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The toi Th< pot oft filn Ori be( the sioi oth firs sioi or The sha ^K whi Mai diff enti beg righ reqi met 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X • 32X Th« copy film«d h«r« has b««n r«produc«d thanks to the generosity of: Univtrtity of Saikatchtwan Saskatoon L'exemplaire film* fut reprodult grice A la gAnArosM de: Univanity of Saikptohawan Saskatoon The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated Impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first pag6 with a printed or Illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. 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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely Included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: V Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de rAduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un soul clichA, 11 est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenent le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 OCT 21 1950 A LECTURE DBLIVERKD BBFOBB THE SWortt ROCKVILLE LIBRARY ASSOCUTIQII AND • . ^ . ,, MECHANIGS^ INSTITUTE. :0 THE COVRSfi OF IiKCXtRfiS FOR 185ff, i , BY THX EV. J. TRAVERaJ^WIS,L.L.D. PRINTED BY REQUfiSTllginSDMIIfnON. ^'■'*. **»-■ M#•■««M«rf«««'««^^«^^««^L«^^«^^^ BROCKVILLE : DAVID WYLIE, PRINTER, RECORDER OFFICE. 1855. 102887 . ^ f s BMCMTihut, January 9, 1855. Rbtxhemd and Dkab Sn, Feeling highly gratified with the Lxctuhx delirered by you before our iMiTtTUTX at the opening of the Course, we most respectfully request that you will favor us with a Copy for E^blioation, and in doing so we are only complying with the wishes of all who had the satisfaction of hearing you upon that occasion. W9 $n, R^veif Qd and Dear ^^ > ,'?v , With much esteem^ your obedient serrants, T. Rktmolds, M. D.y President. Vf. ]^. giMPsoM, Vice President. D.Wylm, Secretary. F. M. HoLMxs, Treasurer. 6. Sherwood, *) John Crawford, iV. FiTZaiMMONS, J. D. BuELL, > Directors. W. B. Sherwood, W. B. M^Clean, Adiel Sherwood, To the Rev. J. T* Lewisj L. L. D., BrockTille. .'■nm-'im.tp>^!i[ fiear. '«* K ' Parsonage, January 11, 1855. Gentlemen, I cannot refuse to comply with a request so kindly made. The fact of the Lecture baring been prepared without any view to its Publicatipnj) will, I trust, secure it from criticism. « i^^Mi. f' ^,i^ I afn» ypvr obedient senrant; J. TRAVERS LEWIS. To Thos. Reynolds, Esq., M.D., W. B. Simpson, Esq., &c., &c. ,V ■ ' i^tt'j'- -V A«- VT ":' -:" '. ^' ..-./iVf tiat niy you )55. 3W to Ub ris. ' LECTURE. '»i»v» *■ ' • • f WiitT .. ^^•*»•'sH^^;iC r^rf# Pa'■^|i••*H^^J'*•^vu*• MR. PrSSIDBNT, u .ir I conclude that the design of the Coune of Lectures, which I have the honor to introduce, is not so much the diffusion of infor- mation, as to stimulate those who hear them to the pursuit of knowledge, and to the attainment of that mental culture which are the source of such delight, and happiness to those who are fortunate enough to possess them. The popularity of Lectures is certainly a peculiarity of the age in which we live ; and so far as it ari»es from a thirst for informa- tion, it is a pleasing symptom of natural and individual improve- ment, but so far as it springs from a mental indolence which contents itself with wlfat is superficial and amusing, because it cannot endure patient and regular study, so, proportionally, inust the Lecture system be suspected. Even in the most elaborate Essay on any subject of interest, it is impossible by the reading of it to an audience, to impart to them the same amount of information which they would have derived from a careful perusal of the same production when committed to print ; it is impossible in &. single Lecture, which is necessarily limited in time, to do justice to the subject in hand, for this reason, that the topic usually selected is one of vast interest or importance, chosen, perhaps, for the express purpose of attracting a crowd. But While this is generally impos- sible, yet, still there is a wide and useful field open to the lecturer ; he may so treat the subject as to make it apparent to his hearers, how desirable a theme it is for future investigation j he may intro- duce them, as it were, to some point of history or philosophy ; the introduction so commenced may lead to friendship, friendship to love, and love to enthusiasm in the pursuit of learning. It is pos- sible to give the outlines, and sometimes even to partially complete 44, Lionmi. the picture We would present to the imaginatioa, but on most, occasions, if we succeed in creating a desire to realize perfectly, by after investigation, the eflect of the masterpiece, if we can induce but a few to endeavor, by research and diligence, to make them- selves acquainted with all the beanty and utility of any literary or scientific subject, theflect^iref ff ill have gained his object, though he himself admitted h^ itudieiicegnized '^ a just reproach adheres to every man who is conscious that vast strides are being taken by his fellow-men, and yet will make no effort to direct their steps aright, or to keep pace himself with the enlighten- ment of the times> bat who loiters along, satisfied with occasionally asserting his belief in the final triumph of knowledge, and listlessly suffering himself to be distanced in the glorious struggle, an idle spectator, when he might be an asjpiring