LB 41 
 .F45 
 Copy 1 
 
41 
 45 
 py l THE 
 
 ANNUAL ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 BELLES-LETTRES AND UNION PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETIES 
 
 DICKINSON COLLEGE, CARLISLE, PA. 
 
 July 18, 1838, 
 
 SIDNEY G. FISHER, ESQ. 
 
 OF PHILADELPHIA, 
 
 GRADUATE MEMBER OF THE UNION PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Fublished at the request of both Societies, 
 
 CARLISLE, 
 
 PRINTED BY GEORGE M. PHILLIPS 
 
 1338. 
 

 ►v * • *, ^ **>v '» S * 
 
 In Exchange 
 
 Peabody Inst, of BaKo, 
 
 jnne 16 1927 
 
<•><-" 
 
 
 .745" 
 
 Dear Sir : ^ 
 
 We the undersigned, in behalf of the Union Philosophical and Belles-Lettres 
 Societies, are ordered by the above-mentioned associations to express their 
 grateful acknowledgments for your very able and eloquent address delivered diis 
 morning ; and to request a copy of the same for publication. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 July 18, 1838. 
 
 CHARLES DENISON, -j Com. of the Union 
 
 . E. E MELIUS LE CLERC, i- Philosophical So- 
 
 RICHARD B. McALLISTER,3 ciety. 
 
 NICHOLLS, 
 
 Sidney G. Fisheh, Est*. 
 
 W. L. DEW ART, -s „ . ,. „ ., 
 
 R. W. BUDD, l Co ' n - °f th S Belles ~ 
 
 j. nicholls, 5 Lettres Soaet y- 
 
 Carlisle, July 19, 1S38. 
 Gentlemen : — My address is, of course, entirely at your service. I regret 
 that it is not better worthy the occasion and your good opinion. 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 SIDNEY G. FISHER. 
 To Messrs. Charles Denison, 
 
 E. Emelius Le Clerc, 
 Richard B. McAllister, 
 William L. Dewart, 
 R. W. Budd, 
 ,1. Nicholls. , . 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archlve.org/details/annualaddressdelOOfish 
 
ADDRESS, 
 
 Gentlemen of the Belles- Lettres and Union Philosophical 
 Societies : 
 
 Whilst in revisiting a scene of my youth, connected with so 
 many interesting associations, it is natural that my mind should 
 dwell on the past ; that memory should be busy in recalling the 
 once familiar faces, the warm confiding friendships, the pleasures, 
 the studies, the young aspirations, the budding passions and the 
 bold hopes of that never-forgotten period of man's life, his College 
 days, — yet in addressing you I feel that the future, not the past„ 
 is the fitting topic. 
 
 What is to me recollection, is to you either anticipation or 
 present enjoyment; to many of you the hour has arrived, to all 
 of you the hour will soon arrive, when released from the restraints, 
 removed also from the protection of Alma Mater, you are to 
 assume the responsibilities, encounter the perils, perform the 
 duties, and enter into the active business of life. The few years 
 of easy study and careless happiness passed in these halls, have 
 brought you to a point at which you may well pause and survey 
 the future which lies before you. The prospect is broad, varied, 
 and indistinct; — "distance lends enchantment to the view," and 
 the young imagination suffuses it with its own bright tints. Your 
 journey of life lies through that wide and beautiful landscape, and 
 you are about to commence it full of confidence and hope. It is 
 the morning; the sky is clear, — the air is fresh, — the sun shines 
 brightly. Seen through the vivifying medium of youthful spirits, 
 every thing seems easy, every thing promises delight. That dim 
 blue outline which bounds the horizon does not seem to be a steep 
 and rocky mountain barrier ; those dark masses of rich foliage 
 look like shady retreats and pleasant forest glades, not deep and 
 
tnngled wildernesses; and that slender line of light glittering in 
 the sunbeams, surely it is not a broad and impetuous river. 
 
 Such are the illusions of youthful fancy confident in untried 
 powers, filled with vague visions of pleasure, fame and success, 
 and ignorant that such things as care and sorrow and disappoint- 
 ment have existence, Slowly but surely experience teaches a 
 different lesson. As the realities of life unfold themselves to our 
 view, many things that appeared beautiful, lose their charm ; 
 many things that appeared easy are found to be difficult ; many 
 things that appeared desirable are found to be worthless. Our 
 feelings, our tastes, our desires, our aspirations change. Obsta- 
 cles arise in our path, unforseen, difficult to overcome. Plans 
 prudently formed, hopes wisely indulged, are often disappointed. 
 Amid the stern contests and heated competition of the world, we 
 find that we are obliged to struggle with the passions and selfish- 
 ness of others, with sin and folly. In such contests, to few is it 
 given to say — " veni, vidi, vici." In all our efforts we are 
 opposed, sometimes by the pretensions of other men, often by the 
 indolence and weakness of our own nature. As the youthful 
 mind discovers and learns to appreciate the true and worthy 
 objects of desire, it finds also that they cannot be had for asking ; 
 that they are the results and the rewards of adequate exertion 
 alone. The traveller, on a broad and dusty road, sees around 
 him on every side fields waving with plenty, rich orchards and 
 stately mansions, the abodes of elegance and ease. But they are 
 not his. They are all appropriated ; fenced round by high walls, 
 still more strongly fenced by invisible barriers of selfishness, 
 cupidity and pride. He may not even set his foot upon them, 
 but must keep to the public high-way, rough and weary though it 
 be. To obtain one of those beautiful and green retreats, he must 
 pay its price. Thus it is with all that is truly valuable and 
 desirable in life ; knowledge, fame, wealth ; the respect and 
 regard of our fellow-men, the happiness of domestic life, the 
 peaceful serenity of virtue, the sweet recollection of well-spent 
 days and good deeds done, all these we see around us, possessed 
 and enjoyed by others. They also have their price. To admire 
 them and wish for them is one thing, to win them another. If we 
 
would have that which we esteem " the ornament of life," we must 
 " dare to be the same in our act and valor as we are in desire." 
 Persevering labor, -energetic action, self-control, prudence, just 
 and honorable conduct, will procure these blessings in a greater 
 or less degree for any man. Without these qualities, genius is 
 often a fatal gift which " leads to bewilder and dazzles to blind." 
 But guided, regulated, directed by their influence, its light is 
 pure and steady, brilliant and warm, an ornament and a blessing 
 to its possessor and to the w r orld. 
 
