Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1841-04-08
From the Agrica'turist'
MECHANICS.

Ifany class Of citizens can claim equall-
" with the yeumanry Of the country, the
cultivalors of The soil, it is the hard
and Industrious mechanics. LOng have
they bepu looked upon as interiors aud vas
saIs-cf whom !-ol't the vlrluous, good, and
the great No: but of the selt-wIiIed, The
naughty, The Irresponsible, The Spectators,
The shavers, lhe id!ers, The rebellous, The
swiudlers, the lovers OF pleasure more than
the lovers OF God, with which the land is
Infested. Among certain class, the name
oiamechanici is often viewed with EepTOach,
and i! is frequently the case that ii is con-
sidered disrepulabIe and coudescendins 10
walk the streets or be found III converse
with plain aud honest sllup-laborer. Are
they a mere dreg IN the community, and
not iii associates for the very cream of The
best society 1t has been said 10 days long
gone by, that
"An honest man is the noblest work Of God"
and this noble sentiment becomes rite aud
uu[ashiouuble in these days ot flmsy re-
tinemeut and high lille, upon the earnings
of,hose who would nol deign to violate lhe
solemn heheSt, that man should gam MS
living by The "sweat Of his brow!" From
the odum that is m0n, TO he cast, we are
constrained 10 ask, who are these "home-
spun" sturdy mechanics, That are not equal
10 natures noblemen They are the i'll
ventors aud makers of all the worlds usa-
bles. They are the individLa Is that make
our houses, our furniture, our fixtures. and.
our garments; are they not great indeed? ?
10 them we are indebted for every conve-
nieuce, and almost every luxury OF life;
and if farmers can, with proprely, be styl-
ed The backbone of society, mechanics
should at least, claim to be the pillars and
supports of the fabric.
10 appreciate his venerable profession,
i, must be considered that mechanics is ii
science which has claimed The attention ui
the intelligent of all stations aud nalions.-
The term IS from word i'll Greek, which
signitios machine, cuntrlvancc, and Is
the science which treats OF force and mo-
lion.-F0rces acting on bodies may either
produce resi- or motion. In the former
case they are treated under statistics, aud
in The latter under dynamIcs. The first
machine constructed, OF which we have
knowledge, was The universe, "whose max
er aud builder" is the Author oi all things.
In this graud machinery wisdom aud mi ght
are displayed, beyond HE comprehension
OF man. Worlds upon worlds have heen
put forth, all subject lu the same 9raviat-
lug power, thai holds each in lis place
Of, han,
we reflect that it was this Arch.meclanIsl
that stretches out the North over the
empty place, and hung The earth upon nU.
thing" that ii is lie who measured the
walters in tie hollow Uf his hand, aud
metcd out heaven with span, aid COM
pretended the dust OF the earth in Il urea-
sure, aud weighed llie muuulal 5 in scales,
aud the hills III balance" Tins is not
the only evidence oi an Illuslrious nIechan-
ic. Jesus Christ ni,IIselI was carpenter,
and the Apostle Paul tenI-lnaker. But
time would fail to speak of the honorable
mechanics of The world. The name oil
Franklin, If not the example, is deeply
craven upon the hearts, Of The American
people, aud The name of Judge Buel will
never be detaced from The memory Of The
patriotic and The guod, as was the man
who set his own type, aud worked his own
press, while he was accumuIa,iug tue rich
stores Of knowledge, with which the larn
ing community have been so richly blessed.
Thousands of examples are faithfully
recorded in lIIe worlds history ofmeu WHO
have distinguished themselves for their
knowledge aud usefulness that have guild
ed The plane, driven the shoe makers awl,
and indeed in following every working pur-
suit, by which man has been able lo pro-
cure an honest living. We hope to see The
time come when mechanics will he esteem
ed, by the most intelligent, as ranking high
amung the useful and respected citizens Of
The land. Let the young he educated and
trained for some mechanical avocatiUn, in,
stead Of the almost useless and empty pro-
fessions, and lheirstarion will suon become
enviable and respectable.