Year: 1879

Prof. HuXlcy's address TO the prlZe-
winners at Oxford University contest is so
full of good advice 10 students, and SO
suggestive 10 teachers, that we give few
extracts:


Upon whatever career You may enter,
intellectual quickness, industry, and the
power Of bearing fatigue are three great
advantages. But | want to impress upon
you, and through you upon those who
will direct your further course, the con-
yiction which | entertain that, as a gen
eral rule. the relative importance of these
three qualifications is not rightly estima-
ted and that there are other qualities OF
no less value which are not directly tested
by competition. A somewhat varied ex
perience of men has led me, the longer L
live, to set the less value upon mere
cleveness: : to attach more and more i'm
portance to industry and to physical en-
durance Indeed, | am much disposed
to think that endurance in the most valu-
able quality of all for industry, as the
desire to work hard, does not come to
much if feeble frame is unable to res
pond to the desire


Everybody who has had TO make his
way in the world must know that while
the occasion for intellectual effort of
high order is rare it constantly hap
pens that a mans furture turns upon his
being able to stand a sudden and "A
heavy strain upon his powers Of endur-
ance. To a lawyer, physician, or a
merchant il may be everything 10 he able
to work sixteen hours day for as long as
is needful, without yielding up to weari-
ness. Moreover, the patience, tenacity,
and good hunor which are among i'm
portant qualifications for dealing with
men, are incompatible with an irritable
brain, a weak stomach or defective cir
culation. Ii any one of you prize winners
were son Of mine, and good fairy were
to offer 10 equip him according to my
wishes for the battle of practical life,
I should say, Il do not care to trouble
YOU for any more cleverness; put in as
much industry as yOu can instead and,
oh, if you please, Il broad, deep chest,
and a stomach of whose existence he shall
never know anything | should he well
content with the prospects Of II fellow so
endowed


"The other point which | wish to i'm
press upon you is, that competitive ex-
animation. useful and excellent as 1T is
for some purposes, IS only very partial
test of what the winners will be worth III
practical life. There are people who are
neither very clever nor very industrious,
nor very strong, and who would prob
ably be nowhere IN an examination, and
who yet exert great influence IN virtue
Of what is called force of character. They
may not know much, but they take care
that what they do know they know well.
They may not BE- very quick, but the
knowledge they acquire sticks. They
may not be particularly industrious or
enduring, but they are strong of will and
firm OF purpose, Gndauntcd 10y fear Of
responsibility, siugle-mindod and trls;
worthy. In practical life, a man Of this
sort is worth any number of merely clever
and learned people. Of course | do not
mean to imply for a moment that success
in examinations Is Incompatible with the
possession of character such rs | have
Just defined it, bat failure in examination
Is no evidence Of the want Of such char
acter.


"And this leadsmc to administer from,
my point Of view, the crumb Of comfort
which on these occasions il ordinarily Of
fered to those whose names do not APP
pear upon the prize-list. 1t is quite true
that practical life is Il kind of long COM
petltlve examination, conducted by that
severe pedagogue, Professor Circum-
stance. But my experience leads me to
conclude that his marks nre given much
more Tor character than for clevpmess.
Hence, though | have no doubt that
those boys who have received prizes to
day have already given rise to fair hope
that the future may see them prominent,
perhaps brilliantly tly-distinguished mem
bers of society, yet neither do think it
at all unlikely that among the undistin-
guished crowd there may lie the making
Of some simple soldier whose practical
sense anu iudnmitable courage may save
an army led bychaTlcterless cleverness to
the brink Of destruction, or some plain
man OF business, who 10y dint Of sheer
honesty and frmness may slowly and
surely rise to prosperity and honor, when
his more brilliant cGmpeers, for lack of
character, have gone down, with all who
trusted them, to hopeless ruin. Such
things do happen. Hence let none of
you be discouraged Those who have
won prizes have made good beginning;
those who have not may yet make that
good ending which is better than a good
beginning. No life is wasted unless it
ends In slOth, dishonesty, or cowarlice.
No success is worthy Of the name unless
1t Is won 10y honest industry and brave
preasung OF the waves Of fortune. I'm
less at the end OF life some exhalation of
the dawn stlll hangs about the palpable
and the ialnlllar; unless there il some
transformation of the real into the best
dreams of youth, depend upon it what
ever outward success may have gathered
round a man, he is but an elaborate and
mischieyous failure