Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1858-12-30
- For the Democrat.
iFhe Genius e Culture and Of
.A a NJ ID - - "a x
MAD sEFoRE THE "EAToN LITERARY
uN1on,' BY E. A. ABBOTT, AND
PUBLIsHED BY SPECIAL RE
s9 QUEST or THE SOCIETY. :,


a17ss sd gosr--
bglieFe there is . wide difference
!. bSlasststhe eenias Of culture and tbs
- - :
power which exerts an Irresistible in
anenes, ppon the world. Beauty aud
stssneth combined, the one to win, the
Other to WELD. Metaphysicians may
contend that they can never be 50 di,
xidsd as to enable rs to view them sep.
sfatsly aud treat of them; as inaepen'
dsht subjeets, yet in onr estimate of the
character and force Of individuals, we dc
drav 4 line, visible to the mental per
eettions of mankind. One man thro
The power Of on appeal may cause Us t'
arou.a tear for the woes Of a sufferer,
another may cause Us to drop dollar,
Of 10 speed our steps to. the scene Of
saaeriag- Mapy . finely cultivated in
trliect peyer sent even ripple of emo
ti6n across the sea Of mind, while an
otlSefby single act or word, has sent
atLrili Of JOY or woe through the hear,
ofhumanity. BY genius of culture, ]
mean that developed By. theb study OF
Seiescs, Art.and Literaturc-by genius
or action, that active principle, which
Ike sleepless general, leads the mind
into every conflict where. coHtending
forces strive for supremacy, and calls
the man in whom it bears sway to do
service in some department. in, hfe's
battlefield. This voice within, this
eternal call TO action, which no s6porife
iezpotent enough to, silence, this ability
to do, coupled with willrelsnticss as
dcstihy, constitutes the higher order Of
genius, but the mind which is sEayed
solely By external forces, possesses in
myaopinfOn, only the genius of culture
or sKe secondary order of genius. Per
haps I can no better illustrate my mean
inglthsn BY taking two of our, promi-
nent men as representatives of the DIFF
ferent orders I hare mentioned.
There is Is. II. Chaplin, the man SO
often sought by rhetorical societies, to
give his panoramic views of human joys
and sorrows, hopes and fears, exulta-
tions and miseries. The man who by
the magic power of words will picture
poverty in some lone and eheerless how
el, tin chill from this dark margin of
human society seems to settle upon the
hearts Of the hearers, ard, in the next
moment, by the play of his imagination
win seem to retench the picture, etheri-
alise The Whole. and Jon see the charac-
ters . moment before moving in. that
humhled circle, divested Of the tattered
ensiens ofspoverty and iu the golden
strssss ef the Celestial City. The san
light Of genius and hauanity- rests for
. pomeat upon the trembling walls of
pozerly and you see the light of man
hood and Eowaahood, with glory and
hope even in the most miserable cor
mes, where human degradation shivers
in ifs naked woe. q How beautifully be
blsnds the ,colOrs, dries each tear with q
ssnlit smile, and over the gulf arches
the boE Of promise. It has pleased your
fancy, you leave with the life pictures
hanging in the halls Of Memory aud go
to your homes not to act for, but to
dream Of the uufortunates aud to praise
n - Al.
I&ilis1ow bring forward another man,
Who represents different order of ge-
nius, the genius of action which wakes
every element Of the soul. He comes
before an psudience with a movement it
cannot mistake. His very step, the
fash 90 his eye, the whole man radiates
the spirit of daring and doing. This is
the world renowned Henry Ward Beech
er. You may be preiudiced against hin.
and the eauae he pleads, bat the calm
energy of his exordium riEets your at
tention. He goes on proving. point af-
ter point, with all the power of his trc-
mendous Concentration and earnestness.
He glances over tho whole field of hu
man society, portTayipgd musingly in
his search, tho dignity and rights of the
soula5 His voice rings out like
q moan 6fagony as he descends step BY
step, The scale of human degradation.
By and By he finds the guilty tempters,
he confronts them, he cries for justice,
he carries you with him by storm
Your.spirit, electrified by contact with
such EsmaIhood, has risen and cries on
to the contest. Life with him is no
fancy askstched picture, but you hear
the noise of legions on the plain, This
is manifestation of the higher order !