1884.] THINGS WHICH SEEM WOETHLESS. 93 



place ; this is a work whicti ought to satisfy the best aspirations of 

 our natures. You may think that this work, important and attract- 

 ive as it is, must be confined to that favored few, who, with special 

 mental equipment for the task, and ample means for its prosecu- 

 tion, are able to devote all their time and energy to it. 



No doubt this class will be the leaders of the movement, but all 

 men may be their partners and co-workers. The first thing to be 

 done, and the thing of most importance, is to acquire knowledge, 

 to collect facts, and there are few men whose equipment for ser- 

 vice is so deficient, and whose opportunities for work of this kind 

 are so limited, that they cannot help eifectively. Sometimes the 

 fact that a man is shut up to one opportunity is a great advantage 

 to him. 



If he can do but one thing, that thing may at least be done 

 thoroughly, and one thing thoroughly done is better than many 

 things half done. Let any farmer undertake to learn all that his 

 eyes can tell him of the nature and action of the things which 

 come under his observation as he goes about his daily labors, and 

 if he succeeds, he will have information of value for the most 

 learned scientist he may meet. We need to cultivate habits of 

 close and accurate observation. These alone would solve for us 

 many mysteries, disclose to us many hidden values, and make us 

 partners in labor and in reward, with those whose work is making its 

 mark upon human life in lings that can never be effaced. Every 

 one may not be able to determine the real value of the facts he 

 has discovered, or to build a system of philosophy upon them, but 

 there is no better way to acquire that ability than to come into 

 familiar relations with the facts themselves. The order of work is 

 this : First discover and gain possession of the facts, then weigh 

 and measure them, then build with them. Every one may help in 

 the first task, and then, and not till then, must it be determined 

 who of them shall go forward and perform the others. 



"We must not, however, be too sanguine in our expectations of 

 immediate pecuniary advantage from this work. It may some- 

 times seem to us, and it may be true, that others derive more 

 advantage from our work than do ourselves. We can make no 

 monopoly of our acquisitions. At best, we can but share them 

 with every comer ; and after we have done our best, there will 

 still remain many things, and perhaps the very things which most 

 annoy and perplex us, which we cannot use or understand. 