 From our daily observation and experience, as well as from the 
 history of those superior spirits who have from time to time risen 
 to command, to benefit, to instruct or to delight mankind, we may 
 learn this important lesson, obvious one would think, yet not 
 always fully appreciated ; that a man's success and happiness 
 depend not upon accident or external circumstance, but upon the 
 moral and intellectual qualities which he possesses and exerts. 
 These qualities produce their effects naturally, necessarily, and 
 with the uniformity and certainty of physical causes. Mind acts 
 upon mind with as much regularity as matter upon matter. We 
 are all spirits in communion with spirits and are governed by 
 spiritual things. Fear and wonder, admiration and reverence, 
 confidence and love, are excited in our breasts by the contemplation 
 of high endowments and noble virtues and glorious deeds, in spite 
 of ourselves. The emotions w r ith which we inspire others, next 
 to a self-approving conscience, are the best reward of exertion ; 
 those produced by mental superiority and moral excellence, spring 
 from a far higher and purer scource than the outward show of 
 respect paid by the crowd to rank and wealth and all the " leather 
 and prunella" by which vanity and folly seek in vain to conceal 
 their emptiness. Not by what a man possesses but by what he 
 is and does, is he really estimated by those w r hose good opinion 
 is of value, and what is of more importance, according to this 
 standard, does he in his own heart estimate himself. " Not what 
 I have, but w r hat I do, is my true kingdom," says a distinguished 
 writer. The knowledge gained by labor, the fame won by success, 
 the recollection of worthy deeds performed and the consciousness 
 of faculties strengthened and improved by cultivation, is a better 
 possession than houses and lands, and is one regarded with secret 
 
8 
 
 •envy and conscious degradation by the indolent and luxurious 
 lord of thousands. 
 
 You have, gentlemen, for a few years past, under the care and 
 guidance of experienced instructors, been engaged together in 
 the pursuit of a common object. The hour of parting has arrived 
 for many, and you are now to go forth into the world, alone and 
 dependant upon your own resources, each one to follow that 
 career to which choice or circumstances may call him. Whatever 
 path you may pursue, whatever ends you may desire to attain, 
 the studies which have employed you here will have a most 
 important influence upon your success. You should not consider 
 them ended, but endeavor to perfect in future years what has 
 been here commenced ; to erect a lofty and adorned superstructure 
 upon the foundations here laid. Knowledge is poAver, and every 
 day it is becoming more powerful. Infinite is the superiority of 
 the informed over the ignorant mind, and in the rivalships and 
 contests of ambition, the most successful and the most useful are 
 those who bring to their task, not merely the professional acquire- 
 ments which it demands, but the enlarged and liberal views, the 
 varied thought and illustration, the cultivated and accomplished 
 intellect, which are the results of general knowledge in literature 
 and science alone. 
 
 It would be saying little, however in favor of the advantages 
 of liberal education, to recommend it only as a means of success 
 to the ambitious, as an aid to the efforts of those who are strug- 
 gling for the common and worldly objects of desire. For these 
 it is not always necessary. Wealth, the attainment of which 
 absorbs the thoughts and stimulates the exertions of too many 
 minds worthy of better things, may be gained without it. 
 Industry, economy and practical business ability will gain it 
 for any one, — the most sordid and ignorant : and many a man 
 is " good on change" whose ideas are bounded by the tables 
 of interest, and to whom the accumulated wisdom of the world 
 is a sealed book. Neither, it appears, is the possession of 
 knowledge, elegant or profound, necessary for the attainment 
 of political place and power, however essential it may be to 
 political usefulness. Party management, servile flattery of the 
 
people, impudent pretension, reckless agitation, base fawning 
 on popular leaders, gain them often for the unworthy. By 
 such arts real merit is frequently overcome, and it sometimes 
 happens that extensive power is confided to those who, intent 
 only on their own ends, have neither virtue to desire the public 
 good, nor intellect and knowledge to conceive or to execute any 
 enlarged and liberal system of policy to promote it. 
 
 Knov/ledge has better and higher uses. It is valuable from its 
 own intrinsic excellence, and should be sought as an end as well 
 as a means. Its pursuit and possession are sources of the purest 
 enjoyment, and it enables man to accomplish the great duty of 
 all men, the duty of doing good. "Studies," says Lord Bacon, 
 " serve for delight, for ornament and for ability." The investi- 
 gation and perception of truth, the appreciation of the great works 
 of human genius, the contemplation of the events and characters 
 of the past, and communion with the gifted minds whose varied 
 thought has been preserved to us through the lapse of time, are 
 pleasures which can never be exhausted and which increase by 
 indulgence. Unlike the gratifications of sense or the excitements 
 of passion, they strengthen the intellect, refine and purify the 
 feelings, and are beyond the reach of evil fortune. The most 
 graceful ornament of prosperity, they are the best solace of ad- 
 versity, and whilst they elevate our minds to the conception and 
 desire of worthy ends, they give us also the power to achieve 
 them. 
 