competitor. Multitudes in society answer to this description, who make it their constant boast that they live in an era of extmordinary improvement, the boast implying that they have a knowledge of the past, because a certain amount of information is indispensable when we would trace the increasing knowledge and skill of mankind. To appreciate tlie ^wonders of our day, we must be able to contrast ox compare UCTOBB. n most. Jtly,by induce ihem- jrary or though [ its ex- ose who MTords of }n, than, kany ate ofidenco any part rith their og to the appiuess, ediuionts icient ad- ty of the dangers, he same, emjnt is assertions ndividual does ooi ed 'f a just ast strides 10 effort to enlighten- jcasionally a listlessly le, au idle Multitudes ir constant ement, the because a we would o appreciate or compare them with the aohievments-of the put^Aiid what a field ^fexplQia- tion is here opened to the inquiring mind ! WhaC an inducement to the student of history I No man >s tempted to depreciate the age in which he lives; occasionally, men will indeed l>e found w)i#» are bold to affirm that happiness haa not kept pace with improver ment,and that with all the comforts and luxuries of modern times, true enjoyment of life, has been equally shared by all ages) but there is little dread lest any be induced .to< disparage the present in point of knowledge and powei.. On the contrary^ the ^angper is that in our pride of relative iposition, in onf boasted pre'eminencyy we be tempted to withhold from the giants of erudition who adorned the annals of the past, the honor due unto their names. Who can occupy the true station of arbitrator between the ancient and the modern, save the man. who is aoqiiainted with the merits of each, who has read the page of history, and carefully pondered over the gradual enlightenment which it telL^ him, at one time shone with a dimned radiancy, at another time barely dawned, until we come to our own time when the brilliancy is such that we are bold enough to think it the perfect day. The history of Science and Literature is almost as interesting and instructiYe a pursuit aa the study of the science itself— interesting, as pioring to us how Providence prepares the way for every new revelation of bimsetf through the medium 6f his works, and instructive, as teaching tw that we cannot preeipitate our destiny '-that the arts and the sciences by which human life is sustained and blessed, and by which society is civilized, are not of sudden growth, that they pan- take of the nature of the oak, not oi the mlishroom, aa :< that in their developement generations pass away« though from the infirmity of our nature we are ready to sup|x>se that the discoveries- of our day throw all others into the shade. But let me not be understood to depreciate the astonishing inventions of ouf age ; I would only invite to an attentive perusal of historical records as a preliminary to a sober comparison of the works of the men of old time with those of our day ; no, it is unlikely that any will be found to hazard the assertion that this has been an unprogressive age ; the very dreams of the last generation, (I had almost said of our own childhood,) have been realized in this. It is hardly exceeding sober statenrent to affirm that the fables-of a generation or two ago have become verified facts ; man's dominion over earth seems to* be well nigh ;)erfeoted : the very elements fulfill his will and ans lilide tolierWviit lO Mi ettveniciiee ; wtAet in his hands becomes il^iistible in stnugth, and in the form of vapour surpasses the mifhc df giants or the labovs of Uercnles, stimulating commerce by draining, as nothing else can, the depths of the mine, and trans* poiting man and his works with the speed of an Eagle, from one elimate to another. The very lightning is mimicked by man, and becomes his interpreter. The fairy tales with which our fathers ■mused their children were not more difficult to believe, than the predietion (had any been bold enough to hazard it) which is now Ailillled, that inaa eould speak with man, nay, transact with him the' ordinary business of life, though separated by seas and conti- ■ents. The Magnetic Telegraph is the verification of what was onoe thought fit work for a Magician. But why dwell on such marvels f We print and paint with rays of light ; we converse, And gild, and decorate with flashes of lightning. The minutest pnrticles of poison detected by unerring tests, reveal the skill of our Chemists, while worlds within worlds are laid open to our eyes by the miracle-working Microscope. The Telescope, with ever increasing power, enables us to pierce into systems before unima- f^ned, to expk>re the bests of heaven, so that the wonder is that a Planet remains undiscovered. The Moon is mapped and surveyed hy our Astronomers, more as though she were a province of earth than a Satellite in the heavens. Our Geologists raad in the strata ef the earth beneath our feet, the history of Creation, and give us, «■ it weris, an insight into that vast and indefinite period when << The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.