The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1856-12-13
G0utatiollal.
For The Cecil Whiy.
Ak ADDRESS,,

TorsG LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN AS the
mariner, upon the wide ocean, avails himself
Of the calm which prcccdes the gale, to
make AL observation, To take the altitude OF a
planet or Of the pole. to ascertain his latitude
and longitude, and determine by the chart
his relative position, it may be well for us.
before the busy hours Of regular study, to
consider the circumstances around us, that
we may the moro happily, when the fsvoring
gales drive, speed upon our way to the shores
Of know ledge.
While welcome you here, l cannot for
bear to ndmonish you Of the importance Of
the step which you have taken in entering
these academic halls. This is tho most in
tcrrsing. AZ we'll as the most critical period
of the journey Of your lives.
A portion Of you now before me, arc, for
the first time, separated from the homes
which gxyo you birth, and the ever watchful
and solicitous guardianship OF those whose
every aspiration and hope are concentrated
IN you; and for the first time in your lives,
many of you, perhaps, are thrown upon your
own resources for n character; the formation
of which you have now to commence The
habits acquired, and the principles imbibed
al his period. like the presiding constela
ton in the Astrologer's superstition. follow
ns through every stage Of our being, and
often, despite our best rcsolutionsand efforts.
control and determine our destiny for timo
and eternity.
Therefore, we must diligently and earnest
~ practice all that All enlightened conscience
may dictate. and daily and hourly accustom
ourselves to the most rigid and economical
distribution Of our time.
purpose, al present, stating 10 You the
opinions which entertain with regard to the
direction which Your readn. ought to take,
with view to tho improvement Of your
minds.
Reading, whose effects mankind, too gen
orally, te"m to be utterly unaware Of;
Reading, the only real, the only efectual
source Of instructions; READING, the pure
spring of nine-tenths Of our intellectual en-
j'ymcnts, the only cure for all our ignorance
HEADING, without which no man ever yet
possessed extensive information; READING
tween the blockhead and the man of learn
ing: READING, the loss ofwhich, no knowledge
"t Greek PARTICLES, nor the most intimate
acquaintance with the rules Of syntax and
rrosody, nor the strictcSt course of training
in Comics or Spherics, will ever be able to
compensa READING, tho most valuable
gift OF the Divinity, is, then, Of ten thousand
fold the Importance of any other Science,
because it is the mother of them all.
Nothing can, in any case, be substituted
for it; it is the milk Of the intellectual child
it is the solid nourshment Of the grown man;
it is the wine Of old age.
The man who has not learned to read,
knows only those words which he has learned
In conversation; his vocabulary is ama Her
than can we'll be imagined, still, however.
prop rtioned and analogous to the company
he has associated with. But to write and
elegance, or variety Of style, we must have
read-rfad a great deal, and good authors.
The first book an individual reads impregses
on his mind and n,omory number of words
he either krew not before, or knew so i'm
perfectly that he did not dare to use them;
every succeeding book sugnenty this num-
her, and with it forms, gradually, his .udg-
ment IA to their Fitness singly or collective
ly. No man has ever yet become u critic
with regard to language, no man has ever
written Or spoken with elegance and pro-
priety, by any other means.
tn tl,a vnlua II cd h,,
truly remarked: "As to those who tell us,
with an air of seeming wisdom, that it is
men. not books, We must study to become
knowing: this have always remarked, from
repeated experience, to be the common con-
ISOLATION and language of ounces"
OF were to pray for a taste which should
stand me instead under every variety of cir
cunstanccs, and be a source of happiness
and cheorfulness to me through life, and a
shie Id against its ills, however things might
go amiss, and the world frown upon me -
says Sir J. F. W. IIcrschcl, sit would be q
taste for reading. Give q man this taste
and the means Of gratifying it, and you car
hardly fail of making a happy man; unless
indeed, you put into his hands \ most per.
verse selection Of books. You place him il
contact with the best society in every period
of l,istoryi with the wisest, the wittiest, will
the tcnderest, the bravest, and the pure ST
characters that have adorned humanity
You make him denizen of all nations, q
contemporary Of all ages"
While thus strongly advocate reading a.
means of mental improvement: / do no,
wish to overlook it's handmade, lectures. They
are both valuable. They are both alone oper
to relative objections. Lectures alone, give
but an imperfect and crudo sort Of notions tc
those who have not access to books. Books
again, are sort of spacious sea, on whicl
an unpractiscd student, without any tutor tc
direct him, might be apt to be lost; hence
we shall regard it as one our duties, to pon
out to the student the authors of best credit
and specify the most valuable portions O
those too voIuminous for the general reader
Nor loss, will We regard it within our pro
vince to guard you against the errors ndis
criminate reading is liable to engendcr.-
Remember in all yonr readings, 'smaiium no,
mula,' much, not many things, is the rule.
We live in an suspicious era tor the diff