The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-09-12

ton IN one, and called it harmony. Thus by the
refined sympathy of the internal harmony with
the harmony of the external, did the musician
combine the multitudinous tones of creation, and
make strains of sweet melody, and by the admira-
BILE blending Of strain with strain do the enchsnt-
ing notes of harmony swell upon our ears. And
thus we behold the Genius of Music recreatng
that which seems in nature half complete. Indeed
it seems that this part of Gods work must have
been desgnedly left for the art of man to perfect
Should the divine art Of the minstrel cease
should his strains of melody and harmony no
more swell upon our ears-whdt Tydc,Ium wvui6
there be In the eDJoymcnIs OF man 'inere would
49, S~S yS.ss N Z ,l;;;,---. l., - 49,
would be one chord shattered in the harp of the
universe.
Music is so native to the human heart, that he
who is not alive to its pure and delicious strains
is denounced most unnatural being.
" Let such man be trusted, }"
exclaips the great bard of nature
"The who has music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord Of sweet sounds,
Is At for treasons stratsgems, and spoils"
Music is so refined and spiritual in its nature,
its votaries 50 unworldly and shut up within the
secret chambers of their own hearts, and the
pleasure il confers pure, so deep and elevating
that we are almost prompted to say Of 1t what
Schiller says of love-
Lebe macht den Himmel
Hmmlischer-die Erde
Zu dem Hmmereich.
Love makes heaven ACCOMPLISHMENTS earth
a heaven For Love is only the outpouring OF
sympathy warmed into quickened action by the
presence of that which, combining with 1t, pro-
! auces Aa9a:e1yf' aGa whe-r' Hsss-'t$ ~ss@0Ry
there is Music.
But Genius has given to harmony more last
ing measure than that which flows in the, accents
of music This sweet concord is transferred from
sound to language, and when it serves to clothe
the thoughts and emotions Of the heart, we call II
Poetry. And thus have the great an good Of all
ages made song the vehicle by which they transmit
ted their souls as were adowp the stream time,
and hold communion with other ages long after
their own spirits mounted the fiery chariot of the
skies But, strange inequality, the bards immor'
| tai have been very, reTy few. None save the u
pinely inspired have survived the shafts OF the
critic and the scythe of time.
The true poet is characterized by that love for
his race-that ardent sympathy for humanity,
which has ever been the parent Of noble senti-
ment-miugled with that intense love of the
Beautiful, and that passionate admiration Of the
Sublime, which have made him the worshipper Of
all that is perfect and given to his mind an ever
present ideal Of more exalted state Of being
Hence it is that Genius gives to the poet 80
wide field for the exercise Of his powers. Now,
he tunes his harp to the thrilling measures Of
Love- touches the delicate indwellings" of the
spiritual man, and calls up the refined sympathies
Of our natures, till he creates
"a sweet, expansive brotherhood of being;'
and now he bids the heart be strong in the integ-
rty of its Heaven-descended virtues; cheers it
on by the commingling of Faith and Hope in his
harmonious measures and amid our trials and
weaknesses, holds up before our minds
"The eternal images of Truth
And Beauty"
Anon, inspired by the divinity that stirs with
in" the Are Of his Genius bursts forth, and in
the sublime elevation of his soul he ascends the
rocks by the mountain cataract-treads the giddy
heights of the path among the clouds
"And with the thunder talks as friend to friend
And weaves his garland Of the lightnipg's wing"
nor yet faters in his daring as he courses along
the starry pathway, almost scaling the ramparts
of Heavens battlement-
"And seems at home,
| Where angels bashful look"
If the Genius of Poetry thus elevates the soul
of man, what shall we say Of it's twin-brother,
Eloquence2 That it is the acme Of human great
ness-the last step in the ACTIVITY to the temple
of Fame, where the victor grasps the unfading
| laurel and wreathes for himself the garland i'm
mortal. 1t gives to man among his fellows the
majesty of the lion among the beasts of the for
est. IL clothes him with the strong spirit of a
demi. god and he rules the mass Of mind as Eolus
is said to have controlled the prisoned winds. In
all ages, men have bowed before the power of Ell
oqence as to the voice of God, speaking from the
clouds of heaven.
But Genius confers no gifts on the unworthy.
The pathway to this distinguished eminence is
one of effort and arduous toll. The orator has
been a student of nature as well as of lore. Here
| lies the secret mystery Of his power. lie has
| looked into the depths of the human heart. He
has comprised and weighed the elements of mind
He is master of his own powers-his thoughts,
his emotioDs-so that they come to his aid and
vanish at his bidding; and 20 well is he skilled
in the use of that great lever-human sympathy-
he knows when to instruct and when to persuade,
how to call up an emotion, to move the passions,
and control the will. And thus he plays upon
the minds Of his hearers as the master performer
touches the keys of the harpschord
Such have been the triumphs Of Genius since
the rolling tide Of ages commenced its course. To
recount the struggles of its votares would burden
the pages of history They have been long and
wearisome, and naught save the fires OF its altar
could have nerved the hearts of its chosen ones
could infiict, and yet finch not from the purpose
to which they had welded their souls
Genius has found a new home, and there is
new era approaching. The free soil Of America
has opened new fountains for bleeding humanity.
Here may she expand in the smiles of Love and
the God-lke majesty Of Truth, and here shall
Genius build a habitaton, not amid the heroes
and Alexanders Of the past, but among the free
| thought and progressive enthusiasm Of the pres
ent Shall not the Genius Of America triumph
Yes, it shall come forth in its glory, and, long af
ter the surges Of time have swept the old nations
from the earth shall our htherland be the school
| of the arts and the museum Of the world
Let us, then, hasten the coming Of that tr-
| umphant day. Let that talent, now budding, ex-
| pand and bloom in the fertile fields of thought.
Let that light, just beginning to shine forth, in
crease in brllisncy, till 1t becomes as beacon
| FIRE on the shore Of time and then the Genius
which lies slumbering in obscurity around US
shall start up at the sound of our footsteps, and
seizipg the pencil and pen, and catching the fires
| Of poesy and eloquence, will call hi'her the de-
parted spirit Of Greece and Rome and the Genius
Of our own native land, blooming with the fresh
vigor of youth. shall commngle with the Genius
of Homer and Demost henes--of Cicero and Virgil.
For the National Era
TO WHAT DOES SLAVERY TEND