The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-03-09
A Philosopher on our Future.

IA We have often been accused rs q
IIpeopie of being boasting and vain
lBaeFlous, and of sounding our own
Epfaisei too loudly. The extravagant
lfpeeches in which Western orators
indulge on the Fourth of July. the
|Halghls OF fancy which they attemnt
re make, and the homogeneous and
fxtravagant metaphors by which
|1hey seek to typity the greatness of
INC country, have furnished food for
numorlsts TO comment upon, besides
s7piten exposing us to ridicule. And
lyet this weakness, fit be one, has
peen characteristic of every race.
I'm the dim shadows of the past, when
the Shekinah was a reality to the
1sT1Handerlng Hebrew and the pillar of
l'Vs5S:d and fire was his beacon. can be
seen the forms Of prophetesses with
their harpS singing the glories and
triumphs of Israel. Celts and Morse.
men. the steel-clad warriors who
iounded the Norman dynasty in
England, and the fair haired warri
ors who broke the lances of France
at Agmcourt, had each their bards
who helped by STORIES of knightly
valor to keep alive true courage and
nobility And it is by constantly
sounding the praises of England's
greatness, by reminding her sons of
the prestige of her arms and the
proves Of her people that in the
eyes of her children TO day her name
SYNONYMOUS with everything great
and enduring, and the declaration is
made that
We must be free or die who speak the tongue
mat shakespeare spake; the faith and morals
hold
Which Milton held
While, therefore, cold and polish
ed lntellectualism may be inclined to
sheer at the grandiloquent style of
oratory in which some of our eulo-
glSts indulge. it cannot but be adj
mltted that the Drincipl, underlay.
ing 1t Is pure and elevated, and that
1t has had its effect in leading up to
more exalted ideas of national duties
and responsibilities.
OF late, however. there seems to
nave been an idea on the part of
many to take gloomy view of the
condition ofafIairs, and prognosticate
Il series of calamities for the country
at large. According to some of these
chronic grumblers the nation is 90.
ing to the "demnition bow-wows. y
The good old times have gone by;
there is no more of that integrity,
single-mindedness and patriotism
which characterized the early fathers
OF the republic; love of gold and
longing after power have usurppd
the place Of truth nobility. and the
cheese parings and candle ends of
office are more sought after than the
approval of conscience. Just as some
men make parade of their humil-
ity, or as spiritual enthusiasts are
constantly talking of their in
firmities, so these orators ofthe Chad
band species are constantly sitting,
like beggarS in the gate OF an Eas-
tern city, exposing their sores and
bemOaning the fate that j. to bpiall
the nation. AS opposed to this graf
ultous depreciation of our institn-
tons, it is pleasant to turn to the
recent utteranceS of one man, Ralph
Waldo Emerson, and hear what he
has to say as to our future. Ifit e
argued that he looks al matters from
an ideal standpoint, which is not
adapted for gauging the practical in
our system Of politics, it may be an
swered, and truthfully, that the pos
session Of the poetic in our tempera-
ment will always lead us to take
higher and more exalted views of
men and things, and to aim at i'm
pressing upon the nation the necessi-
ty for adhering to those abstract
principles of right and justice which
are the only safeguard Of public
morality. A philosopher like Mr..
Emerson is sure to look below the
surface ofthings and watch for the
springs of action, and in looking at
the varied sides of the question as to
our future he has shown keen per-
ception, a practical knowledge of the
duties of people which entitle his
sayings to respect and attention.
Napolean Bonaparte, he says declar
ed in 1916 that in twenty-five years
the United States would dictate the
policy of Europe, and he thinks that
prediction is now being confirmed,
as shown by the vast immigration
from Western and Central Europe,
and the fact that all foreign journals
the moment they are through with
local politics use our system as I'M
illustration Of the theories of political
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