The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-11-18
The Age of Mediocrity.

The Age Of Mediocrlty.
Organizations for the diffusion of useful
knowledge, and the intellectual elevation
of the masses, may be accepted in the
light of dwelling machines, by which the
very act of advancing the general plat
form of intellectual attainment, render it
so much the more difficult for the indirid-
s4al to rise above, and WELD the personal
Influence and power which are embodied
in an intelligent aciA. Great men appear
eminent, not only from intrinsic qualifica-
tons, of moral or intellectual character,
but from the extrinsic advantage furnished
by the contrast between their own superb
ority and the interiority of their surround
ings. The solitary mountain robes itself
in garment of sublimity, not as seen
from the adjacent elevations, but as be-
held from tho plane below. As we adj
vance the standpoint Of observation, its
grandeur disappears. These remarks
are particularly applicable to the age
in which we live, and which may be
correctly demonstrated "The age of
mediocrity." The diffusion of useful
knowledge among large populations and
the habits of partial reflection which
such populations have acquired, have rem
dered it matter of extreme difficulty for
any one man, though possessed Of genius
and aided by culture, to grasp the sceptre
of intellectual empire, and WELD the thun-
ders of "fierce Democracy" In GER
tain sense, and to a certain degree, the ap-
pearance of genius is periodic. Histori-
cally speaking, it has had no connected
and uniform existence. SOCRATES, PLATO
and ARISTOTLE arose and fourished in
swift succession, Illuminating the century
in which they lived, but leaving no pos
terity behind them. The age of ELIZA
BETH was crowned with an illustrious gal
axy of historic characters, including the
| Immortal names of BACON, SHAKESPEARE
and MILroN. But from the reign of Euz-
ABErH to the reign of GEORGE the
Third, genius appears to have abdicat-
ed its empire, until it was kindled again
by the fury of the French Revolution,
and the world resounded with the
names of NAPOLEON, WASHINGTON and
WE1LlNeroN, of BURKE, PITT, Fox and
SHERIDAN, of MIRABEAu, FRANKLIN, HAM1L-
TON and JEFFERSON, of Soorr, BYRON,
GozrHB, SCHILLER, Wordsworth, SHELBY
and CoLsR1paE. Great men are ordained
by Providence, and in obedience to invis-
ible laws make their appearance as the
specific cures for the ills that flesh is heir
to. To conquer the fury Of French
Revolution, q NAPOLEON was sent. To
subdue the fury of NAPOLEON, WELLINGTON
was sent. To establish the principles of
self government, and lay the foundations
of Republic upon which the superstruc-
ture of universal liberty was to be reared,
WASHINGTON was commissioned and sent,
while around him gathered constellation
of men, whom CHATHAM pronounced Illus
trious, and whom MIRABEAu consecrated
by the splendors of his eloquence The
labors of these men, which eliminated in
the conception and birth Of the Constitu-
ton of the United States, were appreciat-
cd, oomprehended and illustrated by an
immortal trio of successors, WEBSTER,
CLAY and CALHOUN, who brought all the
resources of wisdom and genius to
aid the practical development and
application of Constitutional sys-
TEN upon which depended the hopes OF
humanity. When these great men de-
parted from the political stage they left no
successors behind them, and the admins
tration of the government fell into the
} hands of an aspiring minority, lacking
that large foresight which is the necessary
complement of great wisdom, governed by
improper and selfish notions, and seeking
personal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT in the place OF
} the general good. 1t may be doubted
} whether there is any true greatness dis.
connected from high moral qualifications.