 I cannot cite a better illustration of these truths, than the life 
 of the illustrious man whose works have been the delight and 
 ornament of the present age, and who has left the impress of his 
 genius so deeply stamped upon its mind and literature ; — I mean 
 Sir Walter Scott. He was an extraordinary example of the union 
 of high endowments with' noble virtues, and they were so happily 
 mingled and equally balanced in his character, that we scarcely 
 know which is most worthy our admiration, the wonderful intel- 
 lect whose rapid creations delighted and amazed the world, or the 
 manly generosity, pure integrity, kindly affection and warmth of 
 heart which shed so much lustre on his private life and diffused 
 so much happiness around his domestic circle. Throughout the 
 
10 
 
 whole of his career it is an instructive and satisfactory thing to 
 observe the intimate relation of cause and effect, between the va-« 
 rious and abounding prosperity and success which he enjoyed 
 and the great and good qualities which he possessed and actively 
 exerted. The choicest blessings of human life were his ; but 
 they were not "thrust upon him." He won them by strenuous 
 exertion ; he paid their price. His extended fame, the applause 
 and homage of the civilized world, he owed indeed to genius ; but 
 it was genius cultivated and exerted with persevering labor. His 
 wealth was the effect of industry and practical good sense ; the 
 respect and devoted affection of his friends, were the result of 
 estimable virtues and constant offices of kindness. All that he 
 possessed he achieved by energetic action. He belonged to the 
 doers not to the dreamers of this world, and when calamity over- 
 took him, — when the fortune which he had reared was swept 
 away and his hearth was made desolate by death, all the most 
 valuable results of a laborious life remained to him. His fame, 
 his knowledge, his works ; the noble consciousness of intellec- 
 tual superiority, the memory of days well spent, reverence and 
 regard from all men, "love, honor, obedience and troops of 
 friends," all these were beyond the reach of accident. Dark 
 clouds overshadowed the evening of his life, but the divine light 
 of genius and virtue suffused them with its radiance, and their 
 presence only added to the impressive beauty and grandeur of the 
 sunset. As few possess the genius of Scott, so few can aspire to 
 reach the lofty eminence to which it conducted him. But his 
 history, which we possess in such minute detail, is full of instruc- 
 tion and encouragement to the humblest. A brilliant existence 
 is the lot of few, but the practice of virtue, amiable and gracious 
 manners, strenuous exertion and diligent cultivation of the mind, 
 are within the power of all. They will produce for any one their 
 appropriate rewards; the respect and good will of society, the 
 regard and esteem of friends, and above all the conscious supe- 
 riority of intellectual power and moral worth. 
 
 On an occasion like this, however, with reflections on your 
 individual destinies and on the causes which may influence them 
 for your success and happiness, are mingled considerations of a 
 
11 
 
 more general nature. I am addressing a portion of the youthful 
 mind and energy of the country, about to go forth and exhibit itself 
 in action amid the interests and affairs of men ; to produce its 
 effects upon society ; to play a part among the various agents at 
 work in directing the course of our common country, for good or 
 for evil, towards the future. In looking forward to that future, if 
 there be much reason for hope there is also much reason for 
 anxiety, — and no one who properly appreciates the importance of 
 individual effort, can regard the entrance into active life of a body 
 of educated young men, Avith other than feelings of profound in- 
 terest. We live in peculiar times and in a peculiar country. The 
 characteristic of the age, more strikingly developed here than 
 
 elsewhere, is love of freedom ; freedom of thought and action a 
 
 noble passion, but liable to dangerous excesses. Hence have 
 arisen clashing opinions, unsettled principles, visionary theories, 
 and wild impulses leading often to irregular and tumultuous 
 movement. Every thing is examined, discussed, disputed; noth- 
 ing is considered established, nothing sacred from innovation, but 
 laws and constitutions and principles of government are altered in 
 accordance with the changes of popular opinion, sometimes of 
 popular caprice, and each one, unawed by authority and without 
 fixed belief or recognised guide, unrestrained by existing institu- 
 tions or by time-honored memories of the past, forms independently 
 his own standard of what is right and desirable, and attempts to 
 realize it in practice. In this way is produced that mighty and 
 overwhelming power, public opinion, the true " sceptred mon- 
 arch" of modern times. Constantly assuming new forms, ever 
 changing and producing changes, now smooth and calm as the 
 surface of a summer sea, now lashed by tempests into violence 
 and fury, the heaving thought and passion of the people bear 
 upon its surges towards the unknown future, the hopes and 
 happiness of the nation. In proportion as this great power is 
 informed by knowledge, guided by just principles and directed to 
 worthy ends, will be the prosperity and greatness of that future, 
 the success and permanence of the government. Great resources, 
 great works achieved by labor, will not secure the stability of free 
 institutions nor the continuance and increase of prosperous fortune. 
 
12 
 
 These depend on moral causes, and in order that they may be 
 put in operation, the true principles of political science, the real 
 sources of national happiness, must be understood and appreciated 
 by those who control the destinies of the country. Supreme 
 power, wielded by ignorance, is a dangerous thing, and produces 
 often, with the best intentions, the most disastrous results. The 
 evil consequences of error are without limit, and press directly 
 upon every source of happiness, whilst the importance of truth in 
 all things relating to social combination and action is incalculably 
 great. With its discovery and application, society has advanced 
 to its present state of security, comfort and refinement, and every 
 step in its progress has been the result of increasing knowledge 
 of the principles of moral science. 
 
 When we survey the complicated yet regular operations of 
 modern society, its diversified relations and various interests, all 
 combined into a system of harmony and order. When we behold 
 wealth accumulating, knowledge increasing, the arts advancing 
 towards unexpected improvements, and existence becoming every 
 day more elevated, more convenient and more refined, we are 
 naturally led to investigate the causes that have produced such 
 fortunate results, and to inquire into the best means of preserving 
 and multiplying the advantages we enjoy. These things have 
 not always existed ; in many countries they do not now exist. 
 Nothing can be more striking than the contrast between modern 
 civilization and ancient barbarism. It is the difference between 
 freedom, wealth and knowledge, and the general comfort, moral 
 dignity and intellectual superiority which accompany them, — and 
 oppression, poverty and ignorance with their attendant misery 
 and degradation. What has produced this difference? Why is 
 human existence a better thing in the nineteenth than it was in the 
 tenth or the fifteenth century ? Climate and soil and the faculties 
 and passions of mind and body have remained the same. Men 
 love and hate and seek wealth and power ; childhood is innocent 
 and joyous, youth ardent and impetuous, manhood scheming and 
 serious, now as then. Yet much is changed. We are better fed, 
 better clothed, and our houses are more warm and commodious. 
 Medical science has alleviated the sufferings of disease, and 
 
