Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1839-03-21
THE MAN OF SPIRIT.


Lord Chesterfield says somewhere, that tc
!, speak and act with spirit, is to speak rudcly
and act iooishly: and his Lordship's defsiuor
is frequently right. M.he same time, spiri
may BE- and certainly is, often applied to tina,
line o! coGdlct and sentiment that deserves
it, A person ofyirtue, dignity and prudence. is
with much propriety, denomnated "a man of
splrti' but, by the abuse complain of, sman OF
spirit Is, for the most part, very differently
applied
III Inc various departments of business, the
term SPTtt, is frequently applied to Improbable
projects, ana visionary speculations Let a
man be bold enough to risk his own fortune. and
the fortunes of other people, upon schemes
brilliant but mprobable; let him 20 on. san
Sulne amidst repeated losses, and dreaming of
wealth I'LL he wakes in bankruptcy and it is ten
to one, that after he fails, the world will Give n
sort oil fame to his folly, and hold him up to
future trust and patronage, under the title of an
unfortunate man Of spirit.
But these are not the most glaring instances
OF the monstrous perverslon Of this character;
the airy adventurer, or the magnificent, but
ruined protector, may both be men orSpirit, tho
1t Is not spirit, but want of Judgment, and Wis.
ionary impetuosity, that have procured them
the character. They may, however, profess
that dignity and independence ofmind in which
alone true spirit consists, and may have been
ruined by whim and want of foresight not want
OF spirit. But there is one set of men on whom
the anpelation is bestowed, whose conduct for
the most part, is in every article, the reverse off
dignity, or spirit, and perfectly inconsistent
with it.
Inc men iAwan are those, who by a train off
inlemperance and proluson, run out their for.
tunes, and reduce themselves TO miscrv.-Such
men are common, and will be so, while vice. fol-
~, and want of foresight prevail among man.
Kind They have been frequently ridiculed
ana exposed by the ablest pens; and il is not the
itsefthat falls under my observation
II is the unaccountable absurdity of bestowinnl
upon such characters the appellation of .men Of
p1rA;' which they uniformly acquire, whether
he fortune they have squandered is new, or
iaS oeeh handed down TO them through long
lie oil ancestors.
The mlsapplication Of the term is so com.
'letely ridiculous, as to be beneath contemnf
we're 1t not Tor the mischiefthat lam convinceJl?
as been occasioned by it. Youths entering q
IL inc Stage Ollie are caught with the engaging
PPellatlon, "a man Of spirit they become am. c
ltlous OF acquiring that epithet; and perceiv- u
lg 1t to be most generally bestowed on such
zen as have described, they look up to them
patterns OF life and manners, and begin 10 Iw
pc Them at an age which thinks only of enov- b.
ent' ana despises consequences; nav, if thew =
lould look forward, and view the imam of sp;r-
). reduced by his own profusion, to the most =
,lect state OF scrvle dependence, it does moi,
END the matter. In the voice orthe world he >
man Of spirit still. 1t is said, that the on. :
=, eagagng manners of Captain MacbeaibI =
we induced many young men TO no ~, w. u
- of :n. am convinced the chesa cter Of :,
~ o. no Sp1r" tempts many young men to enter W
:. S curse Of iG,emperance and prodipaIitv.
- INST frequently ends in desperate circum. i"
,inces, and broken constitution,
ms peryersion is the more provoking ,b,,
a'l human characters, the Incorporate prod.
iS' IN every feature, and every stare. the
Isl dlametrically opposite TO q man of snri,
ne SP'ru is founded on love and desire al
ePendence, and the two are SO blended tooeth.
mat It is impossible, even in idea. 70 Sern
them. But the Incorporate prodiooI :
'nTS' dependent OF all human beings. He
enuS on others Tor amusement and componv
however fashionable he may be in tho he'
nihg, his decline in the article orcon,nan
: IS certain and rapid In the course Of Lis
'usion' he becomes dependent on others Cor
means OF supporting it; and when his roca
'rodlgality is run, he suffers misorahIo
'ndence for the support even of thai wrn,oh n,
10y, ~ 70 winch i has reduced him. After all. II
", calls MN man Of spirit, when he is IA
" In state Of serviIe indigencn WIZ " 90 %:
en constitution, without spirit, and without Con
power of excrting it. '''''' N.Y. Ny
y : - II only The Affirmative use Of the term won
! nave; nave 10 complain Of its perversion The Mar
INJUSTICE takes place when it is appliedin ed i
'a CalIingan Incorporate and ruin Ear.
oclgaI man Of spirit, may proceed some. -
from pity; but when you hear man off
'u"ohand virtue, especially if he happcngI NJ