The process of elaborating and assimilating knowledge is so important
that it requires more time and pains than the first labor of
acquisition. Philosophers will admit this at once, but it is hard for
us to break loose from the traditions of the schoolmasters. The mind
is not in all respects like a _lumber-yard_. It is, to be sure, a
place for storing up knowledge, just as the yard is a deposit for
lumber. But there the analogy ceases and the mind begins to resemble
more the contractor and builder. There is planing, sawing, and
hammering; the materials collected are prepared, fitted, and mortised
together, and a building fit for use begins to rise. Knowledge also is
for use, and not primarily for storage. That simple acquisition and
quantity of knowledge are not enough is illustrated by the analogy of
an army. Numbers do not make an army, but a rabble. A general first
enlists raw recruits, drills and trains them through a long period, and
finally combines them into an effective army. Many of our ideas when
first received are like disorderly raw recruits. They need to be
disciplined into proper action and to ready obedience.
In connection with assimilation the analogy between the _stomach_ and
the mind is of still greater interest.
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