Aptitude

“ Necessity had taught me diligence, punctuality, and perseverance; and combined with inclination, and perhaps some natural aptitude, it had cultivated in me the power and habit of invention, created a certain versatility, and armed me with boldness to surmount obstacles, to disregard mere conventionalisms, and to feel and exercise a certain independence of spirit. I had also [217] been led to acquire a power of influencing and directing others, and of holding subordinates to responsibility. In my new occupation all these powers and habits were to find abundant exercise ”

“ Behold then all human faculties developed, memory and imagination in full play, egoism interested, reason active, and the mind almost at the highest point of its perfection. Behold all the natural qualities in action, the rank and condition of every man assigned him; not merely his share of property and his power to serve or injure others, but also his wit, beauty, strength or skill, merit or talents: and these being the only qualities capable of commanding respect, it soon became necessary to possess or to affect them. ”

“ The question presents itself to every young man and woman at this moment: Will you be a success, or will you join the long, dismal procession of failures? If you really desire to succeed, you should first find out the true measure of your abilities. My delineation of your character is the surest guide, because it is the estimate placed upon your capacity, your quality, your temperament, your special development of sense, by an impartial friend, a skillful critic, guided by the light of science and a conscientious regard for your welfare. ”

“ Is man possessed of talents adequate to the great occasion? Adequate—yes, superior. By the power of his eloquence; the augustness of the assembly is lost in the dignity of the orator; and the importance of the subject for a while superceded by the admiration of his talents. With what strength of argument, with what powers of the fancy, with what emotions of the heart, does he assault and subjugate the whole man, and, at once, captivate his reason, his imagination, and his passions!—To effect this, must be the utmost effort of the most improved state of human nature. ”

“ Education will teach you, Bernard, what you ought to think about the things which must concern you—about your position, your duties, your feelings. At present you see but dimly into your heart and conscience. And I, who am accustomed to question myself on all subjects and to discipline my life, how can I take for master a man governed by instinct and guided by chance? ”

“ But, perhaps, amongst my audience are several who may be described as lame, from the difficulty with which they make their way to the town of Education. They can hardly climb up hill Puzzle, [219] and are often tempted to sit down in despair by the swollen waters of Bother! Courage, my dear young friends! Resolute perseverance will yet win the crown of Success. If you keep your eye upon Duty, and bravely follow where she would lead—if, guided by gentle Affection, you steadily pursue a right course—you will conquer difficulties at last, be useful, honoured, and beloved. ”

“ Thus we speak familiarly of a high order of intellect, of a high-minded man, of lofty souls, superior worth, exalted wisdom and love. We say of an individual that he stands high in the community, high in the church or in the state, that he is above others, etc., when our meaning is that he is spiritually or mentally above them—superior in wisdom, skill, integrity, and moral worth. ”

“ Almighty God, help me to remember that "the power of character is the highest point of success," and that thou hast put within reach of all the choice ideals of life. May I have the desire to cultivate strong purposes, and strive for high endeavors, that I may not aim for the low. ”

“ This is the one common command of God to all mankind. If you have an employment, you are to be thus reasonable, and holy in the exercise of it; if you have time and a fortune in your own power, you are to be thus reasonable, and holy, in the use of all your time and all your fortune.
4. The right use of every talent, is the indispensable duty of every being that is capable of knowing right or wrong. ”

“ The call of the world’s need for some special work and your own consciousness of power to render that service will bring you a genuine sense of vocation as you gird yourself for it. There are many intimations as to the place one should take and hold, which may have all the compelling force of a vision from on high. ”

“ His life affords only another illustration of the power of patience, perseverance, and conscientious working, in elevating the character of the individual, and crowning his labours with the most complete success.
Such are a few of the distinguished men who have honourably worked their way to the highest position, and won the richest rewards of their profession, by the diligent exercise of qualities in many respects of an ordinary character, but made potent by the force of application and industry. ”

“ My dear L , I am be- coming more and more convinced every day that the most important duty we have is the upbuilding of our character; for it is in the strength and I richness of our character that we obtain the title to self-respect, and are able to influence others. It is by bringing ourselves into closer contact with the highest thought that we are going to be enabled to obtain high-mindedness and purity ourselves. ”

“ Such are, then, the consequences of firmness and stability of character; and such the rewards which he may look for, who, solemnly devoting himself to the discharge of the duties of that station or condition which Providence has assigned him, pursues them with steady and undeviating labor. It is the character which unites all that is valuable or noble in human [160] life, the tranquillity of conscience, the honors of wisdom, and the dignity of virtue. ”

“ Boldly assume the quality of a hero, vehemently affirm that you actually possess invincible courage, and you will be surprised at your immediate increase of strength and positiveness. Deny that you have any weakness, defect or deficiency which can handicap your career. Insist upon affirming the opposite quality, the winning quality. [Pg 226]
If you lack decision, if you are a waverer, a vacillator, if you are a putter-off of things, if procrastination runs in your blood, persistently affirm that you possess the opposite qualities. ”

“ Under the term 'skill' I mean to include the united force of experience, intellect, and passion, in their operation on manual labor, and under the term 'passion' to include the entire range of the moral feelings. ”

“ Thus the mind and character may be trained to an almost perfect discipline, and enabled to act with a grace, spirit, and liberty, almost incomprehensible to those who have not passed through a similar experience.
Everything that we learn is the mastery of a difficulty; and the mastery of one helps to the mastery of others. ”

