, 1876-11-04
a Prophet without EEOnOr in
h9i> Own Country.


clLr is derived. ultimately, from the
study of the laws OF nature and it fol-
lows that he must lie the best prophet
who best understands these lNW>.-Phy-
sicll laws are, as it were, the telescope OF
the minds eye which can penetrate into
the deepest night OF time, past and to
come. and in this consists true prophetic
vision. An instructive desire to pcne-
tratc into the occult mysteries Of the uni
verse, and to understand the natufe and
causes of the things we see around us, Is
implanted in the bosoms OF all men who
are elevated but few degrees above i'm
hccility. lie who takes no pains to III
vcstgate the phenomena with which he
is surrounded. must ever remain as ci-
phcr among the busy members OF an en-
lghtcned community. In accordance
with this view, the great question, that
which is ever uppermost in an active
mind, and the first to start from enquir-
ing lips, whence come all the Won
ders with which the heavens and the
earth are filed? What makes the sun to
shine the plant to grow, and each livirg
thing to move after its own kind and
marner 2 On these ever pressing themes
the mind OF man labors with an untiring
zeal, and the press is made to groan with
unceasing throcs. As their space md
scope M boundIess the mindran never
be satated on these topics, and the most
enlightened men derive their greatest
happiness from the discovery of new
truths, which bcnignant nature makes
exhaustlcss. The first question Virgil
makes the hero OF his immortal epic pro-
pound on meeting the disembodied
shade of his father in the Elysian realms
is concerning the great first cause of all
things. beg Of you to attend 70 the
force and beauty of the answer, and to
observe its wonderful coincidence with
the last discoveries of science, that it will
be the principle object Of my address to
present for your consideration this even
ing. In answer of this question Of
Eneas, Anchses is made to reply -
"Thc circllng sky, the earth and liquid main,
The moon and sunlike stars, shining train.
Through all these limbs diilused, one guar
dian soul
The body moves, and mingles with the whole,
Thence spring mankind, and beasts, and
things OF air,
And monsters that the glossy waters bear.
Heat is the active force by which things move,
The fount of which is in the heavens above"
This, as l have said, is wonderfully in
accordance with the teachings of modern
philosophy. l will now give you the
name and q short sketch Of the career OF
the illustrious man to whom is due the
honor of having first pointed Mt the true
and sole great physical cause ofall things
as they are now understood. will then
endeNvor to unfold to you some of the
differences to which this new philosophy
leads new in its details, though of vast
antiquity in its foreshadowings; for
great minds have frequently, as it were
by inspiration, dim foresight of things
far beyond the reach of ordinary intel
lect
The name Of this great this illustrious
prophet, is a very homelyionc--it is sim
ply, divested of the title that foreign
homage has bestowed upon it Benjamin
Thompson. And who, in the name of
wonder, was Benjamin Thompson some
OF you may say, for l have heard the
same question asked before by tolerably
well informed people in some things
who was Benjamin Thompson He was
only poor, very poor New England boy,
once. and then Il pedagogue, that taught
school hundred years ago in the little
village of Rumford, now Concord. in
New Hampshire but for all that, Ben
jamin Thompson is one Of the brightest
names in the annals of science of modern
times, an honor to his native country,
and yet not one in fifty of his country
men knew anything about him, nor in
fact, ever heard of him. 1t shall be my
endeavor to Danish this reproach, my
friends, as far as you are concerned at
least.
Sir Isaac Newton was truely a great
man his discovery OF the laws of gravi-
tatiOn is reputed to be the rrentest dis.