The Spartan knew no other stimulus to exertion than the shining
glories of war. From infancy to old age he was ever learning the skill
and daring which belong to the battle field. His every mental
development was martial in its tendency. He saw in every feature of
his country's institutions an appeal to his warrior spirit. Imagine a
band of young ambitious minds circled around some aged patriot, who,
in the all-glowing language of arms, is describing the daring, the
glorious achievement which had immortalized the _Spartan_ character.
Listen to him as he portrays the bravery unrivalled, the death
unequalled, of those who fell at Thermopylæ or Leuctra; as he calls
upon their mighty shades to witness his words--and mark the youth how
intent, how all-intent they grow as he proceeds; their eyes flashing
with fire; their hands clenched; their teeth set. Do this, and you
have a faint idea of that kind of influence which moulded and directed
the mind of the Spartan. Is it wonderful that Sparta became the
military school of antiquity? Thus taught, the highest worship of her
youth was offered on the altars of war. Thus taught, their imagination
was ever picturing the fierce onset, the high conflict, the battle
won, and the laurel immortal which graced the victor's brow. Thus
taught, they were ever ready to seize the sword and shield and rush to
meet the invader. Thus taught, they served well their country and went
to their fancied home in the distant _Elysia_, to join the heroes whom
they had learned to admire, mourned and remembered by their
countrymen.
We propose to point out those objects which actuate the American mind;
to show their inadequacy to produce the general elevation of society,
and humbly to suggest what should be the controlling stimulus. Need we
ask what are the chief motives which influence our national mind? Need
it be told that our young growing mind is fast becoming a money
making, political mind? The most casual observer has only to glance at
the state of things, to feel sensibly its truth. Observe that man of
quick step and active air, as he moves through the street of the
commercial city; how, all absorbed in himself, he passes heedlessly
on, as if he were the only being in society: his mind is intensely
bent on making a few dollars; and he is but one among the thousands.
Observe the throngs of men who have met to-day on public exchange, to
transact the business of thousands and millions. Mark this one in deep
meditation; that one lively with a face brilliant with joy; here one
telling in whispers some long expected news to one all attention;
there one earnest in persuasion with one {382} feignedly reluctant.
There is a variety of mental exercise, of thought, of emotion; but the
desire of gain, the secret spring of action, is the chief mental
development. Go into the extensive manufactory, and while with
delighted mind you admire the beauties and power of invention, and
believe the veil of the Holy of Holies of Science's temple to be
lifted, and her mysteries revealed, reflect to what end these fruits
of inventive genius are applied. Go upon the hill-top, and looking
down upon the verdant meadow, the rich fields of grain, the orchard
and vine-clad arbors, all in luxuriant growth, ask yourself, why so
much industry in bringing forth the products of the soil. There is but
one answer--the desire of gain. Nor are the manifestations of this
desire seen only in the outward world; it is the deity of the fireside
circle. It moulds the earliest thought, and directs its action. Around
it bow in low submission the powers and affections of mind. For it,
all, all which belongs to the man, mentally and physically, is offered
a willing sacrifice.
Now, it may be asked, are the fruits of this desire the elevation of
society, the full developments of the mind's faculties, the beautiful,
the active, the useful, the noble? Being the controlling power which
influences every thought and feeling, it becomes the sole arbiter of
every action. Self-emolument being its highest aim, it shapes every
exertion to this end. It requires activity, unrelaxing activity--but
it is not an activity for the promotion of general good. It requires
sleepless attention, even such as belonged to the virgins who tended
the sacred fires of Vesta's temple. But it is a watching which takes
care of self. It requires the exertion of the intellectual powers, but
only so far as to bemean them to its purposes. In fine, it
concentrates the whole soul, its entire thoughts and feelings on a
single point. And whatever attractions there may be around, however
glorious or grand, it never turns from this point. This point is self.
