On the subject of acquiring competence an eminent surgeon said: “At a given instant, everything the surgeon knows suddenly becomes important to the solution of the problem. You can’t do...
Some years ago, David Starr Jordan wrote these widely published words: “The gauntlet of obscene suggestion…” he said, “is one of the most terrible our children have to face. We...
When one finds a desirable product, he would well look to the process by which that product was produced. And having been so greatly blessed, it would be well to look to the foundations of our...
On a much-quoted page in a much-quoted publication, this sentence appeared: “Why is there never enough time to do it RIGHT…. But always enough time to do it OVER?” This could apply to...
We cite again words from Herbert Hoover, who said: “We need to add to the three R’s, namely, Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic, a fourth⎯Responsibility.” There are some...
Life is an endless process of trying, of doing⎯sometimes succeeding, and sometimes facing discouraging setbacks. The pioneers and patriots went through this process with the courage to begin⎯and...
Aside from any definite decisions that we make there are in a sense “indefinite decisions”⎯the tampering with, the flirting with, the neither one thing nor the other sort of situation....
To quote a short, significant sentence: “Good men have the fewest fears.” Often we hear it said of someone that he is a good man. It may be meant in many ways, but in all its...
This reminder comes from the Master of mankind: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Vengeance and revenge, cruelty, and unkindness; a contemptuous attitude, harshly...
As we see a passing season, we sometimes seem to want to hold it harder to make up for some things we have not done. Sometimes we yearn to recover lost time, to go back to our youth, or some period...
Concerning work, Mark Twain gave this short incisive sentence: “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” “The...
In giving counsel to young men in school, Pasteur said: “Ever since I can remember my life as a man, I do not think I have ever spoken for the first time with a student without saying to...
“In a democracy,” said Winthrop Aldrich, “it must be the aim of education to teach the citizen that he must first of all rule himself, and that in ruling himself he must not forget...
In writing of the aim of education, Dr. David Starr Jordan said: “…more vital than all is the demand for character. The highest function of the university is the formation of character, the...
“It must be the aim of education,” said Winthrop Aldrich, “to teach the citizen that he must first of all rule himself….” The question of self-control is a compelling...
Sometimes we complain that we are victims of environment. Sometimes this is so, but not always as much as we may suppose. It is true that environment has much to do with the decisions and actions of...
In a day such as ours, it is urgently essential that every young person prepare his mind, and improve his skills as fully as he can. There are many studies to prove that, even selfishly and...
Most young people, and older ones also, have talents that are allowed to lie dormant and undeveloped. There are many examples of those who have discovered or developed talents late in life. But how...
In Milton’s Paradise Lost Satan has this to say: “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” One thing this suggests is the subject of...