*' They enable us to understand the seven days of the inspired historian, by showing with the certainty of demon- stration the several ages of develupement in preparing the Globe for the use of man ; nature thus corroborating and explaining revelation. Sut let me forbear ^m the tempting theme of enumerating the victories of intellect achieved in our time. If knowledge is ]:)ower i:(and who can doubt it) how powerful is man ! The vust machin-' ery w'ith which we are furnished for extending the happiness of our species, and promoting civilization, seem now so far transcending that of any other age, that the thought is too often prompted, how superior to the men of by •'gone days are our contemporaries, how immeasurably exalted in capacity is the human mind above the prejudices and the littleness of the past* But let us pause ere we commit ourselves to such a boast, and»- perhaps, consideration may -a.'. jar'*Lft«-j! ji"*' bWTVI ecomes ses the amerce d trans* om one lan, and r fathers than the li is now rith him id conti- hat was - on such 3on verse, ' minutest sill of our I our eyes jvith ever •e unima- r is that a i surveyed e of earth the strata id give us, iriod when was upon seven days of demon- le Globe for revelation, erating the ge is power ist machin- piness of our ranscending )mpied, how oraries, how d above the jause ere we leration may suppress our vaunting, and bid m i«iMt ImI we turn Ul^a U WR H inculcated by the history of nieiice* It wai in those •g«%' wliiolif in our relative superiority, we dcsignale tm dark, that th« Maria«r*» Compass, Gunpowder, and Printing wore disoovtieJ in. fiuiopej discoveries that may well claim oomperison with toy, ibree that have taken place since, in their importanoe is agents in the tible ; nay* when we would give utterance to our expression of the nugni^ cence or grandeur, or illustrate the power of man* do not the- Temple of Solomon and the Pyramids of Egypt instinctively recur to ima- gination, and not to lengthen the catalogue of ancient gloriea, is not the oldest volume in the world the most noble specimen af sublimity of style 1 And yet where are now those mighty works performed in the infancy of the world 1 What remain;^ of anoient civilization ? Little except the fragments, aU. l^nt miraculously preserved; luxury and wealth induced immorality, inunoraUtsr produced decay, until actual barbarism rioted where once Philoso- phy and the Arts flourished so eminently. . tUim 1 ' From a settled conviction that possesses the human mind, that the destiny of man is ever, pro^essive, that a relapse into an infe- rior position is almost impossible, we do not concede to the nations of antiquity their due meed of praise | we glance hastily at their biogmphy, and our eye rests on the page which records, their d nCTUAB. degmdatlbin and mental slavery, and we hastily nMume that the antecedent civilization it overrated, and but for the monaments of their knowledge and power which the ravages of time have spared, but fbr the treasures which our libraries and museums present to our astonished gaze, we would unhesitatingly conclude, that the wave of human progress has ever been uniformly advancing with a flowing tidv, that the current of civilization had never ebbed, that storms and tempests have never dashed tho wave bs V or broken it on the quicksand or the rock. Let me not, therefei be thought partial, when I say that, notwithstanding our great and absolute superiority, we are relatively inferior to the men of old tinie. Only let us take into account the advantages possessed by the present age, and any of those epochs of the past which is famous for its learning and civilization, contrast the facilities pos- sessed by each for the propagation and perfection of knowledge, and we shall be at no loss in ascertaining to whom the palm is to be ascribed. Cempare the productions of Greece or Rome in the field of art and scieoee with those of our time, and before adjudi- cating the prize to either, bear in view the difficulties to 'be eu- eountered in the infancy of any art, and the facilities possessed by ns who have the experience of ages for our guide, and then say whether we progress inio surpassing a ratio. We are contrasting, be it remembered, the works of an age when a manuscript was 'the toil of a lifetime, with those of a period when a useful idea is scarcely suggested, before it is diffused so mpidly and extensively by the firessas to excite our admiration and surprise; who can deny that the Alexandrian Library, with its four hundred thousand manuscript volumes, in the days of Csesar, was not a more won- derful monument of human industry and skill, than any libmry of the present day T More than two thousand years ago, the Fine Arts, Physical and Ethical Philosophy, seem to have been more earnestly isought after for their own sake than now. Calculations of utility and remuneration were unknown, or if known, despised, when the interest of science of the perfection of beauty were at stake. It is now-a-days no small stimulant to knowledge that money may be made by its possession. Men now trade on the products of each other's intellect as they do on the fruits of the earth. Former ages had no such artificial spur to urge them to learning. If, therefore, we compare the ability of the ancients with our own to cherish and loster litemry and scientific pursuits, if the power to LBCTUftB. educate and inform the mind which our vast wealth bestows bo taken into account, we shall find but little cause of congmtulation. Facts spculc convincingly. The English people sriend on the ■ingle item uf ardent spirits more money thou on all their religious and educational cstahlishments combined ; while the American people spend un their gratification in the single item of cigars, a larger sum than is expended on all the Common Schools of the Union. The inference, then, is inevitable, that literature and art were prized more highly and cultivated more ardently/or their own sake by the nations of antiquity than by us, when we honestly estimate their difficulties and our facilities ; their poverty and our resources. And yet notwithstanding their eager quest after knowledge, in spite of their ardent aspimtions afler science, they could not pr.