“ I have taken another course, one more suited to my abilities, and to the taste of the times in which I live. Yet however unequal I feel myself to that attempt, were I now to begin the world again, I would tread in the steps of that great master: to kiss the hem of his garment, to catch the slightest of his perfections, would be glory and distinction enough for an ambitious man. ”

“ The knowledge, discipline, and self-control of which he was daily becoming master were unconsciously fitting him for a career, humble though it might seem in its several stages, but nevertheless noble and potent in its relations to other generations. ”

“ Imputed genius and luster of abilities ascribed beyond the common ratio of human capacity and perfection were the result of his commanding good fortune, which attached to his person and character the partiality of all ranks and classes of men. ”

“ I talk of great achievements, yet am I one of the least of the instrumentalities employed in the spreading of knowledge, and the advancing of the work of the Redeemer's kingdom. When feeling the strongest, I am made sensible of weakness; when proud, am made humble. ”

“ That ambition, which, conceived in early youth, had decided my career and sweetened all its labours,—the ambition to take a rank and leave a name as one of the great pathologists to whom humanity accords a grateful, if calm, renown,—saw before it a level field and a certain goal. ”

“ And I will begin with courage, and once more ask, What is that common quality, which is the same in all these cases, and which is called courage? Do you now understand what I mean?
LACHES: Not over well.
SOCRATES: I mean this: As I might ask what is that quality which is called quickness, and which is found in running, in playing the lyre, in speaking, in learning, and in many other similar actions, or rather which we possess in nearly every action that is worth mentioning of arms, legs, mouth, voice, mind;—would you not apply the term quickness to all of them? ”

“ With great zeal for human improvement, a strong sense of duty, and capacities and acquirements the extent of which is proved by the writings he has left, he hardly ever completed any intellectual task of magnitude. ”

“ He may possess a well-balanced organization as to temperament and cerebral development, but without the element of delicate quality he will be utterly incapable of those mental processes requiring delicate shades of thought.
Sol Smith Russell—Quality Responsive.
The individual who unites the elements of strong and delicate quality will exhibit both power and fineness. He will be able to display more versatility of talent than the individual possessing the element of strength or delicacy alone. ”

“ The proof of clear aims and a keen vision, single-hearted devotion to a worthy end, judicious selection of means to attain it, quick recognition of capacity in others and confidence in it when recognised, care in preparation, incisiveness in action, these are the qualities which draw men after them in spite of personal incompatibilities, and harness a multitude of scattered energies, at their highest efficiency, into a single co-ordinated effort. ”

“ The desire is concerned with excellence, that is, with a high degree of some perfection (such as virtue, knowledge, beauty, fame, honor) or with superiority to others in perfection.
(c) The excellence sought is personal; that is, the object of pride is self as exalted on high or raised above others. Ambition seeks greatness in honors and dignities, presumption greatness in accomplishment, and vanity greatness in reputation and glory ”

“ But he gloried in his profession, in its labours and difficulties as well as its rewards, it satisfied him intellectually and gave him that calm sense of mastery—mastery over himself and others—known only to those who are doing what they were born to do. ”

“ Tact, business talent, knowledge of men, resolution, promptitude and sagacity in dealing with immediate emergencies, a character which lends itself easily to conciliation, diminishes friction and inspires confidence, are especially needed, and they are more likely to be found among shrewd and enlightened men of the world than among men of great original genius or of an heroic type of character. ”

“ Besides, the very trials and temptations to which their superior vitality subjects them are not alone its necessary accompaniment, but also the necessary means for forming a superior character into eminent excellence.
Self-will, love of pleasure, quick excitability, and consequent irritability, are the marked ingredients in every strong character; its strength must be employed against itself to produce any high moral superiority. ”

“ Experience taught us that when we embraced one opportunity, one responsibility, the acceptance of it invariably led to another, and so the servant who had five talents, five opportunities, gained ten. ”

“ The man had all the qualities that make for success—technical skill, audacity, confidence in himself, steadiness, force, restrained imagination, and a certain capacity for indomitable perseverance. He would go a long way, in spite of the fact that he was not quite the ideal leader, or perhaps because of the lack of the fire that inspires subordinates. ”

“ They have now an equally infatuated admiration for ability and success, without integrity or virtue. Their minds have been delivered from the dominion of rank without talents, and have fallen under that of talents without principle. ”

“ The habit of his mind is a reference to standards of natural equity and public advantage; and he inspires respect, and the wish to deal with him, both for the quiet spirit of honor which attends him, and for the intellectual pastime which the spectacle of so much ability affords. ”

“ Even the merit of talents and abilities which some accident has hindered from producing their effects, seems in some measure imperfect, even to those who are fully convinced of their capacity to produce them. ”

“ Answer.—He has the innate character, the inherited character, and the acquired character which is gained by education.
With regard to the innate character, although the divine creation is purely good, yet the varieties of natural qualities in man come from the difference of degree; all are excellent, but they are more or less so, according to the degree. So all mankind possess intelligence and capacities, but the intelligence, the capacity, and the worthiness of men differ. ”

“ Many of us believe exultingly that the “All power” which is given into the hands of our Master includes the power of upright standing, strength, and beauty for every bruised human reed. That this is so, we have evidence in plenty, beginning with ourselves. ”

“ If he have any intelligence whatever, he must have movement, progress, and object before him; he must have some practical motive and reason to be respectable, thrifty, energetic, careful, and the like. ”

“ Intelligence, wit, judgment, and the other talents of the mind, however they may be named, or courage, resolution, perseverance, as qualities of temperament, are undoubtedly good and desirable in many respects ”