|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 39
The question of nurture, therefore, is of vital importance. What shall
one generation do for those which are to come after it? Each soul may
hinder or help the growth of countless other souls. The influence of
those nearest is always most potent for good or ill. Impediment is
increased, and bias exaggerated, by evil example. The effort to rise
becomes easy when the way is seen to be full of those whom we love and
honor going before us toward the heights, and it is difficult when no
familiar face is seen. Nurture is not so much a matter of teacher and
text-book, of church and catechism, as of atmosphere, example, and
inspiration. It is the effect of the contact of one pure and noble soul
upon another; it is something which father, mother, and friends give to
the child; it is the result of the spirit in which they impart
instruction and of the reverence and consecration which shine from their
lives.
The best and only enduring nurture is that of a sweet, serene,
optimistic, and thoroughly Christian environment. With that, inherited
tendencies toward weakness and evil will go of themselves,--indeed will
seem never to have had existence.
But all too soon the time comes in which the soul faces its own
responsibility, and realizes that it must choose for itself what its
course shall be. It has learned, if it has observed, that there is ever
with it an unseen leadership, and it has heard, faint and far, the call
of a noble destiny. What shall it now do for itself? Shall it choose
simply to exist? Shall it yield to the limitations and solicitations of
the body? or, shall it seek to prepare itself by discipline, and the
cultivation of right choices, for the goal whose intimations it has
heard? Nurture, if it has been wise, has been the forerunner of culture.
Atmosphere and example have inspired lofty ideals, but those ideals, if
they are to be realized, will require training. Matthew Arnold, quoting
Bishop Wilson, has said that culture "is a study of perfection." In
other words, it is the means which are used for the perfection of the
soul. Shall we choose to leave ourselves to grow like trees in a forest,
however they may, or shall we seek those conditions which will make
progress sure and swift? Culture is always a matter of choice; and it is
vastly more than anything which can be taught in the college or
university. The cultured man is he who has learned so to use the forces
and conditions of life as to make them minister to his perfection. The
one most cultured may come out of a factory, and the man of least
culture may be found in a university. Indeed colleges and universities,
not infrequently, are haunts of provincialism and of dread of
enthusiasm. The object of culture is the perfection of the spirit to the
end that all that hinders, or limits, may disappear and only pure power,
clear vision, and full self-realization remain. Those whose growth is
most evident are ever eager to use all experiences as means of progress.
They study books in order that they may better understand what others
have thought concerning the mystery of existence; they discipline their
minds in order that they may the better serve their fellow-men; they
seek fineness of manner and beauty of expression to the end that their
utterance of truth may be more persuasive and convincing. Culture and
the discipline of life are identical. Consequently, the wise man chooses
to put himself where he will best be taught by the events through which
he passes, by what he sees, and by what he may learn from others. It
matters little who have been the teachers, or what have been the
schools,--the real teacher is always life, and the real university is
the human experience.
I do not make light of the benefit which may be derived from books and
institutions of learning, but I do insist on the recognition of the
deeper fact that the lessons which no one can afford to neglect are
those which can be taught only by overcoming obstacles. We can learn how
to live only in the school of life. The most vital books are always
those which tell us what others have done, and of the paths by which
they have been led to power. What shall the soul do for itself in order
that it may promote its own growth? It must first recognize where the
sources of knowledge and strength are to be found, and then put itself
where it will feel the touch of the vitality which can come only from
other souls. Quickly enough every man reaches the time in which he may
determine his own environment. When we are young others choose our
circumstances for us, but when we become older we select them for
ourselves. That means much. No monarch is mighty enough to compel me to
associate with those who will hinder my progress. He only is a slave
whose mind and will are in bondage. My body may be with boors but, at
the same time, my spirit may be holding companionship with seers and
sages. I may be compelled to work in a mine like John the Apostle, but
I, too, like him may hear One speaking whose voice is as the sound of
many waters, and whose eyes are like a flame of fire. Our real
associates are ever our spiritual companions; and no one can force
another to hold fellowship with those who are either intellectually or
spiritually uncongenial.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|