*serve or perpetuate in their own countries the same ndble feeling. Where is now in the scale of nations that land to which wo owe our Geometry, and Algebra, and Arithrietict Hindoos and Arabs bequeathed these triumphs of genius to us. Yet they are fallen fts a people, they are even degraded as nations. What is now the social and political position of Greece and Rome, those nations which once dictated to the world, and which are so associated in the student's mind with the arts pf war and peace, that it is difficult to believe in their present poverty of mind and imagination. But why mention other examples of civil- ization corrupted, of knowledge perverted, of glories departed t The splendor of the Italian Republics is gone. Nothing remains in memory of the departed glory of the empires of the past, save their venerable ruins, and their incomparable public works, which even now bewilder with their vastness. And does the analogy (it is the point which concerns us mure immediately) justify us in dreadiuj^ a like decay in Anglo-Saxon knowledge and power? No ! there are. certain safeguards, if we but employ them, which render the destruction of our civilization improbable, nay, impossible. The bulwarks against that worst of barbarisms, corrupted civilization, are the diifusion of useful knowledge and our Christianity. Among the ancients knowledge was the possession of a few, with us th6 multitude seek after learning. With them the student in Philoso* phy had no security that the efibrts of his genius, however successful, would be perpetuated to his descendants, or even im- parted to his cotemporaries. Indeed it is almost certain that there B I ib is scarcely an invention in art or science of modern tim^, which was not known in theory to some of- the philosophic ancients;' but with the man perished the invention. The manuscript which contained the treasure was neither understood nor vahied, and thus the acquisition to human knowledge was lost. Now, the diflTusion of every scientific and literary achievement through the aid of printing renders such an event almost impossible, and thus the perpetuity of our discoveries is guaranteed. Hence it lb that we should hail with joy th6 advent of every means by which learning is distributed abroad, and the masses enlightened, tiletcd it is that we should rejoice in the attainment of every new ihotiv6 to literary and scientific distinctibn. Therefore it is that the tru6 philanthropist hears with satisfaction of every new* school of science, of every additional University, of every Well established' Alechanics' Institute. He knows f^U well, that knowledge im- parted does not diminish the store of the teacher, and he sees in every new improvement in the education of a people, the surest means of retaining to the human family the blessings of past ex- perience. He feels that though revolution may upturn the founda^ tions of society, though pestilence nay thin its members, though war may make havoc of the feelin^^ and lives of a nation, yet that the possessors of knowledge are now too numerous to be wholly cut off. That should one library be consumed, another exists.— Should one or even a thousand professors of literature perish, yet that owing to the wide spread diffusion of inibritaation, theire will ever be a remnant to re-construct the frame work, and elaborate' to completion the Temple of Science, the products 6f the mind be- coming like the mind itself— imperishable, immortal. / ' "* -^^ > I, have spoken of one of the securities possessed by the preieilt age against the sudden decay of oiir knowledge, and which forbids a belieif in any great liability of our inventions to the danger of passing away and being forgotten. Let me now allude to another, to one which can save our literature from corruption and consequent decay, which can foster and promote science, while it preserves it from perversion, which can direct our knowledge to good, and divert it from evil — a bulwark against the al)uiSie of learning and the aversion to it which is sure to fbllow, T mean the Ckrid^n Religion, As a defender of that fbrtress by conviction fthd proJTe^ion, let me invite the attention of the candidate for khowiiedge to the beneficent infladnce exercised by Christianity ■IS'W'H- ** over the iptellectual pursuits of m9n. The friend of his fellow- creature who deems the welfare of his kind his own personal concern, will ever dread lest by possibility there should arise a prejudice against knowledge and mental culture^ lest a time should, aver be, when puwer abused should lead to a re-action against intellectual progress j this is no imaginary danger. The prodigious strides in knowledge taken by the French nation previous to her great Revolution did not save her from convulsion, while the prover- bial brilliancy of her genius and scientific research, being associated with