Rev. Thos. H. Jackson, D. D.,
President.
WILL.
THOS. H. JACKSON, D. D„ LL. D.
President of Shorter University,
Arkadelphia, Ark.
Delivered before the Literary Societies
of Paul Quinn College,
June 8, 1897.
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.
Printing Department of Shorter University.
1897.
4
"By will is meant a free and deliberate ten¬
dency to act."—Sir Wm. Hamilton.
"It is the will which determines what is to
be preferred or rejected."—Dr. McCosh.
Doubtless the other powers of the mind
must furnish the objects. The physical and
mental sensibility must announce what is pain¬
ful or pleasurable; the conscience declares
what is morally right, and what is morally
wrong; the reason may proclaim what is true
and what is false: but it is not in the province
of one or all of these to make the choice.
" Bv the sensibility the mind feels pleasure
and pain;but itis another power which chooses
the former and avoids the latter. So far as
the true is preferred to the false, or the right
to the wrong, or the pleasurable to the right,
it is by the exercise, not of the reason, or the
conscience, or the sensibility, butof the will."
Here it is then—the power to determine, to
fix from one's or by one's own choice the
boundarj', and to execute the determination
thus chosen. For the will "has the power
to determine upon one, or to reject all, of a
number of alternatives. It can direct the ex¬
ecution of a determination as soon as it is
5
formed, or it can postpone execution for any
length of time." Now let us keep in mind,
please, that the will is the power of choice,
and always implies an alternative. There can
really be no choice where there is no alterna¬
tive. Now, please, the will is not an agent
separated from the mind, controlling its acts.
Yet when we say this, we would have you un¬
derstand that the will is a reality. This power
of the mind has a real existence. We are all
conscious that the mind has the power to de¬
sire—make choice and volitionate,. or to per¬
form acts of volition, which is a simple act,
always preceded by desire.
The Will then is the mind making choice
from a given number of alternatives, or as each
of us puts it sometimes: " My mind is made
up," then follows the execution of that which
the mind has determined to do. And now
please,the Will in willing is free, i. e. upon it,
or in it there is no material or mental restraint
laid.
Mark, you, please- -It is the acis of the Will
which are free, or that the Will in willing is
free. Every voluntary act is the result of a
free will. Every external aet is either control-
6
eel by the Will or some other governing power.
If not by the Will—then it must be necessi¬
tated, and if necessitated, it can not be free
and if not free there is no responsibility, and
if no responsibility we are machines and not
men created in the image and likeness of God.
As Rivers says: "It is the Will that directs
the blow of the assassin,that opens the lips of
the seducer with honeyed words, that moves
the tongue of the slanderer; and it is the Will
© 3
that sends the votary of religion to the church
and to the closet, that opens the hands and be¬
stows the blessings of charity."
Whatever volition the mind puts forth, it
does so because it wanted to do so, or the Will
in willing is free. If not there can be no such
thing as choice, as responsibility, as distinc¬
tion between right and wrong, virtue and vice;
all laws, human and divine are cruel and un¬
just and no man should be punished for vio¬
lation of law. The Will must be free or God
is responsible for all the sin and misery and
failures in this world. No, the Will is free!
Alternatives are presented to the Will. It
makes its choice. In doing so, it is perfectly
free.
7
We are told that the Will is caused to act in
uny given case as itdoes because of the motive.
What do you mean when you say this ? For
here again we must pay attention to definition.
That which is called motive is only the reason
why any given act is performed. The motive,
so called, does not cause, or make the Will act
as it does. It, the so-called motive, does not
itself produce the act. The Will—being free,
the cause of its acts being within itself—acts
as it does because it wanted so to do. I said
that which we call the motive is only the rea¬
son why i. e. the thought or consideration
which is addressed more immediately to the
intellect in the form of argument. "The
thing thought, estimated, or valued in the
mind." v
Motive—4 the thing that brings into action.''
But whatever is brought into action.is brought
into action by the Will itself. This, that, or
the other thing is presented to the intellect, it
is considered by the same—thought over, esti¬
mated, valued—and then the Will determines.
And if you insist upon using the word" motive"
rather than reason why I shall have no quarrel
with you, if you only keep in mind that the
8
Will can choose which motive shall prevail, or
can even refuse to choose or to order any ac¬
tion at all in a given case.
It can put all the motives aside, no matter
how clamorous and insistent they may be, and
decline to do anything.
"To admit any other view of Will is to relieve
man of all responsibility; to make him an au¬
tomaton wound up by some inexplicable pro¬
cess, and set going by "pressing a button."
