The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-01-07
Rev. Henry Giles on " Man OF tue Age, Oh
Man OF Social Power

Rev. Henry Giles " Man OF tue Age, or
Man or Social Power
On Wednesday evening, Rev. Henry Giles, Of the
State of Maine, delivered lecture on this subject
at the Broadway Tabernacle, to a very respectable
aud very attentive audience The lecture occupied
upwards of an hour and half in the delivery, and
q full report is, therefore, incompatible with our
space. We must content ourselves with an outline
The lectarer said-The man Of this age we call the
man Of social power, whether worker, thinker.
writer, speaker Labor is not the creation of OBJ
jeets, but ofutties, and every who creates ut.
ties adds something to soeiety-does works. =
worker. In this sense the writer and the speaker
are workers But, for the sake Of convenience, We
shall take view of that kind oflabor that concerns
itself with the palpsble realities Of life The
deyelopement OF man as worker il developement
Of the social power The slave does not work rs
does tie freeman, nor the man half free with tho
energy OF the man who enjoys perfect freedom
Savage life does not develope the social power Of
man What one can do all can do; and each, with
some exceptions, works for himself Interchange OF
lite is unknown to savage life To work for others
is stage Of civilization in advance Of the savage
condition, for man in state of nature will
not work for others except By force, and
for himself only by oompulsion Every man
eulsress his social life as he enlarges his activity.
~
who enjoys the fruits Of the labors Of ethers a,s
not in the labor market alSsys to hire /; he often
wants to seek whom he may hire Thus, every man,
IN TURF " servant at the feast and no man is so
orcun stanoed that he will have ali the labor with
out any share in the feast. There was time in Eu
ropean civilization when an idle class whose only
bGsinets was pleasure, WAS considered a necessity.
Such olaaa was considered one OF the utilities of
society But that day is gone by. AS the arist0-
cratic class once TO Christendom, 50 Christen'
dom is now to the rest OF the earth But Chrisien-
dom viii carry humanity itself as far beyond its
present state rs ChIistendom is now beyond the
pagan feudalism of g former age Tne mental acti-
witty Of the present time is astonishing. 1t "a not
that the several operations Of nature are taxed In
looking At the overwhe ming, overpowering activity
cur kind, Il Is not ia the matter Of the effect pro
suesd but in sas manner Of producing iss ts soS
minds of free Individual men, that these grea.
results fow TO the world The achievements Of
Eastern antiquity were but the products OF
slaves In their architecture, tho shaping of
every brick of these structures 30 admlred
sost many q pang TO human beings, and tae
huge stones hewn from the quarry, and placed In
the principal buildings Of their great cities, were
at the expense Oh human life ard liberty ; whereas
when lcok at the buildings Of our modern cities,
and " the fleets that ride II ou- haroors, We feel
that they the voluntary bandiwork Of free men;
end in this feeling consists tho very soul OF the
majesty with whcn they are invested The work
Of car time is a work of utility, for the benset of
the human race-th the work Of ancient times was ter
cruelty and for the destruction Of the hum race
The Roman Coliseum vas M instance Of this. The
work Of our sgs is tbe work OF pescs--she work Of
ancient times was the work Of war, which was then
the principal trade u msp, all other trades being
contemplate The work OF our age, moreover, is
connected with dignity and respect There is more
real poetry in modern utility than in all me works
O. the aIcients they ere true epics OF human
power, and show the near approach of man to the
Creator The railroad, for iDsisnce, is highly
poetical object, and the locomotive vi ways fills me
IA g,at nd W han
see the horse OF eah neghEg at the iron horse, as he
snorss away in his 6ery csrser, he always seems TO
say, " Wen, my occupation Is gone D." (Laughter
The activity Of our age ia not more marked in the
physical Than in the moral world The socia pew.
ef the time reveals itself in the thinker. VINO no
longer isolacs himself from the t,st OF the world.
lie finds thot the study Of society as it exiss, ena
bjes him TO urderstsnd history, chronology, and
mental science He thus studies the soul OF man,
and discovers connections and nfnities thai other.
wise wosid he lost 70 the World The asraritn law
Of the G,s.chi WAS puzzle till Nieburh, by the
simple power Of his social synpathy, explained the
more pslpabe in the subject o. thinking til an the
mode OF thjnAjng. The men H5e pnilosophise ia
the present day derive their power irem their 81
rathy in expressing what the masses feel but can
rot utter Tie critical tendeley If our age is also
remarkable. Every thing is made the subject of in
vestigation Society itseif IL made, by our great
thinker, complete science, and he lays down
rults for the 70 construction of the social fabric.
thinking, that the social power OF the moders philo
soI her Is most clear aeep. Vices that before
CONSIDERED pact cure are now regarded With hope
and ss rcmediabie This power is stronger than
what Kossu,h attributed 70 physical force when he
said "beyonet think" for idees and sentigeus
stronger than Day Onets This poser is still owing
along, and nothing vAn arrest its progress; as the
stars shine. aud tho worlds reyolvc over cur heads
when src ssleer, so the power of mind has Goa
tinuld its operations nom the f0updstoh Of Rome
till the erection Of the rystal Palace, and II will
continue till tho Last syls ole of recorded time The
ideal, 80 called; has vsn,ghed from cur oasy world;
Chivalry has left the face cf man, sd th0 dollar is
stamped apor 1t CLaughtsr) WoAaa, too, has
lost the deti, end even children no longer
horriheo with ghost stories and bobgobsins Ina-
sination has not ceased to be a queea, but IL has
gone 10 SERVICE se some OF the beautiful q u in
the segar storss. behind the counter Qaughter)
So iGsgiBetion mas TO do the agree able
In poauarizing philo'op5y sra philanthropy;
and even logo mus 30 made pleasant by
romance and statistics By fairy tales Ina
eiMa'isn itself thetco-e, in this utllitarian age,
aust BIO turned TO account, aud give reason for
hei existence Luxury OF Tao mind is Forbidden,
except so far az IL viii pay daughter This is
remarkable 10 our periodical literature lhs maya
2lbe haa lot he toras al AIS social 9svemeat. The
review has sLii uore felt it'd influence For nsrly
ii wss mere revieN If books--now it tatnons the
depths Of science, and soars TO it's most sublime
heights. she newspaper possesses the same usl'its
rian ebsraster j a eth higher degree The news
psper. the dispenser ~ novelty is thai upon which
no hing novel be sa'd IL would be easier to IN.
vert a new pleasure for EasAtn tyrsnt than 30
0'n = nav term in which to speak of the newspaper
press One great tsinker has said thas the business
of an editor 10 thinking the sane thing over
again. Tbat. however. does not make much mat
ter, IL the strain IS only turned Daughter
The world is doing the sania thing, aud the news
paper is the Daguerreotyra OF the world. bach sest