The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-12-24

THE LECTURE SYsTEM-LEcTURE ON JAPAN
Lecturipg in the United States during the last
two or three years has become as much pro-
fession as the law, or physic. or pay-actlng,
and the result is that swarm of lecturers has
arisen, who are deluging the country with their
trash Most of them are exceedingly super
fetal individuals and their productions are like
themselves. They add nothing to the stock Of
human knowledge. On the contrary, they
carble what other men have accumulated, and
on The whole, the tendency and the actual ei
feet of their lucubrations are to deteriorate lit
erature, science and art. They make men shall
low who otherwise would be deep thinkers. In-
stead Of inducing them to read, observe, and,
study for themselves whereby alone the human
mind can ever acquire any knowledge that il
truly valuab'e-they present them with misera-
Die diution, hch leads them to believe that they
know great deal when theyknow just nothing
at all If the information conveyed 10 these
lectures was worth retaining, it is impossible
for the audience to secure it. Without any
previous knowledge Of the subject or any tu-
ture reading or study, they listen to the disser-
taiion like pleasant song, aud next day, per-
haps in the same hour, forget all about it, For
the most part, the matter and style Of the lee
ture are such that even the most trained minds
cannot seize anything to treasure up. In
buehel Of chaff they may, with great winuow
ing, find grain Of wheat; and they may fail,
after all their pains. The subject is over
whelmed in multitude of fine words. which
tickle the ear for moment but leave no i'm
preston on the mind. Indeed the attentive
observer, who may chance to attend one Of these
lectures, will perceive that those parts are
always most applauded where the sense, if there
be any, is lost in the misty obscurity of the Ian
guage If the matter and manner should be
unobjectionable, still it will generally be found
that, at BEST the thing is q poor compilation
from books easily accessible perhaps taken in
whole or in part from the newspapers of the
day.
We were led to these observations by read
ing in Thursdays HERALD, report Of the lee
ture Of Rev. DR.. Vinton, on Japan. If any one
will take the trouble OF turning over the files o.
this journal for the last two or three months
he will find. in the news and editorials relating
to the japanese empire, the came matter. and
even the very words, which the Doctor en-
bodies in his lecture as original, and worth
twenty-five cents o head to hear delivered at
the Brooklyn Athenaum, and heaven knows in
how many other places at tie same price.
These lectures are hawked from town to
town, as Connecticut pedlar hawks his wares:
and they are precisely Of the same value
as wooden nutmegs," or as stale vege-
tables, with this difference, that whereas the
pedlar sells the same article but once. and the
green grocer is not paid twice for the same
tainted head Of cabbage, the lecturer sells one
and The same rechaufe Of verbiage FIVE hun
bred times over. Thus lecture, the original
manuscript and copyright Of which were not
worth quarter of dollar to any human be-
ing is made to produce thousands of dollars
from the gullible portion Of the public oil over
the United States; and the operation is repeat
ed upon them by other literary jugglers with
the same effect till their pockets are drained
and their heads made empty, if they ever con-
tanned anything
We not wish to be understood as including
al lectures and lecturers in this description;
but the exceptions are $50 few aud far between"
that they may be get down in the same category
as angels visits" As general rule, we can
safely say that the lecture has become public
nuisance, and it ought to he abated. 1t is cal
culated to emasculate the youth Of the country
Of all mental power; and the sooner this hybrid
kind of composition, unknown to our vigorous
ancestors, is got rid Of the better for the future
fame Of our literary men. the better for the
students of sci,nce and philosophy, and the
better for the progress of the country il the
arts and every branch Of human knowledge.