Year: 1872

THE following extracts are taken from
an address recently delivered by Ralph
Waldo Emerson, before the law students
of Howard University:


If / had prepared myself at all to ad-
dress this company of young men and
women, | think | should have called their
attention especially to the books which
they should read. My own familiarity is
not at all with directing the attention of
classes, except as the public sometimes
gather in miscellaneous classes to hear
lectures; but whenever have to do with
young men or young women, always
wish to know what their books are |
wish to defend them from bad wish to
introduce them to good books / should
speak of the immense benefit which q good
mind derives from rcading-probably
much more to good mind from reading
than from conversation. 1t is of the first
Importance, of course, to select friend;
for young man should find a friend a
little older than himself, or whose mind is
little older than his own, in order to
wake up his o Nn genius. That service is
performed for us oftener by books. l
think, If very active mind, if young
man of ability should give you his honest
experience, YOU would find that he had
owed more impulse to books than to liy-
ing minds. The great masters of thought,
the Platos-not only those that we can call
the sacred WRITER'S but those that are called
protanc-have acted on the mind with
more energy than any companions. |
fhink every remarkable person whom you
meet will testify TO something like that.
that the fast opening mind has found
more inspiration in his book than in his
friend. We take the book under great
advantages. We read it when we are
alone. We read it with an attention not
distracted. And perhaps we find there our
own thought, a little better, a little matur-
or than it is with ourselves.


To-day is the Sabbath. Are any of this
company accustomed to read any of the
divine songs of George Herbert, the poet?
He is called the divine George Herbert.
He lived in the time of King James. He
was a person of singular elevation of
mind, and | think every young man and
every young woman who wishes inspira-
tion from books should find for their Sun
day reading and their Monday reading the
little volume of George Hcrbest's poems.
l suppose George Hcrbert's poems are in
your library. If not, / should like the
privilege of presenting the book speak
OF that because it is little the best Eng
lish book that l recall. l don't know
any one who has spoken so purely or so
SWeetly to the religious sentiment in us
rs George Herbert. You all know the
verse


Sweet day so cool, so calm so bright.


Bridal of earth and sky


The dow must weep thy fall tonight


For thou, alas, must die


EVERY MIND HAS IT'S SPECIAL. CAPACITY.


| am of the opinion that every mind
that comes into the world has its own
spcciaity-is different from every other
mind that each Of you brings into the
world Il certain bias, disposition to at
tempt something of its own-some-
thing of g0ur own-an aim a little
different from that of any of your
companions and that every young man
and every young woman is failure so
long as each does not find what is his or
her own bias; that just as long as you
are influenced by those around YOU, so
long as you are attempting to do those
things which you see others do well, in
~5tead of doing that which you can do
well, yo are so far wrong, so far failing
OF your own right mark. Everybody sees
the difference in children They yery
carly discover their tastes. One has q
taste for going abroad one for books,
another for games one wishes to hear
stories, another wants to see things done;
one is fond OF drawing, the other cannot
draw at all, but he can make q machine.
ms difference, as you advance, becomes
ihOiN Pronounced. IOu arc llOIc ulS-
tinct in your conceptions of what you
can do. Now conceive that success is
in finding what it is that you yourself
really want and pursuing it freeing
yourself from all opportunities of your
friends to do something which they like.
and insisting upon that thing which you
like and can do, One person persists all
the time in disappointing his friends be-
cause he wishes to be painter, and they
have no desire that he should be- Another
does not like that his father should insist
upon sending him to college, because he
really wants to be merchant or a manu-
facturer or has whim of his own.
Now that is easily mistaken by an OBJ
stlnatc young, man who has taken a fancy
and is not really pursuing that which is
his proper calling. Though one NAV
easily be mistaken for a time, vet there
is in his mind this particular fitness for
his calling and some things that he can
do, as in mathematics, OF the right ar
rangemcnt Of facts he being able to
distribute the duties of the dav; the
distribution Of facts in his mind, so that
he understands and can recite history
better than any other or the per
cepton of his aim, and keeping that
through all the particulars by which n
logical mind acts, in various ways, as
some eyes arc ma c for color and some
for form.


SPECIFIC AIMS AND OCCUPATIONS.


The multitude of professions is end
less, and in right state of society the
objects and aims would be much more
numerous. For instance, in the German
Universities now, instead of having five
or six or ten profcssorships, they have
sixty or one hundred-thc division of
the sciences, the division of the parts of
great classes of knowledge requiring so
many instructors. Well, | think that
with the progress of society," the division
of employments will not be sixty or one
hundred, but thousands; and, finally, if
one should say it, as many as there are
men, as many as there are women, that
the aims will be as many rs there are in
dividual souls. Therefore | wish that
each young person should learn that Sc.
cret, that he only can tell himself what it
is that he is to do. 1t is revealed to him
in the progress of his mind, always be-
coming revealed more distinctly, what
that object is. He did not know ID when
Il child he did not know it when he was
boyi but, as his mind natures, all is
slowly revealed TO him; revealed TO him
by every effort he makes in this dircc-
tion or against it. For when lie is labor
ing against his proper calling, he finds
himself met with obstacles that increases
as he goes When he is following his
proper mission, the leading of his in
ward guide, he is assisted by every step
which he takCs. The purpose for which
he is made Is always becoming more clear
TO him. believe that TO every active
mind, in its own direction, there is a
thOu0ht waking oVprV mornin0-a naKu