Thibodaux minerva. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 18??-1858, 1856-04-05
The Education of the Masses.

of his tutorage. His mind at this age is most Wig
orous and flexible, and hence most susceptible
of permanent impressions. During this tune 1t
receives the bent to which it is directed through
life. 1t here starts to pursue course Whlch VIII
either lead it to glory conduct 1t to destruction.
These are the wears which are to determine whether
that mind is to be blessing or curse to mankind.
The one or the other it will evidently be; and the
decision of this important question turns upon the
manner in which it is educated. Educate means
to lead out, and hence is as applicable to the body
as to the mind We will so use it here. If a
child be educated bv red man he becomes an
Indian; if by the dolator, he becomes an idoator
if by heather, he becomes heather. If he
receives no education at all he becomes bold ig-
noramus But it is not so much our object to
speak Of the direction of the mind Of its proper
culture, and the advantages arising from that culture
to itself and to its country. There are two kinds
of education-that of the heart and that of the
mind. The former includes all that which pertains
to the moral training. 1t has been said "educate
a rascal and you put sword in the hands OF
mailman. and set him loose upon the world, tor
YOU increase his power, and render him ten-fo'd
more terrible. Hence, the education OF the heart
il as necessary as that of the mind and is instlling
into the mind such principles as will render it sub
iect to law and judgment. The latter includes all
that which has reference to the cultivation OF that
principlc in man which alone distinguishes him from
the brute 1t is for the cultivation of this that the
student trims the midnight lamp and weary, studies
long and late. In this especially is the assertion
true that emo excellence is attained without great
labor" Nor would it be well were it otherwise
We always appreciate possession according to
the difficulty or cost of its acquisition.
Ifthere be anything deserving of our attention
if there be anything aside from the salvation OF
the soul itself worthy of the pursuit of man while
ON earth, is the expanding of that principle within
him called the inteecs-the cultivation Of that
immortal part which will afford the purest kind Of
earthly pleasure, and tenfod more in the world to
come 1t opens to us thousand beauties in ma
ture which to men of narrower minds are unknown,
unseen, and unappreciated.
mind has attained that degree of discipline which
God and nature have designed it SHALL it is then
prepared to enter the study Of any department OF
science or profession As it embarks upon the
VOYAGE of life in these various occupations, it dis
covers new beauties at every step, and is delighted
with the new world which it has entered. Every
department of science, whether natural or probes
sional, opens new field of wonders, and presents
to the minds eye a new set Of objects for pleasant
contemplation. Thus, without our eyes open to
the arrangement Of nature, our minds prepared by
education to- contemplate its beauties, and our
hearts made ready by cultivation to enjoy earth's
varied smiles, we are rendered capable of the high
est degree Of enjoyment Out of chaos and con-
fusion comes forth order and arrangement, and
we imagine we discover still slight lineaments of
prmeval Paradise.
What monument more lasting could individuals
rear to perpetuate the memory of their works than
ntellects trained to bear this impress through this
world and carry it into eternity? What more laud-
able object of nations ambition is there than the
education of their youths How long and unsatis-
fed is the curiosity that has clustered around the
time-enduring pyramids Of Egypts Their ponder
GUS walls stand up high in air, and whisper nothing
to the nations Of the world but the indomitable
perseverance of infatuated man. Although at
telnpts have recently been made to decipher the
meaning Of their mysterious hieroglyphcs, yet they
have ended in nothing more certain than the re-
suit Of conjecture. They are still unmeanng mon
uments. ~ e-sr.,. s,ssr
To ancient Egypt belongs the honor OF having
first cultivated the arts. From her bosom came
forth the persevering Cadmus who first carried
Pheniciau letters into Greece In imitation Of her
city Of hundred gates was reared the Grecian
Thebes Toher belongs the credit OF once having
possessed the largest library in the world, and yet
she has left her offspring, reared in other lands to
write her history. Hence this has been imperfecty
done, and mere fragments Of her interesting story
have come down to our modern ears. Little do we
know of her institutions or her arts, and still less
Of her design Of those ponderous monuments.
But had she produced one historian alone, like
Herodotus OF, Xenophon, who could have given US
record OF her nODie QeeUS atIu ucit1cdteu luz Tie
benefit Of posterity her useful arts she would have
contributed far more to the benefit Of the world.
She would have perpetuated her name among the
nations Of the most remote ages. But as thrones
crumble and dynasties pass away, as the age Ct
chivalry has gone, SO has her glory departed Con-
trast now this mother country with her legitimate
daughter, Greece--so appropriately termed "the
land of scholars and the nurse Of arms" For the
FIRST colonists who settled in Greece are said TO
have come from Egypt Here first was liberty
Graded in its infancy, and here were brought forth
the body and mind of to the greatest perfection
But she, too, has fallen. Her national glory has
departed She has left no memento Of senseless
stones that rear their heads toward heaven to tell
posterity Of her fame. She needs none. She has
left to the world more useful memorial of her
greatness She produced Homer, Heroaotus,
Z Xenophion, and Demosthenes. Their works
have been handed down to as to teach US classic
lore, and as long as their language is studied their
sentiments will not cease to impress the mind Of
youth. Look back and view what these two ma
lions have done for the advancement OF mankind,
and vas u,av ErAuw whot "A peor:cc