The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-08-25
WHOLE NO. 692.

SITS oy The side OF the Ptoemys on the throne Of
Egypt; beholds Achilles in his wrath, and Troy
IN flames attends Eneas in his fight to Italy,
and with the twin brothers, lays the first stone
IN the walls OF imperial Rome il holds converse
with Socrates and Plato, and is familiar with
the academic groves and with the Philosophers !;
u Is IN the assembly Of the people with Demos
themes, or IN the Senate Chamber with Cicero I;
hstens to Pindaric strains, or hears the tunefu
Marc sing II follows the course of empires
ana OF states, marks alike the causes Of their
greatness and of their decay and DOWNFALL
Loaded with the riches of the past, il goes to
work for the present and future il conceives, il
plans, II executes; chains cannot restrain or dun
geons confne IL. How mysterious. and how
grand Its operations! And yet, if we are lost in
astonishment at the capacities of the mind of
man, how absolutely inexpressbe become our
thoughts, when we contemplate, as far as finite
capacities are permitted, the infnitude Of mind
possessed by the great Creator The human
mind is but spark struck out from the sun--a
mere emanation from the centre of all light and
yet repeat, how wonderful its conceptions, how
sublime It's operations!
Such, gentlemen, are the high gifts of body
and of mind which we have received at the
hands OF our Maker But the gifts are useless
II they be not cultivated and improved. From
the first. decree designed for mans happiness
mas gone forth as the accompaniment of these
high capacities. They must be brought into ac
uon by our own exertions--the gem lies buried
IN the caves of ocean, and it would lie there
forever, II efforts were not made to rescue il
from lis pearly bed You have been laboriously
engaged, during the collegiate course, now about
TO terminate, in this work of improvement. I'm
der the direction OF wise instructors and watch
guardians, you have unremittiDgly pursued your
studies, and many Of you on this day will re-
ceive the honors TO which your exertons will
have entitled you. The road over which you
have travelled was crowded with difficulties A
morass, apparently deep and impenetrable, often
intercepted your progress. With weary foot
steps you fingered upon its brink, in doubt whe-
ther TO attempt to pass it, The gloom was deep
and the pathway narrow; but truth stood on the
hrm land and beckoned you 10 follow. Again
your spirits rallIed-your purposes and resolu-
lions again became fixed, the morass was pene-
trated, It's difficulties were overcome, and you
stood once more on the firm land, prepared to
encounter future difficulties, and in like manner
TO overcome them. Such is the process by which
the human faculties develope themselves. They
slumber In our infancy, they wake up by slow
degrees as we advance in years. How pleasing
TO witness their development. The infant slum-
bers in its cradle almost without consciousness
OF being-its eyes open to the light, and mind
forthwith begins its work. Faculty after faculty
exhibits itself; for time the child delights itself
with the fairy forms around it; il is, in truth,
fairy world in which it has awoke. The bright
and fieeting things of earth attract it; its foot
print is seen amid the early dew, chasing the
butterfly, or il watches the flower as it opens,
and stretches out lis hands to gather it, The
spirit OF inquiry at length takes possession of
this beautiful boy; he begins to compare and ar
range; he is no longer satisfied with merely be-
holding the beauties of creation. He regards
them but as effects, springing from causes to
HIM unknown. He goes in pursuit Of causes a
change has come over his feelings and his ac-
tons; the bauble no longer delights thirst
after knowledge possesses him, and he turns
over the pages ofthe philosopher and flies TO the
shades OF the academic grove; he seeks to con-
verse with the learned and the wise, and TO hear
from their lips lessons of instruction He now
enters the temple in which nature performs her
mysterious rites he sees her at her laboratory,
and learns the processes which she there adopts
lie is votary OF science, and at her affairs he
worships. All his faculties are now awakened,
and his mind is stored with the rich treasures
of knowledge. A new theatre now awaits him
the groves Of the academy are to be quilted,
and ne enters upon the worlds busy stage. His
theories are now to be reduced TO practice, and
he has to read out of a new volume, in which
are written the resulta of the passions. He has
therefore studied their anatomy only they are
now TO be exhibited in connection with the daily
business of life He is now to see how the
peace and harmony Of society is broken by their
dreful conflict how completely one of the pas
sions often attalns tho mastery over the rest;
how ambition swallows up patriotism, or avarice
deadens with its touch all the more noble and
generous feelings; or how the most noble and
generous feelings may themselves degenerate
into vice. Generosity, prudence being de-
nj Il
prudence itself, liberality being silenced, term-
mates in poor and narrowless parsimony. Fear,
the distinctive principle by which danger is
avoided and human life preserved, attempts TO
usurp the mastery over courage, and in the strug-
gle the first degenerates into cowardice, and the
last into rashness, and so with all the rest. The
lessons of his youth will not now be lost upon
him. From his knowledge of the structure of
the human mind, he well understands that man
would have been importantly made up without
all the passons-that the absence of any one of
them would have left the work unfinished that,
consequently, to permit any one of them to SUM
Der, and much more, yield the mastery over all 10
one, is reproduce that very defective arrangement
which man as free agent may produce, but which
God never designed To preserve well their
balance, is TO approximate perfection. Where
this is done, each passion discharges its appro-
pirate function, and conduces TO state of bliss
Iul harmony. Reason sits on her throne in all
her supremacy, holding in subsection the COM
pick mechanism of man, with all its emotions,
passions and desires. No idols are erected by
The senses, or false gods set up TO be worship
ped. Absolute perfection, il is lamentably true,
S rarely, if ever reached As the hurricane or
earthquake dsturbs the quiet of the natural
world, so some unruly passion from time to time
bursts forth in its fury, dethroning reason, and
shaking most terribly the animal system. In
view of this, the ancient of other days hung his
lead in despair, and the lover Of his species had
almost ceased TO hope. Let the truth be con- |
essed: resting upon our own unaided resources, |
we are like mariners on the stormy deep, at the |
mercy Of the ftful winds and unsteady waves. |
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