frequent fault-finding? Far from it. If you wish your friend to do well, encourage him, sustain him when in trials or troubles, and thus you become the "medicine of life." Cultivate your old friends: but you must form new ones also; for our changes by removal and death are so frequent, that he who now makes no new friends will soon find himself without any. Need it be said, that a strict and unwavering regard for truth is absolutely essential to having friends? We do not wish to be associated with those whose veracity can, in the least, be suspected. "When speech is employed as the vehicle of falsehood, every man must disunite himself from others, inhabit his own cave, and seek prey only for himself," and in vain ask or seek for a friend. I have dwelt somewhat on this point,longer, perhaps, than was to be expected, under the title of this chapter. But it is my wish that all my readers may have friends, select, disinterested friends; and I know that they cannot, unless they make it a part of their daily habits and business to cultivate their own hearts, and render themselves worthy of being beloved. The tree cannot live and thrive without great care; but if it receive that care, it will bear fruit abundantly for many years. How often has the heart of my reader thrilled at the warm greetings of one who said, "Your father and I were friends!" Friendship can lessen no joy by having a sharer. It brightens every one. At the same time, it diminishes sorrow, in every shape, by dividing the burden. "Hast thou a friend?-thou hast indeed CHAPTER III. STUDY. WHEN the company had wearied themselves in trying to make an egg stand on its end, they were amazed at the simplicity of the thing when once they had seen Columbus do it. 66 Why any body can do that!" "Why then did you not ?" was the searching reply. It seems to be an easy affair to study. There is the room, and there the books, and the lesson: what more do you want? You want to know how to go to work-how to study. The interruptions to study, even when the student has nothing else to do,-not a care, not a burden of any kind to trouble him, -are numerous and vexatious. Deductions must be made for ill health, and seasons when the spirits droop, and when there is a total disrelish for study, and a want of courage, by which the mind can be brought up to action; for a total ignorance of the best methods of studying; for the interruptions of companions who have yawned over their own books, till they could make little or nothing out of them, and then have come to get sympathy and countenance from others; for the time wasted in reading novels, or other useless books; and, above all, for that natural inherent indolence, which recoils from the task of rebuking the wandering of the thoughts, and bring them back to their prescribed tasks. Escaping from home will not relieve the difficulty; neither will removing from one school to another, or changing one college for another. You must make up your mind that no one can go on in a course of study without interruptions from within and from without. Calculate upon this. And it is well that it is so; for, in real life, if you can get two full hours in a week without interruption, you may think it extraordinary. The mind must form the habit of being checked and interrupted, and of bringing itself back to the point from which it was taken off, and at once pursuing the train of mental operations in which it was engaged. Till this power is obtained, you are not prepared for active life; and in proportion as it is acquired, in that proportion will little hinderances appear to you of little consequence. I propose to make some suggestions in the form of hints in relation to study, not so much regarding the order of their introduction, as endeavouring not to omit any that are of real importance. 1. The number of hours of daily study. No fixed time can be marked out for all. This must vary with the constitution of each individual. A mind that moves slowly requires and will bear more time for study. In Germany the students spend many more hours than we can in this country. I have tried to account for the fact, that, with their preposterous habits of eating and indolence, they can study so many hours in a day, and that to extreme old age. Doubtless national habits do something; individual habits do something; but these will not account for it. Many of them will study sixteen hours a day: few of them less than thirteen. We should all die under it! The difference may be attributed to two causes, for the correctness of which I cannot vouch: viz. their mental operations are slower than ours, and their climate is less variable and better adapted to a student's life. Few, in our own country, ever studied half as much as they have, if hours are to be a criterion. But another remark may here be made. Germany is distinguished for the study of the classics, for the making of lexicons and commentaries, and for studies of such a nature as require diligence and accuracy, but make no very great draft upon the