t
into the living heart and memory of other men. And here indeed, I
believe, is the essence of all the rules I have ever been able to devise
for myself. I have tried various schemes of arrangement and artificial
helps to remembrance," but the gist of the matter is, "to keep the thing
you are elaborating as much as possible actually _in_ your own living
mind; in order that this same mind, as much awake as possible, may have
a chance to make something of it!"[43]

The objection may be made to my discourse that I have considered our
student as possessing the purse of Fortunatus and have lost sight of
Herbert Spencer's doctrine that a very important part of education is to
fit a man to acquire the means of living. I may reply that there are a
number of Harvard students who will not have to work for their bread
and whose parents would be glad to have them follow the course that I
have recommended. It is not too much to hope, therefore, that among
these there are, to use Huxley's words, "glorious sports of nature" who
will not be "corrupted by luxury" but will become industrious
historians. To others who are not so fortunately situated, I cannot
recommend the profession of historian as a means of gaining a
livelihood. Bancroft and Parkman, who had a good deal of popularity,
spent more money in the collection and copying of documents than they
ever received as income from their histories. A young friend of mine, at
the outset of his career and with his living in part to be earned, went
for advice to Carl Schurz, who was very fond of him. "What is your aim?"
asked Mr. Schurz. "I purpose being a historian," was the reply. "Aha!"
laughed Schurz, "you are adopting an aristocratic profession, one which
requires a rent-roll." Every aspiring historian has, I suppose, dreamed
of that check of L20,000, which Macaulay received as royalty on his
history for its sale during the year 1856,[44] but no such dream has
since been realized.

Teaching and writing are allied pursuits. And the teacher helps the
writer, especially in history, through the necessary elaboration and
digestion of materials. Much excellent history is given to the world by
college professors. Law and medicine are too exacting professions with
too large a literature of their own to leave any leisure for historical
investigation. If one has the opportunity to get a good start, or, in
the talk of the day, the right sort of a "pull," I can recommend
business as a means of