Woodville Republican. [volume] (Woodville, Miss.) 1833-1844, 1839-09-07
LRCTuRE.

Delivered before the "WOOdee Lyesam dissolution at
lis last meeting,, BY s. A. PHELPs, Principal Of the
Classical School, Weodville, and published by order
Of the Publishing COMMITTEES
| was once interested 10 reading an alIego-
nv by the poet PaInell, in which the Earth,
Care and Jove, were introduced, as quarrel
ling for the dominion Of man. The Earth
claimed il because he had been fashioned from
her; Jove, because he had formed the soul,
and Care, because she had united them.-
The matter being referred TO Time, he gave
this decision:
Since body from the parent Earth,
And Soul from Jcve received birth
Return they where they first began:
But since this union makes the man,
Till love and Earth shall part these two,
To Care, who joined them, man is due. "
This decision is confirmed by Jove in the
following words:
" Our umpire, Time, shall have his way,
With Care, | let the creature stay
Let business Pcx him, avarice blind
Let doubt and knowledge rack his mind
Let error act, opinion speak,
And want stflict and sickness break,
And anger burn, detection cLill,
And Joy distract, and sorrow kill
Till armed by Care, and taught te NOW,
Time draws the long destructive blow;
All osus are ready TO acknowledge the
truth of this in our own circumstances, we
are ready 10 grumble Of the weight that care
has laid upon our own shoulders, and ale will
ling to suppose that her iron sceptre presses
less heavily upon those OF our neghbors.-
But there is class Of persons whom We all
envy, ne If they were free from all the ellis
that flesh is heir TO-" and yet they are the We
~ footballs OF fortune, the very menials in
the work1house Of Care They are termed
men Of genius. There is beauty, power
q majesty il genius that interests all We
have all felt lie influence, when we have heard
the magic tones Of impassioned eloquence IL
the living speaker have seen the flashing
eye, the countenance, in which every feature
was eloquent, and every change sent thrill
10 the heaFt--or when we have taken the in
strucIive page, where thoughts glowing, fer
vid and heaven-born were embalmed-noI
dead and cold, but Rnimating and inspiring
causing the chords Of sympathy TO vibrate il
our bosOms, in unison with those that beat il
his who has long since nouldered in the 81
lent tomb.
Some Of us have been permitted 10 follow
the flashing torch Of genius along the path
of science. Others have seen her take he
stand by the temple Of justice, and cast Lh'
fullness Of her radiance upon those immutabi'
principles upon which the happiness Of com
nunity rests. And we have all been entran
ced by the strange music Of her angel voice
when Genius has snatched the harp of poesJ
and brealhed forth those living strains tina
seem like fairy whisperings, calling the sou
to more elevated world more etherea
home. The monuments she has erected ar
the beacon-toweTs OF histofy-"and but TO
whiChths past would be
A desert bare; irackess sea-"
A brilliant star has arisen from Time TO time
spreading q halo Of glory around it--and tho
ages have cast theil shades upon lie lustre
still its brightness is undimmed, its glory
untarnished, and we look back upon its hal
lowing influence and rejoice in its brightness
as q rcdeeming spot in the dark history Of thu
past. We are proud TO see the efforts Of hu
man genius stnmped, with faint impress o
immortality, lriumphing over the inf1uenc,
Of time and change.
But, 10 what does genius consist Not il
the vain vagaries Of eccentricity not in tn
foolish rawlings of an over-heated Imagination
not in the cold selfishness Of misanlhropy-
these ale the blelnishes that sometimes lar