The murderer is simply the victim of his "mo¬
tor ideas," and it would be as silly to hang
him as to hang a steam-boiler for exploding
and killing some one. The thief is a mere
machine, run by the force of the u prevailing
desire," and is no more responsible to God or
man than the wind that robs a man of his hat.
Eather dangerous doctrine that, but it is all in
the "no-will" theory of man's action."—
Roark.
Now, please—In the light of what is to fol¬
low, I wish to press upon your attention—at
the expense of repetition that the motive does
not cause the will to act. The cause of the
Will willing lies in the Will itself. Many say :
But for this or that motive, I would have acted
9
differently. However you may or may not
act—the choice is yours regardless of motive.
You willed to do as you did, and your will
was entirely free in willing as it did.
Now then the Will in willing presents us
with the four following facts*—viz:
"There is an end to be obtained."—manhood.
2. "There is the motive," or reason why
"the end should be obtained," 3. "There
is choice," or the mind is made up " to secure
the end to be obtained." 4. "There is the
volition, or the execution of the purpose to se¬
cure the end to be obtained, which the mind
made up to secure." Such is the Will in its
acts.
For after all, we often get a clearer defini¬
tion by telling what a thing does rather than
what it is as to its essential nature.
And now upon this power of the soul, more
than upon any other, hangs great issues. Up¬
on your Will depend the issues for time and
eternity. Would you take freely of the waters
of life! You may—if you but will. The
highest spiritual heavenly blessings are repre¬
sented by the waters of life. But ladies and
gentlemen, the waters of life are not merely
10
the bliss of heaven, because it begins here in
the well-founded hope of heaven. The waters
of life exist and sparkle on both sides of the
grave. If you will—from this water you may
drink here that you may continue to drink on
the other side of the grave.
The Will spreads out in every direction.
Feeds upon every object. Overrides every op¬
position. O, Mighty power! By it, you have
one of the things that distinguishes man from
the brute. Why are you not a brute? Be¬
cause you are a man. Why are you a man?
Because you have a soul—the power to think,
feel, will.
Nothing, probably, so distinguishes you
from the brutes as this great power of the Will.
Itis said that the brute creation may have some¬
thing akin to Will. Possibly may possess it
in a small degree. But if so "it seems to de¬
pend on immediate instinct, or the promptings
of natural appetite; exercised only for the
moment, sometimes with great and terrible
energy and then sleeps." Not so with man,
with you. Man sets out with an object in
view. lie keeps it before him. It takes days,
months, years in its accomplishment. Hold-
11
ing on tenaciously with a persistence born of
Will, unconquerable Will he pushes on. Op¬
position inflames rather than repels. Obsta¬
cles are converted into materials and instru¬
ments of its own gratification. Persevering—
over all—through all—in spite of all—Will
triumphs.
Look around you. What have you? The
beaver builds his dam upon the same plan ; the
bird her nest; the bee his cell. Bat look around
you. What have you! Yesterday all was for¬
est. Today the forest is gone, and goodly
cities now stand where once stood these for¬
ests. What did it? Will. Look at the splen¬
did civilization that surrounds us. Seas navi¬
gated, mountains tunneled, plains crossed, by
iron bands tied, upon which speeds the loco¬
motive—conversation carried on with th6 Old
World by lightning. What has brought all
this about? Will. Look how science and art
and literature have out of their abundant store¬
houses contributed to social enjoyment. Here
again the Will, in its power and sweep, is seen
and felt.
We often hear about that somewhat, men
call genius. Why ladies and gentlemen, Gen-
12
ius is nothing but WiVL It is " only the power
we have to accomplish any object." A man
born with a peculiar bent of mind, e. g. for
music, painting, mathematics, theology, plow¬
ing, making bread, sewing on buttons—any¬
thing, by his will, makes great proficiency in
the given direction of his peculiar bent of
mind—in both theory and practice—'is a gen¬
ius, and is so because of his Will.
The door is open. What is your special
Dent of mind? Or let me put it to you in an¬
other way. What are you fit for? Make pro¬
ficiency—a master in your special line and be¬
hold a genius.
For remember, ladies and gentlemen, that
'the most magnificent or beautiful con-
ceptions are nothing but painted dreams and
shadows, unless there be a will to carry them
into execution."
But ladies and gentlemen, man is not only
distinguished from the brute creation by Will,
but it also distinguishes one man from another.
What is a man's good intentions, or his
learning, or any other quality, natural or ac¬
quired, if behind it all there be no will.
It is will power that makes the difference
13
between man and man. Not knowledge, not
opinions, not devotedness, not feelings—but
Will.
