Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/choosinglifeworkOOfiskrich Choosing a Lifework By Lewis Ransom Fiske, LL.D. Author of " Echoes from College Platform " New York: EATON & MAINS* Cincinnati : JENNINGS & GRAHAIVL Copyright by EATON & MAINS. J899. u^ '^"^ Eaton & Mains Press, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, PREFACE This book has been written with a sincere desire to supply young men and women with information that will aid them in making a rational and profit- able choice in the selection of their lifework. The question of the proper choice of a business or pro- fession is often a perplexing one, and an experience of many years in intimate relations with young people in our higher schools of learning has con- vinced the writer that it is perplexing because of lack of the knowledge necessary to make an intelli- gent decision. The author has sought to unfold that which lies at the foundation of our great in- dustries, presenting what is vital in the subjects themselves — not simply writing about them. There is much connected with law, medicine, the ministry, pedagogy, journalism, agriculture, mechanic arts, commerce, etc., which should be understood before the individual chooses any one of these as his life pursuit. He should have some idea of what he will encounter before he commits himself irrevo- cably to a special line of preparation. Multitudes of people are unsuccessful because of their unwise selection of an occupation; the choice would have been different had they understood what was before them. V It will be observed that our discussions of these subjects are not comparative. There is no effort to place one vocation before any other, for individu- als vary in tastes and in special mental qualifica- tions. A right adjustment of industries to powers would put one person in one pursuit and another person in some other line of work, and we believe that if young men and women could have the broad field of life's activities laid out clearly before them, they could be greatly aided in determining the part they would individually best perform; fewer mis- takes would be made, and success would more generally be achieved. The author of this book hopes by a survey of the trunk lines of human in- dustry to assist in the selection of the occupation in which their personal interests may be most fully promoted and their obligations to others most com- pletelv fulfilled. ^ Recognizing the fact that lack of success is largely the outcome of insufficient knowledge and poor management, the author has sought not only to enunciate the principles involved in each vocation, but to indicate the preparation that should be made in order to achieve the best results: In all the great Preface 5 lines of industry there is a field for the employment of wide scholarship and superior intellectual powers. The world will run smoothly, the products of labor be abundant, the comforts of life generally enjoyed, and the temptations to commit wrong diminished in proportion to the wisdom of the choice, the prep- aration secured, and the skill gained. Every young person should realize that no life can be successful, in any true sense of the word, without spiritual development and employment in religious activities. Secular pursuits are but the means of living, religious activities the end. If the writer shall help the reader intelligently to ful- fill a divine plan, his purpose will be accomplished. CONTENTS CHAPTER I Labor a Boon 9 CHAPTER n The Teaching Profession 22 CHAPTER III The Teacher 36 CHAPTER IV The Ministry 48 CHAPTER V The Minister 61 CHAPTER VI The Medical Profession 74 CHAPTER VII The Physician 86 CHAPTER VIII The Legal Profession 99 CHAPTER IX The Lawyer 113 CHAPTER X Wielding the Press 127 CHAPTER XI Politics as a Vocation 142 CHAPTER XII Quarrying Nature 157 CHAPTER XIII Man the Builder 172 CHAPTER XIV The Creation of Values 186 CHAPTER XV Winning Success 199 CHAPTER XVI Life's Supreme Activities 213 7 CHOOSING A LIFEWORK CHAPTER I Labor a Boon This is not a very large world, as compared with some of the other worlds in space, yet it is big enough to furnish employment for every son and daughter of Adam. Of the fourteen hundred mil- lions of people who comprise the race not one should be in either voluntary or enforced idleness. Our physical powers and our mental faculties have been provided for use, and to permit them to remain unemployed is to defeat the end of our creation. That it was God's purpose to put everyone at work needs no divine proclamation to establish. The Supreme Being does not to any large extent supply us with that which will support the body; he compels us to be producers or starve. And he does not bring to us truth for the nourishment of the mind, but with an unlimited storehouse for our good in his creations he offers us just that which we can only find by searching for it. For six thousand years man has been busy in seeking truth with more or less of success. It was intended that each one of us should be an explorer. In putting the family of man on the earth, with a grand destiny for lO . Choosing A Lifework it in view, the first of all requisites was that we should be kept busy. This must be regarded as a fundamental principle. For moral ends it is a necessity. Without this God's government over us would be a failure. Nothing else could be supplied, as a substitute, that would save the race from utter ruin. Nations would be ungovernable, families would be without cementing bonds, the Church would have no foundation in character — no sense of obligation, no true manhood and womanhood on which to build. The training of childhood, the dis- ciplining of more mature years, all that tends to growth up toward a strong and perfect life, would be impossible. Out from industry grow all the rights of property and conditions for the develop- ment of the sentiments of humanity. Nothing ex- poses man to such moral perils as indolence; they who are unemployed because of idleness are the most dangerous stratum of society, and forced indolence is sure to expose to a thousand temptations, and is likely to weaken the fibers of the moral life. But in decreeing industry it was intended to work out to a successful issue a mental as well as a moral problem. The plan that we should be busy from the cradle to the grave was formed with the dis- tinct purpose of developing our intellectual powers. The wise parent gives the child something to think about, something to work out, that it may mentally grow. To "do'' is the watchword of the day; learning to do — in this to employ the mind of the Labor a Boon ii child. There is profound philosophy in the method and movement of the kindergarten. There is law governing every part of nature, and there is an unlimited reservoir of forces awaiting employment. All mechanical devices are provisions for applying these forces after the law governing them has been discovered. In its ultimate sense man does not engender force, he utilizes it; and the greatest of all present problems is the production of means by which the energies embedded in nature may be most fully applied to meet our wants. It is impossible to overestimate the power exerted through the development of what we call the useful arts. From the brass pin to the steam engine, from the simplest process in the kitchen to the most com- plex in the manufactory, from the macadamizing of a road to the tunneling of a mountain or the con- struction of a suspension bridge, from the making of a taper to the lighting of a city by an electric plant, all the appliances and products which are the content of this word "civilization'' are the out- growth of man's needs in the great world of in- dustry, and they form one of the grandest schools for mental growth among the nations of the earth. God compels us to work because he wants us to think, and while holding back these gifts, he has made us rich in the possession of unlimited power to discover and avail ourselves of them. God is a kind master in decreeing labor as the law of life. To be born into a condition of opulence is 12 Choosing a Lifework by no means to be born lucky. "Eighty per cent of men in the United States now worth one hundred thousand dollars have risen from the laboring classes/' Some of the sons of rich men devote themselves to business and find a broad field for their industry through the wealth of the family, but a large percentage are indolent. Wealth is gained through industry and rational economy. The sons of rich men do not generally feel the need of strict economy, and they are not impelled to be industrious to secure a livelihood. The result is they become spendthrifts and acquire other baneful habits. They soon squander their patrimony and take their place among the poor, from which condition they cannot rise. Some conditions seem utterly to preclude in- centives to industry. The Prince of Wales is not a saint, but he is "more sinned against than sin- ning." He is personally unfortunate in being the eldest son of a queen who wears the crown until he is far past middle life. What can he do? He is decreed to be a king, and he may not engage in busi- ness or enter a profession ; this would not be kingly. He must simply wait. And it would have been well had he shown sufficient strength of character to withstand the temptations which crowd about him. A human being is sure to do something worthy or unworthy. To be in the midst of conditions inimical to defi- nite lines of industry is unfortunate. The lot of the society woman calls for commiseration. It is^pleas- Labor a Boon 13 ant to the ear to listen to words of complaisance ; it is a source of pleasure to be the center of attraction. The power of a social leader is by no means to be despised. Wealth, brilliancy of intellect, polished manners, grace of movement, a charming personal- ity — these form a shrine at which people bow. The danger is that the pleasure shall become intoxicating and sober thoughts find no lodgment in the heart. To enjoy seems all; to do is foreign to the experi- ences of daily life. There is dissipation of mental energy, not growth up to a higher plane. That which contracts true womanhood is to be deplored. Society men — to use the term in a strictly technical sense — in the surrender of their time and thoughts completely to social pleasures throttle the intellect and put a check on aspirations for personal greatness. That there should not be social isolation is evident from the very constitution of the race, but to allow the social to monopolize all the energies of our being is to substitute a part — a comparatively small part — for the whole. Social interests should stimulate the intellect rather than drive it from its throne. To do is to grow, and growth is in the direction of the doing. ^'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap/' That which calls for the exer- cise of mental energies will build up the mental powers. The principle which God put underneath the mental life, that it may become grand, is that it should have definite and vigorous employment. The 14 Choosing a Lifework schools are not the only place where mental growth is secured. These ought to enjoy a preeminence be- cause they are intended to be intellectual workshops. Yet the student in college frequently displays less of the spirit and habit of the scholar than some of the young men who have never taken a college course. When and so far as this is true the latter is sure to outstrip the former. This does not raise a question as to the value of college education; it shows that mental effort pays whenever put forth. Some college graduates are not scholarly, and some who are not graduates are. And, whatever may be the lines of employment, that which entails the most of systematic and consecutive mental labor will be the most largely productive of mental growth. That great belt called the tropics has not per- formed a very important part in the world's history. Evidently this has largely been due to the limited demand for labor, together with the disinclination to work resulting from the enervating influence of the climate. We act under the stress of motives. When nature without our aid supplies our wants in abundance we are quite ready to let her do it all. The great fertility of the tropics produces conditions for physical support which render the industrial arts necessary only to a small extent. When nature is lavish of her gifts we do not need to toil ; as a conse- quence there are physical inaction and mental stag- nation, and civilization is on a low plane. Again, no one will put forth effort where success Labor a Boon > 15 is hopeless. A motive is more than a desire; it is a desire that can be reahzed. There has never been any grand national or race development in the frigid zones. In the tropics man does not need to be industrious ; in the polar regions the severest toil would bring forth only the most meager results. Hence in both cases there is the absence of adequate motives. In the tropics there is abundance as a free gift; in the frigid zones there is poverty no matter how great an effort might be put forth. It shows that man is feeble when he is idle ; he becomes great only as his being is stirred by some great motive which inspires to action. Africa has not been an historic land. Why? Physical geography solves the problem : she has not been in touch with the great movements of the race. With a coast line almost unbroken, there being but few indentations for harbors, with a lack of river systems connecting the interior with the coast, the people have been isolated, shut up almost as within prison walls. They have had no knowl- edge of what was going on among the peoples of the earth. Manufactures, commerce, systems of agriculture even, have been unknown to them. Ig- norant of the achievements in the industrial arts, there has been nothing to stimulate to labor. With no thoroughfares for commerce, international trade would not exist should manufactures be produced, and manufacturing, except in most primitive forms, would not be carried forward. The valley of the i6 Choosing a Lifework Nile, through which that historic river has been flow- ing during all these ages, has not been within the deep night that has so fully shrouded the intellectual horizon of so much of that dark land. When the heart of Africa shall be brought out into the light of day, when her people shall come to know what the world is doing, when railroads shall penetrate into and traverse her now dark domain, gradually she will come to understand her powers and see the good lying before her, and in her awakening and awakened life, notwithstanding her depressing cli- mate, she will be brought to bestir herself, and the dawning of a better day will pass on toward a brighter future. That day is now hastening on, and to the extent of her subjective efforts. she will become great. Southern Europe from time immemorial has been awake because everything about her has suggested effort and called for action. Jutting down into the Mediterranean at so many points, with unusually extended coast line — with a favoring sky as well — inaction was impossible; hence here we find the world's early and great historic fields. Greece has charmed us with the glory that has gleamed forth from her brow. Philosophy, poetry and song, elo- quence which has never been excelled, painting and sculpture, statesmanship before which we bow, military achievements which dazzle the vision even through the vista of more than two thousand years — these tell of her wonderful life. And the seven- Labor a Boon 17 hilled city on the Tiber, with the beautiful Italic skies overhead and Italic soil under foot, became not only the mistress of that far-famed peninsula, but the conqueror of the world. Mighty in arms, wield- ing power as though born to rule, with great orators, far-seeing statesmen, military chieftains who bore the eagle in triumph over all lands, such was Rome for a thousand years, and had not vice tainted all the fountains of her life and relaxed her powers, her greatness would have survived to the present day. Spain at a later period gained renown, becoming at one time the great maritime power of the world, for which her location, with Portugal, as the south- western peninsula of Europe so admirably fitted her. This preeminence she would not have lost had she not imbibed some principles of government which arrayed against her the best elements of our hu- manity. England seems to have inherited physical condi- tions which push her to the front as a great world nation. Maritime in her location, she has been al- most forced out upon the sea, until she has come to be at home in every climate and in almost every land. This has done for her what nothing else could have done in the variety of her industries and the problems demanding solution which have con- fronted her, so that her great navy and her exten- sive merchant marine are but an illustration of her comprehensive national life and industrial pursuits. The ancient monarchies of Chaldea and Assyria i8 Choosing a Life work became great because the Euphrates and Tigris flowed through their domains. On these rivers, which in conjunction swept down to the Persian Gulf, were built Babylon and Nineveh, dominating the Eastern world. Whichever way we turn we find that men and na- tions are what they make themselves to be under motives for action. Earning what we consume and being permitted to handle what we earn are prereq- uisites to the most healthful industrial life. In- discriminate charity is an evil. It is better in every way to provide the means of gaining support than to bestow it as a beneficence. The love of the mother which prompts her to take upon herself the toil the daughter ought to bear is not a kindness, but a positive injury. In the treatment of the aborigines by the American government indiscrimi- nate beneficence at times has proved to be nearly as destructive as selfish cruelty at other times. There is no dependence so base as that which makes another your master, and the stimulant to effort is in propor- tion to the control of the products of labor. The vocations which are open before us are either largely physical or more distinctively mental, and to whichever class they belong we expect to gain from them the means of personal and family sup- port. That this need is almost universal does not detract from the intellectual value of the work done; and indeed it is probable that, on the whole, a larger measure of mental good is thereby gained than Labor a Boon 19 would otherwise be secured. Then it must be borne in mind, as already stated, that there are ethical values of the highest importance which ought to be wrought out in the employments followed. We are not to labor simply to be great, but to meet obli- gations. With the egoism there must be an al- truism, and because of the altruism the egoism be- comes more worthy and mighty. The moral nature must not only not be ignored, it must be developed and made more efficient as the days go by. Man- hood in us is God's aim in establishing the scheme for our experience and procedure both in social rela- tions and individual industries. Before entering on the discussion of the different professions and callings which lie before us there are a few points to take into consideration. First. There is much at stake in making a choice. A young man may be better fitted for one sphere of life than for any other. Not going quite so far as Horace Bushnell when he tells us that God has a particular place into which he would put each indi- vidual — ordaining to a special vocation — yet it is evident we may blunder if the greatest care be not exercised; and we can choose intelligently only where we understand the nature of the several em- ployments opening their doors to us, and possess an accurate judgment as to our qualifications to per- form the work required. A man may become a good machinist who could not become a successful lawyer, or he might gain eminence in the law while 20 Choosing a Lifework he would meet with faiUire should he engage in mechanical pursuits. Second. Make some choice. Do not allow your life to float. It may be difficult to determine what line of labor you are best fitted to take up, but on careful study of the subject come to some con- clusion. Even should circumstances compel you afterward to change your plans, it is better to have anchored in something. To gain skill there must be definiteness of aim ; do not permit yourself to go through life without gaining all the skill it is pos- sible to achieve in some one vocation. Third. Concentrate your efforts on a compara- tively narrow line of work; do not scatter over a broad field. Success is mtensive rather than exion- sive. It is better farming to raise thirty bushels of wheat on one acre than on two acres. Thorough- ness is the secret of success. Fourth. If you do not find an opening in the line you prefer, do not make this an excuse for idle- ness. Better unwelcome forms of industry than no industry at all. The poorest preparation a person can make is in the waiting for something to "turn up." Fifth. If you are employed on a salary, make yourself a necessity to your employer by your com- plete mastery of the interests in your hands and the fidelity with which you perform your work. In salaried positions we do not generally need to grap- ple certain problems which confront those whose Labor a Boon 21 capital is employed, but there is room in most cases for the exercise of intelligent discretion and a thor- ough study of the principles of business and of successful methods. In the nature of the case woman will not be as generally a producer as man. In the divine economy very largely her time will be given to household responsibilities. God's plan is that through mar- riage there shall be a home over which she shall preside. The mother should see to it that the daughter be carefully instructed in the management of household affairs. In nothing has Queen Vic- toria more fully shown the high qualities she pos- sesses as a ruler than in this respect. It is productive of good that new lines of industry are daily opening for woman. No greater wisdom can be displayed than that she shall carry out a purpose to gain skill in some branch of labor or business, even though marriage seem a certainty or literary pursuits offer special attractions. To be help- less in the presence of personal disaster which the future may bring is a calamity which should not be allowed to overtake her; but, whether through the action of hand or brain, there is a destiny to work out, and woman will be recognized in the years to come as wielding forces to which our mothers were strangers. In the future man is not to be the whole, as in the ages gone by; woman will have a share with him in the labors and glory of individual and world achievements. 22 Choosing a Lifework CHAPTER II The Teaching Profession The supreme employment of the human family — • the purpose for which the race is placed on the earth — is the making of men and women. Everything else is subsidiary, and intended to be but means to this as an end. This being true, the desires and ambi- tions of the human heart indicate that throughout society there is gross perversion of power. Al- most universally the mind is trained simply in order that a livelihood may be gained or wealth secured. Few people struggle for material possessions with the distinct aim of reaching the highest mental growth. A wealthy man, in replying to the in- quiry as to his real ambition, said, "My chief am- bition is to leave a million to each of my children." This illustrates the almost universal misconception of the proper aims of life. It is putting ''having" before ''being;" determining what a man is worth by the entries in the ledger rather than by the qual- ity and might of his mental life. God intended the soul for an unending state of progressive existence. The stars may lose their light and the heavens pass away, but man shall live on, and forever. That is a very inadequate notion of the eternal world which does not make it to be a theater for the endless un- folding of powers and enriching of the life. What The Teaching Pro^essiok 23 I am IS inconceivably more important than what I possess. In God's plan men outrank money. The mind of the infant child is mere potentiality. There is the groundwork of powers, but nothing more. At first there is no differentiation, no- modes of energy. The infant does not think; it does not will, and there is no emotional reality. In the final sense there is not mind, but only unorganized ele- ments of mind. The brain is there, and the nerves to connect with the external world are there; more than this, there is spirit substance, but no differen- tiated action. It must, however, be borne in mind that there are marvelous energies in the infant life — energies for ultimate manhood, energies not found anywhere else in the animal world; but they must be stimulated, drawn out, and guided largely through external influences. The first fact that engages our attention is this: that we have a sensuous nature. Mind acts in and through the brain. There is a nervous system by means of which we come in contact with material objects. The senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell are connecting links between nature and mind, and supply provision for action and for dif- ferentiation of mental energies. Into such a world as this are we born. In absolute isolation the mind would not open and unfold, but in the presence of a world constantly undergoing changes — of position, form, color, of condition in every conceivable way — perception is awakened, resemblances and differ- ^4 Choosing a Lifework ences are realized, and thereby a capability is de- veloped of discerning and knowing. Knowledge is not a mode of motion, but without motion — change, modification, passing into new forms and states of external things — the mind must continue to be a blank. Mind is at first embryonic; to become real there must be a reaction of the external on its sus- ceptible nature. There lies in the lap of the mother a priceless treasure. It is a spark of the divine; it is a germ of the immortal. Tenderness and intense solicitude fill the heart of the mother ; pride of parentage stirs the breast of the father. Love will prompt the making of every sacrifice for the well-being of that infant life. The parent 'is the natural teacher of the child. Law and custom give the parent juris- diction over the child for twenty years and more because there is need for this guidance, and the wedded pair will not defraud the offspring of that holy union. The evident inability of the parent to supply, by personal instruction, all the child needs up to man- hood has led to the institution of schools of learning conducted by teachers chosen expressly for this pur- pose. With us this work is supervised by the state, and in many of our commonwealths attendance on the school is made compulsory. That the state has a right to make and enforce such requirements is evident from the relation of the citizen to the govern- ment. Political franchises are in the hands of the The Teaching Profession 25 people; on them devolves the responsibility of gov- erning the state. That there may be capable citi- zenship there must be intelligent citizenship. Illit- eracy is a menace to civil order. It is more than weakness; it is disruptive and destructive power. That the American republic may withstand the shocks of political assaults on the rights and the well-being of the people there must be enlightened citizenship. The public cannot be entrapped by de- signing men when our eyes are open and intelligence is on guard. The few will cease to lead the many when education becomes universal. The teaching profession performs not only a unique work, but a work of the highest value to the public. There is no greater problem to engage the attention of this or any other age than the right training of the young. It is more important than the tariff or the question of hard money. The schoolhouse mounts higher than the dome of the Capitol at Washington. Teachers are doing in- conceivably more for the nation than the men we send to either house of Congress. With right school influences politicians cannot wreck a nation, nor can they get far in advance of the columns which sweep out from school or academic halls. Is the boy the father of the man ? Manhood is not put on at twenty-one years of age; it is a growth from in- fancy up to the stage at which mental crystallization is accomplished. We need only to open our eyes to see the diverse 26 Choosing a Lifework trends of mind. Nothing has more inequality in it than the mental conditions of the race. Yonder is a man who in his altitude has reached the very mountain top of intellectual greatness; just at his side is another away down in the valley, and between the two there are a thousand gradations of mental life. Is the world to-day as God made it and meant it to be? Did human beings start as far apart as we find them after reaching manhood and woman- hood? By no means. This disparity is not God- made, but man-made. Evidently the mental capa- bilities of different persons are not just the same. This is shown by the ease or difficulty with which different branches of study are mastered in our schools. But while perhaps no two minds are wholly alike in acuteness, in logical grasp, in philosophical in- sight, in the ease with which different kinds of work can be done, yet the great disparity in men is due mostly to education. With the same skill in edu- cators, and the same methods and energy of work on the part of students during school years and the years following, ninety-nine hundredths of the in- equality would disappear. There ought to be ten- fold more great men and women than there are to-day. Aristotle, being asked how the educated differed from the uneducated, replied, "As the living differ from the dead.'' Says Wendell Phillips, ''Education is the only interest worthy the deep con- trolling anxiety of the thoughtful man." The Teaching Profession 27 God projects upon this earth only raw material. The astounding differences which meet our gaze are the products of human energy. Our markets keep for sale human energies in concrete form. Subtract the qualities man has implanted and there would not be a buyer on the face of the earth. All capital comes out of human brains. What we have wrought is the stock in trade everywhere. The entire problem of values is a problem of education. We develop being, we put desirable qualities into it, and there is established the very groundwork of all commerce and the inspiration of all industries. What can man not achieve in this world in which God has placed him? The iron ore has lain value- less in the crust of the earth for millions of years. Man digs up this ore, and thus puts in it the value of two or three dollars a ton; he employs on this ore his labor and skill, converting it into pig iron, and its value rises up to eight or ten dollars a ton. He carries forward this work, effecting a more com- plete reduction, and manufactures steel rails for our railroads, and men pay him from twenty-five to thirty dollars a ton for this product of his labor. But he is not yet satisfied with his work. He takes the steel, he refines it to the utmost point of perfection, he draws it into threads, he tempers it with the last degree of care, he makes a perfect coil, elastic to the fullest extent, and what has he? What is this product worth? The ore was valueless in the soil; it starts on its upward trend at two dollars per ton ; 28 Choosing a Lifework as steel rails it reaches twenty-five or thirty dollars a ton; but as hairsprings for the watch it is worth several millions of dollars a ton — pound for pound many times more than gold, about which we are wrangling to-day. This is the education of the material product. So with mind. A m€ve po- tentiality in that infant brain, under the mother's care there is the dawning of intelligence, mostly a prophecy of what the intellect may come to be; but having been trained in the kindergarten, the primary school, the high school, the college, the university, and on in the mighty problems of thought through an intensely intellectual manhood, it is wrought up to a state of power and life fitly, but imperfectly, illustrated by the steel which so vastly transcends the value of gold — called our most- precious metal. The poet says,'''Tis education forms the common mind." It is education that makes or develops mind in its grandest, highest, noblest being. Is there any sense in which our schools do not pay? As a foundation of the various employments and professions of life it is estimated that a primary school education increases business efficiency fifty per cent, a high school education one hundred per cent, and a college education four hundred per cent. This is a somewhat commercial putting of the case. Philosophically the problem is the development of the mental potentialities in the direction and up to the measure of completeness involved in the char- acter of these potentialities — the most complete man- The Teaching Profession 29 hood, the most complete womanhood. This being done, efficiency in the vocations of Hfe will take care of itself. God set out to make men and women, not millionaires or professional prodigies. There is no danger that poverty and inefficiency in public life will follow in the wake of our schools. Every interest of the individual and of the public will be promoted in proportion to the plane of rational scholarship reached in our schools. The teaching profession is one of great impor- tance, and it is a credit to any person to meet fully the responsibilities therein assumed. It was a divine thought — more than this, a divine purpose — to lift up the world through human industry, to make it rich and perfect by the action of human intellects and wills. There are many things here to be done — the forests are to be leveled, the soil to be cultivated, the mountains to be mined, cities to be built, rail- roads to be constructed, commerce to cover the seas, the raw material of nature is to be changed into higher forms in every department of the arts; but the richest, the most marvelous field of industry, where the most valuable products are created, is the human life, this immortal being of intellect, heart, and will. The miner's pick unearths the gold, and could enough be found, it would solve the financial problem which is so profoundly stirring the nations of the earth. Out from the whirl of delicate machinery there come forth fabrics fitted to adorn 30 Choosing a Lifework the person of a goddess, but gold and the most ex- quisite fabrics are lifeless and inert. We admire the genius of the sculptor and stand with charmed vision before his wonderful creations. Under the touch of his chisel the shapeless mass of marble is transformed into an object of wondrous beauty. In it he saw an angel, and with skill almost super- human he has removed the incrustations of the ages, and there stands out before us a divine creation of thought. And yet the thought is in the brain of the artist; the marble is only marble still. There are eyes in that statue, but they see not; ears, but they hear not. No fountain of feeling has been opened; no throne of reason has been found; no heart throbbing with purpose and reaching out after the immortal. Only in metaphor is that statue a man ; there is not in it the faintest pulsation of life. It is still but marble ; beyond this the sculptor cannot go. But the teacher penetrates into a holier realm than this. Not only does his genius appear in some product of his skill and tact, as with the sculptor, but from under his guiding hand, his inspiring touch, there comes forth that which is not only clothed with beauty, but with life — a cultured soul within which dwell love, purpose, ambition, power, reaching out to take hold upon forces which will make history and mold the life of coming ages. Yes, the teacher holds the destinies of endless ages in his grasp, and achieves results that cannot be wrought The Teaching Profession 31 out in any other domain of human activity. In say- ing this we do not compare pedagogy with other professions, but we are affirming that the teaching and guiding of human Hfe, in any and all profes- sions, is the mightiest power for good, and more completely works out a divine plan than any other form of industry. There is no other field for labor from which such extraordinary harvests can be gathered. In building a railroad we add to the physical comforts of man, but in building a college or univer- sity, or developing the system of public schools up to the highest efficiency, we are working on godlike powers which transcend all the material products of human industry. Cultivating the soil, we wield the forces of nature so that the hungry shall have bread; but training the energies of thought and of the moral life, souls are nourished, souls which will never die. Presiding over a manufactory, ten thousand wheels move at our bidding ; presiding over schools of learn- ing, of lower or higher grade, we give direction and inspiration, not to machinery that may perish to- morrow or be paralyzed any day by a strike, but to powers which in their unfolding may rise above all adverse combinations and laugh even fate to scorn. A person is more than a thing. Mind is worth im- mensely more than matter though developed into the highest forms. He is working in God's richest vineyard who is molding immortal spirits. The reactive influence of teaching on the teacher 32 Choosing a Lifework must not be left out of the account. Whatever pecuniary advantages may accrue, no one can afford to choose an employment that in any sense degrades the Hfe. Teaching is and must be intellectually and morally healthful. The work consists of the im- parting of knowledge and the training of mental powers. It is dwelling in an intellectual atmos- phere, stimulating thought, guiding mental move- ments, and seeking to intensify the powers of the soul. The teacher finds it necessary to give clear expression to his ideas, and the habit thus gained makes the ideas handled more sharply defined in his own mind. He deals with students more or less acute in their mental operations, and the task is not an easy one to adapt his instructions to the diverse needs which arise; he is almost forced into a life of accurate scholarship and sharpness of intellectual vision. Nothing is more conducive to a reliable action of mind than the habit of clearly and com- prehensively mastering the subjects of thought. In the gaining of knowledge there is a growth of the faculties by which we come to know. In learning we acquire the power to learn more easily and deeply. The energies of the mind must be trained in order to extend most widely the range of knowl- edge, and these energies are trained by the gaining of knowledge. We cannot separate learning and training. The teacher labors with this twofold end in view : that the pupil may become learned, and that he may possess a vigorous intellectual life. This The Teaching PROFESSioisr 33 may well operate as a powerful motive in turning young people toward the teaching profession. Some employments narrow the mind; the handling of truth and the training of mental powers tend to enlarge and more fully equip the mind for further achievements — for the more complete building up of manhood itself. And, if for no other reason, teach- ing is morally beneficial because of the exclusion of that which is low and base by truth itself, which is always wholesome. Much of personal evil comes from environment; and the preoccupation of the mind with that which is pure and healthful acts as a safeguards of the greatest value. Hence, as might be expected, the moral tone of the profession is far above the average moral plane of the people who compose most of our communities. This profession is not in a high degree lucrative. In it no great fortunes are ever made. The com- petition for positions is very sharp; school boards are not always wise enough to discriminate suffi- ciently in favor of merit. And it is doubtless true that the public would not uphold them in giving salaries that are adequately remunerative. The superintendents of schools in some of our large cities and the presidents of a few American colleges receive salaries which fairly represent the dignity of the positions they occupy, but these are excep- tions, not the rule ; and even they bear no comparison with the compensation offered in some of the best positions, outside of this profession. 