Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1872-02-15

1872, BY HON. A. f. RANKIN. OF ST.
JoHNsBURY.
There is among the Arabs an old ad-
age which runs thus: 'Plant a tree, dig
well, write book, and go to heaven. "
The man who writes a good book is sub
jected to an eternal embalment- of
life and not of death, of soul and not of
body. Milton and Homer have all the
freshness and yigor OF young manhood,
and so it will be so long as the ear loves
music, the head thinks, the heart loves.
Books, and not men, have always been
the worlds great teachers. The writings
of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle were
but the embalment of their living souls
treasured up for life beyond life. Men
must not drop books when they get
their diplomas The New England COM
mon school system was planted i'll Chris
tian faith, fostered by the prayers of
true souls. Our fathers saw that rep
resentatiye government must rest upon
the broad basis of intelligence and vir-
tue.
The speaker then gave fearful de-
scription of popular ignorance by relat-
ing an account of the celebrated Devil
Fish of Victor Hugo.
One cannot square his conduct by in
volution, and the principles of grammar
are not transfused with any moral ele-
ment 1t is not what is learned in the
school that makes an intelligent and vir-
tuous citizen. Even in its best estate,
the school learns the boundless realms
of knowledge untouched and unexplOred.
We need other help to aid us in OBJ
tanning a generous and liberal culture
Here the library comes in to finish the
work begun in our schools. The Ii
brary Is an arsenal and an armory.-
Books are weapons either for war or
self-defence.
Mr.. Rankin referred to the Franco
German war as a fitting example of the
fact that peoples strength and stabil-
ity depend upon the trained intelligence
of its warriors. Statistics were then
read to show that in 1860 only one-tenth
of our voting population could neither
read nor write. In 1870 one in six could |
neither read nor write.
Thomas Carlysle, in view OF this fact,
might properly speak of us as rushing
down to hell with desperate velocity. |
The scum of the world has got posses
sion of your country, and nothing can
save you from the devils clutches"
The great mistake is that teachers
have not suitable preparation and train
ing for the work of teaching They
lack the requisite culture. But the
teacher is not to be wholly blamed
They feel they must speedily fit them
selves for the work. Toteach anything
well, one must know much more than he
Is required to teach Culture does not
come from the conjugation of the verb
or repeating the multiplication table
Culture comes from some premeditated
and organized plan of study. We must
put ourselves to school in Aterature.-
Her temples are open to us. One might
almost paraphrase the formula Of the
Western orator and say the chief end of
man Is to cultivate himself.
The speaker then urged the necessity
Of some judicious and systematic course
of reading and study. God designed
that we should cultivate not only our
intellect but the Imagination and 9sthet-
10 faculties. Browning well says, -"Bo
sure God never DEGREES to waste the
strength he deigns to impart." We were
not put into this world to merely eat
and drink, but to cultivate the higher
faculties, and TO fit ourselves for more
intimate communion with God, and
those things around are made but little
higher than the possibilities of humanity.
Life has other ends than physical com
fort and material prosperity. 1t is the
oil hot n
er than the angels. THE purely senSu-
Gus man is at best but piece of painted
aching clay
Mr.. Rankin urged, in clear and forci-
BILE manner, the Importance of reading
works which quicken and stimulate the
higher faculties of man. Jehovah ut
tered his most terrific and most tender
truths in poetry. "Only their gathering
,ceoponS could pierce the earthly envi-
ronments and touch the soul" Poetry
ne thought the most successful means of
communicating greatmoral and religious
truths to the world.
Inaagi11atton is the source Of poetic
genius, the instrument of discovery in
science. Newton's passage from a fall.
ing apple to a falling moon was, ut A4e
outset, n leap of the imagination I'm
agnation is q determining force, \
fondness for imaginative writAas is not
an Indication of weakness !4dpentimcn-
talism 1t is said that nOmcr's Had |
was the pocket comparison of Alexander.
Bonaparte pored over the shaQOwy pa
ges of Ossian or the eve of Austerlitz
and Jena. Burke's greatest strength
was in the brilliancy Of his Cultivabef
imagination. Scotland in the rebellion
OF 1745, was stronger than Engnind, be-
cause in Scotland there was more ardor
of sentiment-thc spirits of heroes was
in her mountains. The poetic sentiment
makes men brave in fighting for country
and liberty.
In one of the thriving towns in the
north eastern part of the State stands
monument, erected to the memory of
four score sons who fell in tina war of
the Rebellion. 1t is the work of Yer
monts young artist, Meade. This beau
tiful emblem in marble
..Fair statured, noble like perfect thing.
upon whose polished sides the silver
lances of the stars and moon are shattcr-
ed and fall in shining fragments Exc
guards at her feet, cannot draw its
sword IN the nations defence. 1t can do
better. It can ansheath a thousand
swords and nerve the hearts of a thous-
and sons OF toll, who have drunk in the
inspiration OF the artist. It will speak
70 those who shall come after us, in
language beyond the power of tongue or
pen 1t tells of carnage, Of patriotism,
Of liberty, ever renewing the memory of
those who gave their lives that the
nation might live Future generations
shall make pilgrimages to this shrine.
AT its feet mothers shall teach their
lisping children to speak reverently the
names of the dead and to emulate the !
deeds Of glory and honor it commoratea. +
BY idealizing things material wcidnal- /
Ice things spiritual A keener eve 10 /
detect beauty from deformity is also n J
Enrpap axre - Ista.t