soul. Be this as it may, it is certain that we must do what we do, by way of daily study, in fewer hours; and in my view, it is vastly better to chain the attention down closely, and study hard a few hours, than to try to keep it moderately fixed and engaged for a greater length of time. Our most successful students seldom study over six hours a day. In this I include nothing of recitations, of desultory, half-formed impulses of the mind; but I mean real, hard, devoted study. He who would study six hours a-day, with all the attention of which the soul is capable, need not fear but he will yet stand high in his calling. But mark me,-it must be study as intense as the soul will bear. The attention must all be absorbed; the thoughts must all be brought in, and turned upon the object of study, as you would turn the collected rays of the sun into the focus of the glass, when you would get fire from those rays. Do not call miscellaneous reading, or anything which you do by way of relief or amusement, study: it is not study. Be sure to get as much of your study in the morning as possible. The mind is then in good order. Aurora musis amica, necnon vespera.* 2. Have regard to the positions of the body while engaged in study. Some men, from early life, habituate themselves to study, sitting at a low, flat table. This ought to be avoided; for as you advance in life, that part of the body which is between the shoulders and hips becomes more and more feeble, and consequently the stooping habit is acquired. Few literary men walk or sit perfectly erect. Standing is undoubtedly the best method of study, if you will only begin in this way. In writing, in the study of languages, and most kind of mathematics, you Dawn and early eve befriend the muses. must be confined to one spot. If you can change positions, and stand a part, and sit a part of the time, it will be well; but the former should preponderate. As you advance in life, you will naturally sit more and more, till the habit becomes fixed. Few men are seen standing at their books after forty years of age. The late talented, and lamented Grimke, informs us that he uniformly stood, and did most of his studying while walking in his room. If you are composing, or reading, or committing to memory, this position is a desirable one. Be sure you have your table high enough, and keep clear of the rockingchair, with a writing leaf on the arm of it. Sitting in such a chair gives the body a twisting position, which is almost sure to lead to poor health, and not unfrequently to the grave. If possible, place your table, the top of which should so slope a little, that the light may fall upon you from behind. This will be a kindness to the eyes. In the evening, it is well to have the lamp shaded, or to have a shade drawn over the eyes. I would hope, however, that you keep your lessons so much in advance, that the necessity of putting your eyes to a severe trial will be avoided. If your eyes are weak, be careful that a glare of light does not fall upon them; and be sure to wash them in cold water the last thing at night, and the first in the morning. The great desideratum in the choice of positions, is, to keep the body as straight as possible. A bending at the chest is by all means to be avoided. Your dress, even to the slipper, should sit as loosely as possible; and the house which is now to stand still, and in which the mind is to labour, should be as easy as it can be, without assuming a position which, by long habit will court the embrace of sleep. 3. Let there be no conversation in the hours of study. This direction goes on the supposition that you have a room-mate, which is usually the case. A lesson is easily spoiled by being interrupted, every now and then, with some question, raised on that, or on some other subject. You cannot study to advantage if any conversation is allowed in the room. But what if you find a word in your lesson, whose meaning or whose parsing you cannot determine? What is to be done? May you not ask your friend? I reply, no. Keep the room silent. If you wish to review and compare together, then begin a half hour earlier, and leave off half an hour before reciting, and in this time go over the lesson together. Have the words, about which you doubted just marked with a pencil, and then settle their meaning and their relations. This review should not take place till you have each exhausted your own efforts upon the lesson, and until you have definitely settled every word and every sentence. loss of self-respect attending the habit of going upon the surface, that, were it only for personal comfort, you should be thorough. At the first setting out, your progress will be slow-perhaps very slow; but in the long race before you, you will be the gainer. How often have I seen a man, with a mind originally bright, chagrined and humbled at his want of accuracy! He makes an assertion, and calls it a quotation from some distinguished author. "Does Burke say so, and advocate that sentiment? I never understood Some are in the