34 CllOOSlWG A Lll^EWOfelt One of the most discouraging facts which con- front young men and women who contemplate be- coming teachers is that so much of the field is occupied by persons who resort to teaching as a temporary expedient. It is with them a makeshift to earn a little money as an aid to something else. Their heart is not in it ; they are not seeking the best preparation; they are aiming for something quite different in the future. These persons crowd the ranks more than full, putting serious obstacles in the way of those who would be glad to make teaching their lifework. There is no other department of in- dustry that suffers like this. In all other profes- sions there are multitudes of people who have taught in our schools to get money to carry forward their studies, or, having completed their academic course, to pay their debts or gain a support while getting ready to enter an entirely different calling. Just to the extent that this prevails is harm done which in the aggregate is an alarming evil. The teaching profession is modest, and does its work in a modest way. If you seek special noto- riety, this is no place for you. There are other pro- fessions and vocations that obtrude themselves on the attention of the public much more than this. Quietly, out of sight, must you do your work. No brass band will play at the door of your schoolroom, and the great public will surge by without thinking of your patient toil. Your pupils will not be law- yers, physicians, ministers, and statesmen whom the The Teaching Profession 35 people are glad to honor. But let me say to you that if you put your life into this work, from the loving touch of that hand of yours, from the interest you feel in the development of the intellectual and moral life of that precious charge placed under your control, from the skillful play on the heartstrings of the young and the enthusiasm for knowledge and the inspiration of thought you will awaken, there will come forth mighty men and women — lawyers standing at the head of their profession; physicians intelligently ministering to the sick; ministers of the Gospel eloquently proclaiming God's mercy to a lost world ; statesmen who will lay, in the depths of truth and right, the foundations of govern- ment. Only one step removed from the plane of man's greatest achievements — and fundamental to such achievements, contributing most largely to those achievements — are the work and influence of the devoted, skillful teacher. 36 Choosing a Lifework CHAPTER III The Teacher It is not easy to express in precise terms the qualifications of an ideal teacher. Indeed, such qualifications are not fixed in quantity nor invari- able in quality. Conditions and relations must be taken into account. If teaching can be reduced to a science — and this can be done only approximately — it still does not follow that scientific tests of qualifications can be applied so as to draw a scale of fitness which is worth much for practical results. The first requisite for success in the teaching profession is a clear apprehension of the end to be secured. This end is mental development, the un- folding of the energies of life implanted in the soul by the Maker of us all. It is mind-building. What the child can best do for a livelihood can be settled later. The great problem that confronts us in all our school systems is, What does the mind need? Having reached the answer to this question, it ought to be comparatively easy to solve the next problem — to find a method of supplying the mind with what it needs ; for truth comes in upon us from every side. First. The teacher should be able to train the child to see clearly and sharply. Knowledge should be gained in the schoolroom, but the sharpening of The Teacher 37 the intellectual powers, the invigorating of the think- ing faculties, is not less a specific object of school work. It has been said that without the touch of the outer world there can be no awakening of the inner life ; and when we say that every child should be trained to see we mean much more than that his vision must be attracted by the panorama of objects that pass by him, more than that all the senses must be impressed. We mean that he must be taught to find not objects only, but objects in their class re- lations. As these external realities beat in upon his senses he must be able to discriminate, to deter- mine the relation of one to the other, to know this world in its interdependence. An image formed upon the retina, a specific impression of sound upon the auditory nerve, the excitation of sensations in the finger tips — this physiological stimulation is not perception. Perception is a mind act, determining the nature of things through the conditions thus supplied. It is not the product of conditions; the work itself is purely mental. The eye may be wide open without seeing; the ear may be healthy and excited without hearing. It is discriminating atten- tion that is the gist of observation, and this is an intellectual act. Multitudes of people go round the ^orld without perceiving much that comes with- in their reach though they have good eyesight. Had they been blind, the trip would scarcely have brought less profit. Training the child to see is training him to ex- 38 Choosing a Lifework amine and read the nature of the objects which com- pose the constantly changing environment of his being. Nothing should escape his attention, and nothing should be allowed to baffle his efforts in determining the place of objects in the wonderful system of creation. To do this is the primary func- tion of the intellect, with which the work of our mental life starts, never to be suspended while in- telligence lasts. Much of education consists of the training of the powers of perception to see sharply and clearly, and to do this is a special work of the teacher. Perception thus penetrates into and is fully real- ized in what we call the understanding, the logical faculties of the mind. Through resemblances and differences in the complex unit, determined by in- ductive processes of thought, the temple of truth has been reared, and what we call knowledge has been developed. Knowledge can be obtained because in the midst of innumerable differences there are agree- ments, positive relationships, vital connections, radical interdependences, one thing illustrating and explaining another, nothing existing alone. Nature is a universe, an undissevered whole. You can ^dis- solve a political unit, but you cannot cut a world or an atom off from the rest and send it into banish- ment. And this is true in all history, in all the events and interests of human life. To understand, to reason accurately, to know, is to find these in- terdependences, to give each its place and value in The TEAtnfAX 59 this ever-changing whole. On the intellectual side this, more than anything else, is what education is for. It is the training of a thinker. In its mani- festations and results it is the developed power of handling the great complex problems of being. There is no grander outcome of mind-building, and the teacher must know and realize that he is called upon to do much more than to see that the pupil stores his memory with facts. Knowledge must have a wider meaning than this ; it must become the content of the mind of a thinker, of a mind that finds the translucence of the universal — or, at least, the general — in every particular. But the work of the teacher is not completed when the pupil gains the power to see and to know. Life is action. The most significant word in our language is character. What the mind can do, what it is dis- posed to do, and what it regularly and with a purpose is doing — all of this is involved. The direction in which the life is sweeping and the energy of its movements, inclusive of its mental grasp, together with the purpose which rules in the heart, and the firmness of its tread — tell us this and we will tell you what the character is. Education is complete only as it makes virtuous and strong character; only as it gives rational direction to the life and makes it irresistible in the pursuit of right. There is no other sufficient justification of our public school system. This is to provide intelligent citizenship as a founda- tion for government, by which the ends of govern- 40 Choosing a Lifework ment can be realized. The nation will not train up soldiers simply to give them a knowledge of military afifairs ; it expects patriotic service. We demand that the graduate of West Point shall respond to the call the country may make in time of war. Out from our schools and colleges should come forth young men and women not simply equipped for pub- lic service, but eager to act in the defense of right, upholding the best interests of society. The teacher must be qualified to lead out in these great lines of life. He must be able to do much more than to determine in the recitation room that the student has faithfully studied his text-book and has transferred the contents of the printed page to his memory; he must be able to do more than to explain intelligently the meaning of the text; he must take hold of the life of the pupil and lead it up into a higher intellectual and moral state. To do this he must himself possess sharp intellectual! powers trained for the most effective activity, with' a will swaying the whole mind for right and duty; he must possess the loftiest manhood. To be less \ than this is a disability disqualifying for the work that a teacher should be expected to perform. Second. Extensive scholastic preparation is needed. This proposition does not call for much discussion. It is essentially self-evident. To teach without knowledge is impossible; and he whose knowledge does not extend beyond the facts and principles to be imparted in the class room is poorly The Teacher 41 equipped for the position held. You cannot run an engine on the last pound of steam in the boiler. The instructor who exhausts his scholarship by the end of the hour defrauds the school board and gives short weight to the pupils. Colleges of the best rank never think of electing to a professorship any person on the day of his graduation. A college teacher must know immeasurably more than he has time or opportunity to impart, in order to be qualified to give adequate instruction. You may sell one hundred bushels of wheat if you have that amount on hand, but you cannot raise one hundred bushels from the soil if the soil contains in the ag- gregate material only for one hundred bushels. It must be rich in the elements of fertility during the entire time the crop is growing, even to the last day. He who has studied one year of Latin makes a fatal blunder in estimating himself qualified to teach a year of Latin. To keep just ahead of the class is not keeping fully ahead of the class; at least, it is not being so largely stocked with knowledge as to supply all the wants of the pupil. The teachers' occupation can never become a vigorous profession until teachers themselves occupy a much higher plane of scholarship than any of the pupils occupy on the day of their graduation. A college teacher should have years of postgraduate work; a high school teacher should carry his studies much above the plane of the high school ; and the primary teacher should by no means rely on knowledge gained while 42 Choosing a Lifework going through the primary branches. The work of the schools is greatly weakened all through this country by the employment of persons possessing in- adequate scholarship. Not only is defective service rendered, but the teacher, in the eyes of the pupil, is sure to drop down to the low rank which his in- competence assigns, at the same time greatly injur- ing the profession itself. This class of persons has no right to be in the schoolroom. Germane to this there is another principle to which we should give expression : the teacher sht)uld not only be a scholar, he must also be a student. The most extensive preparation before entering the pro- fession is not a complete fitness for the future. By this it is not meant that the teacher day by day should become familiar with the lesson to be taught. To neglect this, of course, would be criminal. But he who is not in love with the truth so as to make him eager- for its further pursuit cannot awaken in the mind of a student a thirst for knowledge. And scholarship is not a fixed quantity like a rock em- bedded in the earth, becoming neither more nor less. We do not rest in scholarship as an invariable pos- session. As the lake becomes dry unless there be poured into it a continuous supply of water, so the scholar will gradually become unscholarly who, even on the basis of the broadest knowledge at first gained, gives himself up to mental inactivity. It is necessary for us to bear this in mind, that what we teach to-day will not, in many respects, The Teacher 43 answer for to-morrow. Civilization is progressive. New fields are constantly opening before us. The universe of truth for us is enlarging, and the fields already traversed have not given up their full con- tent. Further explorations bring to light mines hitherto undiscovered. If imbued with the spirit of scholarship, with an eager thirst for fuller com- munion with truth and a determined ambition to be and keep at the front, you will secure most impor- tant qualifications for your work. One other requisite not less vital than the fore- going we will here mention. It is: Third. A love for your work. Without this it is impossible to achieve large success in this pro- fession. Some things can be done comparatively well purely under stress of will. A man can do a good day's work in the blacksmith shop though he does not like the trade. The live coals heat the iron ; the steady blow gives it the shape desired, the metal responding to the mechanical force applied. In no way does the iron catch the spirit of the artisan, yet no man has reached the highest skill as a laborer who disliked his employment. This last statement is true of teachers more than of any other class. It is not what you say in the schoolroom half so much as the spirit with which you penetrate into the life of the child that molds the immortal nature. Truth is shorn of its power when it goes forth from unwilling or indifferent lips. The child is a philosopher, not an educated but a born philoso- 44 Choosing a Lifework pher. Whether or not he intelhgently reads your mind he finds and feels its throbbings; he responds to the spirit you bear; there is painted on his being the portraiture of your inner self. If you are in- different to truth, the child will be indifferent to truth. If teaching be a drudgery to you, learning will be a drudgery to him. But if you delight in the truth, if your soul is inspired by it and rational in- telligence beams from your face, if you find teaching a heavenly occupation, there will be in the school- room a heavenly atmosphere, and the young under your guidance will follow you with joyful feet; yea, out from your soul will go forth an energy that makes scholarship and character which will be of priceless worth. The teacher is entitled to his wages — ordinarily, I think, twice as much as he gets — ^but if your fidelity and zeal rest back on the money, and are born of the money that is commer- cially paid into your hands, your wages will be twice what you earn; for failure will follow your steps wherever you go. But to be permitted to contribute to the civilization of the race at its very fountain head ; to stimulate the thinking and mold the char- acter at the most responsive period of life ; to estab- lish a trend that will result in scholarship, good citizenship, and intelligent and noble living — is there not in this much to make you feel that the lines have fallen to you in pleasant places, and to lead you to say that you would not exchange your lot for the lordly kingship of the great nations of the earth? The Teacher 45 You should feel both a responsibility and a de- light in realizing the end of which we have spoken. We have said to you that character is more than scholarship, and that if you do not have in view the . training of character, you have utterly misconceived ,/ the legitimate purpose of your mission. If you suc- ceed in molding into manliness and womanliness the young; if you lead them to look upward instead of downward, aspiring for the best, you will have wrought in society that for which angels will re- joice and coming ages be profoundly grateful. Then it will be evident you did not miss your calling. To aim simply to make scholars, we have said, is not the noblest purpose ; but to shape character embody- ing the intelligence of the scholar and the might of a righteous will — this is what a teacher is expected to do so far as one soul can influence another. . Says Emerson, ^'Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as to think." It is the teacher's mission to impress this on the young life. Another fact we introduce just here, that to reach the end we have held up before you, both for scholarship and the guidance of your charge, you must gain an influence over your pupils that is practically irresistible. How? Through the fear of your authority? Remember, you cannot lead and drive at the same time. When the schoolroom is a slave pen manhood beats a retreat. No more certainly is it true that marriage is a failure unless 46 Choosing a Lifework the bride is wooed, and then held by the same spirit by which she was won, than that unfeeUng despo- tism will paralyze the arm that wields the scepter over the minds of your pupils. In a word, you must get into their hearts if you would do them good. Said an eminent lawyer when he found that a cer- tain attorney was on the opposite side, ''I know the law is on my side, and I have the testimony; but my opponent always gets to be so thick with the jury that I am afraid he will win the case." A teacher must become *'thick" with her pupils. The closest bonds of sympathy should be established. They must be led to look up to the teacher with per- fect, with loving confidence. Knowing that the deep interest felt in them is for their good, love will be awakened in return ; and then the power at your command will be almost unlimited. We would emphasize this statement, that the first thing a teacher needs to do is to capture the heart. She must make herself to be a felt necessity to each young life, not allowing any other friend to become dearer or be more implicitly trusted; not sympathy evanescent in words, but glowing in the soul. Few can resist the warm tide of personal interest which has its fountain in the heart. Beyond everything else this influence must be sought, not by flattery of speech, but by helpful acts — the life flowing out in streams of blessing to each one under your care. Is it wise to choose the teaching profession ? Yes, if you are willing to pay the price; if you have the The Teacher 47 needed scholastic preparation ; if you love the work and are prepared for the great responsibilities to be borne. No, if the heart inclines in some other di- rection; if the labor to be performed would be a drudgery, or if moneyed compensation stands out as the chief inducement. 48 Choosing a Lifework CHAPTER IV The Ministry The human race at its very outset made a lamen- table failure. God had created man in his own image, making him the crowning work of his hands and fitting him for a glorious destiny. But, un- willing to brook restraint, he defied God's authority and entered upon a career that led down to death. That divine purposes should not be thwarted, the Supreme Being then set in operation a scheme for the moral reconstruction of the race. In this scheme there were two great factors: first, the incarnation of his Son, God manifest in the flesh, for the re- • demption of the human family ; and, second, the giv- ing to us a record of his plans and a body of truth that we might find the way of salvation opened for us in the redemption of the world. The Old Testament is devoted mostly to the pro- visions inaugurated for the coming of Christ. Out from the idolatrous nations of the earth a people is called, hedged in, guarded from social contact with others, made to lead a separate life, and divinely taught and governed, as a social, historic, and the- ocratic preparation for the coming of the Saviour of men. We find God working on the most difficult of all problems, the development and lifting up of a people to a high plane of moral life by internal cul- The Ministry 49 ture, while surrounded on all sides by nations steeped in idolatry and exerting an influence debas- ing in the extreme. The Old Testament is not a theological compend; it is not a system of abstract religious principles; it is largely a record of a con- crete historic movement for the gradual elevation of a people out from very unfavorable conditions. The process was carried forward principally through in- struction, precepts, and judgments. The agency of instruction was a body of divinely appointed proph- ets. The office of a prophet was not mainly to fore- tell future events — this only so far as it would bear practically on the government of the people^ — ^but to teach, to proclaim in the ears of the Israelites divine messages for their guidance. A prophet was a minister of the old dispensation. Fifteen hundred years or more had passed since the call of Abraham to be the father of a chosen people before the ''fullness of time'' had come for the appearance of Christ on the earth. At the very dawn of history God had declared that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. In the progress of the national life of the Jews there comes to be a vivid expectation of the appearance of a great leader to secure the fulfillment of their hopes for triumph over hostile peoples, and for the avenging of wrongs they had suffered. He was to be the ''Lion of the tribe of Judah;" he was spoken of as "Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace;" his do- 50 Choosing a Lifework minion was to be '^from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth/' There were some representations that had to their ears a strange sound : he would be lowly, having no form or comeliness, despised and rejected of men; but these all yielded to the more flattering char- acterizations of a mighty conqueror who would sub- due all the nations into abject submission to his power. They did not doubt that there would ap- pear a great military leader through whom this uni- versal conquest would be gained. But when the babe born in the stable in Bethlehem began to attract the attention of the people and it was said that he was the King of the Jews, lowly of parentage, as he grew to manhood spending his years as a laborer in the shop of Joseph, with no influential friends, no glamor of royalty gathering about him, living in the vale of poverty and associating with those who enjoyed no social distinctions, the pride of the people was deeply wounded by the claim that he was to be their King. In due time Christ proclaimed his mission of sal- vation, gathered about him some disciples, appointed twelve apostles to be his personal representatives, and devoted his time to the teaching of the people, performing acts of mercy, until finally he is seized, condemned to die, and crucified with malefactors. His last words before he disappeared from the earth were: ''Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is The Ministry 51 baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned/' On this, and this only, does he "rest the outcome of his mission and the success or failure of the divine plan. The world is to be saved by preaching. In view of all the conditions existing at the beginning of the Christian era this is an extraordinary expecta- tion. Nothing that could be thought of was so unlikely to occur as that the world should be revo- lutionized by such an agency. There stood in the way the perversity of the human heart, the bitter antagonism of Judea, and the organic life of all pagan governments that not only tolerated idolatry, which was universal, but had incorporated or ab- sorbed idolatry into their very being. To Chris- tianize a country was not only to overthrow its re- ligion, but to demolish or reconstruct the state. The claims of Christianity were revolutionary; to avow them was practically treason. Thus paganism stood, with uplifted hand, wielding the entire power of the state to crush out the least manifestation of Christian spirit and influence. Judaism was hostile because Jesus Christ sadly disappointed the hopes of the people and demanded a complete inversion of the life. Pagan governments were hostile because the Gospel sapped the very foundation of their ex- istence, introducing confusion into their afifairs, paralyzing the arm of the politician, and seeming to lead to civil anarchy. But, much more unpromising still, the apostles $2 Choosing a Lifework could not hold up before the people the brilliant career of a leader so as to impress the world by the grandeur of his movements; they could only point to One who had been put to death, and whose earthly reign, as men judge of positions — if worthy of being called sovereignty — had come to an ignominious end. How, with such a major proposition, can the logic of the minister sweep away opposition and compel the acceptance of Christ ? Such was the un- ■ promising outlook at the beginning of the Christian era. The work, if ever accomplished, must over- come the greatest obstacles of which the mind has any conception. But the last nineteen hundred years has its history; has the preaching of Christ been an ineffective agency for the moral and civil reconstruction of the world? Just here we may say that that which seemed to be the weakness of the scheme has proved to be its greatest strength. The cross, the symbol and agency of disgrace, became the concrete unfolding of a glory such as none other than Christ could bear among men, and which has been shattering princi- palities and taking hold of the deepest forces of hu- man life. What is the specific office of the minis- try? It is to hold up to the world Christ as pre- sented in the Bible. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- lieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Only incidentally, not as a primary object of thought, is anything else to be taught. Christ is the The Ministry 53 theme, the Bible the text-book. The work of the Holy Spirit is the magnifying of Christ, holding him before the gaze and bringing him to the hearts of men. The purpose of the ministry is to carry forward to a realized end, to consummate the work for which Christ came to this earth. The Son of God is the Alpha and Omega of it all ; the ministry is the agency of accomplishment. The pulpit is not a forum for the discussion of every form of truth; it is not a platform on which the moralist shall pro- claim ethical doctrines, simply as such, to inquiring minds. The ministry is not a university for all knowl- edge, but a voice ever ringing in the ears of dying men, ''Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world !" It has one mission, and only one — to turn the gaze of men on the crucified Christ, that the infinite love of God may win them to righteousness through the abounding mercy of him who was sent to be the Saviour of the world. This was the scheme to save the race, not by phi- losophy, not by scenic displays of divine power, but by preaching — by preaching Christ as known to us in the Bible. Correct systems of theology will not do it; faultless creeds cannot accomplish the work; the unfolding of the mysteries of science comes far short of the end God had in view. Botany tells us about the plant world, zoology of the animal king- dom; chemistry lets us into the secret of unnum- bered combinations of molecules of matter; biology makes known the principles of organic life, and 54 Choosing a Lifework brings to view the marvelous diversity and perfec- tion of God's thoughts as realized in this part of the domain of nature; astronomy presents the order and movement of the worlds in space; but there is nothing spiritually regenerating in the widest knowledge of this material universe. Phi- losophy, history, science, knowledge simply as knowl- edge, does not make character or purify the soul from the defilement of sin. With all of this in the largest measure, if there be nothing more, the world sinks into the deepest spiritual night and is lost. The one theme of the ministry into which all other themes must sink, or from which they must take their rise, is Christ the Redeemer of men. In affirming the foregoing as an indisputable pos- tulate we do not narrow the scope of the ministry. Christ is the heart and soul of the Bible, and yet the variety and range of its teachings are nearly infinite; but all parts of it are linked with the life and mission of the Messiah. So the ministry spreads over all parts of this divine word, but no portion may be detached from Christ. There is no truth in the Scriptures standing out alone; all is here because the Son of God is here, and unless so con- ceived and taught the purpose of the contents of the Bible is misunderstood and the dynamic unity of the whole is utterly disregarded. Whatever dis- cussion the minister gives Christ must be in sight; the minister must at all times be within the shadow of the cross. The Ministry 55 What is the work to be accompHshed by means of the ministry ? In answering this question let us be specific. First. Its aim is to make men holy. It secures the moral and spiritual regeneration of the race, preparing for a life of righteousness here and the blessedness of heaven hereafter. Can any work be grander than this? Certainly nothing can be more radical, reaching down to profounder depths of being. To achieve this the ministry must recognize the awful guilt of sin and its damning power. It must not banish from sight the fearful turpitude of disloyalty to the divine government. It must not treat sin simply as a disease — though it be a fatal disease — but as guilt of the deepest dye. And then it must bring Christ as the Saviour of the soul; Christ coming with tender pity, with infinite solici- tude and love, to rescue from death. Preach the love of God? Yes; but how can it be preached in its fullness, even with any definite meaning, unless the sinner be led to see the self-incurred horror that awaits him through the execution of the law he has trampled under foot? Because sin is so terrible, so destructive, to be followed by such fearful tor- ments, God's love is shown to be so great. It is measured, it can only be measured, by the woe from which divine mercy would deliver the guilty soul. It dishonors God to preach his love as though re- demption meant nothing, as though it were a mere sentiment instead of a mighty delivering power. 56 Choosing a Lifework And it is cruel to hide from the sinner his danger. He will not stop to notice the outstretched arms of Christ unless he hears the thunders of the judgment day. For love like this '* Let rocks and hills Their lasting silence break, And all harmonious human tongues The Saviour's praises speak." This is the first and direct purpose of the ministry, to secure the regeneration of the life and ultimate rewards in heaven. Second. Out of the regeneration of heart and life there will come a sociological reconstruction of the race. We sustain relations one to the other not only through the genesis of life by human parentage, but in the social and interdependent na- ture with which we are endowed. Not more strictly is each human being an individual than he is a constituent of the entire family of man. To attempt social independence would be a violation of law and a shirking of divinely imposed responsibilities. The bringing of men to live together in harmonious brotherhood would be to abolish our criminal courts, tear down our jails and prisons, and save a large part of the expenses of government. But this is only half of it. Not only would life and property be made safe, but cooperation for the good of all would become universal ; the tongue of the slanderer would be silenced; selfishness as appearing in business or political movements would be rooted out of the The Ministry 57 heart; capital and labor would settle their disputes, and harmony would everywhere prevail. Law as a mode of the exercise of power cannot establish the spirit of brotherhood among men ; the Gospel alone can create a bond by taking evil out of the hearts of the people, causing each person to love his neighbor as himself. Thus the ministry seeks to supply, the living forces of good government. Its purpose is not simply negative, operating to repress wrong, but positive in bringing blessings to the people. *'Thou shalt not" is only one side of God's commands. 'Thou shalt" breathes the spirit of the New Testa- ment; in it there is the heart of Christ. The first may be nothing more than inaction; the second is a putting forth of effort. And it is the object of the ministry to awaken an intense zeal for right, for humanity and God's service, so that righteousness and duty may be, everywhere, a mighty aggressive power for good. Third. Just so far as the ministry is successful will the Gospel awaken the activities of progress, resulting in a grander civilization. The foregoing discussions show that the Bible deals not only with eternal interests, but with the things of this life. As the result of its provisions there should be better neighborhoods, more peaceful and prosperous home life, and more of that which is noble in the demeanor and spirit of each member of the community; and still further, there should grow out of it a larger measure of intelligence and an increasing develop- 58 Choosing a Lifework ment of the power of thought. Civilization is men- tal, shown in the concrete of human products in all the acts and achievements of men. It appears in the governments formed, in the inventions made, in the development of raw material from the soil, in the manufactures and commerce of the world, not less than in the schools organized, the papers issued, and the books written. The manifestation is com- plex and varied, but it is all the product of the intel- lect. It requires only a cursory survey of the theater of human life to discover that Christian lands are the home of all that is most advanced in science and the arts. The power of steam was discovered here; the prevalence and energy of electricity were here brought to light. In Christian lands steamboats w^ere first constructed, railroads built, the telegraph and telephone invented, and all the appliances for the spread of intelligence devised. Somehow the Gospel awakens thought, and directs it in the accomplish- ment of valuable results. This is as we should expect; for the human indi- vidual is a unit, and with the spiritual should come mental growth and physical well-being. The min- ister may well rejoice that while souls are being saved by the preaching of the word there is less abuse of the body, there is a decrease of poverty, there is more industry among the people, with an increase of the comforts of life. Multitudes of the young are thus made conscious of the value of edu- cation, and every laudable form of mental effort is The Ministry S9 stimulated, so that Christian lands far outstrip all others in that which makes men great and noble. Wonderful is the adaptation of the Gospel to all the wants of the race! Fourth. The ultimate purpose of the Gospel is to make the earth the abode of all that is pure and heavenly, to bring the new Jerusalem down among men. Christ is the perfect pattern for every life — devoid of all selfishness, free from all improper ambitions, living only to make men good and happy. So far as the disciple is like his Lord will holiness and right be triumphant. And surely the morning breaketh. Multitudes gather around the cross to look into the face of their dying Lord. The love that led him to leave the courts of heaven to die for men has taken hold of their hearts, and they are ready to die with him if thus the people may be saved. The ministry is not losing its power when the messenger of salvation continues to point to the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world as a sacrifice for sin. Seeing to it that the gaze of men is not diverted from the crucified One, the Gospel, through the preaching of the word, will move grandly forward for the overthrow of the kingdom of darkness; for Christ shall reign King of kings and Lord of lords. To young men who are prompted to choose the ministry for their lifework we may well say that this is a noble calling. The service is a sacred serv- ice, more than any other employment in which we 6o Choosing a Lifework can engage. It is honorable in that if deals with the most important interests of life. It is useful, for out from the work of the ministry, when rightfully carried forward, the people are made better, happier, and more perfect. It is not a profession for the accumulation of property, and it is well that it is not; for the temptation to yield to worldly motives would be likely to blast the power of the preacher, exalting earth above heaven. The ministry, God's provision for saving the world, must draw its inspi- ration from the love that beamed forth from the cross where Jesus was made the complete Saviour of men. The Minister 6i CHAPTER V The Minister Shall I enter the ministry? We answer this question with an emphatic No, unless it be in obe- dience to a profound conviction of duty, unless there be unmistakable grounds for the belief that God calls you to this holy work. But we say Yes, if your own enlightened conscience and the voice of the Church, both, urge you to consecrate your life to this one work, preaching the Gospel of Christ. But many things must first be considered by you and by the Church as well. In speaking of a bishop Paul says he must be *'apt to teach.'' It is not stretching the principle to apply this to every min- ister of the Gospel. No one has a right to enter the pulpit who is not ''apt to teach." Before all other men, in any profession, the minister is expected to be a leader and a guide. He must know how to guide aright; he must possess, in an eminent degree indeed, the qualifications of leadership. "What is the preacher?'' is always a pertinent question. It cannot be forced out of sight. Churches and congregations do not confine them- selves to the inquiry as to doctrines preached, but they ask. What kind of a man is he who expects us to listen to his exposition of truth? And the answer is not sufficient which merely indorses his 62 Choosing a Lifework moral character and certifies to his spirituality. Can he preach ? Has he gifts ? With him in it will the pulpit be above the pews? Then, what is his style? Is he a logician, or rhetorician, or both, or neither? Can he draw the people to hear him? Has he the ability to build up the church? Taken all in all, what kind of a man is he? These questions are not irrelevant. The native talents of the man who stands in the pulpit are sure to enter as a factor into the success achieved. Clear intellectual acumen, depth of men- tal penetration, profound logical powers, breadth of comprehension, vivid imagery of thought, ready flow of ideas, a strong personality — this all tells upon an audience and becomes a purveyor of truth to the souls of men. Can the message be separated from the preacher ? Put this Bible, this same Gospel, into the hands of two different men. One of these will draw from the word a discourse of extraordinary power and effectiveness ; the other will deal out, it may be, that which is puerile and illogical, belittling the Gospel so that the ungodly sneer. There is no place where talent tells in a more marked degree than in the pulpit, no place where it is more regal. A few men rise to eminence in the legal profession. They are men of unusual and peculiar capabilities. Mediocre minds keep down on a lower plane. Here certainly talent wins. And this is no less true when the ministry is the theater The Minister 63 of intellectual effort. Brains are as mighty in the pulpit as anywhere else, and are as necessary to give effectiveness to the divine message as in the accom- plishment of any other work. The problems to be solved are the greatest known to thought, and in the presentation of truth there needs to be a clear and logical statement, with such irresistible direct- ness that it will enter as a transforming power into the life of the hearer. The heaviest blows should be wielded, for moral disinclination to receive the truth operates to bar it from the soul. Men are needed in the pulpit whose weight and incisiveness of thought nothing can resist. It is evident the preacher cannot give forth more than he possesses. He must have ideas in order to impart them, and also innate power to handle them. So grand are the themes with which the pulpit must deal, so incomparably deep and far- reaching, that the greatest minds even may well stand appalled in their presence. If truth shall flow from the pulpit in large measure, its conduit must possess large capacity. You cannot tap the Pacific Ocean and supply a whole continent with water by means of an inch tube; neither can you flood the world with divine thought through the slender channel of narrow minds. God is condi- tioned in his talk with us by the medium of com- munication. He is, practically, finite just in the ratio of the intellectual limitations of the preacher. This thought suggests another, that no man can 64 Choosing a Lifework discharge his obHgations to God as a preacher with- out gaining scholarly habits together with the knowledge and culture resulting therefrom. With too many ministers study is a hardship. They have not learned how to study, and every effort is like rowing up the rapids of Niagara. They have not learned how to dip in their oars, and there is lacking a steadiness and vigor of mental pull. Energies are wasted in a hundred things foreign to the sub- ject in hand, so that, instead of plowing right through the ocean of thought, in their best efforts, even, they splash all around amid thewaves. No har- bor is gained ; no intellectual point is reached. Now, mental habits may be acquired as certainly as physi- cal habits. That which is needed is that logical, consistent thinking shall become natural. The mind should not from indolence or inappreciativeness be inclined to stop on the threshold of truth, but should get into the habit of moving forward and pressing on to that which is within the temple of knowl- edge. No one will dispute the proposition that scholar- ship puts the minister decidedly on vantage ground. Four to six years given to mental furnishing and culture, as is done in college, would enrich the re- mainder of life with a store of accumulated and increasing power for manifold more effective service than if the pastoral relation were immediately as- sumed. An appreciation of this fact often comes too late. Under pressure from without, or the spur The Minister 65 of ardent desires to become useful, the young man plunges into ministerial work, to find, after a time, that a very grave mistake has been made. The multiform species of labor that are sure to fill his hands allow but little time for the gaining of mental force for the acquisition of knowledge necessary to keep in advance of his intelligent hearers, and he struggles on, sadly conscious of weakness, until per- haps he drops prematurely out of the ministry, or, if not this, spends his later years in brooding over the assumed folly of the churches in setting him aside for younger and sprightlier men. If in good health, should not a man keep in his prime until he is seventy? If the world has moved on beyond us, we cannot expect it will ask us to lead it. We must understand the thought of to-day, and have ears to hear the throbbings of the life of the millions about us, if we are to be of any service to them. It is evident that two acquisitions await the labor of the student — one power, the other knowledge. We want to know how to find truth, how to take it up in its fullest measure and widest relations, and how to gain the ability to handle it most efifectively. There is but one way to gain power, and that is by the steady taxing of the faculties under the con- ditions of singleness of aim and closeness of atten- tion. Years of special training ought to add to man's power to grasp objects of thought so as to move the people. He should be able to wield a mightier arm, to strike heavier blows in the pulpit. 