THE GOSPEL OF GETTING ON.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 163, 9 January 1914, Page 4

THE GOSPEL OF GETTING ON.

In xlnkii:;; ad.!... « delivered recently Id the stHtli-:!!:! t'niver-I-Ol'd Hah! _ chancellor llf (.lie University, » 'th ihr prizes .if life mill how ihey a: • |,» afts.iiicl. "It not tr;:,-." |.. , ■ i-J, "ihat with the iiicrea.ve of ma t-o-iipi-l it.ion life "(I'm fcv.er ]■ r 1 i' ■ hj, proportion l» the number v.-bo are . striving I'lir them. Willi the i'i ■ s ,! Si-ieilCe lllld tlltt mtvniifr in th:' t cri>i!ic:it(»(j processes of hprt'i.iliH:ili<iii .iMrlmlimi of function, tlaere are i:, ~■ imore ami mnri' openings a:id nv: :( | more chances for ihose wild a'-i.i'' -:!'v;>p(] in i,]| ( . rompet.it ion which •.•ryvVr.!. There are lar mure po ,■ .••■!',-.s of rising, lint lh '' -ilaihlar b; a ,: also, ami lii»li (jU:ilii.y ami ||..|-! ■ are more than '•w-ry ossmii;,!. n : . fc ;,rc«d of learnlias !i I 'l a "i; via tie tendency. Those who a- ~ ' i ho prizes of life are elioHcn . • . •■•■-ri!s more than ever before. !' . however, always he borne in >.: : a ' j, ' ,1. nacler and in•'•srity eoiia; i-: , ■ -rkot place anion? those merit-; a-. •. 1; i; do knowledge and ability. Tsii( " : ■?:' means more llian al.lentb.n 'K. ... 0 f iveUinfr oa. l.ile will, a! (»::• (•;. ". ni a poor affair ii the fruits |.f •(« , vrrtions are to lie lore Ij.-W-'l „ actitiissKioii^.

From the cradle to tlie grave it is a course! of development, and the <l«:vi:lujiment of quality as much as quantity ought to continue to the lust. For it is the quality of the whole, judged in all its proportions, and iu tho outlook on the Eternal which has been gained, that the test of the highest success lies, tin* success that is greatest when the very greatness of its standards brings in its train a deep sense of humility. I have seen something of men and of affairs. 1 have observed the alternations of success and failure in various professions and occupations. I have myself experienced many tips and downs, and in the course of my own life made abundant mistakes. It always interests me td look back and observe in the light of later and fuller knowledge how I came to fail on particular occasions. And the. result of the scrutiny has been to render it clear that the mistakes and failures would nearly always have been avoided had I at the time been possessed of more real knowledge and of firmer decision and persistence. We all, or nearly all, get a fair number of chances ! in life, but we often do not know enough to be able to take, them, and we still more often pass them by unconscious that they exist. Get knowledge and get courage, and when you have come to :t deliberate decision then go ahead, and go ahead with grim and unshakable resolution to persist. It is not everyone who can do this, hut everyone Can improve his quality in this respect. It is partly a matter of temperament, but it is largely a matter of acquired habit of mind and body. You can train yourself to increased intellectual and moral energy as you train yourself for physical ellicieney in the playing field." There might be undue advantages in circumcstances. There often are. Bat according to his experience it made far less difference in the long run thau was popularly supposed. What did make the difference was tenacity of purpose. To this he allied the social virtue of courtesy and urbane manners. (Jour- , tcsy was an endowment which wus well worth acquiring. ¥e had, to put its utility at its lowest, seen many instances of gifted men ruining their chances of getting 011 in life simply from want of manners. ,