13 
 
 lengthened the duration of life. Improved machinery has made 
 existence luxurious and refined, and placed comfort, formerly the 
 possession of a few, within the reach of all. The same wonder- 
 working agent, by supplying the wants of the whole community 
 by the labor of a part of it, has relieved many from the necessity 
 of constant toil and afforded leisure for mental cultivation and the 
 accumulation of knowledge. The dignity and the delights of 
 intellectual exercise and improvement are now possessed and en- 
 joyed by large classes of society formerly degraded by ignorance 
 and vice. Men now think and speak and act according to the 
 dictates of reason and conscience, without fear of persecution, 
 religious or political ; — of the dungeon, the stake or the scaffold. 
 They are protected in person and property by established law, 
 and from the oppression of the law, by choosing their own legis- 
 lators. These blessings have been the gradual result of the 
 adoption of correct principles of government and legislation. 
 Freedom and security, by affording the widest scope and the 
 strongest inducements to exertion, have developed in all their 
 energy the powers of mind and produced the civilization and su- 
 perior happiness of modern times. Without the intelligence and 
 activity inspired by their influence, the mass would have still 
 remained degraded and oppressed, and society would have made 
 no progress. Had the principles of moral science as now de- 
 veloped, been understood in former ages, the history of the world 
 would not have been so dark a record of tyranny and persecution, 
 of war and violence, of misery and crime. Men do not seek 
 voluntarily their own wretchedness, and if they fail in the pursuit 
 of happiness, it is because they are ignorant of the means of at- 
 taining it. 
 
 If the advantages of truth and the evil consequences of error be 
 thus extensive and important, the diffusion of correct knowledge 
 and the application of sound principles are essential to the pros- 
 perity of our country and the security of its institutions. We 
 may boast of our vast and fertile territories, of our broad lakes and 
 rivers, of our untouched and inexhaustible resources ; these are 
 valueless without knowledge and energy to use them and to de- 
 velope their hidden treasures. Mind, not matter, is the source of 
 
14 
 
 national greatness ; it produces national wealth, and those moral 
 blessings which are superior to all wealth, — knowledge and vir- 
 tue, — peace, harmony and good will among men. Only under 
 the influence of wise institutions can the powers of mind rind 
 range and objects for exertion, can evil passions be softened and 
 restrained, and the purer and nobler impulses of our nature be 
 cherished and developed. To the knowledge and application, 
 more or less correct and extensive of political truth, is to be at- 
 tributed the greatness and glory of those ancient nations whose 
 names have come down to us covered with such imperishable 
 renown. Greece and Rome, from their barren and narrow terri- 
 tories, went forth to the conquest of vast and fertile regions. 
 Freedom and knowledge gave them the intellectual and moral 
 power which enabled the few to triumph over the many, and 
 made valor and skill victorious over numbers and ferocity. With 
 the causes which produced it, the empire of those haughty nations 
 has passed away; but the moral and intellectual dominion ac- 
 quired during the period of their greatness, has increased and will 
 continue to increase as long as virtue and wisdom and glorious 
 achievements and the productions of genius shall excite the sym- 
 pathy and admiration of men. In modern times what is it, but 
 British freedom and British law which has enabled the " pigmy 
 arm of England" to stretch its sceptre so widely over sea and 
 land ; which has made it not only the richest but the most en- 
 lightened and most moral nation in Europe, and given to its arts, 
 its arms, its policy and its literature so powerful and beneficial an 
 influence over the private happiness and public affairs of the 
 world. 
 
 We are descended from fathers " whose limbs were bred in 
 England" — and the principles of English liberty and English law 
 are the richest portion of our inheritance. These are the true 
 sources of American enterprize and industry, the real causes of 
 all that we have yet achieved. Too much importance is often 
 attached to visible and material things, and we are apt to forget 
 the superior power of the invisible and moral over the interests 
 and affairs of men. We see around us the activity and bustle of 
 prosperous business ; an increasing commerce, improving agri- 
 
15 
 
 culture, flourishing towns, rising cities, a contented and happy 
 population, and we talk much of our wide territories, our tempe- 
 rate climate, our fertile soil, our energy and enterprize as the 
 causes of it all. They are proximate not ultimate causes. Pillars s 
 not foundation-stones. These lie beneath the surface and are 
 invisible, yet sustain and give solidity and strength to the whole 
 structure. The true sources of all our greatness and all our hap- 
 piness are, the general principles upon which our government has 
 been formed and our laws enacted. In proportion to their truth 
 has been our prosperity, and if in place of the sound principles 
 which have sustained and guided us as yet, we should substitute 
 the erroneous doctrines of the past, we would go back also to the 
 barbarism and misery of the past of which they were the causes, 
 and the fair fabric of our happiness and glory would vanish like a 
 vision. Let us suppose the security of property destroyed. En- 
 terprize and industry deprived of their only inducement for 
 exertion, the certainty of being able fully to control and enjoy 
 their acquisions, would be speedily converted into apathy and 
 idleness ; capital would fly to safer regions for investment ; the 
 ships of commerce would rot in its ports ; the shuttle of the 
 weaver and the hammer of the mechanic would no longer be 
 heard ; towns and cities would dwindle and decay ; the wilder- 
 ness of the West, untouched by the plough, would remain a 
 wilderness for ever ; comfort, and convenience and refinement 
 would disappear from our homes, and men, caring only for present 
 enjoyment, toiling only to satisfy the wants of to-day, would soon 
 be reduced to the misery and degradation which are the conse- 
 quences of poverty, improvidence and sloth. Take away the 
 security of person, deliver men up to the control of arbitrary 
 power or to the assaults of violence and ferocity. Immediately 
 the weak would become the victims of the strong; brute force 
 would triumph over reason and knowledge and justice; all the 
 fierce and destructive passions would be roused up to fearful ac- 
 tion; the people would unite together in armed bands under 
 different leaders as they did in feudal times, to seek by mutual 
 support the protection government did not afford, and society 
 would become a scene of bloodshed and outrage. Destroy the 
 
16 
 
 liberty "of speech and the press, and prohibit the investigation and 
 circulation of truth on the subjects most important to human 
 happiness. The progress of knowledge and the dissemination of 
 it, would be checked; the public mind, deprived of the stimulus 
 of an interesting topic, would become listless and inactive for 
 want of exercise ; the pleasures of sense and the amusements of 
 frivolity would supply the excitement once afforded by higher 
 objects; ignorance and its natural companions, depravity and 
 vice, would overspread and corrupt all classes ; and instead of the 
 bold and animated discussion, the eager and active research, the 
 competition, the press, the rush of varied thought, which now in- 
 form and rouse the souls of men, no voice would come from the 
 blank and dreary waste of the public mind on the great topic of 
 human hopes and destinies, except perhaps at long intervals, that, 
 of some daring and enthusiastic spirit, worthy abetter fate, whose 
 love of truth, stronger than his fear of tyrants, might prompt him 
 to attempt to burst the thraldom by which he was surrounded; 
 like the eagle which, when deprived of its free soar through the 
 heavens, beats its wings and beak against its prison bars, utters 
 from time to time its scream of agony and impatience, and pines 
 away in the grief and exasperation of confinement. 
 
