The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1857-10-29
Common Sense.

One Of the things needful in this our
day is more of an article commonly de-
nominated common sense. It is getting
to be very rare. To is the scarcost and
most uncommon commodity among us
We want school, an academy, a college
an Institution of some sort, where com
mon sense can be taught theoretically
and illustrated practically.
The sources Of common sense, like
the sources Of the common atmosphere,
arc so abundantly provided, so Uery com
mon, that we have overlooked its value
almost entirely. There is nothing which
nature has so lavishly supplied to us as
the air we breathe, or should breathe,
for Gin the breath is the life" And yet
one-half of our people are trying in all
possible ways to keep it out of their
mortal bodies while a moiety Of the
other half are constantly killing them
selves in their efforts to irritate and
poison what little they do breathe
Vjdc-the lady, othorwisegood-looking,
in that murderously tight dress and
the gentleman with a cigar in his other
wise decently.shaped mouth.
And the water we drink, or should
drink, is distilled for us from exhaustless
fountains The clouds above us, the
lakes, and rivers, and springs, and
streamlets among us, and the illimitable
ocean around US, sufficiently attest its
value and its importance.
But, alas tits common And human
beings must, forsooth, rack their brains,
and destroy half the grains and fruits Of
the earth, which God intended for our
purost nourishment and highest devel-
opment, to cOncOct an uncommon bevcr-
age. Hence rum, brandy, gin, wine,
oidor, etc, have supplanted Natures
drink, and as a consequence, brought
ruin and dcsolatiOn upon half the human
race.
And our common sense, like the COM
mon air and the common water, has
been literally cast out Of our synagogues,
to make room for something uncommon.
Our common brains and common in
stincts combined, are cribbod, confined,
repressed, distorted, perverted, retrovert-
ed, so that everything in us and Of us
shall be in some way unnatural, uncom-
mon.
Our buildings must each be construct
ed on a different plan no two gentle
men must dress alike; the ladies must
not dress similarly, and the sexes must
have nothing like family resemblance
in any of their multitudinous habili-
ments. In short common sense must be
turned out of all respectable society, in
order that every uncommon Oddity, &c
centricity, or mOntrosity may be enter
tanned and glorifed. We will not wor-
ship the true God because He is every
where present at all times He is too
common. But we will make to ourselves
rare and costly craven images, and tor
ture ourselves with the vehemence and
violence of our unnatural and false de-
votiOn.
Almost every person is born with the
elements within him and the influences
around him for achieving distinction, for
becoming good and great If individu-
ais do not succeed it is generally be-
cause they do not exercise their COM
mon sense capacities. They have fallen
into the prevalent false standard of
! Judgment and have learned to estimate
the value of things by their scarcity
This should not be. The commonest
things are, throughout all Gods do
mains, the most valuable. Our truly
great men are always our common sensi-
cal men, And the same is true of our
truly good women. All really great aud
good persons arc those who cultivate
their own minds, and apply their pow
ers and perceptions to the things, the
realities around them, without relying
Ipassively on the brains Of others. In
this way they become useful, thoughtful
active, and gelf-reliant. Their entity
becomes more and more indiyidualized
and their individuality tends more and
more to an independent personality
They are in the order Of development
! progress.
Remember franklin He is our type
our model Of common sense man.
Few men are so well known in history
Very few are so often quoted. Scarcely
one has made a deeper impression on
human society Yet he was not greatly
distinguished in any particular line. HC
was never a general, as Washington was
he was not a statesman, like Adams he
was not poet like Byron he was mo-
} a philosopher, like Newton nor meta
physician, like Locke. He was neither
j distinctively, but he was all collectively
7 He was great in little things Hi
greatness consisted in a correct appre
citation Of the relations Of common
things He was not great on great ooca
sions, but great always on all occasions
He was ever ready to turn the little act
aud incidents Of life to practical account
He possessed an uncommon share of
common sense, and this was the score
| Of his distinguished character hi