Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1850-05-23
STUDY.
From the Italian Of Siluio Pellico.


sacred duty TO cultivate your mind. You
viii be Letter able ,hereby to honour God ,
your country, your parents, and your
friends. The raving of Rousseau, that the
savage is the happiest of men, and that
Ignorance is preferable to knowledge, IS
proved false by experience. All travellers
have found the savage far from being hap
py. We all know that the ignorant may
be virtuous bu, the educated man ough, to
be so in still moIe eminent degree.
knowledge is never injurious, except
when allied with pride. Let it be accom-
panied by humanity, and it raises the mind
10 the love of God and Of humanity.
Apply yourself to learn well and thor
pughy what you do learn. Superficial
learning produces presump,uous and medi-
their own inferiority, gather together other
smaiterers like themselves, and cry out 10
the world that they alone are great, and
that the really great are nobodies. Hence
proceed the perpetual war of pendants "a
gainst men Of genius, and Of vain Ieclai-
mers against sound philosophers and thus
the many are deluded into a veneration for
the loudest but most ignorant dec'almeIs.
o IT age is not in want of men OF extraord-
nary atranmenls, bu, the superficial shame
fully abound. Scorn To be Of their number;
not through vanity, but through sentiment
OF duty, through love Of country, through
selfrespect, and an esteem for the mind
with which the Creator has endowed you.
II may not b. in your power TO become
deeply versed in many branches Of learning;
you may, however, run lightly through
them, in order not to be ignorant OF things
which all are hound to know You should
select, however some one branch of knowl-
edge, and apply your whole mind 20 IT, with
determination not to be left behind by any
one.
Excellent is the counsel of Seneca. " Do
you wish your reading should leave last
iiH hhpttSoipi VIZ D'hi hblhuF ''hh" 1'h'-
self to a fe~ sound authors, and endeavour
to imbibe their spirit. To he everywhere
is much the same as being nowhere. A
life passed in travelling makes many ac-
quaintances, and few fiends Such is
the case with the desultory reader, who,
without prediection for any particular au-
thor, runs hastily through an infinite num-
ber of books"
Whatever may be the nature Of the study
to which you devote yourself, you should
gulrd against very common fault, that OF
becoming so exc usivc an admircr Of your
own pursuits as 10 undervalue those studies
to which you have not been able to apply.
How very puerle are the boas,ings of
poets over prose writer's, of prose writer's
over poets, Of naturaiss over metaphysc-
ians, of mathematiciars over persons not
mathemalicians, and rice rerSa! All the
sciences, all the arts, all the several modes
of attaining to the true and beautiful, ale
entitled to the homage of society, and par.
ticularly to that of the educated man.
1t is not true that the exact sciences and
poetry are Incompatible. Button was
great naturalist, yet his style displays very
striking poetic beauties. Mascheroni was
a good poet and an exec llent mathematic-
! ian.
In cul,ivating poetry and Bellies Le,tres,
be careful not to incapaci.ate your mind
from applying to exact and logical deduc-
! tons.
If the eagle were to say, " 1t is my ma
ture to fly, cannot mediate except fly
ing it would be ridiculous. lie may
equally employ his medltative fsculres
with his wings closed.
On the other hand, the calmness of mind
required by studies Of observation, must not
lead YOU to believe that man is perfect when
he has ex,nguishcd every spark Of fancy
and every poetic sentiment. For poetry,
when properly cultivated, instead of weak
ening, eenIs to strengthen the reasoning
n faculties.
Ia literature as well as in politics, dis
trus, factions and systems examine them
in order to know them, compare them with
others, and form your judg dgmen' OF them f;
but do not make yourself their slave.
In all your studies endea'or to combine a
aim discernment with acumen, the PaIleace
of analytic and the iorcc Of synthetic inves-
,ipa,ion. Add to these the determination
not to be dsheariened by obstacles, nor Zen
dered proud by success; thai is TO say, the
determination To cultivate your mind, in the
manner permitted by God, with holiness,
but wthou, arrogance.
SUBSCRIBER.
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