The Cultivation of the Will

 

         The Will is the faculty that enables the intellect to exert its power on man's external, mental, and instinctive realities. As the intellective appetite, the Will is the tendency to desire, to seek, and to enjoy that which is apprehended by the intellect as good. As the watchdog of instincts, the Will is that part of the mind man must use to direct his instinctual nature in accordance with deliberately chosen ends. Thus, the Will is the guiding force which molds and directs the life of man, and as such it is the chief integrating force in man's character; therefore, the Will, as much as any other faculties, has a direct practical bearing upon education.

         The Value of the Will. The history of mankind is a record of the thoughts and purposes of mankind, crystallized into facts by the power of the will. This power is therefore of great value to man and demands careful culture. However, a lack of appreciation of the function of the Will in the overall operation of the Mind makes it necessary here to give its primary values.

         1. The value of the will as the executive power of the mind is readily apparent. Without it, none of the other powers of the mind would be of much use to us, as all voluntary mental activity is due to the will. A strong will gives energy to the faculties, and holds them true to the task at which they are employed. It thus lies at the basis of all high achievements in the intellectual world. Strength of will also gives a force to character that makes a person a center of influence in society, and thus contribute to his happiness and success.

         2. The will gives power to thought. The solution of a difficult problem is due not merely to intellectual ability, but to the will that controls the thought. Newton said he discovered the law of gravitation by incessantly thinking about it. The will power involved in writing a work like the Mecanique Celeste is almost as wonderful as the intellectual ability. It is unremitting mental activity in which the will is the controlling influence, that builds up our systems of science and philosophy. The triumphs of science are embodiments of a resolute purpose as well as of scientific genius.

         3. The will has been of great value in the sphere of discovery and invention. It holds the mind faithful to an idea through years of disappointment and failure, until at last success crowns the effort. Sustained by an indomitable will, Columbus travelled from court to court, bore up under rebuff and ridicule, braved the storms and dangers of an unknown ocean, stood calm and resolute amid the murmurs and threats of a mutinous crew, and at last raised the standard of Spain on the soil of a new world. Charles Goodyear's (1800-1860) invention of rubber process is a monument to the patience, courage, long‑continued experiments, and almost fanatical faith of the inventor. Dr. Elisha Kane (1820-1857) saved his companions from Arctic graves by a sublime manifestation of an intelligence controlled and impelled by an overmastering will.

         4. Strength of will is often of great value to the orator. The effect of language is heightened when it is felt to be charged with a determined purpose. It is the man behind the word that gives it power; and the man is thought and feeling embodied in the will. Words that come up out of the heart glowing with feeling and are sent forth with a commanding purpose, make an impression that is felt.

         5. Strength of will is necessary for military success. It has been a distinguishing characteristic of all the great military leaders. The determination to succeed does as much for victory as the skillful strategic combinations. The victory, as some one has remarked, often depends on which party can stand pounding the longest. When told that it was impossible to take his army over the Alps, Napoleon replied, "Impossible is the adjective of fools." and "There shall be no Alps!"  All great military leaders were impersonations of tremendous will power, as well as great genius in military strategy.

         6. Strength of will is valuable in Government. A strong will is essential to those who would lead public opinion. There must be leaders in society. Mankind rally around some firm and daring spirit who has the courage of his convictions and gives them expression in word and deed. Every great social movement or political reformation has a strong will at the center. In Magna Carta, the courageous hearts of the great barons forced from a tyrannical king the charter of freedom. Men gather around a strong will in times of danger and disaster, and draw inspiration and confidence from its unflinching self‑reliance.

         7. Fidelity to a purpose is an inexorable law of all high success in life. Noble thought and elevated feeling are not sufficient for the accomplishment of life's duties; a man must put his will into his thought and feeling, and let them flow out into action. The great deeds of the world were sometimes not the products of great intellects so much as of strong wills. It is tireless energies and courageous hearts that succeed. Moderate intellect, strong feelings, and a commanding will, have usually attained to the highest successes of life.

