Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1852-11-19

The statesman who ILLS post OF erniucnce,
with no purpose to carry out for the bens-
fit of his nation the warrior who fights
but to conquer, and conquers but for empty
fame the student who acquires vast trea-
sures of knowledge, and finds no outlet for
their employ the writer who fills volumes
with the useless lum mber of his brain, prof
itless to others and of mere mercenary
value to himself: these are la,ncntabie
pictures TO the mtre waste and wanten
abuse Of accredited Utilities, upon whom
the ccn.ure may justly fall they had the
power to serve their generation, bat they
did it not SH
The condition Of England, and Of some
other countries, presents. the unhappy
spec ,acle Of many ablc-bodcd men, capa-
bic and wiling to work for their daily
bread, yet finding no employment adequate
to their support. \ problem in political
economy that peacefully or fesrfaly must
some day work out lis solution. We mourI
this state Of things, for the fault lies else
where than with themselves. But what a
pitiab.e weakness does not be manifest,
who, with other and higher powers than
those of bone and muscle, aud endowed
with means ofsuppor; more or less indcpcI =
dent of earnings, can find no work wherein
to expend his energies for the benefit OF
his fellow men 1t may seem strange
eollocation OF words to speak of the weak
ness of one possessing powers, yet. as the
s.alwart frame may be palsied by craven
feals, SO grea. talents may lie buried for
want of energy.
I 1t may be questioned whether external
greatness has ever been alta ned without
integrity to some great purpose, a, least 1r
4 time. Alexander, Cesar, Napoleon,
the matchless triad Of heroes in the battle
field. Lad each doubtless, Il noble purpose
in the outs.t. UConnell for many years
sustained ccaseess agitation in Ireland
despite the cry of " demagosuc' ra'sed
against him and it is difficult to conceive
that the impulsive race with whom he
dealt should have given him their conf
dence, undiminished to the last, if he were
mere charla.an, the paste-board counter
felt Of what they deemed him. The in
stircts of the human heart are too iius 20
be thus imposed upon, except fer brief
period.
kossu.h has given currency TO saying
now echoed throughout the land: There
is no obstacle to him that wills" Our
good old English proverb, though more
homely, is not less inapiritins: " Where
there S a will there S way Mc.aphys-
ically, as well a. proverbially, this is prob
ably the trnth. Energy lies in the will.
In a perfect state, the functions of the
whcle man would act tremendously. We
unhappily are not so constituted. The clear
est convictions Of right, the mcst settled
conclusions Of the judgement, are over
ruled by motives, which have little weight
Ly a wllim or ly what we Gguratively Y aud
not inapily call iAcr'o, "Trl.es light as
air. i.Guence US to day; tomorrow the
most wcigh'y considerations may fail to
move us 10 the like act. This notion of
measuring the force of motives as by the
scale beam, as though the vital force of
the will could be restrained as We weigh
down the steam-valre to its working pres
; sure; or as though, automatically, the
problem could be stated and solv d-siven
the weight, the fulcrum and the leverage
TO determine the action Of the will, Is a
; chimera of the schools Even as by some
inexplicable impulse the steam bursts it.
: iron fctters as the scorchsd fax, and rends
the engine which should have controlled
ard directed its powers, SO the will has an
energy by which it multiplies or diminishe,
. the force of its motives. 1t may indeed
grow weak and weary by habits of vascil
lation. or strong and steady by the cultiva
, ton of its powers; but it is never the
. mere creature Of circumstance.
Your Edinburg philosophers will analyze
, the functions of the intellect, as the phy.
sican his anatomical subject, but the vital
; ity is gone; they exhibit the intellect, but
it is without personality. Your German
thinkers in like manner analyze Deity into
| Ideas, Laws, Principles and hfaities
: but the sGreat AM" has no place in
their theories Existence, powers, with
out personality, is less than dream.
To use the style of these latter rhiloso'
piers, the "highcst expression of finite
man is "I am ~ that WILL, and WILL
LING, think and WILLING, act. The will
is the central force, the function Of indi'
, viduality, which distinguishes from all else
that thinks and acts; sole, Independent,
, uncomfortable; asserting its own existence,
dependent upon God alone. .'. i
But Of many who adcrn the age, OF the
| many who form the promise Of genera