twenty-eight different languages, when asked how his wonderful attainments in almost every branch of learning had been made, was accustomed to reply," Only by industry and regular application." And Newton, whose scientific discoveries will ever continue to delight and astonish mankind, ascribed his success, not to superior genius, but to superior industry,-to the habit and power he had acquired of holding his mind steadily, and for a long time, to the study of an involved and difficult subject. "The discovery of gravitation, the grand secret of the universe, was not whispered in his ear by an oracle. It did not visit him in a morning dream. It did not fall into his idle lap, a windfall from the clouds. But he reached it by selfdenying toil,- by midnight study, - by the large command of accurate science, and by bending all his powers in one direction, and keeping them thus bent."

8. So, in every occupation of life requiring intellectual, or even physical exertion, earnestness is an essential element of success. Without it, a man may have the strength of Hercules, or the mind of Newton, and yet accomplish nothing. He may live, and die, and yet leave behind him neither name nor memorial. Was there ever a man, of any trade or profession, eminently successful, who did not apply himself in earnest to his business'? Every poet, whose Muse has clothed

"Whate'er the heart of man admires and loves
With music and with numbers,"

whose breathing thoughts and winged words have thrilled the world, from the blind old bard* of Scio to the modern Homer, "whose soul was like a star, and dwelt apart,' has been an earnest man. Every orator, whose burning

*Homer. See p. 106.

eloquence has swayed listening thousands, just as the forest is swayed by the summer's wind, has been an earnest

man.

6

9. Demosthenes was in earnest when he poured forth his fervid Philippics in ancient Athens. Paul was in earnest, when, reasoning of righteousness, temperance, and a judgment to come, Felix trembled before him. Sheridan 5 was in earnest at the trial of Hastings, when all parties were held chained and spell-bound by his eloquence. Brougham was in earnest, when, as we are told, "he thundered and lightened in the House of Commons, until the knights of the shire absolutely clung to the benches for support, the ministers cowered behind the speaker's chair for shelter, and the voting members started from their slumbers in the side galleries, as if the last trumpet were ringing in their ears." And so of our own Ames and Henry. They were in earnest, when, seeking to arouse their countrymen to united resistance of British oppression, they assured them that they "could almost hear the clanking of their chains;" "that the blood of their sons should fatten their cornfields, and the war-whoop of the Indian should waken the sleep of the cradle.” And because they were in earnest, their words were words of fire.

10. Earnestness was the true secret of Whitefield's 9 wonderful eloquence. He won the admiration of the skeptical Hume,10 not by his logic or his learning, but by his fervid, earnest eloquence. David Garrick, the celebrated actor, was once asked, by a clergyman, why the speaking of actors produced so much greater effect than that of clergymen. "Because," said Garrick, "we utter fiction as if it were truth, while you utter truth as if it were fiction;" thus clearly implying that earnestness is the very soul of all effective eloquence.

THERE

LESSON LVIII.

INCENTIVES TO CULTURE.

R. F. TROWBRIDGE.

HERE is no talent, like method; and no accomplishment that man can possess, like perseverance. They will overcome every obstacle; and there is no position which a young man may not hope to win or secure, when, guided by these principles, he sets out upon the great highway of life. In after years, the manners and habits of the man are not so readily adapted to any prescribed course to which they have been unaccustomed. But in youth the habit of system, method, and industry, is as easily formed as others; and the benefits and enjoyments which result from it, are more than the wealth and honors which they always

secure.

2. Industry or idleness are habits, each as easily acquired as the other, but infinitely different in their results. The steady action of the one is a continuous source of gratification and enjoyment; the painful solicitudes and uncertainties of the other dwarf the intellect, and vitiate the heart. Either becomes habitual without effort, and the habit becomes fixed ere we are aware of its presence.

3. A man does not know in what path his ambition may lead him, until he has enlightened his mind by reading, by thought, and observation. In our country, he is taught by custom and by example to look about him while yet a youth, and study the chances for success as they may arise around him. He is too liable to fall into a listless habit of waiting for some fortuitous circumstance to occur, by which he may make sudden wealth, or spring to an enviable position, without the ordinary labors to secure them.

4. Men of genuine ambition never wait for uncertain events. They commence, as all men have to commence, with the very first steps of the foundation; and while others, of perhaps better abilities and more fortunate condition, are nursing their morbid hopes and fading expectations, they build up the basis of a fortune and reputation, to which the less energetic and useful may aspire in vain. True men create circumstances, which, in turn, aid them.

5. Frankness, candor, and sincerity, will always win respect and friendship, and will always retain them; and the consciousness of having such a treasure, and of being worthy of it, is more than wealth and honors. A man quickly finds when he is unworthy of public respect or private friendship; and the leaden weight he carries ever in his callous heart, can not be lightened by any success or any gratification he can secure. But the man of upright character, and proper self-respect, can never meet with adversities which can deprive him of that higher happiness which rests in his own breast, and which no disasters of business, or calamities of occupation, or loss of wealth, can ever reach or disturb.

6. Education is not confined to books alone. The world with its thousand interests and occupations is a great school. But the recorded experience and wisdom of others may be of the greatest aid and benefit to us. We can look about us to-day, and see many who have brought the light of that intelligence which has been the guiding-star of others to bear upon their own paths, and by its aid have achieved an enviable position among men. Honor lies in doing well whatever we find to do; and the world estimates a man's abilities in accordance with his success in whatever business or profession he may engage.

7. In this great land of ours, what opportunities invite

the attention and stimulate the ambition of the American citizen! Spreading out her area of civilization and of commerce over the imperial dominions of this vast continent, what fields of enterprise are constantly opening, and what opportunities for wealth, or honor, or fame, are continually developing before him! What cities and ports and avenues are to be built, what new Lowells and Saratogas are to arise, what Bostons and New Yorks are to spring from the commerce of that western shore! Who are to be the architects of this imperial undertaking? Whose minds are to conceive, and whose hands are to construct, these magnificent fabrics of national and individual prosperity and power?

8. Surely the generation which is now coming upon the theater of action, has this great mission to perform. To them is held out a prize such as the world has never before offered, to stimulate the pride, patriotism, and ambition of any people. And they will profit by the opportunity. To those who have prepared themselves for the duties and the labors of this eminent undertaking, will fall the honors and rewards of the enterprise. And to their charge will be intrusted the honor and integrity of that flag, which first waved along a narrow strip of the wild Atlantic coast, but which, if we are true to our own interests, will be hailed in every land and upon every sea as the emblem of earth's noblest nation.

LESSON LIX.

"AND THEN?”

An excellent effect will be produced by having one member of the class ask the question, "AND THEN?" at the close of each stanza, and the same member read the closing stanza in a very emphatic manner. Or it may be read by the whole class in concert.