The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1851-10-16
For the Literary Echo.
COnSecrated Intellect.

Intellectual development, unaccompa-
MED by moral, renders man a knowing,
but not a useful, nor happy being Pow
or and grasp of mind without conservation
of heart induces its possessor to think more
of himself and less of his Maker.
The philosopher, whether natural or
intellectual, in his profound investigations,
fails to discern the hand of Deity as he
contemplates the relation of matter to
matter, world to world, mind to mind,
unless he enters upon his scientifcal inves-
legations with consecrated heart he
may indeed be we'll pleased that the
universe is so well adapted to his individual
convenience, but in his self-complacency
he forgets the Being who I" has adapted
the sunshine to his sight and objects to his
SOUL"
Far different is it with him who investi-
gates the laws of the universe with view
of obtaining, through them a more COM
prehensive view of their Author he gazes
into the "upper deep" and views the
thousand glittering consultations which
sweep through the amplitude of space, or
dives beneath the sparkling surface of old
ocean, and every where he sees such
harmony that he exclaims,
GAN are but parts of one stupenIous whole,
Of which the body nature is and God the soul"
Such man feels that he is but an
atom of dust on the outskirts of galaxy
Of immeasurable glory" and loses himself
in the partial conception of the being who
fills immensity.
Every created intelligence exerts an
influence upon the destiny of the world /;
that influence is calculated, either to
elevate and ennoble, or to degrade and
chain the human soul. The world has
felt the withering blight of giant minds,
whose energies have been directed to the
complete annihilation of everything that is
lovely on earth. Years have rolled away
since Voltaire and Hume lived; but who
does not know that their influence, instvad
of slumbering with them in the silent
tomb, is still living, and like the simeon Of
the desert, blasts every thing that feels its
breath; many heart possessing ospira'
tions of high and holy kind, has, by
slow and insensible steps, been led by the
fatal delusion thrown around it by those
soullcss men, to the vortex of eternal ruin
Go ask that youth, whose brow is dark
with anger, whose tongue is breathing
blasphemies against his God, why he fears
not the thunderbolt of destruction as q
token of the vengeance of Heaven, and he
will refer you to "Tom Paine's Age ol
Reason" or the still more withering pro-
ductions of Voltaire. Many dark and re-
voting crimes may be traced back and
found to have had their origin in the hearts Of
those who were contaminated with the fatal
breath of these false philosophers. France
was deluged with their productions, Eng
land echoed on the death-round, and the
Old World, as far as civilization extended,
felt the unholy influence even the briny
deep was not an impossible barrier, and
infdelity has gained foothold on Ameri-
can soil. Thus we see that intellectual
greatness, unless consecrated to the service
of God, and the elevation of humanity, is
a curse to its posscsser, and curse to the
world, and happy would it be for such a
man if his influence could cease with the
termination of his earthly being; but eter-
nifty alone can reveal the extent of the
misery occasioned by the influence exerted
upon the world through the instrumentality
of an intellect at war with Christianity.
But when intellectual greatness is COM
bined with consecrated heart, moral in
fuence is evolved, which sweeps away the
clouds of darkness, accumulated by success
sive years of moral dearth. Look at Mar