habit of studying aloud together, or in small clubs ;;-a very bad practice. The habit is soon formed, so that the mind refuses to make any efforts alone; and then it becomes necessary to have a constant "Bee" to aid it, just as the partially civilized | tribes of the pacific ocean, refuse even to thatch a cottage, unless they have a great company to work together. This cannot be the mode of study through life; and no habit should now be allowed, which will be trouble-him so," says an accurate listener. He now some hereafter. The sagacity and perseverance of our own minds are to be the ultimate resources on which we shall all be obliged to rely. But if the tongue refuses to be silent, and conversation cannot be banished from your room, be careful to have it on the lesson, and on no other subject. 4. Be thorough in every study. Passing over a field of study has been graphically compared to conquering a country. If you thoroughly conquer every thing you meet, you will pass on from victory to victory; but if you leave here and there a fort or a garrison not subdued, you will soon have an army hanging on your rear, and your ground will soon need reconquering. Never pass over a single thing, however minute, or apparently of little consequence, without understanding all that can be known about it. "Socrates ille non hominum modo, verum etiam Apollinis oraculo, sapientissimus judicatus, et perennis Philosophiæ fons, dicere solet; 'Radicem quidem eruditionis peramarum esse, sed fructum habere jucundissimum: initioque magnos adferre labores, sed honestissimum sudantibus præmium reponere.' Ergo, O Tu, quisquis es, cui ignea vis in pectore exarsit, cui flamma in præcordiis micat, procul absint mollia, lenia, facilia, blanda, quæ animi ineptum extinguere solent. Dura petamus." He who accustoms himself to pass over a word or sentence, or a single point of mathematical inquiry, without thoroughly understanding every thing that can be known about it, will soon be known as an inaccurate scholar; will feel but half confident on any subject; and, what is worse, will have acquired a habit which will for ever make his knowledge vague and uncertain, both to himself and to others. There is such a constant mortification and "He who was pronounced the wisest of men, and the exhaustless fount of philosophy, not only by the judgment of his countrymen, but also by the oracle of Apollo, was accustomed to say, "That the root of learning is bitter, but has most delightful fruit: and that in the beginning it leads to great exertions, but secures to those who have toiled, a most honourable reward.' Therefore, O thou, whoever thou art, in whose breast burns a fiery energy, in whose heart the flame shines brightly, far removed be those things, soft and smooth, easy and soothing, which are wont to extinguish the weak mind. Let that be the object of our search which is hard and lasting!" begins to hesitate-apologizes—says it is a great while since he read Burke, but such is his impression. Has he not fallen in the estimation of every one present, and in his own also? And yet, such is the habit fixed upon him, that he will go and again tread over the same ground with hesitating steps. Two farms may lie side by side; the one may be "run over" by the hand of the cultivator. Here is a poor spot of mowing, and there, a miserable-looking corn-field, and yonder, a wretched fern pasture. It covers a great extent of territory, but no part of it is subdued or cultivated. The other farm has its fences in order, its mowing lots all side by side, and its fields, so far as any thing is done, perfectly subdued. Every acre that claims to have been subdued, will bear a certain, a definite, and a full crop. Is there any doubt which of the two farms is more profitable, or which method of cultivation is the most wise? How much better is knowledge-something that you know-than any amount of conjecture formed somewhere in the region of knowledge! Have you never seen the face of an educated man-i. e. of one who ought to have been educated-gather a blank upon it,_at_the sound of a Latin or Greek quotation? Like the hero in one of Molière's comedies, he understands it, but wishes it translated. The aptness and humour of the case will justify my quoting it. L. M. de Phil. Ce sentiment est raisonnable; nam sine doctrinâ vita est quasi mortis imago. Vous entendez cela, et vous entendez le Latin sans doute? "M. Jour. Oui, mais faites comme si je ne le savais pas: expliquez-moi ce que cela veut dire ! "Le M. de Phil. Cela veut dire, que sans la science, la vie est presque l'image de la regards his reputation as a scholar, will ever do this. One lesson or one book, perfectly and thoroughly understood, would do you more good than ten lessons, or ten books not half studied. Mr. Evarts, to whom allusion has already been made, read his Greek Testament so thoroughly while fitting for college, that he was in the habit, through life, of readily repeating any passage to which allusion was made. And several of our best scholars committed