^, \ \Xf^. '^^^ ^.v^^ is-'. <9 \ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I .li£|28 |2.5 S ^' IIIH iM i|2.0 11.25 1.4 1.6 ] r> :/. r. binding may cause shadows o^ distortion* along interior margin/ Lareliure serrAe peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la merge int*rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutees lors dune restauri 2 3 ♦ nirBODTJCTORY LECTURE n>E TBI JHmantUr mm ^mtkM. DELIVERED ON THE 9th JANUARY, 1854, BY THB, REV. WILLIAM T. LEACH, D. C. L. < ' ,nf*. '♦ MONTREAL: PR|[NTED by JOHN LOvilLL. ST. NICHOLAS STREET. 1IJ54. I l iiHHillltlim ii" 1 -i- i rrfSa ^^^ n- . * ■ / , c» I > • ■ r; 1 s i ^ "S fi ! -\ • ^ f • » .:i - «■ ' « F • * ^ , « if^.. . . ",<» ^ ir w*|,'*^i«S^ i-fjf*-^' ^^ t,'* ^- nTRODUCTOEY LECTURE POB TBI W? Jlterf aiitile filiran) ^ssoriatott, DELIVERED ON THE 9th JANUARY, 1854, BY THl REV. WILLIAM T. LEACH, D. C L. ^ >'- ''^^i^^^^^^^^l * - » ..*'.,,. ;| • "'"'"' • 9 * • '9 - MONTREAL : ■i i J ♦ .1 PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET. 1864. •I s • - J IS:^^ .. .■■:._.'. Ji^ J. a-t-ii-U^ ^^^^^^ I^^^M msr "■^ 5*, ' -f^, . '*Xf ^- .>, INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. Whkn the request of this Association to deliver the opening Lecture this winter, was first communicated to me, I thought upbn the instant, that I ought to decline the duty. The d^- culty, on such an occasion, of saying anything that might be useful, anything not already familiar to you, anything which has not already been much more worthily spoken than I could hope to express in language— these things, together with a certain reluctance, which I believe many persons experience, to face the publicity of a position where something new is expected from them, and to which they are conscious they have ho particular vocation, admonished me to decline the position which you have done me the honor of inviting me, to assume. These were my first thoughts, but it then occurred to m^'to think that one is hardly at liberty to refuse bearing his part, when called upon, in forwarding the designs of an Institution which so large a portion of his fellow citizens believe, and belie-ve justly, may minister to the community unexceptionable pleasure and intellectual profit. The common interests of society, now better understood than they were when the prime of youth first darkened the faces of some of us with a beard, are not supposed to admit, without question, the right of any one to remain neutral in^•the contest of civilization with barbarism,, of knowledge with ignorance. All are required to contiibute m--' according to their ability ; some to contribute the sinews of war, some to take the field in offensive arms, others to plan the campaign and direct the movements of the forces. If it is fair that the inhabitants of a city, in proportion to the advan- tages which they receive, should be taxed for public improve- ments, as they are called, for reservoirs to save their properties from conflagration and give to the whole population the means of personal cleanliness and other numberless conveniences;, for sewers to. preserve the air they breathe from pestilence ; for gas, that lengthens the light of existence and scares away many works of darkness, and for an, efficient police to prevent the breaking of the peace and the breaking of heads, and for the protection of private property and public decency ; if any one may be fairly taxed for these, and admits the fairness of the tax, it seems no less equitable that every one should practically discharge and acknowledge his obligation to such an Institu- tion as this, which unquestionably heightens the moral order, the general intelligence and refinement of manners of those with whom he must hold a constant intercourse, and upon whom so much of his own happiness and that of those whom 4ie loves, so materially depends. If it is better to live in the midst of an orderly, polite and intelligent people, than among a herd of human beings of ferocious dispositions and brutish manners, no one ought to grudge a little voluntary Vkx or some due proportion of his. time and toil. These are, after all, only a quid pro quo. They are only an equitable price for the benefits he receives, and give a proof even honorable to himself that he refuses to enjoy in a sort of surreptitious way, the beauty and fragrance and fruit of a garden upon the cultivation of which others have- generously expended their money and labour. Perhaps the day is not far distant when, of the merchants of Montreal, there will be few found that will decline a helping hand, I shall not say in the support merely of this Association, but for its expansion and elevation. The present time demands and invites renewed efforts on the part of its friends. The increase of population is an argument for the necessity of fresh exertions in its behalf, and the general prosperity holds out an 4 encouragement, that they will prove successful. I utterly mis- apprehend the excellence of its aim and the extent of its bene- ficial influence, if it does not merit a tenfold addition to its '!