The Cecil Whig., 1878-03-16
Personal sketches.
Nathan COvingtOn Brooks, Ii. ID.

Nathan tOyIHgtOn BROOKS. LII. ID.
1t has long been disputed question
whether the man of action or the man Of
thought exerts the greater iuiluence on the
world
The former makes the greater impression
upon contemporaries; the latter upon pos
terity. The Influence of the former is the
more intense while it lasts, but it soon
reaches IT'S highest point, after which 1t
continually decreases; while that of the
latter, though small and perhaps uuDo-
tced at first, goes on accommodating strength
throughout eternity. The one is a SUN
mer shower that drives pattering into the
hard dry ground and evaporates in the
next hour of sunshine. The other is the
soft and gentle rain of Spring that falls
slowly and sinks deeply into the earth; and
though it may be forgotten for awhile. it
reappears after season in the blooming
! flowers of Spring and the rich fruit of
autumn. The subject of the present sketch
! belongs partly to both these classes; but
we shall consider him principally III the
character of i thinker aud teacher. In
the short memoir that follows the reader
will not expect to find the romance of per
| Sonal adventure, or the excitement of politi-
! cal intrigue, or the indescribable attrac
tions of successful money gathering. Let
| others admire the rain formed torrent dash
/ bo tuir hrpyr. hn
oars the humber but not less pleasing
| task, to trace the broad, deep river flow.
! ing noiseleSSy TO the ocean, but spreading
beauty and fertility wherever it flows.
Nathan Covington Brooks was born in
| Cecil county, Md, on the l2th of August,
| 1919. His education was commenced at
the West Nottingham Academy, then un
der the charge of the Rev. James Magraw,
| d. D.. and he subsequently graduated at
| st. Johns College, Annapolis. Diligent
and persevering at all times in his studies
his rapid progress and high attainments in
every branch of scholarship won the re-
gard of his teachers; while his mild and
amiable manners, his gentle yet fearless
| uiSpDSiLioI, clitltdISu MN W all HIS tlssSS
mates. While his principal delight was in
the study of the classics, he devoted much
attention to mathematics, and made many
a long excursion into the domain of meta
| physics. His acute and versatile genius
seemed equally at home in the tragedies of
Sophocles, the Calculus of Leibuitz, aud
the profundities Of Locke and Hume. Like
many other writer's, some of his earliest
| efforts were in verse. Indeed ii may he
said OF him, as of Pope, that he "liSped
in poetry But poetry at the present day
is at a discount, and it is the fashion to
complain that our generation is particu-
| lary barren in poets: still the popular com
| plaint is perhaps only a delusion If poe
try is undervalued, as it undoubtedly is,
| that would prove, according to the prnci-
pies Of political economy, not the scarcity,
but the abundance of the article. And
| though we have no poets of the first water
among us-no Shakspeares, or Millions, or
| Byrons, yet there is as much verse, and
! good verse TOO, published every year IN our
magazines and newspapers, as would have
made the reputation of dozen poets u
century ago. The 'fugitive poetry of
| America is equal, if not superior, to that
of any other country. Leugthened efforts
| of great men We cannot indeed boast Of,
for the "cui bono?' query comes home
torelbiy even to the poet that breathes our
oilar-hunting atmosphere: aud long poems
| d0R't Day But there is no scarcity of lit
erary amateurs who. in their hours of rec.
reation and gentle dailiance with letters,
| oetake themselves to poetry an amuse-
ment for their leisure hours or a soiace
amid the rude trials OF life; aud their verses
reach us every week or every month, and
we read, and we smile or weep, the case
may be, and the magazine or newspaper is
thrown aside and forgotten. Amid these
| heaps of glitteriug gems there may be some
! of paste, mere limitations that deceive only
the ignorant; and some of colored glass,
that deceive scarcely any one; but there
| NAV also be found the real diamond, small
1t may be in size, but pure and sparkling.
| Hlgh i'll the first rank of these writers of
occasional poetry stands Mr.. Brooks. Ma
ture, III all her forms, he has made the sub
! ject of close observation and profound re-
Election; and in looking at Nature, he has
used his own eye and not the spectacles of
other writer's He has a keen relish for
the beautiful, aud a deep sympathy with
the truthful and good. His taste, formed
on the finest models, has been ripened and
| chastened by a patient study of the great
monuments of antiquity, His conceptions
are always pure, and his language always
appropriate; his pathos never sinks into
tawdry sentmentaism, and his loftier
flights never degenerate into bombastic
defamation. His thoughts seem to be the
natural development of his mind; and his
words the unstudied expression of his
thoughts. The music of his verse reminds
us sometimes of tho soft cadences of Hem
ans, and not unfrequeutly of the mournful
harp of Byron.
We regret that the limit of the present
article will not permit us to present our
readers with characteristic specimens of
DR.. Brooks poetical productions. Suffice
it TO say, however, that in all the poetry he
has given the world, there are unmstakable
evidences of true genus. The muses. of
poetry and history are sisters. Indeed, one
of the HEST and nob!est forms of poetry,
the epic, is essentially historic IN its char