Letters from a Father to His Son

very useful opinion on political subjects, ought to be, in the first
place, a calm thinking and considerate man, of a quiet and
reflective turn of mind; and, in general, he must have arrived at
years of maturity before he can or ought to offer any decided
opinion.
It is admitted on all hands, that to know the law, we must study it;
that to make a watch, we must learn the trade from a craftsman. I
have told you that you cannot hope to perform such
comparatively trifling feats as to capture a trout with an artificial
fly; or shoot down a woodcock on the wing—without several
years' practice and experience.
Whenever, then, you hear anyone offering confident and high
sounding opinions about public Government, always in your own
mind doubt the solidity and value of his conclusions.
At the same time, however, that I ask you to view party
discussions and differences, and extreme and violent opinions on
such subjects in their true light. I recommend that you not be
carried away by a foolish enthusiasm.
I do not wish to advise you not to belong to a party. If you follow
the profession of law, it will be necessary and proper that you
should do so. In determining what party you will adhere to, act
upon principle and not on any imagined expediency.
Some young men on arriving at that period of life when it
becomes proper for professional men to belong to one or other
of the parties in their country, are governed by chance, or by what
they imagine will be for their interest, rather than by a clear and
educated choice of their own. If they, for instance, find the Whigs
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