Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1858-02-18
Address Of Rev. 3. w. collier.

lu III III NJ
dress an association of teachers, because as
a minister OF the gospel, | claim to belong
myself TO the same fraternity. We are all
teacher together, devoted to the work Of in
structien, some in science and philosophy,
others in morals and religion.
A Preacher is nothing unless he be a
Teachers, sitting at the feet of the Great
Teacher, and striving under the guidance of
the reaching Spirit to make men wise unto
salvation. In this aspect how vast the fra.
ternity 1t includes all whose business Il
is to disseminate IDEAS of whatever kind.
The Statesman is a Teacher, expoundipe
ana lnculcating the truths Of political econ.
omy. Jenerson and Hamilton were teachers.
and Webster, Calhoun and CLAY. Indeed.
this is precisely the difference between the
Politician and the true Statesman. The first
handles merely the machinery of party and
government, while the statesman busies him
self with the discovery and dissemination of
important political truths.
The Aathor is a teacher, forging ideas in
the seething furnace of his brains, and send
ing them forth in books, to bless mankind.
II ne can teach men n%othing-if he is able
only to tickle the fancy, or to while away a
frivolous hour-it becomes him to abandon
the pen, and strive to benefit his race by
pounding the anvil, or guiding the plough.
The Editor is a teacher, instructing the
age through the daily and weekly press, upon
the great topics of current interest, and
welding thereby a most potent ifnuence.
The Poet is nothing, if not a teacher
The mere rhymster and RATHER of pretty syl.
tables, is an impostor, and no poet and how.
ever vigorously his Muse may flap her wings
and however loftily he may soar in mimicry
of true genius, if he bring not down some
star like truth to array it ia the garb of sweet
Poesy, and send it forth to win its way into
the hearts of men, he shall no place among
the prophets. The age will not hear him
He shall achieve no Immortality.
So also is the Artist a teacher instructina
the taste, d~ifusing ideas Of beauty and grace,
eultivating the sensibilities, or reading sens
great moral lesson to the age and to all time.
And Art is most gloriously employed, is ex-
ercising her noblest function, not when she is
creating a Madonna or Venus or an Apollo,
but when, as a teacher, she is engaged in the
expression and illustration of some grand
moral or religious trnth, hat speaks not
merely to the taste, but to the soul Of man
as in the Last Supper" of the immortal Da
Vinci, or in that great painting of modern
times, the Martyrdom Of Huss. All these
are teachers of men, and are valued and hon
cred in proportion as they exercise this high
function.
Abreast of all these; inferior to hone in
point of moral dignity, stands the professional
teacher, or, if you please, the Schoolmaster.
He is the moral Sculptor to whom is com
mitted the rough, u%nshapen mind, to be by
him worked and moulded, hewn, chiselled,
polished, often with vast labor and weari-
someness, into some shape Of grace and
beauty. And / do not hesitate to assert, that
the truly able, faithful, successful teacher,
who makes his mark upon the character,
shapes the intellectual features of his pupil,
and sends him forth into the world thoroughly
disciplined and equipped for a career of use
fulGAss, is higher than the mere material ar
list, as mind is nobler than matter. His true
position is as far above that of Phidias or
Canova, as the material be works npon is su-
perior to the product of Penteleian quarries.
Did YOU ever stand beside a rough block
of marble, and cali up in thought the innu-
merable forms of beauty that lay sleeping
unseen within it, waiting for the tap of the
Sculptor's hammer to start forth and surprise
or gladden. a world A Cupid, or an Apollo,
a Howard or a Washington, a Venus or a
Greek Slave, or p~erchan6e some monster OF
distortion moro hideous than a -Hindoo Idol
they lie, and shall coi"e forth &C
as the will Of the artist shat Gall one
or, another into existence. Something ct this
sort is the power which they who have the
of the young, WELD over the un-
mind committed to their charge the
power, with important limitations, of shaping
at pleasure the intellectual and moral char
acter of their pupils. l would not magnify
the responsibilities Of the instructor,
nor aseribe to him, by any means, the attri-
Of ~omnipotence. l know full Nell that
there are a thousand influences operating to
the best endeavors of the faithful
and that under the most favorable
auspices, he cannot kindle the fires of genius
the bosom Of a Ounce. But over thema-s
of his pupils, how mighty is his infu-
ence how enduring may be its results To
is committed, not only the intellect, but
the young soul and heart, in their plastic
condition; when the character is forming, the
fountains of feeling are opening; its streams
are taking their direction, and the heart is
choosing its gods. Then, if ever, pure ideas
are to be planted. which shall hereafter ger
inmate into strong, deep rooted, towering
principles, branching out worthy resolves and
exhaling fragrant influences, and la
with lovely examples and golden deeds.
Then, too, the springs of life are poisoned,
the whiteness of the soul is lost, a taste is
acquired for forbidden fruit, and the seeds of
ruin are sown. The aohote responsibility does
not rest upon the teacher not generally the
share Of it yet is his portion not
Bmall,-and the duties of his office are BY no
to be lightly engaged or unfaithfully
executed.
The school days constitute commonly the
very crisis of life-when not only the intel
%lectual, but the moral and spiritual charac-
ter, receive their permanent impress and col
oring. And here there has often been a great
oversight, more prevalent in past times than
now. Men have acted as if it were possible
to discover the intellectual and moral nature,
to educate the one, without influencing the
0tner. Accordingly teachefS nave 100 ire
quently been selected solely upon the ground
of intellectual qualifications, while their
moral influence has been positively hurtful.
and debasing. And again, teachers them.
selves have piled all their energies in the
culture of the understanding, while the power
that controls the understanding, the moral
and intellectual nature, has been neglected,
or only incidentally regarded. The great idea
has been to get knowledge into the mind by
force or stealth, not to awaken lore of knowl-
edge; to discipline the faculties by brute u
~olence, to make wise by compulsion, instead
of seeking to enlist the tastes. the nfechons