Now, where in this system is that cultivation of mind, which lifts
society from the depths of barbarism to the mountain heights of power
and civilization? Where those brilliances and glories of intellect,
which die not with nations but live in the admiration of all coming
time? Where that eloquence of the heart which flows from the deep well
of the affections? That eloquence which strengthens and chastens the
social relations; which, silent, unobserved, connects men together by
chains of sympathetic love and benevolence? Or where in this system,
is that love of country, that lofty patriotism, which is the
foundation of national character? What is patriotism? It is a love of
ancestry; a love, the very antithesis of self; a love, which like the
Christian's love, beautifies and elevates society. Can it exist in
this money-getting age? As well might you bid yonder queen river of
the west to roll backwards. Does it exist? Who can doubt that this is
an age of degenerate patriotism? Patriotism! that which holds a nation
up, which forgotten lets her fall into the common sepulchre of
departed empires. Patriotism! alas! that the signs of the times are
ominous that this people are fast bidding you a long, long farewell.
But the fruits, say the advocates of this money-seeking desire, are
industry and wealth. We grant wealth as its result, and that it is not
an effect of enchantment; but as there must be much labor, chiselling
and hammering, before the edifice can rise in beauty and magnificence,
so in its acquisition there must be inflexible industry. But is it
that kind of industry which unfolds and invigorates the mind, thereby
producing social elevation and refinement? History informs us how some
of the mighty cities of the east, by industry, rose to opulence, but
laments over their low state of society, and as a consequence, their
fall, like Lucifer from the halls of heaven, never to rise again. This
industry, so beloved, so enticing in the view of the many, is directed
to one end--individual gain. Considered in reference to the well-being
of communities as a whole, it is a gilded fatality. It explores the
deep centres of the earth, and brings forth its long buried riches;
covers every river, sea, and lake with commerce; ransacks all nature,
animate and inanimate. But what is all this, without a fully developed
mind to direct, to manage, to enjoy? What would it avail us, though
industry should roof our houses with diamonds, if there was not within
a virtuous feeling, an elevation of thought? Does this money-loving
industry purify and ennoble the social relations--show their nature
and point out how they should be observed?--or, does it lift the mind
to the contemplation of the ineffable glories and majesties of the
eternal King of worlds?
We have said we grant wealth as the result of this desire, but it is
not general wealth. All may strive, all may labor with intense anxiety
and assiduity, but all will not gain the mountain's summit; a great
majority must ever be at its base. Speculation, which is the mean of
immense fortunes, bankrupts more than it enriches. The follies of
mankind, their diversity of thought and feeling, their ignorance,
their mistaken notions of pride, render it impossible for all to be
alike successful. The result is obvious. The few, the mighty few, are
the wealthy. Now, wealth in the present state of things is power; for
the sicklied conception of the age has thrown around it all that is
great or glorious. And it is a well founded principle that power,
whatever its nature, will govern. Who can picture that state of
society, governed by aristocratic wealth, untempered by the virtues of
the heart and intellect?
Further; it is not only by the sacrifice of its mind that this age
will acquire its wealth, but by the sacrifice of that of posterity.
One generation stamps a character upon another. Whatever this age
thinks and does, will more or less characterize the thoughts and
actions of the succeeding.
Nor is this all. This, with coming generations, by their industry, by
the stimulus of an unquenchable thirst for wealth, will, in all
probability, accumulate countless riches--will, if we may speak thus
figuratively, erect in our land immense moneyed houses filled with
gold and silver, the reward of their desire. But these generations,
like all things below, must pass away, and sink into the common tomb
of the dead. Then these moneyed houses, though locked and barred, and
ironed, will be burst open, and their gold and silver, amassed with
miserly care, be made to flow in streams to slake the thirst of a
debased posterity. And the result is beyond the power of human
imagination. Having the wealth of their ancestors in their hands, and
being, as man is, naturally prone to idleness, they will forget the
industry of their fathers, and only think how they may live most
lavishly, most splendidly. The gratification of the senses, attended
{383} by its concomitants, vice and degradation, will be the sole
desire of all human aspiration. Society--its beautiful dependences and
proportions destroyed--will fall into fragments and return to original
anarchy. Mind uncultivated, will shed no illuminations, but, like
"expression's last receding ray," will be lost in the universal
midnight of heart and intellect. For to this idol of their worship,
sensual pleasure, they will bring as daily offerings the lovely and
beautiful in the heart, the noble and sublime in the intellect. But
amid all their dissipation, like the revellers at Belshazzar's feast,
surrounded by the luxuries and glittering splendors of earth,
unsuspecting, the thunderbolt of their destruction will come upon
them--fearfully, suddenly, to their annihilation.
