New-York daily tribune., 1842-12-29
Prof. Pot,er,s Lecture.

Prof. Porter presented last evening, IN his
Lecture before the New-York Lyceum at the Ia
bernacle, q strong, manly and eloquent Essay upon
the character of WASHINGTON, as clear and lofty
exempli6cation of that Self-culture which 1t was
his chief aim to recommend and urge lie oiu
no. wish to hold up before those whom ne ad-
dressed fame or wealth, but WORTH, which must |
ou,last, as it is certain one day to outshlne, ali
worldly greatness or rencwn. For this purpose
he chose not to discuss its abstract nature or to re-
commend it by precept merely; but to employ that
philosophy which teaches by example Ihe-
mistocles could remain unmindtul of the Lessons
and maxims of his youth, and even his own amol-
ton failed to arouse hins; but, as ne himself mas
said, the fame of Mltiades after the battle OF
Marathon, fweuld not let him sleep. Upon the
same principle Prof. Porter wished to illustrate,
rather than reason upon the moral lesson he sought
| to enforce.
Men might differ, he said. in their estimate OF
the talents and the wisdom of Washington or the
soundness of his political faith but one ever
doubted his peerless worth: yet, peerless as il
was its whole secret lay in the single word, Self
Culture. Prof. Potter then traced the habits of
Washington through all his life, his early history,
and the successive steps by which he reached that
hight, Just on the verge of Heaven, which he would
now for ever hold, and pointed out the manner in
which sef-di.cipline, the complete control of all
his passions and the right direction of all his aims,
had been steadily and with energy pursued. lhs
he feared was view Of his character too generally
neglected we are in the habit of forgetting this
l.; cbo wits BaCOO5
biographer forgot that he was philosopher, ana
Marlborough's that he was General Loo often
we look upon Washington as having risen, Miner
va.like. all armed from his birth with the power
he afterwards displayed, or having been sent by
Providence to embody the spirit or meet the de-
nlands Of the Ago. Not thus, said he, does Pro-
violence form men for the time; and when men
are thus the creatures of the age, they either
mastered by it, the mere toys of caprice or un-
stable passion.
Washington's greatness, Prof. Potter main
tained, was achieved by his resolute determination
to discharge in the best manner possible all the
duties of life no matter how humble or lowly they
might appear. He as great on his farm at
Mount Vernon as nthe discharge ofhis Presidential
duties; and devoted himself to the planting of mis-
corn and the care of his hocks with ardent zeal
equal TO that with which he entered upon the affairs
Of state In this respect he was model for young
men of the present day; and from him they should
learn to believe that there is no department OF
ployment of more knowledge than 1t usually en-
ioys. The minute accuracy and unsurpassed in
dustrv with which Washington, even while presl-s
dent, inspected all the transactions OF his farnl, re-
o,,;ne weakly reports of its management and giv-
ing full and explicit directions himself, his careful
economy Joined to great benevolence and liberallty
on all proper occasions, the respect he paid to
wealth for It's uses and net for its mere possession,
the wakeful curiosity with which he always sought
information from every quarter to which his duties
called him, his constant readiness and self-posses'
sion on every occasion of his life, and the lofty,
though not submated, aims by which all his acts
and thought. were guided, insisted on by
Prof POTTER as having combined to make him
the foremost man of all the world
There was nothing, he said, in the life or charac-
ter Of Washington which should prevent any one
from aiming reach his hight of greatness and of
worth 1t was not in his circumstances, but in
|
one who would propose to his own soul the same
high standard at which he aimed and pursue it
with the same steady purpose and unainching in
dustry might reasonably hope to enjoy its honors
and its rewards
Prof Po1rER's style is very clear and strong
his words are chosen with reference strictly to
their meaning, and of this is sacrificed to
beauty or brilliancy Of expression. His sentences
are always well formed and fully rounded and
never weakened by redundant flowers. There is
nothing strikingly original profound in his vein
of thought but ne enforces old, practical truths
with great vigor and eloquence. His delivery is
clear, dignifed and chaste, marked by severe
and impressive simplicity, removed alike from the
tricks and the graces of elocution.
| The county Jail of Columbia county swith-
out tenant. The Republican says this is truly
triumph of the Temperance cause, and our wash
inetonians held q kind of Thanksgiving meeting
within the walls on Sunday last. Another result
of the unwearied labors Of the friends OF tempe
rance in this country-so we are informed-is
reduc,;on of s25OO from the annual county tax.
NJ Cincinnati paper states that the recent
horrible treatment of old lady there By her
children has been dramatised, and enacted at one
of the theatres in that city
r The stage from Montreal to Quebec on Fri |
dsv last broke through the ice in crossing the OF
iowa. Several passengers escaped with great diff |
6culty. and lost all their baggage.