Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-03-11
LITERARY Issr1rurr.-Lecturs off, Scot,

| LITERARY lNSTITUTE.-LectnTe OF y. Occt
Rchman.-The seventeenth and closing lecture O
the course-subject-th "Real and the Apparent
was delivered last evening, and, as might
be expected, was a mastery effort. The lecture
though grooming under the weight of collected
thoughts, was provocative Of still more thought in
the minds of those addressed. A friend at our
elbow called it "sub -soiler," and we are inclined
to agree with him that the title is in every respect
appropriate. 1t certainly urged keen and gilt
tering share fearlessly and deep into the wecded
sod of old, cherished ideas, or the hard beaten
track of settled prejudices; though it remains a
question whether the seed sown, or attempted to be
sown into the lacerated SOIL was such as will realize
the choicest harvest We have not that unbounded
faith either in the capacity integrity of man to be
the arbiter OF truth-moral truth-which Mr.. Rich
man has. From the standpoint occupied by him,
allowing to man the image of God unimpaired, we
are free to admit his conclusions, in the main,
would be irresistible But evidence both of divine
(as is generally supposedly and human character
convince us that the ground is untenable, and
hence we do not see precisely the same results
which he sees, nor anticipate developments in flu
ture precisely such as he does. Mr.. Richman is a
philosopher of the progressonal school--he sees
the onward strides made and making in the physi-
cal world and argues thence a similar tendency in
the moral, comforting himself and us upon the
blissful prospects ahead for the race. But how
does that indemnify for the ills we, individu-
ais suffer, and how does it exhibit the workings
of even handed Justice? We do not 60 beyond this
.ubunary sphere, for Mr.. Richman does not. The
burden of his argument is that up to this time, in
moral science, we have been miserably befooled-
in the investigation of the moral truth have taken
the apparent to be tho realm our moral survey
have taken false bearings, drawn false angles, and
produced false lines, our Mornings and Southings
have failed in consequence, to balance. That this
is 30, We will not venture to deny, but while We
admit the sorrowful fact, we feel authorized to
regard it as proof Of mans utter insuhciency for
ever here attaining to that perfect TRUTH and cheer
fully embrace the Revelation which God has made
that that attainment Is deferred to another and
an sssrnal state of existence. This Divine arrange
ment secures to us, individuals, full and equal
share with the rest in the comforts and enjoyments
there provided. For As much of moral truth as is
necessary to guide us thither, provision is made,
and it comes to those who willing to receive it,
without the aid of fire crucible-the tedious and
painful labor of philosophic deduction. But to such
as reject the finished work of revelation-despise
the shortcut to emancipation there is, of course
a round about way whereon the ardent toier may
find ample exercise for his brain and muscle.
The ideas embraced in this lecture, however they
may have startled US as they came from the lips of
the eloquent speaker, are not new; though that
! L hopo Sspn ne 10
the sum-" Mr. Richman seems to have forgotten all
about our first parents and their little imprudency
in the garden. He knows nothing of human deprav-
ity with him, man still yields the sceptre OF the
| sfirst dominion! !" The beasts and the birds are
obedient to his call-they will not hurt or destroy
in all his 'holy mountain" The earth is not ours
edit is "bright and beautifur'-in vulgar par.
lance 'just is good as new" and, maybe, great
deal better, by virtue of universal progression y
The elements-such would be the continuation OF
the argumsnt-are at peace with man, and his free
spirit delving deeper and deeper into the mine OF
truth NAV vet discover all the laws of existence,
and obeying them, will prove himself invulnerable
to death. And this is what would call the sunny,
soft South line, in the moral survey, drawn 10 an
undue length at the sacrifice of all the rest.
To the question ''What shall we believe, and how
know the truth?' we give his own answer. 'Seek
and We shall find The truths of nature lie scattered
over the surface and are deeply imbedded in the
bowels of the Earth. They are in the ocean and in
the air. They are in our physical nature; they are
m our moral and mental nature, and purposely so.
It is mans duty to separate principles from Their
surroundings-t pulverize the quartz in order to
obtain the particles of gold. And so OF
moral truth. n To get pure, abstract truth,
we must. in the alembc of reason resolve the diff
ferent clements of proposition, and ascertain
their relations to another, and If we md ele-
ments which will not subsst together and cannot be
assmilated and resolved back into the concrete, we
know the proposition is false"
We regret that our space will not allow us to
quote more at length, for however much we find
ourself at variance with the general drift OF his
reasoning, the style and quality of the lecture was
unexceptionable-D sM.
STEAMBOAT ARRIVALS LAST YEAR.-The
Steamboat Register, NJ. Block, reports to the City
Council the number of arrivals of steamers at our
wharf, from March 18th to December 2Sth, 1858, at
55O-that is, landings the upwardtrip, for which
wharfage is charged. The total number of arrivals,
therefore, up and down stream, was l, 100. The
number of wood and coal boats landing at the wharf
during the same period "a. The ferry-boat
Muscatine made q landings and the Decaion at
the steamboat wharf. The wharfage for steamers
is two dollars and for other craft dollar each
for landing on upward trip
tWHon. T. S. Parvin, of Muscatine, has
been elected by the Board of Trustees of the State
University, Curator and Librarian of that lnstitu-
ton We learn from an exchange that Mr.. Parvin
intends removing with his family to Iowa City,
where he will devote his whole time to the duties
assigned him.
The above paragraph going the rounds OF our Iowa
exchanges was the first intmation we had that our
| esteemed fellow citizen was about to remove from
our midst We learn from him, however, that he
will not leave us till October next, at which time it
| is expected the University will be re-opened.
FAIR PLAY FOB PR1NTERs.-We have a
mind to set this up in capitals and leave it standing
at the head of column. It is great truth COM
pressed in a small space:
| The public have funny notion about printers
They think it costs nothing to puff, advertise, &c
And one and another will sponge an extra, pun,
or some benevolent advertisement. They forget
that it is the printers ink that makes nine tenths
of their immense fortunes. They forget that 1t
takes money to pay compOsitors-to buy ink, type
and paper-and lastly even forget to thank you for
working for nothing by gratuitously putting their
| business.
| Proceedings OF the City Council.
| Council CHAMBER, March 5, 1859.