WORK.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 490, 19 July 1890, Page 3

WORK.

A LETTER OF ADVICE TO STUDENTS, By James P. Angell, President of the University of Michigan. One of the most common mistakes of young students is to overrate tho value of mere brilliancy of intellect in comparison with that of industry. In almost every institution of learning, from the grammar school to the university, you will find many pupils pointing with a sort of admiration to some one of their comrades, who has never accomplished much, and saying, 4 He could easily outstrip the men whom the teachers rank ns the leading scholars, if ho chose.’ They say this with a tone which implies that they esteem more highly his gifts than those of the hard-work-ing, bub less brilliant students,' who are far in advance of him in intellectual attainments. Yet long observation shows that the plodding men of good, but nob brilliant talent, will through life, hold the lead, which they have already gained over the brilliant comrade who lacks the habit of persistent and continuous work. And if our young friends will study the biographies of even the most brilliant men, they will find that the greatest achievements of these men were generally the fruits of serious and severe toil. Let us take two or three illustrations.

When I was a student in college, Rufus Choate was at the zenith of his power. He was the idol of young men who admired brilliancy. The general belief among them was that if Mr Choate were awakened in the middle of the night, he would need no further preparation for the delivery of a splendid oration than to run his fingers through his curling locks. But when his biography was published, it appeared that he was one of the most diligent and laborious of students, and that his great speeches were prepared with infinite care. When Daniel Webster made his celebrated reply in the Senate to Hayne of South Carolina on Nullification, with only a single day for special preparation, the feat was deemed marvollous. It has often been referred to as a striking evidence of Webster's readiness for a great emergency. Years ago, the Late John Whipple, an eminent lawyer of Providence, and a warm personal friend of Webster, told me this story concerning that speech : ‘ I asked Mr Webster,’ said Mr Whipple, ‘as we were taking a walk at an early hour, before breakfast, on the beach at Newport, how it was possible for him to present so elaborate and complete an argument on ?o short notice in reply to Hayne.’ * On so short notico !’ exclaimed Mr Webster. ‘ Wbv, I had been many years preJaring the substance of that speech. When was & young lawyer with plenty of

leisure, I busied myself with raising every question which I thought could be raised concerning the interpretation of the constitution, and with attempts to settle those questions. Among these was the point made now by South Carolina and by Mr S; Hayne. That subject has always been kept in mind by me. When the occasion arose for discussing it, I was ready with the preparation of years.’ Read the life of Louis Agassiz, who seemed to be one of tho readiest of men in scientific discourse. His utterance was sb full and fluent that it seemed to come without effort. But the student of his biography will see that he worked with each untiring devotion that his great master, Cuvier, had to warn him that 4 work kills ’ if no time is taken for rest.

The popular idea of Gen. Sheridan is that he won his victories by mere dash. But read what Grant says of him, and what the officers on his staff say of him, and it will be seen that his dash succeeded because he had spared no pains in preparing for his attacks.

Dr. Wayland used to quote a saying wliichhehas picked up somewhere, 4 nothing will stand up against days’ work.’ Toil, persistent, continuous, unflickering toil, is the price that must generally be paid for marked intellectual success. The taste and capacity for hard work, witli fair talent, is a better guarantee of ultimate success than great brilliancy of mind without industry. These considerations explain in part why many a man who in college has a high reputation among his fellows"'* for signal ability, fails to justify it by his subsequent achievements, while others, who were nob much praised in their college days, finally go to the tront. These last had the habit of continuous work. Of course, the combination cf brilliant gifts and persistent industry wins the very highest success. The purpose of this paper is to warn the young men of brilliant gifts against the grand mistake of trusting to those alono for their achievements. Work, * hard, constant work, roust be accepted as the condition of accomplishing much in the fierce competition of modern life.