THE STUDY OF MINERALOGY FOR SELF CULTURE. 



By J. C. Cooper, Topeka. 



npHE opening lines of Bryant's poem "Thanatopsis" invite to 

 ^ the study of nature in these beautiful and impressive words : 



"To him who, in the love of Nature, holds 

 Communion with her visible forms, she speaks 

 A various language : for her gayer hours 

 She has a voice of gladness, and a smile 

 And eloquence of beauty ; and she glides 

 Into his darker musings with a mild 

 And gentle sympathy, that steals away 

 Their sharpness ere he is aware." 



The purpose of the writer at this time is to say something ad- 

 ditional, in a general way, to encourage the study of nature, and 

 later on to call attention more particularly to the inviting field of 

 mineralogy. 



There is no more instructive, delightful and useful recreation 

 for man than the study of some branch of natural science. As the 

 young student becomes acquainted with nature's works, their 

 beauty and usefulness and perfect conformity to law, they teach 

 him the most useful lesson youth or manhood can learn, that 

 throughout the wonderful and complicated machinery of nature's 

 works there runs everywhere the binding thread of law and obedi- 

 ence, holding every atom of matter in wise and loving subjection 

 to its will. And man, being composed of atoms of matter, must 

 obey these laws, so far as they concern him individually, as posi- 

 tively as inert atoms, or he will inevitably suffer the consequences. 

 A violation of nature's law cannot be condoned by the purchase of 

 indulgence. It must be worked out with repentance. 



All of us, when in a crowd, probably have been impressed with 

 the variety of faces that pass before us. No two of them are alike, 

 and it is quite probable that in the whole human family there are 

 no two persons exactly alike. This gives us a little idea of the va- 

 riety in nature. As these faces differ, we may reasonably assume 

 that each individual will differ in his internal laboratory and his 

 mental and spiritual wants. Yet, with all this difference, the field 

 of nature is varied enough to furnish delightful, instructive and 

 useful employment and recreation for all, if one gets into the line 

 of work he is qualified and adapted for. 



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