We have now briefly shown the nature of this money-getting desire, and
its inadequacy, from its total neglect of all mental cultivation, to
promote the general elevation of society. There is another stimulus of
American mind which sometimes combines with the desire of
wealth--occasionally acts alone. It is an aspirancy for political
fame.
Bear with us while we attempt very concisely to show its nature and
effects. No one who looks abroad upon the present aspect of society
can doubt the existence of such a desire. It is the controlling
stimulus of our young educated mind. It has its origin in our nature,
for man is naturally fond of distinction, fond of wielding the sceptre
of governing power. Our institutions in their high and impartial
wisdom have said, that all men possess equal rights; and upon this
declaration rest the pillars which support the sky-dome of our
national temple. But the mind of this age has perverted its original
intent, and made it the all-stimulating cause of a thirst for
political elevation. The state of society, its love of political
excitement, its seeming willingness to reward political effort,
likewise awaken and nourish this thirst.
What is its nature? It does not develope the various mental powers. It
does not strengthen the affections or awaken their inborn eloquence.
It does not teach us the nature of that great chain of relations which
holds society in union. Being common to the many, and attainable but
by the few, it creates an ungenerous rivalry among its votaries. All
in fancy gaze upon the shining halo of greatness which encircles the
rulers, and beholding the unbounded adoration paid it by the ruled,
each resolves, in newness of purpose and strength, to gratify his
selfish aim, though at the expense of the best hopes of society.
What is its effect? All the faculties of mind are applied and made
subservient to one end--individual elevation. A fondness for
excitement is created, and the mind is ever longing and panting for
this excitement. Parties start up, and society is engrossed and
agitated by party dissensions--dissensions which awaken and cherish
old prejudices and sectional feelings, to the smothering of those
which are purer and nobler; dissensions, which combine bad ambition
and immature intellect; dissensions, which elicit cunning and
chicanery, instead of throwing out the brilliant thought or touching
the chord of high affection; dissensions, in which that calm serenity
which chastens the powers, passions, and emotions which unfold the
higher graces and charities of our nature, is unknown; dissensions in
which _patriotism_, which is a love as universal, as it is noble and
inspiriting, is forgotten; dissensions, which terminate in the
elevation of some ambitious leader to the high throne of power; who,
having reached the summit of his wishes, looks down upon the servile
mass, and with the utmost complacency throws upon their bended necks
the yoke of their bondage. Where is here the elevation of society,
pure feeling, pure thoughts?
The same train of thought may be exemplified by a reference to those
nations of antiquity, where now the "spirit of decay" has its abiding
place. The history of ancient republics is familiar to every one;
their unequalled greatness, their decline and fall are the schoolboy's
tale. And what does this history tell him? That in times of great
political excitement there was less virtue, less elevation of mind,
less real patriotism; that what is noble or excellent in our nature,
was lost amid the whirl of party dissensions; as in the times of the
_Gracchi_ when the first seed was sown which led to the fall of the
"seven-hilled city"--or still later, when the mighty _Cæsar_ rose, and
the elements of old parties were stirred up and new ones created,
until the imperial mistress of the world reeled and fell to the dust.
This history likewise tells him that the same is true of the democracy
of Athens--that in periods of high party contention the excellences
and glories of mind, so congenial to that "bright clime of battle and
of song," were unknown, as in the ages of Aristides and Socrates, or
of Demosthenes and Æschines, when the gold of the Macedonian bought
their purest patriots.
