Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1857-09-02
LITERARY.


y HENRY G. WILLIAMS, Esq, Of Ndsh
The progress which education has made in North.
Carolina, for few yeafs past, is too, source OF
qualification. The schools and academies sPr,ng'ng
up in every -neghb0rhood evidences OF th's pro.
gress. Thst its course may be onward ana upward
should be the honest and heartfelt desire Of every
North. Carolnian. May it continue to spread until
it shall reach every portion of our beloved State
shedding it's benign influence everywhere, and ir-
radiatine in its bright track the gloomy paths OF
Ignorance. This alone will develop the hidden re-
sources of North Carolina, and cause her wilderness
to blossom as the rose; bring to light the genius
which SAUNDERS in the minds of her sons and
daughters elevate her to that proud position among
her sisters to which she is entitled, and by dssem
mating intelligence among her people, increase their
prosperity and happiness. Education should not be
weighed in the balance with the earthly treasures
sought after by man. 1t is of different charac-
ter-of higher and nobler quality. It rs the rich
est legacy you can bequeath your children; for,
amid all the changes and vicisstudes of life, it will
cling to them. 1t is legacy which they cannot
lose; one like true wisdom, which "moth and rust
cannot corrupt nor thieves break through and
steal" In comparison with it, gold is but dross.
and silver but leaden ore. The pleasure they pro-
duce is sordid and visionary. They never impart
true and genuine happiness satisfy the mind.
As some lone miser visiting his store,
Bends at his treasure, counts re-eounts it Der,
HOards after boards his rising raptures fll
Yet still he signs, for boards are wanting STILL
=
How much of real enjoyment is forever lost to
those whose naturally bright intellects are obscured
and developed in the clouds of mental darkness,
which might have been disspated by the sun of ed
ucation They live out their lives here in utter g-
norance not only of their history but of their des
tiny. They pass to their graves and are soon for
gotten, leaving foot prints on the sands of time
to mark a distinguished and useful career!
On the other hand, contemplate for moment the
inexhaustible pleasures and pure delight afforded by
education to the cultivated mind. How pleasing it
must be to the scholar to reflect that his life is be-
ing spent in ameiorating the condition of man! In
fact the field for his enjoyment is boundless. He
is at home in all companies By the history of the
past, the actors and Of other days intro
duce6 to his mental vision in all the reality of life,
and he is at once made familiar with the rise and
fall of the mighty empires of antiquity, their revo-
lutions and their mytho!ogies For his Amusement
he can rove over the fowery fields of fiction and
romance. With Gallileo aud Newton. he can soar
to more ETHEREAL cimes, where, amid suns and
moons and stars, explaining and unraveling the
mysteries of these mighty lumnaries, he can con-
template and admire the wonderful discoveries of
sublime astronomy. With Socrates, Plato and 9TH
ers of ancient rcnown, he can travel over the whole
range of philosophy and Gull from the recorded wis
Tom of ages, treasures of knowledge to improve,
enlighten and crafty the mind. Amid all his intel
lectual enioyments, the man of education is
well to the improvement as to the comfort and hap
piness of those around him. We should rejoice
that lots have been cast in an age of progress.
Look around and behold, every side, the Won
derful triumphs of art and genius-triumphs, in
comparison with which the achievements Of other
days dwindle into insignfcance The railway car
with its iron horse, traversing with incredible We
locity nearly every portion of the country-the
steamboats,, like floating palaces, moving with ma
jesty to and fro rivers, and riding with equal
ease the pillows Of the ocean-the electric telegraph
conveying intelligence from place to place, with
lightning speed, annihating distance as well as
time-all are the results of education combined with
inventive genius. Even now, railroad enterprise,
disresardiag the natural barriers of the Rocky
mountains is about to come Ct the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, and make distant California one Of
our nearest neighbors. The submarine telegraph
magnetic cable, will soon join two great continents
and bring Europe and America within speaking
distance. The aeronaut, in his restless ambition,
soaring with the eagle in the clouds of heaven,
pires soon to cross the ocean in his brd-likc car;
and who knows but that he will, at no distant day,
make his usual mode Of travel? Judging by the
past who is there SO astute as TO be able to pene-
trate the veil of the future, and comprehend, even
in his Imagination the gigantic strides which science
is destined yet to make. "Comng events cast their
shadows before" and bright has been her career,
still more brilliant will be her future The great
reservoir OF knowledge IS lnexhaustlble-the drafts
made upon it reduce not the supply.
Whilst all the wondrous improvements of the
present age are going on, shall North Carolina re-
main stationary? Will her sons and daughters be
conteut to see her lag behind her sisters, in the
honorable race before them? Surely they will not.
The signs of the times gratfed to say, are
encouraging. She has already awakened from her
inactivity proper degree of State pride seems to
be engendered among her people. Education is
ceiying impetus, and progress and prosperity
seem to be the order of :he day. When speak
Of prosperity in connection with the spirit and i'm
provements Of the age we regret that its application
/, not universal. We would th,t prosperity and
plenty prevailed throughout the land, in every sense
Times of scarcity, however, like those With which
nearly every portion of our State is at present af
ficted, do not result from the inactivity of man.
They come from the sun and the showers-trom
Him who holds in his hand the destiny of men and
of nations, and who doeth all things well. His
ways inscrutable, and We should bow with
humble submission to his all-wise providence. He
mdksth his sun to shine upon the coil and upon tho
good, and sendeth his rain upon the Just and the
unjust" Let US hope for the future, and rejoice
that the prospects for rich and early harvest are
SO abundant.
North Carolina has been distinguished for
the honesty and integrity of her citizens These
are jewels which We should never forfeit Her fair
fame which "base dishonor ne'er yet hath blurred"
is the property of her children. They inherit it
from her as child inherits from his father. How
imperative upon US then, from every consideration
of gratitude to cling to her with patriotic Affection
and lend whatever of talents and energy we may
possess to advance her prosperity. In no way can
we more efectually do this than by fostering and
encouraging education, and SO applying the arts
and sciences TO develop the rich resources it'll
which nature has so bountifully supplied her. This
being accomplished, instead Of emigrating to other
lands, North Carolinans will be proud to that
they live in State noted for the intelligence, pros
perity and happiness of her people, State, once
the by word and jest of the nation. Low honored for
her learning, extoled for her virtues, and admired