Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1856-11-22
A SOUTHERN

The New Orleans Delta grayely informs us that
'many Of the Southern journals are zealously ad-
vocating the creation of q purely Southern Lit
%erature."
Men propose but God ~disposes. 1t is easy to
pirate Of an exclusive Southern literature but
it would not Re go trifing II matter for them to es-
tablish ii.
The South has never been famous for her men
of letters. Laying aside Prentice, the Poet-who
by the way, was born at the Nortl-and Simms,
the romancist-who by the way, we see is about
cmigrating to the North to ommene a lecturing
tour-the South has little to brag of at present, in
the wav of literary men or women, Its race of
literateurs Us rapidly dwindling down to an inf
Intestinal point while at the North the army Of
the quill is gaining votaries and gaining strength
diurnaly.
Where will the South find her Trvings, her Bry-
ants, her Longfellows, her Taylors, her C~urtisses,
her Whipples, her EmersOns, her Lowclls, her
Reads, Sigourneys, her Childs, her Southworths
her Stoves. Where are her brains? These latter
are IN indispensable requisite to a successful and
influential literature, and where will the South
obtain them She mag transform Henry a Wise
into a Paul lie kock-he would never answer for
anthing higher. She may turn out Preston S.
Brooks for II poem on Gain" but can he expect
to rival Byron? She may persuade John c. Brec.
enridge to prepare a work upon Abstract Dec
larations," but would he hope to equal hosts of our
Northern lawyers who have written whole libra
Ties on the same subject? She may get up a vol
ume called Pryor on Dueling.' but would not the
author conced the priority Of the North by com
ing hither to select his ground? She might send
her 1eadon up this way, to write the biography
of some distinguished son OF Freedom bat it is
probable that he would be compelled to retraet
, half his statements before he had finished tie
the first five chapters, as he did in the case of his
$ famous letters corning the gallant Fremont. She
o might call upon Brooks-afterh he had finished hi.
: poem on "Cain"-to prepare a history of Canada
: provided she could get him to go there, She
= might, perhaps, do all this, but where are thu
:. brains she desires to appropriate to purely literary
e purposes to come from? That is what we are dy
D ing to know,
: There is no such thing as exclusiveness as sec
tionalism in the Republic of Letters. 1t is d ivideC
by no Mason and 0ixon's Line. 1t is universe
! in its scope. equal in it's dispensations and genera
in its benefits. 1t knows no parallels Of latitud
or longitude. 1t has no equator. To talk eff cr6a
ting and maintaining n Southern Literature, i
like proposing to get up a Southern rainbow, or
Southern moon. The thing is impossible.
n The project is, however, a characteristic one
" 1t is founded upon that bitter hate which the SoutI
entertains towards everything NortLern--evCIy
thing free. The literature of the North sends tt
~enlightcn the masses; to rouse up in the most un
tutored breast the latens sparks Of manliness anc
independence; to bring out, educate, and finally
ID polish the hidden treasures of the mind; to max
statesmen out of what the South is pleased TO cal
is greasy mechanics and filthy oI eratiyes;" t
make every man his own school master; to incit
study, earnest and toiling study, and by incitin;
ID study to develop intellect and manufacture heroes
ly But all this would not answer at the South. 1t
+. the policy, as it is the plan Of the South to kee
lie the masses uneducnted-i in a state of ignorance
n because Il general education would break dow,
st the barriers of Slavery sooner than anything else.
IN We should like to see the South try the expert
IN ment Of a purely Southern literature. We shout
like to see the literature, if the experiment shoul
to be regarded as successful. The Arabian Night
and Bocaccio's De Cameron would not be II eli
II cumstance in comparison with it. Hurry up
Establish your exclusive system Of literature an
he favor us with IA specimen. We are impatient
he see it.-Syracuse Journal.