The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-05-12

Sketch efDR. ER's Life
from =" Public Characters Of
l8O2-3," published at London.

Whilst Europe has been carrying on her
late war with an astonishing ingenuity in the
selection of It's means, the more attractive
arts OF peace have rot been stationary or tar
'dy in their progress. Though science ap-
pears 70 have contributed new methods to men
FOR the destruction OF each other; tho ezc,,
oftsesc methods not only appears, but may be
really considered 70 be (wIat the discovery of
Sun-powder has not becn) new force foreE
lending The range Of it's desolations already
ZOO wide; yet the means Of preserving life
from the blind agency OF inani,nate nature
have multiplied probably in a sill greater pro
portion. Ii on the one side we see the COM
mumcative Teiegraphe :; the Balloon watch
Ing the motion Of an opposing army the
chemist extracting his saltpetre from the rub
'tNsh and ruins OF buildings: we may observe
on the other side, the life-boat making its
way over stormy sea, TO save the ship
wrecked despa'ring seaman we perceive the
triumPhs oil vaccine inoc uTation over that dis
ease, which had so often triumDhcd be-
fore over the skill of man. While then
we dwell with delight on the schiev
inents of warriors and the discoveries Of
engineers, Iet us not be altogether lost
IL The admiration Of what they hav, accom-
p'ished: ietus not forget That one civic crown
a. least, is due to the merits sc Crca.l,e al 6,
Jenner; men, who will perhaps contribute
to snarch more victims from the ravaces OF
nature, than the former have given up to the
rage of war.
The life of Jenner, independent of the great
discovery whose origin and progress it re-
cords, cannot fail to present us with seve-
ri lessons which are highly instructive.
1t 'eacbes us that there is no mind, howe
yer deficient III scientific attainments, which
'>lay not give us little scrap cf physical
ls"ow:edss, which books, or wiser men, or
cur own observations may not have suggest
81. L; thus tends to introduce to The berter
acquaintance Of each other, two classes in
-vooietv, whom mn-ual prejudice has too wide
II separated : he farmers, tho artists, and ali
those practical men who have devoted their
AND the philosophers of the closet OF the la
boratorv, who have exerted all their genius
m he arranging Of theories and the making
OF experiments. Why may not the first OBJ
serve and communicate fac,s fer the eluc;-
daeion CT rhe last ; and why may they notrc-
turn the favour by explaining and directing
the operations of he others Had not jen-
ncr listened to the information of the milk
women CT Cloucestershire, the discovery of
Vaccination must have been reserved for
some more modest and persevcling philoso-
rhcr.--ln those questions, indeed, where
me discovery depends upon long series Of
feeding propositions, as in mathematics F.;
or n the analogy between numerous & COM
P'icaEcd phenomena, as IN epsics, the disco
Yer. may extend It's dimensions far beyond
the reach Of An ordinary mind Rut where
rhe knowledge IS confined to some simple
fact, which has no rigorous analogy to
1:cse already known, may it not be acquired
as certainly, though not as probably, BIZ
Tie Inost common as b. the most enl 'ghtened
man Who could infer from any principle of
ra'urc which lie already knew, that amber
when rubbed would attract ashes or thai
-loadatone would attract iron? Some for
tnnt'-e accident might have suggested
these and similar phenomena TO anv man,
who possessed the FIVE senses, and the 'sl;ch-.
est attention, however miserably stored his
mind might have been with tie treasures Of
Hncient learning or &C modern philosophy
and yet 20 these ard OTHER similar obsrryali-
rms, we owe perhaps all the curious and use
tui discoveries Of electricity and magnetism.
The torch Of science, w,.sh now beams with
such ehuigencc, and sheds so much kissrc I'M.
on the secret rsoesses Of nature, might thus
have been kindled by a little glinmerins-
spark. which accident had impaired to tie
most ordinary mind.
1tte0ctes us how failacions that opinion is
when carried to ITS fullest extent. which H.
inits the improvement Of the lower claeses
If the people to their mere necessaryavcca-
lions. For had some of the common r,eo,,lA
Of Gloucestershire, possessed a certain decree
of curiosity and discrimination, the vague
opinion would not sol long have prevailed
that 1t was preventive Of the small pox.r
Experiments might have been mult;rlied.
ADD the art Of Vaccination might have been
long since discovered. by this fortunate dis
eoyory, who can say how many Hgcs might
BOT have been protractcd, how much su6,s-
faeztiyDy to the Constitution might not have
hrrr, ..,rilrL nnL -. ------