The Mountaineer. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1859-1861, 1859-12-10

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truly advanced in wisdom, discovers
such 4 vast field Of knowledge lyinc
unexplored before him, that i sense 81
Ehis ignorance and insigni6cance creeps
upon him, causing him to be modest Il II
/ his pretentions. fl.
Another objection sometimes urge,
against education is, that the mind il
rendered more sensitive, and conse,
quently, more liable to Be afflicted 81
lreyerses and misfCrtunes.
That the mind Is more sensitive
may be the case; but ii does not follow
from thence that Ii feels misfortune
amy moro keenly; on The contrary, j
proper education inculcatcs resignation
Ito the DEGREES 81 the Almighty, and
also teaches man how to avoid many
EcaIamlties TO which the ignorant are
subject. Ignorance and superstition
have ID every age Of the world co-exiist-
/ ed. It Is natural in man to gaze with
I.timidity upon any great phenomenon
Tot mature, the cause of which lie does
not understand. In ancient times.
many nations looked upon an eclipse
l0f the sun or moon, as portendinr some
dreadful calamity about to happen ID
mankind: Some thought that the
moon when eclipsed had taken sick,
and was about to die; being concerned
/ IN relation to the welfare of that ID
ninary, it may Be supposed, that they
were not long in finding i medicine
to restore health to madame Luna.
This medicine consisted DC q com
pound Of tho most hideous wells,
Eschreeches, blowing Of horns, and
beating of drum, that mortal ears
ever listened to. Juyenal, who was
wiser than the most Of mankind, con-
sidered that d scofding woman was
much superior to the above prepare,
ton: ..ss83
sFofbear your drums and trnmpets, IL yol
please;
ittr voice alone the laborifg moon can ease !.
Such superstitions are said to prevail
TO great extent at the present day
among Mahommedan and Pagan
nations. II. .s.. 75s@
Among civilized nations, there art
thousands who are not exempt From
! the fears engendered BY superstition
and probably never viii Be, until edu.
cation shall dispel the mist from theil
minds. The bowling OF a dog atnighi
the croaking of q raven while flying
lover q house-the spilling Of salt, and
the breaking Of q looking glass, are
considered BY many, as justify lying
grave predictions. These are only q
few Of the absurdities which obtain
at the present day among the iiliterate.
A good education, BY doing away With
these superstitious notions, would greatly
promote the happiness Of mankind.
A knowledge Of Physiology, which
treats, upon the construction Of the
body, and the laws pertaining there
unto, forms part Of q good education,
and is very beneficial. Every one
must admit that q knowledge of some
iof the causes which bring on diseases
and sufferings, would enable the pos
SCISSOR to avoid a great many Of them.
How often do we hesr people complain
of Providence as the author of their
calamities, who have only their own
Ignorance and folly to blame! The
human system is governed by fixed
laws, every infringement of which
brings misery upon the wrong -doer.
/ He who is ignorant Of these laws, is
continually liable to transgress them,
Eand, by SO doing, shorten his life, and
deprive himself Of that happiness his
Creator designed him to enjoy. .}z
A knowledge Of the power AND
forces of nature is very useful. Il
lies at the foundation Of every. i'm
Eproyement in art that has ever beer
made. Masens, architects, carpenters
and all who combine materials for use.
Fful purposes, may be greatly assisted
in their labors, by understanding me.
chanical and dynamical principles
i One great object. in mechanical labor
lis to find the strength Of materials used
and to make that disposition Of then
which will be most advantageous. i
has been found BY experiment that thl
strength Of any piece Of material de
l ponds chiefly upon its depth, or upol
its dimension in the direction of it
strain The lateral strength Of piec,
/ of timber may be found by multiplying
its breadth into the square Of its depth
II follows from this rule, thst . boar,