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sideration. "Inattention to the present business, be it what it 

 will," said Lord Chesterfield, " is the never-failing sign of a 

 little, frivolous mind." And this shiftlessness, so characteristic 

 of many men, is the result of habitually dealing with the sur- 

 face only of things through unwillingness to dig patiently down 

 to the roots of them. Such go from subject to subject, and, in 

 the zeal for novelty, lose the relish for wholesome knowledge. 



And what has been said necessarily implies that scientific 

 work is laborious work. Foundations are laid deep and great 

 preparations are made for great work. Read the lives of 

 Cuvier, of Agassiz, of Darwin, and you will learn what dili- 

 gence is. In their works you will find the results of hundreds 

 of laboriously conducted observations summed up in paragraphs. 

 Such men have never shrunk from labor, for it has been to them 

 a necessity and become a pleasure. The habit of systematic 

 work developes a love for labor, and as we observe the fruits of 

 our planting we view them without a thought of regret for the 

 toil expended in the preparation of the ground, the sowing and 

 the tending, though done in the sweat of our brows. 



And this painstaking labor which distinguishes scientific 

 work is marked by a patience no less characteristic. The 

 worker does not look for quick returns, but patiently awaits 

 the issue ; and so must we all, the student and the professional 

 man, the artisan and the artist, each must work patiently and 

 thoughtfully, content if in due season he achieves the result 

 which long ago he planned. And if we read biography aright 

 we shall learn that the men of great deeds in every age have in 

 patience possessed their souls. Learn then to look, not for 

 quick results and great, but to labor hopefully, patiently, know- 

 ing that in due season we shall reap if we faint not. 



And again, the truly scientific worker is governed by a 

 judicial spirit. He is accustomed to weigh evidence and strives 

 to consider all questions impartially. He holds his judgment 

 in abeyance, avoids unwarranted conclusions and hasty gener- 

 alizations. Mere authority has little weight with him upon 

 matters concerning which he is competent to form an opinion, 

 and before he accepts new ideas he familiarizes himself with 

 the evidence alleged in their support, recognizing the fact that 

 there are two sides to almost every question, and that a con- 

 clusion can seldom be reached till both have been considered. 

 He is therefore always open to conviction, and never ashamed 