66 Choosing a Lifework While study gives discipline to the intellect, it also puts us in possession of valuable truth, or sup- plies the means of gaining it. In speaking, writing, or reading we employ language; more than this, in thinking we employ language. Language is the most wonderful product of the human mind. It is the storehouse of thought; it is its medium of transmission ; it is the track on which the mind runs in the gaining or development of thought. With- out language the effectiveness of our subjective energies would be reduced to a minimum. You cannot have failed to note the universal sway of lan- guage over our mental life. Not words as simply com- posed of the letters of the alphabet, but words with an intelligent content; words standing for things; more than this, words as the crystallization of class notions; words holding varied and sublime princi- ples in their grasp; words the track on which logic moves in reaching its conclusions; words which bring angels and God into our vision. Words and the sentences which they compose include within themselves all history and discovered truth. Lan- guage, this universal organism of ideas, demands the closest and most continuous study, for many reasons. There is no better agency for the training of the intellect. The solving of the myriads of prob- lems involved in the composition and structure of any of the great languages calls for the sharpest and most painstaking study. Then, with the min- ister, language is the instrument he wields; it is The Minister 67 his battleship to carry his engines of attack against the enemy ; it is the purveyor of all the mental forces God calls upon him to use in bringing them to bear upon the lives of men. He should have a rich vo- cabulary, an accurate knowledge of construction of words into sentences, and an understanding of the elements of beauty and power in speech. But we need not dwell on this. Much that is said above applies to intellectual pursuits in other fields of study. Whichever way we turn we find ourselves within the domain of truth. To appear in the pulpit as the teacher of intelligent men we need a broad foundation of knowledge. The Bible, which should be our chief text-book, is not purely spiritual. As we scan the word we dis- cover that it includes geography, history, archaeol- ogy ; that it comes close up to the borders of science ; that the God who offers salvation is the Being who said, "Let there be light;" who brought forth the continents from the bed of the sea ; who covers the earth with vegetation ; who has filled the ocean with animal life; who now, as thousands of years ago, rides upon the wings of the wind and measures the waters in the hollow of his hand; who sends forth his judgments on the nations of the earth; whose voice is heard in all the chambers of nature, and through all the ages of history, and who in his per- sonal power is working out his grand designs in evey part of this great universe. As such the preach- er of the Gospel must recognize him. A narrower 68 Choosing a Lifework conception than this will not meet the wants of the soul awakened to intellectual efiforts in this thinking age. The exaltation of the divine throne above all human ambitions, above earth and sky, the universal personal power presiding even over the minutest atom as well as over the mightiest world — this is what we intelligently need in our thoughts and in the spirit of our lives. How can the minister who knows nothing of God's wonderful designs in nature, nothing of his ways in history, nothing of the unfolding of his power and wisdom in the creations about him — how can he carry his audience along this highway of di- vine movements up to the eternal throne? All truth is one, and no part of it is profane. The God who rules the sky is he that gave his Son for our redemp- tion. We must remember that the Gospel as a grand objective scheme will not save the world by the energy it possesses; so much of it, and only so much, as we carry to men will take hold upon them. The strongest intellect, clothed with knowledge and wisdom, and wielding most vigorously the weapons it possesses, under the inspiration of this Gospel will most mightily and fully accomplish its work. In judging of the influences in operation to secure success in the discharge of ministerial functions we must not omit to mention the mode of expression of truth. Under the term mode there must be put both the nature of the discourse and the style of de- livery. Three things combine always to form a The Minister 6g spoken discourse : the thought, the relations and imagery of thought, and the spirit and style of utter- ance. Simply the preaching of the sermon does not exhaust the power of the preacher's personality in his relations to the public addressed. How a man delivers his discourse is scarcely less important than what he says. Joy and sorrow may not be expressed by the same intonations of voice. A dying man would not be addressed in the manner a brigade of soldiers would be inspirited on the battlefield. It would be folly to throw all forms of truth and all kinds and grades of emotion into the same words. Do men greatly in earnest talk in a languid or in- different tone ? Need there be no difference between a funeral sermon and a thanksgiving sermon, in the utterance of a weeping heart and a heart over- flowing with gladness ? The wants of our audiences are infinitely varied, and the style of delivery should correspond thereto. Every person must see that there is an appropriate and an inappropriate style of delivery, and what the style should be must be determined by the character of the sentiments to be expressed. The ocean does not roar in its passive moods, but only when it is stirred to its very depths. The wind sighs when it creeps through the branches of the trees, but it howls when it goes forth as a beast of prey. It is not expected that all persons will employ precisely the same style of delivery, for the style should fit the mind of him of whose thought it is 70 Choosing a Lifework to be the bearer. And such a style is a natural style. Nothing is so artificial as the reading and speaking of those persons who disregard the rules of oratory for fear they will not be natural. An uneducated, untrained style is in most cases woefully artificial. What we should seek is to give accurate, appropriate, and full expression to the thought. This fidelity to truth demands, and with less than this we ought not to be satisfied. It is the duty of every minister to train his voice so that he can put himself in unison with the nature and spirit of the truth uttered, that it may not be masked, or hindered on its way to the mind and heart of the hearer. A perfect pulpit orator is he who delivers most fittingly a sermon which contains just the truth the audience needs. The best that can be said, put into the best language and delivered with the truest expression — what more is required to make a discourse masterly, even un- surpassed ? The foregoing thoughts furnish a partial an- swer to the question, ''What ought a minister to study?" There is an important branch which the remarks already made have not suggested, and that is the study of men, the study of human nature. The colporteur who pressed on the cripple who had lost both legs a tract against dancing did not do his work in a less practical way than some ministers are doing. The occasion should determine largely the truth to be uttered, and there should be a wise manner of dealing it out to the people. All the The Minister 71 medicines the physician carries in his case are valu- able, but he does not give the whole of them at once nor deal them out indiscriminately. The Bible is all true, but the minister should not at random take portions from its pages to present to his congrega- tion. How to approach men, and what to offer them when approached, is a twofold subject, both parts of which are well worth the minister's attention. The physician must not only understand the nature of his medicines, but also the condition of his patient, if he would know what to give. Men sometimes are so approached as to lead them to close the ear of the intellect and heart, both, against the truth. The evil here spoken of is by no means uncom- mon. The education of a great many men is all bookish. They live only in the seclusion of the study, knowing nothing of the daily throbbings of the heart of society. Of the avenues to human souls they seem to be wholly destitute of knowledge, and hence waste their energies in talking against im- penetrable walls. There is somewhere an open channel into every soul, and if it be found, a capture is readily made. What is wanted is that the hearer should be led to lay down his arms, certainly not to brandish them in more determined antagonism. The work of the Gospel is a practical one, the win- ning of souls to Christ. Big sermons are not always synonymous with effective ones. Discourses may be masterly, logical efforts but so offensive as to drive into infidelity. He is the wisest shepherd who 1^ Choosing a LiFEWofeK gathers most largely into the fold, not he who simply displays most power over the sheep. Some men are very learned, and thoroughly stocked with logic, and possess every kind of sense but common sense. Lacking this, they are destitute of the most useful commodity a minister can own. It does not hurt a preacher to be somewhat a man of affairs, at least to have a knowledge of, and sympathy with, the practical problems with which the people are deal- ing. The sacred office should not be held to be sacred in the sense of divorcing the preacher from the great world which he is seeking to save. Un- less he understands the struggles and temptations into which society is constantly being plunged his movements will lack the guidance of intelligent vision. It is not enough to comprehend the purpose of the Gospel and its plan of salvation on the God- ward side; we must understand the scheme in the difficulties it encounters in the life and relations of men. The Gospel is to be preached to men as men, with an intelligent forecast of the wants to be supplied. Another subject demanding study, more important than it may seem, is one's self. The estimate a person places on himself is very apt to be the most perverted of all his judgments. What are our powers; what can we do to the best advantage ; what is the merit of our work? It does not follow that a man is mistaken when he complains that his talents are not adequately appreciated by the church, nor does The Minister 73 it follow that the church is always in the wrong. How is a man to grow who sees no need of growth ? How is he to correct imperfections when blind to their existence? Self is not to be preached, but it is to be weighed, restrained, guided, shaped, and its best energies employed in order that the cross may be more plainly held up before the people. What is the minister? This question cannot be answered in a single stereotyped phrase. He is either intellectual or the opposite ; scholarly or illiter- ate; a man of common sense or destitute of it; gentlemanly or ungentlemanly ; social or unsocial; coarse or refined; of grand manhood or lacking in personal power for good in his individual life. In all these contrasts the better qualities must inhere in him if the Gospel sword he wields shall be most mighty in his hands. Logical power in the pulpit, refined social power for work outside of the pulpit, a grand manhood on which both shall rest as a foundation which cannot be swept away — and we shall find that from the human side the Gospel is ready to go forth on a career of conquest. How strong, how learned, how wise, how pure the min- ister should be that the Gospel receives no hurt at his hands, and he be fitted to carry it in its richness and power to a dying world! What you can be, in the fullest preparation to preach the Gospel of salvation to men, this you should be, if you take upon your heart and intellect the great responsi- bilities of a minister of the Lord Jesus, 74 Choosing a Lifework CHAPTER VI The Medical Profession Health is a perfect anatomical and functional condition of the body. Disease is the correlative of health — a deflection from the line of health. For thousands of years there was no medical profession. There was no body of facts relating to curative agents or modes of treatment to serve as the basis of a profession. That individuals suffered from accidents and disease in those early periods, the same as now, is evident, but they suffered without pro- fessional help. Humanity prompted the use of means for relief from suffering, but this use was largely subject to irrational superstitions. Even in Egypt, which preceded all other lands in the study of medicine, "they exposed the sick by the wayside, that passers-by who had suffered from similar maladies might recognize them and declare the means of cure." Herodotus tells us that the Baby- lonians, Chaldeans, and other nations had no phy- sicians, but followed the same custom. ''Disease was believed to arise from the anger of the gods, and hence the priests monopolized the care of the sick.'' The Hindus were probably not far behind the Egyptians in their interest in and study of medicine. Later came Greece, and then Rome borrowed from Greece in this as in many other The Medical Profession 75 things. 'The modern doctor," says Hall, ''dates only from the reign of Henry VHI, in the sixteenth century, when the College of Physicians in England was founded as a body corporate by letters patent in the tenth year of the reign." The importance of the medical profession cannot be overestimated. If there be a body of men pos- sessing the knowledge and skill to relieve physical suffering and remove disease, who are subject to call in case of sickness or accident, we certainly are greatly favored over the people of the early times. But what estimate should be put on the profession? The physician starts out with the knowledge of this fact, that his skill, were it perfect, will at times be baffled; sooner or later death is sure to triumph over all. The darts of the dark angel will ulti- mately pierce to the heart of every human being. The physician cannot be an absolute master. There are a thousand avenues of approach for the fell destroyer, all of which no one can guard. Death may steal in from wholly unexpected quarters. God does not allow the physician to guarantee health; the life of no human being is turned over completely into his hands. When a physician tells us that none of his patients die we may be sure that his practice is very limited. The physician labors under the greatest of dif- ficulties. The processes of life are hidden from sight. The heart performs its work where no eye can see it; the nerves ramify into all parts of the 76 Choosing a Lifework body, but wrapped up within profound darkness; the blood rushes onward throughout the system, but its movements are secret; the stomach carries for- ward its alchemy out of reach of eye or ear; every gland and every fiber of the system has its hiding place, and when tlie anatomist dissects the body it is not done until all the functions of life have been suspended. The dead man is immeasurably less than the man that is alive. Even the X-rays open the channels of vision only to a very limited ex- tent. But even ''dissection was forbidden by the clergy of the Middle Ages, on the ground that it was impious to mutilate a form made in the image of God.'' The most that could be done was to dissect animals. Physically we are "fearfully and wonderfully made.'' The complexity and functional activity of the body, especially in relation to the environments in which we are placed, may well fill us with aston- ishment. But the statement of the psalmist ex- presses a deeper mystery still when the remark is made of man in his entire personality. Psycholo- gists and physiologists have speculated on the na- ture of the unity of soul and body as comprising the human person without finding the solution of this dark problem. ' There is a general consensus of belief, for weighty reasons, that the mind per- forms its functions in connection with and through the cells of the brain, but this supplies us with a condition only, not a cause. We find the track on The Medical Profession yy which the engine of mental life runs, but we are wholly ignorant of the motor power. But this figure is not entirely appropriate. The railroad track and the engine do not react on each other, but brain acts on mind and mind on brain; each stimu- lates and guides the other. Yet what further do we know than the mere fact? Many a person dies from fright, some even from excess of joy, and this is purely mental. The insane suffer mental derange- ment from the impaired or abnormal action of brain cells, the mental state being the effect of a physical cause. Mind and body are every moment interde- pendent ; hence in facing a physiological problem the physician faces a mental problem as well. This renders his work more delicate and difficult than it would otherwise be. On this problem the dissection of a dead body throws no light; the study must be of the living person. The profession must bear in mind not only that no two persons have the same nervous state, but that an existing nervous state may undergo a radical and constant change in the same individual. Uniform medical treatment under varying conditions would be a crime. It is evident that remedies, in their composition and application, must wait upon the development of science. They cannot precede ; they must follow. As fundamental to this, anatomy and physiology must be understood. Not until a comparatively recent date has the structure of the body been deter- mined with any degree of approximation to the 78 Choosing a Lifework real. And it would seem that anatomy and physiol- ogy must be linked with each other. Together they form a single science. Every part of the body has functions to perform. The question, What for? is answered by physiology. There is teleology in every part of the bodily system, but this is not a book that can be read without painstaking study. A few centuries cover nearly the whole period of natural science. Anatomy passes on into histology. The microscope is doing a work of the highest value. Chemistry has been opening a field of knowledge of the utmost importance. Micro-chemistry is letting us into secrets which nature had scrupulously guard- ed from our gaze. Pathology has risen to a science, and therapeutics has reached a stage of reliability to wliich in the past it w^as a stranger. In these later years important discoveries have followed in regular succession. In the seventeenth century Harvey discovered the circulation of the blood. In the eighteenth century Jenner determined the value of vaccination as a preventive of smallpox. In the early part of the nineteenth century the use of anaesthetics as a specific against pain in surgical oper- ations was tried^ and found to be safe. The science of bacteriology is now being carefully studied, and the profession generally accepts the germ theory of disease as proven. Surely a brighter era of medi- cine seems to have dawned upon us, and is passing up toward its meridian. That the medical profes- sion has accomplished so much, in view of the dark- The Medical Profession. 79 ness which had enveloped the field of study, is a proof of indefatigable industry, of intense zeal in be- half of humanity, and of intellectual acumen not surpassed in any other vocation. Medicine is not an exact science. It is not sub- ject to infallible logic. At the present time it can- not be put under universal laws, and to a large ex- tent this will always be true. The most that can be said is that it is rationally empirical. We have in it the results of experience to which induction can only partially be applied. This absence of the uni- versal takes medical treatment out of the certain and puts it into the domain of the probable. This must always be, unless the human mind shall come to that perfection of knowledge which embraces all conditions and foresees all possibilities. The dogma- tism of the early days w^as utterly unscientific; it sub- stituted rules for facts, dicta for knowledge. The medical profession of to-day is in possession of a body of facts carefully built up by the observations and experiences of the past, and which is constantly being enlarged. This is the only method that could be employed as a foundation for a system of medical practice. From these facts inductions more or less broad have been drawn, but always with limitations depending on physical or mental conditions. It is inevitable that in many cases there will be an ele- ment of uncertainty. It is not strange that many obstructions have ap- peared in the way of the progress of medical science. 8o Choosing a Lifework In the use of that which is new experiments must be tried. Physicians naturally hesitate, and the people show reluctance to submit to the tests in their own persons. It was with much difficulty that anaesthetics, now regarded as so humane, could be brought into use. In 1798 Sir Humphry Davy wrote, "As nitrous oxide, in its extensi/e operation, appears capable of destroying physical pain, it may probably be used with advantage during surgical operations in which no great effusion of blood takes place." This at- tracted but little attention for more than forty years, when finally it was used in a few cases in extract- ing teeth. Without occupying space for a detailed history of experiments, it is enough to say here that sulphuric ether was finally tried with good results, and, at last, especially in surgery, for which the humane discovery was generally adopted despite some risks incident to the deadening of the nervous system. Dr. Jenner, when smallpox was mentioned in the presence of a country girl, heard her say, '1 can't take that disease, for I have had cowpox.'' He com- menced making observations, prosecuting his studies for twenty years, and when attempting to introduce in London inoculation with cowpox as a preventive of smallpox it is said that not a single doctor could be induced to make a trial of it. "He was even caricatured and abused for his attempt to bestialize his species by the introduction of diseased matter from the cow's udder." It is said that vaccination The Medical Profession 8i was denounced from the pulpit as diabolical. It was averred that vaccinated children became ox-faced, that abscesses broke out to indicate the sprouting of horns, and that the countenance was gradually trans- muted into the visage of a cow, the voice into the bellowing of bulls. To-day, in this country, few par- ents would think of bringing up their children with- out vaccination. Cuvier has said, 'Tf vaccine were the only discovery of the epoch, it would serve to make it illustrious forever." The medical profession is laborious. No one should enter it thinking he is to have an easy time. The mechanic can commence his work at seven in the morning and stop at six in the evening. There are times when the physician can take no rest. He must answer calls at night as well as during the day. Indeed, not unfrequently must he be in some sick room during all the hours of the twenty-four. If his practice be large — and he desires it to be — he is sure to overwork, and is in danger of breaking- down under the excessive strain ; the weakened con- dition makes him liable to contract disease from his patients, and he cannot proceed as business firms manage their affairs, with employees to do the work ; he must do it all himself. No way has yet been found for him to work by proxy. He must himself visit every patient, diagnose every case, prescribe the remedies to be taken, watch the symptoms day by day, carry all the responsibility and feel all the anxiety attaching to the condition of each sick bed. 82 Choosing a Lifework It is not a showy profession. The physician's duties take him away from the gaze of the pubUc. It is not a band-wagon profession. Nothing could be more private. There are no shouts of the mul- titude to inspire him in the performance of his duty, In many instances he may not even speak of the con- dition of his patients. It is only when a remarkable cure is effected that the people proclaim his praise. In nothing else is there so much privacy. He may not even advertise, as is done in other pursuits. His sign must be simple, and he is not at liberty to parade his merits before the public. His acts must speak for him, and for this he must wait. The medical practitioner is not allowed obstru- sively to compete with other members of the pro- fession in getting patronage. Business firms may legitimately employ means to make an impression on the public; lawyers may wrangle at the bar; even ministers may advertise their sermons, and politi- cians deal in abuse to overwhelm their opponents; but to none of these means may the medical practi- tioner resort. The physician may not seek for suc- cess through strife or any form of subterfuge. If he rise to eminence, it must be by his own merits, and by slow and laborious work. The practice of medicine is not a lucrative pro- fession. The tariff of charges is generally uniform, and the aggregate — if all collected — does not make a very large sum each day. The generosity of a large-hearted rich man sometimes munificently re- ts The Medical Profession 83 wards the skillful surgeon who has saved his life or that of some member of his family, but this good fortune is not likely to be experienced away from great centers of population ; and even there it is not the rule. Most practitioners must be content with slow accumulations of property. That this is wholly an evil we will not say. Large fortunes bring their hardships. In the care of such fortunes time is consumed, anxieties crowd in upon the mind, opportunities for study and mental improvement are; lessened, and the capitalist is made a slave to money. "Give me neither poverty nor riches'' was a petition of the wise man embodying the deepest philosophy. It is not easy to decide which is the more unfortu- nate, the poor man or the man with his millions. One cannot, perhaps, supply all his wants ; the other is weighed down with burdens which are almost too heavy to carry. He who has enough to meet his necessities and is not carrying burdens beyond his needs occupies the golden mean. The medical is a beneficent profession. Every act of the physician is performed for the purpose of doing good. We send for him with the expectation that he will administer relief. He responds to our call with this end in view. He expects remunera- tion for his services, for he must be fed and clothed, but his heart is touched by the sufferings of those to whom he ministers ; he spends his life in the atmos- phere of affliction, and his sympathies are aroused by the evidences of pain and physical disability which he 84 Choosing a Lifework finds all about him. And he would be less than human did he not mourn with them that mourn when death relentlessly claims his victim. The medical profession stands out preeminently among all the vocations of life as engaged in practical beneficence. It displays altruism of the best kind. He who wishes to do good to his fellow-men, re- move anxiety from the breast, put joy in the place of sorrow, and make homes happy can find no field of labor where these results will follow with so much certainty as in the intelligent practice of medicine. ^'No other men under heaven can do so much good as physicians.'' The medical profession is sure to become more efficient as the years roll round. Valuable experi- ences accumulate, discoveries bearing on health are made almost every day, better appliances are being invented, laws of sanitation are becoming more fully understood, and methods of treatment are constantly undergoing improvement. To confine the sick in a close room to breathe over and over for an indefi- nite time the fetid air that has accumulated; to with- hold water in case of a burning fever ; to create con- ditions which would kill a w^ell man, this would not be tolerated to-day. And there is both a compara- tive anatomy and comparative physiology which are being studied with the best results. Nothing is be- ing developed more rapidly than medico-chemistry. Great laboratories have been built for the study and manufacture of medicinal preparations. At the pres- The Medical Profession 85 ent time dentistry is dental surgery, and amounts to much more than tearing a tooth out of its socket. There are laws of health that must be regarded. General surgery is attended with less uncertainty and danger than in the past, and wounds are treated with a skill of which the fathers did not dream. The specialist finds the precise location of tumors of the brain by symptoms in other parts of the body, and his diagnosis unerringly guides him in his operations in this most delicate field of surgery. The oculist has found that the condition of the eye has much to do with the health of other organs of the system. Imperfect vision disturbs the brain, and halluci- nations have a physical basis. The medical profession has but just entered on that which is deepest and most vital in the healing art. With the microscope and test tube wonderful reali- ties will yet become known, and bacteriology bids fair to bring us a thousand things which thus far have eluded our search. The body will not escape disease and death, but science will afford safeguards which will permit us to be less the sport of the elements, giving us a mastery over much that now is working for our harm. The future is full of good for the race, and the intelligent and earnest student of medicine will be able to contribute some- thing of value in the extension of the fields of knowl- edge for the physical welfare of the race. , 86 Choosing a Life work CHAPTER VII The Physician The physician owes duties to himself and to the piibHc, both of which he should scrupulously and fully discharge. He is endowed with powers for his own good and to make him a blessing to the community, and these powers should be developed in the largest measure. Indolence is a crime. It is unwise for any young man or woman to enter the medical profession without first acquiring knowledge and mental training of a high order. This preparation should be sought for personal reasons. The profession to which the physician gives his life is full of problems requiring the sharp- est intellectual acumen. This is evident without special discussion. The medical practitioner should be a close and discriminating observer and a sound reasoner. Observation is more than mental appre- hension — the lowest form of intellectual activity; it involves analysis, comparison, and classification, or at least an effort to classify. There is brought into this effort previous knowledge to aid in the deter- mination sought. The gaze penetrates beneath the surface to evolve the real ; if successful, knowledge of that which was hidden is the outcome. It is a penetrative act, not a mere surface discernment. The physician should gain the ability to catch quickly The Physician 87 changes as they appear, note the slightest diffei- ences, and read correct values into any symptoms as they arise. There is no profession in which obser- vation performs so important a service as the medi- cal. It is the process by which the science of medicine has been developed, and is essential in all medical treatment. The physician should possess the ability to observe accurately, and, more than this, he should gain the habit of observation to such an extent as to make it to be his very life. Not only is this vitally important in the treatment of children, who cannot give any information to aid in diagnosis, but in all medical practice there is much that the patient cannot reveal by any statement he may make. In connection with the foregoing we should call attention to the need of logical training. The physician is constantly employing inductive proc- esses; he is drawing inferences; he is reasoning from premises which symptoms put within his reach. If he makes a mistake in his logic, it may be fatal. No one should enter the profession who has not a logical mind. We mean by a logical mind more than the ability to gain knowledge; it must be the ability to gain knowledge that is relational — from an accurate perception of the various relations that exist. All of this we would say for the benefit of the physician himself. If he desire skill and the satisfaction of personal eminence, he must not do less than we have pointed out. 8S Choosing a Lifework But his strongest motive for securing the best educational preparation should be drawn from the interests of the public. To protect the people the state should require graduation from a college of liberal arts — or scholarship equivalent thereto — before the candidate engages in the practice of medicine. Will it be said that this would be a hardship, that many would be debarred from the profession? If it should be followed by this result, it might be a mercy rather than an injustice ; for the profession is now overcrowded, and many find it impossible to procure more than a meager support. It would be better to engage in another occupation. That a thorough professional course should be taken, including hospital study, before entering on the practice of medicine, all will admit. This is so near being an axiom that no discussion is needed. But it is important to say that the student life should not end when the practice of medicine begins. There is no other vocation in which the old so rapidly gives way to the new. Chemistry is making a revo- lution is medicine. New remedies are being dis- covered almost daily, with the most important re- sults. The microscope is bringing to light that which was secret, and biology is illuminating that which was hidden in darkness. He who has not the spirit of study is out of place in this profession. The best physicians and surgeons are accustomed to take some months, from time to time, away from home, in hospital or schools of advanced medical The Physician 89 science, for special study. This is wise, and the pubHc are greatly benefited thereby. In medical societies something is done in this direction. The practitioner should remember that he deals with life that is complex; not complex simply be- cause of the innumerable unlike parts which compose the body, but especially from the intimate and intro- active relations of mind and body. How the two are united no one, it has been said, knows, but that there is a mutual dependence cannot be