We come now to the last point which we proposed to set forth. What is
essential to the elevation of society? Before proceeding in its
investigation, we would correct all misapprehensions. We would not
have this age unmindful of the importance of wealth, but would have it
exert due energy in its acquisition. Wealth, in the hands of
enlightened mind, is a powerful mean in the improvement of morals and
intellect, adorns the social structure by its offerings of the
beauties and elegances of _art_ and nature, dispenses far and near the
comforts and blessings of life--and is one of the great levers by
which society is raised to its highest elevation. Nor would we have
this age unmindful of political interests. Politics, from the nature
of the social organization, enter into and necessarily become an
inherent characteristic of all society. There must be a government of
laws; and whether the people or their representatives legislate, it is
necessary that the people understand the nature and effect of
legislation. Without such knowledge, the maxim, that power is ever
stealing from the many to the few, would be too truly, fatally,
verified; for the power-loving nature of man would be enabled, first,
to throw around the mass an illusive gilded snare--afterwards, to
crush it in its iron despotic grasp. There must then be both wealth
and politics. But we would not have either wealth or politics the
controlling desire of the mind; thus considered, they debase and
destroy this mind. We would have them as subordinate instruments to
one grand desire, the elevation of society. We would have them as the
satellites which revolve in glorious harmony around the great _sun_;
and we would not have them take the place of the sun, for then the
system would be broken, the music of the spheres hushed, and all
nature return to primeval chaos.
The promotion of the general well-being of society by a cultivation of
the heart and intellect, is impliedly required of Americans, from the
nature and structure of {384} our government. It was not reared by the
gold of the conquered, or on the bones of the subject. It rose into
being all glorious, the creation of free minds enlightened by the
reason and experience of centuries. Being the opposite of despotism,
it does not chain down the powers of mind or shrivel away their
existence. Nor does it like Sparta, unchain the mind, only to
stimulate its martial character; for the rainbow of peace is the
circling arch of our national fabric. Founded in morals and intellect,
it appeals to their cultivation as the means of its prosperity and
perpetuity. It says to the mind, be free!--free, to expand in full
bloom and vigor--free, to be noble--free, to rise and soar with the
strength and majesty of the eagle! And it attaches a meaning to
freedom of mind. That mind is free which is not bound to the will of
party; which is not the slave of any imperious passion or desire. That
mind is free which can love and rejoice over the prosperity of the
Union. That mind is free which does not allow the still current of the
soul's affections to be chilled by impure passion or feeling, but
increases its onward flow in warmth and strength. That mind is free
which thinks and acts as becomes the "noblest work" of Deity. That
mind is free which enjoys a full and chaste development of all its
powers, passions and emotions; which knows and observes its relations;
which can concentrate its thoughts on a single point; which, when it
looks abroad upon nature's works, beholds the reflected power and
wisdom of a _God_; or, which, as it gazes upon the azure sky, the
verdant forest, the beautiful river, the sparkling lake, the
storm-rolling ocean, feels inexpressible delight and reverence. Such
is the meaning which our government attaches to the phrase "freedom of
mind." What in the nature of things can be clearer? Does it not
require of this people a general cultivation of mind?
Consistency then with the objects of our government requires, that the
great pervading desire of society should be its elevation by its
universal mental cultivation. Such a desire is opposed to the selfish
system--is the protecting angel of patriotism. It combines the
excellences of intellect and pure ambition. It lifts the mind from low
and grovelling objects to the contemplation of those which are purer
and higher, delighting in the good, the exalted. In it is concentrated
whatever is noble in morals, whatever is sublime and unanswerable in
truth.
