The Portland daily press., 1869-01-14
DR.. Osgood,s Lecture.

DR.. Osgood's Lecture.
A splendid audience was in attendance at
City Hall to listen to DR.. Osgood's lecture be-
fore the Mercantile Library Association, on
THE Coming Man." last evening.
The Doctor introduced his subjectby men
tioning call made upon him in New York by
a gentleman who had just celebrated his 1920
birthday, who was still erect and vigorous. and
oaly appearing like person who had attained
what il ordinarily called old age. This gentle
tleman had seen Dr. Jonson-the rare Ben
Jouson-had seen George III; George ";
William W. and had been Captain of the
Guard over Napoleon at st. Helena. The
thought struck him as this gentleman was tell
ing of the events of three quarters of centu-
ry and more: suppose ourselves transplanted
to January 18th, 1869, and consider what would
be the style, thought and pleasures of the man
of that period. No doubt if Ben Jonson could
have gazed upon America and Americans o
the present day, the style of man fat present
with his thoughts, ways and surround.
ings, would have stirred the burly Brit
ish Tory to the inmost depths of his nature
and given him more food for talk than any
topic he ever brought on the tea table and
washed down with a dozen cups of tea. and the
coming man would be as productive subject
of wonder and criticism to us as we should be
to Jonson. 70 - . FAl -t4t3 = tE q f.
The question to be considered is what the
assemblies will be in which the men and wo-
men Of 1869 will seek for pleasure, instruction,
or worship, and what would be the culture and
convictions of lyceum audience at that date.
and the order of thought, and standard Of taste
and principle set forth by the lecturer. Or, to
bring the matter nearer to the affections, what
will be the style, purpose and association of
the boy in the cradle when he has lived his
hundred years and has his story to tell.
He said that there would probably be the
same crop of great men at that time as now,
but when his friend the Captain was born such
men as Goethe, Burns, Napoleon, Wellington,
Cowper, Pitt, Fox, John Jay, Jefferson, Her
schel were in extreme youth, but the founders
Of the great sciences of geology, comparative
anatomy, sound, magnetism, electricity and
mathematical cience were unborn People
follow institutions rather than men, therefore
tell us what the tone of thought and action is
to be in the coming generation and we can tell
what the coming man will be like. The INTEL
ectual type of the coming man is to be more
rational than the old type, Not rationalstc
in the beggarly sense of the word, but demand
ing the facts Of nature, life and spirit, tracing
them to their principles, and the principles to
results He is also to be free, and this free
dom is to go with obedience. That this free
dom means not merely freedom as regards
motive power, but accepting that freedom wise.
" and training our children practically rather
than by study of books aud lessons The
coming man must be muscular, not ouly in
body but also in mind. The coming man will
be at peace, and yet full of fire, and will in
harmony without losing his individuality. s,,.
In conclusion the speaker said would we
not like to peep at Portland in 1869, and see
the best specimens of the men and women
here then. The vision would not 50 much star
tie us by novelty as please us by coming home
to our hearts and minds. 1t Wouldn't be safe
to say that all the young men and women
would be wholly wise, and all the young wo-
men wholly discreet, and never saying more
than what is entirely true-that among the
elders all men were model husbands and all
women perfect wives-that all heroes were
wholly attractive and intelligent, and all speak
ers wholly judicious and elegant We may
safely say that much that is best in our faith
aud hope would then be reality, and all that is
noblest would then be in our eyes the most
human and attractive, confusing our ideas of
progress. ,r-l ---.t. i+
A brilliant French writer has lately ventured
upon different suggestion and startled his
readers by declaring that the new science CT
nature afirms progressive creation, and that
we may ere long find new and superior race
called into being, astonishing us by their
beauty and power, as much we astonish the
gorias. He suggests that these nobler chill
dren of heaven may make US domestic ami
mails as we make them OF dogs and CATTLE and
that their higher intelligence will look upon
the Pantheon and Cologne Cathedral as we
look upon leaf of coral, or lister to the Iliad
as to the song of a new bird. This is very
French but not wise or good. The coming
man will be no new master of proud perfec-
ton, but one of our human race, born of heav-
en- and reared within the kingdom of God. -
He will come as all of Gods children have
come, and grow as they have grown. The old
mother earth will be his home and walk, and
his light will be the same that shines in u.s.
His life part OF our life, his God our God, his
home our home. ., 80. O., ...N.frE oPe,
We are sorry to have to give such faint
sketch ola very philosophical and. at the same
time, highly interesting lecture, but we are
very much pressed for space this morning. 1t
was production worthy of one of the master
minds of one of the most distinguished Unita-
riau clergymen. The audience listened with
marked attention up to the very close of this
brilliant effort.