and recited the whole of Virgil without carrying a book into the recitationroom. One of them, at least, did the same with the whole of Horace. "When you have a mind to improve a single thought, or to be clear in any particular point, do not leave it till you are master of it. View it in every light. Try how many ways you can express it, and which is shortest and best. Would you enlarge upon it, hunt it down from author to author; some of which will suggest hints concerning it, which perhaps never occurred to you before; and give every circumstance its weight. Thus, by being master of every subject as you proceed, though you make but a small progress in the number of books which you study, you will make a speedy one in useful knowledge. To leave matters undetermined, and the mind unsatisfied in what we study, is but to multiply half notions, introduce confusion, and is the way to make a pedant, but not a scholar." Some plausible and ingenious things have been said in favour of using translations to Latin and Greek authors. My own observation has not been as extended as that of very many; but so far as it does go, I can unhesitatingly say, that I never knew any other than miserable scholars made by the use of translations. I have seen scholars use a translation of Virgil, another of Horace, and as many as they could get to authors selected in Græca Majora; and, though they recited smoothly at the time, and perhaps even better than those who dug it all out, yet I am confident they knew less about Latin and Greek at the end of every year. I am sorry to disturb the feelings of any reader who has a faithful translation carefully put away in his drawer or desk, and at which he now and then so stealthily peeps; but let him continue to use it, and I will warrant him that soon, though the reason may not be assigned, or even known, he will lose all that respect which belongs solely to a thorough student. I have known those who studied Horace with a translation, and though they went off 'smartly" at the time, not able, at the end of two years, to read an ode. "Go to the fountain head. Read original authors, rather than collect translated and retailed thoughts. 66 It will give you more satisfaction, more certainty, more judgment, and more confidence, when those authors are the subjects of conversation, than you can have by taking your knowledge of them at second hand. It is trusting to translations, quotations, and epitomes, that makes so many half-scholars so impertinently wise." Some friend may offer to aid you by translations, or by books interlined with a pen, or by furnishing you with mathematical problems all wrought out. Such kindness ought to be shown only to an enemy, whom he would have pursued with his vengeance through life. They are the greatest cruelties which an enemy could possibly invent. If you cannot stand on your own feet, do not borrow crutches which will be taken from you soon, and which will effectually prevent you from ever having strength to walk alone. 5. Expect to become familiar with hard study. Study, which is hard for one man, is easy for another. Not only so, but the study which is easy to you to-day, may be intolerably irksome at another time. This is owing to the difficulty of confining the attention closely. The health being the same, study would at all times be equally agreeable, had we the same command over the attention. But who, that has tried it, does not know how much easier it is to study on a cold, stormy day in winter, when every thing without is repulsive, than on the warm, bright day of spring, when all nature seems to invite you out, and when the soul seems to disdain and rebel against the restraints of study? You must make your calculations to study many hours, and at many seasons when it is disagreeable-when the mind feels feeble, and the body is languid, or is even in pain. "Other things may be seized on by might, or purchased with money; but knowledge is to be gained only with study." So great is the advantage of being able to confine the attention, that men who have by some unexpected providence lost their sight, have felt willing to exchange all that is beautiful, lovely, and cheering, which the eye drinks in, for the increased power over the attention, which this loss gave them. The truly great President Dwight used to consider the loss of his eyes a great blessing to him, inasmuch as it strengthened the power of attention, and compelled him to think. You may point to men and say, that "this and that distinguished man was not celebrated for scholarship, or any thing, unless for stupidity in his younger days. He had no appointment in college-no rank as a scholar." Not unlikely. But be sure of one thing; and that is, he never became distinguished without some time or other passing through a severe course of dry, hard study. He might have omitted this when young; but, if so, the task was harder when he did undertake to perform it. But undertake it he must and he did. "Pater ipse colendi Haud facilem esse viam voluit, primusque