her impiety, became an argument against itself. In the present age, we have no reason to dread that our arts and sciences will ever degeucmte into superstition 0|r senseless theory. Astro- nomy, in our hands, will ndver again become Astrology. We may safely affirm that Chemistry will never more resolve itself into Alchemy and Magic ; but we have other more substantial dangers we may dread, without incurring the "imputation of groundless timidity, lest the knowledge of morality may not keep pace with the knowledge of the arts j lest our philosophy outstrip our virtuQ, and the principles of religipU; cease to be considered. a necessarjf item in education. We have reason to ^uard against the prevalence in a l>elief in all knowledge being good, and a disbelief in any knowledge being evil> we should scorn the fallacy that there is no difierence between denouncing the evil of knowledge and the knowledge of evil, it is the latter only that the Christian philoSbpher may deprecate ; he knows that it is not unusual to transform bles- sings into curses, or to use the instruments of our civilization as weapons against ourselves. The same railway, which, by facilitat- ing the intercommunion of nations,.promotes knowledge and obliter- ates prejudice, may, and often does, become the engine of wide- spread disaster. The stin^u^us of g^in afforded by steam has led to a recklessness of human life, to commercial profligacy, to public and priyate embarrassment. The same Press which can delight the reader with details of what he otherwise might never have heard, and can carry hi:*:! in imagination into the universal world, which can instruct while it pleases, and stands as a friend to the solitary and a guide to all ; that same engine for incalculable good, may poison the mind with pestilential productions, it may, and often does, cater to the diseased appetite of a, corrupt and sensual nature, it may disseminate falsehood instead of truth, it may print the Bible to-day, it may pollute the innocent mind to-morrow. Alcohol so necessary ife^ ' 1 ttCTVPCt.' I to many sciences, who can recount the horrors of its abusre ? TThiess then the corrective influenceof Christianity accompany the pirodigious force of modem invention, unless the spirit of benevo- lence (and who can iwssess it so disinterestedly as the Chriistian ?) keeps pace with our mechanical progress, unmixed evil may be the result ; and the reason is obvious, it is not necessary to be a stflentKic man in order to profit by the result* of science ; the incendiary need not know experimentally the process by which the lucifer match is manufactured, nor need the poisoner, in order tb'accomplish his'end, be able to detail the beautiful process by which the Chemist extracted the poison. We can, unfortunately, point attention to an illustration of the evil of knowledge when urn(}irected by behevolerice. The illustration is on a scale alarm* ingly grand— the semi-barbarous nation which is now encounter- ing the two most scientific nations of the world, and convulsing Europe with alarm, is employinj^ the arts of engineering and gunnery against the very people who brought these arts to perfec- tion, British and French inventions are used by the Russian, himself too savage for invention, though too cunning, not to appropriate to his defence the discoveries and skill of others ; who will say that the power which is the result of knowledge can be safely entrusted to half civilized myriads, whose inexhaustible nutiibe'rs when furnished with the scientific material of war render thein dangerous to the civilization of the World ? Who will deny that it would have been better that the mathematical precision of artillery practice and scientific fortification had never been attained, than that through their instrumentality, a fiood of northern barba- rians shotild pour down on Constantinople, repeat the tragedy enacted by the Huns and Vandals, and quench the light of civilized Europe. May this illustration never be realizexl ; but what is true of a nation i- true though in a less degree of an individual, let it not then be deemed professional bias, when I assert, that knowledge to prove beneficent must progress beneath the sheltering wings of Christianity, and then need we not dread that abuse of the gifts of Providence which has ever led to woeful reaction ; there is strong evidence for supposing that civilization had its origin in a direct revelation to mankind, and who can say how much it will be indebted to the Christian revelation for its progress and! eonsummation ? What an inducement then (o education, science, and literary tSCTURV. ts s obuse ? npany the r benevo- hriistian t) il mtiy be ry to be a nee J the by which r, in order jrocess by jrtnnately, ige when lie alarm- jncounter- [jonvulsing ering and s to perfec- e Enssian, ig, not to ;hers; who se can be jxhaustible war render will deny precision of en attained, hern barba- le tragedy of civilized vhat is true idual, letit ; knowledge ng wings of the gifts of • there is i origin in a inch it will regress and ind litemry effort, is the cer^Hiuty (produced by the diffiisioa of knowledge abd by the Chris .1 i'eligton,) of being able to transmit to remote agei bur thoughts a^u! werks ; only realiae in imagination, the ancient Philosopher dedicating his life to his loved pursuit, and toiling amid the disheartening prospect of his discoveries being