No Excellence Without Toil.
By Susie Hoxie
Dr. Holland has very beautifully expressed this truth in the following lines:— “The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward through the night.”
Wherever we turn our eyes we see this fact proven. Whether we read the history of ages past, or of the present age; whether we are engaged in the vocation of teacher, or in the more pleasing tasks of student's life,—whatever be our calling, it stands as an undeniable fact, that our success in life depends, to a great extent, upon our patient, unremitting labor. Could we with one bound gain the heights of learning and fame, the name of excellence would lose half its beautiful significance on account of the multitudes that would throng the pages of history. But no; we cannot borrow the wings of the eagle, nor can we at one grand bound gain possession of the highest Alps. We must work if we would excel; we must labor if we would gain distinction. The author of that immortal poem, “Paradise Lost,” was distinguished, even in early youth, for his habit of close, hard study. While his fellow-schoolmates were enjoying their games at play, he might have been seen busily engaged with his lessons. The name of Benjamin Franklin has been enrolled upon the scroll of immortality. But his life was one of constant labor. Thus it is in the life of a student. “Whatever is in store for him, it will not come at the first trial. The road which leads to knowledge and to excellence is broad but steep, and whoever would gain these heights, must strive with unremitting zeal.”