isa-normaladvance-1903-00135

Description:	THE NORMAL ADVANCE.135a light appeared for a while and a human formwas seen to kneel as if in prayer.Yesterday this young girl came to me with aletter from her father, asking me to take hismotherless child and train her as if she were myown. That letter was signed, your brother,Harold.Indiana State Normal.Better to wear out than to rust out is themotto which we Normal students are forced to be-.lieve and obey as we would one of the Ten Commandments. How we sometimes long for a chanceto rust and how we wickedly rejoice when avacant chair at chapel suggests such a chance buteven then we have no time to rust, for there is always an abundance of left-over work to be done inthis unexpected hour.There is one verse in the Bible from which nochapel talks have ever been made and which, too,would apply well to any student-body. It is, Andfurther, by these, my son, be admonished of making many books there is no end, and much studyis a weariness of the flesh. Even in the gymnasium work, the sole purpose of which is to restthe mind by exercising the body, we have to readbooks and pass examinations. Some one has said,Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise,To scorn delight and live laborious days.The spur which constrains most of us to forego all entertainments and. to live laborious daysis not fame, but the lengthy lessons assigned bythe faculty.But all labor has its just reward and when theterm ends and we receive the Ps as a little rewardwe shall realize that our study and loss of pleasurehas been all gain. We have learned to utilizeevery minute and to study under the most tryingcircumstances, for have we not studied slyly during chapel exercises or while waiting in a crowdedroom for our meals or in the assembly room whenit was filled with animated conversations? Weshall count concentration a power gained at theold I. S. N. that will enable us to extract thesalient points from the lessons of life at any timeand under all conditions.Although we sometimes feel as the Israelites didin bondage, we, as they did, shall often long to return to the flesh-pots of Egypt. We shall advise our friends to attend the Normal, saying: Iwill point ye out the right path of a virtuous andnoble education laborious indeed at the beginning,but else so smooth, so bright, so full of goodly prospect and melodious sounds on every side, that theharp of Orpheus was not more charming.
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/33908
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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