View source for Learning Something Every Hour

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<p>My dear brother,<br><br>
  You must not suppose, from what I said in my last letter, that the school is  the only place where you can acquire knowledge. I would by no means have you to  play all the time, which you are not employed at your tasks. There are a great  many hours, especially in these long winter evenings, in which you may be filling  your mind with something useful. For this purpose you should always have some  instructive book at hand. Your parents have many such books, and are always  glad to give you the use of them. It makes me sorry to see that you read so  much in mere story-books. Some of these, indeed, are useful, and they are liked  by all young people. But most of them are foolish, if not injurious. Boys often  become so fond of this sort of reading that they never look into anything but  tales, stories and novels. And in this way they weaken their minds, and lose  all the advantage they might gain from books of instruction.<br><br>
  Now, if you did but think about  it—you would find out that there are works which are highly entertaining, at  the same time that they are profitable. I mean books of history, voyages and  travels, biography, natural history, and philosophy. If you were once to taste  the pleasantness of these, you would soon throw away your story-books, which  are mostly fit for the nursery.<br><br>
  But you cannot be always  reading—and it is by no means necessary. There are many other ways of getting  useful knowledge. The greater part of what you already know, you have learned  from hearing your father and mother talking. If all they have told you should  be written down, it would fill a multitude of volumes. And you remember this  much better than if you had read it in a book. You ought, therefore, to learn  something every day from your parents. They are always willing to teach you;  and whenever you have any difficulty you should get them to explain it. There  are a thousand things which they would be delighted to tell you, and which you  would be profited to learn. Whenever you are sitting with them, try to get them  to instruct you.<br><br>
  You may do the same thing with  all your friends. If you are only modest and respectful, they will not consider  you too inquisitive. All sensible people are gratified when they see that boys  are desirous to learn.&nbsp;<strong>Make it  a rule to learn something from everybody</strong>; for there is no one, high or  low—who has not some knowledge which might do you good. For instance, you have  friends in the school who come from different parts of the country. You may  gain much information from them, by inquiring concerning the places where they  live, and getting them to describe to you everything that is remarkable in  their own neighbourhoods. Even the tradesmen and mechanics can instruct you in  many little matters relating to their own employments. It is a great advantage  for a man to know something about every different trade and mechanical art—and  you cannot learn this from books so well as from going into the workshops, and  asking questions of the people who are at work. When they see that you really  wish to be informed, they will he glad to answer all your inquiries. I would  like you to know all the particulars about every kind of trade and industry.<br><br>
  And then, when you go into the  country, it will make your excursions much more pleasant if you will take pains  to learn from farmers everything about the cultivation of the earth. You must  be sure to find out as much as you can about the different operations of  agriculture; sowing, reaping, and the like; and about the productions of the  land, the raising of cattle and sheep, and the ways of improving the soil. You  will find that many farmers, who have not read as much as yourself, have a  great treasure of knowledge and wisdom. Sometimes you will fall into the  company of those who have travelled in foreign countries. This will give you a  fine opportunity to learn from them all you wish to know about the parts of the  world which they have visited.<br><br>
  And if you travel about in your  vacations, you must keep your eyes open to everything that is remarkable, and  learn all about the places through which you pass. In old times this was the  principal way of acquiring knowledge. Instead of going to colleges and  universities, the ancient Greeks used to travel for years together in Asia and Egypt, and  other lands. This is the method which was pursued by Lycurgus,  and Pythagoras, and Plato,  and others of whom your histories tell you. When you go to a strange place, you  must endeavour to find out about whatever is remarkable, and to make inquiries  of all your friends.<br><br>
  Also, there are a great many&nbsp;<strong>common things&nbsp;</strong>which we see every day, that are  very interesting. Many boys carry watches for months and years without knowing  at all what it is that makes them go. Charles Harvey  had a watch given to him the day he was fifteen years old. He was much pleased  with the present—but could not feel satisfied until he went to the watchmaker,  and got him to explain the inside of it. The watchmaker took the watch to  pieces, and showed him all the works. He showed him the steel spring wound up  in a coil, and let him see how it was constantly trying to unwind itself and  get loose. Then he showed him the barrel to which the end of the spring is  fastened, and how the working of the spring makes the barrel move round and  round. He pointed out the chain which goes from the barrel to the great coil,  and told him how one wheel moved another, until the hands were made to go  around. But you cannot understand this by writing. If you ask a watchmaker, he  will explain all these works to you in a few minutes.<br><br>
  Some boys are so careless that  they make no inquiries, and never learn anything of value. I knew a boy who  used to go to a mill every few days—but who never had the curiosity to ask how  it was that the water falling on the great wheel could make the mill-stone turn  round and round. Some lads will often own guns without ever finding out how the  lock is formed, or how the trigger moves the other works, or how the gunpowder  is made. I hope it will not be so with you—but that whenever you see any  machine, you will not rest until you know all about it.<br><br>
  When you are next on board a  steamboat, get someone to explain to you how the steam works. Inquire about the  boiler, and the condenser, and the piston, and the valves.<br><br>
  Find out the way in which the  pump in the yard raises the water, and what it is that makes the mercury rise  and fall in the thermometer.<br><br>
  <strong>The great thing is to be  always inquiring. Ask and you will learn. Learn something every hour.&nbsp;</strong>Remember the little story of 'Eyes and no Eyes', and read  'Travels about Home'. Whenever you take a walk, you may be learning something.  You ought to be able to tell the name of every kind of tree in the woods,  either by the bark and leaves, or by the shape, and the way they look at a  distance. You may easily find out the names of the principal plants and flowers  which grow in the fields. It will be a shame if you grow up without knowing how  to tell one bird from another, by their shape, their plumage, their song, or  their manner of flying. When you come to look more sharply, you will discover a  great many curious differences in the mosses and the ragged lichens which grow  on the fences and stones, and look like mould.<br><br>
  This is the way to become a  philosopher. A philosopher is a lover of wisdom. The reason why some men become  philosophers is that they are always inquiring and learning something every  hour. It was thus that Dr.   Franklin became so celebrated, and  discovered the nature of thunder and lightning, which no one knew before.<br><br>
  I have read also of poor  shepherd's boys who have become great philosophers in the same way.<br><br>
  If you are only determined to be  learning something all the time, there is no doubt that you will be constantly  improving. When your friends see this they will help you, and be glad to  instruct you. They will put you in the way of making experiments for yourself,  and will furnish you with books and instruments. Thus your very amusements will  be full of profit. I am sure that you would find far more entertainment in  trying experiments with a little electrical machine than in playing at ball or  marbles. And at the same time you would be learning an important science. You  might spend an hour or two in a printing office, learning the way in which  books are made, and be much more amused than by running about the playground.<br><br>
  So you see that even when you are  not in school, you may be constantly improving your mind. You cannot open your  eyes anywhere without beholding something to inquire about; and the more  inquiries you make, the more you will know. This makes one great difference  between people—some are anxious to learn, while others do not care whether they  learn or not. Be awake, my dear brother, and remember that time is short, and  that you must give an account of the way in which you spend every moment. The  greater your knowledge is, the more useful you may be to your fellow creatures.<br><br>
  Your affectionate brother,<br><br>
  James</p>

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