University of Virginia Library

COURSE OF STUDY.

The course is designed for two sessions, and in general it is not prudent to
devote less time to it, the future professional success of the student depending
much upon his full mastery of it. It is a maxim sanctioned by long and
wide experience, that "he who is not a good lawyer when he comes to the
bar, will seldom be a good one afterwards." And in order to such thorough
acquaintance with the elements of the law, thought is requisite as well as
reading; and for the purpose of thought, there must be time to digest, as
well as industry to acquire. One cannot expect to gorge himself with law,
as a boa-constrictor does with masses of food, and then digest it afterwards;

the process of assimilation must go on, if it is to proceed healthfully and
beneficially, at the same time with the reception of the knowledge. So the
athlete judges, who wish to train the physical man to the most vigorous
development, and the intellectual athlete should imitate the example.

But whilst the student is advised, as a general rule, not to attempt to com
plete the course in a single session, yet, if he chooses to assay it (as some do
successfully), he is admitted to the graduating examinations, and if he attains
the standard required, he is entitled to the degree.