Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-02-01
SOMETHING WORTH READING.

/ A amiIIRr Lecture from Henry
Ward Beecher 10 the People OF
Plymouth Church.
| Who will say ihaI Henry Ward Beecher
is not a wonderful man? lie seems to
say anything and everything, be it poIit-
ical, moral or religious, better than most
men of the day can or do say it. Like
Lord Bacon he takes all knowledge for his
province and everything be DISCUSSES be.
fits him for the occasion as if it were in
deed his speciality. We notice in the last
number of his newspaper, the Independent,
a report of familiar lecture delivered by
him TO his charge at Plymouth Church,
Brooklyn, based on the following text:
al am am a man which am a citizen of
no mean city."-4ets 2lst, Both.
We quote his opening remarks:
You shall find nowhere more of that
which we call manliuess, or more of frank
ness and courage, than there was in the
apostle Paul. Nowhere is there a man
with so much moral enthusiasm, or a man
clothed With SO many of the common aud
familiar sympathiss of human life. And
here we fnd all outbursI Of natural Apd
patriotic pride in the city to which he be-
longs, aud iu his citIzeuship. Il is fit
theme for graduation to any one. 1t is a
lifelong misfortune for a man to be born
in a community about which he cannot
feel any pride. 4 man so born is impoT-
erished as long as he lives. il is q lifelong
benefit to be born where the imagination
is enriched with generous history; where
examples of noble aud prosperous men
early stir the ambition Ofthe young where
l5ws and customs tnVor the full develop.
meDt OF manhood; where legitimate OPP
portunitv is opened to every man for the
exertion ofeyery power with which God
has eudo~ed him. lis not wise or gen
erOus for an American To boast OF his own
10 the disPtragement Of any other laud-iar
be that from us; but it is right. and it ia
duty, TO form such sense OF ones cOun-
try as to be aroused to better citizenship
on that account. If it is merely to boast
yourselves against others, that is unmanly
vanity but II you praise your country for
the sake of faccumIuaIing the motives which
make you a better man, then research
In'O your cOuntTy's excellence is wise and
moral.
may freely say that no land on earth
has right to expect more of its citizens
than this. In no other land is there SO little
excuse for had citizenship AS in this. IfA
man is wicked here, il is usually because he
wants to be. He Is not crowded down to
It by any weight from above which be
cannot throw of; he is not bAdgered by
| VenomOus laws; nor is he hunted by poi.
| sonOus customs. So varied and so gen
| erous are the influences for no noble TAIN
lug here, that Tor the sake of ones own
country a mau should become noble; he
should be manly.
-,
oflhe New Year. have been accustomed,
on that day, to select the topics that were
appropriate to that peculiar period OF
time. Without excluding from my re-
marks tonight, any, | desire to devote,
especially the residue OF this discourse, to
the young.
wish 10 urge upon them one aspect of
the education of II citizen. mean IN
TELLIGESCE and KNOWLEDGE. do
not undertake tonight to give you all the
elements of proper education for u mau
aud a citizen. That would begin, OF
course, with moral and religious train
ing, which is fundamental, and which un-
drrlies aud influences everything else. Il
would include the whole subject OF indus
| trial adaptations and trainings. II would
require me to open, moreover, the wide
subject of social qualities and social Cul-
ture. But uoue oil these shall touch to-
night, broad AS they ale, pass them by
for the present, AS more frequently dis
cussed, and conine myself to the single
view OF that Intelligence which America
has u right 70 demand of every worthy
citizen within her borders. For we do not
believe in the virtues of ignorance in this
land. There are realms where ignorance is
yet supposed to be virtue, TO make gov
erument easy, and TO promote happiness.
That folly has long ago been exercised
from us, and we do not believe that igno
Eance either makes a man moro virtuous
more docile to government, or happier;
but the reverse. We do believe that
knowledge is invaluable to all; not to the
most favored classes iu society not to the
intermediate classes; but to all. We be.
lieye that il is the properly of man, and
that il belongs to every single human be-
ing, not because be is able TO get il By
virtue of his fathers position; not because
hs belongs TO class that has had hered
itsry adVantagesi but because he belong
TO Gods great family Of children! Ant
we believe that knowledge has in it the
power and the happiness of the ind'vid
ual, and also the greatness of the State
the stability of the laws, and the safety Of
the government. No people are SO essy
to govern as those that kRoW; and nj
people are so hard to govern as those tha
do not knop. No people are so easy tt
turn as those that you turn by the helm o
reason; aud no people are SO hard 10 turr
as those that you turn by the helm Of su
pcrstition, or fear, or prejudice.
Though 1t is rather an un
usual thing for the pulpit to introduce int
discoursss Of the Sabbath aud the sanclu
ary such liue of fiuvestigAIion-I propos
70 mark out those departments OF knowl
edge which think every ono ofthe younl