Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-10-06
N ASHVIILE:
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1857.
The Lecture of HIr. PrentIce.


GEO. D. PRENTICE, Esq, reached this city
on Saturday morning. Owing to some
oversight or neglect on the part of those,
with whom he had entrusted the arrange
ment of the time and place for the delivery
of his t" Lecture on the Present Aspect OF
american Politics, which was the prime OBJ
iect of his visit-these facts were not
generally known to our citizens. Such no.
tice, however, as could be given during the
evening of that day, brought together a
fine audience at Odd Fellows Hall.
For quarter of century Mr.. Prentice
has held prominent place before the
country as a partizan politician, it may be
said fierce and bitter one. In this re-
spect the character of his mind and writings
are well known throughout the Union
On this occasion, however, he laid aside
his partizan character, and, rising above
all were party names and aims, viewed the
aspects of American politics in the light of
an elevated philosophy. The most sensi-
tive or the most prejudiced of his political
opponents, could have discovered nothing
which could have been construed into the
remotest party bias; and from this lecture
it may be known that he is a statesman as
well as a partizan. His analysis of the
times, and his exposition of the nature OF
man, his relations to social institutions and
their application to the existing order of
things in our own country, exhibited a
power and comprehensiVeness Of thought,
an extent and accuracy of investigation
that marked not only the statesman, but
the learned and accomplished political
philosopher. His tributes to the illustrious
dead, were no less beautiful and touching,
than his excavations of the iving-re
CARELESS of partieS-were just and severe.
While he traced the evils that now afflict
the country with the keen and searching eye
of a passionless philosopher, he deplored
the causes with the heart of the passionate
patriot, and rebuked the immediate authors
with all the fierce vehemence of his ardent
nature. The Lecture may have contained
sentiments or propositions that we might
consider debatable; but as a whole it was
eminently just, able and instructive.
AS a literary production, we consider it
one of the most finished and elegant we
have ever listened to. It's rhetoric and
grammar were faultless. It's Illustrations
and imagery were chaste and classical. Its
periods were richly decorated and splendid
ly rounded with the finest forms of speech;
yet unencumbered, clear and powerful No
sentence was broken by the weight of its
ornament; no sentiment weakened by the
splender of its utterance, yet it was highly
ornamented and splendid throughout.
To the reputation of poet, scholar, and
partizan controVersialist, which Mr.. Prem
tice has already achieved, he now adds
that of the philosophic politician. He is
lacking in many of the qualities of popu-
lar orator, and the careless auditor will lose
something of the beauty and power of the
lecture in the delivery; but the attentive
listener will not fail to be deeply impressed
with both. He goes from here to his home
in Louisville, filling a number of appoint
ments on the way; and those who may
have the opportunity to sit down to such
an intellectual feast will assuredly not fail
to embrace it.