^'*^ friendly advocates and auxiliaries, if its list of members should not be thousands instead of hundreds. Its efficiency for pro-_____ gress, its fitness as a locomotive in aiding to drag aTong the social car speedily and powerfully to the destination which it is created to seek, requires only to be demonstrated and well understood. Whatever may be the obstacles, this city is by no means wanting in fine and proper spirits to enterprise for the consciousness and the honorable distinction of deeds of goodness and light, and as long as this is the case, it were a meanness of spirit altogether unworthy of an intelligent people to mistrust the help of a propitious Heaven, and the prosperous progress through remote ages of the machinery they have put in motion. The individuals who had the first hand in its con- struction, have done what may well inspire them with a delight- ful emotion. They must have one happy remembrance at least, that will often glide in like a smiling angel, among the many thoughts and cares of a dutiful life. They must .have the grateful persuasion, that in this they are well deservijior of their fellow citizens, whose approbation is always pleasingto-^ the better men, not so much, it may be, foe its own sake, as for the incidental testimony which it bears to the goodness of the cause they have selected for their love. To such men, to deserve praise is far better than to receive it. I know that, in this also, it is more blessed to give than to re ceiv^Jf given . with discrimination and an honest purpose. But le^^^give it, notwithstanding, ,were it only to show that in honouring the agents, we appreciate the public welfare and the spirit that worfcs for it. I have been informed that the Hon. John Young and Mr. David Vass, are the names to whiclr we must ascribe the honour of being the founders of this Association. . A general craving for information forms one of the prominent features of the present age. The ready concurrence of tiiis Association with the prevailing spirit of civilized countries, has, in this place where it was infinitely needed, served to foster the love of knowledge and supply the demand for it. It has I ]. y . ■ . ' ' - ■ 6 » -^ , ' • done good service in rousing us from an incurious and dormant state. It has contributed to infuse mental vitality and to pre- ,8erve it. It has exhibited an example of intellectual buoyancy on the dreary waste, and has had no small share in redeemiiig Ihe principal city of this portion of the emj^fe from the reproach of being at market place fojr traffic and nothmg more. The good order of society cannot, on this continent at least be maintained for any lengthof time, without a liberal "diffusion of knowledge among all rank3 of society. The decencies of life cannot exist without it. It must here go in company with all .that IS graceful in manners, and ornamental in the arts. It Is of its nature 19 j^urify the .taste, and give delicacy and tender- ness to the naturaj affections. It removes from the face of the " heavens the saddening clouds of superstition, and lets down from the skies an etherial shoWr of happiness, as it were, which, like the rain on th© woods in the early days of May* inclines ^11 God's creatures to laugh and sing. * Someone has said thatknowledg^ is pZe^swre as well as jaower. This is true. "^nX it is a truth to be experienced rathejr than de- monstrated. « Is it not knowledge," says Lord Bacon, « that doth alone clear the mind of all perturbations?" How many things do we esteem and value otherwise than they are? This ill proportioned estimation, these vain imaginations— /Aese be the clouds of error that.lurn into the storms of perturbatjo/i." It is a delightful state to be free from all perturbations, and if knowledge Js efficacious to prevent them, the acquisition of it must be a ministration of pl^asare such as.none can object to, and such as every benevolent heart would seek to communicate. Accordl- ing 10 Lord Bacon, it is knowledge alone thatrgives composure of mind, that pleasing calmness of nature's passions which the heavenly good attain to, and which is the opposite of those " mordijiate affections " wtiich, Dryden says, are hell. When you sit ou the top of the diadem mountain that crowns this City, gazing on the prospect ben^h, on the crowded dwellings of 60,000 souls, and revolve in your mind what wild works of human passion are ^t that moment being done, what tragical and comic scenes, what stratagems of covetoij^nes^; ambition love and revenge, what mad merriment and sorrow, what indo^ . ; lormant to pre- loyancy eerning ?proach '... The' iast, be ision of 5 of life vilb all . It IS tender- of the '^ 5 down t were, f May, power. lan de- " that things his ill be the It is a vledge t be a 1 such ccord— JOSUl;^ which ' those When s this llings rks of igical •ilion^ indo- ,r "^. 