248 Transactions of the 



priate for me, but by the same token, as a man among yourselves, 

 they have a place in my utterance which I would never deny; for it 

 is not what we have, but what we do which makes us noble. Each 

 one has his own invyard capability and outward circumstances, and 

 he may define his own course and pursue it, making it no copy, but 

 in its nature original; and he is not, in any proper sense, a man who 

 fails to do this. 



John G. Saxe once said, respecting the Green Mountain State, when 

 the products of the other New England States were being enumer- 

 ated and praised, rather to the disparagement. as it was thought of 

 the rough little Commonwealth wdiicli the poet loved, "As for Ver- 

 mont, she is content to build school houses and churches, and raise 

 men!" And he. could have passed no worthier enconium upon her. 

 There is urgent need of more men in the world — those who shall 

 make room for themselves, rather than for their possessions — those 

 who shall translate what they are into action, that may be of value 

 to the race (and whose lives shall thus, in their appropriate places, 

 display the force within them in contributions of some kind to the 

 common stock of good). I would not even seem to undervalue what 

 is within a man, either of ability or acquisition, for I believe if one 

 w^ould be successful in any position, his first and often his most 

 intense work must be within. As to all that is to be attainable for 

 him, he must have material and power and skill to use this. Enter- 

 prise is not enough; even enthusiasm is not enough; and there have 

 never been more wrecks in the various classes of business than since 

 this has become so generally disbelieved. There must be muscle in 

 the body, force in the mind, but these must be managed with skill 

 and facility, and with reference to the end proposed; therefore, there 

 must be education, appropriate to the sphere one is to occupy, that 

 he may be thoroughly finished for his work. It is to be hoped that 

 this is now seen by more persons than was true a few years ago, and 

 there is promise in this fact; and the necessity for discipline, as well 

 as knowledge, is more generally felt. Nor is this true of those who 

 propose to enter the professions only, or of those who in any depart- 

 ment expect to come into intellectual competition with others; he 

 will be a better mechanic or day-laborer whose mind is trained for 

 his station. 



A youth begins to feel that he is fast becoming a man at fifteen or 

 sixteen years of age, and his constant desire is to be engaged in a 

 man's work. He wants to be in business, to assume burdens as large 

 as those carried by the men around him, and, therefore, presses into 

 some position where he will have somctliing to do. He has ambi- 

 tion, energy, perseverance, it may be — but he has not that element 

 of success found in a mind properly stored, strengthened, and at 

 command. It is possible that favoring circumstances may enable 

 him to go on, but in most cases reverses, bitter and discouraging 

 experience, must teach him new lessons, and force upon him the 

 training he has neglected to make ])art of his capital at the start. 

 He found it irksome to gain it; he thought time wasted that was 

 passed before Ke was at work, forgetting, or not knowing, that this is 

 work — often the hardest work he will ever attempt; yet its difficulty 

 is the reason of its necessity. But my wish now is not so much to 

 speak of or commend education, though so directly bearing on mj^ 

 theme, as to urge the claims of positive work, assuming that most of 

 us at least are prepared to undertake this, in some position, and so 



