Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1872-06-20

| trains the analytical faculties. There i
| so much complication in Latin an,
| Greek that the power to analyze mus
be developed, and is of infinite value il
| practical life.
1t also trains the imagination. The i'm
aginations of the ancients have been tax
en- as models by the great scholars in
practical life. 1t gives power to Ian
guage. The classics also tram tho
memory. In the thorough discipline
of the school room, Latin and Greek sur.
pass all other studies in developing the
memory. They train the judgment OF
the pupil and teach nice distinctions and
| prompt decisions. The English is made
up of Latin and Greek. and knowledge
of those studies open the pathway to a
| perfect knowlede of our mother tongue.
| believe they do more than any other
studies in practical preparation for the
| duties of life | advocate the study of
the classics because they are eminently
practical.
DIR. Case then read a lengthy address
in support of the sciences VS.. classics. an
abstract of which is beyond the limit of
this brief report.
Rev. J.. A. Austin said we want
studies which meet the demand of the
age. The classics meet this demand.
| Teach the boy that which viii be of use
| to him in life. If it does take time. If
the boy is better fitted by discipline to
meet life it is time well improved. A
very small proportion of the world re-
ceive classical education, but the great
| proportion of leaders and men of
| strength are classically educated. Nine
out of ten of the orators Of the world
are classically educated
Collection was taken up TO defray the
expenses of the Association, which am
ounted to 1864.
Adjourned until 1:30 p. m.
AFTERNOON.
Discussion. - Claims of the school
upon the people. Opened by Rev. r.
| S. Williams of the State Normal School
! Castleton. His address covered thirty
minutes, and 1t is proposed to publish it.
! A. f. Leavenworth said: The great
cry of our college is for boys to train
They have ample means and talents bat
the material is wanting. The high
school and the academy are crowded to
overlooking. 1t seems to me that this
will be corrected when the attention of
those in the upper schools are turned to
| the district schools Attention must be
| given to the fountain head. If the dis
| trict school is properly used, the higher
/ institutions will he full, and then in turn
! the colleges. The earlier wears of study
are sadly neglected. My experience has
| been that applicants for admission to my
| schools are invariably deficient in pre-
| paration, and have to put them back
to first principles.
A. J. Sanborn then delivered an ad-
/ dress on the
SUPERIORITY OF MENTAL POWERS.
/ The superiority of man lies in his
mental not his physical powers Other
animals are superior to man in physical
strength, yet man has become master of
/ them ALL 1t is not the outward aspect
that permanently impresses US. The
man of wealth or noble statue is despis-
/ ed beside one who posses genuine men,
/ tai eminence.
Men who possess mental greatness
/ cannot be concealed from the attraction
! to be unknown. The mind is our own
realm and there is little else that we
| possess. The wealth of nations may
| be swallowed up in the commissions of
war, the boarded gold of the millionaire
may be purloined by the thief, the fire
/ and the floods are eager to destroy and
! then exult over the works of their ruin /;
but the treasures of the mind are secure
from the hand of the thief or the muta-
tons of finance. The mind gives tone
and value to whatever surrounds Us. To
man whose mental powers are unde-
yeloped, the world seems devoid of
meaning and clad in sackcloth But the
active and educated mind sees beauty
and magnificence in every thing. and the
soul drinks inspiration that enables it to
claim companiOnship with angels.
The productions Of minds are endur-
ing. Crowns will crumble and the
proudest structure of human hands viii
fall before the ruthless march of time,
but great thoughts cannot perish. Kings
have reared lofty monuments to perpe-
tuate their names, but the monuments
which Homer and Virgil have left viii
remain untarnished in their pristine
beauty. when the garnished sepulchres
of kings have mouldered away and are
forgotten.
Fortunatus was said to have a wishing
hat which, when he put it upon his
head and wished himself anywhere. i'm
mediately he was there, and hat has
lately been found that is tabled to ami
hilate time. Such hats would be deem
ed valuable indeed, but thought was the
swift-winged messenger of the mind,
and time and space cannot better its
pinions. 1t roams through the distant
ages and beholds the stirring events Of
the past it wings IFS flight to the mar
gin of the universe and mingles with an
gels while singing round the new laid
pillar of an unfinished world.
Thought is the privilege of all men.
1t is an inestimable blessing bestowed
by the Bountiful Giver upon all rational
intelligent beings Chains may bind
the limbs the Inquisitor may seal the
lips. but it cannot fetter the thoughts.
The superstitious priests would torture
the body of Calico and compel him to
abiure his cherished opinions, but they
could not check the meditations of his
great mind any more than they could
stop the whirling of the planet, which
he declared to more The voice of Will
liam Tell shouting among the mountains
of Switzerland was more powerful than:
the artillery of Napoleon, and, like Han
nibal, crossed over the Alps and echoed,
in the palaces of kings.
Public opinion is more powerful than
ornaments and nayies. William Lloyd
Garrison has done more by his mental
power to remove slavery than any regi-
ment of soldiers that went forth to bat
tie
Though mental power IS thus ALSO
lutte, yet it is the possession of the poor
as well as the rich. From the ranks of
the humblest have come many of the
brightest ornaments of intellectual life.
This was illustrated by many who
have risen from poverty and shed their
glowing glories over the human race.
The rich may draw lines of distinc-
ton between themselves and the poor,
but talent will surmount every barrier
that men can rear between himself and
his fellowmen, and will bridge every