The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-02-17

THOMAS MoRE's time offered to dispute with all
the world, in any language, and upon any sub
ject-de omni scibHi ct de quoliba ente-were he to
rise from his grave to-day, would be astonished
and dumb-founded at the height and extravaganza
of modern pretension. tits, indeed, one of the
admirable characteristics of the age in which we
live that everything should be done upon the
grandest possible SCALE and under the most i'm
posing names. We have schools Educational
Institutes, rather-in which, for pittance boys
may be lodged, fed, and instructed in all the
branches of an English, classical, mathematical
and Christian education, and fitted for any and
every occupation and position in life. We have
authors who, in the compass of few hundred
pages, will undertake to communicate knowledge,
the acquisition of which was once thought to be
the labor and object of lifetime. We have
duodecimo Manuals, said to be Complete, of sci
ences which used to be considered the most diff
cult; insignificant volumes in which the gram
NAUTICAL niceties and diomatic peculiaries of
foreign tongues are Made Easy in Six Lessons,
without MASTER books no bigger than may be
conveniently carried in the pocket, by virtue of
the careful reading of which, every may be-
come his own lawyer or doctor 1t is the age of
humbug, and they that would swim must swim
with the tide. Everybody understands it, and
almost everybody practises the art of making
things seem bigger than they are by the applica-
ton of high-sounding name, or the prefxing
of flourishing title-page. The man, for exam
ple who should call himself music-master, and
offer to give lessons in singing or upon the piano
forte, would stand no chance in the race with
another who should dub himself Professor, and
write Mus. Doc at the end of his name. This is
an understood thing in almost every calling. The
dancing master, who teaches our children to hold
themselves erect and turn out their toes, is Pro
fessor of Caisthenics; the barber who clips our
hair and shaves us, is an Artistic Capillaire; the
fellow who trims our corns IS Surgeon Chiropodist
to half the Courts in Europe, as he will prove by
II string Of certificates as long as his arm. In the
same spirit Of progress and Improvement our
schools have grown to be colleges, and the hum
blest pedagogue, who teaches small boys their
Latin Accdence, and birches them for whiting
sticks throwing paper pellets in school, is the
Principal or Rector of an Academy. Of course,
all this is very like what Mr.. CARLYLE would call
a sham, and sterner moraliss might designate by
agreed among ourselves, that all these fine terms
mere words of surplusage-saw-dust for
the pride of men to fall on, who feel them
selves above the occupations by which they
earn their bread-we need not quarrel with their
use, nor with the harmless vanity to which they
minister. They from the same mint and of
the same value with the reporters English which
transforms houses into residences servants into
employees, and finds all public officials, and rail-
way conductors, in particular, universally polite
and gentlemanly.
There is one FORM however of pretension of this
sort, against which we do enter a protest. 1t is
that which finds expression in the class of publica-
lions already alluded to-books, which profess to
supply knowledge, when in reality, they only
confound ignorance and inspire conceit OF this
class are the whole tribe of manuals and books
which profess to make men masters of particular
sciences or professions without greater ado. 1t
cannot be said that the evil which these works pro-
duce perishes with them, or is of kind that will
cure itself. The man who attempts to speak
French upon the strength of what he has learned
out ola phrasebook, may, indeed soon find out his
error, the ignorant layman, who attempts to pilot
law, may not be slow in learning the truth of that
professional adage which afirms that man who is
his own counsel has fool for his CLIENT the patient
who attempts the diagnosis of his own case or ply
sizes himself, according to his book may find that
there is no surer way of mourning long doctors
bill and apothecarys charges in the end, and that
els lucky if those of the undertaken have not to be
paid by his executor. But all this dear-bought ex-
perence Of particular individuals is no Offset to
the harm which is done by books, which, them
selves the offspring of empircism, in turn the
parent Of supericiality, and of that ignorance
which is both ncurable and insufferable, because
it is wise in its conceit The book that pro
tesses TO teach man everything that is 10 be
known in particular science or vocation, is an
impostcr, ard should be so branded. Though it
may not be always literally true that a smattering
is worse than no knowledge at all-for life is
short and art is long, and about many things we
must be content to know but a smattering-it is
true that the conceit of knowledge in an ignorant
person is always Injurious, and whatever tends to
foster and encourage that conceit ought to be con-
demned.
Of less injurious tendency, perhaps, but never
and good breeding, which are written for the
purpose Of educating vulgar people to become
fine ladies and gentlemen. We would send to the
limbo reserved for books which--if not positively
bad, like those which Turk at the bottom of the
baskets Of the book-pedlars at railway-stations -
at least, do no good-not only the cheap manuals
which, instead of conducting the student humbly
and reverentally TO the portals of the temple of
science, pompously assume to rend the vail and
place him in possession of all the arcana but the
hand-books of manners, the protested instructors
in department, which, as they are of no use to
men who are gentlemen, can only serve TO con-
vert those who are not into snobs. One such book
we have now before US, the comprehensive title
page of which illustrates much that we have been
saying 1t is caed-Hoac to Wrae-Ho1c to Talk
--How to Behaue-Hoac to do Business 1t is
volume of six hundred pages, and purports TO be
complete manual of the art of literary and epis-
tolary compassionate conversation-of social
etiquette-and Of practical affairs. To say that
no book can be all this is unnecessary. All the
books in the world would fail to impart the
knowledge which, instinct, in part, must supply,
and in yet larger measure, experience only can
ii
or an agreeable talker by rule, so no man can be-
come either a shrewd merchant or gentleman by
the study of manuals. As they must be very illit-
crate people who need to be cautioned against say
ing numbered for umbrella and 'chmbly' for
chimney so they must be very vulgar ones who
require to be told that salutations should be return
ed, and not TO pick their teeth at table with
fork. 1t is we'll, undoubtedly, that people who
do not know these things should be taught them,
but it is not WELL either in matters of science or in
matters of breeding, that people should be en-
couraged to believe themselves scholars or gen.
tlemen when they not
The House of Delegates passed an order on the
ID inst. directing the STATES ATTORNEY of Bati-
more city to inform it of ''the amount received by
''him as fees of his Office from the Register and
''Sheriff of Baltimore city and from all other
'sources during the years 1856, 81, $50 and