really digested and valuable knowledge, without unwearied industry. The maxim, Msλrn To Tav, of Periander, the old Grecian sage, is worth its weight in gold. Patient application is literally every thing. Without it, you may have a number of half-formed ideas floating in your mind; but deep, connected, large and consistent views of any subject, you will never gain.

But in relation to this point, I suspect there is a very prevalent error. It is, that these deep views of particular subjects are to be obtained by one or a few mighty efforts. Be assured, whatever may be the case with a rare genius now and then, it is, commonly, not so. The old French proverb, "Pas à pas on va bien loin," i. e. "Step by step one goes very far," affords the real clew to the proper course. A mountain is not to be passed at a single leap, nor a deep and rich mine to be explored by a single stroke of the spade. But a sufficient number of slow, cautious, patient efforts, will accomplish the enterprise. So it is in study. Impatient haste is the bane of deep intellectual work. A little, thoroughly done, every day, will make no contemptible figure at the end of the year. If I could be sure of your entering completely into the spirit of this principle, I should have no doubt of your accomplishing much.

7. Closely connected with this counsel is another, viz: That you leave nothing till you have done it well. Skimming over the surface of any subject is of very little use. Passing on to something else, before that which precedes is half understood, is really oftentimes worse than useless, because it deceives with the name of knowledge; and because it deposits in the memory,

if there be a deposit made there at all, mere abortions, instead of mature births. The instances in which young men, and even candidates for the holy ministry, cheat themselves by indulging in this practice, by running over a task, as eye-servants are wont to do, without performing any part of it well, are as numerous as they are melancholy. My dear friend, be not thus unjust to yourself. It is your own interest for which I plead. If you are studying a language, be careful to sift to the bottom the grammatical character, as well as the strict meaning of every word, before you proceed to another. If you have occasion to ascertain the time or place of any particular event, be sure to examine instantly and thoroughly, and endeavour to form some plan for fixing it firmly in your mind. If you are investigating any important doctrine, be not ready to leave it. Come to it again and again, seeking light from every quarter; and perusing with attention the best books, until you have entered, as far as you are capable, into its profoundest merits. And if compelled, by any circumstance, to leave the subject before you have reached this point, hold it in reserve for another and more satisfactory examination. In short, let your motto, and, as far as practicable, your habit, be, to leave nothing till you have thoroughly mastered it. And by mastering a subject, I mean investigating it to the bottom, until you come to a clear view of the fundamental principles on which it rests. For, until you do this, you cannot really be said to understand any subject. On this point, Mr. Locke, in his "Conduct of the Understanding," (§ 43) makes a remark which I think worth transcribing. "There are fundamental truths which lie at the bottom,

the basis upon which a great many others rest, and in which they have their consistency. These are teeming truths, rich in store, with which they furnish the mind, and, like the lights of heaven, are not only beautiful and entertaining in themselves, but give light and evidence to other things, that without them could not be seen or known. These, and such as these, are the truths we should endeavour to find out, and store our minds with.

8. With respect to all important subjects, I would advise you to bring your acquaintance with them to the test of writing. It is wonderful how far the crudeness and inadequacy of a man's knowledge on a given subject, may be hidden from his own mind, until he attempts to express what he knows on paper. He then finds himself at a loss at every step, and cannot proceed without much extension, and no less correction, of his former attainments. Nay, sometimes he finds that he must begin again, from the very foundation, and that he has not really mastered any part of the subject. Now to obviate this difficulty, from the outset, in studying every subject in which it is practicable, make a liberal use of your pen. I believe, indeed, that one of the best methods of becoming accurately and familiarly acquainted with any subject, is to write upon it. It was said of one of the most voluminous writers of the eighteenth century, that, whenever he wished to make himself well acquainted with any branch of knowledge, he wrote and published a book upon it. In writing, he was undoubtedly wise: in publishing, it may be questioned whether he treated the republic of letters with as much respect as he ought. It was, in fact, palming upon it the immature

productions of a tyro, rather than those of a master workman. But, without giving the least countenance to the thought of imposing your juvenile lucubrations on the public, I would earnestly advise you to employ writing, as far as may be consistent with your health, and other engagements, as a constant medium of investigation. I would say, with the learned and pious Dr. Adam Clarke, in his "Letter to a Methodist Preacher," before quoted, "Have always some essay or dissertation upon the anvil." And, I will add, if no other eye than your own ever see it, the labour bestowed upon it will certainly be more than repaid by its benefit to yourself.

9. In investigating the fundamental doctrines of theology, let the testimony of scripture hold the first place. With many, the order of proceeding is entirely different. The first thing they study is the systematic work of some favourite author. Having done this, they resort to the scriptures rather to confirm his statements, than to bring them to the test of the only infallible standard. Their minds are made up before they come to what ought to be the most decisive point of the inquiry. I hope you will never allow this to be your course of proceeding. When you are about to examine the correctness of a particular doctrine, approach it rather as a detached subject, to be scrutinized from the very foundation, than as a settled article of orthodox belief. First of all, collect, arrange, and weigh the principal passages of scripture which appear to bear on the doctrine in question. Having done this, as thoroughly and impartially as you are able, let your next step be to read with care the best works which have been written on the subject,

both for and against what is deemed the orthodox opinion. It is not only the duty of a theological student, as an humble and sincere inquirer after truth, to do full justice to all the reasonings of its opponents; but it is no less his policy, as a teacher of others, to endeavour to go to the bottom of the most powerful arguments which are brought against his own creed, that he may be able effectually to expose their error, and to establish the truth as it is in Jesus. He who has studied only one side of any question, even though that be the right side, is by no means qualified to meet and vanquish the enemies of his Master.

10. Carefully maintain order in study. He who does not study upon a plan, will never pursue his studies to much advantage. In our seminary, indeed, order is absolutely indispensable, if you would do any thing; for there is an order in all the public exercises, to which every student is bound to adhere, and without a substantial adherence to which, he had better be absent from the institution. Have a fixed time, then, for every study; and, as far as practicable, adhere to it inflexibly. I say, as far as practicable; for there is such a thing as a student's making himself the slave of his plan, instead of using it as an auxiliary. He may erect it into an end, instead of employing it as a means. His plans were made for him, and not he for his plans. Let your plan of study, therefore, be at all times judicious, practicable, and adapted to your situation; such as you will not be compelled frequently to violate. Do not be perpetually altering it; and yet accommodate it, from time to time, to your situation. If you either alter it, or depart from it very frequently, it will soon cease to have any power