Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1864-11-25
THE KienT 10 HOLM opIN1oNs.

! OF all 10 entertain their pwm.yiews0f skinzs j. e.
in the comnon senseof the language. Of course,
it will be said. we have right to our opinions.
This is the age of free thought, and unfettered
investigation. The days of trammelled thought
are gone by. Every man may now believe
what he will on every subject.
All very good, SO far as concerns responsible
ity to men. Time has been when men were
not allowed to think without disturbance from
the arm ofpower. But now there is liberty of
thought This is one Of the great achievements
of the past three hundred years. And yet the
achievement has not been made for all nations.
The spirit which forbade Galileol to believe in
the Copernieum system of the worlds is not al
together dead, although it is dying.
But did not propose to speak of this kind of
right to hold opinions. There are responsible
tiles to truth and reason, as well as to men,
No man has any right to cripple any other mans
thought All have natural right to the truth,
and to hold the results of their study. But
there seem obe many who hold opinions scarce
ly worthy of the name to which they have no
rightin reason or common sense Ii nav neigh
Dor chooses TO believe that the moon is made Of
green cheese, have no right to oppress him for
hisopinion. Let him believe it SO far as his
rights are concerned. He is at liberty. But,
since the moon is not constructed of that ma
terial be is not employing his reason properly
in believing it is. g i5sj y y fs3
And this may lead to the statement that no
man has rational right TO an opinion except so
far as he has knowledge upon the subject of it.
Agreat proportion of the opinions entertained by
men are OF no value whatever, because they are
not based upon investigation. Yet they are en-
tertained tenaeiously, aud the ignorant are gen.
orally far more tenacious of their opinions than
the well-informed. The opinion ofan experience
ed lawyer upon legal point is of value, but the
legal opinion of a man who has never studied
the principles of law can be of no certain value.
To get reliable opinion OF topic or case in
medicine we must go to man who has made
medicine study. The opinion of one who has
never pursued such study is not of much ac-
count The same is true in the department of
mathematics, and of politics, and Of theology
OF course it is assumed that the natural powers
of the men whose opinions are given are equal
In many specific instances the Judgment of
man of strong native sense and careful obserya-
tion may be better than that Of a mere student
of books, or of other men s theories y 'stS
Now, as matter of fact, men do not think of
subjects on the basis of investigation. We find
multitudes who adhere to views in relation TO
medicine and the treatment of disease, for which
they are not able to give any substantial reason,
and which are rejected by all the most substan-
tial and best informed medical men of the world.
We find men positive in their views of the BIZ
bic and religion. who do not read verse of the
scripture in a twelvemonth and are totally jg-
nOrant Of the evidences of christianity. Ne
find men with views on political subjects which
they hold, not because they have studied and
reflected on those subjects, but because they
have adopted certain political leaders, and are
to be guided by them;s We find pssple with
the most extravagant notions about planting,
laying fence, killing pork, de-, DC, in certain
times of the moon, notions for which they can
assign no substantial reasons, whether they are
true or not. There are men who believe there
is no use in the study of English grammar,
men who know nothing about the subject, of
course, and to whom therefore it is vain to at.
tempt TO explain its importance There are men
whobeliese the studyof the higher: nlathen1at-
les to be useless. They know nothing about
them, TO be sure) There are those who hold
the study ofancient languages to be of no use.
Ofcourse they never knew anything abo1tthem,
or their relation to the languages now spoken
by the civilized world. These specifications
will illustrate how many men have opinions
which are not founded in any accurate knowl-
edge of the subject-matter of them.
q And soft happens that inzeyery matterof
Improvement resistance is made By the foolish
and ignorant, who cling to their views or rath-
Prr their preiudiees with a tenacity proportioued
to their unreasonableness To be sure asrr,an
who has investigated subject and has made
up hismind upon it is apt to be fixed in his
opinions. : He has arightto be. But he can al
ways give his reasons for his views, and is com.
monty willing to do so. Heisnott TO be compared
to the stubborn man with whom you may reas-
on in vain, and who, though he cannot refute
your proofs, yet doggedly turns back to his old
notions. Verify such an one illustrates the
proverb "The dog is turned to his vomit, and
the sow that was washed to her wallowipe in
the mire.' H
There are two things which are necessary in
order to the holding ofopiniOns of any value
One is, as already intimated, knowledge, inform-
alton. There are few subjects wholly new. Or,
if any subject is wholly new, only they can have
opinions about it who have information about
it. In order TO think anything about it, it is
needful to examine it. But most subjects have
history. Other people have studied them,
and thought about them. What they have
thought is of value, as connected with the pro-
gress of investigation. Any full knowledge Of
such subject cannot behad withoussome study
OF what others have thought and said. Thus
investigation is necessary to the formation of
opinions of any value.
But great many people adopt their opinions
at second hand. They pin their faith on other
peoples sleeves" Hence they have no opinions
consists in sitting STILL as Carlyle says "like
bucket to be pumped into" And when YOU
get anything out Of them youyluust spouf out
just what was pumped IN. Hencs great read
er is not always man of thought, and of relia-
bic opinions. Here l can hardly. refrain from
quoting passage from the pen of DIR. Aber-
nethy the distinguished English Surgeon. He
says. ePoe much reading never yet made an
able man, 1t is not so much the extent and
amount of what we read that serves us, as what
wejassimilate and makeour own 1t is that, to
use an illustration borrowed from my profess
ion, that constitutes the chyle of the mind. |
have always found that really indolent men,
men of what would call Jfab6y intellects, are
great readers. 1t is far easier to read than think.
to reflect, or to observe; and these fellows, not
having learned to think, cram themselves with
the ideas and words of Others They callsit
study, but it is not So"
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