Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1856-02-29

resist to the last extremity. A race
Of mountaineers may remain isolated
for centuries without loss of spirit
or character, though the graces of
civilization might be totally ehaced.
But this cannot with truth be said of
the inhabitants of fiat countries
And we may, perchance, get a
glimpse Of the philosophy Of this
fact Mountains are not usually
fertile, while the great plains of Eu-
rope, Asia, and America, are for the
most part productive with a small ex-
penditure Of labor. Now if you
separate one of these pralrles, step
pes, or plans from the rest Of the
world, what inducement to activity
beyond the preservation of animal
lite remains In mountainous and
comparatively sterile regions, so great
are the necessities of the inhabitants.
'h~' a"iiviiv and labor are. the com
mon lot. The necessity for labor is
the mother Of what we call enter
prise.
Where the necessity for labor does
not exist and press as a general rule
upon all enterprise is unknown, or is
else lransplanted from other less iav-
ored regions How often is it that
the children of the rich are lacking
in energy and enterprise, while these
qualities are quite universal among
the properly educated children OF
less favored classes Men will not
usually labor when the customary
round Of wants is supplied and this
round is more likely to diminish than
to increase, when all external stlmu-
lus is Withdrawn. Now while noun
tains are favorable to animal life,
they are not usually productive in
the means Of its support One alter
native only remains: Men must
work or starve. Though disposed
as our race is to idleness, most Of Us
accept labor when presented on such
stern conditions. Yet we often ac-
cept 1t, or flee from it to more fav-
ored climes, as though it were al
ways and everywhere a curse while
in truth there is within us all a prin-
clple which renders labor a blessing.
| do not, of course, speak of the
systems of Europe, or other servile
systems, which compel the laborer to
delve in ignorance for bare sub
sistence. The New England labor
er is not subject TO nor in danger oi
any such degradation. When labor
is regarded merely as a means of sup
porting life or of accommodating wealth,
then 1t is a curse but it becomes a
blessing when viewed as a process
10y which we achieve a victory ovel
the resisting forces of nature or art
1t is not the glory of Christ or o
Christianity that its founder was with.
out temptation; but that being tempt
ed he was without sin. Virtue, ge-
MUS, plain intellect, manual labor,
respects itself and is respected in
proportion to the obstacles it over.
comes. Marshal de St. Arnaud anc
Lord Raglan, though unsuccessful in
the Crlmea, are, after all, more dis.
linguished than they would have
been had the Russians fled preclpi
lately beyond the isthmus of Pere.
kop. Labor, labor of the hands
merely and for a subsistence only, i:
and ever must be mcnial but ii i,
dignlhed and ennobled, when, guild.
ed by the intellect, it oyercomes the
obstacles which lie in every man,
path. Labor is blessing Just il
proportion as it is an achievement.
A life which accomplIshes nothing
is nothing 10 the world. The Labor
which such liver is obliged to per
form, seems justly enough to him Il
be curse But do you not think
that the labor of the astronomer, tn,
chemist, the mathematician, the poet
is n blessing? Indeed it is and hi
labor is as severe as any manual lab
or can possibly be. Why then, thor
mere denizeH OF earth, is labor tC
him blessing and TO you a curse
Plainly because you accept labor IA
a yoke upon your own neck, instead
Of selzing 1t as an instrument in you
hands, by whose agency you Wi
achieve a victory over the OBSTACLE
in your way Labor, TO be sure, il
an instrument by which we acquire
a subsistence and accumulate wealth
but an instrument, too, by which w
demonstrate the supremacy of ih
intellect over the lnanimate creation
Now this highest form OF labor cal
exist only when there is enterprise
and enterprise is the cnlld OF com
mon necessity. And there is M
reason IN the nature Of man why a
gricultural labor with US should be I
struggle for a subsistence merely
aud therefore to be avoided as far a
possible. 1t is an art; it invoke
aud will employ high order ant
great variety Of learning ii develop
The physical man; II culllvates ant
chastens all moral qualities, and i
stimulates the intellect. Agricullur,
IN Massachusetts is not Oh the on,
hand So hopeless as 10 leave men il
despair, nor, on the other, has nature
been so generous as to invite Us tc
rely upon her spontaneous products
ErceiieHce Is an attainment through
struggle aud labor amidst the active
competition OF other men. We ludg,
men, men Judge themselves, not st
much 10y their actual attainment, a
IbV the process of the siruoUle anf