The Minnesotian. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1851-1852, 1852-01-03

How mysterious its movements How vast
IFS powers! How infinite its capacities
Who hath marked the boundaries of its
investigation, or said thus far shalt thou
60 e"t no farther ? above, beneath, around,
the past, the present. and TO some extent
the future, are matters with which it
makes itself familiar, and taxes at its
pleasure for Its amusement or its gain.
That we are not stocks and stones, but
conscious beings. that we are not mere
brntcs that perish, but rational creatures.
endowed by our Creator with intellect
and reason, should we this day offer
Thanksgiving to God.
Second. Again; we find in man. as
cause Of gratitude the capability of varied
and superior pleasures.
His, says one, are the pleasures of
contemplation; these the inferior animals
have not. No subjects but such as are
urged upon them by present necessity en-
gage their attention. Their view of pres
ent things is also limited. The most
splendid scenes Of nature are thrown
around them without arousing attention.
or awakening taste, and the power of
comparison. The past would seem to be
perfect blank to them; the future de-
rives no light from the anologies which
observation and experience furnish to man
and by which its gloom is somewhat bro
ken. Moral subjects and moral actions
which furnish to us SO inexhustible
source Of thought, are to them unknown {;
nor is it indicated by any of the pheno-
mena which those that approach nearest
to intellectual character exhibit, that the
cause of anything whatever is with them
matter Of the least curiosity. All these
are the subjects Of human contemplation.
As far as we can perceive they are also
inexhaustable; and the poweas which
we may apply to them are capable of un-
measurable enlargement. From this
cause arises a pleasure, at once, digniiicd
and elevating; whenever the subiec1 is
well chosen and the train of thinking well
laid. Notice if you please the beautiful
fancies Of the poet; as he tires in words
of harmony and song the pleasing crea-
tlons Of his own immagination. The or
ator as he almost congeals the vital fluid
with scenes of terror and alright, or un-
seals the fountain of weeping with the
sympathetic and the sorrowful. With
what patience does the mathematician toll
through the mysteries Of his problem, and
with what ecstacy does he grasp the long
sought solution! How rich in delight are
the pondcrings of the philosopher as he
traces the analogies Of Nature and becomes
familiar with all the vast arcana of her
mighty sequences! So of the mechanic
and the inventor of useful arts, who have
filled cur land with the products Of their
ingenuity. And who shall deny to the
laborer, that ''nobleman Of nature" eth
the ability or the pleasure of its exercise?
Rather would we give him the first place
in the catalogue-as he sees the hand of
God in ''sending the sunshine and the
rain,' and ''who orowncth the year with
his goodness until want is a stranger,
and 1--WE have more than heart can wish
In ministering to the qualification Of the
senses. we partake pleasure in common
with all the lower orders of animal crea-
ton; but in intellectual enjoyments, we
partake largely in the very bliss of an
gels, and of God.
10 us, also, are opened the pleasures Of
sympathy and benevolence. Paradoxical
as it may appear, there is something
within us which is only called into ac-
tion when objects of pity, want, or COM
misscration present themselves; and in
the exercise of which great amount of
pure aud hallowed delight is ielt;-hence
says poet:
| sin drying up a single tear, is more
| OF real bliss, than shedding seas OF gore.''
The luxury of 'doing good"--of dividing
the burden Of the crushed spirit of fel-
low being-of weeping with those that
weep-of conducting ray of sunshine
into the household or heart over which
the dark wing of dispair has brooded-or
of lighting up the cheek Of sorrow with
the smile of joy and hope,-is blessed
ness, pure, holy, and godlike, and doubly
unfortunate indeed, must that heart be, to
which this emotion is a stranger. Let
us see to it to-day, while we offer thanks
giving to God for an abundance, that our
neighbors or their children are not want
ing for bread.
Ours, also, are the pleasures of hope.
This source of enjoyment is peculiarly
and exclusively the property Of man on
earth. That it belongs to man in contra
distinction to the lower orders of creation,
is lnlerable from the fact that instinct will
account for all the phenomena observable
| in connection with their actions, That
it belongs to man on earth and not in a
future state, is seen from the fact that
perfect misery will admit Of no ground
for expectation, and perfect bliss will
leave no room for desire. How invaria-
bic source Of enjoyment is this how
true, that
''IIope springs eternal in the human breast.'
Deep as the pit may be into which any
have fallen-dark as may be the shades