The Courier

The Wise Man Does Not Allow Himself to Run In a Rut.

The wise man keeps out of ruts. To be certain, however, that he will accomplish this he must begin early in life. He must not begin his life work by restricting himself absolutely to a single channel. This does not mean that he should scatter his forces and attempt everything or should not become a specialist. But the more strictly he specializes the more carefully should he see to it that he does not become narrow and bigoted.

The young man should early begin the habit of reading a newspaper. He will thus get a general education that he can obtain from no other source. But he cannot get all the education he requires, even of public affairs, from the newspapers. Let him not make this error. The news is necessarily fragmentary.

He should read regularly one or two good magazines of the class devoted to the discussion of questions of public interest. He should read a little good fiction as well as history and general literature.

While he should persistently seek the acquaintance of the best men of his own craft, who are usually the broadest minded, he should also seek friends outside of it. They will help him to see that there are other important crafts in the world besides his own.

All this will broaden his views and help to keep him out of a rut. - World's Work.