What is meant by universal mental cultivation? We find it not in the
history of nations. The history of the world is no more than a record
of human usurpations based on human ignorance. A powerful few have
ever moulded and wielded the destinies of mankind. Learning has shone
only to render more brilliant some kingly reign. Unlike the great
luminary of day, which it should resemble, its beams have ever been
confined within the compass of a court or palace. The mountain peaks
only of society have felt its light, while at the base, where the
great mass congregate, there has been utter darkness. True, we are
told of remarkable eras in the history of learning--of the Augustan
age, when all that was beautiful and powerful in thought, all that was
magic in conception or grand in imagery, shone forth in the most
attractive forms; of the reigns of queens Anne and Elizabeth, when the
graces and elegances of English literature were unrivalled, as they
appeared in the majestic imaginings of Shakspeare, the nervous beauty
and simplicity of Addison, and other master minds; of periods in the
learning of Italy, when Dante, Tasso, Petrarch, gave a new name and a
new being to Italian intellect. But was the state of society, as a
whole, refined and elevated in any of these remarkable eras? The
lights were chiefly intellectual, and belonged to the higher grades of
society; besides, they shone but for a short time and departed,
leaving the deeper darkness. Moreover, they were purely literary, and
pure literature never reaches the mass of mind. True, it is perpetual,
and shines down from age to age, as do the lights of those eras which
now illumine in some degree the mind of the present; but it is only a
reflection from eminence to eminence--the people see it, feel it not.
We repeat it, learning has ever been confined to the few; the many
have never known its invigorating influence.
Now, mind is the moving and guiding principle of all human action.
Mind teaches the nature of the delicate and momentous relations which
unite society, preserves their beauty and uniformity, developes their
power and usefulness. This mind dwells with the mass of mankind. We
would then, that society may be elevated, have the rays of knowledge
penetrate and expand this mind. We would have the genius of learning
courted and wooed from her mountain residence, that literature and
science might come down, and walk radiant with truth and loveliness
through every grade of the community. We would have the bright light
struck out from the mind of the mass, and its illuminations reach the
uttermost boundaries of the land, as extensive as the circling canopy
of the sky. So speaks the voice of humanity, even as the voice of an
angel.
Again: What is meant by universal mental cultivation? It is not the
expansion of any single mental power or susceptibility. There should
be no brilliancy of intellect unmellowed by the radiancy of moral
feeling--no strength of passion or sentiment uninfluenced by other of
the mind's faculties. There must be a mental balance, which is the
great secret of all education. From the want of such balance,
Ignorance, with her offspring, Superstition and Prejudice, has ever
weighed down the intellectual scale and destroyed the noblest results
of mental effort. That system should be discarded which developes only
the powers of intellect. Variety, the high thought, the virtuous
sentiment, the beautiful and sublime emotion, the chaste passion, all,
in happy union, raise communities to power and happiness.
Surely, it is not illogical to maintain, that an endowment of
diversified powers and affections of mind, impliedly requires their
cultivation. Why the gift of reason, of memory, of imagination? Why
the gift of moral and religious feeling, of love, of sympathy--or of
any faculty? It would be absurd to say that they are mere trifles,
mere butterfly appendages, to gratify taste or pleasure. Further, this
diversity of mind, entering into, necessarily creates the numerous
individual fibres which are the sources of the vigor and strength of
the social frame. Is it not then evident, that the expansion of any
one mental power to the neglect of all, or of some to the neglect of
others, would take away more or less of this vigor and strength; would
disfigure the social frame and destroy its beauty and harmony of
proportion? Here, the mind suggests {385} an analogical argument. Look
abroad over the material world. Is there sameness? Is there the
exclusive development of any single feature? Is the earth's surface
one barren, limitless plain? or its soil of one kind? or its deep
mines all gold, or silver, or iron? Or do we behold a world of water,
of inconceivable sublimity? No! There is the mountain, bold and
rugged, bleak, or crowned with magnificent foliage, to awaken the
emotions and give wings to the imagination; the valley of varied soil
suited to the production of the comforts of life; the vein of gold, of
silver, of iron, each and all, in happy effect, increasing the
embellishments and blessings of society; and there are the river, the
lake, and still worlds of water. What is there useful or harmonious,
or ornamental, or enlivening, or grand, unseen in this, the Deity's
material creation? Now, observe the mental world. There is reason,
producing the solid and beneficial; memory and imagination, her
handmaids, assisting her vigor and research, and robing her in
loveliness and brightness; the affections, diffusing through all and
throwing over all a glow of love, beauty, and peace; thus, preserving
the necessary relations, and showing their glorious influences when
developed and joined in union in this the _Deity's_ mental creation.
