The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-07-23
WHAT rs GOING 0N9

The test of all useful knowledge is in tn
question, "What is going on?" rather thai
in the question, "What has been done?"
is useful to know what has been, if tina
knowledge will give more complete knowl
edge of what is.
The man deserves the title of ''intelligent
as special mark of merit when he know
what is going on in the world. Such q maj
looks upon the human body with the eye O.
the anatoInist and knows the currents thai
are flowing through veins and arteries, wha
changes afe in process, what elements of re-
newal are carried in the blood. the process Of
its propulsion, the means by which it is
aerated an d vitalized, its chemical and min.
eral constl tuents, the secretions and processes
of the nerves, the attachment of muscles to
bones, the mechanism Of bodily motions, and
all the processes of waste and repair. The
working Of the body must be as familiar to
him as tho movements of an open machine.
The truly intelligent man must look upon
the animal kingdom with the eye Of the
learned naturalist, and know the nature,
structure, haunts and habits of all the mil
titudes of species of living things. He must
know what is going on in the realm of animal
life.
He must be familiar with all the laws that
influenced the motions and changes in and
around the globe and its atmosphere. He
must penetrate the mystery of heat and cold,
Of Itch t>f NJ af -
currents, of attractions, of repulsions, of
action anti reaction in forces, and of their
correlation and convertibility. He must
know what is going on when cyclones rage,
when earthquakes rend plains and noun
tains, ana he must know how and why the
grass he walks on is brought from the ground.
He must know how the light of the sun is
compounded with matter in vegetation and
all the subtle chemistry Of colors, absorption
and refraftion. He must be able to give the
character and description of all minerals and
metals and to tell their uses and value.
Throughout the whole machinery Of the
world he must know the methods and causes
of all actio as we'll as the nature and COM
position Of all substances.
Again, as must know what the earth as
planet Isl doing, the speed, direction and
cause of its compound motions; its situation |
relative tp sister planets, the solar center, and
the limitsess stellar system.
But Chiefly the knowing man must be so
with the thinking and moral ma
lures of nankind as to be able to tell what is
going on in the minds and hearts of his
as individuals, or in societies,
races and nations. He must
Do able ito measure moral forces, to trace
currents of intellectual progress, to see
where ahd why one race is stationary,
mother e vancing, and another retrogressive.
0 tell thp reason why some races are subju-
ated and controlled without difficulty, while
theirs love liberty and set aggressive power
t de6ar ce He who knows the human race
aust knG w what is going on in their moral
atures, and who are or are not widening the
aterval which separates the animal from the
uman, the savage from the civilized. Hs
lust see and appreciate changes in laws and
Vstems Of government as we'll as changes in
10 ideas, the habits and the purposes of |
ifferent nations, and know the causes of e
lese moral, social and clinical movements,
J well as he knows why the seasons change
: the tides ebb and flow.
Books, jas treasures and teachers, are indis-
ensable, but while none can rank among the Z
ighly intelligent without much help from
ooks, they alone cannot make q dull mind 2
right weak mind strong or small mind .
'eat LIP trial of the higher intelligence
whichiwe are speaking we would not test P
by what was remembered from long and
ligent reading, but rather by the amount of q
Ich kno wledgs as had been digested, assimi- u
ted, classified and utilized. We would ie
It award the degree Of Master of Useful .
nowledBe to him who could recite most
'm the shelves of library in many tongues, al
1t rather to him who had reflected more,
On mote. and understood better, although u
may have read much less. As it was put
quaint old English, it is better to "cun tn
ii than to Gun much" pl