Let us take any two young men, or women
here—of the same age, the same talents, the
same previous advantages, and the same love
of distinction, both delighting in well earned
applause; yet one assumes and keeps the lead
in class work, whilst the others fall to the
rear. What makes the difference? WilK One
has a strong will: keeps the end constantly be¬
fore him—has made up his mind and sticks
to his work.
The other has a weak will. Is easily di¬
verted from his studies; any foolishness or out¬
side attraction draws him off, he throws
aside his book and is gone. Time and atten¬
tion is given how to circumvent the rules and
get around duty.
If the same strength of will were put forth
in study as mother directions,the results would
be different. The student of strong will keeps
the final object in view. There is a tenacious
determination which no little obstacles—no idle
companions can turn aside. He has a will and
he studies. Success is his. The other goes
off into dreamland.
14
There comes between him and his book an
image. 'Tis she! He gives way to deep and
long reveries. Result—no lesson !
Instead of rising up in the strength of his
will and banishing the image and getting down
to work—he yields to his idle fancies and will
do so all through life unless he asserts him¬
self. Who is responsible in these cases? Each
young man. "A strong or powerful will
chooses boldly, and adheres tenaciously to its
choice: a weak, or feeble will chooses timidly,
and yields its choice without a struggle. A
man of strong will meets danger without fear,
treads unappalled upon the burning edge of a
volcano, and bears the severest pain without
complaint; a man of feeble will flees from dan¬
ger, is frightened at the appearance of an
enemy, and utters wild and impatient com¬
plaints under the infliction of pain.
A man of strong will would die a martyr
rather than yield his principles: a man of
feeble will would falter, hesitate, and succumb,
at the first sight of danger. The strong: will
CT O O
utters "no" with so much force as to make
the tempter flee; the feeble will sinks at once
into the arms of the "siren." The man of
15
strong will is capable of the loftiest deeds of
heroism—h« can be a Washington, or- a
© "
Grant, or a Robert E. Lee, or an Abraham
Lincoln, or a Wesley, or a Fred Douglass, or
a Paul Quinn, or a Daniel A. Payne; "the
man of feeble will is incapable of being a hero."
I tell you that mere accidental advantages
have much less influence than you commonly
suppose.
Let me give you a case. In 1864 two men,
among others, came to Wilberforce seeking an
education, McGill Pierce and Benjamin F.
Lee. Pierce came as a local preacher; he had
some money: and best of all he had a wife
who helped him. He set an object before
him. Besides being a preacher he was going
to be a Geologist. On the walls of his room
were drawings of the different geological ages.
Before these I have seen him stand, with
pointer in hand, and very good language in
command tell to an imaginative audience all
about it. He was going to make the world
feel him.
Benj. F. Lee had no wife, not much money
and had little or no command of language. Not
that he did not understand grammar: for he
16
did. He was a fair English scholar. Bat he
could not talk. He took care of the horses;
he was laughed at by the other students; told
to put molasses on his shoes to keep his pants
down ; he was almost treated with contempt by
Pierce, and when Lee made application the
first time for local preacher's license was de¬
feated mainly through Pierce.
But Lee did not stop or become discouraged.
Where are the two men now? Pierce in ob¬
scurity—unknown. Lee— Professor—P r e s i-
dent—Editor—and Bishop in the African M.
E. Church. Why this difference? Will.
Lee set out with the purpose to form for
himself a high, pure, noble, righteous plan of
life. He stuck. He succeeded. Gentlemen,
your pants may need molasses to coax them
down, as they used to say of Lee in the 60's,
and girls may laugh at you now—but if you
have pluck, purity of life, and will, these same
girls who laugh at you will be so glad to
shakeyourhand after awhile: they will not stop
to look at your pants, because they will know
there is a man in them. It is this energy of
will that makes the difference between men—
This power to be.
17
But let the will be wavering and powerless,
and like a ship without a rudder, you will drift
and be stranded. Say, ladies and gentlemen—
you need not talk about fortune,orfavoritism,
or adroitness, or any such things when one
young man gets on aud another fails. Just
ask—How is the will? Strong or weak?
What gave Bishop D. A. Payne, D. 1).,
his power in the church?
His godly life and consecrated will. Small of
stature, weighing not more than one hundred
pounds, often less; he could command, and
strong men would tremble and obey. Small in
stature! Yes. But what a will. He set before
himself the high purpose of the Christian eleva¬
tion of his church through the medium of
Christian education. He saw the resolution
favoring Christian education laid upon the table
or rejected by the General Conference of 1844.
But he never faltered or even wavered. He
kept on fighting for Christian education.
Behold the resiilt—Wilberforce University
and all of the splendid' institutions of the A.M.
E. Church.' I have seen that little man stand
up against over two hundred men, and win.
