l, which will make them hereafter controlling and governing
men. Those, on the contrary, who enter upon an academic career with an
indefinite purpose of studying after a fashion, whenever it is not too
hot, or too cold, or the lessons are not too hard, or there is nothing
special going on to distract the attention, or who are content to swim
along lazily with the multitude, trusting to the good-nature of the
teacher, to an occasional deception, or to the general chapter of
accidents, for escape from censure, and for such an amount of
proficiency as on the whole will pass muster with friends or the
public,--depend upon it, such youths are doomed, inevitably doomed, all
their days, to be nobodies, or worse.

Let me, then, my young friend, as preliminary to your entering upon the
duties before you, call to your mind some of those things, which, as an
intelligent and responsible being, you should deliberately aim to follow
or to avoid while in this school. In the counsels which I am going to
give you, I shall make no attempt to say what is new or striking. My aim
will be rather to recall to your memory some few of those familiar
maxims, in which you have been, I dare say, often instructed elsewhere.

1. First of all, remember that men always, by a necessary law, fall
below the point at which they aim. You well understand that if a
projectile be hurled in the direct line of any elevated object, the
force of gravity will cause the projectile to deflect from the line of
direction, and this deflection and curvature will be great in proportion
to the distance of the object to be reached. Hence, in gunnery, the
skilful marksman invariably takes aim above the point which he expects
to hit. At certain distances, he will aim 45 deg. above the horizon at
what is really but 30 deg. above it. So, in moral subjects, there is
unfortunately a native and universal tendency downwards, which deflects
us out of the line in which good resolutions would propel us. You aim to
be distinguished, and you turn out only meritorious. You aim to be
meritorious, and you fall into the multitude. You are content with being
of the multitude, and you fall out of your class entirely. So also, as
in physical projectiles, the extent of your departure from the right
line is measured by the distance of the objects at which you aim. You
resolve to avoid absolutely and entirely certain practices for a day or
a week, and you can perhaps keep very close to the mark.