What he learned from his favorite teacher was not obedience to authority but delight in the exercise of his mind.

No Calvinist in New England could have been more rigorous in self-discipline than he was, but the supremely significant fact about his lifelong quest of knowledge is that he found in it "infinite delight." He always loved to study for by this means he expanded the horizons of his mind and gained the power of knowledge, which was the only power he really craved.

I would recommend it to you to reflect, and remark on, and digest what you read; to enter into the spirit and design of your author; to observe every step he takes to accomplish his end; and to dwell on any remarkable beauties of diction, justness or sublimity of sentiment, or masterly strokes of true wit which may occur in the course of your reading.

He learned from the Greek poets "not to expect too much from life; not to dream of a chimerical bliss, ... but to do his duty, without expecting to be rewarded ..., to cultivate his friends and love his country even to the point of self sacrifice." From ancient writers he learned the possibility of courageous resignation, and under their inspiration he worked out for himself a program which was little short of the heroic.