he learned far more than he did
from any printed page. He was not,
however, what is generally known as
a student OF human nature. Probably
1t never occurred to him to dissect and
examine critically the minds and char
acters Of his acquaintances and
friends, Nevertheless he was a close
and accurate observer, and by mixing
freely with all sorts and conditions of
men he acquired remarkable Bnowl-
edge of humanity. In the discussions
at the country store at Salem, and at
other local forums, he discovered that
the man OF moderate attainments,
who was truthful and sincere. often
had his mental superlors at 4 decided
disadvantage, and early In his career
he schooled himself against eXaggera-
tion and oyerstatement of every kind
To present facts clearly, conclsely,
and effectively, without taking undue
advantage Of them. Is no mean accom-
plishment. 1t requires not only abi.
ity and courage, but tact and character.
and In LincolnS hand IL became both
shield of defense and q weapon Of
attack. He neither deceived himself
nor allowed others to deceive him. and
he honestly and fairly looked on all
sides of every question before making
up his mind This not only rendered
him sure of his own ground and toler.
ant OF the opinions of others, but gave
him knowledge Of his adversary's
resources which was invaluable In time
of need. AS a result. we have his own
statement that in all his experience
as a lawyer he was never once sur
prised by the strength of an oppo.
nents case and frequently found It
much weaker than he feared In like
manner, during the contest over slay-
cry. he so thoroughly mastered the ar