Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1870-08-09
NO. 40.

a stout and invincible Logic to fortify us
against the imposition and soph:stry of subtle
enemies. 1t is necessary in order to render
vigorous and energetic the powers of Thought,
whose appropriate functions Metaphysics ex>
plains. Without Science society would be
deprived of many of the comforts. and bles-
sings it now enjoys. Barbarism could never
have been overthrown and civilization could
never have attained the towering and giddy
eminences upon which her imperial throne
now sits. Science reveals the secrets of the
earth, and withdraws the veil of distance from
the upper skies. Well has she been called
"the handmaid of religion" The classics re-
fine and elevate the taste, and give that beau
ty, symmetry and polish to both thought and
expression, without which they appear rough,
harsh and discordant. They are school of
the most adorned and ornamental rhetoric.-
The chief end they accomplish is to cultivate
the aesthetic faculty, which is entirely too
much neglected in our day. They take their
rank with the philosophy of the beautiful and
the sublime. Aye these are the pleasures
of the intellect, of memory and of the imagi-
nation; and what other pleasures are to be
compared with them !? Then who enjoys such
pleasures as he whose cultivated intellect
draws from the inexhaussible fount of nature,
classic literature and art ? He sees beauty
in the babbling little brook, as it wends its
way downward through the mountain gorges;
or laughingly sports along its rocky bed; or
hurries its crystal waters over some steep pre-
cpice. He sees beauty in the little rivulet,
as with gentle current it burrows its passage
along its pebbIy bed; or in its meandering
course, laves the grassy mead, and flows re-
luctantly, as if it would inger and drink in
the sweet>scented odors, the kindly offering
Of fI,a nl oiN han
or widening its bosom, like some huge mirror
reflects from its glossy surface, the full orbed
glory of the noon-day sun. He sees beauty
in the little fOwret that springs up at his feet,
and bows its head in gentle modesty beneath
the pressure of the dewdrops, folded in its
tiny cell, till it lifts its blushing face to kiss
the first rosy light of the morning sun; or
smiles upon the enameled plain or mingles
its rich fragrance with thousands of its kin
dred: He sees a beauty in the gorgeous hues
of the rainbow painted upon the beaded
heavens, in the little dewdrop that sparkles
with radiant beauty and diamond lustre in the
golden beams of the rising sun, and in the
silvery tiat that plays upon the evening cloud.
He sees grandeuer and sumblimity in the
mighty torrent or the avalanche, madly rush
ing down the mountain side in the thun-
deriug cataract; in the red sunlight flashing
along the snowy summit of the Alp and in
the cloud-capped pyramids of Egypt.
Think not this knowledge is to be obtained
for nought
Learning by study nuet be won;
twas ne'er entail'd from t son."
knowledge and labor have ever been twin
sisters in the great work of civilization
What has their combined effort not accom-
plished? 1t has given improved implements
to the agriculturalist and the mechanic ma
chinery to the manufacturer; and wings to
commerce. 1t has girded countries with
mighty networks Of iron unveiled the hid
den treasures of the earth and introduced
us to YOnder caravan OF worlds above, march
ing in silent harmony in their respective or
bits around one common centre. 1t has
robbed the lightning of its terrOrs, and thread.
ed the vast caverns Of the deep with the cleo
trio current 1t has given power and influ>
ence to religion. Through its instrumentali-
ty, populous cities have sprung up in the
wsr-path of the savage; and fields of golden
grain wave in the gentle summer breeze,
where once spread out the mighty trackless
forest, whose death.like stiffness was broken
only by the mournful cooling of the dove, the
hooting of the owl, the piercing cry of the
wild beast, or the war-whoop of the Indian.
Where less than century ago the smoke of
forest glades, the spires of christian churches
now tower alolt into the ethereal vault, and
bathe their lofty submits in the pure sum
light of heaven. These, and such as these,
are the fruits of knowledge. acknowledge is
power"-'tis infuence-tis wealth-'tis
fame.
Look for an instant at the great captain of
our Southern armies, the brightest of whose
fadelcss laurels were culled amid the din and
smoke of battle, and see him now transferred
from the discipline of soldiery to that of in
tellect. What does his example speak? Me-
thinks l hear it call the sons Of Virginia TO
lay their intellects upon the altar of their
noble state, before whose hallowed shrine,
their fathers poured out their lifc's blood
And certainly no patriotic son can think 1t
too great a sacrifice, to devote his time, his
talents, and his energies to his native land,
redered dear to him by all the sacred memo
ries of the past, and now SO dear in her con-
secrated coronet of sorrow, while her soil is
even yet moist with the blood of his fathers.
eyes, give the land of the wreck and the tomb
For Of the gloom future brightness is born,
As after the night looms the sunrise of morn;
And the graves oi the dead with the grass over
May yet form the footstool of liberty's throne.
And each single wreck in the war. path Of might
Shall yet be a rock in the temple of right"
Once more charge you, educate the rising
generation. There's not star in the frma-
ment but shines. So there should not be an
intellect but should lend its lustre to the age
in which it lives Since by the evils of war,
Virginia has been brought to realize in her
own sad experience what Athens is, let US
determine here to-day, that she shall soar to
be what Athens was.
Then will our history, pregnant with whole
some counsel, pour forth its rich blessings
upon the head of future generations. Then
will our memory be embalmed among tho
sacred recollections of a grateful posterity !;
nd orr ~ Egh