per artem Movit agros, curis acuens mortalia corda. The remarks of the lamented Wirt should be treasured up by every student. A few of the points upon which he touches are so much to my purpose, that I should do injustice to my reader not to quote them. "Take it for granted, that there is no excellence without great labour. No mere aspirations for eminence, however ardent, will do the business. Wishing, and sighing, and imagining, and dreaming of greatness, will never make you great. If you would get to the mountain's top, on which the temple of fame stands, it will not do to stand still, looking and admiring, and wishing you were there. You must gird up your loins, and go to work with all the indomitable energy of Hannibal scaling the Alps. Laborious study, and diligent observation of the world, are both indispensible to the attainment of eminence. By the former, you must make yourself master of all that is known of science and of letters; by the latter, you must know man at large, and particularly. the character and genius of your own countrymen. We cannot all be FRANKLINS, it is true; but by imitating his mental habits and unwearied industry, we may reach an eminence we should never otherwise attain. Nor would he have been the Franklin he was, if he had permitted himself to be discouraged by the reflection that we cannot all be Newtons. It is our business to make the most of our own talents and opportunities; and instead of discouraging ourselves by comparisons and impossibilities, to believe all things imaginary possible, as, indeed, almost all things are, to a spirit bravely and firmly resolved. Franklin was a fine model of a practical man, as contradistinguished from a visionary theorist, as men of genius are very apt to be. He was great in the greatest of all good qualities-sound, strong common sense. A mere book-worm is a miserable driveller; and a mere genius, a thing of a gossamer, fit only for the winds to sport with. Direct your intellectual efforts principally to the cultivation of the strong, masculine qualities of the mind. Learn repeat it) to think-think deeply, comprehensively, powerfully; and learn the simple nervous language which is appropriate to that The father Jupiter was himself desirous that the way of tillage should not be easy, and he first stimulated the soil by artificial means, sharpening man's intellect with cares. kind of thinking. Read the legal and political arguments of Chief Justice Marshall, and those of Alexander Hamilton, which are coming out. Read them, study them; and observe with what an omnipotent sweep of thought they range over the whole field of every subject they take in hand-and that with a scythe so ample and so keen, that not a straw is left standing behind them. Brace yourself up to these great efforts. Strike for this giant character of mind, and leave prettiness and frivolity to triflers. It is perfectly consistent with these Herculean habits of thinking, to be a laborious student, and to know all that books can teach. You must never be satisfied with the surface of things; probe them to the bottom, and let nothing go till you understand it as thoroughly as your powers will enable you. Seize the moment of excited curiosity, on any subject, to solve your doubts, for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance. The habits which I have been recommending, are not merely for Franklin's habits of college, but for life. constant and deep cogitation clung to him to Form these habits now. his latest hour. Look at Brougham, and see what a man can do if well armed, and well resolved. With a load of professional duties that would, of themselves, have been appalling to the most of our countrymen, he stood, nevertheless, at the head of his party in the House of Commons, and at the same time, set in motion and superintended various primary schools, and various periodical works, the most instructive and useful that have ever issued from the British press, for which he furnished with his own pen, some of the most masterly contributions, and yet found time, not only to keep pace with the progress of the arts and sciences, but to keep at the head of those whose peculiar and extensive occupations these arts and sciences were. There is a model of industry and usefulness worthy of all your emulation." Under this head, I would add, that he who expects to discipline his mind by hard study, and to build up the mind by the habit of severe thinking, will not be the man to quarrel with what he studies. How often do we hear students complaining that they are put to studies which can be of no possible use to them in after life! One is to be a merchant: why should he be drilled in Latin and Greek for years? Another is to study medicine; and why should he be poring over conic sections for months? Multitudes complain that their instructors understand their business so poorly, that the very things for which they will never have any use, are forced upon them as studies! Little do such complainers understand the object of an educa |