XXX-When one Means fail, try Another--Facts not LVII-Every Thing in its Place-Rational Guide. LVIII—The Baltimore Oriole, or Golden Robin There are a great many things to learn, before you can become wise; but you should never try to learn more than one thing at a time. 7 Some little boys and girls think, because they can not learn, in one quarter, as much as their teacher knows, they never can. No one can become wise at once. The wisest men in the world, once did not know their letters, and could not spell and read a word. But they began first to learn their letters, and then to spell and read, and so on, learning one thing at a time. If you were going up a hill or mountain, you would not think of trying to step from the bottom to the top at once; but you would move on, step by step, till you reached the top. So you must do, if you would climb up the hill, called Science. You must first learn to spell and read well, then you can learn to write, and can study grammar and many other useful things. Sometimes little boys and girls say, "I do not see the use of learning this lesson." But they should never say so, for if they do not at first see the use of it, they will when they have learned it. When a large, stone house is to be built, some men dig the stones from the quarry, and others hew them into proper shapes. Now if these men should stop their work, because they do not know where each stone is to be placed in the house, it would never be built. So if you cease trying to learn your lessons, because you can not at first see their use, you will never become wise. But if you are careful, each day of your life, to learn something new and useful, you will soon become wise and good, and gain the esteem of all. |