Should you take from the material world one of its parts, you would
destroy its harmony and uniformity. A similar result would follow,
should you take from the mental world one of its parts. Let there,
then, be no single mental development since it destroys the other
powers and their relations, but let there be a full growth of all to
their greatest, their proudest stature. Let the systems of the past be
forgotten, and in contemplation of the future, let us resolve that no
one passion or desire of mind, shall erect its tyrant throne on the
prostration of other nobler powers. For the mind fully cultivated is a
"museum of knowledge," lives forever "serene in youthful beauty."
The principle of universal mental cultivation being set forth, its
bearing and effect will be seen in its application to the various
classes of society. First, in the professions, that of the law being
the one of our adoption, and therefore most congenial to our thoughts,
we select for illustration. The science of law considered strictly,
only in reference to rules, forms, and the gathered opinions of
centuries, may be styled an isolated system in character, cold and
forbidding. But construed liberally, in all its relations and
bearings, it embraces within its circle all that belongs to human
action. It appeals to, and acts upon the good sense and good feeling
of mankind. It is the protector of morals, and may be the defender of
religion. It is the guardian and dispenser of social rights, and their
invincible champion with power. It combats vice and ignorance,
unravels the cunning and chicanery of men, and brings forth truth all
beautiful and overwhelming. In short, founded in justice and the good
of society, it becomes the conservator of religion, morals, and
intellect. What should be the qualifications of the high priests who
administer around the sacred altars of the judicial temple? They
should sound deep the wells of knowledge, and be familiar with nice
and subtle distinctions. They should know every motive of human
conduct, from that which causes the most delicate to that which causes
the most stupendous movements in society. They should examine well the
passions, their sources and effect upon the mind. They should look
abroad upon society, understand its origin, the nature of its
relations, their beautiful adaptations, their harmonious influences,
and love to increase its glory and happiness by the cultivation of
fresh virtues and excellences. They should, for this end, unlock the
store-houses of wisdom and knowledge for original and sound
principles, for apt illustration. They should be thoroughly
indoctrinated in a spirit of true philosophy--of that philosophy which
teaches the intimate nature of the transactions and interests of
men--of that philosophy which teaches what should characterize every
action whether in the family or in the outward world. They should be
old acquaintances with the master spirits of literature and science,
both in ancient and modern times; that "halo" of mingled character, of
light, grace and magic, which encircles the Muses, should likewise be
to them a fount of inspiration. Now, such a preparation presupposes a
full development of minds--of minds, not only powerful in stern
reason, but rich and dazzling in imagination, and useful in the
exercise of all other powers; of minds, not only great in some one of
the affections, but deeply imbued in all the higher and sympathetic
feelings of the heart. Such being the case, these minds, which we may
call by their prototypes, Marshalls and Wirts, will raise the
profession to the loftiest pinnacle of eminence, will stamp its
character for moral and intellectual power and usefulness. The same
remarks apply to the other professions, and the same train of cause
and effect will raise them to a similar eminence.
