No. 12. 



Pursuit of Knowledge. 



371 



pence a day. The edge of my berth or my 

 guard-bed, was my seat to study in ; my 

 knapsack was my book-case, and a bit ot 

 board lying on my lap, my writing-table. I 

 had no money to purchase candles or oil ; in 

 winter time it was rarely that I could get 

 any light but that of the fire, and only my 

 turn even of that. To buy a pen or a sheet 

 of paper, I was compelled to forego some 

 portion of food, though in a state of starva- 

 tion. I had no moment of time that I could 

 call my own ; and I had to read and write 

 amid the talking, laughing, singing, whist- 

 ling and bawling, of at least half a score of 

 the most thoughtless of men; and that too, 

 in the hours of freedom from all control. 

 And I say, if I, under circumstances like 

 these, could encounter and overcome the 

 task, is there, can there be, in the whole 

 world, a youth that can find an excuse for 

 the non-performance ?" 



Vouth are apt to err in attributing too 

 much to genius and favourable opportuni- 

 ties. There certainly are grades of intel- 

 lect, and with similar opportunities all would 

 not succeed equally ; it is likewise true, that 

 wealth may buy advantages; but it often 

 brings its disadvantages. It leads youth to 

 rely too much on their opportunities; and 

 the mind lacks the energy which adverse 

 circumstances generally impart. The young 

 man who relies on his genius and college 

 facilities, will not be apt to distinguish him- 

 self by his attainments. Let the youth who 

 is ready to despond, turn his attention to 

 biography. He will there learn what man 

 has done, and he knows our motto. We 

 would recommend to his attention an excel- 

 lent book, entitled, " The Pursuit of K/wio- 

 ledge under Difficulties.'''' It has been re- 

 published in this country, and the Rev. 

 Francis VVayland, has promised a volume of 

 American characters. The reader may learn 

 from the.-e books, the difficulties under which 

 others have laboured. He will find poverty, 

 sickness, and physical misfortune opposing 

 in vain. Sanderson, and Euler, and Milton 

 were blind; but did they waste their time 

 in idle repining'? Who can peruse their 

 memoirs without a thrill of admiration'! 



It is related of a gardener, who had 

 learned much by solitary application, that, 

 on surprise being expressed that he should 

 understand Newton's Principia, he ex- 

 claimed, " Can I not read '? And if I have 

 books what more do I want ?" We find 

 even the deaf and dumb becoming profound 

 scholars; what excuse then can he have, 

 who can hold free communion with his fel- 

 lows] And there is Laura Bridgman, now 

 in the Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, 

 who can neither see, hear, nor speak, and 



her sense of smell is very imperfect; and 

 yet she has learned the use of language, so 

 as to convey her ideas and learn the wishes 

 of others. It is all a great error for a young 

 person to think that because he is not 

 healthy, or has not leisure and books, and 

 learned professors to instruct him, that 

 therefore he cannot learn. Too many books 

 are often a great disadvantage, by distract- 

 ing the attention and preventing close appli- 

 cation. A small, well selected library, is 

 better for the student than a great variety 

 of books. The text books should be studied 

 very closely, very intently and persevering- 

 ly; it is not sufficient that they be read 

 once. The ancients had a maxim to convey 

 their confidence in the effect of this mode of 

 application; "Beware of the man of one 

 book." He whose reading is light and va- 

 rious, seldom thinks closely, and none need 

 fear him in argument. 



How am I to think] Be assured that to 

 make thinking effectual, it must be diligent, 

 undivided, concentrated. One great obiect 

 of education, I might say the great object, 

 is to acquire this mastery over the mind ; 

 the amount of knowledge stored up, is a 

 matter of secondary importance. He whote 

 mind is disciplined, can at any time add to 

 his stock ; he can learn facts, and reason 

 upon them; but he who has not learned to 

 think properly, is in danger of exhausting 

 his stock. The mind of one is a living 

 spring, of the other, a mere cistern that 

 may be filled and emptied. The mechanic 

 acquires manual dexterity in using tools, by 

 long practice and patient training; — the 

 mind of the thinking man, is the power by 

 which he operates, and the dexterity with 

 which he can use it, depends upon the 

 power he has acquired to concentrate its 

 efforts and direct its energies. The habit 

 of trifling, instead of studying, is fatal to 

 improvement; and though the doctrine of 

 applying the birch to quicken the ideas, is 

 less popular now than in times past, there 

 may be persons who need physical stimulus 

 to keep the attention excited. But this ne- 

 cessity cannot long exist, unless with the 

 wantonly perverse. 



The American boy has much to encou- 

 rage him ; for the wide field of preferment is 

 open before him, and, earlier or later, merit 

 is apt to be rewarded. Let him remember 

 that though but a boy now, a few years will 

 place him in a different relation to those 

 around him ; and these years may be idled 

 or improved. If idled, the ignorant boy will 

 be an ignorant man ; but if improved, the 

 ignorant boy may become the intelligent, 

 useful, eminent man. Consider the truth 

 contained in our first motto, " What man 



