The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1869-01-07
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~ 9CS, SdtO SuSs L SCSSI SLSA lb5 Dli never
/ EneIo it before !"
II. The History Of our Country should be
made the constant study of The american
Student
! X Is a custom in almost all our schools
/ ana colleges to use histories of England,
/ Rome ana Greece as class-books, to the ex
/ clusIon almost of American history. This Is
q bad custom. Our youth, who in a few
! years will have the whole weight of The GOV
/ ernment upon their shoulders shouId not he
/ ignorant Of the history Of their couutrv.-
/ They should possess full information about
/ the origin, the nature, the cost and the value
! of the great Inheritance which is about to fall
/ into their hands. They should be made IA
miliar IN early life with the pure models of
/ public virtue which illumIned the first days
] OF the republic. 1t Is also important that
! they should study our history in order to ac-
quIre that proper degree of rational pride
and that delicate seuse of national honor,
/ which arc indispensable TO an enlightened,
( ardent and enduring patriotism.
1t Is not IN the human heart to love a
county OF no character or distinction in the
/ world so well as one whose history is glori-
Gus and honorable. We love Poland the bet
/ ter and feel more compassion for It's fate be-
! cause 1t Is the land of Dekalb and Koskiusko.
/ In like manner the whole world loves Greece
! not for what she Is but for what she has
/ been-uot for her living but for her dead
and VIII continue to love her and feel kind
/ OF consanguIuIty towards her 50 long as her
SOIL lnurns the ashes of her ancient ilIustrious
men. And wherever over the wide world
/ we meet an honorable and generous hearted
/ IrIshman, we cannot help feeling that, part
| from the virtues Of the man, some little re-
| gard Is justly due to the cUUntryman Of Grat-
tan, Of Moore, Of Curran, and Of Emmet-
We almost UucOnsciousIy transfer to the
/ country Itself, TO It's inhabitants, some Of the
admiration which we feel for its distinguished
/ citizsns.
| This disposition Of the heart operates with
/ Increased tUrce II relation to ones own coun-
try. Let any one OF you aualy ze your It
! tachment TO country aid yOu viii md that
/ The reuown oI that county adds not little
to the strength and ferveDcy OF this passion.
/ GU VIII ind that pride Tor her high Tepu-
I tatIOn, Tor her great names, and lUr every
! thing III her annals that sheIs ustTe around
national character, Is intimately aud lnCis-
/ soiubIy associated with the very idea Of cuuu-
try. You will find indeed that these, no less
than physical nature aud civil institutions
constitute country. You Will find that tho
We love our free institutions for their lpesli-
mable value, and for the rich fruits of Hber-
! ", security and prosperity which they dis
/ erse over the whole country, We love them
:
/ them INTO their strength and beauty, and
through many years OF hard-fought battles,
/ III field and Senate, with the sword and the
! pen, eGeTIed every nerve Of BODY and al the
! energies OF Their great minds, at the excuse
/ OF ease aud fortune, and at the peril of their
/ lives, to sustain aud defend them. Now. as
We veneTate these men on account Of the rIcb
inheritance they have transmitted to Us, 50
we Venerate the Inheritance more highly Oh
account OF the IiIustrIous donors. by very
natural reaction IL our feelings the gilt Is
made to couter honor upon the donors, and
the honor Of the donors 10 confer addItiona
value upon their gift.
The history OF our country should, there
tore, be Kept constantly before our youth.
W hateVer Is great and noble in our &nuals-
indeed, everything Of extraordinary merit in
the conduct Ol UGr liiuotriuus dead, whether
distinguished III the field or by the loss 5rtl-
liant though not less useful services # evil
lIIe-shoud be their frequent and familiar
study. They should be taUght early iu life to
look up TO these glorious mOle!s, even as the
young eagles arS taught to gaze at the sun
But again: In iRtiHsat: k1.0lclslge Of ott7.
HISTORY, particularly ct' the character, services
and SacrytceS Of our tHuStrt0uS men, lCiU
produce u SatataEy moral influence upOa our
youth.
Who can tell how much the recollect;ous
OF the former greatness Of Grsece, revived by
the stIrlng appeals To the heroic days and
deeds OF her renowned men by the pen OF
Lord Byron, when be first visited shat beau
tltul cUuntry,-wno can tell how much these
recolIectlons and his stirring appeals may
have contributed to awaken that spirit IN the
modern Greeks which resulted Ia their Inde-
pendeuce ana their emancipation from Turk
Ish vassalage No one can doubt that the
remcmb brauce of her ancient grandeur, visible
even through the long night Uf her servituue
IN her muuLderlng ruins and relics, and glow
ing fresh IN the pages of her orators and poets,
must have Lad some influence IN arOysiny
her oppressorS. The euslayed, degenerate
/ GrecIan, knowing what his country once was,
must have seen IN every object around him
a look Of reproach. Must not his cheek have
/ burned with shame while he criuged and
crUuched to a Turkish master on the very
spot, perhaps, where Leouidas expired, and
with the bones, too, Of that gallant hero re-
posing beneath his feet2 Wha. feelings
must have fIed his bosom when, in plough
ing the old battle-helds Of his country, he
turned up the rusty weapons or moulderiug
bones of his fathorO! Every evd must tiaye
called him a degenerate, degraded sJaUe-
Every relic Of former days, every classic vale
and fountain, every Leaf Of ancient literature
and every trophy of former freedom must
have reproached him.
Under the influence of such feelings they
could not have looked coldly on their past
history. 1t must have kinoled enthusiasm.
in their bOsoms. The contrast Of present
degradation with former greatness must have
awakened some of the spirit of their fathers
for at last the spirit stirring recUllections of
what Greece once was broke the spell that
had for more than three centuries bound her
down in bondage. It was the voice burst
irrr fr,r, Io Is of lo- 4
and poets that awUke her from her trance of
death, and nerved her with strength to burst
the bonds of her sepulchre and rise up to
newuess of life.
If such be the moral influence which the |
lives of iIlustrious men exert upon their coun-
trymen in after times-if the glory and re-
nown of national character add so much to /
the strength and fervency with which we
love our country-if the examples of the /