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Untitled Article
which you , gentlemen , may , in the course of your practice in the courts , easily retain the arguments urged by the opposite parties , or with readiness put down your own thoughts on any particular subject . But if , after having them thus upon paper , you should get into the habit of flattering yourselves that you have the whole in your minds , you will find yourselves grievously mistaken when you come to have occasion to have recourse to them in actual practice .
I might also have wished to otter you some ot my thoughts on the conduct proper to be pursued by a law student . You will of course perceive the necessity to success , in this as in other pursuits , of order and regularity in the distribution of your hours ; of a diligent application of that portion of each day which is devoted to labour , and , in order to the maintenance of that health and vigour of body which are necessary to present enjoyment and ultimate success , of a due dedication of the other two portions to rest
and recreation . As to recreations , I refer you to what I said on the last occasion of our meeting here , and as yours is likely to be even a still more sedentary occupation than that of the divine , I would recommend to you the choice of such recreations as are likely to afford both air and exercise . But if it be at any time necessary , in cases of a press of business , to abridge the hours , let it always , if possible , be those of recreation , rather than those
of rest ; a due proportion of which I deem to be absolutely necessary to the preservation of the bodily powers , and particularly the nervous system in a healthy state . Indeed , it is always with terror that I hear of any of my young friends sitting up all night , or even two nights , to make up for the loss of time which a regular and orderly scheme of distributing their time , steadily persisted in , would have prevented .
I hope I need not further observe , that recreations should always be kept within the strict limits of temperance ; the transgression of which is always disgraceful , and its habitual transgression destructive of the powers both of body and mind . In the choice of companions you will be very careful to avoid all such intercourse as might lead you into temptations to vice of any kind ; and you will find it a great use to select for your associates those with
whom you may compare notes and sentiments , discuss difficult points , and argue supposed or real cases . Lord Mansfield states that he had received the greatest benefit from exercises of this kind , and that even when presiding on the King ' s Bench he had often had recourse to notes recording the discussions of his youth .
1 have only further to offer you , gentlemen , my best wishes , and I venture to add the wishes of every one present , for your full success and satisfaction in the future exercise of your profession ; that you may escape its many temptations , and answer all its beneficial purposes , and that you may always endeavour to prevent litigation wherever it may be possible ; and
when this cannot be , that you never descend to carry your point by misstatement or falsehood : and if you should ever be called to act as magistrates or senators , that in the one case you be careful to administer , and in the other to revise and correct , the laws of your country , under a high sense of justice , of the best interests of your country and mankind , and of your duty to Almighty God .
Untitled Article
594 Advice on Entering the Profession of the Law .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1828, page 594, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2564/page/10/
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