Southern shield., 1850-01-05

r Ill up llIG 5 lllu6 span
 With God-like deeds-it is the test
 Test of the high-born soul,
 And lofty aim,
 The test in history's scroll
 Of every honored name
 None but tle brave shall win the goal!'
 LABOR is of two kinds-physical and mental; both of which must be combined to produce useful results. Physical labor alone is more generally dangerous and destructive than valuable. It is more like the rushing of a frightened horse, than like power di- rected by judgment. Indeed, the lowest grade of labor, as of the horse or OK, must be directed by mind of higher order than their own; and the more intelligent the ami nal, the more valuable for the purposes ot labor. So of men: the higher the quality and amount of mentality employed to direct force, the more valuable becomes the labor and the more ennobling the effort
 Nearly every laborious effort of animals is one of mere force, or main strength, with. out the slightest use of mechanical advan. tage. Man, on the contrary, multiplies his power thousand fold, by levers, puleys screws, wedges, or inclined planes, besides adding the chemical agents, wind, electrici ty, etc. In proportion as man employs contrivances and the intellectual adaptation of means to ends, on the principles oi causaton and mechanical advantage, he is elevated in his productions above those oi mere unaided brute force, and in the same l ratio do we honor his achievements. Why should the architects of St. Peters at Rome lighthouses on sunken rocks, bridges, ships and works of classical beauty and utility be more honored than the mere bod carrier except for mental taste and talent necessary to invent and design the structure, and power to direct the requisite force for its completion? It is precisely so with the ac- complished master of a vessel, military commander, overseer of manufacturing es- tabishmentS, and the director and head of any large enterprise.
 in estimating the honor or credibility of an employment, several questions are ne- cessarIy involved. In the first place, the labor designed and executed should be ne- cessary and beneficial, in order to entitle the producer 10 respect. Theinventor and artifcer of gambling apparatus is equally as reprehensible as those who waste their time, talents, and energyin their use. Those who elaborate bowie-knives and duelinc pistols, as well as those who manufacture alcohol, with the intention and expectation that they will be used in the usual manner, with all their legitimate train of untold evils, neither deserve nor should receive the honor, but the reverse, from every we'll regulated mind. The same is true of every thing which panders to depraved animal feeling, or that induces immortality, or the arrangement of any of the mental powers from their legitimate objects and proper action. All necessary labor is honorable. Between the man who makes boots and he who is the architect of cathedrals, or the engineer of Croton or Cochituate aqueducts, there is no philosophical difference, nor should any be made by society. A "wise master builder'' and the common laborer alike bestow their rhighest powers and warm- est wishes for the accomplishment of the same end and who shall say that the labor ot the one is less necessary or honorable than that of the other?
 Most unqestionably it is the duty of all men 10 De use1ully employed, Tn mind and body; the wants of the world demand it at their hands; nor can they escape cupability II they eglect or refuse to yield it.
 The only y qualities for which any man can be justly respected and honored, are those ot mental character, and those eRsrcised tor useful ends. Moral integrity, intelec- al power, generosity of spirit, warmth off affection, refinement of feeling, acquired knowledge, either utilitatian or decorative, energy, prudence, dignity, and skill in de- veIoping mental, moral, or mechanical re- sources, constitute the only proper basis off responsibility. In proportion as any or all these qualities are possessed and exercised by an individual. should he be respected byI hls steiIow-men.-PhrenolQgicaI Journal.