1 lence and toil, what strife of proud and pugnacious hearts, what " iji-proportioned estimations " — all trie^e, while you sit aloft unruffled, fanned by the breath of the summer gales," aud soothed by ijie voice "of the murrquring, woods and tfie hum of the bee people— while thus engaged, you are an apt illustra- tion of Lord Bacon's man erf knowledge, who ha& erected "the dwelling of his peace sd high " that the perturbations by which others are annoyed a^ startled and sometimes dis- tracted, reach him not'. ^ , . , This is- a higher strain than I intended to adventure, but Lord Bacon's idea of knowledge is comprehensive, comprising divine as well as human knowledge. V " ' ' ^ "* There was a time when tne pleasute and profit of knowledge were confined within a very narrow ehclai^re.' It was sup- posed to be dangerous. The diffnsioo of it w-as dreaded as an unknown pow^r that might commit inconceivable devastations, a ghost that might clutcft, no one could tell whom, "and do, no one could tell what. That superstition is exploded, and, '^ as the fire which the old Persians worshipped is now in every man's house," so the general knowledge which was once re- garded as the stratagem of some diabolical policy, is accepta- ble to all, and has been accessory to the well being of all. The opinion of Dr. Olinthus Gregory on this point seems aulength ' to have prevailed. He says, that the improvement of the peo *ple to the very. extent of their 'mental susce^jtibililles is *most healing and generous. It operates on/all classes and orders ; it promotes universal instruction ; it reforms by representing itself; it mitigates bad const'ituttons and improves imperce'pti- bly laws, manners, and opinions ; yet, he say;s, is every advance or proposal to thiilv effect received as a challenge to insurrec- tion ; to inbtruct the people is reputed as a declaratipn of war,' and every progress is made at thp hazard of a battle. Np won- der, that so beset and waylaid and maligned, every partial suc- , cess to improve the race of Adam should be "ftaiied as an achievement. J *^ But though no danger on this score is now apprehepde.d, an(L„ no impediments arising from such ar prejudice obstruct the dif- fusion of general knowledge, it is still difficult to propagate- it --y "♦ \, '^ i-l t 9 widely enough in extent, and largely enough in degree. It grows ... with every view you take of it, and the mbre you acquire the more you discover the greatness of the quantity you want We have, however^ this encouraging and gratifying considera- tion, that the knowledge which we may be taught is really knowledge. The great evil in all the ages past has been, that error has been as ardently taught as truth ; the great difficulty • has always been to discriminate, to put the garland upon , the right head, and stamp as gold with the royal image only what was gold. The means of arriving at this certainty, or at such a degreeof probability as the, limited powers of the hu- man soul, and perhaps the very conditions under which all in- , teJiig<^nces but God subsist, oblige us to accept for certainty,— the means of arriving at this certainty or substituent proBabilily IS that subject, which above all things else has evoked the Foudest intellectual powers (Jf man. To lay a solid founda- * tion for our confidence in the conclusions of science, i. e. in those general laws, under which the particular instances or facts - are comprehended, as being related to, a common cause, was infinitely necessaiy. It was necessary both for confidence in . scientific r^sult^ and as a means of discovery; it has been a work of enormous labour,.and has so far been accomplished only after ages of interruption, and by persons raised up, providentially, with the rarest endowments of nature, by Aristotle, Bacon' Locke, Kant, Mill, Sir William Hamilton and others. • The sources of error common to the species required to be pomted put and very significantly fnarked, as also the sources of error arising from the various conditions, under which the mind subsists and afcts, conditions that may weaken or pervert or even enslave it. The powers of the mind, particularly' its subtle irttf^lectual operations, together with the formal laws of ' thought required to be investigatedand explained, the modes of ' investigation appropriate to the different branches of natural 'philosophy— the philosophy^f fact and observation, the rules for estimating tlte value oforal and documentary testimony, the rules for the conduct of controversies and the irflerpretation of written documents, have been elaborately studied and laid down. Some of the advantages which mankind hav^ derived from V this species of labour, are these ; we are taught the right way of cultivating the field of science which we may have chosen for cultivation ; we know when to believe with confidence that a question has been decided, — or when the<»evidence falls ' short o/ conclusiveness; we know, when all the counterbalancing considerations have been estimated, whether the evidence for, or the evidence against the question^ be the greater, or whether so" equally balanced, that all belief is to be