Democratic banner., 1848-02-07
KNOW THYS,ELF.
Chic was a hard taskmaster. Not

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imperfect apotheghm, for sententious in its
form and hallowed by tradition it comes
down to us in its full strength of condensa-
ton, witIout.o our being able either TO an
alyzc or swallow it. "Know thyself'' reads
the elementary cleaner from "Webster's
Elementary" reads it, and rc-reads it, but
never employs one thought on its meaning;
had Ciiilo spent but a portion Of his time,
i'll shelving how We might know ourselves,
his maxim might have made men better if
apt wiser. Self knowledge is and mustb
obtained by individual exertion. Circum-
stances, self interest; the desire to excel,
and other causes, may, and will urge the
aspirant for fame to extraordinary exer-
tons, these would have been materially aid.
ed in their desires had he explained the
m0dns CperGM # knowing themselves
We dare scar 8 trust oursclf to think Of
the consequel
What a cha would have been made
by a mere explanation of the mode of know
ing oneself. The medical man might be
mending boots, the boot-lnaker m~ending
bodies. Know thyself, is the last lesson
learned in the great school of life. From
infancy, through youth, and up to manhood,
what dreams of felicity float in the magma
ton; what dreams of success build their
fair fabric on their frail foundations, until
experience stamps upon the fairy ediice
with her iron heel and brushes the phantom
hopes that rose but to b~eguile. Self knowl-
edge is the last lesson of experience, and
Poignant is the bitterness with which she
forces down her pill, ungilded, till the nau,
sea Of safety, or the nausea of knowledge,
teaches that "Truth is strange, stranger
f~etion." From our first impressions
in life, we take our bias, and from the adu-
of relations, the sycophancy Of
and the Unborn pride Of self, ever
ready TO second every attempt 10 subvert
truth, what opportunities are there for
those even of more advanced age, TO dis
cover what they are, ere they be hurried
off the stage of action.
Who are there so amiaLie as our dsueh-
who so intelligent as Our sons? The
feels IL. Is it matter Of surprise
then that the mother and children know
that few men have been blessed with such
a family. The boys, with abilities barely
sufficient to learn, are lauded &c excess;
those of genius, it may be decried. Men
tai incidence, the cdnker Of the mind, is
not o~ftener induced By oppression than by
this excessive laudation. We are praised,
or oppressed beyond measure; We try our
strength in some effort and fail, either be-
cause We are dispirited, or fancy the toll
too much for a genius. We look at the eff
forts Of others, and imagine that the piece
was an instantaneous production, overlook
the fact, that the article was fabricated,
and woof," thread after thre ad until
the whole was completed.
Know myself says Chic; know tlIyself
the teachers of the present day; with
out other direction than the indiscriminate
ard undiscriminating praise or blame al
ready alluded to. Wisdom cries aloud
all her works; but few see, fewer
hear, and still fewer heed, her admoni;ions.
THAT Phihsophy that arrives at conclusions
warranted from the strict Investigations of
severe system of scientific induction,
but few disciples. The "Royal road''
to learning is tile road most coveted by our,
republicans. Doctors, Of a day,
discourse d lyon Anatomy; a month suf-
fees to bee 'learned in the law;'' politi-
cal knowl, is the offspring of genius;
and divinity finds its votaries and priests
perfected by an internal call, whose out
ward Visible sign speaks of no hidden
beneath.
How many "nigh cuts'' does the ingenui-
ty OF the present day take to make a dis
Substance forms no part of its cal
culation. Big words, the true Johnsonian
indicator Of genius, has succumbed TO the
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