 Such effects have always been produced by such causes, as all 
 history informs us, and in countries too where Nature's bounties 
 have been most profusely lavished ; and such would be the con- 
 sequences of their operation here, notwithstanding all the advan- 
 tages of our situation. Freedom and security are the sources of 
 our prosperity, and they are results of the sound political princi- 
 ples upon which our institutions have been established; of con- 
 stitutional limitations to power, of popular representation, of an 
 independent judiciary, and of laws impartially administered and 
 rigidly enforced. 
 
 But laws and constitutions are the creatures of popular will, 
 and are liable to be altered, and in fact are constantly changing 
 with its fluctuations. That these changes may be for the better 
 and not for the worse, that the new truths developed by the in- 
 creasing experience, the varying circumstances and the multiply- 
 ing wants of society may be understood and applied, public 
 
17 
 
 opinion must be enlightened and the mass made to comprehend 
 the true causes of social happiness and improvement. 
 
 Popular education has been usually regarded as the principal 
 means for the accomplishment of this end, and most praise-worthy 
 efforts have been made by our own state to extend its blessings 
 as widely as possible. It is undoubtedly essential, but not alone 
 sufficient. It may prepare the ground, but other hands must sow 
 the seed of any really valuable harvest. The great majority of 
 men are engaged in the drudgery of daily labor or the absorbing 
 pursuits of business ; the necessities of their position do not afford 
 leisure for any thing like extensive study or research, whilst their 
 various and active employments, their participation in political 
 rights and duties, and the opportunities of gaining information 
 which all possess, enable them to profit by the intellectual labors 
 of others and open their minds to the impressions of truth and 
 reason. But these causes render them liable to be influenced 
 also by sophistry and error. The public mind possesses that 
 "little knowledge" which is "a dangerous thing," and is ever 
 liable to be led astray by specious arguments and plausible theories, 
 particularly when accompanied by artful flattery and skilful ap- 
 peals to passion. To penetrate the disguises of dazzling rhetoric, 
 to detect the unsoundness of ingenious reasoning, to perceive the 
 ultimate tendency of public measures and to merge all desire for 
 the success of a party, or the apparent interests of a class in a 
 patriotic wish for the permanent public good, requires a degree of 
 sagacity and moral elevation rarely possessed. It is not astonish- 
 ing, therefore, that the multitude are often deceived. The advo- 
 cates of error are always numerous, and they are stimulated to 
 activity by powerful inducements. Extravagant opinions, doc- 
 trines absurd and dangerous, and schemes subversive of all go- 
 vernment and order, are constantly proposed and pushed into 
 action with all the energy of fanatic enthusiasm or the corrupt 
 arts and reckless violence of sordid self-interest or dishonest 
 ambition. The ignorance and passions of the mass render them 
 always liable to be deluded and led into excess, and afford ample 
 field for the enterprizes of the designing. Demagogues and agi- 
 tators, obscure adventurers, too indolent for labor, too worthless 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 to inspire the confidence of good men, and eager to "catch the 
 nearest way" to fortune; outcasts from decent society, stung to 
 madness by deserved reproach and panting for revenge ; the 
 vulgar ambitious who mistake notoriety for fame, popularity for 
 honor, and being without the taste to appreciate or the ability to 
 obtain the respect of the virtuous and the educated, are willing to 
 acquire that importance which is conferred by the power to do 
 harm ; all such are ever industriously employed to diffuse error, 
 to flatter prejudices, to excite one portion of society against ano- 
 ther, and to rouse all the fierce passions which lead to anarchy 
 and civil broil, by which they can lose nothing and may gain 
 what to them seems much. Unhappily they are able to attract 
 adherents and to form parties. Many erroneous opinions are 
 abroad on subjects important to social happiness which produce 
 constantly inconvenience and disorder, and which, if suffered to 
 grow unchecked and to overspread society with their baneful in- 
 fluence, must lead to most calamitous results. Therefore it is 
 that thinking men watch the formation and course of public opi- 
 nion with profound interest, and view indications of popular error 
 and popular passion, with the anxiety and alarm which the ma- 
 riner feels when he sees dark clouds forming in the horizon and 
 the wind coming from the wrong quarter of the heavens ; tokens 
 of the approaching tempest which is to stir up the "wild and 
 wasteful ocean" to destructive fury. 
 
 The influence of error can only be counteracted by the superior 
 power of truth, to which the human mind naturally pays willing 
 homage and allegiance as soon as it is able to recognize her fea* 
 tures. Men do not adopt erroneous opinions because they believe 
 them to be erroneous, but because they believe them to be true; 
 they worship the idol because they deem it a divinity, Truth, 
 therefore, to produce its benefits must not be suffered to remain at 
 the bottom of a well. It must be explained, enforced, diffused 
 among the people. For what avails it that discoveries in science 
 are made, if the knowledge of them is confined to the learned and 
 studious ; if it is to be found only on the shelves of libraries, to 
 be gained only in the halls of colleges. During the darkest pe- 
 riods of human degradation and misery, knowledge existed. But 
 
19 
 
 it existed for the few, not for the many ; it "was enveloped in an 
 ■unknown tongue : it was shut up in monasteries and palaces. 
 The philosophv of Greece and Rome, the experience of the most 
 glorious and enlightened period of history, was the property of 
 priests and tyrants, and they guarded the treasure with jealous 
 care. They knew that it was the source of their power ; that if 
 diffused anions: the people it would make them powerful; that it 
 would break asunder the bonds of oppression and prostrate the 
 towering fabrics of tyrauny and superstition, erected through long 
 years of fraud and violence. They judged rightly, for such were 
 the results of its emancipation, and its blessings have gone on 
 increasing ever since. The freedom and civilization of the pre- 
 sent, are due not to the present but to the past. They are the 
 effects of thought disseminated, of moral causes put in operation 
 by the efforts of bold, enlightened and self-devoted men of for- 
 mer ages, who in defiance of danger and persecution, taught man- 
 kind their rights and duties, their true dignity and proper destiny, 
 and the real sources of public prosperity and private happiness. 
 