suspended. The moral effectf which naturally result from this intellectual discipline, are to render one very decided in some things, where the evi- dence is conclusive, and very cautious in most things— to dis- incline to any compromise between truth and falsehood ; to dis- card, as utterly mischievous and fatal to the interests of truth, all intemperate dogmatism and animosity, to beget a thoroughly tolerant and charitable spirit, a spirit, pensive and sorrovgM it may be, on the view of our human errors and frailties^^ut buoyant and loyal to the heavenly majesty of truth, of all trath^ for God is truth, and in Him must be our hope. ^ The species of knowledge, together with history and general literature, commonly derived from the libraries and lectures of institutions of this description, is that, which has been of late Years, accumulated as the product of the philosophy of facts, and observation^ Its diligent cultivators have prepared accurate histories oftheir respective sciences, histories of the facts which, before receiving them into their book of data, they are suppos- ed to have minutely and carefully examined ; and the results, after a process of comparison and elimination, are qpfen to the easy acquisition of every understanding. It was long before the labours of Bacon, called the father of this Philosophy, became generally useful, indeed before they were understood, acircum- sfapce which is to bo attributed, perhaps, to the nature of the subject, and the veil of poetical language in which he has invested it. Since his time, however, and especially during the ^last half century, the physical sciences have been cultivated with unprecedented ardour and success, and every conceivable means have been employed to make them intelligible. The pross of Europe and America ^scnds forth every year a vast abmidance of scientific works, not so much with the design of M I *f 10 , conveying new truths, as with that of simplifying and illus- . trating thpse already received and established. Except for •those who teach sciences, and those who cultivate them with a view to discovery, it is not absolutely necessary to sound many depths,'*4p be a first rate Logician, or Mathematician, in order to.acquir^a vast amount of valuable knowledge. The mer- chant or clork who employs even his superfluous hours upon any particular science, may soon amass a much larger stock of jn/ormation, than the wisest could accumulate a few years ago, by the most laborious and prolonged efforts. This facility must oper^e as a pressing invitation upon the principle of curiosity. It is difficult to conceive it possible that any one endowed with rational powers and havingthe opportu- hity of exerting them, should not labour with some industry to become acquainted with the grand facts of Modern Astronomy, lor instance,and should feel no interest in the discoveries, which, from- time to time, are being made as to the number of the' members of our planetary system, and the various conditions under which they exist, and no interest in the astounding revela- tions, which the great improvements lately made in the instru- ments of observation, have been the means of bringing to li-ht in the remoter regions of space. Curiosity in the best sense'' of the term, imagination andt^ie religious sentiment naturally receive their gratification in keeping acquaintance with the increasing volume of facts in this science. The progress of Chemistry, its application to agriculture and many of the use- ful arts, its efficiency as an auxiliary for the explanation of ani- mal and vegetable tissue and a great variety of other interest- ing phenomena in the functions of animals and plants -—the knowledge of these cannot fail to give nleasure, and may be usefuirto every one. I might mention, i.flike manner, the sys- tem of observations that has lately been instituted for the col- lection of facts appertaining to the magnetic currents of the globe— to the course of experimental inquiries now in opera- tion on the nature, the properties and laws of light and heat to the researches of Geology, whose IVicts aud deductions are 'so well calculated to arrest the attention and give an added interest in every hill and valley of the earth, in every field auU \ 11 rock, in every crevice you may meet witb^d^pfever yqu may go. Political economy may be called 'th|i^erchant's own science. He is immediately conversant with ilmny of the facts, he is immediately interested in its deductions. He may be expected to have a particular aptitude and spontaneous lean- ing to enter upon the questions which it^proposes for investiga- tion. These are, indeed, some of ihem of a more limited, some of a more general nature, but they refer so directly to the so- cial and political slate of a community, affecling so closely the means of its sustentation and ihe fastenings which bind it, that it can hardly be thought innocent in a merchant to neglect the study of them, especially when he belongs to a class who^e wealth and inlelligence, and general