Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-07-07

teeptb century when neither fertile land nor teen-
ing sea H. fruitful 10 Bs--when the harp and song
arr silent in our hrlls,-mhen instead OF Ire
hons, we have iaries. aud tNiod be between Us
aud harm , "A i.osd Chancellor and Commission
ers If lneumbered Estates.-whcn the WIND
whistles through our rnafess monasteres. and a
man will tell hlz 9wn ioster-brosher to 60 10 The
poor-l ouse-this | call social Reorganization
reitogression and relapse into barbtrlsm.'
Doubtless there were cruel evils done under
the sun ia those days too: there were fornys and
faYagrS, but there were no universal clearance
sySteni-what we call determination there was
bl1odshcd enough, but there was no national
ialuino in the very lap of plenty. There were
many crimes Of violence, for men had red blood
boiling in their veins, and il must be confessed
there were n popular literature, but also there
were no bubble companies, there was no Exeter
Hall, there WIS cant.
Bear with me, if dwell too long on thus one in
stance of dccadence in the modern word. owen
ON il, not becausc that island was my own native
country, but simply because il is the most cor
spieuous example of the utter rum, desolhilon
nnd 1rgradation which sometimes IA tins century
of nprogresso comes upon nation OF men and
comes upon them by virtue Of that very prog
ress" wherein they are told to boast and glory.
On the whole orr enlightened age is fast dark
ening for England into an ominous twlltght-has
already gathered over ireland into blacklist, star
loss midnight in which it needs strong faith even
To hope for dawn The reason il, that the trne
life of nations, the only well being of human So
oiety, consists not in commerce, not III gas,steah
Of electricity, but in simple justice. Where JUS
tee is denied or il dead, beneyolcDce Is mrertI-
nence. That life having died out, all the appa-
1ntus of pnmpered modern existence Is hnta ad-
ditional eyll; yes, if the thought that is in man,
that has been accepted and endorsed and has be-
come current, be indeed n false and foolish thought
then the fewer yehic,es Of thought the better
The printing press will vomt forth only rubbish
nutrid itself mud injecting with pntrescence what
soeyeri touches tho Geographic wires will wins
per more inlsehood than truth, and make cleo
rieity itself an instrument OF wrong. On rail
way cars many indeed will run to and fro but
knowledge will not be increased. And in all the
snmphous ganitur, that has been contrlyed to
elothc human life withal, rs il marches IN its
stately progress, there will be but dead corpse
making progress to pcrdition.
If the uge be decadent IN any country at any
timo-ii the spirit of the age be base aud cor
rapt. spirit, then all the winged, uany voiced,
hundred handed messengers and servants Of the
ago will do evil and not good. They will sim
ply execute the behests of that age; for man can
not he cAaltedby his own servants whom lie has
created with his own hands. We cannot climb
above ourselves. Let any Of you try if he can
eyes, if he can dance with his own head in his
teeth.
What if human progress, after ALL he like the
progress If the material globe in cyeloidl-if
the motion of every individual human society be
real wheel of fortune, whrrcupon it climbs, cul-
inmates AMI fal,l-if there be indeed an ntellec-
tual and moral summer for each rgon of the
globe. warming men just then and there, with the
vital fire of national spirit and individual mteli-
q. -. Il
eruudest Developments followed, us surely
and inevitably by the whitening winter! All the
nnologcr of nature preach this 10 Us aloud. His
tory, 50 far rs the gmmering lamp of history
throws back ray, tells the same tale. What a
glowing tide OF life once poured Itself through the
yallics of Syria of Numda Siberia itself bears
some dim and almost ubliteraied monuments and
testimonies of having once been the home OF what
we call "ciyilized" nations. From careful study
of the Language. arts, traditions and monuments
of the red men of North and South America, NJ
Murtius was forced to the conclusion that here
was uce which had dcgeneratcd from condi-
ton of high culture into generation of wild hun.
ters. I us If this Cyclical law be the true law
there is continual compensation to main.an e.
qulhrium, one nation always sinking in exact
proportion as another climbs. If our age credit
Itself with the life aud action of Europe, let il
debit itself with the death and burial of Asia.
Even of the natural sciences and of the usefu
md ornamental arts, which we are accustomed tt
regard rs almost exclusively modern, it is hare
To ascertain how much is really new. sCoperni
Gus discovers solar system which Pythagora,
Ind kown, though he did not pretend to discover
it, two thousand years before. An imperfect nc
count of the same Pythagoras' geological doc
trucs is attempted to be convey ed by Ovid mere
love poet of the enlightened and very progress
syc Augustan age, (which indeed had progressed
So far ms To have lost sight of ancient science.
But even from the tmsy and iancifu description
ol the Augustnn love poet ignorant of the moan
ing of the metamorphoses he sung, we can per
eeye that the geology of Pythagoras was snbstan
TALLY and almost precisely the geology of Sin
Charles Lyell. There are lost arts and eehpseC
philosophers, well as dimmed virtues and cor
rupled institutions. MAN." says Chimes,
sage, lis child born at mdnght; when it i,
morning he thinks there neyel was Il Yesterday. >
In one point, it may well be admitted, we art
far beyond all former nges-in talkof the halmy
sentimental sort. Peace and nod will to mol
never were talked about before: there is uni
ycrsnl hcneyoleuce forever ON the modern tongue
and even trying here and there to reduce itse
to action, but always in the wrong direction, to
wards the wrong men. Towards criminals, fol
example, and all manner of pests of society. In
stead of severe, sanguinary, sharp and decisiv,
pnnishments which would repress crime, modern
philanthropy 50 pampers and tendcrly entreats
the criminal as to put IA premium on villainy.-
fthcre be not justice, there is mercy. If there
be not fair trial, there is at least "A wel-whtc
washed and well-yentllated cell Then the be.
neyolence that pours itself out on all objects Of
sympathy, provided they be very far off, would
be most touching to behold, but that the re-
clplents OF 50 much compassion usually do not
happen to want it. Ii has been well said, .'when
the generous affections have become well nigh
paralytic we have the reign of scntimentality-
The greatness, the proftaheness, at any rate the
extremely ornamental nature of high feeling and