 With the diffusion of knowledge, civilization has advanced, and 
 the progress of society, by creating new wants and new relations, 
 has developed new truths and suggested new arrangements and 
 provisions in government and law. These have become the sub- 
 jects of scientific investigation. Facts have been observed and 
 classified, and general laws deduced according to the rules of an 
 enlightened philosophy. The means of producing freedom and 
 security by the structure and administration of government, of 
 increasing the powers of industry and of promoting the accumu- 
 lation and diffusion of the comforts and conveniences of life among 
 all classes, have been made the objects of research, not without 
 success. The results of these labors are the sciences of Politics 
 and Political Economy in their present state. Much remains to 
 be done before theoretical perfection can be attained, but much 
 more remains to be done before the truths already discovered can 
 produce the benefits which would flow from their adoption. The 
 knowledge exists, but in the minds of the few, not of the many. 
 It is powerless until disseminated. The principles already esta- 
 blished by the reasonings of ingenious men from the experience 
 
20 
 
 of the past, would prevent, if applied to practice, much evil now 
 endured, and produce much good, attainable, but lost, through 
 ignorance of their existence and value. Before these can influ- 
 ence public measures and social life, they must first be generally 
 understood and appreciated, and become the guides of public 
 opinion. For this purpose the fountains of public opinion must 
 be imbued with their spirit. They must be heard in legislative 
 halls and popular addresses ; the daily press must scatter them 
 through the land ; they must be discussed in the private conver- 
 sation and illustrated in the conduct and example of influential 
 men in every station of life. 
 
 This power of public opinion is a veiy great power in all 
 countries. Under every form of government it is tacitly referred 
 to and secretly respected and feared. Here its supremacy is 
 openly recognized ; it is the true sovereign, and governs directly 
 and immediately, with unquestioned authority, every public mea- 
 sure, and controls to a great extent also the habits and manners 
 of private life. Its sway is irresistible ; those who should attempt 
 to oppose would be crushed by its career. But if it cannot be 
 checked it may be guided, and from the constitution of human 
 nature it must and will always be guided by persons whose mind 
 and energy make them superior to the mass ; 
 
 " For those who think must govern those who toil." 
 
 According to the character of that guidance, will be the influence 
 of this great, power upon national prosperity and private happiness. 
 If directed by virtue and wisdom — -that enlarged and elevated 
 virtue and wisdom, which, disdaining party feeling and private 
 ends, seeks the attainment of the highest good for the whole 
 country and for all classes-^the sway of public opinion is liberty 
 in its true sense; it is the sway of knowledge and justice and 
 truth, to which men pay spontaneous and willing obedience. On 
 the other hand, the dominion of ignorance and selfishness, is 
 tyranny not less degrading and destructive because exercised 
 under the forms and with the apparatus of free institutions. In- 
 deed, the operation of abused and ill-directed power is often more 
 harrassing and oppressive when exerted by the many, than it is 
 when in the hands of an individual. The cruelties of the despot 
 
21 
 
 are confined, for the most part, to the narrow sphere which im- 
 mediately surrounds him, and there is always the hope left that 
 he may be succeeded by a ruler of a different temper. But from 
 the tyranny of public opinion, founded in error, impelled by pas- 
 sion and wielded by the selfish and the corrupt, there is no chance 
 of escape, no hope of release except through the dangers and 
 horrors of anarchy and revolution, to which its excesses naturally 
 tend. It directs the measures of government through all its rami- 
 fications ; domineers over thought and action ; pervades the whole 
 country and makes itself felt in every city and village and remote 
 neighborhood : it prevents the administration of law and obstructs 
 the course of justice; destroys the security of person and proper- 
 ty, and selects always for the objects of outrage and oppression, 
 that portion of the community whose morality, intelligence and 
 industry render them the friends of peace and good order and the 
 opponents of violence and misrule. 
 
 Such is the government of public opinion ; beneficial and safe, 
 fostering every virtue, stimulating every talent, and guarding from 
 assault all the sources of prosperity and happiness, when guided 
 by the desire of worthy ends and knowledge of the means of at- 
 taining them, but degrading and destructive when swayed by 
 ignorance and the impulses of popular passion. 
 
 You, gentlemen, are about to go forth, from this quiet retreat, 
 into the business and bustle of the world, to influence its affairs 
 and to play your part in the eternal contest of truth and error. 
 Your thought is to form a portion of public opinion, your action 
 is to assist in its expression and to add weight to its operation 
 upon the interests and destiny of the country. Whether your 
 station be public or private, you will possess the privileges and 
 be bound to the duties of an American citizen. From this there 
 is no escape, and your first effort should be to gain the knowledge 
 which will enable you to perform those duties with honor to 
 yourselves and advantage to society. For this purpose, it is not 
 sufficient that you become acquainted with the structure and pro- 
 visions of the political system under which you live. If you 
 wish to think and act understandingly, you must study those 
 branches of moral philosophy which teach the objects of social 
 
