Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1871-07-20
Established December 1sihIsI
1921 10 sba1T sif 1o7


ton that ranks shim among tbs
brightest lights in, the constella
ton of that g time,henored anC
justly renowned Institution te
which he comes to do feverenc,
as his beloved Alma Matters IWs
have selected from tie main bodJ
of his address, a lengthy extracl
which we present below. GSnbjec,
-"The duties and responsibilities
of educated men :"aitE issr4 s1osG
1t were impracticable here Il
notice any of the numerous du
ties except some Of those, special
ly pertaining to educated men,
10 al ages they have Beer the
principal source. Of
5IIFERATURE. ESIiks
From their inteliects gpsh those
fresh springs Of thought that en-
Even,ands make glad: tie heartc
of the, reading world. The in.
fiuence Of Literature orr the
thoughts, morals, manners, poll.
ties aud even material advance.
ment of "a people are past essfma.
ton. Its sway is not confined to
State or national. boundaries. NOR
to any age It's jurisdiction IS co.
extensive with civilization, and
its reign enduring as time. Take
for example, the Had AID Ohys.
sey, written nearly difee thou-
sand and the Huead two thousand
years ago; who can measure the
extent of tiieir. influence on man.
kind, and. d.their effects upon the
literature of successive periods
1t is true Christendon institutes to
the honor Of the Grecian and Ro-
man bards no public games, dedi-
Gates no statues, ereets, hotemples,
and offers to them as divinIties no
sacrifices; and yettheyiare still the
admiration of all mankind, and
theirnam Is win remain in hotior a.
neng the Haaions, 10 the endd the
world. In the systems OF modern
philosophy what scholar has failed
TO discover some tinea clearly
defined, at other times .dimly
shadowed, 1.-The tenets7of Socrates,
Plato and Aristotle2 Who can
say when the mastery orations
of Detnosthenes and Cicero shall
cease 70. be- felt, and reign their
binfnence on the .iiterstnref of fu-
ture ages, as they have done for SO
many centuries : What ssnnin-
spired writer has so Z unveiled the
occult mysteries of the human
heart as. the immortal bard of
Avon2 =.
= 1t would be tedious to ettempt
to call even the names Of the
"bright particular stars, ancient
or modern, that form SO many
glorious consultations in the lit
erary armament and emit their
gentle radiance combined, to light
the darkness of earth; and it
were altogether a work of super
rerogation, for 1 know that here,
they are familiar, and the charms
OF their writings fully appreciated.
But as sail that glitters is not
gold" SO all literature is not pure
and good; and while. we should
be eager to do it reverence when
ever coming in the form OF truth,
clothed in the habiliments of vir-
tue, we should be equally ready
to avoid its presence, and repel
its approaches, when these essen
tials are wanting. True it often
"comes in such a questionable
shape" that it is difficult to tell
whether it be ga spirit of health
or goblin damned" but there
are certain scar marks tEat will
always show, and "indiciac that
will "crop out. The educated
man should be an expert in de-
tecting, and should ever keep a
barbed arrow in his culver, with
which to "shoot folly as it flies"
This is not the "golden age" of
literature: men speak and write
too much, and think too little
We need quality, not quantity.
They wrote "currente calamo,
STAINS in uno pede,V and their pro-
ductions when finished are too of
ten a mans body, surmounted
with a horses head. They use
old worn out clothes in trying q
make new garments, and the re-
suit is "shoddy." Quasi authors
without number, from the land
of great moral ideas, pour out az
incessant stream of ''ycIlow back