Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-12
SOME GUIDING RULES
FOR SELF-EDuCATION
How Leadership Was Achieved by Some
of the Worlds Most Famous Men.
Eighteen Languages Mastered by
Carpenter After He Was Twenty.one.
Bv JosEPH II. oDELL

| ANY ONE can gain an education who is
n willing to spend his spare time in study.
In many cases the mind does not awaken
in childhood, and the erroneous conclusion
is reached that the dull boy or girl has no
| natural aptitude for education. Many of the
| worlds conspicuous men were ounces In
| youth, among them Newton, the discoverer
of gravitaton; Shakespeare the dramatist;
Edmund Burke the orator; Patrick Henry
the patriots the Duke of wellington, Bng
lands soldier and statesman stonewall
Jackson the Confederate leader; John wes-
! ley, the founder of Methodism; Henry Ward
| Beecher, the prince Of preachersi Ulysses 8.
| Grant, President OF the United States; Sir
! Walter Scott, the novelist; Llnnaeus, the
botanst and Byron, the poet BY stern
resolution and unhagsing application to
books, these men were able to retrieve their
early losses and rise to positions OF leader
ship.
The possibilities Of systematic reading, II
the books are well chosen, are almost un-
limited. An intelligent man can easily read
and digest an average Of ten pages day.
even OF what is called serious literature, If
he will set aside one hour scrupulousy for
the purpose. The ordinary book contains
about 300 pages, and he would thus grasp
the contents of 12 books a year Almost any
branch OF knowledge may be completely mas
tered in five years II such a habit is per-
sisted In. Sixty books, or their equivalent
in pages, If carefully selected and thought
fully read, will undoubtedly give man ex-
pert, knowledge of the subject upon which
they treat When we think of the number
of days in each year in which more than
one hour could be given to reading, we see
how vast must be the gains and how swift
the progress of the man who is fully de-
termined to educate himself
Romance of Hard Work
One Of the most remarkable stories Of self
education is that Of Samuel Lee OF England
Cborn 1888, died 1882. AS boy in charity
school he was so dull that his cher gave
him up in despair. When 81 years old he
heard a priest read some Latin in a Catho-
lie church where he was working as car
penter. Lees curiosity was awakened, and
buying second hand Latin grammar he
learned 1t by heart. Following this, he quick
ly read the Latin classics and the New Tes-
lament. He was very poor and had to sell
one book in order to buy another Then he
learned Greek and Hebrew in the same
manner, working as a carpenter all day and
studying at night. He began to teach the
elementary subjects in n school, but soon
found that, though he knew several Ian
guaes he was deficient in the humblest
branches of knowledge. He had to resign
his school and almost starved while master
ing English grammar geography, arithmetic
and history. But he persisted, and swiftly !
added Arabic Persian and Hindustani to |
his stock of foreign languages. At the age
of 30 he managed to enter Cambridge Uni |
versity and four years later he was made |
professor of Arabic in the same institution. |
He became complete master of is languages, |
and when he died he honored by all |
the world as one Of its greatest scholars. |
What Is important to remember is that he !
reached manhood before he realized the need |
of study and yet by the use Of his spare !
time he was famous in less than 10 years
Here are a few rules for the home stu
dent which l wrote some years ago and
which were adopted and sent TO the stu
dents by a well-known and successful edu-
cationa institution that promotes home
study
First Launch yourself upon the task of
study with as much impetus as you can
command. Make a solemn vow to yourself
that you win study; write your determine
tiun upon piece Of paper and sign 1t, and
If tempted to break the promise read what
you have signed. It will remind you that
your manhood is at stake,
2. In deciding upon the course Of study to
pursue estimate your inclination and powers
to determine along which line you will reach
the best results Usually the thing to which
we turn naturally is the one we shall be able
TO do best
8, Get the best available books Some text
books are written for professors or advanced
ana are useless for a beginner;
others are written for students In a class
room and presuppose a teacher present for
explanation or demonstrations but some are
designed for the man who must work alone
without a personal instruetor-these should
be obtained. They explain each difficulty in
clear and simple language and lead the stu
lent forward by natural stages from the Gle
to the advanced.
Forming the Study Habit