(1) Having selected his subject, the pupil should think over the exact force and meaning of the terms in which the subject is proposed, so as to have a clear conception of the ground it covers.
(2) In the next place, he should determine the mode in which he will treat his subject. He may commence with the general statement and proceed to prove and illustrate it, or he may commence with the examination of particulars, and proceed to the general truth.
(3) The pupil’s attention must now be given to the division of his subject. The logical order of the several parts should be preserved.
(4) Having decided on his plan or frame-work, the pupil has now to obtain the necessary information under each head. This he may derive from reflection, from conversation, and from reading. As thoughts are obtained he should note them down.
(5) After the composition is written out, the pupil should review it carefully to see if his thoughts have been expressed in the proper place, and in the most suitable manner. After a careful criticism by himself, he should write out his composition again.
I. PERSEVERANCE.
Experience amply shows that nothing valuable is to be attained without labor. Exceptional cases apart, the rule of life is that what costs us nothing is little worth, and that what is esteemed among men is the prize of effort and self-denial. The rich harvest which rewards the husbandman is the fitting sequel to a year of watchful and provident exertion; the successful merchant reaches his envied fortune by the closest vigilance combined with the most skilful calculation; whilst the splendid structure of knowledge which the student aspires to rear is only built up by long years of patient and sustained devotion.
Yet it is possible that labor may end in disappointment. Mere capacity of working carries with it no guarantee of ultimate success. For one may be always working, and yet may achieve little. “One thing to-day, another to-morrow,” indicates a fickleness of temper which has rendered many an active life well-nigh useless. Labor to be effective must be steady. Energy must be under the guidance of purpose. It is the resolute concentration, and not the fitful ebullition of effort, which surmounts all obstacles. The fabled contest of speed between the hare and the tortoise expresses in a homely way the truth which is patent to general observation, that the cause of failure in any pursuit is more commonly to be found in want of perseverance than in want of ability.
Most readers are familiar with the incident in the life of Robert Bruce, strongly illustrative of the virtue of perseverance. The King, almost despairing of success in his efforts to restore freedom to his country, was lying one day in his little cabin, when his attention was caught by a spider. The little animal, hanging at the end of a long thread of its own spinning, was trying to swing itself from one beam in the roof to another, for the purpose of fixing the line for its web. Not till the seventh attempt did it succeed; but its success encouraged the King to make one effort more. His perseverance met with its reward; for, as he had never before gained a victory, so he never afterwards suffered any serious defeat.