They had been urged to give their fortune in other directions, as some persons believed that much education would unfit people for labor. "We do not believe," said Mr. Stanford, and the world honors him for his belief, "there can be superfluous education. As man cannot have too much health and intelligence, so he cannot be too highly educated. Whether in the discharge of responsible or humble duties he will ever find the knowledge he has acquired through education, not only of practical assistance to him, but a factor in his personal happiness, and a joy forever." Mr. Stanford desired that the students should "not only be scholars, but have a sound practical idea of commonplace, every-day matters, a self-reliance that will fit them, in case of emergency, to earn their own livelihood in an humble as well as an exalted sphere." To this end he provided, besides the usual studies in colleges, for "mechanical institutes, laboratories, etc." There are departments of civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, besides shorthand and typewriting, agriculture, and other practical work. He wished to have taught in the University "the right and advantages of association and co-operation. ... Laws should be formed to protect and develop co-operative associations. Laws with this object in view will furnish to the poor man complete protection against the monopoly of the rich; and such laws, properly administered and availed of, will insure to the workers of the country the full fruits of their industry and enterprise." He gave directions that "no drinking saloons shall be opened upon any part of the premises." He "prohibited sectarian instruction," but wished "to have taught in the University the immortality of the soul, the existence of an all-wise and benevolent Creator, and that obedience to His laws is the highest duty of man." Mr. Stanford said, "It seems to us that the welfare of man on earth depends on the belief in immortality, and that the advantages of every good act and the disadvantages of every evil one follow man from this life into the next, there attaching to him as certainly as individuality is maintained." The object of the University is, he said, "to qualify students for personal success and direct usefulness in life." Again he said, "The object is not alone to give the student a technical education, fitting him for a successful business life, but it is also to instil into his mind an appreciation of the blessings of this government, a reverence for its institutions, and a love for God and humanity." Mr. Stanford wished plain and substantial buildings, "built as needed and no faster," urging the trustees to bear in mind "that extensive and expensive buildings do not make a university; that it depends for its success rather upon the character and attainments of its faculty."