The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1875-09-16
The Motive PoxcEs ,oi Esrsl LIZA
IONS Life -.

IONS Life -
Ifwc @ereito define generally. tho
great motiyc peTys which influenced
! his. life, c.should..say it was 8 pas-
sion fer improvement; and the forces.
iby which this principle was to be
carried out were patient labor, per-
severance and thoroushncss-ail IN
spircd;by that enlightened patriotism,
which is one of the expressions of
pure philantRrOpy The application
Of his mastcr-pffEcipse began witlr
himself Self-culture was his fifc-
longhabitg We fndhim iaeulcatimg
| it on all who'camc Under his infiu-.
cnce, and invishg the cooperstion
Of others, that the range of its cfica-
cy might be extended. Whether he
is addressing an assembly of school
boys'of the coaisid Ola university or
the Inelhbcgsaf ] nsch2nie,s insti:
tute; wbctherhc IS instructing a COZ
onial governor, who is his subordin-
ate, OF suggesting schemes to his own
political chief-for all he has the
same adjurations. sGmproye your
selves" or Enlarge for others the
means and the motives for sel:inr
provement." The incentive to self
improvement in his own case was,
his son tells US, in comparing a trait
in his character with a correspond
Ing one in that of Goethe, always
an intense desire to be instrumental
in the improvement Of his fellow,
creatures" and he says of himself
that "his deal aim, in relation to
popular liberty, was to elevate the
masses in character and feeling" and /.
"aristscratizc the community" The .
nearer this heroic standard could be
approached by the English people
the greater would be the influence
exercised by England over other ma.
tions-an influence which he desired,
bcczusc ifso obtained, it could not
fail to be beneficial to mankind.
Thus with him the spheres as, well
as the motives for self-inlproyemcnt
were personal, patriotic and philan-
thropic-thrce links completing the
chain whichconnccts thesympathies
and destines, moral social, Of the
unit with those Of the race:
It has been remarked of Lord I.yt-
ton that, distinguished as his intel
lectual history was by growth and
progress, there was singular matur-
-ity in his youth, and a remarkable
Fy6uthfUlness IN his maturity; as aa..;s,
this was to some extent due to tho
firm grasp which, while young hctoOk
Of the principle VIC have been discus
sing, and which, strengthening with
his own develop nacnt, gave pcreh-
NAL vigor to all his efforts. Thcgcn-
eral motive power of his life being
thus improvement, the motive power
of his political life was simply the
application Of this principle to that
special department of this activity,
Now, between The spirit of i'm
iprorcment which implies healthy
progress-at fitting tiHes-and the
spirit Of restless change which in
wolves perpetual drogrcss, no matter
in what direction, there IS OF course,
the widest distinction. No one re-
cognizcd the distinction more clear
" than Lord Lytton-and his rccog-
milton OF it affected, as we have seen
his relations with parties. But
whatever tends really to improve q
constitution, must tend to preserve
it; and thus, in political matters, i'm
pr6vement by healthy and wcllttimed
progress IS equivalent to the doctrine
tof conservation by improvement,
which was the logical issue of Lord
Lytton's nqster-principle, and the
cardinal point alike in his political
creed and in his social philosophy
Blackeoodra Magq:irs.
!