Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-11-06
BY JOHN A, McEwEN, A. NJ.


BY JOHN A. AcFwEN A NJ
Not the least prominent feature of modern
civilization is benevolent enternrise There
seems to ho a present general movement
throughout The world for the anticipation of
social ranks The elonnence Of the host
minds has been exhausted in pleading the
cause of humanity. Men of genins. with an
instinctivc appreciation Of tho material most
powerful 10 NOV" the world have seized npon
this activity Of the svmpathies. and made il
tributary to their purroScs and fame. There
Is scarcely n modern work of fiction that is
not Interviewer with some story of human suf-
f,ring. Not tn" woo If unreQuited love. or
the hindrancn of accident and hoartless cir
cumstance. as with the old novelsts Int the
misfortune and wretchednrss Of some hero of
a class. as he STRUGGLES beneath his unnatural
burden. and writhes under the crushing
weight If society above him. Reformnrs have
changed thor nomenclature with the
progress of their philosophy and ethics.
Poverty and misfortune no longer mean what
they did in the earnest DAYS of Shakespeare
and Walter Scott. The curse and bitterness
of Indulgence are no longer recognized as the
sufferings. hut wrongs. Of the poor. A sys-
TEN of action IA we'll "a Of charity is based
upon this departure between the old and the
new philosophy. 1t ia as unconscious Of the
school of Bacon az Of Aristotle. and goes
forth preaching it's reformation in words. that
are acts, and with an elOquence, that leads
the current of the intellect through the heart.
II may he. and probably il is that this philoso-
phv and work-matrrial of genius is but the
reflex of the common mind. Certain it is.
that it has been canght mp and appropriated
ny the champions of the race everywhere.
and practical experiment is being made of
of propositions. that seem born of dreams
and mere speculation Thus has it been ever in
the history of men. that the dreams of some
minds become the work of others. The mod
81 establishment Of Mons. Hardy. as it stands
forth monumentally on the page Of Sues
Wandering Jew. is scarcely more romantic
or b"neficent than the Belmont Factory of
PRICES Patent Candle COMPANY" and SINH
lar institutions in England. in which the COM
fort and education of the work-people are
understood to he promotive Of their useful
ness. The fascinating " Life-ScenPs" OF Hot
Corn. mercil ssly dealt with ihev were by
fastidious critics. the demolition of the Old
Brewery. of thu Five Points and the erection
of House of Industry on its site. the purifi-
cation of the West Port of Edinghurgh. the
Charitable Trusts Act" the Education Bill
of Lord John Russell. the Ragged School
system of Shaftesbury. and the free education
of many American towns and cities are but
30 manv Illustrations on either continent of
the wide working charity of the day--but 90
many traces of that invisible hand. which is
settling the unsteady fabric of society. and
opening up its avenues to the transforming
ravs of better influence. If any one douht
the loftiness, to which noble deeds elevate the
human mind, or that th"re is an active, bene-
fcent sympathy at length aroused among
men. that reaches wherever suffering follows
its victim and lights to build mp the frag-
mcnts of broken honor, to turn the tide of
knowledge through the commonest channels
Of life and TO commend the pursuit by max
ing certain the rewards Of virtue. he has but
TO contemplate such Pvid noes as these illnm-
mating the pag. of sober history with all the
soft and attractive pictures Of romance. This
is the true. the divine spiritualisD. and it
comes unheralded nv mysteriousraps, <satten-
ded by the Peaceful shades OF SwS6enborg
and Bacon. A spirtualism that cares not so
much to discover and explore the separate
spheres of another state, as tn make the con-
ditinns of this tolerable and happy.
Bat. there are also what may be called in
ternal forces. working out the same revolu
ton. and stimulated by the great heart of the
masses themselves. Society, like the ocean,
is learning the art of selfpnrifcatiOn. TIE
process of this reform is working upward and
outward, until it's presence is indicated
throughout the entire social system. The
formation Of societies and clubs of thousand
objects and as many names. but all tending
to the extension Of some idea, the develop
ment of some principle, that involves the
progress Of the race. or recognizes the mutual
obligation and dependence OF men, is among
the appliances devised. not so much by an
outside benevolence as by consciousness of
personal need Who does not trace this dis
position of things through the collection of
public libraries. the opening al reading rooms
and In all those facilities for self-improvemeut,
which are becoming so free, so cheap and so
fashionable? The masses of men are not
satisfied with the care and providence of their
fellows, whom intellect and education may
have constituted their leaders and superiors,
but they are working for themselves And
herein lies the hope of the world. The ele-
walton of all classes may be reasonably
hoped for, when all classes evince a DISPOSE
tion to elevate themselves. 1t is true of ranks
aud communities as IL Is true of individual
men, that external aid, however we'll directed,
or withwhatever discrimination applied, can
not remedy constitutional defects or repair Gus
tomary d Gays, without powerful cooperation
within, and the requisition Of all the elements
of self-preservation. The time has been when
literature was forbidden fruit 10 any but its
professed and especial guardians, and when
the work classes had as little TO do with its
practcal u.s.. as they had with bottled moon
shine or the differentials Of Descartes. Nor Is
il necessary to go back to the dark ages or TO
mast generations 10 find how mad ,.quat-iv
those, who are agreed to occupy the humber
ranks When We reflect that. IL the VIII ale v
Great Britain. there are published only nbo
as many daily journals IA emanate from some
single American cities, aud that miserable
<sp,onaqe is established over the press and
every department Of the French empire. IL is
not wonderful that an untruveled Englishman
should believe the Thames the proudest river
in the world, or a leading editor in Paris
sneak of the Governor Of Nashville. In this
country. the freedom Of the press. the aie-
ouacy of wages, the occasional release from
the tread-wheei, aud. more than all. the in
annrecialable feeling, that every man is
Constituent of this vast framework OF govern
,oent. afford nj once the stimulus and gaaran-
~ Of N -rsonal and social Improvement which
marks the progress of our people. Literary
cI,l,s are the simplest form Of association. but
,,ft,au farauud them clustr the affections of
u,,sn and they suggest and prepare the hrart
I.r an,nl.r and more varied schemes TO melior
.is ths draw backs inseparable from th,,eon-
.,ra,,.tiop of mankind. The cause Of msliora-
t;nn In Amer Gu il working in all directions.
IN ali ranks, and self help, the great secret
md true principle of social reform, IL not
thoroughly understood, Is admirably prac-
tised, ia -. .1.. 49,. !,
.nd there are persons Ia it who. from their
rn.ntaL constitution or habits " tboaghk
SrD,y iik,. The one or the Other pi.tnre, which
sbey contemplate, or OF which they ferm
,ssrs = Tuere are not few, nay their Number
ssmoun.s almost TO class, 70 whom
the Suring perfumes are poison, WHO rrgar#
The bprdens II l.fs.as intolerable. aud its oc-
i. enal misfurtunes as the very wftck OF