Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1865-11-01
Terms:-SI.5O per annuIn.
FOR LITERARY CUE
TErRE


We are all men of occupation-the most Of
US illustrating the ancient and unrepealed
maxim, ''In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou
eat bread 1t is true, the pursuits Of bust
ness men vary, but all are alike respectable
and honorable. The hard-handed laborer
the artisan, the merchant the student, are, in
their spheres, to be regarded as honest work
ingmen; and any distinction between the
classes is invidious and unbecOming. If GER
tain departments of industry open larger Ia
ciities for literary cultivation it should inspire
no foolish pride or sense Of superiority, but
rather an increased desire to extend such ad-
yantages, and, as far as possible, to lead
others into the enjoyment which books confer.
The pleasure and usefulness Of knowledge
is generally in proportion to It's extent and
variety. While each department should I'M
derstand its own speciality,-the mechanic the
theory and practice of mechanics, the mer-
chant the various principles of traffic, the law
yer quanttm Su6icij of black letter lore for
success in the courts, and the physician a
thorough acquaintance with the science Of life,
the proper means of correcting morbid irrcgu-
rrrIor;t;as o,,d Of ,,roIopc;,,, bpnor r,.;.tancn
He who conforms himself TO one avenue of
thought and reading andncglects general Iitera-
ture and science, becomes a fossil at best, fails
TO answer the end Of his vocation, and to APP
propriate the measure Of happiness within his
reach.
Tb. want Of ,;r,o furnishes no nvcusn for
,,ocIoct of literary cultivation That businoss
l.,o,1u ,o,.oa,;,,, ,.l,;ob "a C,r an.
,rrossos +lo Io,,ry IF =, mans daiIv life nc to
a4ord No ,,o,;ol f,. roIovotior mr. roodino -
PIT +bo, ,Ioo :. without foundation, 7, MANY,
.t,;,, G,.od Lo,,,.y ora ,,,oso,,od
e., IT,. ,,1 ~. :. ,,,o,;o1l, CO !, ol,.;,oI
.,,,d t;Io ,,rr,rit. Nor i Il 70 bo on
o,od tbo+ tI,e Io;suro bour tho remnant oftor
fbe Iabors Of Tho 1ov. tha rraon,ontorv infer.
,aIs of ,;mo which sometimes come to tho
man IF b,s;,oss oro foo. ,r,corto;, ord ;,odo.
cro+o for succossh,1 ,,,c,t.I cnl4,,ro 10 bo -
man Of letters. with we'll stacked library and
uninterrupted leisure. does not secure such an
one the pecuIiar and reserved privilege Of
Iearnino. nor ALWAYS render him most succass-
full in the pursuit of knowledge
Some Of the brightest luminaries in the
armament of letters were men who possessed
no such advantages. but carefully appropri-
ated to useful reading the fractions of time
CLEANED from sterner industrial callings. An
other common error is the supposed incom-
patibity of letters with the drudgerv of bust
ness-that a man who avails himself Of the
opportunities Of study becomes, therefore, less
useful, less respected, and less prosperous in
his peculiar department of labor. While we
agree that habit of studymay be so INDUCED
as to encroach upon the proper duties and de-
mands OF trade, we will not admit that a suit
able amount of mental cultivation intcrteres
IN any degree with success IN business. Mil
ton was clerk in public service, and Charles
Lamb was bound, through his whole life, to
the ''desk's dead wood" common mer-
chant S clerk. Let the merchant recall the
life of the great Roscoe and observe the per-
feet harmony which existed between the stu
dent Of books and the great commercial rep
resentative Of the business metropolis of
England.
The cultivation of a taste for useful reading
opens source of enjoyment before which the
theatre, the gambling saloon, and the haunts
Of dissipation, that too often, alas fill up the
intervals of business life in the large cities,
pale into utter insignifcance. The laborer
who, the days toll over, places his farthing
candle upon the plain pine table, and by his
cheerful, well-bruShed hearth devours the la
test journals and papers, feels no less the plea
sure which literature affords than does the
wealthy merchant, who, closing the shutters
of his well-appointed library, beside glow
ing CRATE, and under the softness of the astral