in- fluence are, in this country predominant. Nor does it seem less naturally to coincide with the occupations and duties of a merchant to be thoroughly informed on those points, in moral Philosophy, which refer to the nature and end of civil laws, to contracts in general, to the origin of civil government, and the internal structure of states, to the laws of war, to the nature of treaties and rights of ambassadors &c. The growing import- ance of this colony asks for a more general and complete ac- quaintance with siubjects of this kind. And this city especially, the central point of its population, the terminus, "by the or- dination of providence, of the many-sailed ships and sea tra- versing steamers, and the rightful heir to the honour of holding the stirrup to Vhe sovereigns of legislation, ought surely to be the focus of intelligence, both the eye to see and the heart to underlakd the good and glory of Canada. ' The several d'^partments of knowedge to which I have now particufarly adverted, are those for which the Library of this Association and the Lectures delivered under its direc- tion, make provision. They require beforehand no profound acquaintance with mathematics, no classical acquirements, no laborious study of the principles of evidence and the methods of scientific investigation. Here, it is rather a matter of taste and pleasure to attract the attention, than a hard service that demands it of necessity. A little enthusiasm and a retentive memory, which is the daughter of enthusiasm, will carry one u on a great length, if the opportunities here afljjrded are con- stantly seized. For those young persons especially, who may havj but lately entered upon the serious business 6f life, these ' opp(Munities are singularly valuable. The Lectures in parti- cular serve to create a taste for pursuits of science and litera- ture, furnish material for conversation, help to subordinate unprofitable amusements, and remove manyf a temptation to waste the golden hours, of evening leisure, to waste health, to make shipwreck of reputation, virtue, all that is truly desir- able in life. The fast young men soon sink and disappear, many of whom, ay, hundreds of them, if /animated with a manly love of knowledge and imbued with A pure taste for the literature of our language, would find in the [objects ofthis.As- sociation, a recreation far too charming to b^ readily exchang- ed for the dreadful stuff of books that consume their leisure time, or for the still more despicable recourses to any forms of vicious self-indulgence,— many, whose talents turned into a virtuous course, might find a recompense in prosperous cir- cumstances and an honourable name. Here 1 cannot but. take occasion to s^dvert to a class of publications which are read by the young almost universallyy —I mean the works of fiction in the formjof novels. All who have any regard for the uncorruptedness /of their own minds, will be as careful in the selection of the bc^oks which they read, as of the company with whom they familjarly associate, and it cannot be denied, that there are books, almost innumerable of the kind referred to, whose tendency it is, to enfeeble and cor- rupt the mind while they amuse and dii^ert it. Who that wit- nesses the avidity with which they a /e read, must not lament th€ precious time thus thrown away and the errors and debas- ing impressions thus created ? How. indiscriminating people are in this matter! It never seems to occur to them, that errors in principle of the most fatal/ tend/^ncy, may be thus inculcated. They may keep themselves and those whon/ihey are able to influence as far away as {possible from the sights and /''] language of contaminating vices, ^hich, shown in their open turpitude, are calculated to disgust, but often admit into-the ofaambers of their Jm^gination and affections the seduotive r r ^^^^^s '»«3?^^i''5T^'a»-^^ IP^f^Tt^W p^^ r they \ and /^ 13 and vitiating imagery which those productions supply. I must be careful, however, t© remark, that these observations do by no means apply to the whoU class of novels. The eminent individuals whose works are to be excepted from this condem- nation, are authors of a different species, though their writings do belong to the class of novels. The opinion expressed by Sir John Herschel on this point, in his address to the subscri- bers to the Windsor and Eton Public Library, will, I am pur- suad/ed, be generally approved of. " The novel' in its best form, he says, I regard as one of the most pov^erful engines of civilization ever invented — but not the foolish romances which used to be the terror of^^ur maiden aunts ; nor the insolent productions which the press has lately teemed with under the title of fashionable novels ; nor the desperate attempts to novelise history, which the herd of Scott's imitators have put forth, which have left no epoch since the creation, untenanted by modern antiques, and no character in history, unfalsified ; but the novel, as it has been put forth by Cervantes and Richardson, by