doubted. Admitting the influence of mind, it is not necessary to go as far as some erratic thinkers who teach that there is nothing but mind ; that that which seems to be sensuously real is actually unreal; and that all effective treatment is purely mental. It has been understood from time immemorial that the mental influences the physiological, and that no system of medicine is rational which leaves this out of the account. Sorrow takes away the appetite ; affliction sometimes dries up the fountain of tears, and melan- cholia or insanity may supervene; the patient's an- ticipation of death prepares the way for his dissolu- tion ; homesickness is often a fatal malady ; the way we look upon life, even, may modify the action of the physical powers. Hence our creeds may con- spire to lengthen or shorten our days. Tempera- ment must not be disregarded. Our social nature, joy- ous or morose, our mingling with the cheerful or the downcast, takes hold of our physical powers, stimulating or depressing their action. When the 90 Choosing a Lifework patient smiles and thinks he may get well there is hope of his recovery. Even the will is sometimes a determining force. If a sick man says, ''I will not die," it is often true that health comes back again. Death has been cheated of many a victim because the patient would not surrender. You do not treat a human being as you would a dumb beast, because you must reckon with the intellect that thinks, the sensibilities that feel, and the will that resolves. The physician should be a psychologist. There ought to be a thorough study of the mental faculties, of their action on the body through the nervous system, the tendency of the greater or less activity of mind energy, and abnormal manifestations of in- tellectual and emotional life. No one can intelli- gently treat a patient, especially when suffering from certain forms of disease, unless he be a profound student in the realm of mind. Heredity should receive your attention. What was the patient's father, his grandfather, his great- grandfather? All physicians recognize the value of a knowledge of the past life of the patient in re- lation to disease, the trend of the physical forces, the greater or less obstinacy of maladies under treat- ment, the special effects of medicines used. But the constitution may be subject to tendencies which take their rise back several generations. The more fully the physician understands that which is involved in the line of descent the more intelligent his efforts for the good of the sick. The Physician 91 It IS scarcely necessary to say that before treat- ment comes the determination of disease. Nothing can be more important than a correct diagnosis. For this part of your work you should prepare your- self by the closest study and painstaking observation, and you should exercise the greatest care. The seat of the disease, as has before been said, is not com- monly in sight. You cannot see the heart, nor the lungs, nor the stomach, nor the intestines. The body, you know, is an aggregation of almost in- numerable parts, each having a distinct office, but fortunately articulated, or at least in active relation one with the other. There is a oneness in our physical organization, so that we can get reports from that which eludes direct observation. The pulse makes known to us the condition of the heart, and the tongue the state of the stomach. By means of the stethoscope we are able to detect that which is abnormal in the state of the lungs. The ther- mometer reveals the temperature of the body. The skin tells of the raging fires within, or shows us that those fires are mostly gone out. There are hundreds of varying states of the body, each having some special significance and which may be correctly or incorrectly interpreted. This is a book which can- not be too carefully or too constantly read, to which you cannot give too much thought. Often the indications are so blind, or may result from such diverse causes, that no positive determi- nation can be made. This must give the physician 92 Choosing a Lifework much concern, and the fact deters many from enter- ing a profession in which mistakes that are harmful — perhaps fatal — may be made, even by most care- ful and intelligent practitioners. There is a code of ethics you must scrupulously observe. No secrets must be kept from the profes- sion; your entire experience must be open to the light of day. To take advantage, in any way, of a brother practitioner is held to deserve the severest condemnation. You may not cover up your practice to gain a reputation, or to keep others from under- standing the source of your skill ; the sick, whether under your treatment or that of other practitioners, are entitled to all the knowledge you possess. And, on the other hand, when uncertainty arises as to what should be done a consultation is imperative. While you must fully impart, you must not fail to seek aid that is needed. You must be frank with the members of the profession. You may not adver- tise special medicines as known only to yourself. Your business methods in connection with your practice must be so conducted that the largest bene- fit may come to the profession, and be of the widest service to the community. But, while the foregoing is true, you are still to be a keeper of secrets, secrets that are of a personal nature. Your attitude to your patients should be such that they will tell you everything about them- selves which you need to know, things that will enable you to act intelligently in their behalf. This The Physician 93 knowledge you should seek for their good, and not betray the confidence reposed in you. The opposite course would be productive of much harm. The postmaster would have as much right to open letters which pass through his hands, and make the con- tents public, as you to retail what was meant for your ears alone. You should be a gentleman in the sick room. Although you are entitled to information that may not be a common topic of conversation, you should seek for it in a delicate, not ofifensive way, only ask- ing questions so far as required. By this it is not meant that you should be hesitant in your treatment or inquiries, but that you should not be brusque or boorish; you are to act with professional courtesy and decorum. The Hippocratic oath, introduced into the medical societies of Greece more than two thousand years ago and administered in many schools to-day, is worthy of record : 'T swear by Apollo the physician, by /Esculapius, by Hygeia, by Panacea, and by all gods and goddesses, that I will fulfill religiously, according to my powers and judgment, the solemn vow which I now make. I will honor as my father the master who taught me the art of medicine; his children I will consider as my brothers, and teach them my profession without fee or reward. I will admit to my lectures and discourses my own sons, my master's sons, and those pupils who have taken the medical oath, but no one else. I will prescribe 94 Choosing a Lifework such medicines as may be best suited to the cases of my patients, according to the best of my judg- ment, and no temptation shall ever induce me to administer poison. I will religiously maintain the purity of my character and the honor of my art. I will not perform the operation of lithotomy, but leave it to those to whose calling it belongs. Into whatever house I enter I will enter it with the sole view of relieving the sick, and conduct myself with propriety toward the women of the family. If during my attendance I happen to hear of anything that should not be revealed, I will keep it a profound secret. If I observe this oath, may I have success in this life, and may I obtain general esteem after it ; if I break it, may the contrary be my lot." There are several questions you may need to con- sider : Have you adaptation to the work of the pro- fession? Have you a liking for the study of medi- cine? Does the sick room draw, or repel you? Does your temperament lead you to sympathize with those who are in affliction ? Can you be cheer- ful in the house of pain? Can you control your nerves in the presence of danger and death? Can you inspire confidence in the heart of the man or woman who is in physical suffering? Are you willing to spend your life in an atmosphere of sor- row and mental depression ? Do you delight in the privilege of administering to the afflicted, in seeking to relieve pain? Are you adapted to the work of cheering up the spirits that have been bowed down The Physician 95 to the earth? This is a great heart problem, and what is the sokition reached? We have called your attention to the fact that much time must be consumed and money expended in order that adequate preparation for success in the practice of medicine be gained. After finishing your academic studies, and devoting three or four years to professional preparation, further expenses must be incurred. Instruments and books must be purchased. Now, medical books and other appli- ances are costly ; and besides, in most cases, the get- ting into practice is a slow process. Unless you have spent some considerable time in hospital service, in addition to that which came in your undergraduate course, the public will pass you by on the ground that you have not had adequate experience. Though you may be familiar with modern methods, which many older men have not stopped to acquire, this is not well understood, and you must be content to wait patiently for fortune to throw business in your way. In the meantime you should assiduously apply yourself to study, that, as opportunity opens, the best work may be done. You will find it profitable to make of human char- acter a special study. You are to deal with the people. You do not solicit patronage, but you must get it or your professional life will be a failure. The types of men and women — social and intellectual — greatly vary, but they must all at times summon the physician to their bedside. You desire this practice. 96 Choosing a Lifework Much will depend on your personal relations with the people. Courteous, social — at least agreeable— you can be, without sacrifice of principle and with- out lowering your manhood. To know how to ap- proach people so that they will prize your friendship, and look up to you in general and professional life, is a talent or acquirement of no small importance. And this qualification will often be of great use to you in the sick room itself. Though ^'harmless as doves/' you must be ''wise as serpents." These are personal qualifications, in addition to extensive knowledge and professional skill, which are entitled to your consideration. A gentleman everywhere, agreeable, but versatile, this is manliness that fits into life with the prospect of most effective results. One thing you will find, and that is that the world is full of medical quacks, who parade their assum^."" merits and impose on the people. They exhibit nostrums which they claim to be panaceas. There is no profession in which deceit can be more readily practiced. It is difficult to convince people that these men are quacks, and the charlatan may secure a large following in spite of his incompetency. The science of medicine being occult, the exposure of fraud is by no means easily accomplished. But, while this class of specialists are mounte- banks, there are specialists whose range of practice is limited because they choose to give more attention to certain branches of medical science than general practice would allow. Of the eye, the ear, pulmor The Physician 97 nary diseases, nervous afifections, insanity, there are many forms of disorder of sufficient scope, special in their nature, to which a physician may turn his attention, and which are entitled to the most pro- found study. No one will dispute that there is so much involved in surgery that it may well be an exclusive department of the profession. Whether your practice shall be general or special is for you to decide from personal preference, demand for service, or opportunity for preparation. But should you become a specialist, you should lay a foundation in general study. You should bear in mind that there are times when the physician is exposed to special dangers. He must respond to the calls made on him even if the disease be contagious. He must not refuse to care for those who are prostrated with diphtheria or scarlet fever or smallpox. This is all embraced in his professional field. The layman may consult his personal interest and put himself beyond the danger line — indeed, the community from self-interest may insist that he shall not allow himself to contract any contagious disease — ^but the medical practitioner must go where danger lurks. Another thing it is worth your while to consider. The physician is not uncommonly the last creditor to receive his pay. Debts due the banker, the merchant, and even the minister may be promptly settled, while the claims of the physician are neglected, and not unfrequently are wholly disregarded. It would 98 Choosing a Lifework seem that gratitude — if not honesty — would prompt an early settlement of such bills. While in attend- ance upon the sick he is loved and honored above everyone else, but when the need of his ministrations ceases he is likely to be treated the most unfairly of all. And you will find he has the largest percentage of uncollectable debts of all professional rrten. Pity may prompt you to render service in cases where there is little prospect of reward. You expect large losses from this class. The poor must be cared for though compensation be out of the question. No one else bestows so much unrequited service as the medical practitioner. Shall I enter the medical profession? It is a learned profession ; it is honorable ; it is useful ; it is beneficent; it is intellectual and disciplinary; it awakens the closest friendships. Yet it requires much time for preparation ; it is laborious ; the time is spent in the midst of pain and sorrow, and the profession is but moderately lucrative. But he who achieves success in any line of life must put forth vigorous and continuous effort. In order to reap there must be the sowing. The Legal Profession 99 CHAPTER VIII The Legal Profession Law is an order of sequence; it is existing or established uniformity of being or action. Finding that which is invariable, we find law. It is conceded that the entire universe, from the atom up to the most complex system of worlds, is within the do- main of law. This is necessarily affirmed as a basis of truth in every department of being. The prin- ciples of mathematics are no more absolute than the uniformity of nature. If law be necessary for the interaction of all material objects, it certainly cannot be dispensed with when realities rise to the highest condition of complexity, as in man. The state is composite human life. Not only in view of the genesis of the race do social relations exist, but from the very constitution of our being. People do not associate together because from expe- rience they have found it to be profitable or conven- ient. They have never tried the experiment of dis- sociation. The arm is no more an integral part of the body than a human intelligence is an integral part of a natural organic social unit which we call the race. We live together because this only is life; because there is no other way to live without fight- ing every impulse of our nature. To sever the social is death. loo Choosing a Lifework The idea of the state necessarily involves govern- ment. Human wills are liable to clash ; human in- terests are often in conflict. Nowhere have men been able to live together without law. The rudest tribes of men have some form of jurisprudence to regulate conduct and punish wrongdoing. Black- stone defines municipal law to be a ''rule of civil conduct prescribed by the supreme power of the state commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong.'' Justice James Wilson, in his work on Jurisprudence and Political Science, takes issue with Blackstone as to law being necessarily pre- scribed by the supreme power of the state. He shows that supremacy, in this country certainly, does not exist in the legislative body alone. By the Constitution of the United States and the several States of the Union government consists of three coordinate branches : legislative, executive, and judicial. No one of these can exercise the prerogatives of either of the others. The legislative is supreme only for legislation; it is not executive, it is not judicial; to perform executive or judicial acts would be usurpation. And back of all these branches of government are the people, who, in ordaining the Constitution, have in their sovereign capacity created these departments. Alone supreme, in the organic law they have limited each branch by assigning special and restricted powers. Indeed, every law enacted by the legislative body is, under certain conditions, subject to review by the judiciary. The Legal ERaFE5.si<>N : : : ,joi and may be set aside as out of harmony with the Constitution prescribed by the people. Therefore the judiciary, whose business it is to determine the vahdity of law and, if found to be valid, to inter- pret and apply the same, possesses extensive power secondary to no other branch of the government, and is of great importance in civil affairs. So vital to the welfare of the state is the application of law to human conduct, in the defense of right, there has grown up a profession, called the 'legal profession," of which the gtate takes direct cognizance. Persons entering this profession must furnish such evidence of knowledge of law as will satisfy courts of justice that they are qualified to represent intelli- gently individuals who have cases to adjudicate under the laws of the land, and to aid such courts in reaching a right decision. The specific need of this profession is apparent when we look over the field in which it is employed. There is in society an infinite diversity of interests, and in the nature of the case each individual is a center where innumerable desires cluster. All values are the result of the action of personal powers. To how much of the accumulated capital of the world or the community, and to what portion of such capital, is each one entitled? Though every man or woman may have a specific employment unshared by any other, still there is mutual dependence. In an ultimate sense all industries are both interdepend- ent and cooperative. Because another desires what I02 CilOOSJNQ X ilFEWORK I have produced commercial utility is created. Price and wages are the exponents of value. The millions that compose the race, acting each with a special end in view and proceeding along innumerable lines of industry, necessarily introduce complexity into human affairs which it is very difficult to unravel. As civilization increases this complexity becomes greater because of new realities and added employ- ments. There are rights of individuals, rights of partners, rights of corporations, rights of the state, rights of manual industries, rights of property, rights of person, rights of citizenship, rights of authorship, marital rights, parental rights, filial rights, rights of reputation — indeed, to enumer- ate them all would be a wearisome task, and if com- pleted to-day, we must begin again to-morrow. These, though seemingly distinct, run more or less into each other, and give rise to innumerable ques- tions, both moral and judicial. But it is generally more than a problem of rights as understood by the individual; it is a problem of contested rights. Neighbors do not always agree; one claims more than the other will concede. With a judge only, or judge and jury, the court is in- complete ; by means of legal practitioners both sides of a case may be thoroughly investigated and pre- sented before the court so that a righteous decision can be rendered. And it is not always true that in litigation one side is seeking to wrong the other. In many instances the line of justice is not plainly seen. The Legal Profession 103 Even if all men were honest, courts of law might still be a necessity. This is called a ^'learned pro- fession" because extensive legal knowledge is re- quired to meet all its demands. So wide is the field of practice that some lawyers confine them- selves to a single department; they do not attempt to occupy the whole realm of legal proceedings. As to its genesis, and somewhat as to its character, law in general might be divided into two classes, common law and statutory law. Common law is a body of principles which have come to be accepted by the people as a rule of justice. As Blackstone tells us, the English municipal law, or the rule of civil conduct prescribed to the inhabitants of the kingdom, has been ^'divided into two kinds, the lex non scripta, the unwritten or common law, and the lex scripta, the written or statute law." He adds : *T would not be understood as saying that leges non scriptce, the unwritten laws, are merely oral, com- municated from former ages to the present solely by word of mouth. The monuments and evidences of our legal customs are contained in the records of the several courts of justice, in books of reports and judicial decisions, and in the treatises of the learned sages of the profession, preserved and hand- ed down to us from the times of highest antiquity. I style these parts of our law leges non scripfce because their original institution and authority are not set down in writing as acts of Parliament, but they receive their binding power and force of laws I04 Choosing a Lifework by long and immemorial usage, and by their univer- sal reception throughout the kingdom." The lexi- cographer tells us that "common law is a system of jurisprudence developing under the guidance of the courts, so as to apply a consistent and reasonable rule to each litigated case;'' that it is "a rule of action founded on long usage and the decisions of the courts of justice.'' To use the language of another writer, ''Common law consists of principles derived from a collation of precedents or decisions of actual cases." Common law and legal precedents are almost synonymous terms. To quote Wharton, "Common law receives its binding force from im- mernorial usage and universal reception as ascer- tained and expressed in the judgments of courts." Wilson tells us that "the antiquity of the common law of England is unquestionably very high." Fundamentally it largely rests on the institutions and legal procedure of the Saxons. Statute laws are acts passed by a legislative body "declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something." Such laws are specific and local in scope, each state or country having its own code of enactments. They are public, as affecting all persons within the com- monwealth, or private when they affect some par- ticular class of persons or relate to matters of local interest. In this country they are framed according to a certain form, and the body of the law must agree with the title. They may be repealed or added to by the legislative body. The Legal Profession 105 Courts are divided into law courts and equity courts. They differ as to their mode of procedure. The term equity courts must not be construed as favoring the notion that injustice inheres in law courts; but there is a department of jurisprudence, designated equity, which is supplemental to law properly so called, and complemental thereto. ''Common law forms are not hostile to right, but in some cases they are inadequate to secure justice." Equity or chancery proceedings supply the defect. Complete remedy cannot always be had in courts of common law. In this country, in some States, the same tribunal may and sometimes does exer- cise jurisdiction as a court of law and court of equity as the subject to be adjudged may require. But in other States these courts are distinct tribu- nals, not exercising this twofold jurisdiction. Law- yers commonly practice in either court as occasion arises ; but in large cities some restrict their practice to law courts, others to equity courts, where the amount of business is sufficient to allow of this specialization. There is a class of causes which are peculiar, relating to interests upon the sea, such as maritime contracts, torts, collisions at sea, cases of prizes in war, salvage, surveys, pilotage, wharfage, sea- men's wages, imprisonment or improper treatment of sailors or passengers, and all other damages and injuries done on the high seas. "In this country admiralty jurisdiction is extended also to matters io6 Choosing a Lifework arising out of the navigation of any public waters, as the great lakes and rivers." It is evident that with the rapid increase of commerce and the marvelous growth of the navies of the world this admiralty jurisdiction is of the greatest importance. In the United States there are no exclusive admiralty courts, but jurisdiction is exercised by the district courts, from which appeal may be taken to the United States Circuit Court or the Supreme Court, depending on the value of the matter in dispute. We have lawyers who give their whole time to ad- miralty practice, and in this there is certainly a great and adequate field for our best legal talent. There is another branch of the law quite foreign to those branches already specified. It is not en- acted by any legislative body, and there are no courts having jurisdiction. We speak now of international law. It consists of rules regulating the relation of nations to each other. Perhaps we should limit it to the rules which Christian nations regard as oblig- atory, as it has been established by these nations only, though enforced upon others. It is the result of international conferences, diplomatic discussions, and the principles involved in treaties. It is the formulated principles governing international in- tercourse. In the mode of its development it is somewhat analogous to the common law. International law is attended with some degree of uncertainty, as there are no authoritative tribunals for its interpretation and enforcement. It depends The Legal Profession ^ 107 for its execution on the conscience and sense of right of the several nations and the danger of war if its principles be disregarded. There are no umpires to whom disputes can be referred. Even in case of courts of arbitration there is no general executive to carry decisions into effect. If a nation declines to abide by the decisions reached, there is no redress aside from a resort to war. Yet could the nations agree upon a court of arbitration, which now seems probable, and for which steps have been taken, an important advance would be made in securing peace and guarding right among the peoples of the earth. The ratification by the nations of the agreements of the Peace Convention recently held at The Hague will establish a central Arbitration Bureau. As we have no courts of international law this interest does not come within the scope of legal proceedings. It is a field for statesmanship rather than judicial cognizance. Attention is here called to it because principles of justice are involved, and to remind you that, as yet, it is removed from the domain specially occupied by the legal profession. The profession of law provides for two classes of lawyers whose functions in the courts are quite un- like; one is the advocate, the other the judge. The advocate is employed on one side of a case, repre- senting an individual or corporation, or if a public prosecutor, the people. It is his business to do the best he can for the interests in his hands. Here is an opportunity for the display of shrewdness; it is io8 Choosing a Lifework a field where superior talents may be called into exercise. As the advocate acts solely in behalf of one side of a case it might be supposed that justice would suffer. But he confronts an opposing attor- ney supposed to be equally vigilant and learned. Then there sits on the bench a man who is not a partisan, whose office it is to secure the triumph of right. He is supposed to have no predilections or prejudices. He holds in his hands the scales of justice, and impartially weighs all that is submitted to him. He listens patiently to the testimony and arguments, notes the applicability and force of the law read and precedents quoted, and decides accord- ing to his unbiased judgment; or instructs the jury as to the meaning and intent of the law under which the action is brought, that the case may be rightfully decided on the facts submitted. Eloquent advocates do not always make good judges, and able judges^ are not necessarily fitted to be successful advocates. He who is on the bench should have what is commonly designated a judicial temperament, the disposition and ability to hold the scales of justice with an even hand. He should be a man not only scholarly, and of strong intellectual powers, but of the most unswerving moral integrity. He need not be eloquent, but he must be able to ana- lyze eloquence and assign to it its proper value. Self-poised, guarding one side with the same as- siduity as the other, his sole concern must be that right shall prevail. In him we find the culmination of The Legal Profession 109 that which is useful and glorious in the profession. In estimating the practical value of law the judge on the bench must be taken as its center, regulating and incorporating into our civilization that which is of the highest importance to the interests of the public. In the legal profession it is expected that a law- yer will stand by his client. This principle has been sharply criticised. A person arrested for crime has rights at the bar, and his attorney should see to it that those rights are not violated. He is not to be punished solely as the result of guilt, but as the result of guilt proven. Though judge and jury both should be convinced of his guilt, unless the same be established by testimony beyond a reasonable doubt, he should be declared innocent. If this principle be transgressed, it is judicial malfeasance. Conviction without adequate proof is a terrible wrong ; it is, indeed, a crime. If permitted, no innocent man is safe. A lawyer acts in the interest of justice, in behalf of human rights, when he insists that all the forms of legal procedure be observed, and that damaging testimony rendered shall not be allowed to have undue weight. While the public is interested in the suppression of crime, it is equally interested in the protection of all who are innocent. It is a very common belief that trickery is neces- sarily incident to the practice of law; that lawyers not only on occasion make wrong appear to be right, but that, standing by their clients, they are obliged no Choosing a Lifework to do this. Nothing is further from the truth. A lawyer has no right to pledge his client anything further than that he will stand by him and see that justice is done. There are strong temptations, as in every other vocation, to take advantage of condi- tions to win his case. The inclination to do this is very powerful, and many are overcome by it. But to yield is weakness. Honesty, a strict fairness, adds to a lawyer's power. It gives him an advan- tage in every case he tries. Surely as law is ex- pected to conserve public order and protect the rights of the citizen, every member of the legal pro- fession can meet his obligations to the state only as he seeks to make right triumphant. He not only has a standing in the court to maintain, but, in an important sense, is an officer of the court, and is expected to cooperate to secure the ends of justice. The strongest moral safeguards are thrown around legal procedure. There are very explicit provisions formulated in our law books to prevent dishonest legal practices ; and these are enforced by the courts, being essentially the same in all our States. No person can practice as an attorney or counselor at law in any court of record unless he be approved by the court for his good character as well as his learn- ing. To be admitted to practice he must take the constitutional oath of office in open court, and sub- scribe the same in a roll or book kept by the clerk for this purpose. Any attorney, solicitor, or counselor may be re- The Legal Profession in moved or suspended who shall be guilty of any deceit, malpractice, crime, or misdemeanor. If he shall he guilty of any deceit or collusion, or shall consent to any deceit or collusion, with intent to deceive the court or any party, he will be guilty of misdemeanor and, on conviction, be punished. That the reputation of an attorney is notoriously bad for veracity, and that he is not to be believed under oath, is good cause for removal. Conviction for such crimes as the law regards as infamous, such as obtaining money under false pretenses, also gross abuse of confidence, is sufficient for disbarment; and a disbarred attorney cannot practice in any court of record. There are some lawyers who are enamored with criminal practice, and do not care to handle civil cases. They delight in the defense of the criminal classes. Many of our best law writers raise a note of warning. 'Tn America,'' says Judge Thomas M. Cooley, ^'we meet with few cases of lawyers of high standing and eminent ability who give themselves exclusively to the defense of criminal cases, and few of that kind would find employment sufficiently steady and remunerative if they desired to do so. The criminal lawyer is too apt to be a man who is tainted somewhat by his associations, and who fits himself for defending vile characters by imbibing more or less of their vicious tastes and habits." And while there are moral dangers which beset the pathway; of this class of practitioners, in most cases 112 Choosing a Lifework also are they tempted to neglect that wide range of study so essential to legal scholarship. There is very commonly a disposition to rely on gifts of ora- tory more than great learning, as here, indeed, oratory is more effective than in civil suits. Judge Cooley exhorts all students, however talented, not to neglect ''that hard labor which the less gifted would be compelled to perform, but the benefit of which is in proportion to the natural powers which it supplements.'' If criminal practice comes in your way, it is wise to consider it as only a part of your professional work, not allowing it to intoxicate the life by its excitements, lest the inspiration for con- tinuous study die in the breast. Business holds out larger inducements for money- making than any of the professions. Salaries or fees are wholly outside of opportunities for shrewd investments. Wealthy professional men have mostly gained their riches by business ventures which are foreign to their regular vocation. Yet there are some lawyers who, because of their great ability and high standing, receive large fees which make their profession lucrative. These belong to the minority. Industry will enable those who possess talents which authorize them to enter the law to gain a comfortable livelihood, but a consider- able number that have been admitted to the bar would much better seek some other pursuit. Even respectable talents do not always succeed. The Lawyer 113 CHAPTER IX The Lawyer Judge Cooley, in his edition of Blackstone, speaks of the lawyer's need of a thorough knowl- edge of English history. The reason for this is apparent. In the history of England we get the development of the common law. He who knows only abstractly the principles of law knows but half of that which the law contains; to know it all he must understand the civil and political life out of which the formulation of principles has come. In no sense is the English common law an arbitrary code. It is the growth of many centuries. It marks the progress of Anglo-Saxon civilization. It is nearly identical with the English Constitution. It is an expression of the best thought and ripest judgment of the great statesmen and jurists of that historic land. And it is evident that the common law is not an ironclad code. The advancement of civilization, the appearance of new industrial interests, the in- creasing complexity of relations — all of this pro- jecting of new problems into the very life of the public — must result in the elaboration of new prin- ciples of government or the modification of that which had previously guided the courts in making their decisions. It is proper to remind you that the common law 114 Choosing A LiFEwoRic as understood and applied in this country is not strictly identical with the common law of England, but varies to the extent of that which is new or dis- similar in our institutions, that which is out of harmony with English civil life. But, though the forms of government dififer somewhat, those things which are deepest in the spirit and movement of the two nations are much more alike than unlike. We come closer to England, though a monarchy, than to any republic found in the old world. The law student should make Anglo-Saxon civilization as wrought out in England and America a special and constant subject of study, not simply as this civilization ap- pears in the laws enacted, but in the organic and institutional life which underlies all law. And the range of historical study should be much broader than this. All knowledge is relative. Any subject is best understood when considered both in its agreement and disagreement with other cognate subjects. A clearer knowledge of that which is Anglo-Saxon could be gained by its com- parative study with the history of the Teutonic, the Celtic, and the Latin races. The Dreyfus case, in France, surprises us by its seeming unfairness, but it serves to emphasize that which is rational in our judicial procedure. No person under arrest for any supposed crime could be treated by us as he has been treated there, not merely because our judicial methods would not allow of it, but because it is out of harmony with the spirit that underlies all our in- The Lawyer 115 stitutions. There is a natural organic life on which the organism of the state rests, and which is the soil from which the organism of the state springs and matures. Laws are the specific manifestations of the character of the country. In their deeper nature they are the outgrowth of existing institutions. A lawyer whose intellectual being is full of the history of a nation, who has found the very roots of its legal code, who is familiar with the development of its organic life, has an equipment for his work ten- fold more effective than any mere looking up of authorities can possibly give. The foregoing statements presuppose that the student appreciates the need of a thorough knowl- edge of law itself. Without this success is im- possible. He who has not the student spirit and habit should not enter the profession. This, we have said, is very properly called a learned profession because the widest range of legal lore is required to meet demands and reasonable expectations. From the moment a law book is first opened until practice is abandoned there should be no relaxation from pro- gressive study. Knowledge, with the mental train- ing secured, more than all other things must be the endowment gained. Still further, we may say that the young man who proposes to enter the law makes a mistake if he does not first obtain a liberal education. This has not generally been required as preliminary to matricu- lation in our law schools. It is worthy of remark ii6 Choosing a Lifework that Harvard University has now announced her purpose to make this a requirement for admission into her law department in and after 1903. This is a step which all similar institutions should take. For such preparation reasons without number could be urged. If there be any one profession which in a preeminent degree requires careful and extensive mental training, it is the profession of law. The intellectual work to be done calls for the highest attainments. The field to be traversed is practically without limit; and nowhere else