misunder- stood or lost in the convulsions of nations or the tyranny of prejudice, working in his laboratory or library with the melancholy pleasure of an enthusiast without sympathy, and then contrast with his position our (1 had almost said) temptations to knowledge, when scarce a valuable idea can be suggest^ without its being seized on as a friend and perpetuated by 'the' Printer^ What an incitement again, to the eager studeni is the immensity of the field still open for exploration in natural and moral science. The Philosopher alone can understand the littleness of his own attain* ments ; it is the magnitude of every fresh discovery which fills his heart with wonder and humility, from a conscioiisness that he is but treading the threshold of the temple of science, while his intellect is overpowered by the bare conjecture of the majesty of what may remain in reserve for future discovery within the penetralia. This was the feeling which filled the mind of the great Newton, who could compare the extent of his noble invest!- gations of natural laws, to the work of a child gathering pebbles on the shore. Strange as it may sound, the simplest fhcts in nature are still bewildering mysteries. Phenomena, which, from fan^ili- aHty, we deem intelligible, when regarded- philosophibally. fillion with astonishment. The cohesion of matter, what seems simpler^ what, on examination, proves niore wondlxnisi What are the invisible bonds that keep together the minnto particles of ^ny familiar substance 1 What is it that retains in its solidity the mass of our earth and prevents its pulverization and destruction ? Again^ we will it — and our arm is raised — a simple fact, but an inscrutable mystery ; how a wish can operate instantaneously oh the limbs of our bodies, how or where the soul tenants the body, how one body can communioale its motion to another, what is the process by which the minute drug destroys vital organization, how an infant grows, or a flower blossoms ; of such facts, and we could multiply them indefinitely, our knowledge is summed up when we say that they occur, and the constancy of the occurrence makes us believe that we understand them ; nay, the subjects with which we are most intimately connected are often the least known to us, what ^^iM- l^fc.'s. 14 UCTURIb Uihetummuml»nmm of life, what are the laws which regnlate thf 4ravaget of disease } the theories of Uia winds and waves are more intelligible tQ the man of science than the blight which burings fainine» or the contagion which spreads pestilence. It would seem as if Providence had permitted the human mind to triumph moat in those subjects which lie most distant fiom itself, lest man, V^coniing as well known, to himself as the other works of creation are, should sajr in his i^eart, there is, no Grod ; how else does it hiippen that while subject^ relating to life and happiness are com« paratively unknown, men, whose names we reverence, are permitted to pievce thtough the vault of heaven and make such discovcriedi of other woiflds and systems as keep the mind in suspense; whether it*is more delighted with the unerring precision of man's demonstrations or overwhelmed with the majestic vastness 0^ the universe. We naturally wonder and admire when we hear that Leverier, by the result, of pure mathematical reasoning, could with certainty affirm, that a Planet, as yet unseen, would be dis* covered in an assigned region of the heavens. The Telescope is eagerly .directed to the prescribed spot and the Planet is detected. What a perfection of science does it reveal, that Murchison was able to announce that in the Southern Hemisphere, in Australia, vjBina.of gold mttst exist^. though as yet not a particle had been foundL We can predict with the qertainty of personal knowledge, that when ages on ages have rolled by, the glorious southern press will again be visible ^n these northern latitudes. But why dwell on sudh intellectual gmndeur ] Man turns from such contemplations tp4iimself and shrinks again into conscious nothingness j his success isLtheinyestigationef nature ^might intoxicate, but his failure in Vm knowledge of self recfiUs him to sobriety. Yes, the ^eld in w)ucK. the mind can work is a^ infinite as the mind itself ; any ntqinen^ n^ay introduce, us .,to. some new discovery which may throw all former triumphs into the shade; on every side is the inateriai open to experiment and observation, inviting every lover of.nMivre and art to explore and wpn4^r.. Itnjay, p^rh£^p|s,. appear pamdoxical tp urge the student of nature to persevemnce, by reminding him that many of the. most brilliant discoveries have, in every ..ge, been the result of accident, yet such is the case, and even here we can see the disposing hand of Providence, allowing man to achieve miracles in the acquisition of knowledge, yet under such circumstancim, as mmiht^Mble him. Were man permitted by mmi. td h regulate waves are ght which I. It would to triumph f, lest man, of creation Ise does it ss are com* )rence, are make such 16 mind in Dg precision Stic vastness [len we hear oning, could rould be dis* Telescope is is detected, irchison was in Australia, le had been knowledge, luthern proas hy dwell on itemplations 'y his success is failure in the fteld in itself; any which may side is the every lover hftpP!,. appear ivemnce, by iries have, in he case, and ice, allowing jge, yet under permitted by b.