But is the elevation of the professions the elevation of society? So
has thought the world, and generation after generation has passed
away, and others and others have followed, and still it is thus
thought. But it is time that this fatal delusion, which has hung like
an incubus over society, blasting its bloom and vigor, should be
dispelled--that all grades may rise to their rightful station. Never
was suggested to mortal mind a fairer scheme, or one of more moral
grandeur. The mechanic possessing the same mental gifts, enjoying the
same rights, holding the same momentous relations to society as the
professional man, should likewise have his heart and intellect fully
developed. It is not sufficient that he be a mere mechanic. A mere
mechanic is a child in the world of knowledge. It is not sufficient
that he be a good workman, though he be as skilful and precise in the
use of his instrument, as was the Moorish king Saladin, in Scott's
story of the Talisman. In mere workmanship there is no illumination of
intellect, no awakening of emotion, no refinement of passion. The
principles of science are closely interwoven in every piece of
mechanism. He should master well these principles, the effect of their
application, consider them as the solid basis of the comforts and
conveniences of life, and not the least among the means of human power
and enjoyment. He should love his trade because of the science
engrafted in it, because of its usefulness, because of its affording
him an enduring place in Fame's temple. For this purpose, he should go
back to the earliest, feeblest dawn of science, when first Israel's
shepherds gazed upon the star-gemmed firmament, and mark its gradual
but onward progress; how, at one period, it shone all luminous; how,
at another, it went down in universal midnight; how again it revived
under the touch of a few mighty geniuses, and rose {386} clustered
with new principles and discoveries, with the glory and splendor of
the sun itself. The productions of Newton and Franklin, and other
great lights both of the past and present, should be the aliment of
his mind; their thoughts, which when sought, come clear and
inspiriting from the living page, should be familiar to him as
household words; and how they studied and thought, he should learn to
study and think. And like them, whatever is important in the material
world, above or below, he should make the playthings of his inquiring
mind. And like them, he should not be ignorant of whatever is
excellent in religion, useful in philosophy, enrapturing in song, or
thrilling in eloquence. He will thus exhibit a mind not stinted in its
growth, not controlled by any one desire, but a mind, like Milton's
tree of paradise, weighed down with rich and delicious fruits--a mind,
elevated, useful and polished. He will thus exalt his trade, and add
to it new and brighter glories. But the elevation of professions and
mechanical trades is not sufficient to produce the general elevation
of society. They compose no more than half of the great mass of mind.
There are yet the _merchant_ and the _farmer_, who should be raised to
a like eminence. Commerce, viewed in reference to buying and selling,
retards the moral and intellectual improvement of mankind. Thus
viewed, and connected with avarice for money, it would create a nation
of pedlars. But, considered in its widest sense, as influencing the
business and interests of men, and thus acting on thought and feeling,
as entering into every social relation, as drawing on the resources of
the earth, the air, and the water, as connected with foreign climes,
and uniting nations by golden links of sympathy and interest, it is by
far the most comprehensive and important of all life's vocations. The
merchant then should possess a mind sure, deep and searching; nor
should he be a novice in knowledge of any kind. What is peculiar to
variety of soil and climate, what to the habits and feelings of
countries, what to their wants and desires, should be fully known to
him. What are the duties and obligations, arising from the many and
weighty relations which his calling creates, should likewise be fully
known to him. He should therefore be a historian, a philosopher, a
scholar, and a Christian. Commerce will then rise to the highest
degree of perfection and usefulness.
And is the mind of the farmer, amid all this moral and intellectual
illumination, to remain uncultivated? Is he an isolated being,
unconnected by any relations with society? or has he no obligations to
perform in common with his fellow men? Has he not those varied mental
endowments, which are the glory of his species, which exalt, adorn,
bless, and refine? Or is he incapable of feeling the poetry of the
emotions, delight, beauty, and sublimity? or of that warmth and
exaltedness of sympathetic virtue, which stimulate and invigorate the
spirit of love and benevolence? Is there no knowledge or science in
agriculture? Agriculture is closely allied to commerce, and has a
bearing greater or less on every pursuit in life. It may be called an
unfailing source of national wealth and prosperity, supplying the
wants of man, and imparting new life, and stirring, ceaseless activity
to trade of every kind. Besides, its followers--uninfluenced by the
vanities and vices of the world, so effeminating, so debasing to the
mind--are the repositories of the integrity and patriotism of society.
Indeed, we may say that the farmer is the guardian of government,
rights and laws; the watchman, sleeping neither by day nor by night,
on the outposts of defence. We would then have his mind cultivated
both morally and intellectually, that he may know and observe the
duties imposed upon him by society--by Heaven. We would then have him
conversant with all that is noble or mighty, with all that is
inspiriting or strengthening in literature, science, and philosophy,
both in the ancient and modern world, for then agriculture shall
become a fountain of power and usefulness, and a "wall of fire" around
society.