do we find such multiform and complex relations to be handled. It is lamentable that so large a proportion of those who commence the practice of law achieve very indiffer- ent success. This may be accounted for, in part, by lack of natural ability, but to a much larger extent by inadequate scholarship and untrained mental powers. Four to six years industriously devoted to the mastery of studies prescribed in our best colleges ought to generate power which would give the legal practitioner a decided advantage over others in the profession. First. Knowledge would be gained which could be directly utilized — in history, political science, constitutional law, international law, ethics, physics, chemistry, etc. Second. There would be the training of the in- tellectual faculties by their vigorous employment in the mastery of subjects which the history of edu- cational movements has shown to be disciplinary. The Lawyer 117 This end is even of more importance than the for- mer. Power of close attention ; ability to prosecute work for an indefinite time without allowing diver- sion; mental grip, which is a concentration of energy; a predisposition to grapple problems of thought ; a spirit of study that makes it a delight — the value of all of this no one can overestimate. Third. Nothing can be more important than eflfective training of the logical powers. This is a profession in which preeminently logic must be employed. Is the person arraigned guilty, or not guilty ? The answer is an inference, made up, it may be, from a score of subordinate inferences. What- ever subject is uhder adjudication the legal practi- tioner acts upon premises from which conclusions are reached. With reliable premises, if his reasoning be correct, the inference drawn necessarily follows; if the reasoning be illogical, a false inference is de- duced. Adequate facts established, followed by a skillful weaving of them into an argument, and the case is won; but with a rotten link in the chain, cr some necessary link left out, defeat follows. It is said of one of the most eminent lawyers America has ever produced that he was accustomed all his life to begin the day with some demonstration in geometry, to awaken into action and train his logi- cal faculties. Fourth. There should be a careful study of the medium of thought. To convey ideas we use lan- guage; we gain ideas through language. This is ii8 Choosing a Lifework the track on which intelHgence moves. There is a profounder truth still : we think by means of lan- guage. Conceptions are implanted in words and sentences, the two are interwoven in our mental activities, and the fuller and more accurate our vo- cabulary the deeper and more accurate our thinking. The lawyer, then, should have a precise and exten- sive vocabulary, that the intellectual blows wielded may be the most certain and effective. Our mother tongue should be studied in its structure and its origin, studied philologically, with the greatest care and assiduity. Fifth. In his college course he who anticipates entering the law should gain, as far as he is able, the ability to speak effectively. Fluency of utterance is desirable, but this alone does not make the orator. Socrates tells us that all men are eloquent in that which they understand. The foundation of real eloquence is correct, vivid, and comprehensive knowledge clearly formulated in the mind, and stir- ring all our powers into action. Empty verbosity, though attended with charming figures of speech, will not produce conviction, and is but short-lived. Gaining the power to think with precision and clear- ness, and to express thought in harmony with its content, you have acquired that which is by far the greater part of eloquence. But there is effective- ness in a trained voice if trained to be natural, so as to utter most impressively or truthfully the senti- ment which the intellect conceives or the heart feels. The Lawyer 119 Elocutionary drill, which corrects faults and estab- lishes a habit of right modes of delivery, especially if carried to the extent that the orator is unconscious of self or style in his utterance, being able to give his entire thought to the subject under discussion, develops a pov^er well worth striving after. The law is a great battlefield. It is the only profession in which opposing forces are arrayed in determined and relentless strife. No one disputes the minister as he delivers his message from the pulpit. The physician does not contend at the bedside with other practitioners. The teacher is supreme in the schoolroom; his movements are not obstructed by counterclaims and adverse demands. But the legal advocate always finds some one present to dispute his progress. He must fight his way from the be- ginning to the end of a suit. To succeed he needs to be both learned and quick-witted, and he must exercise the closest vigilance. Now, all of this is in the interest of justice. Wrong does not prevail without being challenged. In the practice of law the most favorable con- ditions exist for the growth of mental energy. A man will do his best when opposition is to be over- come. Defeat is humiliation. In the trial of a case — surely if important — the whole inner life is aroused. It is a psychological principle that the activity, and hence the achievement made, depends on the interest felt ; and, aside from the training of the attention in the vigilance required, the lawyer 120 Choosing a Lifework gets accustomed to the making of the sharpest dis- tinctions, which must result in the development of mental acumen. In the case of earnest, progressive lawyers life is a constant mental growth. The struggles at the bar should be a war of giants. It is not strange that a large proportion of our leading public men belong to this profession. They have more to do with the public in secular affairs than any other professional class. Frequently they are engaged upon cases which, from the amount of money involved or the dark character of the alleged crime, attract the attention of every citizen. Their own reputations, as well as the interests at stake, impel them to put forth the most strenuous efforts of which their powers are capable. To win is fame; to fail there is perhaps disgrace, at least the lowering of personal standing. And then many people will praise a great legal argument or the superb handling of an important case in court as they will not an able sermon from the pulpit, though the latter may be no less wonderful than the former. Every lawyer should thoroughly understand the Constitution of the United States and of the State where he is engaged in practice. These are called the organic law, the law of statehood, the law by which the government is constituted and has its existence. No statute in conflict therewith is valid. The Constitution enacted by the people defines and limits the powers of the Legislature, which is but representative of the people. A legislative body may The Lawyer 121 do whatever is in harmony with the organic law, but nothing which violates it in letter or spirit. As the people in ordaining the Constitution are sup- posed to act for the public, but cannot enumerate in detail all possible rights and interests whatever con- ditions may arise, everything that is prejudicial to good order or that works harm to the people may be adjudged invalid, because in conflict with the end for which the Constitution was ordained. While, therefore, the Constitution is written, it still contains an unwritten factor; there must be a read- ing between the lines. The most eminent position that can be gained is that of being a great constitu- tional lawyer. Not a familiarity with the statutes merely is needed, but the understanding of the phi- losophy of law — its groundwork as found in the Constitution and in the social relations we sustain the one to the other. There is in this that to which no lawyer should be a stranger, and without which he should not expect to rise to a very high plane of legal distinction and power. Many lawyers enter political life. A large pro- portion of the members of Congress have been taken from this profession. It would seem to be natural that lawyers should be chosen to be lawmakers, yet this is not the ground of their selection, but rather it is because of the leading positions they hold in the community, especially as public speakers. A lawyer may be supposed to have special qualifica- tions for framing laws, so far as form is concerned, 122 Choosing a Lifework and for deciding many questions that rise, but, on the other hand, a very large percentage of legal enact- ments relate to business interests which may well claim representation in the legislative body. If a lawyer desires to make politics a profession, abandoning the practice of law, he will find that his legal studies will be of service to him. But if his ambition is to make a success as a legal practitioner, he should keep out of politics. The reader should underscore the preceding sentence. Politics breaks in upon the continuity of legal study and practice. It severs a chain that should not be broken if the largest results are to be reasonably expected. No lawyer is big enough to span the chasm without loss of prestige and power. A few men on leaving Con- gress have again successfully entered the law, but the number is not large, and in these cases loss has been unquestionably sustained. May a lawyer ever withdraw from a case during its prosecution, abandoning his client? Usually he may not do this ; but there are instances in which it might be allowable, perhaps even a duty. An attor- ney is entitled to an honest and full statement of facts from the person he is asked to represent. This he needs in order to proceed intelligently. But if he has been grossly deceived by the declarations made to him, and if the character of his client is found to be so base that had he understood it he would not have promised his services, should not a sense of honor lead him to withdraw?. There are The Lawyer 123 individuals whose daily life outrages decency, weak- ens all the supports of government, corrupts the youth, and injects into society the miasma of moral death, who should have no support from the legal profession. Has a lawyer a right to assist any man who is seeking to rob the public or to defraud his neighbor? A self-respecting lawyer will not co- operate with anyone for such an unholy purpose, and if by any means he has been entrapped to under- take a case like this, he should give notice of with- drawal. The foregoing is quite in harmony with the advice given to law students by the distinguished Michigan jurist, Judge Cooley, from whom we have already quoted. He says : "In all his studies the law student must not forget that he is fitting himself to be a min- ister of justice ; that he owes it to himself, to those who shall be his clients, to the courts he shall practice in, and to society at large, that he cultivate care- fully his moral nature to fit it for the high and responsible trust he is to assume/' It is to be feared that this exhortation is not always regarded. Ethics should have a place in the practice of law. Indeed, laws that are not ethical have no right to exist. To secure and protect rights is the very purpose for which law is ordained. An unscrupulous lawyer is false to the object for which the profession is in- stituted, and is out of place as an advocate at the bar of justice. It must be borne in mind that there is moral 124 Choosing a Lifework obliquity in instigating litigation. There is a class of impecunious lawyers who resort to this in the hope of getting a livelihood. The state creates the profession to adjust disputes, not to promote them. Courts are established, judges selected, men admit- ted to practice, that order and justice may prevail. But in a multitude of instances differences arise which can and ought to be settled out of court. It is not the theory giving rise to the machinery of the law that the courts should be appealed to on every slight provocation. And certainly to in- tensify the hostility of citizens one to the other by a legal trial — when this can be avoided — adding greatly to the expense as well as to the bitterness of feeling, is a crime against humanity. A man who has the ability to succeed as a lawyer — and no one else should enter the profession — does not need to stir up strife. Legal advice should be paid for, and this is a lighter burden to the parties than the cost of a suit. It is well to call your attention to the fact that there is much of uncertainty in the administration of law in courts of justice. Many disputes are of such an involved nature that the right is not clearly apparent. The practice — and perhaps the need — of excluding from the jury persons who have formed an opinion in regard to the merits of a case in issue results often in securing, as a panel, men who are below the average in mental capacity. Not unfre- quently is it very difficult to apply a statute or prin- The Lawyer 125 ciple of law to the interests which are at stake. Also it is true that the most learned judges may differ in opinion as to the interpretation of law and its con- stitutionality. Still further, the testimony may be inadequate, the witnesses failing to meet your ex- pectations. And even in cases of appeal to a higher court decisions may be affirmed or reversed not on the clear merits of the case, but depending on the points of view from which the different jurists con- sider the subject involved, or from the personal mental habits or predisposition of the judges. This is evident when the decisions rendered are not unanimous, but are made only by majorities. A court has been known to reverse its own decisions, especially when the personnel of the court has under- gone a change. Should all judges be equally learned, they may not agree. You may thus be made to feel disappointment and chagrin at the result of your best efforts before the court. You may display distinguished talents and great learning, and yet lose the case you had confidently expected to win; not losing it from its weakness, nor because of any fault of yours, but from the personnel of the tribunal before which it is tried. If the law be a learned profession; if it include many of our most distinguished public men; if it afford a practical opportunity for the development of mental powers; if our courts of justice be a necessity for the good order of society, as all will admit, then surely this is a profession that is both honorable and 126 Choosing a Lifework useful. If the men who practice in the courts are per- sons of moral integrity, realizing that they are set for the defense of right, resisting the temptations that arise to achieve personal triumphs at the sacrifice of public good, gifted young men may well look upon the law as holding out special inducements which properly may be allowed to influence them in their choice of a lifework. Wielding the Press 127 CHAPTER X Wielding the Press When the art of printing was discovered the Dark Ages hastened to a close. It contained within itself the seed germs of civilization, so that the world began to move rapidly upward to a higher plane. Thought shrivels and dies when denied ex- pression. It was more than a coincidence that the inauguration of printing, the discovery of America, and the moral throes of the Lutheran Reformation were making history at the same hour. Great events must have great opportunities, and the print- ing press has been, and is, an arm of mightiest power. No other invention has been made, during the flight of all the ages, so potent and far-reaching as this. Simple as a device, we are surprised it had not been thought of at an earlier day ; but because of its sim- plicity it is easily adapted to the highest demands of human intelligence. Thus is solved the greatest of all problems, the inauguration of means for the fullest and broadest development of man's intel- lectual powers. In this problem were certain important factors ; to secure the widening of human intercourse, the dissemination of thought, the preser- vation of the intellectual treasures of succeeding generations, the awakening of the mind to accom- 128 Choosing a Lifework plish the greatest achievements. Nothing manifests man's superiority over the brute world more than the language he employs — language holding intel- lectual conceptions, communicating thought, the very channel along which ideas travel and without which they would not exist. Previous to the appearance of printing there was spoken and written language, but it failed to be a great world-power to easily pene- trate all lands so as to stir the life of nations by making its way to all firesides. To-day an item of intelligence, the record of a fact, a truth conceived by the mind, in one brief hour is multiplied many thousands of times, and is on its way to millions of homes. No one will dispute that the art of printing holds within its grasp more of the forces of civili- zation than any other agency of human power. Solomon in his time said, ^'Of making many books there is no end," and it was then almost an endless task to prepare a single copy. At the present day copies are struck off by the tens of thousands in an almost incredibly short period of time. Who can compute the number of books in our public and private libraries? All that has not gone down into absolute oblivion is, through printing, preserved in these tomes. Magazines are now occupying a very important place in the world of letters. Much of our best literature reaches the public through this agency. The weekly and daily papers perfectly flood all these lands. A glance over the field will show our dependence Wielding the Press 129 on the press. The government, national and State, puts all its proceedings in print. We thus have set before us the laws enacted and the proceedings leading to the passage or rejection of bills presented. Political parties use the press with wonderful ear- nestness and zeal. In this they have their greatest leverage with the people. Public speeches are oc- casionally delivered, but these occur only at distant intervals of time, while the newspaper visits the fire- side every week, and usually every day. For good or evil political publications are shaping the destiny of the country — for good generally, we believe; for in the end people are led to think, and truth finally gains the throne of power. Must we accept the characterization of Lowell — "Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong for- ever on the throne?'' We take exception to the word ^'forever," for it leaves no room for God to work, and makes man a moral wreck. Rather, as Bovee phrases it, 'Truth, like the sun, submits to be ob- scured, but, like the sun, only for a time.'' The Church would almost as soon discard the pulpit and tear down its public ialtars as to give up the press. If it cannot control the reading of the people, inspiring their thoughts and molding the literature which finds its way to their homes, its arm of power will be greatly shortened. It is the fond dream of the intelligent and devoted minister and layman that some religious paper shall find its way each week, at least, to every household. Hence mil- 130 Choosing a Lif^work lions of dollars of capital are invested in our pub- lishing houses. The first publication which Guten- berg, the inventor of printing by movable types, gave to the world was the Bible. And to how small an extent could the demand for the Bible be met without the printing press ! And without the press how much less efficient would be our schools, colleges, and universities! Pupils must have text-books. In the higher branches of study not less than in the lower is this a necessity. While the child must have the reader and the arith- metic, to the student in history, in literature, in the languages, and, indeed, in every other department of research, there must be constant access to the text that can be supplied only by the printed page. While in science we make our final appeal directly to nature, no one can dispense with the helps which scientific men can supply. The college student can- not travel all over the earth to examine every form of strata, to take observations at each eclipse of the sun or moon, or dig up rare minerals wherever nature has deposited them. He must accept the re- ports as they appear in books, magazines, and scien- tific journals. The judgment of the people in regard to the in- fluence of the press appears in the importance they attach to that which is personal in its utterances. Some depreciating remark made on the street will cause but little concern, but a sharp criticism printed in the daily paper is a grievous affliction. Wielding the Press 131 Words of commendation found on the printed page give tenfold more of gratification than if simply dropped from the lips. Courts of justice make a distinction no less marked. Libel — a malicious pub- lication — "constitutes both a criminal offense and a civil injury, and is therefore punishable both by in- dictment and by civil action for damages. Slander, on the other hand, is only a civil wrong, a violation of private rights, and is never indictable, the only available mode of redress being a private action. All actionable libels are indictable." But we need not bring further illustrations to the mind of the reader. They will be readily sug- gested in all the movements of society. He who turns to the press may find food for the intellect, and much that, in the happiness and sorrow of the world, is calculated to stir the feelings to their very depths. He is brought into relations with all lands, and hears the throbbings of the heart of all the ages of the past and the tramp of all the nations of to- day. And he who can effectively wield the press can shape human destiny and put his life into the great current of forces which will never cease to flow to the end of time. Beyond all comparison wonderful in its power is the press. The press has vital relations with free popular government. Under the reign of despotism the press is muzzled; that the people may rule intelligence must be unrestrained. The sovereign must not be kept in ignorance, and with us, the people are sover- 132 Choosing a Lifework eign. During the days of slavery in the South there was enforced ilHteracy of the colored man. This was prudential foresight, for the slave must not have access to the sources of power within reach of the master. Despotic rulers dare not allow the exist- ence of an untrammeled press. The free discussion of human rights would imdermine every throne of irresponsible power. Just to the extent the press bears sway will liberty unfold her wings and the citizen wield the scepter of government. Republics can exist only as the people are intelligent ; as there is the fullest provision for the interchange of ideas and for coordinate action. Civil freedom joins hands with the press, and out from the struggles of humanity with the chains that have bound the souls of men in all the past will yet come forth the uni- versal reign of personal and political rights. Rome, which had inherited much of the learning of Greece, finally fell before the savage hordes which poured down upon her from the north, and the night of the Dark Ages soon enveloped the world. The manhood of the Goths in their vandalism was virile, but luxury had weakened every fiber of the once proud people which had for more than eleven cen- turies swayed the scepter from the seven hills on the Tiber. May not the Dark Ages again visit the nations of the earth? Nothing is more remarkable than the superiority of civilized lands over those that are uncivilized. This superiority appears in all the enginery of power — for war and for peace: in Wielding the Press 133 the general accumulation of capital; in military equipments, offensive and defensive; in the applian- ces for national industry ; in the average intelligence of the people; in the moral qualities which make vigorous manhood. Underneath all of this is the general activity of mind as mind, receiving its stimu- lus and steady development through the constant dissemination of ideas by means of the press, and the intercommunication of the people through the medium of commerce and travel. This has not all been wrought out by the printing-press, but without it these lands would for a long time have been dwell- ing in darkness more or less intense. Modern civil- ization can never be overthrown; it will gradually become stronger and more beneficent. It would be folly to claim everything for the press. The orator has many advantages over the writer. As he stands before an audience he can impress the people from personal qualities which cannot be put on the printed page. His bodily presence, the flash of the eye, the tone of voice, the working of the features of the face, the gestures which the heart prompts, the whole attitude of the physical and men- tal being in their moral touch with a listening audi- ence, bring the speaker nearer to us, and should give more weight to his words than cold, impassive type can possibly bear in upon the intelligence. But the principle here enunciated is not of universal ap- plication. All public speakers are not faultless in their address. Not uncommonly a well-written 134 Choosing a Lifework oration is murdered in the delivery. The reader would get more from it than the listener. This must be considered aside from the fact that the orator reaches only those who are within the sound of his voice during the single hour in which he speaks to his audience, while the printed page is accessible an indefinite number of times, and may be a living force through many succeeding generations. Many young men and women are seriously con- sidering the advisability of choosing journalism as a profession. There are several considerations which should be carefully weighed. In most in- stances they must begin at the lowest round of the ladder. The business of a reporter is important, but not always agreeable. Hunting up news, some- times under circumstances which produce the im- pression of impertinence; doing much of the work in a hurry; often mingling with classes one does not like to associate with ; toiling at unseasonable hours ; finding one's self tempted to exaggerate in order to attract readers ; frequently being expected to dis- cuss or properly characterize subjects of which there is the most meager knowledge — there is but little satisfaction in such employment. And it is not everyone whose eyes are open to see all that the publishers of a paper desire to give to the public. Still further, the people demand that which is racy. Logic will not answer, and facts must be portrayed in an attractive or sensational style. The imagi- nation must do some coloring, or the reporter may Wielding the Press 135 be voted a failure. And starting without skill, he must rapidly gain it, or lose his place. In the meantime he receives but meager remuneration. Reaching the editorship, what then? Not usually a large salary, except on the great metropolitan journals. The number is relatively small of those who get into this class. Upon the whole, journal- ism is not a lucrative profession. Country papers, if they survive adverse conditions, accumulate property but slowly. A few, very few, make large fortunes. There is much adverse criticism on the contents of most of our secular papers. The statement is made that different subjects are not treated in pro- portion to their real merits. The question is asked. Why give so much space to football, to baseball; and why give any space at all to police courts, to slugging matches, to prize fights, and other demoral- izing events? The press ought to educate the people up to that which is morally healthful and economically profitable, it is said. But can anyone afford to publish an ideal paper? A newspaper is an industry out of which a livelihood is to be gained. It is instituted for the money sup- posed to be in it. On one side it is a problem of demand and supply. A publisher, like a merchant, asks. What does the public want ? And on economic principles he seeks to supply what is called for. Con- sidered purely as a business project, the plan is a wise one. If the demands of the public are not met. 13^ Choosing a Lifework the enterprise is sure to be a failure. These facts are taken into account, so that, unfortunately, prize fights are given more space than religious conven- tions. Yet the public are not wholly without con- science in the matter. Some papers are so sensa- tional in their character, catering, to so large an extent, to the baser classes, to the prurient elements of society, that they are excluded, as morally degrad- ing, from many firesides. It is to be hoped that the day will come when journalists will realize the responsibility of using the power wielded to build up that which is best in human society, rather than to report for greedy eyes whatever is base and de- moralizing for the sake of the money there is in it. Religious Journalism does not encounter the al- ternative of more money and less morals, on the one side, or less money and more morals, on the other. The more intelligently and completely it conserves the highest moral purposes and ends the wider its patronage. It does not lose sight of the law of demand and supply, but it operates in a sphere where there is practically no call for that which is low and degrading. Yet here ability is not the only requisite; that which is printed must be racy as well as strong and learned. Indeed, the young are being educated, by devouring so much of light literature, into a distaste for that which is sober and thoughtful. It is just at this point that the difficulty arises in conducting a religious paper. How much space relatively shall be given to that Wielding the Press 137 which is light and that which is more substantial? But it must not be inferred that the dry is therefore deep. Its lack of power to interest may be because it is muddy, not because it is profound. We do not see the bottom, not because it is so far away, but because the author was floundering in a bog. Thoughts clearly expressed go very far toward making the style attractive. Accurate, vivid think- ing is essential to entertaining composition. Ideas, rather than figures of speech, will win in the end. There is getting to be a great rush for authorship. It is a laudable ambition to put in permanent form that which is worthy of being preserved. Yet it is not easy to get readers unless there is something at- tractive in the subject treated or in the style of com- position. There is a craze for the writing of poetry. The most of what is called poetic efifusions is the merest trash. There must be both thought and imagery. Poetry is thought idealized by the im- agination; its merit depends on the ideas expressed and the mode of expressing or manner of clothing these ideas. It should manifest the highest grade of intelligence and appear in the most charming garb. Wordsworth speaks of poetry as "the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge, the impassioned expression which is the countenance of all science." Chapin tells us that it "is the utterance of truth — deep, heartfelt truth.'' He says, "The true poet is very near the oracle." Lamartine calls it "the morning dream of great minds." Lowell says, 138 Choosing a Lifework *Toetry is something to make us wiser and better by continually revealing those types of beauty and truth which God has set in all men's souls." In form poetry is metrical, but rhyming alone does not constitute its life. Jingling verse, destitute both of ideas and appropriate imagery, has been palmed off unlimited on a long-suffering public. Do not print rhymes unless you know them to be genuine poetry. If it be your purpose to resort to authorship, it is usually prudent not to engage in bookmaking much before you reach middle life. If the subjects selected be didactic, and especially if they involve deep problems, it is often not well to put yourself on record until after the most careful and pains- taking thought. Horace exhorts us to keep our literary compositions from the public eye for nine years at least. Though Americans cannot wait so long as this, it is well to remember that the views of early manhood will not unfrequently be abandoned or greatly modified as the result of deeper study in later years. To rush into print while yet the mind is immature and scholarship is superficial may open the way for many regrets, even before gray hairs shall adorn your brow. Do nothing hastily; if what you write shall become immortal, its roots must strike down to the deepest subsoil of truth. Let fame be late in coming rather than be a fitful breeze that only fans the soul for a brief hour. The chap- lets of youth are liable to fade ere wisdom mounts to the throne of power. Wielding the Press 139 Perhaps the foregoing would hardly be sound advice when we turn to the world of light literature. While the judgment may ripen as the years add their stores of experience, imagination does not plume her wings in the rays which come from the western sky. She is inspired by the sunrise, not by the sunset. ' The novel is a work of f ancy^ or the imagination. We must not be understood as saying that thought is discarded, unless this term be restricted to the relations of subjects which are real. The novelist is a builder, and in the structure he rears there must be building material and adaptation in the adjust- ment of parts. There must be proportionality in a world of fiction not less than in a world of facts. The novel has its mathematics, but its merits depend largely on its architecture and style of finish. Its purpose is to entertain, and to reach this end it must appeal to the sensibilities. Its themes are concrete, not abstract principles which belong to the domain of philosophy. Like unto the fine arts, it is pictorial, a word-painting, and, so far as there is argument, it is subordinate to and dependent on the delinea- tions supplied. There is an almost unlimited call for light litera- ture. The books drawn from public libraries belong principally to this class. Most people do not read for instruction, but for entertainment. Hence there IS here a popular field for authorship. No one will think of writing a book unless there be good pros- I40 Choosing a Lifework pect of getting readers; and if you can touch the pubHc heart, stir the emotions of the people, your productions will find sale. Of course the supply on the market is always large, but the demand is equally extensive if the books are enjoyable. Some novelists have made large fortunes, but in this, as in everything else, marked success is re- stricted to comparatively few individuals. There are some who, because of a rich vein of wit, of charming fancy or exuberant imagination, have written what all men and ages desire; but in most cases the flash is only for the hour; delight soon pales and disappears. Not many writers of fiction will have a very glowing immortality. It is thus evident that the press afifords a great field for the employment of talent. Not usually does it open the way to large fortunes, but, like every-^ thing else that possesses power, it may bless or curse society. Much of that which is best in our civilization has been wrought out by the press, and the baser workings of society have also been stimu- lated by the vile publications that have poisoned the minds of so many of the youth. The Church could not dispense with the printing press, and to it all the forces of life turn that power may be wielded with the greatest effect. Ambitious young men and women, gifted beyond the average of those who wield the pen, will make no mistake in turning to journalism or authorship. With them the sole ques- tion should be in what department of this wide do- Wielding the Press 141 main the most useful and effective work can be done. To do great things you must become great, and to become great in your own Hfe that Hfe must be lost in the lives of others. Phillips Brooks has said that **no man has come to true greatness who has not felt that in some degree his life belongs to his race, and that what God gives him he gives him for mankind." He is false to society who prints a single page that is not fitted to help some mortal struggling against ig- norance or wrong, some one who is battling the adverse currents which have set in against his life. Write, but let it be for righteousness, for truth, for humanity. 