No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 137 



forego many pleasures, but is it not true that "the miseries of idle- 

 ness are tenfold keener and more numerous tlian the most laborious 

 profession." 



The one and all absorbing purpose in the training of the athlete 

 is, that he may develop his strength and power of endurance to 

 enable him to come out ahead when the trial comes. Is there 

 not a similar purpose in the training for our life-work? The ath- 

 lete develops those muscles which are most needed in his special 

 line of work. Should we not follow out his example? But how 

 can we, if we lack a purpose in life? The world's activities are too 

 wide for us to try to master them all. In the words of Pope, ''One 

 science only will one genius fit; so wide is art, so narrow human 

 wit." We should not be simply good, but be good for something, 

 and say, as Paul of old, "This one thing I do." 



In these days of close competition, we must concentrate our en- 

 ergies upon one thing if we wish to succeed. With proper con- 

 centration, we will be like steam in the cylinder of an engine, with 

 force to perform boundless work; without concentration, w^e will 

 be like the steam sent out loose into the atmosphere which changes 

 into mist and soon becomes invisible. William Pitt went straight 

 from College to the House of Commons and in two years became 

 Prime Minister of England, reigned for nearly a quarter of a century 

 virtual king, and carried his measures in spite of the opposition of 

 some of the greatest men England ever produced. The simple 

 secret of his success was that his whole soul was swallowed up in 

 the one passion for political power. If we stick to our business, 

 our business will stick to us. A jack-of-all-trades has long since 

 been stamped as a master of none. There are a few exceptions, such 

 as Cicero, Bacon, Dante, Scipio Africanus, and Leonardo de Vinci, 

 but they only serve to prove the rule. 



On the other hand, we become too narrow to be perfect in even 

 the one thing we have taken up. In many professions there are 

 subjects which at first thought appear irrelevant to the main work 

 in hand, but are yet of the utmost importance. A dairyman, for 

 instance, may have for his chief aim the manufacture of butter; but 

 what good will the butter do him if he does not have business talent 

 enough to sell it for the highest possible price? Some men are 

 continually improving their minds at the expense of their bodies, 

 while others are using only their physical strength and think that 

 their minds, like wine, will improve with age when not.used. Is it 

 not true already that in order to find a perfect man we must take 

 a brain from one, a heart from another, senses from a third, and a 

 stomach from a fourth. Many neglect the moral side of their na- 

 tures, but we should be men first, and then follow out the hints na- 

 ture has gi^en us as to adaptability along a certain line. 

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