Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-07-19
GREAT MASTERS INSPIRATION,
How the Study Of Famous Men Helps
Develop Ones Character.

NO more interesting human relation ex-
lists than that of teacher and pupil, mas
ter and disciple. All our lives we are
following somebody. sitting at some
ones feet. accepting the most vital de-
cisions without question from one in
whom for some reason we believe.
We begin as school children Those
who have taught school can say that
there is hardly a more pathetic moment
than that where one stands for the first
time before a group of little faces looking
up to him as from distant depths for
wisdom and guidance which he knows
only too well he sadly lacks. From that
teacher there will come some spiritual
essence that is going to remain with
those pupils their life long.
When we grow up we are still at one
school or another, Our capacity is lin
tied; all We can do is to attend to our
business: we have no time nor ability to
think out great questions for ourselves
hence in politics we follow Smith, and
in art Brown. and in literature Jones.
and in religion Robinson. As for our
selves. we have to make living.
A great deal that is written. there
fore. about our duty to do our own
thinking is impractical We simply
cannot 1t will he much more sensible
to advise the average person to select
intelligently his own masters For
masters we must have. DESERVING Taft
he takes up Bryan. and forsaking both
of these. he follows some Socialist.
PrOhibitionist or mugwump. Leaving
the parSon, we ay to Bernard Shaw or
some one else.
How much do we get from master? ?
What do we owe him? When should
we obey and when disobey him? These
are important questions.
Beginning with the schoolroom we
should recognize a serious fact: that
the sum of what one gets from teach
er is inspiration. The real teacher is
not Re who imparts to us the most in
formation, but he who makes us want
to learn. Any one can get the facts
out of book and bring them to the
boys and girls. but it takes a genius tC
stir up in their minds an appetite for
knowledge. Even so the best palC
priest or preacher is not the one who
gives us the most information, but the
one who makes us want to be good.
The object of every moral or intel
lectual leader is to develop the innate
mowers of his followers. For this rea
son the analogy of any purely spir1tua
movement to an army is misleading
| This object OF the military General is
merely to whip the enemy. to get tina
one thing done. Hence. in the arm!
personality is suppressed. The indivi'
dual sacrifice is suppressed. The in
diyidual sacrifices himself to the enc
in view. In schoolroom, church. OF
anv literary, scientific. or intellectual
cause. however, the opposite is true
the end here is to improve the lndlVio
ual. to bring out his personality ana its
powers.
If the apprentice blindly initiates th'
master, then the master is paraiSzins
him not leading him. To be sure, tn'
scholar is to be teachable. he is to copy
and to humbly submit his own !uos
ment to the masters. and yet II NJ
never does anything but this he VIII o.
failure. There must bs something
else some divine spark from the per
sona,itv of the wiser and older man u
faII unon the younger soul and kinoi'
- into its own blaze. Lorenzo dl CTeo
1 ,,.orled in that wonderful shop OF Yer
rochia he of 1.-The true eyes. but IN
annrentices surpassed their master.
L sl.s te at ~ tEssf ''a' e.