Springtime and Youth

, SPRINGTIME AND YOUTH. BY PROF. J. C. HOGENSON OF THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. [This paper was read in chapel at the State Agricultural College of Utah April 28, 1908. —Editors. J In gazing about us upon the rugged mountains and fertile valleys, during the different seasons of the year, we have per- haps all been impressed by the great changes that take place in nature; when those majestic powers and forces are in operation, it shows to us our inferiority as compared with the infinite powers of the Creator, It demonstrates to us the insignificance of individual life and labor. Yet, if we think more deeply, we shall find some- thing grand in man, something elevating and God-like, for the earth was made for him. Nature teaches us beautiful and instructive object lessons; especially when she awakens from her long sleep of winter, when the cold mantle of snow vanishes before the effectual rays of the sun. During this time of rest she has been storing up within her bosom supplies of nourishment and energy that are to serve her during the coming growing season, in build- ing her various architectural designs . The trees send forth their young, tender foliage to nod and wave in the breezes; the flowers unfold in their fresh and varied beauty; the birds return from their long pilgrimages, build their nests and fill the air with their sweet songs; the balmly air moves serenely among the trees and plants; the warm sunshine sprouts the seed, and awakens the sap- ling; the blades of green, velvety grass hide the dark earth from view; the tiny, gauzy- winged insects flit about, here and there; the snowy, or pink-hued blossoms upon, the fruit-trees, give evi- dence of bountiful supplies of juicy fruit; the fragrant scent of the roses, and the crimson berries nestling among the green leaves in the strawberry beds, all unite to beautify this awakening of nature to renewed life and energy. These wonders have become so common to us that we scarcely

, 604 IMPROVEMENT ERA. think of their greatness; yet, if we compare them with the youth- epoch of our lives, we will find that as spring is the all-import- ant time in nature, so youth is the most important of our exist- ence. We see the child grow from year to year, but we seldom, think of the wonderful mechanism which works there harmo- niously; of the powers that are formed, as that being grows in intelligence in the image of the Creator; of the influences to which it yields, and of the temptations which it overcomes. This is the time during which the seeds of character are sown that are to grow and determine our future successes ; not seeds, it is hoped, that will be choked out by thorns, or killed by the scorching rays of the summer sun, but seeds that will flour- ish and bear good fruit in future years . It has been truly said ''God gives the mind; man makes the character; the mind is the white page, the character is the writing we put upon it." Those people who have no aim or calling in life are greatly to be pitied; they labor without heart, and are as ships without rudders, cast about here and there by one and all. One brave will is worth more than a thousand, one soul with a resolute determination to do is of more significance than a host of them. Youth is the time for study and preparation for those duties which will determine our future usefulness among our fellow- men. Go into the room of a careless youth, who has no purpose or ambition in life, and you will find him idling away his time, with room perhaps densely filled his with tobacco smoke. On the other hand, go into the room of a youth who is filled with the spirit of industry, and who has some conception of the duties that await him in life, and you will find him in the companionship of books, storing his mind with knowl- edge from the articulate voices of the past. The men of antiq- uity are dead, their fleets and armies have disappeared, their cities are in ruins; yet all these exist in magic preservation in the books they have bequeathed to us. In our libraries we meet great men on a familiar footing, and feel at ease with them, we lose ourselves in their broader lives, and are encouraged to make greater efforts in forming those habits which are to characterize us in future life ; for habits are like flakes of snow that fall un- perceived upon the ground, or like drops of water that fall unnoticed into the ocean; no single flake or drop produces a sen-

SPRINGTIME AND YOUTH. 605 sible change, but as the avalanche is hurled down the mountain side by the tempest, and overwhelms the inhabitants below, so act by act the conscience is entangled by the formation of cords of habit. If our success and happiness in the future depend so much upon our achievements in youth, how necessary it is that we begin properly to build upon a solid foundation which cannot be under- mined by the fierce and restless waves of the sea of life. How important it is that we grasp every opportunity that is presented to us and develop it by persistent industry. As civilization advances, human life becomes more and more sig- nificant, richer in enjoyments and opportunities to gain those essen- tial requirements without which life would be as a barren waste. So, in looking back upon the past ages of the world, we see a path marked by proud measurements and mouldering ruins, the evi- dences of human aspirations and disappointments. Man comes and passes away like a cloud over the heavens, or as the sparkling dew before the morning sun; yet each leaves his imprint upon the sands of time. Nearly all the successful men of our country have achieved their greatness and won their fortunes, not by sudden gains, but by the slow and cumbersome accumulations of continuous indus- try. Such a man was Stephen Girard, who left his native land when he was ten years or age, a cabin boy on a vessel. He came to New York in that capacity. His deportment was distinguished by such fidelity, industry and temperance, that he won the attach- ment and confidence of his master. When the master retired from business he promoted Girard to the command of a small ves- sel. Girard was a self-taught man, and the world was his school. It was a favorite theme with him, when afterwards he became rich, to relate that he commenced life with a sixpence, and to man's best capital is his industry. All professions insist that a and occupations which afforded a just reward for labor were hon- orable to him. He walked unharmed and unafraid in the midst of the worst pestilence that ever visited this country. He used to say to his friends, "Industry and integrity make men what they It was surely that which made him not only one of the are." greatest merchants in this country, but also one of the greatest benefactors the world has ever known. At one time he wrote to

! 606 IMPROVEMENT ERA. a friend, " live like a galley-slave, constantly occupied. I do not value fortune. The love of labor, and the benefits I can bestow upon my fellow-men, are my main and highest motives." There was perhaps never a time in the world's history when great success in any profession demanded harder or more constant labor than now. Men can no longer go into eminent positions at one leap, but those who have cultivated their talents well, scale the dizzy steeps of excellence and fame, because they have firm faith, a high resolve, and determination. Necessity is always the first stimulus to industry, and those who pursue their voca- tions in life with prudence, perseverance and energy, rarely fail. Viewed from this standpoint, labor is a blessing; the very root and spring of all that we call progress in individuals, and civilization in nations. If, then, our youth and early manhood or womanhood be spent in the gaining of these desired ends,how gratifying it will be, as we go on in the fulfilment of our duties and reap the benefits of our early hours of study and toil. As the seeds that are sown in the spring grow into fields of beautiful golden grain in summer, and are harvested in the autumn with an increase of a hundred fold so the knowledge obtained and habits formed in youth grow into honestly acquired power and spotless character in after life. Happiness and honor are the results, because we have learned and observed well the lessons of life, and these have kept us aloof from the path of degradation. Thus, a person who has spent well his youth will reap a rich and beautiful harvest in future life. He will not then at the close of life have cause to look back upon it with feelings of regret, but will thank God for the useful life he has spent. As the poet Bryant has truly said: So live, that when thy summons comes, to join The innumerable caravan which moves To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go, not like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave. Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams Logan, Utah.