142 Choosing a Lifework CHAPTER XI Politics as a Vocation The average American boy by the time his public school studies are finished has gained a fairly good, though not a very comprehensive, knowledge of the institutions of his country. He comes to his ma- jority clothed with grave responsibilities. He has become a sovereign voter, having a voice in the councils of the nation. The interests which occupy the field of political thought and call for action are of very great impor- tance. To make this earth habitable civil govern- ments must be organized and maintained. Ques- tions must be solved which have to do with the happiness and well-being of every individual. The relations involved are, many of them, exceedingly complex and not easily adjusted. They demand the most careful and profound study. And while every ordinarily intelligent young man, from his residence in the country, is sure to have much valuable knowl- edge of existing institutions, there are many deep problems which cannot readily be fathomed, the solution of which is essential for the guidance of public affairs. It is not creditable to any American citizen to put a low estimate on political rights or privileges. Over against rights are duties, and obligations are measured by the privileges we Politics as a Vocation 143 enjoy. It was the serious concern of our forefathers to formulate fundamental principles of government which, in their breadth and equitable bearing on all the people, would be a support for legislation that guaranteed liberty — which is not license — the widest reach of the activity of the indi- vidual without impairing his relations to the public as a complex unit. Natural rights are more than individual; they are social as well. These last add to the sum of rights which the isolated person could not possess or execute. The social both creates and modifies individual rights. Man in society is vastly more than man in a state of absolute isolation. He has more to do and to enjoy. When alone, prac- tically he has no rights; in association with others there is a munificence of good within his reach. The student of political science finds some of the deepest problems of thought constantly inviting his attention. At the outset we as a people estab- lished a republican form of government. The Con- stitution of the United States is a wonderful docu- ment, especially in view of the fact that our civil- ization is Anglo-Saxon, the outgrowth of the life of the English people. Our Constitution is written, the departments and powers of the government are explicitly stated; while the English Constitution is unwritten, the growth of centuries of legislation and judicial decisions. We have an elective President, England an hereditary monarch. We have no titled aristocracy; the English government recognizes an 144 Choosing a Lifework aristocracy as fundamental to her political existence in her kingship and House of Lords. Taking into account the antecedence of our national life, it may well surprise us that our form of government is so widely diverse from that of the mother country. A very perplexing question confronted us at the time our Constitution was framed. We had for several years existed as a confederacy of States, which States were wholly independent of each other. The nation was simply a league of States. The central government could make a requisition for men and money, but it could not enforce its de- mands. Indeed, all important legislation must re- ceive the assent of at least nine of the States to be binding. To give efficiency to the general govern- ment, and at the same time preserve the autonomy of the States — which should not be surrendered — was a very delicate and perplexing question. To be a United States and not simply States united; to make the general government supreme over all the people in any and all of the States, yet reserving for the States distinct and explicit powers sufficient for the maintenance of efficient statehood, was the work sought to be accomplished, and which was arranged with wonderful skill. The outcome was not for most purposes a union of States, but a union of the people of the States. Hence our Constitution begins with these words: "We, the people of the United States, ... do ordain and establish this Constitution." Politics as a Vocation 145 The field of politics embraces the entire domain of material interests, has much to do with educa- tional privileges, and has a direct bearing on all religious institutions. There are what are called ''rights of persons,'' including privileges, legitimate employments, and protection from personal injury. There are ''rights of things,'' embracing all that comes under the head of property. And in connec-» tion with these there are social relations and inter- ests which necessarily enter into all the problems of rights of persons and things. Not only has the government a right to establish school systems for the education of the young, but we hold it to be a primary duty to provide for the mental training of each generation, both for the safety of the govern- ment and the efficiency of the people. While the government may not establish any form of religion, it must authorize the founding of religious institu- tions and protect the same. The Sabbath is by law made a sacred day, religious assemblies are guarded from disturbance, and religious organizations are authorized to acquire and hold property. As it is not our purpose to discuss these subjects in detail, only calling attention to them for illustration, we need not give further analysis of the same. All political prerogatives are determined by the Constitution under which we live, and to exercise these prerogatives means much more than an effort to put men in office. We are not a democracy — the people directly enacting laws — but a republic, 1^6 Choosing a Lifewori^ representative in form. A representative system throws the strongest temptations in the way of ambitious men, and it is notorious that poUtics is widely and fearfully corrupt. It is certainly of the first importance who shall be elected to positions of responsibility, taking into account personal character, individual capability, and the principles advocated. It is not safe to choose good men on a dangerous platform, or bad men on a safe platform, for the personality and the political creed mutually influence each other. We need men of good, irreproachable character and of sound political creed, who have the courage of their con- victions. Then there are many profound questions, which demand the deepest study, that continually confront us, such as the following: How can we adjust the differences between capital and labor? Labor strikes are exceedingly unfortunate — capital becomes idle, and the laboring man ceases to earn wages; wh^t can be done to insure the enjoyment of existing rights to both parties in the controversy ? Is the principle of a protective tariff sound, and its employment politic, or shall a tariff be imposed for revenue only ? When we find it generally profitable to enter the markets of the world with our products how shall we raise revenue to sustain the govern- ment? In our currency is bimetalism desirable? and, if desirable, can it be maintained when the rela- tive amount of gold and silver mined is constantly changing? Will the government stamp equalize the Politics as a Vocation 147 circulation, or will the cheaper displace the dearer? How do trusts dififer from partnerships? How are they inimical to public interests ? How do they de- range healthy business methods? Does the evil consist in the pooling of profits or in the monopoly created? Is it a wise policy to expand our territory? Is it our duty to become a world-power in order to extend the blessings of our free institutions? What reasons exist for the election of senators in Congress by the direct vote of the people, and what objections can be urged against it ? Is there danger, from the present trend of affairs, of too great centralization of power in the hands of the general government? Without further enumeration of problems, it is apparent to every thoughtful citizen that there is a broad field in political science that may well be trav- ersed by the student, and which calls for conscien- tious and careful study. Practical politics and political scheming to carry elections mean the same thing. In the spoils of office we find the strongest party bonds. Platforms are framed to catch votes, not to be the firm foun- dation of statehood. The party shibboleth does not grow out of the earnest convictions of patriots ; it is not the honest rallying cry of men who love their country with an unselfish devotion; but it is a shrewd, calculating pronouncement for party ends. Yet there are times when great political battles are fought with a consciousness of impending dangers, often when the very life of the nation seems to be at 14B Choosing a Lifework stake. This was the case in the campaign of 1896, when the issue was hard money as against soft money. Many men broke through party bonds, sacrificing personal poHtical interests because of an intense love of country. In i860 it was a battle of freedom with slavery, the extension of slave terri- tory or its limitation. The South, acting probably from serious convictions, was determined that all territorial restraints of their peculiar institution should be swept away, while the conscience of the people of the North had been aroused to prevent this result. It is evidently true that there has been an honest difference of opinion on the tariff. But the question raised by political leaders, commonly, is not. What does the country need ? but. What will be popular with the masses? While these words are being penned men are taxing their ingenuity to devise some form of issue that will attract the people to their ranks in the next presidential election. They are not looking into the interests of this great re- public so much as planning to get a majority of votes for party advantage. We have a great many politicians in this country, yet but few statesmen ; for it must be borne in mind that politics and statesmanship are not identical. Nothing is grander and more creditable than states- manship; and nothing can be more contemptible than politics often shows itself to be. Statesman- ship is constructive; it is the capability of rearing strong statehood; it is a comprehensive under- Politics as a Vocation i^ 149 standing of the nation's life and wants. It cannot exist without a profound knowledge of the institu- tions of the country, their relations the one to the other, their genesis and growth. It is the ability wisely to judge of the trend of the nation's life, with a clear view of the factors yet to be supplied to complete that which has only in part been reared. It must take in the future, gazing into the years yet to come, in order wisely to act in the present. It does not build for a day, but for a decade of cen- turies. Therefore in it there must be foresight, the ability to trace causes to their legitimate effects, a synthetic power to rear symmetrically the struc- ture of the nation. A politician sees nothing beyond his party; he clings to his party, right or wrong. And so no- torious is his partisanship that the lexicographer defines him a ^'schemer," an ^'intriguer." If prin- ciples are involved, he holds to them for the sake of his party ; he does not uphold the party for the sake of the principles which it proclaims. Is he a Democrat ? He does not adhere to the party because of the platform on which it stands; he keeps his place in the ranks even should the platform be placed bottom side up. If a Republican, his political creed may undergo a complete transformation provided it increases the chance of riding into power. The history of parties has shown that the most sacred thing is office. Politics is a scramble in which more than one of the ten commandments is broken. ■.?^i»' ISO Choosing a Lifework It is pleasant to be able to say that the nation is not wholly destitute of statesmanship. There are men whose patriotism is beyond question, and who prize their country far more than the success of any party. They are seeking to build up statehood on imperishable foundations. And this spirit may be more widely prevalent than it seems to be. It is unfortunate that our institutions are in the hands of political organizations, and to avoid this seems to be an impossibility. Our fathers in ordaining the choice of President of the United States by an elec- toral college vainly imagined that patriotism would rise above partisan dictation, but this is the office, above all others, for which partisan scheming be- came intense and practically unlimited. And, while parties should stand for principles, the fact is that principles are overslaughed by party ambitions and greed. The partisan spirit warps the judgment and blinds the vision so that statesmanship becomes an alloy of wisdom and folly, of logic and prejudice; it is practically an atmosphere full of clouds. There are many young men who are ambitious to figure in politics. Bright visions of leadership in State and national affairs appear before them. The most distinguished positions can be reached only through political agencies. The governorship of the State, a seat in the Senate, the presidency of the republic, who can expect to reach these coveted places of honor without handling political forces? Several considerations must be regarded. Politics as a VocATtoi^ igi First. However admirable your qualifications, there is not room for all of you. There is no other field in which talent has so poor a chance to win. In business all may succeed. In our mutual dependence one helps the other. Two persons may exchange prod- ucts and both be richer therefor. In law or medi- cine superior attainments will be sure to reap their reward. The skillful agriculturist does not fail be- cause he has so many competitors; if he sustains a loss, it is because of lack of skill. There is room for all in any line of industry and in any profession. Occupations are not so crowded as to be a positive bar to success; talent, tact, and energy will always win. It is certain there will not be more than half a score of Presidents of the United States in a gen- eration, while a thousand men, equally capable, can- not possibly reach the goal. Two men in each State succeed in getting into the national Senate, but how many more, not less learned and brilliant, find all their hopes blasted! While two politicians only gain the prize, hundreds may reach the high- est plane in legal lore or medical science, or in busi- ness pursuits ; these vocations are never so full that merit must fail to attain its reward. One of every pair of political candidates must be defeated, and he who wins this year may fail at the next election, and should you be eminently successful at first, envy will strike terrible blows at your reputation ; others of your own party will insist on taking your place. A young man is unwise to enter a line of activity, 152 Choosing a Lifework thinking he can make it his trade or profession, in which the great majority, in the nature of the case, must fail. Second. Practical politics is full of moral dan- gers. It is notoriously unfair. A political speaker seldom tells the whole truth. The political press exaggerates on the one side and minimizes on the other. Too frequently wrong is made to appear right, falsehood to be the truth. Personal character is formed by our employments. To tell half truths as though they were whole truths makes the life insincere. Withholding a part is deception in which there is moral obliquity. No one can be fully trusted who allows himself to be a partisan. It is said that "all is fair in politics;'' in other words, that every form of deception is allowable in accomplishing political ends. This is an admission of the truth of our charge, that in order to achieve the end sought it is a common thing to resort to what, in other mat- ters, would be regarded as questionable procedure. But you must remember that genuine, unwarped manhood is worth more than any other good the soul can possess. To devote the life to that which presents the strongest temptations to prevarication, to the blinding of the moral vision, to a laxity of conscience, is to court dangers which are almost sure to paralyze the fibers of your moral being. Third. Corruption has found its way into all the political forces by which ends are accomplished. Generally party councils, to whose dictum you must Politics as a Vocation 153 submit, do not, as has been said, ask the question, What does the country need? but, What is poHtic? This creates an atmosphere which is full of miasma. Associations in which the fundamental principle is not the maintenance of right, but success at any cost — the end justifying the means — sweep away all anchorage and make the life the prey of the vilest ambitions. The low moral standards by which acts are judged in political circles open the way for a perfect flood o-f corruption. With a high ideal, even, there is not absolute perfection of life, but when the end sought is the getting of votes — not honorably, but the getting of them honorably or dishonorably — the voice of conscience is silenced, and right is not allowed to interfere. In the midst of such a spirit every moral restraint is liable to yield. On the highest plane of politics, as in legis- lative assemblies, we would expect to find personal integrity guiding in the affairs of the nation, but much of practical legislation is a travesty on justice; it is secured by unholy methods. Wrong does not stop at the ballot box. We wish it did not extend any further into public affairs. Some of the dark- est pages of history are written in legislative halls. Measures are not voted on their merits, but as the result of corrupt combinations. The friends of a bill get support by lending their influence for some other bill known to be pernicious. Bargain and sale ! If money is paid for votes, it is called bribery ; but if votes are the compensation furnished, it is 154 Choosing a Lifework considered to be the result of sharp poHtical engi- neering! Yet the support is bought, a consideration is paid, in one case as much as in the other. Fourth. You cannot be a reformer if you pursue poHtics as a trade. To fight that which is evil in your party is not likely to win to you support. Such support you can get only by magnifying the merits of the party, worshiping at its shrine. Yet you ought to be a reformer. You should insist on pu- rity and uprightness in that which is political not less than in the Church itself. But this will hardly make you available for office. The average man must fall in with all the schemes of the party to receive its favors. There may be a few who possess such distinguished ability as to secure the support of the people in spite of adverse party influence, but the number is very small. It is well understood that the highest places are not generally occupied by the most talented of our citizens. They cannot afford to run the risks incurred by being shoved aside to make room for those who lead in party intrigue. And we need a still larger number of talented men who refuse to have a party leash around their necks. Something ought to be done to break the chains of political tyranny, giving more freedom of action. If the young men of the Epworth League, the Chris- tian Endeavor Association, the Baptist Young People's Union, the Christian graduates of our col- leges and universities, would organize themselves to correct partisan wrongs, they would soon make their Politics as a Vocation . 155 power felt to such a large extent that politicians would find greater difficulty in bidding defiance to the public weal and overriding moral restraints. Nothing is grander than honest and capable political leadership. Nothing is more daingerous than dishonest leadership. You should be a student of political problems, interesting yourself in the affairs of the nation. You should fit yourself to be a leader among men, attending the primaries, never staying away from the polls. In the better and more responsible sense of the word you should be a politician. You should feel an interest in your country, seeking to promote its welfare. You should be ready and eager to cooperate in building up the institutions which stand for her organic life. In- difference to political interests is not creditable to any American citizen; it shows the absence of a patriotic spirit. Conscientiously seek to influence the political movements of the day, but do not make politics your trade. Be a farmer, a mechanic, a merchant, a lawyer, a minister, a teacher, a physi- cian, a railroad man, that you may earn a livelihood and accumulate capital to bestow upon the great beneficent interests of the land in which you live; but in connection with your special pursuits remem- ber that the state has claims upon you, honestly, and in the fear of God, to stand by the free and hu- mane institutions which have cost so much in treasure and blood from the time our ancestors landed on the New England coast. If a politician, iS^ Choosing a Lifework be a Christian politician; and if a Christian, keep in mind the fact that your reUgion must not be con- fined to the closet, but should reach out to every interest of the race — ^business, social, and political. Intelligent young men should become the saviours of the nation. Those who have passed middle life have generally become fixed in their opinions or prejudices, and are unwilling to depart from the old paths. The party name holds them, whatever po- litical creed has been adopted. But the country moves on. Everything is undergoing transforma- tion. New conditions are constantly arising which call for modifications of policy. Young men may take hold of the questions which force themselves on their attention without the drawbacks which restrain those who are older in years. Quarrying Nature 157 CHAPTER XII Quarrying Nature All material industries have until recently been viewed almost exclusively from the standpoint of manual labor. Intellectually they have been placed below the professions. But since the field of science has attracted the attention of thinking people, and colleges and universities have opened the way for extensive study in this great domain, the application of the forces of nature to the industrial arts has dignified the labor of the hands and brought it in close proximity to the highest themes of thought. Three forms of matter are known to us — the solid, the liquid, and the gaseous — which in their coopera- tive action give rise to innumerable products both in the animate and inanimate world. Many of these products bear directly on industries through which capital is created and the happiness of life secured. The further our investigation are carried the more complex and wonderful nature is found to be, and the greater is seen to be the need of trained intellects to understand it. There are three great lines of industry : first, the unfolding and developing of the resources of nature; second, the production of higher forms from the lower; third, the bringing of the products of labor within reach of the consumer. 158 Choosing a Lifework We find imbedded in the earth, as a part of it, certain very vahiable products, such as gold and silver, copper and iron, coal and marl, salt and rock, and on its surface soil for the growth of vegetation. No one can overestimate the value of iron in the arts. Some metals are valuable because of their scarcity ; iron is valuable because, with the qualities it possesses, it is abundant. Were it limited in amount, like gold, while from its nature we could not utilize it as we now do gold, the place it occupies in the industrial world could never have been filled by any substance which has yet been discovered. Gold and silver serve a purpose quite unlike iron. From the small quantity in which they are found, with the great labor of procuring the same, and their almost absolute freedom from impairment by the action of the atmosphere, they are admirably fitted for use as coin. It would not be easy to find a substitute as the basis of a circulating medium, and without such basis paper could not be safely used for currency, as experiments have indisputably shown. While these are widely distributed, in small quantities, through the earth — even gold existing everywhere in the waters of the ocean — the great Architect of nature has provided for the segregation of these minerals in such quantities that they can, in many places, be profitably mined for use. Some interesting problems it has been necessary to solve in order to reduce these ores so as to obtain the metals in their simple forms. Copper is found in comparatively Quarrying Nature 159 large quantities, and, while it cannot be put to the same purposes for which we employ iron, it has some special uses of great value to which no other sub- stance is so fully adapted. The value of common salt is well understood, and its supply is inexhaust- ible. While largely our continents and islands are covered with loose material for the growth of vege- tation, it certainly is a manifestation of divine fore- sight that a considerable portion is rock that but slowly crumbles in pieces. Thus we have not only building material, but mountain ranges where clouds are formed, and from which our river systems take their rise, making the earth productive and habit- able. Every year reveals to us new resources, or brings them more fully within our reach. The marl beds are coming to be the basis of extensive industries, and from alumina, the base of the clay, we have learned cheaply to extract aluminum, a metal which, from its toughness and slight specific gravity, will find a large place in the arts, and probably will con- stitute the chief material for the construction of ships to carry the commerce of all lands. As elec- tricity is inexhaustible as a force, so in alumina there is enough of this valuable metal to supply the wants of the race for all time. In tracing the changes which have taken place in the earth up to the time of the appearance of man, nothing more clearly proclaims divine foresight i6o Choosing a Lifework and beneficent providence — a teleology having man in view — than the immense deposits of coal. The globe which we inhabit was at first a nebulous mass ; then it condensed into a fiery liquid which, by the escape of heat, became enveloped by an intensely hot rocky crust which the water surrounded in the form of vapor. The gradual escape of heat at last allowed of the condensation of the principal part of the aqueous vapor into a liquid, from which the lakes and oceans were formed, and a period of vege- tation set in. The large amount of vapor remain- ing in the air, and the exceedingly warm tempera- ture still prevailing, supplied a condition specially favorable to vegetable growth. This is called the carboniferous period, as the luxurious vegetation being deposited in lakes, bays, and other bodies of water, and being covered over by mineral depos- its, partially decayed, resulting in vast aggregations of coal, of great value as fuel and for use in the in- dustrial arts. From this also we get our petroleum and natural gas, and, by a process of distillation, the illuminating gas on which we so largely depend. More wonderful than this, we have been able to ex- tract therefrom compounds of special value in medi- cine, showing that God had all our physical needs in view in preparing this world for our habitation. It is worthy of remark that these astonishing re- sources have been waiting for the development of such a measure of civilization in the human family that they could be utilized in the highest degree for Quarrying Nature i6r the welfare of all. The great Architect of nature did not scatter his beneficence loosely over the face of the earth, to be wasted by the unthinking mass; he hid away these resources beneath the surface, to be sought for, thus promoting human industry and, still further, requiring the exercise of brain power to adapt them to our needs — hence awaken- ing and disciplining the mind while the needs of the body are conserved. God's purpose was to bring the human family gradually to a state of great intellec- tual power through the industries by which the com- forts of life are obtained. We are especially concerned, in this chapter, with the agricultural problems which are of such vital interest to us all. Food, clothing, and the material for shelter come from the soil. Agriculture is the chief of all industries. It must be put in the lead because every person is dependent on it for subsist- ence, and because more human beings are engaged in the cultivation of the soil than in all other employ- ments combined. The amount of capital invested reaches an almost incredible sum. If skillfully handled, wealth and abundance of comforts are the result; and poverty stalks abroad in the land in proportion to the extent that farming is shiftless, or unwisely prosecuted. In the President's Cabinet is a Secretary of Agriculture, a distinction enjoyed by no profession and no other industrial interest. To make agriculture the most profitable is the broad problem on which millions of people are employed. 1 62 Choosing a Lifework Within this there are subordinate problems which call for careful and intelligent study. Farming is generally classified as unskilled labor. It is true that fine manipulation is not needed, as in making a watch, adjusting the bearings of an engine, or in the manufacture of cutlery, but yet there is no employment in which more intelligence is required, especially so wide a range of intelligence. There are to be noted the succession of the seasons, the laws of climatology, the science of meteorology, the prin- ciples of chemistry, the facts of geology and miner- alogy, and the relations of all to botany and zoology. The traditions of the fathers may be followed with valuable results, but, unless agriculture has reached a state of absolute perfection, each year should mark an improvement over the year preceding. Look at some of the questions that arise. The first thing to be done is the selection of a farm. Many things must be considered, such as, the quality of the soil ; the character of the subsoil ; the amount of rainfall during the year; the liability to seasons of drought; the adaptation of the land to grain culture or grazing. Is the farm clear from obstructions, or is it covered with stone; does it contain timber needed for improvements; is it in a natural fruit section; is it convenient to market; is the soil easy or difficult to work? It is evident that in the selection of a farm there is need of clear mental vision, with an understanding of the many elements which enter. practically into the problem. Quarrying Nature 163 A young man who has been trained in farm work by a skillful agriculturist has almost a college edu- cation. He has learned what to do, how to do the work in hand, and when the work should be done. But it is important to understand the reasons for every act performed, or else the preparation is in- adequate for independent farm management. Agri- culture has its chemistry, a chemistry of soils and a chemistry of the crops raised. The theory of rota- tion of crops is chemical. The fertility of the soil depends on three things: its chemical constituents, their solubility, and the mechanical condition of the soil. The plant cannot take up the material for growth when in the form of a solid. The reason that a soil becomes unfertile by continuous growth of the same kind of crop is not that the elements needed have all been used up, but only the soluble portions. Let the soil rest and its productiveness will be in- creased — not by further supply of plant food, but because through the action of the air it gradually becomes soluble. Hence the value of summer fal- lowing. To increase the fertility of the soil is a mixed problem. There is the adding of the material for growth and the making available that which was not in a state favorable to absorption and assimila- tion. The pulverizing of the soil meets two demands — providing for its easy penetration by the roots, and for the free action of the air. There is a phi- losophy of plant growth deep and broad enough for the best intellects. Nowhere is there more to invite 164 Choosing a Lifework thought and tax the powers of the mind. Whether they be understood or not, successful farming rests on scientific principles which cannot be set aside or disregarded. He only is wise who puts knowledge before action, or in connection with acts seeks for knowledge; who enthrones reason, not tradition, in the administration of affairs. If mind is more than body, if mental food exceeds in value the physical, in connection with all our employments there should be the training of the intellectual faculties; and if farming fails to open the way for thought and study, it may well be discredited as a life employment. But if in itself it offers opportunities and inducements for mental culture, it is certainly one of the grandest and most profitable employments in the whole range of occupations. The number of questions that arise in farming are without limit,' as, the adaptation of the soil to specific forms of agriculture ; the preparation of the soil by fertilization and mechanical cultivation for the crop to be raised ; the care of the crop during the period of its growth; the maturing and harvesting of the same ; the succession of crops ; the raising of stock and the selection of that which is most profit- able; the feeding and housing of animals; reclama- tion of impoverished soils ; treatment of marsh lands ; adjusting cost to income; selection of the best farm- ing implements — all these and many other subjects calling for intelligent judgment and careful manage- ment. Instead of decrying agriculture as a menial Quarrying Nature 165 employment, rather might we exclaim, ''Who is suf- ficient for these things?" In most cases farming calls for more than the farmer can supply. Gener- ally he fails to rise to the demands made on his in- telligence. The poorest agriculture is found in countries which are on the lowest plane of civilization. In such countries there is no adequate conception of the resources of the soil, and the methods employed are of the rudest kind. Nothing, perhaps, gauges thought and skill more than the farm implements we have in- vented and brought into use. It is a great distance from the sharpened piece of wood, with which the soil is stirred in some pagan lands, up to our Ameri- can plow and cultivator; from the sickle to the reaper and mower; from the flail to the steam thrasher; from the pestle for grinding to the patent- process flouring mill. These improvements are all the work of thoughtful minds. In farming the mightiest force is brain power. That this fact is appreciated by the public is shown by the establishment of colleges with the explicit purpose of educating young men for the intelligent cultivation of the soil. These colleges endeavor to accomplish three things : First, the training of the mind by the prosecution of studies, as in other insti- tutions of learning of a high grade. The mind must be sharpened ; it must be trained, through the gaining of knowledge; it must learn how to think; it must gain power. Second, the young man must acquire 1 66 Choosing a Lifework a knowledge of those sciences on which rational agriculture depends. He needs to be a chemist, a botanist, a biologist, with a wide range of knowledge in zoology. The study of branches in these depart- ments of nature is disciplinary, and also opens to view the laws and forces which operate in the growth of the plant and the life of the animal king- dom. Third, there must be a specific application of natural science in the manual operations of the farm. The mechanical and scientific clasp hands, and thought wields the scepter of authority in the vari- ous methods employed. There has been a disposition to decry what is called ''book" farming. For this there is some ground when by book farming is meant a preparation for agriculture simply by the reading of books on scientific themes. There is a manual training, a practical experience in farm processes and manage- ment, which cannot be dispensed with. A person must know how to handle a plow as well as be posted in the theory of soil culture by means of the plow ; he must understand the method of cultivation not less than the chemistry of growth. It is not enough to determine that certain substances are good fertilizers, but also the economy of their use. Tile drainage adds to the productiveness of the soil, but will it increase the fertility sufficiently to make it a good investment? It certainly will not pay to expend ten dollars on an acre when but five dollars wall be received in return. Reading facts and prin- Quarrying Nature 167 ciples, in the study, may lead to the greatest blunders unless accompanied by practical experience. A person who has spent his youth and early man- hood in a profession, or in commercial pursuits in a city, commonly makes an utter failure by retiring to a farm in later years. As in everything else, he needs the benefit of early thought and training as a preparation for the pursuit to be followed after middle life. If by book farming is meant the reading by the farmer of scientific works which apply to agricul- ture, and the careful perusal of our best agricultural journals for the purpose of understanding more fully the principles involved and the mode of utiliz- ing the same, the objection urged is unworthy of the slightest regard. Why should not the farmer avail himself of the investigations and experiences of the best thinkers and most skillful cultivators of the soil in every part of the land? It would be as rational to advocate the improvement of commerce by destroying our telegraph and telephone systems and tearing up our railroad tracks — the exclusion of information — as to propose that we dispense with the discussion of agricultural problems by the press in order to make farming profitable. The advice we would give to every farmer is to live a student life, not as a substitute for that which is practical in his daily pursuits, but to perfect the practical. Enter into an intellectual communion with the great mass of mind that is dealing directly with nature. i6S Choosing a LiPEwoftit There is a spirit of unrest among young men who have been brought up on the farm. They are alkired by what appear to them to be special attrac- tions of the cities. Wealth is massed in the great centers of population. It is seldom, if ever, that a man becomes a millionaire by the cultivation of the soil; and farm work is arduous as well as only moderately remunerative. The most distinguished public men generally make their home in these large centers. There you get nearer to the people, and the opportunities for exerting a wide influence are greater than anywhere else. The large influx into the cities from the country is rapidly changing the ratio of population. One third of the inhabitants of the United States now live in cities, and by the same ratio of increase in the future as in the past over half of the people of this country will be residents of the great centers in less than a quarter of a century. Mr. Strong, in the September issue, 1897, ^^ ^he North American Review, tells us that if the rate of growth of cities continues to be as great as between 1880 and 1890, the cities of the United States in 1920 will contain 10,000,000 more than one half of our population. Young men should note the fact that, while a few attain unto great wealth or great distinction in the professions by removal to the cities, with the large number the change has been made at a positive loss. Pecuniarily the average gain of those who stay at home is greater than of those who leave the farm. Quarrying Nature 169 And in the country there is less inequality. While there are only a few who are very rich, there are but few who are very poor. There is a law of industry, however, which must enter into our calculations: more and more will capital be created through the use of machinery, and to that extent lessen the de- mand for human labor. Improved farming imple- ments are every year diminishing this demand. The steam plow, the cultivator, the horserake, the corn- cutter, the reaper and mower reduce the number of farm hands and drive them where other employ- ments can be procured. Four men, it is said, will to-day do on the farm the work whSfch required four- teen men but a short time ago. Where can these unemployed men go if not to the cities? There is a repellant force in the country, while the city opens its arms to receive the people. Centers of manufacturing, mechanical and commer- cial industries, they will increase in population, while the tendency will exist to deplete the popula- tion where farming is prosecuted. For a time this tendency is held somewhat in check by the need of labor to open new and uncultivated sections of the West. When this demand is met the migration to the cities will be even more rapid and constant. Nothing can prevent this unless higher, more per- fect, soil culture can be secured. But improve the farming and the amount of products is correspond- ingly increased, and to the extent of the excess thus created there will be a cheapening of the price, which 170 Choosing a Lifework of itself will drive laborers into the city. These considerations answer the question, Why do not the excess of laborers in the city go out into the country ? While in the cities there is a large unemployed, or poorly employed, class, because of excess of this portion of population, yet the vast aggregate of work inspires hope in the midst of all discouragements. And then it is not an easy thing for the very poor to get out of the city; with most of them starvation would be certain. The problem which we need to solve is not how to hold the people in the country, but how to make farm work most profitable. A freedom of action will adjust the ratio of population, but, in the case of the great agricultural class, by what means can their financial condition be improved? There is but one way. Better farming, resulting from a more thorough knowledge of the principles which underlie this great industry, is what is needed. This knowledge can be gained by the aid of our agricul- tural colleges, the agricultural press, local associa- tions for the discussion of the theory and practice of farming, and from the employment of the various forms of personal mental improvement. The farmer should be the most intelligent man in every commu- nity. In the sciences which underlie his vocation there is an unlimited field for study. He should seek to know the reason for all that he does, and, understanding the groundwork of his art, he can make that art more profitable. A thoroughly in- Quarrying Nature 171 structed farmer has almost a university education, and out from that education should grow wealth if wise methods are employed. Agriculture can and should be made attractive by means of the wide field of study offered and the profits of intelligent labor ; while the country as a home possesses moral safe- guards for the rearing of a family v/hich the city does not supply. \^2 Choosing a Lifework CHAPTER XIII Man the Builder The magnitude of results in action or movement depends on two conditions : the qualifications of the actor, and the breadth of opportunity for action. A man may possess extraordinary capabilities, but in the absence of a grand field for their employment no great work is achieved. Daniel Webster could not make a great speech without a great theme, but when the doctrine of nullification was in issue his marvelous reply to Hayne became possible. Out from a great occasion an inferior mind cannot bring forth magnificent results. A person of less mental caliber than Webster would have failed to meet the issue of nullification with such masterful arguments. The vocations discussed in the preceding chapters are seen to be sufficiently broad for the greatest minds. In any one of them the most ambitious young man will find enough to employ powers of a superior order. In the mechanic arts we are introduced into a world wholly of man's creation. We are not to consider here primary resources embedded in nature, but devices for the utilization of such forces. We have to do with machinery constructed by man, from the bow and arrow up to the Mauser rifle and Krupp gun; from the corduroy road to the Brooklyn Man the Builder 173 Bridge; from the Indian dugout up to the magnifi- cent steamer that carries the commerce of the seas. In nothing does man show his superiority to the rest of the animal kingdom more than in his abihty to handle implements of industry. The dog digs in the earth with its paws, man with a hoe or spade. The beaver cuts down the tree with his teeth, man with an ax. The bird gathers material for the nest with its beak; man constructs his dwelling with hammer and saw. The fish propels its body through the water with fins ; man constructs a boat and sends it forward with oars or sails or steam power. This difference is not accidental, nor wholly the result of the higher grade of the human intellect. It is, to a large extent, the outcome of a physiological prob- lem. The quadruped would find it difficult to throw a stone. For this he needs an erect form. And bipeds like birds and fowls could perform this act no more easily or successfully. Man has a bodily structure by which he is fitted to be an artisan. The human hand is a wonderful organ which opens to us a world of achievements where thought finds its highest realizations. The body is a prophecy of mind. Without the hand the intellect would be comparatively useless, and an order of beings of lower mental grade than man would find the hand almost an incumbrance. Thus mind and hand are a dual power, each essential to the other. In the last of the preceding chapters we considered the primary resources of nature. From the soil, 174 Choosing A LiFEwoRK with the aid of the atmosphere, the sunhght, and the rains, we get our bread. Bread? Bread does not grow. With implements man has devised we clear the land of obstructive vegetation; we break up the soil with the plow that has been invented for this very purpose ; we cover the seed by means of a cultivator arranged for its proper distribution; we harvest the ripened grain with the reaper; we sepa- rate the grain with the thrasher; we grind it with machinery in a flouring mill ; we bake the flour into bread by means of culinary apparatus through the heat supplied from the combustion of wood cut from the forest or coal dug from the mines by implements of art. It is a great way from the soil, where the process begins, to the dinner table, where the bread is consumed and our hunger allayed, and at every step art is employed. We can determine history without the printed page. Archaeology takes us back to a stone age. There were a few implements then in use, but they were made not of iron or any other metal, but of stone. Art there was, but it was crude, and dis- played limited knowledge. The stone hammer, the chipped arrowhead, tell their story, but it is a brief one, and the life lived was on the lowest plane. In all relations, private and public, man was very near the soil, art had accomplished only meager results, and thought had a narrow range. It was a stone age, for knowledge had introduced the race to nothing higher or better. Man the Builder 175 This is followed by the bronze age, in which man employed an alloy of metals, making known to us the fact that he had taken some steps up toward a higher civilization. New material for the arts had been discovered and processes employed which opened the way for more effective industry. In time the iron age appeared. The metal was extracted from the ores, art not only receiving an impulse which looked toward a loftier plane of life, but unlimited possibilities came within the reach of the race. This age has not closed, and it never will. Art is now producing ten thousand forms, and in every direction mental achievements are being made. It is a gauge of life; it is an interpreter of life; it is an inspiration and promoter of life. The divine Architect completed his work in put- ting nature within our reach — nature a realm of law, containing within itself forces for the execution of law. This done, the material world is turned over to man. Art, the inventions of man, consists of provisions for utilizing force. There are the muscu- lar and nervous energies of the hand, the strength of the horse, the momentum of the wind, the gravita- tion of matter — especially in its liquid form, as water — the elasticity of steam, the illuminating and pro- pelling power of electricity, the explosive force in gunpowder, etc. Aside from determining the nature of these forces, it has been left to the human intellect to provide means for employing them in the pro- duction of results. 