New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-12-22
THE PEOPLES LECTURES.
Luck aud Pluck.
By REV. SAMUEL osGooD.


TIE second in the series of Z" the Peoples
Lectures was delivered in the Tabernacle last even
ing by Rev. Samuel Osgood, (ot the Church Of the
Nee sah The attendance was one OF the largest va
have seen in the Tabernacle since the COMMENCEMENT
Of the Lecture season The subjec. of the Lecturers
piscourse was entitled Luck and Pluck, or, What
Makes the Man and his Fortunes" The Lecturer COM
menced by observing tina, every mans life was
drama in which the plot depended upon the play be-
tween Lis own will aud his fate, between his eharac
ter and his circumstances The ancient tragedy was
well defined TO be Man Conquered by Circum
stances :" and the modern tragedy was equally
well defined Man Conquering Circum stances.'
In both cases the parties were The same; and in
many respects, he saw both varieties OF the drama
| in activo-in real life. Whatever be the scene
or the character, our interest always turned upon
/ the hero asking at the same time how far no made
his destiny md how far il was made for him. But
adays we were not content to leave the Development
Of this question with epic or dramatic heroes Every
man asked the question for himself and his children
and our poets and story teers found favor rs the Illus
tratcd by fervd potraures the trials and trumphS Of
ourcommon lot The current ticons Of The day, which
we were all 60 eager to read but many prose
euics Of modern society. Now, we took pleasure In
every ufe.Ike sketch of what we were all passing
4 through, WuelhtE IL Ncte biOSAePbJ VI p" HS'~''
whether the hero were statesman or an apprentice
boy, the heroine city belle factory girl Indeed
we were setting our historians work somewhat in the
ssme direction ; we asked them not % tell us how
Cesar fought OF Louis regned but no" iman OF IAN
lily would get along IN the ordinary routine OF ne, IA
elher Rome or Francein fine TO tell Us OF the Ot that
bef,l the common people in the days when camps and
courts ruled all lt might appear 70 some
that the title Of his lecture was odd indeed,
Lis subject might be translated chances and char
acter or fortune Of man. bu, he would divids
il into three distinct branches lie would speak nrt
OF the chances OF huon lie that went 10 make np wnat
we called a mans luck Then he would speak OF the
dangers under which ay Of being mastered ~
these chances and lastly, Of every mans duty u master
those chences conquer his luck by his pluck lap
plauss The chances OF lue-he used the WORD Ia 10
iust and not sense as embracing all the events
that beftl mar-were casual instead Of being certain
To say that life full OF chances was only asserting
the limited knowledge OF man, aud by no means deny
ing the Providence OF God. To Ills oil seeing eye
nothing was casual To US everything was casual oil
which we were not certain. The region In winch
we did our work Of life was that broad realm Oh
! CONTINGENCY lying between the domains OF maine
ustical certainty, and that place wherein prooa'
biltes dwet The doctrine Of chances was but
another name for the science Of probabilities To OBJ
tain some adequate idea Of what might befall man,
Wa well 10 glance az the relation In which stood 10
the external powers that seemed 10 rule u.s. we were
born into this vast Universe; we were ruled Dy us
events our lot was materially connected WIZ rs Al,
/ fairs and its phenomena. Wen a. we might MINK We
know THE great Cosmos-clearly az we might discern
some VI it great laws II was still constantly surprinS
Us with revelations he comet and inc eclipse no
longer astonished U.S. the hurricane or the earth
Quake filled our breasts with alarm yet every day found
Us gazing upon the face OF Nature 70 leaTu hef
capricious moods, for health and fortune often
awaited upon the experience obtained nom tue ooserF'
ence of her ftf changes Every day was 70 some men
an unlucky day because it what j was To otner
men for the same reason. Il wa lucky dsy I4Ns
life In it, small extent and every man must ailo" ina,
cur great mother Nature dehed all our attempts 70 pre-
dict Der will aud continually punishng me reckless
and startling the inQuirng by some new display Oh hsr
uumeasured forces 20 might speak OF nature a al
,se,ng The CHANCES of mans fortune. Now turn 70
man The world Of humanity ss fu OF conn 5enelos
az The world Of matter The mind OF nan wa no, anNeu
fact nor was the Will Of woman IN all crcun
mathematical certainty. Laughter Sou1eunes y AZ q
! nogt seened "a II our knowledge u manI
we're becoming an exact scie &c, 90 wonderfully n1i
fecs been clarified and circumstances apparently gem
eral brought under the control Of es,aoi<ned A"s.
Thus 90 ifto an insurance Office in Wast, aud Inquire
uron what terms ship absent upon the afetlS Noss'
would be insured and the aeuary would reply me mo
- ~ ,rsyi.ine nix understoOd and CLASSIFIED.
Amen TIE chances Of life marking the Development Oh
character in msn, was one Of vast impofAhee-"h
called the tnes-thst third element II the enances o.
Es-tha, tie so made up OF various isaucHces ~ ,g
/ tue from man and from Providence Wno
,v~rd presume 70 define that mighty power WITHIN me
[ H,;,s OF eertaintyf Who or what rne TINES were,
we should judge a. we were able "ehseoe1 con-'al,y
q, he watching the probabilities Of events 70 guide US In
opr everyday worldly sfars. Every year. experience
made Startling Developments. Let any practical man
rbiIosouhicaly study the price crentof his own bust
neslet him consider the csuses ard consequences at
fectirg his commodity, cotton, wool or ron-'et os
strdied well and what view would thea nash upo1
lin at once cftbe vastly complex condition Of things N
TIE relations and business Of men Let pocisn tracs
the Effects Of single Of popular viii upon car pol
cal condition Could the Statesman tel ne wns
ccusecuences were 20 follow 20 our country fror
the march of that determined soldier who made th'
Rio Grznde the Rnbicon Of empire and found up
on the shores Of the far Pacific domains OF goo
AID future so full Of romsntic hopes. How strangely
the chances connected with that even. bad borne upor
the subsequent history Of country. What man wa
more sJrpri<ed with the high honor conferred upoi
him, and vic received honor with more nnoo
,rusive humility than the President elect Of the unis'