"Again, the Good Book says, 'Where there is no vision the people perish.' This was spoken most probably in regard to the ancient prophets and seers who received the divine light from the great original source, and reflected it from their own hearts and minds on a benighted race. "But has not the great Inspirer of light and knowledge, since that remote past, raised up other prophets and seers and imparted other visions that the people might not perish? These great men are among us; they do not compel, but they invite companionship; they say, 'Come, go with us, talk with us, commune with our spirit, drink with us of the clear, cool springs of nature; the journey is pleasant and the scenery is grand; come, go with us and we will do thee good.' "Will you reject the invitation and decline the association? So, young ladies, as I said in the beginning, from a literary standpoint, from a social standpoint, from a business standpoint, and from the standpoint of philanthropic and Christian usefulness, your future position and success in life depend upon the company you keep. Under the great principle of the freedom of the press, the newspaper has become a universal institution in America,--omnipresent, and almost omnipotent. The result is that the vast constituency of our great government are better informed on current events all over the land and all over the world, than any people on the earth. "But the curse of the land is this: We spend too much time on this and kindred literature; this habit enfeebles the mind, contracts the vision, and suppresses high ambitions in the fields, the vast and elevated fields of broader, more solid, more useful and more permanent knowledge. Our people are making the most marvelous progress on all lines of human thought and effort, but on none more rapid than that of science and literature. The spirit of the nation seems to be a consuming ambition to lead the world in thought, in intellectual development, and in products of the brain of men. To keep in harmony with this spirit, you, young ladies, must rise above the plane on which so much of our literature moves and study the works of great minds." TRUE CULTURE 1870 "The great mistake which so many make and which satisfactorily accounts for their want of success, is that they regard the mere accumulation of facts as the sole object of scholastic study;--that knowledge may be stored in the mind as we gather grain into a garner, and this, too, without regard to its character or quality, or the order in which the deposits are made. We have aimed, young ladies, to give you a better theory of education, and a more enduring foundation of scholarship....