Goldsmith, Edgeworth and Scott. In the writ- ings of t'hese and such as these, we have a stock of works in the highest degree enticing and interesting, and of the utmost purity and morality — full of admirable lessons of conduct. — Those who have once experienced the enjoyment of such works, will not willingly descend to an inferior grade of intellec- tual privilege, — they have become prepared for reading of a higher order, and may be-expected to relish the finest strains of poetry, and to draw with advantage from the purest wells of history and philosophy." The Lectures of this Association are open to the ladies, who generally form no inconsiderable proportion of the number of the audience. It is, of course, a gratifying circumstance to know, that they derive pleasure and instruction from the subjects heres^usually treated of, and perhaps our grat,ification might be increjised were we fuU^ aware of the beneficial effects which, in jf'^cial point of view, hence arise. If the divisions of knov^edge, which 1 before expressly mentioned, are in some degree cultivated and liked by any considerable number of the women of a place, that is a sure sign that there the public ■■■■■ mmmmm 9BP S' . 14 mind wiH soon be-energelically directed to those obieet. It .s .n >he power o wo^an to cause n,a„ almost to be Cwi.h the love of Icnowledge-eertainly to i„f„,e it into the yoml ll m,„d-certa,„ly to render it in the society which s e ^e and adorns, reputable and iJonoarable. The indirect effecl ofTer we Istored m,nd must i„ this way be far morfe ejctensivHnd ot va.l,„g ,n proportion to her stores, than they will be wi" i'T amies, IS now I believe, seldom aeriously entertained Nor IS exception often taken to it on the ground of any natfra EnZ? t 'T'1- '" '"^ '"y^ °''^« S--" Charles : England when female virtue was less hononrable than now n was a favourite theme to depreciate the intellectual abiS of woman, and show cause why she was better in a sta e of Ignorance They alleged that the female bra n wis no designed for the burden of knowledge, that it was of a moil and soft nature, not sufficiently hard for the retention of imZs H.ons-they asserted, too, that it was a dangerous posZon to entrust her with, since it was her desire o'f knowle^ a. brought death into the world and all our woe. Thos°e Jet their Ihil'h """^ "'"' '° "■' "'^^'^"^ '" "-ks, to hide fash in , '"' ""T""^ ""= """^ i«'fo™ances then'in fashion Ignorance and moral degradation were then (oo genemlly associated, and though it is true that great virtue mav, in the individual, subsist with a small degree of knowledge and abundant knowledge with a world of vices, it is not tr'ue' that thus the law ge„erally-i, is not true, that Ihis the law of socal life. In social life, intelligence and virtue go not asunder, ^and we happily live in an age when this uLn is recognized, and its benefits experienced. In the United Slates he more general and superior education of women, is a m'. »oual characteristic, and though we sometimes hear men dila- tingupon the errors of those called the strong minded worn „ in a certain derogatoiy tone, which bespeaks an inclination "j satirize the superior education of all women, this is never done among the wise and good, and is indeed only the natural J^'"°"'y "' ""-^ "''"'''=1 nien, who may have' ca se Tt^ ■ suspicious of iheir own inferiority. The powers of female minds to comprehend and communicate knowledge, have been demonstrated by their works of talent in sciapce,* and works of genius in literature. For myself, I shall say that I owe to no single, man, any "knowledge, which through life I have found more worthy of being prized, than what was the gift of art aged maiden. Other points of comparison between thfe two sexes, would lead to a train of thought diverging from my subject, but I may appeal to all who are well experienced in the many thorny ways of human life, whether they have not often been disposed to join in the exclamation of the divine Psalm, " I said in my haste all men are liars." I do not believe that this could be spoken of all women. There is another matter closely connected with the same grand objects which this Association seeks to advance, a matter which I rejoice to have an opportunity of bringing before your notice. Its ends are the same with those of the Mercantile As- sociation, and this I am sure will plead my excuse with you for introducing it. Indeed it would not be complimentary to the understanding and philanthropy of the members of this Associ- ation, nor to the just influence exerted by the merchants of this city, to deem other apology necessary. Upon every efficient institution for the advancement of human knowledge, I may surely presume their approbation. The whole of the educa- tional system of the lower division of the Province would soon be improved, were the intelligence and influence of the mer- cantile class seriously applied to that all important subject. The effects of universities and colleges upon the prosiperity of that system, the powerful