OUR YOUNG MEN'S COLUMN.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2265, 10 October 1891, Page 2

OUR YOUNG MEN'S COLUMN.

[By Juvenis.] This column is founded in the interests of all young men, who, if not themselves subscribers to the paper, still have an opportunity of reading if in their homes. It is not my intention to be very profuse in writing, but to present before young men who have at least an ounce of real grit in them, short crispy articles pertaining to study and success in life. How to read and study books; how to read and study men; how to improve the memory; how to study in the broad sense of the term; how to exercise the faculties ot the brain; how to bring rest to the overworked brain; the advantage of literary classes and men worth imitating are subjects, among many others, relative to young men, on which we will endeavor to have pleasant and instructive chats.

The statement has often been made, and reiterated times out of number, that from the young men who pass through our streets day by day on their way to business will arise the future leaders and politicians of New Zealand. But the question is, will they, in the majority of cases, be sons of rich parents, whose paths in life hare been strewn with roses, and who have been educated in the higher schools of the colony ? Nay ; the leaders of the world who have lived and died have, in most oases, been men who have risen from the ranks of poverty-stricken; men who have fought their way up through poverty and against the selfish oppression of the affluent. Assuredly our leaders of the future are arising, and will arise as they have in the past, from the log cabin and the workshop. It is to this class of young men that I write. They have not the time and money to obtain a classical education, but they have the pluck and energy to rise above theix positions and act as professor and student, alike surmounting difficulties and gaining an experience which the theoretical student never gains. All they need is a guide to put them on the right track, and books ate so cheap now-a-days that the poorest can purchase the writings and ideas of the greatest minds of the past and present; and after all, what more is wanted than perseverance and common sense? If you trace the development of knowledge back to its source you will find that someone must' have first taught himself ' before imparting to others, and “ what has done man can do ”; albeit a helping hand, may have its advantages, but it cannot impart originality, and men devoid of originality can never be the leaders of a» state or nation; neither can they excel in. literature, science, or any of the fine arts. The young man who desires to do som,e good in the world and make a name for himself which will never die out, and who has not the advantage of some, will mn.v fl a start in the right, if nothing else, if he follows out the advice given in this column. The first subject I will take up will be the reading of books, and literary study. This I will give you next week.