Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1872-01-10
correspondence.
In What have The MOderns tx
celled the Ancienls

The following article from the pen Of
an occasional correspondent, is the hrsi Of
a series on the same subject hereafter to
be published in the NlWspTALrH. We
al cur readers to reserve their judgment
respecting it ill they have read the
whole, as wrong differences respecting the
writer's views would, 10 doubt, be draWu
from the perusal Of single number.
-En. -
In our associations with men, We arc
I Frequently met with the dissouraging and
gloomy remark, that the civilization aud
refinement Of the world is On the decline ;
aud some persons are found who would
have Us believe that We are rapidly APP
preaching the confines Of an age TO be
distinguished for its intellectual weakness
aud moral degradation. How often do
we hear people warmly eulOgiI;ng what
they are pleased to term the rigid NOR.
ais aud substantial customs Of oldeu times,
aud dep,ore the more accomplished man
ners of the present age as eliminate aud
tending 10 enervate the physical and in.
tellectual strength Of the present genera
ton. There are others, who, ignoring alike
the gigantic successes aud failures Of the
rast, preach progression on the high pres
sure principle, aud disdain even to culti-
vatc the acquaintance Of the mighty III
iellects aud achievements of antiquity.
Taking calm judgment aud patient re-
search fer our guides. let US take a
glimpse of the vast field, and see upon
what grounds, if any, we can lay claim to
the mead of superiority for the present
age. And let US proceed without bias or
soicitude, for we are seeking truth, which,
it discouraging, must be endorsed and
which if satisfactory, will be u source Of
lasting qualification to us all.
In this age which has very appropriate
ly been styled the age Of Improvement,
the query very naturally presents itself TO
reflective minds -" In what have the
Moderns cxceled the AncieRts?" To at
tempt an answer Of this question is the OBJ
ioct Of these articles.
The anxiety Of every man from the
first exercise of his thinking powers is
warmly excited to know the origin whence
he sprung, aud the different stages by which
be arrived to that maturity in which he
at present beholds himself. To the most
careless, the indulgence Of this anxiety is
ever fraught with most beneficial results
and it has ever been favoritc pursuit Of
the more philosophic observers to coutem-
plate man in his advances toward refine
ment, and to trace the progress of those
acts from which human life derives ITS
best ornament and support.
But this study becomes the most inter-
esting when We view the arts in their
highest state of excellence among those
people whose government and language
have alike persisted, and nought but their
moss-covered ruins, :" the mourntul WIS.,
tagcs Of former greatness" remain as the
memorials of their existence.
1t requires but glance at the history
of the human mind to notice that the
imagination has ever been more fertile
and vigorous than the reasoning powers.
The Incompatible epics Of Homer and
Virgil alone, are incontrovertablc proofs
that in their times, the scope Of the i'm.
agination was so vast as to reach that Inn
it of excellence beyond which human con-
conception can never pass.
The very reverse Of this may be OBJ
served with regard to scientific research,
which, as it advances with cautiousness
and deiberation, and has for its object
the unlimited series of causes and effects,
is slow and regular in its course, and
seems ever capable of increasing excel.
lcnce as the experience of ages is united
III its behalf. Though we have reasons
for supposing Egypt and the countries
farther east to be the birthplace Of the
arts, yet the examples of them in their
maturity must be sought in the classic
wales Of Greece.
In examining the monuments Of art,
the first subject that engages our atten-
ton is the literature of the people The
temperature Of their climate, combining
by its position the ,uxriancc of the tropics
and the yivacious energy of more north
ern cline, the copious and in exhaustible
beauties Of nature, and the favorable
state Of their manners and government,
assisted by an UNCOMMON dignity and
sweetness Of language. contributed to
raise the art Of composition among the
ancient Greeks to the highest point of ex-
celcnce; and their imitators, the Ro-
mans, uniting purity and strength Of
their own with the wilder illusions of
their masters, produced the most perfect
models of correct writing that the world
has ever seen. Even granting, las we
have no right.) the full merit OF original-
ty to the more recent literary productions,
the claims of antiquity to superiority
must still remain undisputed in the higher
species of prose and poetry. 1t must not
be imagined, however, that so many years
have elapsed without suggesting some
general improvements; yet the limits of
composition were set so near perfection
by antiquity, that modern ingenuity has
thus far been unable TO surpass them. But
let US briefly consider what these general
improvements are.
In respect to the Drama, the inconven
ences of the ancient chorus which, remain
ing as it did on the stage during the whole
performance, impaired and confined the
conduct and greatly weakened the proba.
ohity OF dramatic representations, have
been hnnnilv rnmnund In ia n,nlo..