influence of these parts upon the whole would soon be well understood, and those institutions be thought worthy of every fostering care. The youth of the country have hitherto passed at a very early age from the school to the counting house, at an age much too early ; for the too speedy acquisition of wealth is seldom a great blessing to them; the question comes, how do they employ it ? If in self-indul- gence, their good fortune is a calamity ; if in rigid parsiv mony, the chances are, that ihey are in for a passion which will ififect their souls with a disease that will endure till life's 1« closing day; at any rate, they have missed the special training whtch is necessary, in ordinaiy cases, to enable^them o bear the.r part in public life, with much satiWactiont t W se ves, and wub any superior degree of ability and 3i!nhy The g,gan .c strides which our country is making ,o poS constderatton, warn us to take care that her childn^n 'te men not unworthy of her cause. It is a notion which has been too read, ly received, that when the great duties of publ c Weand eventful etnergencies, requin, them, the,, will never be wantW the men who are equal for them, or to use a common phrl° notton true? s its truth evinced by the greater number of It .orical examples, or is i, merely an idol of the tribe, an ovt hasty generahzauon contradicted by experience? It hasTo • T.n' nT' '" n' 'T'^' "' " §«""=" ""'h. 'ha. is, a tru^ at all. Only recollect how numerous are the instances in which he men have been wanting, in great conju„ct„,»s, to na"g«e he „de of affatrs, which wisely and bravely taken might have led on a nation to prosperous fortune. Think of the number of opposite facts, and the general assertion appears at one! a broken reed to lean upon. Think how often men have g"en to the times their character and direction, and have hope i„ the - '■ ^::i:L:r ""''"- "■" "-^ ^'^"«'"- ^" ">« A- .heir It has become a matter of popular conviction, ahd woe be to the people that swerves from it, that (he instructions usually arithmetically arc, in the present state of society, common J ZoT r ""'^ " ^"'"" "?"=""" -"''J -• be cast ■-^ upon any Government than that the people in any large pK.por..on should remain, from ignorance' of these simple a fs incapable of reaping the advantages which they bring T c government has shown some laudable zeal for the advan^cemen. on tha,'»e!.""' f r"'"^" °' '"^'"'^'''°"' ^"d ">e sums furnished on hat account from the public trcasuiy are not inconsidemble. Many philantrophic persons look to this common school ins.ruc ™ social order. This is the key, they suppose, that will J special tble them 1 f them- dignity. political 1 be men, been too ' life and wanting 1 phrase, Is this !r of his- an over-* has no I a truth n which lavigate fht have tnber of 3nce, a jiven to in the >g their voe be .. isually Iculate •mmon •e cast large e arts, The emenl lished Table, struc- s and will unlock the treasures of knowledge, demolish superstitions, unite us in charity, ^nd so sharpen out perceptions of private and public justice that the state of socie.ty will hartlly need any other means of improvement. JSio suspicion of the inadequacy of these means for the production of such effects ever seems to distress them. So much has been spoken and written on this subject that it has come to be regarded as a sort of axiom that the good effects adverted to will infalliby result from the system of common school education, and that alone— an expec- tation utterly mendacious. Besides the private utility of this species of education, and its productiveness as a means of national wealth, there is no doubt but that it places the scholars in a favorable position, independently of its effects in a religious point of view, but here lies its demerit or defect, it does iiot put them in a posi- tion sufficiently favorable, because it does not improve those powers of their souls which are best worth being improved, and are the most susceptible of improvement. It gives the instruments, but does not teach the use of them. It supplies the formula, but gives no satisfactory instructions f^ its appli- cation. It opens the gate, but leaves one still in the lurgh. It neither inclines nor trains any one to discriminate between truth and error, to estimate the value of evidence, to detect sophistry, nor to be obedient to the sovereign powers of reason and conscience. The common school system doeq not train any one to these things, but this training is the kind of educa- tion that everybody in the world stands most in need of. Since much that is read is false, often injurious to the individuals, and sometimes pernicious to society, the qualifications which th common school system of education confers, are qualifications which expose the reader to the errors that may be written. It is not all gain in this case. If a larger surface is exposed to the genial rains of truth, the same space lies open to the pesti- lential blasts. Hince there are innumerable instances in which the advantages reaped may be no compensation for the pernicious influences thus exerted. Some higher education is therefore needed to enable as many as possible to be free from these influences and to counteract them. In regard to social ir- ^ 18 order pnb,c and pnvate Tirtne, and clear perception of duty,we should ga,n almost nothing from the eommon school educS but for the operation of other means, and especially that J^l nor and severe coarse of study by which the scholars, under another systein, laboriously improve the best facalties of their !"