Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1858-01-23

| Ill Oh tueW, ytelueu 70 Tue destroying D0no
Of time. But the treasures of the mind,
and the creations of the intellect, though
equal In age, are still 81 perfectly sym.
metricAl and attractive as they were in
the firsthour Of their existence. Troy is
no longer place Of note, save as interest
attaches to It from Homcr's scenes which
he makes us TO believe tranSpir. there.
So with All the great cities he mentions,
they have all Of them sunken from our
sight beneath the tossing pillows Of the
troubled sea Of time, while the Had serves
as light amid the darkness to show us
where they once were. This offspring Of
the mind, still living, stands as mour-
ner O'cr the departure from the world of
its loved birthplace. Thus is it in every
case, cities and nations, and men live only
as the Poet or Historian gives them a
place within his mind to be handed down
to future ages in connection with his
works which the world will not willingly
let die. All the pleasurablc emotions we
experience by reason of Music or Poetry,
or eloquence, or any work Of imagination
or Art bear testimony to the fact that the
mind possesses vast capabilities. The
Poems, the Statues, the Paintings, the
Novels are creations Of minds which have
scared to and dwclt in an ideal world, and,
gathering there all imaginable grace,
beauty and loycliDcss, have brought them
to us to be enjoyed to our hearts content.
And because our minds also have some.
times wandered in the same field of imag.
ination and beauty we receive the selec.
ted flowers as We would somc boquct
taken from gaId den where we had spent
happy hours in other days.
Such are q few of the powers of the
mind. family sketched: and such powers
lie dormant, it may be, in every mans
bosom. This may, at first thought, strike
you rs not altogether true. What cx.
Claims one, do pOs sess the ability to move
my fellow men by the power of oratory?
Another smiles at the idea OF his being
able, after the closest application even, to
write In such style as to carry captive
his reader. But, no matter how difficult
to believe, the assertion is correct a one.
None Of you certainly believe that men
are born orators. The example Of Demos
themes Is sufficient proof to- the contrary.
His first efforts were neither brilliant nor
promising, but rather very mortifying.-
By the cOnQUSring POwer Of a fired deter
minGtiOn he raised himself above all the
obstacles which lay between himself and
fame, and made his nation and the World
own his power. Genius and intellect are
not birth.rights; they do not descend from
father to son. Henry Clay has left no de-
Scendant aS q fit representative of his
greatness. Among all the Webstcrs on
Gods earth there is not one, probably,
whose laundering tones shall be heard re-.
sounding through the National Capitol,
while listening Scnatcs hang upon his
words; but 1t 70 possible that, IN the
course Of ten or twenty years, some name,
now unwritten in the list Of fame, shall be
sounded from nation to nation a. greater
even, il that can be, than Webster or
Clay. To aspire to this position before
the world, man must first know that he
can do whatever he wills, and, afterwards,
bring the latent powers Of his mind into
useful action. --------------------
We come now to notice the nautral
question: "How can this be doneS"-
10 some extent the same laws govern the
mental and physical man. If the mem.
bcrs Of the body are not vigorously cxer-
cised they will attain but sickly growth.
The more frequently they are brought
into action, the stronger do they become,
and the more fatigue and labor is the
body enabled to undergo without evil re-
suits. just SO with the mind; lying idle,
it dwindles into q pigmy size, and fire.
quently seems lost entirely. But exercise
the mind and it will grow; contnc to Use
it, aud like the sinewy arm, which, from
day to day, swings the hammer, it will
| IoV VhOhSf Stc Rtna1cnOloN etOn1nNh IL.
you to know its giant power. ButjuSt
then you will be in imminent danger; If
you do not rightly govern it, it would be
better to never waken it from its slum-
Der. For when once thus aroused its
course is onward, irresistably onward in
the way in which it il directed. Its
movements must be regulated, or like
vengeful devil, it will hasten its possessor
to an untimely grave, If not to life Of in
justice and diShOnOr. Wehave read of men
Ofgrnius' burning out" You all doubtless,
have heard Of young mems briIliancy, for
time illuminating the world, and then
suddenly going out in the dark night ofin-
sanity or early deathl Why Is it the
children Of genius live but short time
among US, and then go as it-were, to
country moro suited to their thoughts
and feelingsP- Because their physical or.
CARNATIONS do not keep pace with the cx-
pansion Of their minds. The body comes
to be the minds servant instead Of it's
helpmeet, that nice balance between them
originally designed by the wise Creator,
and made by Him as necessary for the
good Of each, Is destroyed, and weakness
Of body or derangement Of mind follows
a. necessity The relationship, there
fore, existing between the mind aud body
must be closely observed, and the health
Of the body must be sought, If you would
have the mind continue healthfllly
strong and vigorous. Yet after having
done thus much you have simply kept
the mind from destroying your body and
Samson like, perishing beneath the ruins
There il another evil to be guarded
against. As your mind begins 10 unfold,
It may beget within you proud haughti.
ness Of spirit, and q devilish ambition
which will eventually lead you to throw
aside the idea Of God whom you should
worship, and beget within you deSire to
become god yourself Then, instead Of
your powers being useful, they will cause
the earth TO be dsluged with blood and
watered by the tears Of widows and or.
phans, made such by your ambitious
schemes. Ruin and sorrow will then be
the fruits Of your labor. To guard against
thia evil YOU RhOaId have vOur heal 4