         8. This work of the will is largely due to its endowing the soul with the attribute of courage. The victories of life are won, not by the timid, but by the brave. Life is a campaign; we must fight for the triumph of the right. Coward hearts faint in the battle; the victory belongs only to brave and valiant souls. Courage means victory. All great victories in life are won by determined spirits. Wise heads, brave hearts, and strong wills, form a trinity of powers which conquer the world.

         9. Strong will is essential to personal excellence. The will gives strength and dignity to character. We admire the man of firm opinions and purposes; we pity or scorn the man of vacillating mind and wavering intention. At the center of every great character there must be a strong, firm self-reliance, that molds the actions to the thought, and moves forward, amid opposition and persecution, calm and undismayed.

         The Principles of Culture of the Will. These statements of the value of the Will give emphasis to the importance of its culture, and the teacher's duty in relation to it. This culture is more difficult than that of the intellect; though much can be done by the intelligent and judicious teacher. The three fundamental principles to guide us in training the Will are Stimulation, Direction, and Control.

         1. The first principle for the culture of the will is that of stimulation. The weak will needs to be stimulated to activity. The timid, diffident, unreliant child needs to be taught courage and self-reliance. The hesitating, vacillating mind must be trained to decide with promptness and to stand true to its decisions. Sometimes the defect of will is not so much in real weakness of will as in indecision. The dreamy, poetic mind that, like Hamlet, has its ideal, but is unable to put forth its energy to attain it, should be incited to activity by a sense of duty, and be trained to a prompt discharge of the duties of practical life. The habit of indecision must be overcome; it is often better to decide unwisely than not to decide at all.

         2. The second principle for the culture of the will is that of direction. The strong will should be directed in its activity. The old idea that a child's will is to be broken is a pernicious doctrine in education. To direct and not to repress is the true law of culture.  The boy who has a strong will, possesses a power that may make him a blessing to the world. To endeavor to destroy or break such a will, would be a fatal mistake. What we need is to put it into the channels of virtue; to subordinate it to the sense of obligation; and the boy may grow up to be one of those heroic souls whom the world honors for their deeds of beneficence.

         3. A third principle in training the will is that of self-control. The will should not only flow out with energy in the channels of correct activity, but it should also be able to withhold its energies at the dictates of judgment. A strong will should not only seek to control the outward forces and circumstances of nature, but should turn inward and obtain a mastery over itself. The greatest victory of the will is the victory over itself. He that ruleth his own spirit is better than he that taketh a city. The ability to hold the will in complete subjection to its own behests, is an invaluable attainment. A calm, quiet self‑possession, a complete equipoise of mind under the most exciting circumstances -such a power is both useful and admirable, and should be one of the ends of the culture of the will.

         4. The Will is a natural gift, but admits of cultivation. Men inherently differ materially in power of will as well as in other faculties. There is a genius of will as there is a genius of thought or imagination. No training would make out of a man born with a feeble will a heroic soul. This attribute is partly in the mind and partly in the body; there is a physical courage as well as a mental courage.  Courage and determination lie in the mind and moral nature, as well as in the physical. Strength of will can, however, be cultivated; and it is a culture that will pay largely for the labor.

         5. The will may be cultivated by the practice of overcoming obstacles. The will grows by what it conquers. Every new conquest gives it additional power for some other conquest. Children should be led to acquire the habit of overcoming difficulties. There is hope for the future of a child who applies himself to a task merely because it is difficult.

         6. The will may be cultivated by difficult studies. There are several school studies that are valuable for the culture of the will. Among these, the branches of mathematics hold the first rank. These branches require close thought and persistent effort; the will must command the thought in order to master them. The student that refuses assistance from teacher or key in the solution of a hard problem, and sits up all night rather than fail in mastering the difficulty, is cultivating a force of will that will prove invaluable in later life. The study of Latin and Greek is much like mathematics in cultivating the power of the will. One of the most important benefits derived from the study of a hard subject is the culture of habits of hard, steady, persistent, and self-reliant labor.