And what is the effect of this principle thus applied to the various
classes of society? Heretofore, and at present, to a certain extent,
as we have before remarked, learning has ever belonged to a few,
constituting a single class of society, and of course, the
repositories of all moral and intellectual power and wisdom. And
these, having the power in their own grasp, and standing on lofty
stations and surrounded by a false show of glory and goodness, the
result of admiring ignorance, mould and wield the destinies of
society. To them the mass of mind looks up, as to oracular deities,
with much the same faith and confidence as the ancient pagan, when
consulting the Pytho of the Delphian shrine. Thus, the elevation of
society has ever been characterized by the moral and intellectual
education of a single class; and as this class has been cultivated,
communities have risen or fallen. Thus, the history of society has
ever been, like the waves of a rolling sea, a series of fluctuations.
Now, this principle of universal mental cultivation, as above applied,
destroys this usurping, tyrannizing system. It takes from the few the
power of holding and disposing of the rights of the many, giving to
the many the same mental superiority and knowledge. It presents not an
isolated point, but raises all grades to the same glorious, elevated
level.
The mind of society is composed, to a greater or less degree, by the
mingling of purity and pollution. As the pure rivers of intellect and
affection flow on, they are met by counter streams deeper and broader,
emanating from the sources of evil and ignorance. Thus, good is
counteracted, and its tendency destroyed by evil; thus, society is
full of bitter animosities and contentions, and kept in a deleterious,
feverish excitement, destructive of all noble effort. By the
introduction of this principle, peace, active and beauteous, will calm
the angry waters, and the countless currents of thought and feeling
which sweep society, will only tend to the magnifying of one grand
current flowing to universal good. Moreover, at the approach of this
light, struck out of the mind of the mass, ignorance, though sitting
upon her throne of centuries, shall find her throne to crumble from
under her, and her reign over mankind to depart forever. Superstition,
too, which has ever chained down the soaring spirit of mind, and
destroyed the harmony and independence of society, shall find her
power vanish--her altars prostrate--"her spell over the minds of men
broken, never to unite again." In their place, whatever is glorious,
noble, and sublime in mind, will reign supreme. And instead of any one
desire giving tone productive of sordid selfishness to the thought and
action of society; or instead of that levelling spirit, originating in
lawless passion, which tramples upon and bids defiance to all law and
good order--which marches {387} through society with the terror and
fatality of a thousand plagues--from a union of the virtues of the
heart and intellect, a spirit of high-mindedness will arise, full of
nobleness and power, to guarantee the force of law, to strengthen the
social ties, and, like the star of the east, which marked the coming
of the Saviour, ensure to the world universal happiness.
Are the effects of this principle sufficient to create a motive
conducive to the universal cultivation of mind--or is something more
required? As an effect creative of a motive, we would merely refer to
the immortality of mental achievement. It is a fact, known to every
one of common observation, that a virtuous mind dies not with the
clayey tenement, but lives forever in its hallowed results. It is
founded in reason and philosophy. The mind of the past is not
different in its essential characteristics from the mind of the
present; and therefore, the thoughts and feelings of the past are in a
measure congenial with our thoughts and feelings; and from this
kindred sympathy, it is, that the intellect of the remotest antiquity
lives in the intellect of the most distant future. Are Homer, or
Cicero, or any of that galaxy of mind which casts so brilliant, so
undying a lustre over the ancient world, forgotten? Are Milton and
Shakspeare, or Newton and Franklin, or any of the illustrious moderns,
whatever their sphere of action, forgotten? The beautiful fanes and
consecrated groves, where genius was wont to shine in her full power
and brightness; the elegances of art, her towering domes and her
magnificent columns, once the centre of admiration; the luxuries and
splendors of opulence, once affording rich continued
gratification--where are they? They have passed away, like "shadows
over a rock," and are lost in the dust. But the mind which created
them, admired them, enjoyed them, lives, will live, shall live,
forever, forever.