He was in the right and he had the will to
stand.
18
Will—the power to be~makes the difference
between men.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Will should be
enlightened. The Will must be educated. An
unenlightened Will is productive of great evil.
The Will of the young is often unenlightened,
yet very active. Hence, the sad mistakes,and
headlong rashness of inexperienced» youth.
Therefore the torch of experience should £ver
be held before the mind. History's -lessons
must be read and studied and heeded.- Reason
must show the consequences of a badly, edur
cated Will. Reflection must look over the
precipice. Facts must everywhere be sought
and then when t£e Will is thus enlightened it
will move forward, like a steady gale of wind,
refreshing the atmosphere and blessing all with
whom it comes in contact. You have learned
many important lessons during your stay here;
among which may be mentioned punctuality,
regularity, obedience, industry, cleanliness,
decency of appearance and regard for the rights
of others."• Lessons valuable, and which it
will b£ well for you to carry all' through life.
Your minds have been somewhat developed by
the systematic training you have received here.
19
Your power of observation has been so aided,
that you are able to make correct records of
the things observed,drawing proper inferences,
and to express yourselves intelligibly; the re¬
sult of true education.
Permit me to remind you that true educa¬
tion must pertain to all the departments and
faculties of our complex human nature, the
physical, the intellectual, moral, and spiritual,
emotional and volitional; "the training of all
the energies and capacities of being to the
highest pitch, and directing them to their true
end." To do this for the most part we have
Special Systems of instruction and discipline.
For the body the gymnasium and medical
schools; for the intellect, schools of various
grades, libraries and lyceums; for the con¬
science, the science of ethics and numberless
moral restraints; for the spiritual, the church
with its songs and prayers and everlasting
gospel; to refine the feelings, the fine arts,
poetry, romance, and religion. But the train¬
ing of the Will as a special faculty is not yet
popularlv recognized as a. branch of education.
For it we have neither text book nor curricu¬
lum. Until recently the subject of will-culture
20
has hardly been touched upon by our great
writers.
' But it is coming to be recognized more and
more, that the will-power needs as wise, delib¬
erate and persistent training as do the intellect
01* sensibilities. And you—must do this work
for yourselves in so far as there has been
failure.
I<\>r the brightest intellects often flash use¬
lessly and burn themselves out for lack of gov¬
ernment by the trained Will.
Persons possessed of the tinest tastes and
holiest passions find their virtues and graces
frayed and worn out by the trials and temp¬
tations of life, when the\ might have been re¬
tained had they learned the art of self-restraint
and self-direction. Some of you will leave
here to return 110 more. From this hour 011
you will have to study, must study topics and
solve problems which do not appeal to your
taste, but will be forced upon vou from souie
necessity.
Your will-power will be tested. What you
ar(> cupable of becoming will be seen. The in¬
fluence and restraints of the College beinu' re¬
moved, your Will must show itself. Not what
21
you see, not what you desire, but. wha„ you
determine—will—that you are.
What you think, know, believe, is in the
end of little consequence—but what you do.
And what you do depends upon your Will.
Hence the Will should be sanctified, i. e. ele¬
vated above low, selfish, sensual purposes.
Make no compromise with conscious error; if
you do, you will ever be hesitating,undecided,
feeble, and the little strength you have left
will be paralyzed for every righteous purpose.
Will is the main factor in the formation of
your moral character. Kemember that vice
begun may become a habit, and habitual vice
of anv kind enfeebles the Will, and destroys
the man—the woman. How many go out from
our school and are failures! Why? No Will.
How many sit down and complain about the
aveuues of life being closed against them; be-
come despondent, and do nothing. What is
the cure? WW. We must be thrifty. But
thrift is dependent upon self-help. Mind you,
Sdf-hrlp. And self-help is the result of Will.
Ladies and gentlemen, "the avenues to
wealth, power, and consideration are not mere
matters of language i. e. the ability to talk
22
effectively—but rather the result of patient
foresight and skillful energy."
Foresight and skillful energy comes as a re¬
sult of a trained mind. The mind is trained
by the Will.
There are no fair attainments either in for¬
tune, heart, or spirit, no, not even the open¬
ing of heaven's golden gates, which must not
yield before the matchless force of these two
little words
I WILL.
I tell you "the strength is in the men"—
Will—"and in their unity and virtue, not in
their standing-room." Doyouseeit? Unity,
Virtue, Will, these three—all essential—bat
the greatest of these three—Will.
Strong aims—brave hearts—unfaltering pur¬
poses—these with upright habits may con¬
quer the world. Nay, will conquer the world,
the flesh, and the devil when enforced by I
Will which is almost omnipotent. Try it and
see.