1/6 Choosing a Lifework We have mentioned the fact that the hand is an organ of facile power, and that it is intended tO' be the special servant of the mind. But from the simplest to the most complex movements it does not perform its work except by the use of some instru- ment especially designed for a particular end. We use the knife, the fork, the spoon at our meals — even the Chinese handle chopsticks ; we write with a pen ; we chop with an ax ; we cut with a saw ; we smooth wood with a plane ; we turn the bolt with a wrench ; we paint with a brush ; we drive the nail with a ham- mer ; w^e lift with a lever ; for the very simplest move- ments we make a requisition on the arts. A survey of the field of industry brings out the fact that we accomplish everything through the instrumentality of machinery. Even agriculture, treated in the preceding chapter, in which we come nearest to primary conditions of labor, cannot be prosecuted without special implements of husbandry. And sa rapidly has machinery been introduced that the ef- ficiency of human labor has been multiplied many fold over that of a hundred years ago. The activities of the mechanic arts may be divided into two classes: the manual labor employed, and the mental factor entering into the problem. Manual labor may be put into two divisions, namely, skilled and unskilled. Unskilled labor is the lowest form of manual operations. It is a labor of beginners, and of a large number of persons who do not im- prove by practice, or who continue to perform the Man the Builder 177 simplest kinds of industry. Naturally the compen- sation received is on the lowest plane of wages. Skilled labor is labor requiring experience, dexterity — labor in which expertness is required, in which there is dexterity gained by discriminating action of the muscles. It is a product of the joint action of mind and body. This possesses greater value than the former, because of its higher grade and its greater scarcity. The mental factor in the mechanic arts is that to which we would call your special attention. We would not write this chapter for young men and women who have not the capability or spirit for superior intellectual work. Is there a sphere of operation in mechanics for those who are talented, for such as are endowed by nature for high personal achievements ? Everything in the material world is under law; every mechanical device is employed, in accordance with law, for personal and public good. It needs no argument to convince anyone that it is better to work with eyes open than with eyes closed. The rational on the material side holds out advantages far beyond the empirical. There is no sphere where great minds have dis- played their powers more than in the inventions by which the mechanic arts have been raised to- their present proportions. The Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 surprised as well as delighted every- body who wandered through those buildings. It 178 Choosing a Lifework was not all art, but art had to do with it all. Even the products of the soil and of the mines were wrought out or procured by art. Painting and sculpture are designated the fine arts, but they belong to that great field in which man supplements nature with his genius acting on nature. From the one side to the other of the exposition grounds — made a fairyland- — there was the display of human in- telligence showing its special and varied triumphs in the United States, in England, in France, in Ger- many, in Russia, in Italy, in Spain, in nearly every civilized land. Here was mind manifesting itself in concrete forms of the most varied and useful constructions. Even the fish were there only be- cause man had planned their capture and mechan- ically made provision for their keeping and safety. He would be a paragon in mental power who could compass in imagination and thought all that the genius of man had wrought out in the different lands of the earth. The word "manufactures'' is perhaps as broad a term as our language contains to express the products of human ingenuity in material things. Such exquisite and diverse fabrics for clothing and adorning the body; such charming and luxurious vehicles for transportation; such wonderful models in ship carpentry ; such highly wrought and palatial railroad coaches in contrast with the ruder structures of three quarters of a century ago ; such motors for machinery both stationary and movable; such — ^but to enumerate would be an endless task. Yet the Man the Builder 179 Paris Exposition of 1900 will almost inconceivably excel the exposition of seven years previous in every- thing, and this because of what the mind has devel- oped in these few revolutions of the sun. The watch does not surpass the sundial as an instrument for marking time any more than the printing press of ^ to-day surpasses the press of fifty years ago; any more than the mechanical appliances in every line of industry excel the machinery our fathers em- ployed but a few decades in the past. Here we find a world of mind where marvelous achievements are made; where thought has played a part not less grand than in any of the professions. There are both the inventing and handling of machinery. Inventions lie right along the line of scientific principles. Nothing has characterized the learning of the last century more than the attention given to science, in its development, and the place accorded to it in the education of the people. Understanding nature better, knowing how she per- forms her work, we come to see the need of further machinery, and the world of mechanics grows with increasing rapidity. There is no material interest of life to which thought is devoted with more intensity than this. The speed of railroad trains at forty miles an hour is a great advance over the early rate of ten miles an hour, but we are seeking now for an average speed of sixty or eighty miles. The Springfield rifle, which had such a good reputation at the time i8o Choosing a Lifework of the civil war, put us greatly at disadvantage when we commenced hostilities with Spain a third of a century later. Is the Krupp gun a finality in heavy ordnance? They tell us it is not. New methods are devised for cheapening the cost of the gun, less- ening the time for manufacture, and greatly in- creasing its durability. A single man-of-war of our present navy would sink a hundred such vessels as we employed a third of a century ago. The analogy holds in every department of mechanical industry. In the boyhood of the writer the wheat was cut with the cradle, raked up and bound from the swath, the grain trodden out by horses in the barn, win- .nowed by the fanning mill, shoveled into bags by hand. Now the machine reaps and thrashes and cleans the wheat, filling the bags ready for market out in the open field. But a few years ago the type for printing was all set with human fingers ; to-day it is set by machinery, is electrotyped, and printed on a press of marvelous capacity, and with speed at the rate of 48,000 an hour. Our grandmothers used the spinning wheel and distafif, toilsomely spinning a few skeins of yarn between sunrise and sunset. To-day the spin- ning wheel is only a relic of the weary past, and the great manufactory does a thousandfold more work with the greatest ease. But a few years ago our postal system, at the fleetest, depended on a relay of horses to speed the carrier; now the railroad train covers nearly one thousand miles a day, and the Man the Builder i8i telegraph sends its message from the Atlantic to the Pacific so quickly as scarcely to be measured by ap- preciable time. Before the day of steam power six weeks were needed to get tidings from Europe; now our steamers traverse the ocean in less than seven days, and the news of a battle fought in the Philip- pines on Saturday is received in Washington by cable the Friday preceding. Some of the most astonishing achievements are witnessed in engineering. Will not the Rocky Mountains be almost an impassable barrier between the Mississippi valley and the Pacific slope? We can build our railroads on a level and make a cut through hills of a hundred feet and less in elevation ; but when the mountains rise ten thousand feet at their lowest depression, and are solid rock from base to summit, does not nature say, 'Thus far, no far- ther, canst thou go?" And yet the civil engineer lays his track and builds the road up the mountain's side, many thousands of feet above sea level, and down on the further declivity until it comes to the level of the sea again, and the man at the throttle of the engine carries his train safely up dizzy heights and down the great declihe; and this day after day. Nothing seems too great for the mechanical ingenu- ity of man. Whether we shall be able to construct machines for safe and profitable navigation in the air it may not be easy as yet to determine; and though Andree may have perished in his balloon venture, the north pole will yet be reached. 1 82 Choosing a Lifework In my young manhood there was no poetic dream so wild as to anticipate the achievements in electricity which are only prose at this closing of the nineteenth century. For illumination, for transmis- sion of intelligence through the air and under the sea, as a motor driving machinery, it is making history for man in all these civilized lands. Steam is becoming almost a back number. Water power, though supplied by nature without cost, is much too slow for our use. In a few years horses will seldom be seen on our streets, and factories will run with a power which is foreshadowed by the lightning flash in the clouds, but harnessed to machinery and con- trolled as easily as the horse is guided by its driver, and with much more precision. Niagara Falls will not have a monopoly of electrical power transmitted to a neighboring city. Not relatively merely, but absolutely, electricity is inexhaustible. It is not destroyed in its consumption ; it simply changes con- dition and is ready to be harnessed for its brilliant dash or mighty tug in the movements of nature. Compressed air may yet play a great part in me- chanical operations. Like gravitation and electric- ity, it simply awaits our word of command. The law of its action we understand ; the mechanism for its general use is all that is needed, and this is now being supplied. But we are almost overwhelmed with astonish- ment by the recent developments in regard to liq- uid air. That air can be liquefied by pressure Man the Builder 183 and reduction of heat is a new discovery. But, liquefied, is it anything more than a nov- elty, as the north pole, if reached, will be only a point, not a thing ? That the air liquefied can be used in the arts with tremendous effect must now be admitted. Surely the inventor and the practical mechanic do not find the world contracting as they move on to the future, but new fields of vast extent open before them. Civil engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering, electrical engineer- ing, present problems of great magnitude, which call for the highest grade of intelligence and the widest scholarship. Not until after the present century had reached its meridian was it considered to be the mission of the college to prepare young men for anything else than the professions. Higher education was believed to have no further field of operation. "What does a man need of a college education who is to be a farmer or mechanic?" But the veil which covered the eyes of the people has been torn off, and an un- limited demand for scholarship is found in all de- partments of human industry. He who plans a bridge across the Niagara or the East River, with all the mathematics required, pure and applied, need not fear to stand beside the tallest statesman in the United States Senate. The man who tunnels a river and makes it a highway of trade shapes the destiny of the future as certainly and grandly as the legislators who determine the commercial policy of 1 84 Choosing a Lifework the government. To make speeches in Congress — however eloquent — on questions of poHtical moment is not building up our country in that which makes us great more than is the engineer who carries the railroad through canyons, across rivers, along the declivities of great mountains, putting the two halves of the continent commercially and socially in touch with each other. To do requires great capabilities not less than to talk; the actor will yet be king. In the mechanic arts there is a wide scope for in- dustry. Much of the work done will continue to be unskilled; it will be on the lower plane of manual operations, not admitting of much improvement. In this a large number will receive employment and can- not demand large remuneration. Above this, of many grades, there is work calling for the skill of trained muscles and of developed minds — clear judg- ment, with aptness of movement. We speak of that which is strictly manual employment. Then there is the work of superintendence, in which management is required in addition to mechanical skill. In this case we may expect to find both foremen and con- tractors. Still further on we come to the architect who works out the plan of construction, with all that is involved therein. And last of all, and fundamen- tal to it all, there is the inventor, who, studying the laws of nature and the application of the forces with which law is informed, conceives of mechanical devices for achievement of special results. In this Man the Builder 185 domain of action there is certainly room for thought, for the employment of trained powers, for scholar- ship which broadens the intellect, and for skill which enables the individual to realize that which is most perfect in art. He whose tastes would lead him into this field of industry will find a world large and varied, and grand enough for the highest powers of his intellectual nature. It is well that in some of our colleges departments have been established for the study of the mechanical arts. i86 Choosing a Life work CHAPTER XIV The Creation of Values A LARGE proportion of the industries of civilized lands consists of the processes of exchange. Between production and consumption, in most cases, neces- sary labor intervenes which enhances the value of the products. It must be borne in mind that values may change without any modification in quantity or qual- ity of the article itself. A pound of tea in Detroit has larger value than in China. Wheat in New York is more valuable than in Dakota. We mean by value the market price, not inherent properties. Air is essential to life, but is without value, as it is free to all. Value is imparted by human labor ; it is the price which such labor will bring. Wheat in the elevator may have its value increased or lessened without itself undergoing any change. This depends wholly on the market. Now, any object which will serve a purpose, for which there is a demand, and on which labor has been bestowed, possesses value. Gold is more valuable than silver, not because of its color or weight, but because greater effort is re- quired to procure it. Services only are exchange- able. Values are increased, first, by such changes as fit for new uses, or more completely for uses already served; second, by the labor and cost of The Creation of Values 187 transportation and care, the bringing the object within reach of the consumer. Life is not individual existence only, as we have seen; there is a mutual dependence which reaches out to all the interests of our being. Isolation is not an enlargement of power, but rather, as has been said, a restriction of power. There is no independ- ence without dependence. Duality appears at the v'ery beginning of life. The child's existence reaches back to a twofold parentage, and in his training he is better and stronger because of the manly influence of the father and the womanly influence of the mother. Starting from the family, the first indus- trial and social unit, a broader unit is reached»in the community, thence forward to the state, the nation, and the world. Everyone recognizes the benefit of division of labor. No person attempts to do everything, to produce every article he consumes. The farther we get away from the savage state the more widely does this principle apply. The red man hunts his game, eats the flesh, clothes himself with the skins of wild beasts, makes for himself a rude portable hut, and this comprises the principal part of his industries. Civilization means a multiplying of in- dustries within the state or the nation, but not a homogeneity of occupations. The tendency is rather to the narrowing of each line of employment with the improvement of the arts. This is economy. A person will accomplish more in a day or year by 1 88 Choosing a Lifework prosecuting a single form of labor during the whole period than by dividing up his time in a dozen pur- suits. And the use of machinery on a large scale has changed the modes of industry, organizing great centers where a multitude of men are employed in a single line, while a few scores of years ago one man would divide up his time on nearly a score of em- ployments. To produce one thing and purchase a hundred is more profitable than to produce a hun- dred kinds of articles with one's own hands. In the multiplication of distinct industries we are evidently working out the plans of Providence. The rotundity of the earth produces inequality of climate in different parts of the globe. The vegetable life of the tropics is widely different from that of other latitudes. We can get the benefit of nature's pro- ductions in the tropics only by importing them. The great Architect of the universe compels intercom- munication and interdealing of widely separated lands if the resources of nature are to be most fully utilized. Railroads and steamships, telegraphs and ocean cables, have thrown us into relations with all parts of the globe. God evidently intended that one country should be dependent on every other. The city and the rural sections must prosecute unlike employments. The people at the great cen- ters cannot produce their own food, either vegetable or animal, while concentration of population pro- vides a market for the products of the farm. If there are cities, there must be commerce. The Creation of Values 189 Around great manufactories cities are sure to spring up, and if on the seashore, on lakes or large rivers — at points from which transportation can easily be effected — such cities are sure to reach large dimensions. Machinery makes manufactories ; manu- factories create cities ; commerce, becoming a neces- sity, stimulates the industries which carry forward cities to a larger growth. Thus it appears that out from the life with which God has supplied us our wants cannot be met without commerce. To dispense with commerce our cities must be destroyed, the people scattered throughout the rural districts, and each individual consume principally the products of his own hands. Without commerce we must go far back toward the primitive or savage state. And though the aborigines of this country did not build cities or establish stores for trade, yet even they, to a limited extent, indulged in exchange. This they could not avoid. But we can find the need of exchange farther back still, embedded in our very life. People are unlike in industrial tastes and capabilities. Some incline to agricultural pursuits, others to mechanical oper- ations, while others still are most at home in some of the professions. It all has a bearing on material prosperity ; the world is richer as the result thereof. The teacher in training the mind of the boy fits him for a more intelligent prosecution of industry, con- tributing to the wealth of the world. The physician administers remedies to the sick, bringing health 190 Choosing a Lifework back again for the labor of the hands. The min- ister in carrying forward his work of moral eleva- tion removes the most potent influence for idleness and vice. In proportion as the people are virtuous they are industrious, and are wealth-producers. The legal profession is established in the interest of jus- tice. As laws are executed and wrongs suppressed material prosperity is secured. Even in the most primary social unit, that of the family, there must be diverse employments. The husband could not carry forward his work to advantage without the labor of his wife in preparing his meals, caring for his clothing, and with her hands arranging things for his comfort. To say that the husband is a pro- ducer is telling only half of the truth. The wife helps him to be a producer; her own work as well as his practically enters into the product. This is the principle we are seeking to elucidate, that there is and must be an almost endless diversity of employments; that in our industries we are all interdependent, each helping the other, each receiv- ing from the other; we are exchanging services, and must do so to carry out the plan on which life is built. That the material well-being of the people may be secured in the largest measure some must produce from the soil, others by means of mechan- ical arts, and still others engage in the work of ex- change. The producer would find it extremely in- convenient, and very expensive, to hunt up a custom- er and deliver the goods at his door, getting from The Creation of Values 191 him or some one else what he needs in return. Hence there has grown up a middle occupation — a mer- cantile or commercial class, purchasing what the several members of the community wish to sell and keeping for sale what they wish to buy. They bring oranges from Florida, tea from China, coffee from Java, a variety of articles from the places where they are produced, so that we are not compelled to travel all over the earth to get what we need. The cloth of which our garments are made is manufac- tured at one place, our shoes at another, out hats at another, at great distances from our home, it may be; but the merchant brings these goods into the community in which we live, and thus our wants are readily supplied. The difference between the merchant's selling and buying price is his remuner- ation for the service rendered. By this arrangement there is great economy as well as convenience. Ex- change is one of the three great industries of the race. The field of commerce is of great magnitude. It reaches out to all lands and embraces every product of nature and the arts. It consists of grades with- out number, from the sale of shoestrings on the street to the vast importations from foreign lands by means of the magnificent steamers which traverse the ocean. While money is designated a circulating medium, an aid to commerce, not an article of commerce, yet banks engage in commercial transactions. Banking IS a system of credits. A draft bought in one city 192 Choosing a Lifework is cashed in another, perhaps by a party having no connection with the bank in either city. Credits are negotiable and exchangeable. Considering the bulk of business transacted, but little money changes hands. Our payment of the twenty million dollars indemnity to the Spanish government was made by exchange of credits. A clearing house is an estab- lishment where credit and debit balances are ad- justed. Money is bought and sold. A bank of issue barters its paper, parting with it for a compen- sation. It is a sale on which profits are expected to be realized. Aside from discount charged on paper issued, there is a deduction from par value on paper bought. And while paper comes into circulation as currency through a commercial process, and is kept in circulation commercially, the gold and silver back of it, on which it rests as primary money, are produced by human labor,like every other article of commerce. As bullion it is sold to the government for minting into coin, and when made into coin it comes out from the national treasury through purchase by the indi- vidual. It will be seen that commerce is the very support of industry. It penetrates to, and controls in, every avenue of labor. Without it production would be nearly paralyzed and our wants unsupplied. Commerce is complex in its nature. The dealer must know how to buy and how to sell. Many ques- tions are sure to arise in selecting his stock. There will be the quality of the goods, the price he ought to pay, the extent of the demand in the home market. The Creation of Values 193 He should be a good judge of the articles he wishes to purchase. This skill it is not always easy to ac- quire, especially if the stock be large and varied. A long and painstaking apprenticeship is a necessity if mistakes are to be avoided. And it is not easy to determine, in advance, what and how much can be sold. The merchant is very liable to overstock, es- pecially in small towns. As to many things, much depends on the character of the season. Will the winter be cold or mild ? Will summer heat directly follow the winter, or will spring intervene? And fashion is as fickle as the winds. The novelties of to-day may be discarded to-morrow. It is said that more than ninety per cent of the merchants make one or more failures in business. That there are risks which cannot be wholly guarded against is evident; and these risks, to a large extent, inhere in the purchase of goods. In some of the branches of merchandising there are more risks than in others. Goods are bought to be sold. People will not patronize a house unless they have confidence in it. Are the goods reliable? Are they what they are recommended to be? Is the merchant a man of strict integrity ? And then a salesman should under- stand human nature. Courteous, accommodating, suave in his manners, neither brusque nor soft, having tact to approach different classes of people in a manner that will please them — this is necessary to win trade. No one will be a regular customer of a house where conditions are not agreeable. 194 Choosing a Lifework It is unwise, as a general rule, to engage in busi- ness without capital nearly equal to the purchases you must make. To pay interest on borrowed money eats up the profits and introduces a large element of risk. The men who fail are those who cannot pay their debts on time. It is better to work on a salary until sufficient capital be accumulated to lift you above large hazards which pecuniary indebt- edness is sure to bring. In connection with this item it is well to offer a caution against too rapid expansion of business. There is as much danger from accumulation of indebtedness as from begin- ning with such a load on your shoulders. Every form of business in its prosecution should be educational. There should be in it mental stimu- lation and a development of power. Large mercan- tile interests, if they receive the attention they need, must tax the energies of the mind. To have every- thing in hand; superintend the employees; know what part of the stock is selling most rapidly ; keep everything thoroughly balanced; inform one's self of the percentage of sales of the different parts of the stock ; see to it that the accounts are in the best condition ; buy wisely and shrewdly, what is needed and just so much as is needed; attend to all bills, that every indebtedness be promptly met — there is enough to do in all this to employ every moment of time. As a result habits of attention must become fully developed, and more and more of business ca- pacity acquired. The Creation of Values 195 It is customary to divide commercialists into two classes — wholesale and retail dealers. Countries widely separated carry forward extensive exchanges. The amount increases with improvements in pro- duction and the wealth of the people. Also the in- creasing readiness with which transactions are ef- fected — from more rapid transit on land and sea, and the use of the telegraph for information and the making of orders — tends to swell the amount of business, adding also an element of safety. As widely separated lands draw more closely together each will help and enrich the other. Wholesale houses are established in great centers of business. These are stocked from importations, and from them retailers are supplied who, in the towns all over the country, provide for the wants of consumers. From the foregoing considerations it is apparent that commercial industries are of the highest im- portance. They add to the wealth of the world by saving the time of consumers, supplying at the least trouble and at the lowest rate that which is needed. Dry goods merchants, grocers, hardware dealers, druggists — those who handle merchandise of differ- ent kinds — form the nucleus of all our villages and cities. People gather together in centers where trade has special facilities, where the farmer can readily sell his produce and procure what he needs in return. Commerce joins hands with agriculture and the mechanic arts, making them successful, each of the three stimulating and building up the others. 