- I thd innate force of his intellectual ^idw^r, to reach by tegular process of abstmct reasoning, to thoine sublime discoveries whi^ have so powerfully affected our welfare, h^ would be tenkptedrto worship himself, not his Credtor, his bWn mind raither than him who formed it. But a diffbirdnt arrangement has be^n providentiaYly devised, both the time and manner of many inventions indleating that man is but the in^thtm^tat through ^-^hitththe^ Deity' revdals himself, and not an independent tidntrotlei^df natitre; The disoo^ Very of the power of the Tel^sc6j)e to pietee thd Armament, was like that of the glass of which it Wks eomposed, altogether oasnati Galvani introduced us to the science of electricity, bynn aecidental) application of zinc and silver to th^ ihuscl(to of a fVog. We bwe the wonders of the Magnetic Telegraph to the unexpected discover^ of Oersted, that a galvanic curi^nt defected a magnetic needle; Bradley established the p^odigiou^ velocity of light, whilo he wM investigating a totally different phenomenon. Hargcaves was in* debted for his remarkable improventent in the spinning jenny^ which so greatly influenced the commerce of ^gladd, to 1^ child who upset the wheel at which he worked; the wheel continued to work the spindle in a vertical position, he seiaed on the idea, and prodigiously multiplied the power of the instrument. Had not Watt been employed as a workman to repdir an atnme* pheric engine, W6 might still have been ignorant of the pow^r Of the steam engine. Had not an apple fkllen'mt the precise tini6 it did, at the feet of Newtdn, We might still be unacquainted w^ith the law of gravitation. Of these and many other discov«!ries the origin was in a great measure accidetitaij not accidental in the sense of a blind chance^ bat in their being introduced into the world under circumstances whioh loudly proclaim the hand of a disposing power, man appropriating to his use phenomena, thrustf as it were, on his observation. The time again when these grand master- pieces of discovery were wrought, prove the same conclusion. Who is there who does not see something more than a hap])y coincidence in the fkot that the facilities of working the coal mines of England were acquired at the precise time that the steam engine required them, when it -^ould have been comparatively useless without them. The Mariner*s Compass and Astrolabe were inventions so plainly preparatory to the discovery of America, that we cannot fail to see the providential design. Again, we can scarcely resist the inference, that the gold deposits of California M LBOTUflB. and Australia were permitted to be discovered at the precise time when an overcrowded population in Britain and Eastern America required a field for their labor and industry ; while the tide of emigration to the shores of the Pacific may be a stride^ of civiliza- tion, on its way to avail itself of the opening of Japan and the revolution of China. Bat though tho investigation is tempting, I must refrain from farther illustration* The fact illustrated is, however, patent, that no ardent lover of science need be deterred from the pursuit of his favorite study, by the idea that it is the innate force of intellect which makes the most useful or wonderful discoveries. '* The works of God are great, sought out of ail them that have pleasure therein." None should therefore so distrust their own powers as to abstain from philosophic inquiry, on the ground that to penetrate the recesses of nature requires the intellect of a Newton, or the emdition of a Bacon. Let only the love of the science add a zest to the examination of it, and we will be content to forego the claim of originality, when we begin to taste the pleasure of being able to sympathize With the knowledge, the happiness, and the, ability of others. And here, perhaps, after all, is the true stimulant to knowledge, the . pleasurable emotions ever derivable from its pos- session. There is in the very acquisition of new ideas, a feeling of .delight to every well regulated mind; and as the ways and works'of the Most High are investigated and acknowledged, we obtain a glimpse of what the mind is capable of knowing and enjoy- ing, and we rejoice in the foretaste. Every page of history reveals its lesson and its pleasure to: the honest student. The biography' of individuals, too, as well as nations, ministers to our delight, when in periising them we transfer ourselves in imaginatioi^ to .ages past, and become, in imagination and thought, the admiring disciples of the great and good. Yes, there is a refinement of happiness in mental cultivation which ennobles the soul, as much as ignorance and sensuality debase it ; and there is hardly a re- fiectioh more fraught with, seriousness than that of the multitudes, of young men especially, whom dissipation and fully are keeping in ignorance of the real nobility of their nature, and whom a taste for literature would have preserved from worldly misery, or even un- timely death. Who can estimate the magnitude of the loss society sustains in the many intellects, which, had they been developed, would have increased the glorious company of philosophers and M^ Simmm mmmm ecise time a America the tide of Df civiliza- in and the jfrain from )atent, that irsuit of his of intellect ries. "The ive pleasure n. powers as to penetrate rton, or the e add a zest !So the claim being able to the, ability of stimulant to from its pos- is, a feeling tie ways and ledged, we ig and enjoy- istory reveals e biography our delight, laginatioi^ to he admiring fineraent of ml, as much hardly 9, re- multitudes, •e keeping in rni a taste for or even un- |e loss society developed, «ophers and tXCTVRIi ft ■'# ■-■'.