Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1823-12-02

and bequcathed it. dying, to posterI
ty! Vain hope, perhaps: but the
hope itself was fruilion--calm, Sc
rene, blissful, uneartI'Iy! Modern
literature. ON. the contrary, is gay
,coauette. fiuttcriug, tickle, vain fol
lowed by train of flatterers; be-
sieged by a crowd of pretenders;
|co0rted. she courts again; receives
delicious praise, and. dispenses It's.
impatient for applause; pants for the
breath Of popularity; renounces e..
ternal fame for q newspaper pun;
trifles with all sorts Of arts and SCI
ences: coquettes with fifty accom-
pIishments mile ornatus babel, mile
decenter; is the subject of polite con-
versation; the darling ofprivate par
ties: the go.between in politics }; the
directress Of fashion; the polisher OF
manners and, like her winged pro-
totopc in Spencer,
.Now this, nop that, she tasteh tenderiy,
glitters, buzzes, spawas, dies-and is
forgotten! But this variety and SUI
perficiaI polish show the extent and
height to which knowledge has been
accumulated, and the general inte-
rest taken in letters.
To dig to the bottom of subject
through so many generations of au.
thors. is now impossible: the con-
crete mass is too voluminous and vast
to be contained in any single head !;
and therefore we must have essences
and samples as substitutes for it,
We have collected superabundance
| IF raw materials: the grand deSidc-
lratum now is to fashion aud render
them portable.-Knowledge is no
longer confined to the few: the OBJ
iect. therefore, is, to make it aceessi>
bic and attractive to the many. The
.fomachism of literature is at an end
the cells OF learning are thrown open,
ahd let in the light of universal day.
We can no longer be charts OF know
ledge, asceicks in pretensien. We
must yield to the spirit of change,
whether for the better or worse.
and to beguiie the time, look like
the time.' A modern author may
without much imputation of his wis
DOM declare for a shert life, and a
merry one. He may be little gay,
thougbtless and dissipated. Litera-
| ~ Immortality is now let on short
leases, and he must be contented to
succeed by rotation. A scholar of
the olden time had resources, had
consultations to support him under
many privations and disadvantages.
A light (that light which penetrates
the most clouded skies) cheered him
in his lonely cell, in the most obscure
| retirement and. with the eye OF
iaiIu, liz sIIUulu o1U tiro ,.,,a""-s~ &c
| his garb exchanged for the wings of
the Shining Ones. and the wedding
garment Of the Spouse. Again he
lived only in The contemplation Of old
books aud old events; and the re.
mote and future became habitnally
present to his Imagination, like the
past. lie was removed from low.
petty vanity, by the nature of his
studies, and could wait patiently for
| his reward till after death. We ex-
ist in the hustle If the world, and
cannot escape from the notice of our
contemporaries. We must please to
live, and therefore should live to
please. We mast look to the public
for support. Instead of solemn tes-
timonies from the learned, we re-
quire the smiles of the fair and the po-
lite. If Princes scowl upon us, the
broad shining face of the people may
turn to us with favorable aspect
Is not this life (too) SWEET Wonld
We change it for the former, il We
coulds But the great point is, that
Ue cannot! Therefore. let reviews
fluurish---iet Magazines increase and
multiply let the Daily and Weekly
Newspapers live for ever! We are
optimists in literature, aud hold, with
certain limitations, that, in this res
pect, whatever is, is right!