Ideas For Boys | Page 4

which you must learn to do, and also which you must not do. Don't believe the adage of the old Scotchman who said "First get on, then get honest, then get honor," that might get you money, but not happiness or success in its true sense, it might land you in prison, or at least in disgrace. Keep your conscience clear, and do nothing that will bring upon you the just condemnation of your fellows. Always have the courage to do right irrespective of immediate results, by so doing you will win in the end.
A boy who expects to go through college ought to begin in earnest to prepare for college by the time he is ten years old, and by the time he is eighteen to twenty years old ought to decide what profession or kind of business he will make his life work; he should always have an object ahead and work toward it. Don't drift along, expecting some one to carry you to your goal, for no one but yourself can make you a success. You must be on the alert and up and doing. Don't let a single day pass without accomplishing something beneficial; if you waste your time it will be fatal to your success.

YOUTH.
Youth is the springtime of life when things are wondrous new, when nature and life are being unfolded to you. It is a glorious period of life, if you will then learn as well as you can to understand the laws of nature which govern life, and the rules of right conduct among men. By the attainment of such knowledge, you will have a broader and more liberal view of things going on around you in the world; you will be better able to understand men and their motives, and to know the cause or reason for many things and the result or effect of doing certain things.
Whenever you play any game, you must first learn the rules and play it according to the rules, for if you cheat or fail to observe the rules your fellow players will regard you as a poor sportsman, and may even refuse to play with you. And so it is in playing the game of life you must first learn and understand the right rules of conduct among men. Every man is presumed to know the law, and it is necessary for you in your youth to learn the laws and obey them, and if you fail to do so, you must pay the penalty which brings sorrow and disgrace. "Ignorance of the law excuseth no man."
In your youth learn as much as you can about all things, but you should, during that period, learn to do some one thing unusually well; learn a trade or a particular business, or a profession, and become an expert, highly efficient in that one thing, and thus become useful to your fellow men, and therefore successful in life.
"Know thyself " learn the laws of health and strength, and the moral and ethical rules of life; acquire a general knowledge of the world and the country in which you live, the characteristics of the races which inhabit the earth, the principles of business, the various elements of society, and endeavor to attain the most difficult and most desirable of all a contented and cheerful disposition.
A father feels that his boy is a part of himself, and to an extent lives his life over again with him, and there is nothing he desires more than to have his boy develop into an honorable and useful man. Aye, he will sacrifice everything, if necessary, to help his boy along. The boy in turn must honor, love and obey his parent, he must remember that the parent is much older than he is, that he has had many more years of experience and study, and knows many things which the immature boy cannot know. He must on all occasions show his parents due respect, and he will gain in many ways if he remembers to be always respectful to persons older than himself. Every boy must learn to obey promptly, this will help him to know how to command later on. The smart, intelligent boy does learn obedience; the dumb, bullheaded boy will only learn by his own experience.
Knowing how to profit by the experience of others is a secret of progress.
Just as a boy was leaving his home to spend the day upon an excursion boat, his older brother warned him of the dangers of an overcrowded boat and advised him not to go on the trip if he found the boat crowded, for the reason that if there should be an accident, he would not have much chance to escape with his life. When the boy walked on the