«■ philan^opists. How many an aspiring heart has been^ tiirdugh the want of encouragement and direction, condemned to an unhappy ignorance, when it might have throbbed happily in the investigation of truth, instead of being despised for its xmavoidftble debasement. How would the men whose wealth and station lof^ them with responsibility, labor to elevate and cherish genius, Qcmld they only realize what is o{len strictly true, that there we multi- tudes whose capacity only reqv^ires tiobe caviled forth by edncfijiiK^n, in order to dazzle and delight therworld^ , Npr am I nowi^peakiufsi of those cases in which, as the poet beautifully expre^sseiLAt)^ v // U '..... ** Chill penury repressed their nobler: rage> - u i!l . 1 1 1 ii*i o'lj^i'i/ ..|^..w,| y.!,j:j And froze the gQOJal current of thi^spul)''; ,.»s>/fi';*<,rt;}iij'4' I am not now alluding to the children of poverty,. many of iVi^hom^; h&d justice been done them by their fellows-men, would haveem^ bellished the world with, their works, and who,: had itheynbioeni' taught to read,would have themselves been Had for profit and deligfhty but I refer to the number of young: men whose situation i^ rbised* above that of ^ant, and who are yet deterred from this patlul of science and pleasure, literature and peace, by the bhtlling apEithy with Which such pursuits are regarded by the affluent and the. influential. Mammon is so much of a deity, that whatever does not fall down and worship it, is unfashionable, and consequently shunned. What a reflection on the civilization of our day is it, that literary worth is so oflen associated with beggary ! But let not the young icandidate for knowledge be fainthearted, even though encoiirageriient be withheld by the world of fashion j there is still some recompense in the elevation of mind, and dignity of feeling consequent on a dedication of our faculties to the knowledge of whatever is excellent and noble in the range of science. The in- herent beauty of every work of nature, the brilliancy of every sun- beam, the tint of every cloud streak, the majesty of every mountain, the glory of every setting sun, the beneficence of all creation, the realization of almighty power and goodness in everything, will constrain the enthusiastic worshipper of God, seen through the medium of his works, to feel that in the estimation of reason there is no happiness comparable with the ability rightly to appreciate the wonders of the universe. Let me add, in conclusion, that besides the positive enjoyment of useful knowledge, there is a negative advantage derivable from lit scarcely less important. The surprising activity of the human L 18 LICTURI. mind warns tu that a wise selection of matter to employ that activity is indispensable, because employment it will have. Many a premature victim of dissipation would have been snatched from destruction, had he been imbued with virtuous resolution by a timely acquaintance with the writings of the good and the wise* Had the beauties of nature and art been duly presented to the reason and imagination in the vacant hour or the idle holiday, many a well disposed mind would have been preserved from ruin, and;would have spent on happy reading or thoughtful study the hours which were squandered on idleness and sin. Men whom disaster and misfortune have reduced to phrenzy, would have been blessed with fortitude, had a knowledge of the facts of the Bible taught thom the dignity of their nature. The human mind abhors a vacuum. How great, then, the responsibility to preoccupy with wisdom what must otherwise inevitably be possessed by folly ; the soul will not remain a blank; it must be brightened with the knowledge of good, or darkened with the knowledge of evil, i <<»« Make, then, the trial, ye candidates for knowledge, and see whether you do not possess in the capacity of your mind to grasp the beauty and excellence of knowledge, a source of pleasure at once exquisite and inexhaut,^tible» Of all the satisfactions (apart from religious feeling) we are capable of enjoying, few can com- pare with the acquisition of knowledge in a favorite pursuit, nor, believe it, is there any antidote for the restlessness, ennui, or dis- sipation of life, like the devotion of those hours which duty can spare, to ihe obtaining of a glimpse, however feeble, of the majesty of glory which is spread before the eye in every work of nature in this world of ours. ,*.• . ' i • :> i .: -i. .*: , ,.? !., '.;.;i ;'.: .:i\'-: .■ .; ,■ ;-7. » '*■>l,■.ir^^J.^.-.e.■.'J■.'" ' ) >n! fO{_luv ',,',.> ':, 4xx ?>i> M ' ■1 ••:{ i;(7'pf' to employ that ill have. Many n snatched from resolution by a d and the wise* ted to the reason Loliday, many a ruin, and .would the hours which um disaster and ve been blessed lie Bible taught mind abhors a preoccupy with led by folly ; the itened with the ge of evil, /ledge, and see your mind to •urce of pleasure tisfactions (apart 5, few can com- rite pursuit, nor, s, ennui, or dis- which duty can B, of the majesty ;rork of nature in ■; . ).!,. • .r .<'.:,■> ; .V-. \ > \'b-<'-'] '"' • ! i^l V'.f ;' ■'■'' r •..! I. n ,;;;■• [ ^'fv^-i ;;:>■?