196 Choosing a Lifework In commerce there is room for the widest range of talents. There are problems which call for con- stant study. The merchant should be a man of extensive acquirements in practical affairs. He deals with interests that are many-sided, and which are subject to constant variations. He has to do with men and women of every grade of intelligence and ethical views. He certainly should gain exten- sive knowledge of life, as appearing on the right and the wrong sides. Sharp-witted, a reader of char- acter, with much of practical wisdom, he should be fitted to go forward as a leader in the community. About the middle of the present century the people began to plan for the organization of agricultural colleges. Congress became interested and made appropriations of lands for the support of the same. In this much wisdom was displayed. Soon mechan- ical departments were provided, thus widening the range of industrial education. But there is no busi- ness pursuit requiring more of shrewdness, demand- ing greater mental capacity, than commerce. Recently it has been proposed to found colleges of commerce; not commercial colleges, where book- keeping and penmanship are the principal branches taught, but colleges for the study of the facts and laws of commerce. A man may be thoroughly posted in commercial arithmetic; may understand commercial law ; he may be at home in drawing com- mercial paper; he may be a good bookkeeper and write an elegant hand, but still be an utter failure The Creation of Values 197 in the handling of commercial interests. Commer- cial colleges train the student principally in making an intelligent record of business transactions. In this skill may be gained in the absence of qualifica- tions for the great work of exchange. To import, or to buy and sell, is a very different thing from the making of an entry in a ledger. A man may be a good accountant, and fit for nothing else. But when we remember that the productions of the earth vary because of climate; that commerce is carried for- ward both by water and by land ; that demand and supply enter as factors into the problems of trade; that the demand varies with the civilization of the people, their pecuniary condition, their tastes, and the fashions that are instituted ; that the shape and position of the American continent must be con- sidered in judging of the natural trend of commer- cial affairs; that the oceans on the two sides of us must modify trade; that the civilization of Europe is unlike that of Asia ; that the products on the other side of the Atlantic differ in almost every particular from the products west of the Pacific; that as the Suez Canal has opened up a highway of commerce in the East, so the Panama or Nicaragua Canal will greatly modify trade between our Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the greater part of the Eastern world; that the United States is more and more finding a market for her productions in other lands — when we remember that the questions that arise and the interests to be considered are so many and 198 Choosing a Lifework almost infinitely varied, including the great problems of the currency and tariff — there surely is need of a wide and thorough study of the principles of trade, and of the relations which reach out to all countries with which we have dealings. Indeed, we come into the range of the highest statesmanship. Com- merce and the right policy of government are in closest touch with each other. He who is ambitious to make a distinguished record during his three- score and ten years of life will here find a field broad enough for all the energies, mental and physical, with which God has endowed him. Winning Success 199 CHAPTER XV Winning Success Society is like the vault of the sky where stars of varying magnitudes appear in the midst of un- illuminated space. Unlike the stars, the illumi- nating power does not depend on nearness of view, but on the life and work of the men and women who shine with such diverse radiance. The number of persons who rise to positions of eminence, gaining influence and power, is small compared with the entire people of these lands. Why this striking dis- parity ? Some are rich, others poor ; some are edu- cated, others uneducated; some are famous, others scarcely known during life and soon forgotten when death overtakes them. Success is personal; it must be achieved by the individual. It can neither be imparted nor inherited ; it must be wrought out. From father to the son wealth may descend, but the son does not win it. There is heredity of mental traits, of the blood of an- cestry, of an honorable or dishonorable family name. What another does for me is his act, not mine. I am the recipient, he the giver. However generous and active in our behalf a friend may be, there is much that he cannot do ; that which is best he cannot do for us ; if done at all, it must be the work of our own life. 200 Choosing a Lifework It is well for us to analyze the forces which make history so checkered. Whatever path is chosen suc- cess can be won only by personal effort ; and in the putting forth of effort it is purely a psychological energy that is awakened. What we do depends on what we are, and we have become what we are in or by the doing. It is a mental problem, not a bodily equipment. It was a bitter war that was being waged between Carthage and Rome. These two great govern- ments faced each other across the Mediterranean, on whose shores so much of history has been en- acted. The Carthaginian general, Hamilcar, at a trying hour in the history of his country took his son Hannibal, then but nine years old, and placing the hand of the boy on the sacrificial offering, *'made him swear eternal enmity to the Romans." This oath went down into the very depths of the boy's soul. It was a vow to fight the traditional enemy of his country even to the last hour of his life. This one object was therefore constantly before him; one mo- tive stirred his breast ; to humble Rome he was ready to endure any hardships and make any sacrifices. By nature a great military genius, all the powers of his being were fired into action by the vow he had taken and his intense hatred of the Roman govern- ment. The leading of his army across the Alps is but a single illustration of the determination and spirit with which his campaigns were prosecuted. It was his indomitable will, aroused and sustained Winning Success 201 by the intense spirit of the pledge he had given on the altar before which he had kneeled, which brought out all the powers of his intellectual life. Had Car- thage stood by him with the loyalty she should have displayed, his early victories would have been a prophecy of later triumphs which would have been won over his country's foes. Though at last over- come, his great military deeds adorn the pages of history, giving undying luster to the age in which he lived. Great deeds spring from a life which is controlled by some mighty purpose. Alexander won his title of "the Great'' by his 'Vaulting ambition" to be a world conqueror. When his father, Philip of Macedon, died war had been declared against Persia. Alexander, not yet twenty years old, succeeded to the throne and entered upon a campaign in the East with wonderful spirit and valor. His achievements during his brief career were so brilliant as to make his name the most re- nowned of all the generals of antiquity. Possessed of remarkable genius, he entered into the struggles of war with an intense love for military affairs. He seems to have been filled only with the spirit of con- quest. When at sixteen, hearing of Philip's vic- tories, he exclaimed, "My father will leave me nothing to do." And when after a series of distin- guished campaigns the East had come under his yoke he is said to have wept because there were no other worlds to conquer. His principle was, "Might makes right." When dying, being asked to whom 202 Choosing a Lifework he bequeathed his kingdom, he repHed, *To the strongest." Genius alone does not triumph; it is only when it is stirred to action. This is illustrated in the life of Napoleon, whose ambition, like that of Alexander, was enforced by a tremendous energy of execution. Thousands of men have possessed unusual intellectual faculties who yet have made no impression on the world be- cause the heart was passive and the will unmoved. Ambition, surely, is not always ethically faultless, but it is a force of tremendous power. On a higher ethical plan was the might which made General Ulysses S. Grant the hero of the civil war. The biographer tells us that he was a man whom "nothing could turn from a purpose." Having with calm deliberation formed his plan of operation, nothing was allowed to check his movements. His knees did not tremble; he was not assailed by mis- givings; he did not look to the right or to the left; all his energies were thrown into the work of exe- cution. And back of the initial point of action was a patriotism almost divine. When he entered the army he was willing to occupy the lowest place in order to get an opportunity to serve his country. Despite the unfriendly criticisms of the men who sought official positions, his patriotic devotion, his steady step, his unyielding purpose, made him the man of the hour. President Lincoln found no rest for his soul till Grant broke through all obstacles, forging his way to the front. The President found Winning Success 203 what Diogenes was looking for — sl man; a man whose work Hves on and will be immortal because it was true to right and God, putting country before all personal ambitions and interests. There was never a more unpromising candidate for public favor as a speaker than Demosthenes, and no one else has risen to so great distinction as he in the influence exerted over an audience and the striking display of oratorical gifts. His success was the result of a wise and indomitable pursuit of ora- torical power. His method is instructive. It was the training of the voice with the training of the mind. Correct vocal enunciation and fitting action were sought, but with a realization that much more than this was needed. In style he most carefully studied Thucydides, copying, many times over, the terse orations found in his works. Pericles, the greatest of the Athenian statesmen and a brilliant orator, he made *'his model in action and delivery." The student has time and again turned to that page in history where his zeal and indomitable activities are portrayed. Keenly sensitive to the ridicule with which his stammering utterances and ungraceful gestures were received, his entire nature was aroused, and everything else gave way before his inflexible purpose to overcome these defects and adorn the Grecian platform. His biographer tells us that he adopted the most heroic means to cure his defects. "To overcome his stammering he spoke with pebbles in his mouth; to become long-winded he practiced 204 Choosing a Lifework running up hill; and to accustom himself to the turbulence of a noisy assembly of the people he de- claimed on the seashore. In a subterranean study he made strenuous efforts to perfect his voice and gain grace of action." No more forcible lesson can be learned by any student who would achieve great things than that which Demosthenes has taught us. Everything gives way before a will that does not yield, a will that chooses intelligently and executes unfalteringly. Western philosophy has been put into three peri- ods : the Socratic, the pre-Socratic and the post-So- cratic. Greece has never been crowned with greater glory than that with which the Socratic school has adorned her brow. Lustrous as her history has been, brilliant beyond all other lands on which the sun has shone, she is best known and stands highest in her achievements because of the profound philo- sophic spirit with which she penetrated into the deep problems of being; and of all these schools the So- cratic was transcendently preeminent. There were men, such as Plato and Aristotle, who were not less acute and logical as thinkers, not less scholarly, and who did much more to systematize principles evolved than Socrates; and yet he stands out as the great head and leader of Western philosophy. Why is his name most honored of all the philosophic thinkers of the past? Because he planted himself on truth as an unchangeable and eternal verity. Sophistry had demoralized the thinking of society Winning Success 205 —sophistry, as Ritter expresses it, "which was based on the monstrous opinion that for man there is no truth but that he may play with its shadow as he will ; that he is the wisest of men who, despairing utterly of its possibility, is adroit enough to conceal from others his own incapacity and ignorance, and yet to dazzle them by an ingenious display of arti- fice and forms. From this abyss of vanity and ignorance there was but one escape, a strong hold must be taken of what is fixed and indestructible in man: his moral convictions." This Socrates did, and he did it with success. He left no written code of philosophy, but he wrought so completely into society his spirit of belief in and reverence for truth as to prepare the way for much of that which is stable and conquering in the ages which have fol- lowed. It was not what he taught as a finality so much as his faith in God and truth, finding a basis for morals, a groundwork of equity, and the land- marks of science in the physical and spiritual world, that made his teachings and life a power in the ages. A thousand men, though sincere and of acute intel- lect, but of frivolous spirit, unanchored, and drifting with the tide, could not, combined, accomplish for the world what Socrates achieved as he opened the eyes of the people to behold the glories which do not fade away through the transitions of time. There is might in a great idea, an idea that takes possession of the entire mental life. The intellect does not work alone. It stirs the sensibilities which 2o6 Choosing a Lifework act upon the will. Thought that is cold never arouses the soul, either of the thinker or of him who should be influenced thereby. Indeed, there cannot be isolated thought or feeling or willing. They co- operate, and together bring forth results. Back of grand achievements is mind glowing with emotions, throbbing with ideas, and lifting an arm of power for mighty execution under the guidance of intelli- gence. It is true t;hat ideas make history. It was the clear mental vision and predominating power of an idea that fired the soul of a man — whom the people regarded as a fanatic — that brought the Western Continent out to the gaze of the nations of the earth. Christopher Columbus was born in penury. His ancestors, for many generations, were in humble circumstances, and he himself entered in his boyhood upon a life of toil. He had no wealthy or influential relatives, no "friend at court" to lift him out of the drudgery of menial pursuits. Can such a man discover a continent, writing one of the most brilliant pages of history? In the midst of daily toil a great world problem took possession of his soul. A careful student of nautical questions, he became convinced that India, which was east, could be reached by sailing westward. His theories received no support from those who were regarded as the most intelligent classes; he was looked upon as a dreamer. Yet his faith was not shaken. He visited Portugal, a country at that time famous in navigation and commerce, but the court treated him Winning Success 507 with incredulity and disrespect. He then visited Spain, seeking support for his project, but his schemes were regarded as visionary. For seven long years he tarried there, refusing to yield to the dis- couragements through which no light was shining, till finally Queen Isabella began to look with favor on his scheme and offered her jewels to meet the expense of his proposed expedition. And. though Columbus did not find India, he discovered America ; he achieved immensely more than he expected to accomplish. It was a mighty idea working in his brain; a grand conception of truth enlisting all the energies of his nature. It was thought on fire, in- telligently stimulating the will and keeping it steady to the one purpose which had grown up in his mental life. When Saul of Tarsus gave heed to the voice which arrested his progress while on his way to Damascus, abandoning his position in the Sanhedrim and mak- ing common cause with the disciples of the lowly Nazarene, there must have been but one opinion as to the effect of this movement on the future of his life. Though but a young man, he had become a leader in Jewish politics. For no one were there brighter prospects; he seemed destined to achieve the highest honors in the state. But he breaks away from all influential associations ; puts himself beyond the reach of personal emoluments; arrays against himself all the power of the Jewish government, making himself an object of persecution and of the 2o8 Choosing a Lifework bitterest hatred of the ruHng classes. Will he not sink into oblivion, his very name perishing from the earth ? Nearly nineteen centuries have passed since that midday scene which changed the whole tenor of his life, and to-day there is no name better known than his, no career portrayed by the historian on which men gaze with so much admiration as that of the apostle Paul. Why is this? It will not be forgotten that he was ambitious for personal excel- lence. He was a student; he had graduated from the leading college in Jerusalem. Whatever he did was done with spirit, with an enthusiasm which it was not easy to resist. He was logical as a thinker and doer. His was a mind of unusual versatility and capacity. But we get the keynote of his extra- ordinary life when he says, ''Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel." There ruled in his breast the most profound convictions of duty. He never raised the question of policy; he never said, Which would I better do ? but. This I must do, at the peril of the soul. With such a man there could be no trifling, no wavering, no resort to selfish expedients. It was duty before everything else, duty in the place of everything else ; and like a mighty Niagara, in a channel dug out by his own life, his onward move- ments were irresistible. /" In nothing is there greater potency than in a / consciousness of duty which allows of no prevari- [ cation. He who does not see clearly, feel deeply, \^ and will mightily must fail of reaching the largest Winning Success 209 success. Paul counted not his life, even, dear unto him that he might accomplish his course and the min- istry which he received of the Lord Jesus. So eager was he for the salvation of the Jews who were re- jecting the Gospel which he was preaching that, he tells us, he could wish himself accursed from Christ for hissbrethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh. Who can measure the majesty of such a life or com- pute its power ? With a cultivated intellect, a heart all aftame with love for the race, a spirit of personal sacrifice which was ready to surrender everything to the claims of personal duty, success must be won. Paul did not become a millionaire, and he died a martyr's death, but he lives in history; he lives in the mightiest movement that has ever stirred the race; he lives in the honor and affections of unnum- bered human beings who prize right and duty and truth. As Martin Luther crawled on his knees up Pilate's Staircase in Rome the voice that whispered in his soul, *The just shall live by faith,'' was a prophecy of events and struggles which he then but little understood. When at midday of the 31st of October, 15 17, he nailed to the door of the church in Witten- berg his ninety-five theses against indulgences it was a bold act, putting him in peril, yet a blow in con- demnation of corruption in the Church which has rung through all these ages. As Luther stands before the Diet at Worms, and in that august pres- ence is exhorted to retract his teachings, his famous 210 Choosing a Lifework declaration, "Here I stand. I can do no other ; may- God help me. Amen/' reveals to us the marvelous growth of that faith which was but incipient when he so blindly ascended the staircase in the Eternal City. Becoming convinced that Rome was in error in her teachings and corrupt in her practices, con- travening God's word and undermining the Gospel of Christ, single-handed he combated her misdoings and sought to overthrow her power. To the world it seemed an unequal struggle. The state refused him support; the Church which controlled the state and ruled society lifted her mighty arm to crush him. Wealth, learning, and political influence were all arrayed against him ; yet, standing like a mighty rock, the waves could not sweep him from the foun- dation of truth on which he stood. He was more than a rock assailed by all the powers of the Church ; he was himself an assaulting power hurling truth against the bulwarks of a false faith and corrupt life. Nothing in history is more wonderful than the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The papacy received a blow from which it has never recovered. All the ages following will be better and richer be- cause of Luther's life. Whence that matchless power he exerted? He clearly saw, and seized upon, truth, and under a conviction of duty that could not be weakened his faith rose to that height which scorned personal interest and saw victory gleaming in the future, even should life be laid on the altar of sacrifice. With him faith and works Winning Success 211 clasped hands — faith unshaken, and works which engaged every power of his being. When Victoria became queen she said, ''I will be good;'' and however distinguished her reign has been, she is loved and honored as a woman far more than as the ruler of a mighty empire. Florence Nightingale, though born to wealth and cradled in the lap of luxury, voluntarily turned away from all the allurements of personal indulgence, her heart glowing with a desire to bless humanity. At much of sacrifice she prepared herself for philanthropic work, and at the call of the British government went at the head of a band of nurses to the Crimea to care for the sick and the wounded during the awful days of that terrible war, and her praises are now sung in all lands. Her fame will be immortal. Elizabeth Fry, without protection, could go un- harmed into jails and prisons among the most abandoned criminals, and even the insane. In- stinctively these wretched men turned to her as a friend; awed and won by her pure life and loving heart. It was womanhood without a taint, woman- hood in which there was no trace of selfishness; a womanhood peerless in the majesty that was so absolutely human as to be almost divine. To the young people who may read these words we are authorized to say that success is before you, but it must be won ; it cannot be passively inherited. Mentally registering a vow to train all your intellec- tual faculties to the highest state of energy and 212 Choosing a Lifework action ; with a manhood, a womanhood, true to right and humanity; choosing your field of effort with a determination which admits of no wavering; put- ting duty before every personal good; cherishing a righteous ambition to gain that which is best in the sphere in which you labor; planting your feet im- movably on the truth, with positive and stirring convictions in regard to the aims and work of life; with ardor of spirit, valor in the doing, faith in the favorable outcome, and perseverance in the execu- tion of every plan, you cannot wholly fail. Even with only moderate talents you will rise above the plane on which the majority of men and women live. You may be stars of the first magnitude; if not strictly this, you surely will emit light for which society will bless you, and in such a life the world will become your debtor. Life's Supreme Activities 213 CHAPTER XVI Life's Supreme Activities The activities which make up life vary in kind and value. Some have their end in our physical being, some in the mental, and others in the moral. The results sought to be reached belong, a part of them, to time, others to eternity. In the preceding chapters we* have discussed, principally, the profes- sions and other occupations by which a livelihood is gained, most of them relating to temporal inter- ests. Under the divine plan this world makes de- mands on the energies of our entire life. He who should discard these claims, thinl^mg only of the great realities that belong to the eternal future, is surely guilty of folly. Paul, in writing to Timothy, | says, ''If any provideth not for his own, and spe- J» cially his own household, he hath denied the faith,] and is worse than an infidel." The first wants of a human being are physical. Food, clothing, and shelter must be provided. Par- ents are under solemn obligations to meet these de- mands. It is evident that the greater part of the time of a large majority of the people must be de- voted to secular interests. And in connection with physical support there must be the training of the mind. And surely there is not too much wealth or scholarship in the world. It would be well if the 214 Choosing a Lifework hum of machinery were more generally heard in lands where industry has not as yet wrought out large results. The world will more fully accomplish ^ its purpose when intellectual power is more widely/ developed, when wealth is more nearly universal, when the industries of the race engage the powers \ of every human being. But there are other interests than these, interests of greater moment, which cannot be disregarded without fatal results. Man has a spiritual nature which must receive attention, or life's mission is a failure. While we exhort every young man and woman to foster a spirit of personal ambition, to strive for mental greatness, seeking the best in the things of this world, we warn them against the folly of making earthly good the sole object of labor. \ First. We have the present because there is a future. The years of our sojourn on the earth are only a briqf part of our existence, and are given to us because of an endless hereafter. While we must care for the life which belongs to time no act re- lating thereto should be considered final, but only as serving a temporal purpose. This world is of use to us simply as a place and time for prepara- tion for the world beyond. We have entered on a journey the terminus of which is at the grave. The land we shall then enter is one of light or darkness, of joy or sorrow, depending on the character we form here, our loyalty or disloyalty to the divine government. Life's Supreme Activities 215 Second. To disregard the purpose of our being, to concern ourselves only with the comfort and luxury of the journey through time — no thought for the world we are so soon to enter — must be con- sidered insanity of the most alarming kind. To visit a foreign country for the transaction of busi- ness of great importance, and yet make preparations not for the successful issue of the business, but ^ merely for the trip, would make us the object of/ universal scorn. Whatever may come to us in the present, of happiness or unhappiness, he only is wise who makes provision for the endless future. The Saviour's injunction covers the whole ground : "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, \ . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, j where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.'' At death we part with all that belongs to this* earth; we save only the treasures which are in heaven. Third. No life can, in the fullest sense, be suc- cessful without the acquisition of spiritual posses-] sions. There is success which is a failure. Suc- cessful gaining of riches by sacrifice of health is part- ] ing with the greater for the lesser. Political dis- tinction by dishonest means is giving up that which J is above price for temporal honor. To concentrate all the forces of the life on worldly interests, thereby making no provision for eternal things, may insure wealth that is for a day, but endless poverty after death. Much of that which is sought for is 2i6 Choosing a Lifework purchased at a ruinous price, and is a badge of folly rather than of wisdom. The spiritual life is above that which is mental — far above that which is I physical — and its development and enriching is the supreme end of our creation. This is not, like other interests, a partial good. No one can success- fully prosecute law and medicine, teaching and the ministry, and the different industrial pursuits all at .the same time; but he can and should be a Christian, daily becoming more Christlike whatever temporal pursuits may engage his powers. The spiritual is universal; it is for all men at all times, whatever special calling is followed. A lawyer who is not a Christian belittles his nature by discarding the very qualities which perfect humanity. An agriculturist may extend his possessions till his farms are almost innumerable, but his highest manhood is obtained \ only by gathering within himself those riches which ^ come from the consecration of the soul to Christ. Nothing can be a substitute for the development of that which is spiritual. Wealth is not to be despised, but it is an outer possession, not an inner life. Scholarship has great value, but alone It does not \ make character ; it is a treasure of the intellect only, ^ while the heart needs purifying and the will to be I brought under righteous control. The honors of the world are grateful to the spirit, but they are the breath that fans the brow, not the waters of life in which the soul may slake its thirst. Ambition is an inspiration to action, calling forth our powers and Life's Supreme Activities 217 leading to greater achievements than would other- wise be made; but death palsies the mightiest arm and blights the brightest hopes. He that drinks of the water of life, the Saviour tells us, will never die. When the end of earthly joys is reached it is but the passing through the shadows into the morning of a new and most glorious day. It is to be presumed that the greater num- ber of young men and women who read this book have already commenced a Christian life. The purpose of this chapter is not so much to discuss the need of religious experience as of religious work. This has very largely been the practical attitude of the Church: that we need a ministry to do the re- ligious work, and that the laity must furnish the ministry with pecuniary support. In the hard and fast line thus drawn the principle is vicious. That Christ intended that there should be a special class set apart for the preaching of his Gospel no one can doubt; but that upon the remainder of the Church no responsibility should rest for direct religious ac- tivity is a theory that narrows and weakens religious forces to a lamentable extent. Something more has always been needed for the greatest efficiency of our laymen than the prayer meeting and class or confer- ence meeting. After a long time the Sunday school was instituted, and it has performed a distinct and important service. But with this the whole field was not cultivated. Some time ago the Young Men's Christian Association was organized, first in the 2i8 Choosing a Lifework: cities, and then in the various colleges of the country, and young men gave more or less of their time to humanitarian and religious work. At a still later period the Churches came to feel that they were not employing their energies to the extent the condition of these lands required for saving the young, and the Christian Endeavor, the Epworth League,' and the Baptist Young People's Union were instituted as a special arm of religious power. This move- ment cannot be too highly commended. He who comes to the problem of the evangelization of the \ world with unprejudiced convictions can but be con- vinced that the Church has been sadly derelict in the organization of her forces for saving the people. When the country becomes involved in war we make a call for the young men. They have physical strength ; they have endurance ; they have fewer en- tanglements to keep them at home. Can the Church spare the services of her young people, in any . rational scheme for extending the kingdom of Christ, any more than the government when national interests are in peril? What special reasons are there for organizing the young people for Christian work ? First. Because the whole is greater and mightier \ than a part. Until these organizations were formed there was no place for the young people to labor to any large extent. They could go forth individually to find and rescue the perishing, but no campaigns can be successfully carried forward by guerrilla war- Lifers Supreme Activities 519 fare. There must be system, cooperation, direc- tion. In an army there is support, spirit, enthusiasm in massed forces which does not exist when the soldiers are not in touch with each other. And in the Church young people have had much less to do in the employment of their religious activities than was needed because they had not been rallied for cooperative aggressive movements. Second. The most efficient service can be ren- dered by us in advanced years only when we have had the proper training in youth and early manhood. This will be seen without much discussion. He who commences farming only after reaching years of maturity, who has not become familiar with the art and principles of agriculture in his early days, finds himself operating at a decided disadvantage. Our agricultural colleges seek to prepare young men for the largest industrial success by training them in the best methods in use, and teaching them the prin- ciples which underlie such methods. The public schools and colleges are a recognition of the need of mental culture before the grave responsibilities of special vocations are assumed. Religious works can- not be entered upon at too early an age, provided it be under wise supervision. The Church is most mighty when all her membership is employed, the young with the vivacity and energy of these early years, while those who are older use the tact and experience gained through the period of youth up to middle life or old age. 520 Choosing a Lifework Third. To keep the young from being led away by social allurements, to keep them from backsliding, they should be set at work. In nothing is there more of peril than in religious indolence. We do not mean to be understood as intimating that passive morality is worse than actual vice, or as bad as actual vice. The young Christian is but little liable to plunge directly into vicious indulgences. For most persons the pole and the equator in morals are some distance apart, and the intervening space is traversed but gradually. The young convert, feeling the glow of his new and ardent life awakened in some warm revival service, soon finds that the religious fervor, when the special meetings come to a close, gradually wanes. His enthusiasm is no longer kept up by fires burning brightly about him in the Church. Left largely to himself, his religious ardor dies out, and he is in danger of a complete surrender of his faith. There is one safeguard, perhaps only one, that the Church can supply, and that is that he be put at work of a strictly spiritual character. He who is working earnestly for the salvation of others will not turn away from Christ. The grandest personality in human history is the apostle Paul. He was ready to surrender the most for others; he made history that is worthy of immortality; he drank very deeply from the wells of salvation; his spirit is a benison of good to-day, though eighteen centuries have passed since his translation. After a conversion which in itself was remarkable, and Life's Supreme Activities 221 thorough in its transforming power, he entered upon a career of religious activity unparalleled, perhaps, in the human race. As we read the story of his in- defatigable labors we are not surprised that he is a man of mighty faith. He did not have time to be- come indifferent. The world found no part of his being where it could gain an entrance. He kept his zeal all aflame by his untiring efforts in teaching others the way of life. To become rooted and grounded in the love of Christ we must give our love for souls practical employment in winning them from the ways of death. The Church should not be a hospital for the nursing of our feeble spiritual vitality, but an army where every member is a soldier keeping step with the mighty host marching on to victory. Every day there should be battles for con- quest fought, no loitering in the camp. All young converts could be saved if they lived in the thick of the battle, constantly capturing souls from the enemy's ranks. Fourth. Christian young people can reach those whom others cannot influence. In some regards the young can do the most for those of their own age. As years roll over us we forget the feelings of youth, losing that sympathetic touch which wins. Socially the young are naturally companionable; they most fully understand each other, and between them there is the largest measure of responsiveness. No better reason than this could be adduced for organizing them for religious work. In the centuries of the 222 Choosing a Lifework past the Church has been much less mighty than it could have been because this principle was not re- garded. In view of the foregoing considerations we urge all pastors and the older members of the Church to give an active support to young people's organiza- tions which are formed for religious work. And we say to young men and women who have become church members that your own spiritual well-being and the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom will be greatly promoted by consistent cooperative labor for those who have not entered upon a Chris- tian life. This is divine altruism. A dying world needs your help, not in fitful acts of right doing, but in systematic, continuous, and united striving for the rescue of those who are perishing. We would not utter one word to discourage any young man or woman in the pursuit of earthly good. We would, if it were possible, incite to greater ac- tivity, and arouse to a mightier purpose to get the most out of this world which God has placed us here to cultivate and govern. Under the conditions in which the human family is placed, for the fullest education of the young there must be a. teaching profession. Parents cannot spare the time, even if they have the ability, to im- part more than elementary instruction. To reach the highest plane in this profession is a most worthy ambition. This is not only of personal interest, but you can scarcely be true to the powers with Life's Supreme Activities 223 which the Creator has blessed you without striving for it. The honor is worth seeking, of standing at the head in this great profession. You will thus exercise a wider influence; you will come in contact with better minds ; loftier truths will be within your reach, and with your more distinguished reputation will be associated a greater power for good. Strive to be the most learned and successful teacher of the age in which you live. If you have heard the summons, ^^Go forth and preach My Gospel,'' be not content to remain in the humblest position. For you to keep at the foot of the list proclaims your mental incapacity or culpable indolence, or else the lack of a sense of responsibility to God, who thrusts you out into the harvest. Have you a right to be less than a great preacher, with a vigorous grasp of truth, a right use of language in the portrayal of truth, and a heart full of yearning for the spiritual enlightening of those to whom you carry the message of the Gospel ? He is entitled to the best pulpit who is the strongest preacher and the best pastor — who wields the widest influence for the evangelization of the people. In this world, in which sickness is working such sad havoc with our frail physical nature, there is need of the most skillful medical attendance. In the development of medical science there are many dif- ficulties, and it is but rarely that any member of the profession rises far above the average practitioner. Great skill is the product only of long-continued and 15 i^4 Choosing a Lifework: earnest study and research, and largely in some special lines. The physician carries the life of the patient in his hands. He has no right to spare any pains or withhold any sacrifice in gaining the mastery over disease. To become an eminent physician, because of skill gained, is an honor any- one may well covet. This requires time, study, and experience, with quickness of intellectual powers. He who earns a standing above his fellow-practi- tioners deserves the fame that comes to him from a grateful public, and it is not sinful in him to take pleasure in the meed of praise bestowed. There is no profession in which ambition is more sure to find a lodgment in the breast than the legal. Here man measures arms with his fellow-man ; here victory utters her paeans before the multitude, and defeat humiliates the spirit. A great lawyer, great because of legal lore, great because of eloquence that captivates the jury, of logic which sweeps away all opposition, of acuteness of thinking which penetrates to the very heart of every legal problem, must occupy a commanding place among the leading jurists of the land. It is not strange that the lawyer, ever in the eye of the public, should gain an overweening desire to make a brilliant record. Surrounded by such a crowd of witnesses, ambition is stimulated, and the favor of the world is liable to become an object of intense desire. But no man at the bar has a right to fall below his highest capabilities. To wield a power that few possess is his right, if his arm be Life's Supreme Activities 225 mighty enough to strike the blow, and he may well rejoice in the praise which falls upon his ear. If a jurist at all, strive to lead in the profession. This is not dangerous advice so long as conscience keeps in the ascendant and right does not lower her standard. There is no other way of reaching the public so widely as through the press. The newspaper, the magazine, the printed book, read in thousands of homes, spreads the light of intelligence over all these lands. Mind comes in contact with mind, thought is repeated wherever the intellect is stirred, and the heart pours out its sympathies, though the ear cannot catch the sound of the voice that comes from the heart burdened with sorrow or glowing with joy. The journalist or the author may bid defiance to space and stir the very heart of distant countries, provided he handles a pen from which come forth mighty thoughts, and responds to the longings of the soul. The more potent the press the grander our civilization. While there is government there must be politics. No grander mission can be filled by any individual than that by the learned, broad-minded, and patri- otic statesman who holds office as a trust, who puts country before party, who seeks personal good in the welfare of the state. Lifelong study to serve the nation should have its reward. God has given us this world to be cultivated an3 enriched by human labor and thought. Forests have 226 Choosing a Lifework been swept away; fields have been tilled; the depths of the earth have been explored; machinery has been invented to multiply our power; cities have been built ; railroads and steamships constructed for travel and to transport the products of our labor ; the ocean is covered with commerce, and industrially all lands have clasped hands so that each helps every other. Man has made the wealth of the nations, and that which he has done is a prophecy of that which will be greater and more glorious in the future. Liter- ally, "the desert shall yet rejoice and blossom as the rose." How much man has done! How much he is still capable of doing ! Let the work of progress still go on, even at an accelerated pace, that in every interest the blessings of our temporal life may be- come immeasurably multiplied. While we look for all this, and work for it, a brighter vision still gleams out from the future. This world, which has been redeemed by the Son of God, will yet be saved. The banner of Immanuel will float from every hilltop, and the shout of victory be the universal cry of the continents and islands of the sea. To bring this to pass is the supreme work of the ages. Eradicating vice, overthrowing all criminal propensities, rendering our jails and prisons useless, converting the world into a community from which sin and unright- eousness have been forever banished — such is the promise which meets our gaze in Christ, the Leader of all the forces of right. We have been Life's Supreme Activities 227 raised to be the great army battling against the evil one, the young and the old organized for this de- termined warfare and pushing onward till every rebel yields! Thus God rules and earth becomes heaven. The activities which accomplish these mar- velous results we may well call supreme. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. DEC 3 1947 3May'49PA '' I0Dec'55Lr N0V2 6 1955LL? LD 21-100m-9/47(A5702sl6)476 ■i^%'mwwn\m^wwit^^'i!'-'i-' s.)ijh lii io^. YB 0596! 308474 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY