Litchfield enquirer., 1853-02-24
LITCHFIELD CONN., THURSDAY FEBRUARY2
TIE LITERARY CULTURE OF THE Law

HE LITERARY CULTURE OF TIE LAW
YER All that i mean to say is a word
in behalf OF our university lawyers
our College bred lawyer--Latin and
Greek lawyers-lawyerp who, like our
invited guest. Mr.. Ingersoll. gained their
college honors elsewhere lawyers like
you, Mr.. President, who begun your pro-
fessional life with the study OF polite
letters, and are not ashamed Of it. /
want 10 say a word for a class of men
who are often sneered at F.; l mean liter
airy lawyers, men who read something
besides law, and who are proud Of it,
They may not be as successful in the
common sense Of the word; they may not
make as muck money. they may not break
themselves down in The prime Of life and
youth by overwork in one line Of labor;
they may not leave behind them the tra>
dictionary fame of being embalmed in
law reports. But they live for some
thing better than all this. have Of
ten thought that the most pitiahle con-
dition the world has ever known, must
have been that of an old maid in the
middle ages-one who was neither man
to fight, nor wife nor mother-and had
no novels or poetry to read. But think
now the most pitiable of all conditions
for man to be in, in this age. whose lit>
erary enjoyments are so rich and plen.
ty, is that Of mere lawyer who has no
enjoyment aside from his hard daily
drudge even Of Saturday afternoon.
1t is not necessary for true professional
success. The ablest lawyers | have eva
er known were men of high literary ac>
complishment. who studied the modem
languages. who were good classical
scholars, and who were good men. Mr..
Binnsy was first honor man at Harvard,
Mr.. Sergeant spoke the valedictory. q
high honor, at Princeton.
Mr.. Ingsrsoll. our Minister a. Eng
land was first honor man at Primo eton,
too and to this hour these eminent
men, one standing on the very edge OF
life-6nd their pleasure and their com>
fort too, in the polite literature W hicb,
in active life relieved their labors. The
greediest and hardest miscellaneous rea-
der have ever known, is my friend
who answered the first toast. (Mr. Mere
ditb,) who certainly has had his full
share of professional success. Litera-
ture fingers when Law has gone forever.
When Mr.. Webster was dying. the last
worldly consolation that he had were
some words of poetry floating on the
memory. He didn't think ofthe Statute
of Frauds or of the fourth article Of the
Constitution. And 80, Mr.. President.
it always will bel and literary lawyers.
let them be disparaged as they may,
cannot be deprived Of this high pleasure
or this rich consolation. Nay. more,
Mr.. President. the literary lavycr-he
who knows and is proud Of something
beside law-has fame which is worth
gaining and securing, too. Whose fame
will endure the longest or shine the
brightest, Coke or Bacon. Lord Kenyon
or Lord Mansfield. Eldon or Campbell ?
Coke and Kenyon and Eldon, were far
the greatest lawyers, but will not Bacon
and Mansfield live and be worshippec
much the longest and where would Ell
don or all the mute chancellors be. if
there had not been a Chief Justice to
write their lives ?'--Mr. William b,
Reeds Speech before the Royal Society
Of Northsrn. Antiqaaries. ...t