Eastern times., 1854-03-16
The Past and the Present.

The Past and the Present.
Oar fathers were no fools. In this age Of
progress, when so much that is visionary, un-
real and transcendental passes for current coin
in the world, there is danger that even the
good in the past shall be forgotten, or be but
lightly esteemed. Men and women are etheri-
al in their notions and tickle in their opinions.
Like the snarling cur which dropped the bone
he held in grasping at shadow, they are dis
posed to fly away from the substantial good in
their possession, and chase some wild whim
in the present or the future.
In the way Of manners, customs and opin-
ions, Of modes Of thought and action the
fathers have transmitted to us much that is
worthy of respect. But the age, like the
children of the present day, has become proud
and arrogant, and deems itself too wise and
too old to profit by the observation or the ex-
perience of the past Young America,
with a. long-tail coat dangling at his heels,
spurns paternal authority and SO the age,
wise above what is written, turns up its nose
with contempt at the seers and sages of by.
gone times. Ultra-reformers, with unshaven
faces, and long, flowing hair, tell US that Soc
rates and Plato and Cicero were simpletons :;
that George Washington, John Adams and
Thomas jefferson, were trio of old fools :;
that the Christian Religion is a pretty fair
system of morals and piety, but is altogether
behind the times that the Pilgrim fathers
were all well enough in their way, but were
pigmies compared with the present race of
men! .fH Ef HEllEt ftIHf
Failing to discover the real superiority of
the present over the past, the ultraists of our
generations, condemn everything old, simply
because it is old-not because it is not good.
The half century that is just finished, has Civ
en- to the world improvements in the arts
which have wonderfully difused and perfect
ed our civilization. Mechanical ingenuity has
traversed sea and land, bearing innumerabe
blessings to the palace and the howell. 1t has
linked together far distant communities it
has subdued the elements, and made even the
Lightning bear message of peace and good
will among men. r-
Viewing the mass of Improvements which
the first half of the nineteenth century has be-
slowed upon the world, we can scarcely won
der that the present age despises the attain
ments of the past. But it should be consid-
cred that these Improvements are only the per-
fecting of what may have been for ages in the
course of formation or preparation. The first
step towards the electric telegraph was taken
when DIR. Franklin drew down the lightning
from the cloud. The steam engine, which
watts our ships across the ocean, had its orr
gin far back in the past. Indeed, what have
we of inventions that are not the result of aces
Of observation and experiments A principle
IN science or philosophy, which engaged the
attention of the scholar in his study a hundred
years ago, has now ripened with a practical
benefit to mankind. But the day and the
hour which brought it forth, need not claim
the glory Of the discovery, any more than the
son, who plucks fruit from the tree his grand
father planted, need claim the credit of pro-
ducing the fruit. iy WY l[iITU1J
Our boasted progress is as much the offspring
OF our fathers toll and study, as Of our own.
Art, science, philosophy, theology, law, and
morals, which now make such gigantic strides
over the world, were born in the distant ages
ofthe past. Ages of study and experiment
have brought them to their present state of
perfection.
Deeply indebted as the present is to the
past, 1t need not copy its errors and its preju-
dlces. The page Of history is red with blood.
Injustice, fanaticism and untamed passions
riot in every line. Yet the son may love and
respect the father, while he wisely discrimi-
mates between his virtues and his vices. The
lessons OF the past are worth learning but
the merit of the genuine reformer consists in
combining the good Of the old with the real
and substantial of the new.-N E. Cutirator