ese words in its
effort to live. We are feeding it nothing, its circulation becomes poor,
its vitality weak. Some day it arranges its limited number of words into
a new thought, a bad thought, our idle mind grasps the significance of
the new thought, and we give birth to a new piece of scandal, or we
commit a crime. The brain is pleased, because the execution of the new
bad impulse brought more blood, more vitality to it, and it gets the
habit of thinking bad thoughts and conveying evil impulses. They were
the product of idleness of mind. And as a matter of statistical fact,
all tragedies, crimes, vices, scandal, gossip and misery are direct
products of mental inertness or idleness.
The minds of the grumbler, the gossip, the thief, the criminal, are
poor, empty, starved, wayward minds, and their brains are small, poorly
nourished, sickly brains. The young wife with a moment of leisure who
has a starved, empty mind, is a victim of her passions, her
surroundings and her ungoverned impulses. The young wife whose brain is
being fed by the study habit, is self-contained, is master of her
impulses and her passions. The mental latitude of one is limited to
caprice, envy, discontent, hate and jealousy; the other is
light-hearted, charitable, just, contented, and happy.
Shut the two in a dungeon and the owner of the starved, empty brain will
go mad. The other will find hope in her heart, and in her brain, the
children of her thoughts will troop in, bringing solace and cheer and
courage.
From a practical standpoint the study habit has an economic value. It
preserves health and peace of mind, it enhances efficiency, it broadens
our sympathies and charities, and it unifies the home circle. It is an
easy habit to acquire, and it sustains its interest: it is inexpensive.
The Carnegie libraries, correspondence schools, the university extension
plan of lectures, etc., contribute in a large measure to its easy
acquirement, and to the success with which it may be pursued.
TWO WAYS OF GAINING KNOWLEDGE.--We gain knowledge in two ways. First, by
experience, which means mingling with people, exchanging ideas,
discussing topics, listening to lectures, sermons, talks, etc. Second,
by reading and studying. We must read and study in order to really
understand and assimilate what we learn from experience, and what we
hear discussed in lectures, sermons and talks. As soon as we become
interested in a study we begin to rise above what we m
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