000 Editoiiialb. perhaps wounds the feelings of him who has been so fortunate ns to give the public a good production, but yet who is so un fortunate as not to be able to please that particular individual who is writing crit icisms. We do not so much blame our daily papers lor any unfairness in this re spect, unfairness which is often the result of carelessness and haste, as we do the one whose particular business it is to write notices of these performances for this, our college paper. It is his opinion in this matter that is taken as nearly infallible by the many readers of the Student. Should his judgment err greatly in respect to the merits of any certain performance; or should he, a; has often been the case, be influenced by any partisan spirit or par tial feelings, he may be the means of do ing considerable mischief. How much it behooves us then, to guard carefully both tongue and pen in this matter of criticism. Somebody is complaining because wc publish religous articles in the Student. "We admit that it is not just the thing, but thought Antipns" cught to have a fair show, and in regard to "studying on Sun day," we wanted to excuse our Seniors, and adopted the modest plan with which somebody wants to find fault. We never could do anything right. LITERATURE AS A PROFESSION. The man who makes literature a paying profession pos-:es talents of preemi iicnl quality. Shcfljcld says, "Of all those artu in which ,i uioe excel Nature chief masterpiece U writing well." And if writing well be the masterpiece, tumma are artium, then must he be a mas ter mind who can follow literature as a profession, win honor by it, and make it a remunerative occupation. The primary qualifications necessary to become a sue cessful lillerahur are, in the first place, a retentive mcniurv.-a memory that can Vouvt, hold fast to the groat stores of knowledge which lie may glean from every depart ment of literature, science and nrl.-aml seconi'ly, a keen imagination Unit can, so to speak, embody and vivify thought, am! describe secies and characters so ilmi they will be brought before the miiul (,f the reader as real and lifelike. He huh be so constituted that he can think ami express his thoughts with exactness, ami never be satisfied to let anything pa, from his hand? until he has most critical ly re-examined and revised it. IMon mid John Foster were sometimes wont to spend hours upon a single sentence before they could make it exactly please lliim and Dickens says of himself that helia spent hours in searching for n single iron! with which to round of a period. It is such critical, even fastidious, taste ns litis tint the successful writer must posscss,- a taste that will be satisfied with notliin. short of perfect elegance ami exncliif. both in sentiment and style. TlicaulLcr should have patience to revise, it ncce.& ry, and even rewrite his niiuuiscriplsagain and again, until he has so lliorougMr corrected or re-arranged the thouglitsaml language in them that tliey sliallppproacL exactness in every particular. Especial ly must this be the case with I lie your: author who litis ycl a reputation to buiM up. Resides u large amount of native taltnl he must possess in addition a patience and' will that may enable him to plod slothi and never be satisfied to do anything flat cannot be well done. The advice of Itoj-B ers to a young poet are words of couil to every young aspirant to literary In ors: " Aspire to go down to posterity a diamond, rather than fts a caldron of cwl or a heap of bricks and mortar." lil"0 who would aspire to authorship cobjiA' always that a. si.perficinlist never ru above mediocrity in liteialure. A pa1 may lw a speedy writer, and ) be iW cessful author; but l.isMc cess doesnot, many young writers seem to supper. Demi udoii the readings with which .1.. t.- mny be able to wiite, ' i.t upon w "