The Columbia Democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1837-1850, 1837-10-07
THE AGRICUTTURAAIsT & THE
POLITICIAN
ny R. r. LIVINGSTON.

,
work, SO it is the parent ofscience, by uni
ting men ip civil society, who without its
aid would have continued to be wandering
savages, but little advanced in improvement
beyond the beasts of the forest, that afror-
ded them miserable and scanty subsis-
tence. 1t is for this reason that the mythol-
ogy of 1host nations have made their gol-
den age consist in the enjoyment of rural
happiness, and placed the inventors of agri- |
cultural Improvements among the number of
ther Gods: Thus Ceres, Pan, Pomona, &c.
were worshipped under different names by
all the civilized nations of the Pagan world.
And our own holy religion teaches us that
the cultivation of garden, and the enjoy
ment of its fruits and flowers, were the en-
| ployment and the reward of innocence
when man was most perfect. 1t is little
remarkable that innocence and reason still
concur in receiving pleasure from the same
object The first wish Of childhood is ri-
raj happiness; nor is that ever lost sight of,
except where some turbulent and resstess
passion depraves and hurries away thesoul.
In every period of life it animates virtuous
and ingenious minds. The idea of rural re-
treat in the evening of his days, accompa-
nies the mechanic to his shop, the merchant
to the exchange, the lawyer to the bar, the
physician to the sick bed, and the divine to-
the pulpit, who sees, even there, his earthly
paradise upon the confines of heaven, and
hardly wishes to enter the celestial mansions
by any other path How much then is it
to be lamented that Incidence or pursuits of
little moment, Withdraw the attention Of
men, whose lights, whose talents for obser-
v2lion, and whose fortunes enable them to
be useful, not only to the community of
which they are members, but to mankind at
large-not p. their contemporaries only,
but to future generations: One great cause
of tbs neglect of agriculture by tnen of the
character | have mentioned, is a'misplaced
ambition which generally seizes upon them
at the very period oflife at which they are
best fitted for agricultural pursuits. Youth
. has too many avocations and is too unstea-
dy to pursue the slow progress Of expert
ments, and the descreptitude of old age de-
prives it of the strength and activity neces-
sary in rural economy; it is the season OF
life in which we may enjoy the sedate plea
sures of the country, but not undergo its
tolls. The middle age, when the eh'erves-
cence of youth is over, when the body re-
tQins its strength, and the mind enjoys it
greatest vigor,. is the period best adapted to
the useful labors of agriculture; but unfor-
tunately this is the age Of ambition which
hurries us away from the peaceful path,
where every step is strewed with flowers,
to lose ourselves in the endless mazes of
politics. And yet irambition is the love Of
fame, how much are we deceived by pur-
suing il in this rough and thorny track!
The little politics ofour town; our county,
or even of our state, are mere matters of a
day; and however, important they may seem
| III our eyes, While VIC are Ourselves lle dC-
tors on this busy stage, they will appear to
others of too little moment to arrest their
attention. Our fathers were politicians,
their fathers were politicians, and vet we
hardly know the parts they Severaly acted,
or even the names or principles of the par
ties they opposed or supported. In like
manner the intriguing politicians, and the
wordy orators of the present day, will be
buried with their principles and their par
ties in eternal oblivion; when the man who
has introduced a new plant, or eradicated a
destructive weed, who has taught MS TO i'm
prove our domestic animals, or to guard a.
ganst the ravages insects, who has inven-
ted new implement of husbandry, or SIM
ply determined the angle the mould-board
should make with ploughshare, will be re-
membered with gratitude as the beuelactor
OF society