Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1840-01-15

i
/ contentment and long life.
The ancient Romans venerated the plough
end at the earliest, purest time of the Repub
lie, the greatest praise which could be giyel
to an illustrious character was judicious ant
industrious husbandman.
From the ". Y sun.
= THE EXERCISE OF 'fHE NATURALABlL
TIES AND POWER or THE MIND.
i There are very few individuals comparative
ly speaking, whoever obtain a knowledge 0
their own capabilities. The desire of Willing
away the passing moments with the least ex
ertion possible, and the greatest case imagin
able, is seemingly so incoherent in human ma
ture, that ninety niue out of a hundred indi
viduals go out of the world for the most par
ignorant of the full range OF their faculties. As
far as animal enjoyment goes, man is essenti-
ally epicurean in his dispositions to seize the
enjoyment of the passing, is the guiding max
i'm of his life; and it is, generally speaking,
only by the occurrence of some compulsive
crisis that he is startled and awakened to the
knowledge and use of the abilities with which
nature has endowed him. To hear people talk
one would be led to conclude that the almigh-
ty is excessively partial in the distribution OF
mental gifts while instances are every day
occurring around us, which prove that the i'm
agined discrepancy rests almost entirely with
ourselves. How often have we smiled at such
and such an one being pointed out to us as a
remarkably clever man while we were aware
that had not circumstances favored him, he
would never have been in the slightest degree
distinguished above his fellow men.
1t is a melancholy truth that the motives
which stimulate most men to eXertIon, and lead
them to discovery of their own talents, are
either such as are condemned by the princi-
Piles of correct morals or originate In circum-
stances which they most unwilingly submit to-
Vanity, ambition, avarice, or necessity-all
these are powerful agents in the good work !;
but how few proceed upon the only truly CON-
-,,aorcablc iT,Io--tirv
them 10 make the fullest and best use of the
powers with which they are gifted How
few are they who voluntarily apply them
selves to the disciplining and improving of their
own minds, as if they imagined that the pro-
cess was one merely of trouble and inconve
nience, without any immediate equivalent be-
neft or pleasurable enjoyment to de derived
from it We know many men whose neces-
sary daily occupations require little or no men
tai exertlon, and do not engage more OF their
time than from nine o'clock in the morning till
four in the afternoon that is to say, seven
hours of twenty-four the other seventeen are
consumed in eating, drinking, sleeping, and
other desultory amusements. Yet these indi-
viduals regard themselves, and are indeed re-
garded by the world, as respectfully fulfilling
all the purposes of life They are moral in
their behaviour, punctual and attentive to busi-
ness, and maintain themselves in independence
IL.
to think there are some of them, who, if they
they would but dedicate one fifteenth part of
leisure time to study and self-improvement,
are qualified by natureto become the brightest
ornaments of society, and attain distinction in
any department of science, to which they
might direct their attention; but who will go
down to the grave quite undistinguished, and
ignorant in themselves of the fine gifts which
they have suffered to remain uncultivated and
unemployed 1t is not so much of the young
and thoughtless that we are speaking, as of
the great mass of individuals, who without the
necessity of laboring hard for their daily bread
dissipate their leisure time in the most frivo-
lous, and toe often the most pernicious amuse-
ments. ltis upon these we would wish TO
impress not only the usefulness, but the posi-
tive amount of pure, rational, and satisfactory
enjoyment they deny themselves, by suffering
their faculties to lie dormant. They neither
fulfil the intentions of their Creator nor do JUS
tice to themselves or their fellow creatures
and it is to be feared in ;his and in other res
poets, the sins of omission, so seldom and so
lightly thought of by mankind, would upon
strict investigation, be found even to outweigh
those of palpable and actual transgression.
What eeyaies and adorns State An in
ielligent and worthy people.
What is the highest praise and greatest ad-
vanlage Of neighborhood A well informed
industrious, and well behaved people.
What makes property desirable and valuable
in district The skill, diligence, know
ledge and morsIs of the people.
What makes men happy and useful Z The
cultivation of the mind, expandlns and lmprov-
ing it.
All this depends upon the education of
youth
party at Lynn, Mass. on thanksgiving day
amused themselves with The classic recreation