The Arkansas banner., 1844-03-27

genius of its sons, their achievements will be watched with distrust, and met with every species of discouragement. Zimmerman gives most deplorable picture of the de- graded intellectual condition of the German natlon,T in this very particular, in their servile homage to the French genius in the time of Voltaire-the French being the eourtly lan- guage. and French philosophy, (so called in the accursed scepticism 1t taught of all things noble, having fairly emasculoted the popular spirit, equally of its originality and its faith The wonderful birth and progress to excellence of native German genius, but few years afier the lament of Zimmerman, is equally astonishing and encouraging, as 1t shows this prostration of a nations mind 10 depend, not upon any thing radical or or ganie, and to be eradicable by certain con servative influences which are probably deep- ly seated in the genius of every nation.- Where this intellectual prostration is found, the motive to authorship is almost wholly wanting; and the superior genius, i'll obedi- ence to his intellectual tendency, in utter despair of his country, expatriates himself; and, i'll the eountenance afforded by other countries, quickly learns to forget, and even
 
 tory Is true of several Americans, whose pa
 triotism, under the existing circumstances, it would be difficult to reproaeh. Nor IS 1t the least evil of this condition of the national mind, that it will not examine the intellectual claims of its own citizens, and dare not award its judgment upon them. It IS not content with being passive merely: with the sycophancy which Is characteristic of such servility, it seeks to anticipate the foreign arbiter by judgments hostile to the preten- sons of its sons-taking for granted-wlth the usual littleness of sell-esteem that lacks all the other essentials of judgment,- an unfavorable decision IS a safe one--at least for itseli-and permits it the privilege of seeming to assert the position of the judge, when, really, 1t maintains only that of exc cutioner. American criticism has but too frequently exhibited this one characteristic of judgments only, in considering the claims and performances of American authorship.
 What followed from the first success of Mr. Cooper and the appreciation of his coun- hymeni We. say appreciation, for the fact is undeniable, that public opinion in America, did not wait in his case, as it had ever done before, for the award of British tribunals. The verdict was equally instantaneous and favorable; and the courage which dictated it was the result of that new spirit ot indepen- dence, which was the great fruit of the war of 1912. Of the long line of beautiful fc- tions, the work of his hand, which adorn the infant Literature of our country, it is not within our province to speak Our present objects will not admit of individual analysis, l d.,
 sential to our history. But the effect of his successes upon the native intellect, in stimu- lating its movements, giving courage to its 1 exertions, and converting 1t from concern of amateurship and dilettantism into an en- ployment and profession, was absolutely wonderful And here, by the way, it may be well to remark. that the Literature of people depends wholly upon the fact that it is made a profession. Nothing has ever come from amateur performances in letters or the arts. It must be daily work, an habitual labor, exercise leading to perfection, and the stimu- lous of daily necessities impelling to daily exercise If the reader would learn any thing on this head, let him look to the history of British Literature. He would see how little we owe to the Sackvilles, the Rochesters, the Carews, the Stockings, et Id omne genus the tribe of clever gentlemen about town,- and how much we owe to the day-laborers in letters-the constant workies-the Shak- speares, the Johnsons (Ben and Sam) the Popes, the Drydens-not forgetting that won drous galaxy of genius, which, in spite of degradation, poverty, public scorn and private misery, still fondly labored at the shrine of the British Dramatic Muse, leaving vast storehouse of material, wild song and won drous story, from which the more slenderly endowed moderns will long continue to re- plenish their exhausted censers. need not more especially designate the Beaumonts, the Fletchers, the Massingers, the Fords, the Dekkars, the Shirleys, the Rowleys, the Mid detons and hundreds more--the true deposit tories of English genius-springing up in | legions, as if, to use the humble figure em- ployed in a previous paragraph, they had been sown, broad cast, by the lavish hands of a Deity who never sows in vain! That, up to the period which we have designated as the commencement of American Literature, the writings of Americans were not, and could not, be held in estimation, was due simply to the fact that Literature among us had not arrived at the dignity of profession. The song was written by the gentleman in night-gown and slippers; the tale by one who apologized, usually, for this wandering into forbidden grounds-possibly alleging a vacant mind, or an erring mood, for the soli- tary trespass; and promising, if forgiven for this, never. in like manner, to offend again. It would be something wonderful, indeed, if the expectations of the reader, under such assurances, should be extravagant-still more wonderful if he should attach any importance to pursuit, which the amateur seemed, pri- ma facie, to regard as trihing, if notimproper. That this will be the natural condition of the popular thought, in country subject to new and trying necessities of the humblest kind, Is natural enough. That 1t should continue to be the popular thought, when the necessi- ties of life are overcome, when want Is driven from our doors, when plenty smiles upon the \ land. and other lands are drained for their
 luXurieS. would indicate most miSerahle iu-