Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1853-04-09
For the Sen&isel.
Debating Clubs.

other than the poet Willis, as they were about Ia
| king a social glass, that brandy and water were a
| great institution. Now, I have no other comment
to make upon this remark, than that it was Of du-
! bious import, inasmuch as institutions may be great
as curses, or great as blessings. But if brandy and
water be a great institution, l certainly know one
| which, for young men, is decidedly greater. One,
which has for its object the stimulation of the
| mind, and not the stomach. I allude to Debating
Clubs. We all know what this institution has
done for men of past times, and ! am surprised to
find, that, in this fourishing town Of P~laquemine,
there is nothing of the kind-no society for the
purpose of bringing the young men in healthful
and invigorating contact, mind with mind, fos their
intellectual improvement. You have some here
whose generous and self-sacr6cing spirit, and
whose broad and expansive foreheads, attest to
their natural nobility of heart and of mind. You
have some here Of most refined feelings and COM
mendable intelligence; and is it not to be regret.
ted, that minds and hearts of such a stamp should
languish for lack of some such stimulating exer-
else? Who knows but that, in these slumbering
bosoms, there may be a profundity of soul and a
SoA1tiCiiCAoisC SapoAItJ VI A!Aiiu3 "AitAj VAC
forced out by friction, as it were, like fire from
wood, might throw of such cancellations of &c.
MUS as would illuminate the world?
How often have heard young men express the
wish that they were rich; and how often have
done the same thing myself. We do not reflect,
that men may be rich, and, at the same time, in
the torpor and prostration of their mental and mo-
raj faculties, be but little better than the brutes.-
We do not reflect, that many a man who has made
himself beautiful and lovely, and admired by all,
by the chastsRing and e~levating effects Of a strug-
Cling life. and who, in addition thereto, has gather
ed gradually around him an independent fortune,
might have, from the seductions Of a large inhe-
ritance or suddenly acquired wealth, sunk into If
retrievable degradation or hopeless inanity. We
do not reflect, that it is the young men who have
grown up by the irrepressible force Of their own
genius and enterprise, who constitute the worthy
and noble of our land. These things should attract
our attention. We should not push ON in the too
eager pursuit of agggrandizement, to the neglect Of
our minds and the forgetfulness of Our hearts
There are traits, and qualities, and attributes
within US, more valuable than the gold Of Ophir,
that we should study and endeaver to dsyelope.-
"Gnothe ~seauton'' was almost q divine axiom Of
antiquity.
Men may become powerful in many ways, but
they can become great only in two. Riches, for
instance, confer power, but it is only through the
channels of the heart and mind that men become
great. True greatness consists in the complete de-
velopment of all our nobler faculties. But, then,
/ must not be understood to mean by this, that we
must be pre'ensnen' in every particular quality
that constitutes a great mind, or every individual
attribute that makes up a great heart. If 20, then
we should not expect to find in the whole history
of the world a single truly great man. From these
premises we readily infer, that this greatness 10
open and accessible to all. We all have it in ous
power to cultivate and dsvelope our Intellectual
and moral capabilities. Young men would often
accomplish what would have appeared to them in I
credible, if they could be urged on TO adequate ex-
ertions by a proper and sufficient stimulus. Now,
as one means of attaining this object, as q stimu- !
lus to the necessary efforts, however inefficient |
some may consider it, l commend the Debating |
Society. l have had the good fortune, at differ !
ent periods Of my life, of belonging to several of
these institutions, and I have never failed to OBJ |
serve that, when properly conducted, they tended
to both mental and moral amelioration. In order |
to canvass and discuss the varied subjects that are
introduced, it requires reading and reflection. It
is a stimulous to the mind that hardly anything
else can supply the place of: And then the week
ly or semi-monthly reunions, the healthy and good
humored debates, the interchange of thoughts, |
opinions, feelings-do they not all have the effect |
of softening, refining, improving9 But then, !
young men often say that they have not time to
reflect, much less to read-that business requires |
their uninterrupted attention. How is il, my &C.
nerous compeers, that men, poor, laboring men,
with families to support, and with whom business |
was more of a necessity than with you, how is it |
that such men have found time to reflect, to read,
and thus raise themselves to eminencee And
yet you know, and l know, that there are many
such instances in this country, and in every coun.
try. .r
I am aware that objections and prejudices exist
against debating societies. 1t has been said, that
the wide range Of subjects which they admit Of
causes the mind to fall into a wandering and im-
methodical method of thinking. That, by the
variety of topics discussed, it becomes distracted
confused, and looses those powers Of application
and concentration which are always desirable, and
especially tosuch young men as may contemplate
preparing themselves for the legal Profession
But, then, there are obvious counteracting advan-
tages. Frequent oral discussions evidently tend to
promote command Of language, facility Of speech,
and general quickness of comprehension. They
not only promote command of language, but by
pr~ aetice and exercise, enable US to express our