Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-06-12
EDUCATIONAL COLUMN.


All the happiness of man is derived
from discovering, applying, or obeyihg
the laws of his Creator, and all his mis-
cry is the result of his ignorance or dis
obedience.
When the clouds of ignorance are dis
PEELED by the radiance of knowlege, pow
er trembles but the authority of law re-
mains immovable.
Almost all the calamities OF man, ex-
cept the physical evils which are inherent
in his nature, are in great measure to be
imputed to erroneous views of religion or
bad system of government, and these can
not be coexistent for any considerable
| time with an extensive diffusion OF
| ligence will destroy the government, or
| the government will destroy it. Either
it will eXtirpate superstition and enthus-
iasm, or they will contaminate its purity
and PROSTATE its usefulness. knowledge
is the cause as well as the effect of good
government.
The Chinese have Il saying, that "by
learning, the sons of the common people
become great; without learning, the sons
of the great become mingled with the
mass of the people
Ignorance, says alwriter, "can shake
81 with i1l,
sink brave hearts with light sorrows, and
doth lead innocent feet to impure dens,
and hauuts the simple rustic with credu
lous fears, and the smart Indian wit b
that more potent magic under which spell
he pines and dies. And by ignorance is
a man fast bound from childhood to the
grave, till knowledge, which is the revel-
alton of good and evil, doth set him free
/ In proportion as the discoveries in arts
multiply, and as we make progress in
improvement, in like prop )rtion ought
the moral and intellectual condition of
the species to rise; the progress of civil
ization does not depend alone on the in
crease of wealth; it chiefly depends in
the improved moral and intellectual con
dition of the population.
Surely the great aim of IN enlightened
and benevolent philosopher is not to rear
| Il small number OF individuals. who may
be regarded as prodigies in an ignorant
and admiring age, but diffuse, as widely
as possible, that degree of cultivation
which may enable the bulk of the people,
to possess all the intellectual and moral
| improvement Of which their nature is
susceptible.
The wisest and best men that have ap.
] peared upon earth, have come as
teachers. In remote antiquity Confu-
! clus came, a teacher of righteousness and
wisdom among the Chinese. In refined
Greece, the wise Socrates was teacher
and the most distinguished men of
Athens walked with him about Its streets
or in the groves ia its neighborhood, to
listen to his instruction. His pupils,
! Plato and Aristotle, were teachers, and
their teachings have enlightened and in
fiuenced the world down to the present
time. Through all the history of the
Jews, their venerable men were teachers;
to this day they are teachers by their
wiring. Our Savior was first known as
a teacher of righteousness. He is still
our teacher.
The office Of teacher is in its nature the
highest office. Thatit is not considered
such, comes from the fact that so many
have entered upon it without fitness oi
mind or character for its numerous duties
and that men are only beginning to esti-
mate things according to their true
value. J.F.L.