The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-21


ened the bonds uniting them, extended everywhere
the circulation OF thought, and ny the Introduction
actually changed the face OF the world
In the present century America has also been
iInuul 10 lllust.ious ,nen-poets orators historians
held in high esteem by the best ju lPes.
In political science she has furnished a M8rshall,
aStory, a Webster, Clay, aud Lincon-states-
men whose sterling worth and signal services have
given them the highest place in the affections OF
their countrymen, and rendered tiem the pri ie and
glory of an admirtng world.
Every form OF ,yernmeDt is exposed to its own
peculiar dangers. To rep ,blic these are most apt
to arise from excessive love OF money on the one
hand and OF political prestige and p1wer on the
other 10 Keep these agitating Influences within
their proper limits, some restraints more 20 verful
than any yet possessed are undoubtedly required.
The only checks compatible with free Institutions
the mental and spiritual elements OF national and
individual character. The lasting power aud pros
perity of nation, and above all OF republic, ca1
be secured only by the full recognition OF the COM
bined claims OF virtue, religion and learning.
"fhe student," by Edward A. Lincoln.
Following this was an address on "The student"
by Edward A. Lincoln. He spoke as follows:-
The present condition OF science, the advanced
stage to which it has been brought. its brilliant
achievements in reforming society, and the man
ner IN which 1t has overthrown all obstacles to les
progress, tell us that the mind is destined to
ride all the faDcies OF superstition and to shine
forth with It's own steady brilliancy. Old errors
have vanished before the march OF the intellect, aud
Improvement has become the watchword in every
branch OF labor. Dat are principles developed and
uIhCONeIeO IN IACI, Jnat department or SCI
ence is far behind the age which has not during the
past century made rapid strides In the onward road
to perfection.
As this is so it becomes us TO inauire who is the
grand actor in all these scenes. 1t ls not the me-
chaDic. True, indeed he may by some accident
discover an important truth, but we 1nd that i'm
portant truths are not usually discovered by acct
dent. He may take the ideas OF others and apply
them to some practical purpose but he is not ge ne
rally the one to originate those ideas But II not
he, who is it? Emphatically 1t is the student. He
alone has been able TO penetrate into the unknown,
af nj vvhic m haU
produced 80 much change In the moral the political,
and the religious world.
space the Deity-a are his to reflect aud TO enjoy
To him. from youth till old age, continuous field
ls open. II farmer, he studies the properties OF
the soil and under what treatment it will yield ia
greatest abundance; and when his fields teeming
with golden grain all ready to harvest, he feels
amply compensated for all the toll and anxiety he
may have incurred. II anauthOr he adds to his know
ledge, by studying the works OF others, AID by OBJ
serving their errors he corrects his II states
man. be considers the interests OF the whole country
and allows no petty personal feelings to intrdde. II
philanthropist he abors not only for the benefit Of
his own countrymen but to spread clvilz alton
the world
"The Benefits of War;" By Frank Fisher.
Frank Fisher took for his subject 'The Benefits Of
War" and spoke in substance as follows:-
War is the great builder aud destroyer of nations
natien becomes involved in war, her armies are
everywhere defeated her generals become discour-
aged and refuse to furnish new trumphs to an al
ready victorious enemy. The war terminates, but
what is the condition OF the nation? Her resources
are exhausted her granaries empty her fields
are devastated, aud finally to crown her misery, the
populace desert their poor mother country and seek
prosperity in lands OF afluence. On the other hand
success meets the army aud the nation Is victorious
war rouses the dorm ant energies OF the people, and
they exert themselves to maintain the high pOsGon
gained by victory.
What the safety valve is to the steam-engne, war
is to large class Of people. 1t is the grand outlet
for supeTfuous energy. When the energy Of q
people fails to find outlet in the ordinary pursuits
OF life, war is unavoidable, and IL not directed to-
ward some other power, 1t eXerts its destructive
influence on itself, bursting forth in the form of
civil war, from which nations seldom recover
The most bloody wars that have occurred since
the Christian era have, Ike the Thirty Years War
or those Of the American Indians, been the result
either OF religious prejudice ambition or revenge
Hume, the English historian and dest remarks that
clan fixes the principles OF his science, in the
manner as the natural philosopher discovers laws by
observing phenomena, and that only in cases in
volving reparation, Defense and independence Is
war truly justlfaole and absolutely necessary"
We can but acknowledge the vast benefits that
have resulted and still may result from war, but
NAV be settled without the Intervention of bOsttieg
-''when men shall beat their swords into plough
shares, their spears into-pruning hooks, and when
nations shall practise war no more"
First Honorary Address, by George X. Buck
George r. Buckman, who delivered the Homo
rary Address, took for his subject ''The Soul"
He spoke as Iollows:-Man stands at the
head OF creation. AZ, In niche of cathe-
dral stands, bafhed in incense the work of a mas
ter-sculptor, while strains OF music float gently
down the long aisles, swell into mighty peals as
they echo back from dome or corridor; SO, in a
world OF beauty drinking in the sweet perfume of
howers while the richest melody is waited by every
breeze, stands man, the masterpiece OF the Great
Architect.
feet as is the mechanism OF every part, yet must
confess, as we gaze upon him, that there is s1me-
thing far grander, nobler, loftier-a bright gem,
which, unimpaired by time, will sparkle when its
casket shall have mouldered to dust-the soul
The soul Bring together the richest materials
earth affords, group them as you Will, yet into
what utter insignifcance they sink when compared
with 1t! While they are perishable, 1t will never
fade; while all else Ia ephemeral, 1t is immortal.
"What is the soul?" ''Where is its seat?" These
questions were among the first which presented
themselves TO the inqulring mind of man. And so,
far back in the misty past, when mountains OF super
stitioD, ignorance, and skeptcism cast over the
earth their dark shadows, we find the grey-hared
ssges OF Greece, Egypt, and Arabia attempting to
solve the mighty problems OF their being The vast
Sefore II them While the Stterina pe6Ses When eyery
wave cast upon the shore seemed TO tell or the
treasures which lay hid beneath the dark waters.
The nineteenth century, however, in which the
lightnngs OF thought cleaning through the thick
clouds OF error have dssipated doubt aud purified
the whole moral atmosphere, has witnessed the
overthrow OF most of the ancient systems of philo
sophy. AT the present time the tendency OF meta
human power TO fathom. The mysterious connec
tion between spirit and matter must In this life
| remain an unsOlyed problem.
Without invading the domain OF the phIlosopher
| we may still inquire where is the seat Of th'
soul?
Among the many palaces which adorn the Eter
nal City, perhaps the most magnificent is the Vati
| can. Wandering through its may halls and drink
ing in at every step the inspiration which commu
MON with the past never falls TO give, we at length
| reach the museum. Here, on every side, embodied
| in marble or cllnging to the canvas are seen tn
| creations Of Praxitees and Agesander OF Raphae
| and Michel Angelo, Of Guido and Correggio. AS w
| gaze upon the triumphs Of human skill, the monu
| ments OF human glory, we seem transported back &
| the time when hOurished the great masters Of arr
Centuries roll back their curtains, and reveal 10
the studio of Rome's greatest sculptor. Before hin
stands the PaTian block from which his skill Is cary
ing form OF beauty. AS, his eountenance lightin
up with the FIRE OF genius he bends eagerly over hi