Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1851-11-08
Progress Ct luxury.

| No one who loves his country can remain
/ indifferent to the progress Of luxury, which
crrrupts the morals and cncryatcs the man
| hood Of q people, which cngcndcrs habits OF
! deness and trvottv, and turns even industry
into Improbable channels. The progress OF
! luxury has been the cause OF national decay
in more than one proud empire, and it is not
safe for any people to think themselves beyond
IFS influence. It's entrance should be guarded
against, with care, and its progress should be
watched with the most anxious vigilance. Es-
pec;aIly, should those, whose fortunes place
| them above the necessity ofclose economy set
| the example of simplicity in their style of life,
and manifest their profuson in benefactions to
| public objects Not that we would have the
rich deprive themselves Of any Of the rational
enloyments which wealth can purchase; but
we would have them avoid that useless and
hurtlul ostentation in dress, in cquipage in en-
tertainments, which confer no benefit on those
who can afford it. and which finds so many i'm
itators in those who cannot.
The Introduction ofluxurous habits, by in
creasng the expenses Of house keeping, dis
courages marriage, and thus leads to a long
train ofimmoraties, Of the most serious char
arter. 1t breeds envy and discomfort, and de-
ssroys that union of al classes, which is espc-
ciaIly essential to the support Of republican in
stitutio0s. 1t makes Wel th supercllious, and
povery hostile TO the security Of property. 1t
is an unnlixed evil, and it is the duty of those
who shape the public policy, Of those VINO di-
rect the public Of morals, and of those who in
huencc public sentiment. to discourage every
departure from the simple manners Of our
fathers.
Ii any think that these remarks are inappli-
cable to this latitude, we ask them to mark the
change which has taken place in our communi-
ty-not greater perhaps, than in the commune
ties around us--wthin a few years. All the
increased comfort and especially all the diffu-
sions of comfort, may we'll be a matter of con-
graf ulation, the countless invitations for the
convenience of dwellings, and for the more
heaIthful use food, for the lessened abuse of
medicine, all these contrivarces place within
the reach of men of moderate means, the en-
joyments which were formerly confined to the
-rich, are sources ofjust congratulation; but all
that is devoted to ostentation, to showy, furni-
ture, and gaudy equipage, to display of plate,
and to splendor in entertainments, is matter
Of serious regard tits low order of enjoy
ment. 1t perverts and exhausts the tastes
works of art, in books, in music, and in things,
"HicH nave ''h 1Auu dA-
ter all, those who indulge in this ostentation on
a comparatively moderate scale, on wh ch
alone it is possible for most men, even those
who are esteemed rich, must remember with
constant modification, that they cannot ap-
proach the few, who, in larger communities,
and with greater means of folly, lead the fash
ion in matters Of this kind.
That display which has nothing but its ex-
pense to recommend it, will be constantly over
topped by new eomers, bringing fresh accum-
ulations to waste upon the altars of fashions.
The utmost limit of fashionable extravaganza
in a provincial town, is not equal to the COM
mon display of folly in New Y York, and does not
approach the dishable of Goodwood, and
Benhem, and Chatsworth; and even these are
put to shame by the countless retiuues, and
lavish display, and the barbaric magnifcence of
the eastern mobiles.
How foolish, then, for the greatest fortunes
to attempt any such rivalry here. A republi-
can people should be distinguished by their
elegant simplicity, by their appreciation of the
true value of wealth, and by their knowledge of
the true mode of life.-Proridence Journal.