*■ • rl '^"*'"' ■" '' '' ""S"" "> be, this part of the system of education generally, they are taught not only to accu' mulate maUi.udes of facts, but to be accural in the ^rutiny rf hose which they admit into their stock of knowledge, to defec fallacies with comparative facility and tbteach iheir^nclusions wheie any thing IS concluded, in a certain legitimate way whTh gives them confidence in the opinions they hold. ThfJs the sort of education that tells or perhaps I should say, ought to ell, in our popular and legislative assemblies, in al didactic literature, and in the editorial chair of the newspapers, whence so many measures of momentous import receive their Ztificl! ir mT'r ' 7' :'■'•"'' """'"'"'« »° ■••« "ead thattdi^ Ivll ' 7nZT', ^° "■"J"" '^ -"'d of good, or a world of evil. In short, ,t is by this additional and higher trainine that «>e rational and moral powers of our natufe are cuKted which give the ability to judge of numberless questiors of public importance, or which aft supposed to be impottam and also to recommend them to othcrswhen public dutXS II, by appropriate proofs and in fitting terms. y*"!""*' Thet-e is no difficulty in conceiving how the bodily strength and activity can be improved ; look at the happy effects of cfn ..ant and varied exercise, of habitual temper^e in aU things' of suitable clothing, purity of air and cleanliness. Look at the h^py efleets of gymnastics, the exercises of the decora pat ajitrae. How do these contribute to health, developemcnt of ««ngth, personal activity, and griicefulne sMM^eTuman s^uld^reT''""' """;' '""" "'"y y""" "" ">anhoo^ :: shuffling gaits, and awkward cairiage of head and hand lut stronger men, more active.morecapableof endurancebo'phyl eai h"e Zd b • '""' 'I ""^ "^^ ^^" "^ ^P'"-'^. f" ™- It ^ e^n^^d '"''T''- ^^P^"^""" P™™» this. Unless be educated more or less, it must g«,w up with all ita natu- ■■-^irr^^^iB:-^ -- 19 ral blemishes thick about it, but its blemishes and defects will be far more importai\( and numerous than those of the outer man, although not so visible. . Ten times more numerous will be its awkwardnesses, its shuffling gaits, its lapsidednesses and disproportionate powers and inconsistent movements ^ far more its proneness to stumble and stagger, and wander, gropingj about in its dim sphere of speculation ; consideKhow much more the mind is susceptible of improvement tban^tro bcsdy, how much more important are the human interests that are in- volved in its improvement; consider how constanllyMn every" waking hour of life, there are questions of public and private moment to be discussec^ and decided upon, and you Will sure- ly agree with me, that it is no trifling business for a sensible people to keep back tHe youth of the Jlmd, the heirs of its pro- mised greatness, from the best possible training that can im- prove the reasoning of their souls and the-pe»suasivenesa^^pf their tongues. * To cultivate the* memory of words, together with writing and arithmetic, is riearly all that can be done in •the days of boyhood. This is a valuable and indispensable part of education, but not enough. It is a great additipn to it to cultivate the understanding, to communicate large quantities of information, and store the mind with knowledge of thepBy sical sciences and with the axioms df^moral truth, but this i^ not enough either. The imagination, the taste, the reasoning powers are not hereby improved, by any special means. But the improvement of the reasoning powers, is ^ main thing to be kept in view in every complete course of education, and that part of it which gives culture to these powers, and confers at the same time the ability to give clear and effective expression to their operations, cannot be rejected from the educational sys- tem t)f this country, without the just reproach either of wick- edness^or ignorance. The colleges, those properly so called, are the kistjtutioBS intended to confer this higher training, and have generally been found to be the foci of intelligence and the chief causes of the agitation of thought upon subjects the most necessary, profitable and interesting, and at the times when it is most needed. It i| clear that no government here can neglect these in^itutions without proclaiming by t^is v^ neglect, its I » \ so belief that the people generally, b<|^9||p jgnprant tnd injudi- cious, aji^ liable to all kin> 1* ' • I' " -.• ■;' / ■ , ^ ♦ ■'"-■-' ■' ■ J ^: « ■', \ * * . .. --1. ' . 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