The Weekly comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1853-1855, 1854-11-12

y
orons aud manly words from the Nen
York Iriinue, which will at least in
spire the reader with bold tetermln.
alton, when he kuows he is right, to
go ahead"
A very natural division Of mankind
is that which conte,nplntes them in
two classes-those who think for
themselves and those who have their
thinking done by others, dead or liy-
ing Will, the former class, the pnr-
amount consideration is-"Whet is
ight p With The latter, the first in
qulry is-What do the majority, or
The great, or The pious, or the fashion
able think about il ~ How did our
fathers regard IT, Whit will Mrs
Grundy say This latter and most
numerous class can hardly be said to
think at all They adopt The opin-
ions Of their heighbors or titular snpe-
riors, and the prejndiees Of their fore
fathers, and 90 through life with very
little mind Of their own, and very lit
tie consciousness Of the need of any
Thinking Mt second hand, and in the
wake OF the majority, is respectable,
polite, and safe while the inlepen.
dent, original thinker is sure to pro-
woke hostility and encounter obloqny
1t is easier running in the established
ruts than across them, even though the
road is worn worse and worse BY the
former course it is easier to assent
and ac1uesce than TO demur and diff
fer. Many n man has gone through
life respected, popular, md we'll fed,
on the strength Of bis faculty Of agree
ing with everybody, and never avow-
ing an unpopular opinion. And tru.
ly, If the life were mt more than
If its chief ends were wealth,
station and luxury-tlen The smooth
and plausible gentlemen who assent to
whatever il popular without in1uiripg
or caring whether it is essentially true
or false, are the Solomous Of their gen
Grafton.
Yet in world so full as this is Of
wrong and suffering, of oppression
and degradation, there must be radi-
zeal causes for so many and 80 vast
pratical evils. It cannot be that the
IDEAS, beliefs. institution, usages, pre-
JUDGES, whereof such gigantic miser-
les are born wherewith at least,
they co-exist-transeend criticism and
rightfully refuse scrutiny. It cannot
be that the springs arc pure whence
flow such turbid and poisonous cur
rents.
Now. the Reformer-the man who
thinks for himself and acts as his own
judgment and conscience dictates
very likely to form erroneous opinions
If he plough up the tares upainebing
", he will be quite likely to root out or
bury some Of the wheat also. Unless
remarkably cautious and circumspeet,
he will thus make enemies Of those
who are rghtfully his friends But
time will confirm and establish his
good works, and gently amend his mis-
takes. The detected error dies the
misconceived and rejected truth is but
Temporarily obscured, and soon vim
dicates its claim to general acceptance
and regard.
"Tho world does move, - and its
motive power, under God, is the fear
less thought and speech of those who
dare be in advance of their time--who
are sneered at and summed through
their day of struggle and Of trial as H.
natics, droamers, impracticables and
Missionaries Of crotchets, Of vaga-
ries, or Of 'isms.7 These are the
masts and sails Of the slip, to which
Conservatism answers as ballast. The
ballast is important-at times indis
pepsable-bnt it would be of no ac-
count if the ship were not bound to 60
ahead.
Shall we continue to agitate the
Temperance question and establish the
Main Liquor Law in all the States and
Territories Shall we have free
schools free farms for the landless
Shall we teach man to live in accor
dance with the natural laws, to devel-
op his faculties, and improve his body
and mindl Let us brush away the
cobwebs Of antiquity, think for our