The Oxford intelligencer. (Oxford, Miss.) 1860-18??, 1861-03-20
OXFORD, MISS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1861

deep meditation investigate the mystic re
searches Of science, or drag ffom the depth
of history its exhaustlcss treasures from th
first epoch Of time to the present period, an
he will not only gather rich harvest, bu
will travel out Of self and gaze upon tn
whole as the enraptured spectator Of a worl'
of loveliness and glory. 'Tis thought tina
makes man. Where is the youthful aspiran
Of the nineteenth century, the nobiest i'm
pulses of whose nature are not immediatel,
aroused, when in rapture he turns to gaz
upon the proud intellectual luminaries Of tn
past-who tore asunder by the innate fore
of their own spirits the trammels whicl
bound them, and arose irrcsistibly through
the mists that encircled them, until, towering
in grandeah like some lofty old mountain
and breathing an atmosphere far purer, the,
wreathed around their brows the undying
garlands of literary fame. Those great an,
immortal minds serving as luminarics from
which, during their respective ages, were re
fected the rays of knowledge to iluminat,
the Simmerian blackness beneath, impartins
lustrc and brilliancy on all around.
Ii is only when communing with the mas
ter-spirits of the illustrious dead, who hav,
consecratcd those antiquated lands, o'el
which Thought loves to lingcr and revel il
classic associations; It's only then that We
can form just estimate Of what man is and
can be. Those days when the pride and glo-
ry of Rome and Greece was kindled by the
dazzling, the deep.toncd eloquencc of thcil
time-hoAored orators-when the arts and
sciences were but in their sunrise-wheu
those lofty aud sublime speculations of Phi
losophy, Astronomy and Geology were first
plucked from their mystic depths by far
reaching thought. No theme more pleasing
and yet more sublime and exalting can be
presented for the contemplation of man than
the onward and irresistible march of intellect
from the past to the present age; and how
well is it exempiicd in those distinguished
gcniuscs of every department Of the literary
and scientific world. They are men whose
names we have been taught from infancy to
lisp with but praise and admiration. What
world of fund for thought How mex
haustible the sources of inspired reflection
are thus opened to the mind of the intellect
ual man, and denied the illitcratc. We may
mount the car of imagination and go back
till standing within the walls Of the Coliseum,
amid the noblest relics of Imperial Rome,
and "raze till the heart runs DER with silent
worship of the great of old" then pass to
other countries, mingle with the lofiest
minds of every pursuit-Statesmcn, Philos-
ophers and Poets; look down upon thrones :
this one tottering and crumbling to the sod /;
that rearing aloft its magnificent yet terrible
head in mad defiance of the convulsive ele-
mcnts that envelope it; then gaze with min
gled emotions of terror and admiration upon
those manly and commanding spirits that
arose to still the deep groanings of political
discord.
We may follow Napoleon through his
bloody and dramatic career, trampnng down
in his relentless strides the wrecks Of dis
crowned monarchies, subverted republics,
extinct nationalities, disincmbercd empires,
and slaughtered dyussties; We may go with
him in his bold, daring and impctuous fight,
when bssking in the brightest CLEANS of the
most brilliant triumphs, or writhing in the
deepest, most maddening despair; we may
follow him and all who have been called great
all who have adorned and illumined the
past, but still our minds, in search of true
human greatness, arc not content to stop
save with him alone of our own loved coun-
try, the very sound of whose name tips eve
ry tongue with the highest the purest, the
wannest songs of admiration, brightens eve
ry eye with glow of enraptured love, fills
every heart with the deepest feelings of pa
triotism, and thrills the soul with the purest
pulsations Of phianthropic ardor. allude
to him whose birthday we commemorate
whom Eulogy herself bushes to approach /;
the immortal, god-like Washington.
In the investigation of the fundamental
principles of our Government-in penetra-
ting the spirit and genius Of her grand orig
inal institutions when they first dawned upon
the world-in rendering homage to the val
liant heroes Of her revolutionary struggles,
what sight mere noble and imposing than
any the world ever saw before, is it that first
arrests the gaze of every living American
patrioti Twas the first spark of liberty,
though dim and Pickering at first, vet twas
born in the bosom of him in whom was em
bodied every attribute of true human great
ness, and by whom it was fostered and en-
kindled until caught by kindred spirits and
made to emblazon the world. And it is from
that moment, that point in the whole history
of the world, where the true path to distinc.
tion begins Who can revert to those DAYS
without the most enthusiastic feelings .
Then. when the glory and enchantment o
freedom broke through the deep and distant
clouds, stamping themselves indelibly upon
the minds of all within vhose bosoms fhert