The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-12-01
ON THE AMERICAN GENIUS.
PART I'd.

iogics which inbNit between the phy6cai and
moral world, there is nothing more awful or af-
fetting, than the contemplation of thofe vicilli-
tudcs which agitate the deitiny of man. In eve
ry animated Object which ltrikes our ienfes, we
uniformly behold, and as uniformly expect, the
fealons Of infancy, adoleiccnce, maturity, decay
and dihoution. This great aud Fundamental
law, ieems indeed 20 be the inherent and necei-
fairy condition of our exiteucc. Nor il we re-
view the progrets of moral and political events,
and reflect on the lot of Gates and empires, fhal
We be difpoied 70 afcribe TO them greater de-
gree OF liability than is found in the ever-cbang-
ing tcenes OF the material world. Amidft the
Infinite multitude OF political focieties, which
have exiited hoce the creation, how many are
now buried in oblivion How many are now in
iiitinStly feen thro' the twilight Of antiquity
How many have rifen and bluttered little
while on the tragic ftage, and at length have
funk into the general tomb IN looking back
on thefe events thro' the medium Of hiitory, we
are enabled to sratp at once the whole life of
nation; we are prefent at its birth we follow
1t in the painful ftruggies of its infancy; we be-
hold 1t in all the pride, itrength and glory of
manhood; and finally, we witnefs its old age,
its imbeciitv, and its death.
The life of a nation is marked by the fame
gradatlons, which take place in the exilence OF
every individual. There is difind and ap-
propriate character belonging TO every different
teafon, which it is not poiible to transfer to
period more or le!s advanced. No man who
haseVen moderate portion of reaion, can ex-
pea to find the wifdom of advanced years, in
tie tender mind of an infant and If would be
equally ahfhrd to look for extenfive improve
ncnt IN fate of tociety, which has not yet
reached that maturity, in which fuch improve
ment ought TO be expected. We may, with
propriety, perionify nation we may afcribe
70 an a nd
an identity of exifence, which follows it thro'
hte, atho' the parts of which it is competed,
are IN continual fate of huttuaton. 1t ALTO
poiieiies general ,nind, which moves on its
courfe, in ratio different from that of the minds
OF lone the individuals which compete it. It
may happen, for example, that fome one man
may ariie, whole divine intellect penetrates
much farther into the arcana of nature and fci-
ence, than his contemporaries. AT frlt fight we
'ii5uid DC difpoied ia imagine, that 10 luminous
mind would diffufe its light throughout the
wnoie iphere OF the fociety in which it moves,
and elevate the general fate ofintegence to its
own grade. And yet experience irrefiftiby
proves, that the influence Of fIch 4 mind would
not be 10 itrong or immediate, AS we might the
CRITICALLY tnppofe. IT would indeed contribute
10 accelerate IN fome Teafure the current of
public opinion but it could by no means i'm
part rs whole force and momentum, to the un
"Icldy and fluggilh MATS. The truth is, that
che affairs OF men are defined to purii1e 4
now and gradual progrefion, without any fud-
den ftarts, or iniurrnountable checks, from pro
pitious or untoward caufes. cannot here for
bear an incidental remark, which feems to fpripe
from thefe facts. Thofe philosophers, who cal.
criate upon iudden and instantaneous refor-
NATION OF the world; thofe who have entitled
tnem1eiVes under the banners Of violent innova-
uon thote moral mechanics, who are for tax
ing to pieces the whole machine of focetv. and
contributing it again upon new principles =
theie men form as falfe an climate of the nature
OF man, as they erroneoufly calculate the extent
oftheIr own powers Bat let us return to the
immediate futjc6t OF this enquiry.
There is one important difference between
t'c individual man and Inc focicty of which ne
- member. Indiydu5's pats through all the
tages OF their being, by certain fixed and rcpu-
lar laws, which admit of little variation The
ages OF infancy of childhood, of puberty, of de-
crepitude, are defined with comfortable accur7-
ccy, and take place in all men nearly about the
lame time offe. The period at which the IA
culties begin to unfold, and at which they III
pen, are alto well afcertained. If therefore any
man appears to have made an earlier advance
than ufual, we pronounce him to be 4 PRODIGY
o. genius if his progrefs is more tardv than
that OF his fellow creatures, we affirm with the
tame certainty, that he is below the ordinary
ttandard of his fpecies.
But nations, altbo' their progrefs is ALTO 90
yerned by laws, are not 70 uniform as TO the
TINE when they attain the different ftaCcs of their
eXiItence. There IRE multitude of contingent
cleS which will always control the progrefs OF
national improvement. Thefe contingencies
are often too far removed from the human eve.
10 admit OF any precife Ultimate of their force
or probable Influence on the fate ofa country.
It IS however obvious to the mott curfory o6-
ierver, that thefe general canles mutt produce
an important effect, altho' its exad extent cam
not be calculated. May not the character of
people, and confequently its intellectual pro.
greis, be materially affected by the nature the
ION, the temperature ofthe climate, the extent
OF the country, the character of the ncighbour
ing nations, its tendency TO commerce, TO agri-
culture, OF TO hunting, &c. &C.? Thefe are the
dIctates Of common fentc, corroborated by the
teitimony OF hiitOry. II will not therefore be
Always Jun conclu(ion, from any apparent in
e1H7Ty between two nations, that the one rnuh
BE- originally inferior in capacity to the other.
Such an inference would be as deftitute of VIII
dom, as 1t is Of philanthropy. Let us rather en-
q'ire what are the moral caufes which may
haze he'd their malign Influence on the eis for
tunate country or, if we are bafIled in this re-
isa'ch, By the imperyious gloom which enve
lopes The efficient and primitive fprings of nil
boman events, let us not make our own iguo.
rance the bdiis of an arrogant theory, which is
70 dlstnncbiie fome Of the children Of nlture,
OF their inherent and imprefcnptible rights.