Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1857-05-06
9tpartmtnt.
postrn-Its influence on Society.

EOEbEN-4ba AnAACA(S va
Some "matter-of-facP' p~ersons-those who
discard oil poetic fancy, fire and genius as
the cracked ebullitions Of disorderedr imagl-
native minds-are unable to understand and
realize, that Poetry has exerted and does
exert a real, tangible, practical influence for
good upon human society and the destiny Of
the race. But there can be no question that
Religion, Liberty, Philosophy, and all the
nobler affections and attributes of hupAn
hearts and homes, have been greatly
ted by the Millions, the Sponsors, re
.miths, the Wordsworth, the S~igeEneys' ~"
Hennans', and hundreds of caer INDUSTRIOUS
Dames chat were not born side" 10 gain,
or the rays Of divinA9 that are scattered
amidst the clouds Of this W~orldintAa pencil,
10 assist us TO read the characters 4 wisdom
that lie about us, is certainly q mot nople
and pious word.
i is true the Poets %oba@5sEs OF geSs
are furnished With "the SUI e s~niritnal
invisible" They see
creatures" not %pS2pabie TO comn
Guarding The inhabitants OF earth "neh
oslcen. and mingling with and influencing
,tcir astions when awake. They see in earth,
md air, and sky and sea, the presence of the
Greut / AMI Sponsors soul was a fairy
land, over which all the virtues were cours-
inc. like chiyalrous knights in re%splendent
armor, struggling against oppression, wrong
and outrage constantly opposed by vices and
n~assions. in the figures of fends, fairies, 81
ants, monsters, and the whole progeny OF a
teemiup imagination. But who so obtuse as
to be- unable to discover the high moral les
SONS thus inculcated, and which find their
counterpart in every day life.
Religion has always found in Poetry one
Of its most forcible as we'll as beautiful ad-
undermining the attention to the pures'
and most spiritual conceptions, when soothing
profnnity, or subtle rationalism lead into the
dangerous circle Of atheism. Take Milton
for instance. The great master of song re
tires from scenes in which he had been
conspicuous actor, smitten with blindness
and instead Of dedicating his muse to tn
defences Of revolutions and royal murders
dictates the noblest Epic in our language
'Parndise Lost" Here is an intelleetua
barrier against Atheism, that cannot be pass
cd, until all the sweet lights of Heaven aree'
tinruished in the soul, and all taste for spil
itual food destroyed.
And the poetry of our own age and tim
has not degenerated in spirit and moralit
from the cold masters" "ln these latte
days," VIII en- old habits and associations ar
violently sundered by startling innovation
when the fountains Of honesty and vlrtu
are corrupted by sophistry, charlatanry an
fann ticism-when q vast portionsof the p
riodical press serves up vile garbage to a q
eased appetite, that only becomes more d1
eased by the food it Graves and deVours
the Poets, to their everlasting honor be 1t sa
with ONLY one or two exceptions, have draN
CRYSTAL waters from the streams OF Castal
They have unfolded q moral creed which
sound. and sufficiently expansive to inclu
all the virtues. They have taken CT
40 advocate intellectual liberty, in comm
Mon with the checks and restraints OF
ligion. They have shed an untadlng l
Ire upon ~ Cltloh u ohJNSNo1 "h''
recently, have quite escaped the notice
the ancients-subiects that approach the
meval source Of our being, and gather up
indications Of divine origin and of immor
ity, from the bright impressions, the joys
sorrows Of infancy and childhood, and
catastrophe of early death, around which
rays of divinity play.
The infant corpse-"not dead, but 81
ing" There is something in this pictur
heavenly, that you almost irvoluntarily
claim as you gaze upon it-"They die 20
whom the gods love-" 1t is sight all
too sacred to be described with words,
those who have worthily expressed the
tons it e~xcites, which have often strag
in the hearts Of those who knew no uttert
for them, have, in this superficial, unq
unrehecting age, laid us under deep oh
tions. There are teachers whose lessor
lently mould the character Of a whole ma
Give me the writing of your ballads, a
care not who makes your laws"-was a
compliment paid to the genius Of song b.
who understood much Of human chara
There are many passages bright, glea
along Wordsworth's pages, and many 81
drawn by the Author Of The old Curl
Shop" which have made the scales fall
our eyes. and discovered to us angels tl
sing the haunts Of men. Go where you
you may find domestic circles bowed Il
ness-their hearts almost sundered
violence of the shock that removed
from a chain that to them was halloV
The noble little prattler of yesterda
was the impersonation of Innocence
over whose breast no wave OF passio
rolled-has to-day fallen into the arms
king Of terrors. The silver cord was
so gently, that it seems not DEATH out
transition to the company of those g.
angels who the Divine Founder of 0
lision says "Do always behold the
Cody But the mother and the :
ones? Upon their ears thrill the '
the prophet-"H is reH 'o'fh me en-
While the immortal Bard OF Avon q
souLconsoling thought
II have heard you say,
That we shall see and know our trienus ~
If that be true, 1 shall see my boy again
And thus the fountain Of grief is S
in the Holy of Holes of their he'
,yh;cb n veil Is drawn, that is never