22 
 
 combination and the means by which they may be attained, and 
 which explain the general principles upon which all government 
 and society is founded. These inquiries, aided and illustrated by 
 the records of the past, will reveal to you the true sources of na- 
 tional prosperity and social happiness ; they will impress upon 
 your minds the inestimable importance of truth as the cause of 
 all the good that man has yet achieved ; they will show also the 
 infinite danger of error, as now and in all former time the fruitful 
 source of misery and disorder. Elevated by knowledge above 
 the stir and tumult of low passion, of petty interests, of transient 
 excitements and selfish contests, you will be able to fix your gaze 
 steadfastly on those great principles which affect permanently the 
 welfare of the state, and upon which the existence and progress 
 of society depend. Making them the guides of your opinions 
 and of your conduct, you will neither be deluded by sophistry, 
 nor hurried into excess by party spirit, nor sympathize with the 
 outbreaks of popular passion, nor become the adherents and slaves 
 of ambitious men. The application of these principles is as mi- 
 nute as it is extensive ; they shed light upon and govern the 
 decision of all questions of a public nature, whether great or 
 small ; their influence affects not only national prosperity but 
 private happiness ; their operation supports the fabric of society 
 and controls the interests not only of nations but individuals ; like 
 the force of gravity, whose pervading power wheels the planets 
 in their appointed rounds and regulates the system of the universe, 
 whilst it determines also the fall of a leaf and the position of a 
 pebble. 
 
 It may be the lot of many of you to reach those public stations 
 which confer political power. In this case, the importance of 
 correct knowledge in moral science will be increased in proportion 
 to the extent of your influence. It will lead your minds to desire, 
 and enable you to exercise that power which is alone the object 
 of virtuous ambition, and for the sake of which only, high place 
 and authority are desirable, the power of doing good. But, 
 thanks to the intelligence and freedom of thought and discussion 
 which modern civilization has produced, political power is no 
 longer essential to public usefulness, and from the most secluded 
 
23 
 
 and obscure retirement, knowledge and intellect may address and 
 convince the minds of men and thus influence public opinion. 
 "It is one mark," says Dr. Channing, "of the progress of so- 
 ciety, that it brings down the public man and raises the private 
 one. It throws power into the hands of untitled individuals and 
 spreads it through all orders of the community. It multiplies and 
 distributes freely means of extensive influence, and opens new 
 channels by which the gifted mind, in whatever rank or condition, 
 may communicate itself far and wide. Through the diffusion of 
 education and printing, a private man may now speak to multi- 
 tudes incomparably more numerous than ancient or modern elo- 
 quence ever electrified in the popular assembly or the hall of 
 legislation. By these instruments, truth is asserting her sovre- 
 ignty over nations without the help of rank, office or sword, and 
 her faithful ministers become more and more the law-givers of 
 the world." 
 
 The privilege of addressing the public mind is, however, open 
 to the ignorant and the designing, as well as to the informed and 
 disinterested lover of truth. The press may be made, and is 
 made, the vehicle of error and pernicious sentiment as well as of 
 sound principle. In the discussions of the legislature, in popular 
 addresses, in the journals of the day, and in the intercourse of 
 society, opinions are constantly advanced at variance with the 
 lessons of experience and the deductions of philosophy, which, if 
 adopted in practice, would be the sources of extensive evil. These 
 have their influence on public opinion, and that they may not 
 acquire dominion over it, they must be opposed by the diffusion 
 of correct knowledge. This can only be accomplished by indi- 
 vidual effort ; by the conversation, the writings, the conduct and 
 example of educated men scattered through the country ; connected 
 with the mass by the various interests and infinite relations of 
 society, and exercising that influence which knowledge and moral 
 superiority always confer. All the science, all the literature, all 
 the art which mankind at present possess, are the result of the 
 labors of individuals accumulated through successive ages, and 
 communicated from the past to the present. One gifted mind 
 may thus, by the discovery of important truth, extend and increase 
 
24 
 
 ils influence through all future time. Truth produces truth; 
 Thought propagates itself, and the sway of the great master who 
 began the series and gave it tone and direction, is thus confirmed 
 and strengthened by the lapse of years. Has time weakened the 
 dominion of Shakspeare over the minds and hearts of men? It 
 is increasing every day with increasing intelligence, and his genius 
 now exerts a greater influence than at any former period ovef the 
 thought and literature of the age. Has the power of Bacon ceased ? 
 Is not his empire extending every day ? Look round at the 
 triumphs of modern science ; at the magical results of mechanic 
 art. It clothes us, it feeds us, it shelters us ; — it diffuses knowledge 
 and enables mind to communicate with mind in past ages and in 
 distant places ; it facilitates intercourse and binds nations together 
 in the strong bands of mutual interest and support, and is the 
 great producer of comfort, convenience and refinement. These 
 and many other benefits have flowed from him who first taught 
 men how to reason. Who pointed to truth as the great object of 
 exertion and showed the path by which alone it can be reached ; 
 who discovered the sources of all art and science, and explained 
 the means by which they may be created and perfected* 
 
 To discover new truth requires intellectual power granted to 
 few, but all may acquire knowledge of truths already discovered, 
 may apply them to existing circumstances, may make them the 
 guides of his own conduct, and by assisting in their dissemination, 
 extend their influence over the conduct of others. All the impor- 
 tant improvements in moral science have in this way gradually 
 descended from the few to the many, arid produced the benefits 
 which have flowed from their application. Developed by the 
 laborious investigation and patient thought of the solitary student, 
 they are at first appreciated only by those qualified by superior 
 education to comprehend their value. By such they are explained 
 and illustrated, combined into new forms, applied to events as 
 they arise, made the foundations of argument and deduction, and 
 addressed to the public mind to convince and to persuade; Thus 
 It is that the profound abstractions and subtle reasoning of the 
 lofty philosopher who has soared into " regions calm, of pure 
 and serene air*" above the flight of common men, by the agency 
 
25 
 
 of humbler minds, are brought down to govern the interests and 
 affairs of life. Understood at first by the few, truth, by its rela- 
 tions with various topics, by its connection with different interests, 
 by being presented in manifold forms, and by the natural love and 
 reverence with which it is regarded when recognized by all men, 
 gradually pervades and vivifies the mass. Like some kinds of 
 manure, it has a tendency to descend, and carries its fertilizing 
 influence from the surface to the sub-soil of society. 
 
