Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1852-1852, 1852-05-21
Self Instruction.

SclfInstrucion does not consist alone IN rea-
ding, even good books. The mind must be dis
ciplincd to anayze what is said, and to select
and treasure up what is best adapted to its
wants and Improvement 1t must DC taught to
separate the wheat from the chatf. The arti =
ular business iii which we are employed Ill lie,
ought first to engage our attention, as admins
tering Immediately to our wants. When our
personal conc ,rns are provided for, We have high
duties to our friends and our country. Wcmay
be greatly aided in these private concerns and
public duties by the example and advice OF 9th
cs, capable of instructine, whicha are to be found
in books. These furnish us with the experience
of every age and country Nor are the l ysl-
cal powers to he overlooked, in our efforts to i'm
prove our minds. The body must be trained to
temperance and exercise if the mind, its consort,
would attain to distinction and uscfulcnsS. The
mental powers can only be kept in healthy tone
with the consent and cooperation of the body.
Hence, men who have displayed the greatest ct-
forts of mind, have in every age courtcd cycr-
else, in order to impart hcathtul vigor to the
body. do not mean to quarrel with any ones
habits, by the remark, that most Of the men who
have distinguished themselves by successful lit
crary and philosophical research, have chosen the
dawn of morning as the f,voritc time for study
and contemplation. 1t is not little singular,
that most and believe all, of the brute creation,
except beasts of prey, which subssts on the sub
stance of Others, obcying the power Of instinct,
retire to rest and rerosc with the sun, and rise
with it to renew their daily cmployments; while
man, endowed with reason, pewers the see
ming designs Of Providence, and ignobl wastes,
in slumber, the choicest hours, which wise men
have consecratcd to study or to business
Self-Instruction is q means of improvement
that lives within the reach Of every individual i'll
this favored nation. In this respect we enjoy
high privileges, and sustain high responsibilities.
In most Oft the Asiatic countries, the influence Of
castes has paralvzug effect upon the dcvelope
mcnt Of genius and culture of intellect Every
son is born to the business of his father. He
cannot rise above it. The mass of population
are virtually scris to the privileged classes. Nor
is the condition Of the people Of Europe much
superior. The advantages Ufcducation, and op-
portunitics Of scli-instruction, to the laboring
classes, are comparatively limited. They are
not permitted to look up to the honors and
distinctions Of society. A restricted education
b,st fits them for the mcnial condition which
they occupy in the social scale. And even in
Great Britain, whose inhabitants justly boast Of
more learning and more freedom than any other
portion of the world themaxim, "Let ere,y one
who Is Jcio~, or under me- stag there" has unli-
mitcd sway among all classes, and tends very
much to re.rcss the march Of intellect in the
middle and lower portions of society. With IL,
the case is altogether different. The honors and
distinctions Of life arc open to the competition
of all. Wealth confer. 10 civil distinctions; and
fit did, such is It's tendency to dissipate ITSELF
under the peculiar structure Of our government,
and free scope which it inparts to individual en-
tcrrrisc, that there is little danger ofts becoming
an hereditary evil.