The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1857-07-30

aGreeaOIe pastlme OF an hour, while theii.
domestic and civil institutions. which were
the tardy offspring of protracted thought,
and experience, descend as the free inherit.
anee of all enlightened nations
Thus each age builds upon the accnmu
lated wisdom ofthe past, carrying out and
perfec,ing whatever their predecessors left
incomplete, and adding rich productions Of
their own genius aud invention to the grow
ing fund.
we had no means of perpetuating the
discoveries ofsucce >sive generations. il waald
be utterly impossible for us ever TO acquire
more than the most superficial knowledge 4
Zach age must begin at the beginning. aud
plod along over the same wearisome course.
Tradition would usurp the place of history :.
poetry would degenerate to wild and barba
rlous rhyme and. the revealed word of God
TO man would, long ere this, have become n
meagro bundle of legendary myths, encum.
be'ed with traditionary errors and supersti.
-tious tollies. That such is not the case, we
owe to the agency Of the press. Wisdom
and truth follow in IFS traim the dark shad
ows Of ignorance and superstition melt away
at its approach, while education, supported
by so able champion, is boldlystnking for
universal empire.
The progress of man along the rugged
paths 10 civilization was. at first, from the
very nature of The case, slow, perplexing and
wearisome. Every step in advance was an
experiment, always uncertain, often hazard
Gus. But as he progressed in knowledge,
the difficulties were gradually diminished,
each achievement in art or science paving
the way for an easier and. more rapid ad-
vancement Discovery opened the wav for
discovery, invention for invention, and thus
each age, with anpler means for improve.
ment than their predecessors, have, under
the same circumstances. made far more rap.
i'd progress in the arts and sciences. Heuce,
we may account for the numerous and start.
ling revelations of the present day in every
department ofbuman knowledge Never was
there century so rich in discovery, so fruitful
III invention, ms the present. We are living
most emph"tically in a fast age. TotterinU.
decrepit, weasand-voiced fnsvism crooks nj.
most hnaudibly upon the outskirts of the
Present, while " Young America bold, Wig.
orous and gigantic has annhilated time
tackled himself to his car, and wheels on
the des,inies of the age with electric veloc-
~. We ride by steam, write with electrc.
~, converse by lightning, and rise to the
highest honors upon gas. ....
Our manufactures are sending forth eve
ry form and variety of production which the
necessities, or elegances Of life, demand.
The application of steam, as propelIing
power, has added the crowning glory to the
art of navigation, and brought into close
proximity the most remote nations of the
globe. The lightning has been endowed
with voice and speech, whose tones may be
heard simultaneously throughout our land,
and soon the confused jargon of tie Chinese
Emperor, as he discusses the merits OF some
canine delicacy at his royal tea,table, coined
into the Presidents English, shall, at the
saRe moment, drop from the telegraphic
wires at Washington, for the entertainment
of our worthy magistrate, while he quietly
takes his morning meal.
But our limited space forbids our emu
mcraiing further the wonderful achieve.
,ments Of man. Everywhere rich displays of
his genius rise in beauty before us, challeng
ing our admiration and bespeaking the di.
vine origin of the mind. From our present
exalted position, we gaze down with wonder
aud admiration through the .mists and
gloomy shadows of intervening. centuries,
upon the barbarous ages of remote antiqui-
ty. We witpess, with intense interest, the
heroic struggle of man with nature, the Jar.
ring conflict OF truth with error, the clash.
ing of superstition with religion, and with
grateful emotions behold ignorance and
brute force graduily yielding TO the power
of truth and virtue. As from some lofty
height the rapt observer casts his eye down.
ward upon the world below, mufaed with
storm.clouds and darkness, and listens TO
the clanquor Of the warning elements, the
roaring winds, and the crashing thunder,
while above and around the sun shines in
unelouded majesty and whispering breezes
float gently by him. -.
While tracing the progress Of man
through the.dark mazes. of ignorance and
error, while Witnessing Ills struggles, his tri-
.umphs. and his eminent success, the convic.
ton is irresistably forced upon us how much
be Is the arbiter OF his own fate, how very
much OF his prosperity is the result of his
own achievements. ~. s ~
We would. not be understood as saving
aught to detfact from the claims of christi
aniiy in the glorious work of civilization.
We cheehaily admit its benign infuetce.
II has shed the browning glory over the sub.
limest Of human creations, and made man a
moral, rs we'll assn intellectual being. Hu.
II