The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-06-10
LINEE AlILMNgAlN.
Prof. james Tells How to Save
Mental EnergyFo Needs.

Mental Energy For Needs.
A MATTER OF DIS lPLl FsEs
The Man ,githcut Fixed liablts
LIE Vases Halt His Tins M
Making up Eiis AllSd y "a.
tween twenty and Thirty I, CRIT
Iesi one in Shaping FatHre.
.Habit d secclt nature. Hablt e
ten times "a til the Duke Of Well y e !;
ington g said e, have excl tmed eng sE
the degree to which tails Is true NO
one probably can appreciate rs well
as one VINO IS a veteran so4dier him
SELF, says PROT James Of Harvard,
IN his wyfk On psycnoItgy: Fac daily
drii ana lne ears Of. uiscipline END
;by lasAvaing a man coniplsse.y over
sagein, "a, u most Of ths possiplI
ties Of MS conoucL
Riusrless cayalry horses at many
q battle haye been seen e come 10
getner and 60 through tnetr casto'
mary eyCiatIoils at Ius scttnd OF the
bugie cali. most domestic peasEs
seem macnines almost pure and SAN
pie. undoubtedly, unhesitatingly do
ing from minute to minute the duties
rney have De.n taugqt, ana giving
no sign that the possibility OF an
alternative ever suggests itself Y
lnen mind.
II the period between twenty and
thirty is lne critical one IN rlie fcT.
matlon Of intellectual and professions
al HABITS. the period below twenty
is more important still for the txing
OF personal habits, properly SO call
! ed, such as yocallzatlon and pro
nunclatlon. gesture, motion and I'D,
dress,
Hardly eyer Is language learned
after twenty spoken without a for
eign accent; hardly ever can youth
transferred to the society OF his bet
tiers unlearn the nasality and other
vices Of speech bred IN him by the
ASSOCIATION OF his gEowtng years.
Hardly ever. indeed, no matter how
much mcaey there be In. his pocket,
can he ever learn to dress like Q
gentleman born. The merchants OF.
Ter their wares as eagerly to him IS
to the yerlest swell, but he simply
canot buy the right things. An in.
visible law, as strong as gravttaticn,
keeps him within his orbit, arrayed
this year as he was the last; and
how his better-clad acquaintance con.
trlye to get things they wear will be
a mystery to him to his dying day
The great thing, then, in all edu'
cation Is to make our nervous sys-
TEN our ally instead of our enemy.
1t is to fund and capitalize our &C
quisitions, and live ut ease upon the
interest of the fund. For this we
must make automatic and hpbituaL
as early as possible, as manySuse'
full actions as we can. and guard
against the growing into ways that
are Likely to be advantageous to
US, as we should guard against the
plagpe.
The more Of the details Of our
daily life we can hand over to the
effortless custody Of automatism, the
more our higher powers Of mind
will be set free for their own propsl
work, There is no more miserable
human being than one In whom moth
ing is habltual but lndecision, ana
for whom the lighting Of every cigar,
the drinking Of every cup. the time
Of rising and going to bed every
day, and the beginning Of every DIT
of work, are subjects Of express yo-
litional elaboration,
Full half the time Of such man
gees to the deciding, or regrettlng, Of
matters which ought to be so in.
grained in him as practically not to
exist for his consciousness at all. II
there be such daily duties not yet
ingralned in any one Of my readers.
let him begin this very hour to set
the matter right. q.
By Prof. Balm there are some au.
mlrable practical remarks laid down.
Two great maxtms emerge from his
treatment,
The lrst is that In the acquisition
OF a; new habit, or the leaving on
OF an old one, we must take care TO
launch ourselves with as strong and
decided an Initiative as possible. Ac.
clmulate all the possible clFcum.
stances which shall reinforce the
right motives; put yourself assIdu.
opsly, In conditions that encourage
the new way; make engagements in.
compatible with the old; take a pub.
lie pledge, il the case allows: II
short, envelop your resolution with
every aid you know.
This will give your new beginning
such a momentum that the tempta.
ton to break down will not occur as
soon as II otherwise might: and every
day during which Q breakdown Il
postponed adds to the chances Of It
not occurring at all.
The second maxim Isl: Never suffer
an execution to occur. till the new