 As by the diffusion of knowledge, the freedom, security and 
 civilization which distinguish the present from the past, have 
 been obtained, so only by the same cause can they be sustained 
 and increased. The destinies of the country are in the hands of 
 the people. They model the government, and according to their 
 will it must always be administered. The wishes, the opinions, 
 the intellectual and moral standard of the majority will always be 
 represented and expressed by the characters of public men and 
 the nature of public measures, and the opinions which it may 
 form, will prevail, whether founded in truth or error. It is of 
 vast importance to the prosperity of the country and to the interests 
 of every individual in it, that they should be founded in truth ; to 
 insure which some effort must be made by the educated portion 
 of society, to explain it and spread a knowledge of it. The mass, 
 absorbed in the labor and business of life, have neither leisure nor 
 ability for the examination of difficult questions or for gathering 
 the materials of correct thought. They must take their opinions 
 from others whose knowledge and position enable them to go 
 through this process ; not blindly indeed, but with such sagacity 
 and independence of judgment as the intelligence of each enables 
 him to exercise. Books, for any extensive study, are sealed to 
 the multitude. But the daily press, the assemblies of the people, 
 the courts of justice, participation in public duties, the conversation 
 and discussion of social life, and the lesson taught by passing 
 events and growing experience, are avenues wide and ample, if 
 filled from pure fountains, through which correct principles may 
 be poured forth upon the public mind. 
 
 It is, therefore, both the duty and interest of every one, to whom 
 education and circumstances have given the power, to acquire 3 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 correct knowledge of the political and social principles which 
 maintain the freedom and security of government, and which tend 
 to promote the prosperity and happiness of the community in 
 which he lives ; and this, not only that he may exercise his own 
 rights with wisdom and good effect, but that he may, so far as his 
 influence extends, enlighten public opinion where it is in error, 
 and guide it towards the attainment of worthy objects by worthy 
 means ; that he may assist in the diffusion of knowledge and 
 virtue ; that he may promote not only the physical prosperity of 
 his country, but that moral and intellectual elevation which 
 constitutes true greatness, and without which wealth and luxury 
 serve only to degrade and corrupt. 
 
 This influence you will be able to exert. The studies you 
 have here pursued, have opened to you sources of knowledge from 
 which you may imbue your minds with those great principles of 
 truth and justice which sustain and guard all national prosperity 
 and social happiness. Study them with care and diligence. 
 From the pages of philosophy, from the history of the past, from 
 passing events at home and abroad, and from the mighty spectacle 
 of existing society, you will learn the nature and operation of 
 those causes which govern the destinies of men and nations. 
 
 To every one, according to his ability and position, is given a 
 certain sphere of influence and usefulness. Education and moral 
 excellence always produce their effects upon society, even by 
 their presence and example ; but these effects are often less than 
 they might be for want of active exertion. We are apt to be too 
 much absorbed in the pursuit of selfish objects, of wealth or of 
 power, for the sake of the private advantages which they confer. 
 Every man has duties to perform for that society to which he 
 owes all that renders life desirable. He ought not to be content 
 to receive benefits and render none in return, to pass his days in 
 indolent enjoyment or merely selfish activity. No one lives 
 worthily who lives for himself alone, and the respect and praise 
 of men are due to him only who employs his faculties for the 
 good of others. 
 
 To assist in elevating the moral and intellectual standard of the 
 people, in the dissemination of that knowledge which teaches the 
 
27 
 
 true interests of society and the best means of promoting them ; 
 to explain and enforce truth ; to detect and refute error ; to banish 
 prejudice ; to calm angry passions ; to diffuse a love of justice, 
 order and rational freedom, and to aid in the formation of a virtuous 
 public opinion, is a task worthy the highest powers and productive 
 of the most extensive usefulness. Mighty are the effects of 
 individual effort, and a cultivated mind, inspired by the love of 
 truth and a desire to do good, may by the diffusion of the know- 
 ledge which it has acquired or the conclusions which it has 
 deduced, control the order of great events ana extend its influence 
 far into the future. As the opinion of the present is the result of 
 the thought, in all its varied forms, of the past, so also the opi- 
 nion and consequently the destinies of the future, will be modified 
 and governed, by the scientific discoveries, the mental acquisitions, 
 the passions, the intelligence, the virtues and the vices of our own 
 day. Knowledge and an elevated morality are a better bequest 
 to posterity than commercial wealth. Destroy our ships and 
 cities, make desolate our fields and villages, and leave us freedom, 
 literature and the arts ; in a few years these potent agents would 
 again, as before, cause towns and cities to arise, spread rich har- 
 vests over plain and valley, and whiten every sea with the canvass 
 of enterprize and trade. But take from us the discoveries of 
 science and the accumulated thoughts of the gifted and the wise ; 
 take from us our love of liberty and of law, of justice and of or- 
 der, and increase our wealth a thousand-fold ; in a short time the 
 fabric of society would be broken up ; oppression and violence 
 and crime and degradation in every form would cover the land, 
 and even that wealth, so highly prized, would rapidly dwindle and 
 disappear. Such are the magical effects of thought and senti- 
 ment. They govern the conduct of men, and the conduct of men 
 produces all the good and all the evil in the world. 
 
 Whatever may hereafter be your pursuits, whether they lead 
 you to a public or a private station, the possession of liberal 
 knowledge will give you certain influence over the minds of 
 others, a certain power for good or for evil. The opportunities 
 for both are afforded to every man. Let no private advantage, no 
 selfish ambition tempt you to become the propagators or defenders 
 
 i 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 28 019 847 409 5 
 
 of error, but on all occasions give to the cause of truth, the aid of 
 earnest effort and virtuous example. Do not suppose that the 
 exertions of an individual can produce but slight effects. Society 
 is made up of individuals, and all that society has accomplished 
 is the result of their combined labor. You belong to the class of 
 educated men of the country, and as members of that body, must 
 assume your share of its duties and responsibilities. To you and 
 to them it belongs, to support sound principles, to diffuse useful 
 knowledge, to allay popular passions, to dissipate popular preju- 
 dices, to uphold the cause of peace and order and constitutional 
 liberty, to maintain the supremacy o/ law, and to enlighten, ele- 
 vate and guide public opinion— that great power which destroys? 
 or modifies laws and constitutions at its pleasure, and upon whose 
 decisions the future greatness and happiness of the country must 
 depend. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 019 847 409 5