Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1869-07-20

Q
be rule always to use that influence for good.
But there is a time for all this, and to spare.
TO keep the mind vigorous, healthful, aud
strong, the different faculties-ths different
apartments of the brain-liko the different
muscles OF the body, require frequently to be
brought into play and exercised, that they
may be strengthened. Therefore give now
and then moment of relaxation from the
stern duties of lie to observation aud contem-
plation Of such features of Gods handiwork
as may be most congenial to your tastes, as
piratious, and fancies If you have . fancy
for literature, poetry, or the fine arts, culti-
vate it. 1t is gift, and, therefore, not,
without irreverence, 10 be despised o. ne
elected. Take care, gentlemen these gifts
and advautages Of yours are money lent to
you, to be put out on usury. They are pre-
cious talents, and are not to be buried in .
napkin.
Strive, also, to cultivate at least some one
of the departments Of physical science-not
as a smatterer, nor, necessarily, as an expert,
but master it sufficiently to understand its
principles and to find companionship among
its phenomena
! know Of no mental habit more worthy of
Jealous cultivation than the habit of close and
attentive observation. Man, you know, more
than aay other creature, has the faculty Of
observing and remembering, of collecting
and comparing, and Of drawing conclusions
by the lights OF reason. Now, remember that
it is chiefly by bringing these powers and at-
tributes to bear upon the facts and phenome-
ma of nature that the world has been brought
from the rude condition Of ancient days to its
present advanced state OF industrial energy
and material prosperity. Remember, that to
observe nature does not require those rare
powers that the young, especially, are apt to
fancy. All Of us, each in his way, are OBJ
servers of nature and it is the faculty of no.
ticing what comes under the eye, and of
striving each in his own way, to trace effect
back to cause that L am advising you to cul-
tivate and nourish until it riPcus into habit.
You remember it was the fact, familiar to
others no doubt, but first noticed by pump
maker, that led to the invention Of the ba-
rometer, an instrument which now daily and
hourly saves ships and their crews, merchants
and their fortunes, from wreck and disaster.
The whole science Of electricity has grown
out Of a fact first discovered in the kitchen.
a traveller bought a writing desk in Eng
land, brought it to this country, and observed
that il soon began to warp, crack, and split.
That fact led to the discovery of most i'm
portant meteorological circumstance-viz
that the climate Of America is dryer than
the climate Of England.
And so with many other discovcries-as
the alteration of Tght-by noticing that tie
wind yane on board vessel under sal! point
ed differently the moment she anchored.
Every physical fact. by whomsoever OBJ
served, IS, when placed in its true connections,
discovery, an invention; and all such facts
are like The sheaf of magic whcat-the more
it is thrcshcd the more it yields.
Here let me remind you that l do not wish
you TO infer too much. In citing these ex-
amptos, aud urging you On to observation and
study do not wish you to understand that
am holding them up to you as the chic/ in
centive why you should observe and study the
phenomena OF nature. Far from it. The
chief incentive which I wish to mold out 10
you for the study is, the idea that it will GER
tainly make you wiser and better men, and
may make You benefactors, if not of the
world at least Of your own people. What
you are to observe is the work of Coda
writing traced by holy fingers, aud spread out
before you by omnipotcnt hands. with gems
and precious stones, for your good, your en-
ioymcnt, and your delight The pleasures
and profit which the fondest student of his
tory, or the most devoted admirer Of romance,
of song, or Of story,-or the greatest lover Of
music derives from reveiiDg in his speciality
is not to be envicd for moment by the OBJ
serving student Of nature as he pores over
this great and mighty tome, which the Crea-
tor has garnished with stars above, spread out
in the air, suspended in the trees, written
upon the landscape, engraved upon the rock,
and buried in the earth.
As an example, you have learned here tho
properties Of light and placed the knowledge
in your educational cornerstone. Light, heat
and sound, you remember, are all impressed
upon our senses in the same way. Color is
conveyed to the eye by vibrations, just mu-
sic is to the ear. But the organs of the hui
man ear are so ordered that it cannot compre-
hend color any more than the eye can see
sound. Nevertheless, your right-nlinded OBJ
server Of nature may, whenever, with his
mental eye, he looks aloft in contemplation,
hear over again the song which the morning
stars first sang together, or at this season.
when be takes his solitary walk among the
beautiful hills and lovely landscapes that sur
round Us, lie may not only feast his natural
eye among the exquisite flowers which deck
the rocks and festoon the cliffs, but his men,
tai eye can enjoy feast also Of the most ez~
quisite relish.
Light as we'll as sound has its gamut. The
high notes comprise the violet end Of the
spectrum the red end forms the base and
though the human ear may not catch tha
songs that the rose and the lily and the vio~
let sing the iiveIong day, they may, for aught
we know, be to the hamming bird, the but
terfy, and the bee, music more enchanting
than that which PrOspero's Ariel sang 10 the
shipvrecked mariners.
Surely the habit of observing nature as she
is displayed in this beautiful world and its sur
roundiugs, whether in its fora or its fauna;
in its organic or inorganic kingdoms; where
all is order, hasfhony7 and design, must be