The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1880-07-01
ADDRESS,.
DELIVERED BY A. LEWENTHAL JR., A

Ladies'. Gentlemen and Members of Societies.:
In obedience to the wishes of my
club. and acting in the capacity as
her representative tonight, L as
sumo it as my first and pleasant
duty to bid you, one and all, cor,
dial welcome to the enjoyments OF
Concordia's anniversary. then
bid welcome to you veterans OF life,
marked with the scars of its many
battles, buried hopes and bitter dis
appointments; which scars are rem
dered plainly visible by the reflect
ion of the twilight of beautiful old
age.
/ bid welcome to the young; to
those
"Who are sourrounded by youths green
bowers.
And to whose eyes, the horzon's live
Seems to join earth to the bright skies;
Daring and triumph, pleasure. fame
and Joy. -,
Friendship unwavering and love without
alloy,
Brave thoughts of noble deeds and
glory wore
Like angels'beckon you.to venture on. "
And welcome, aye, thrice wei
come fair woman, whose love and
smiles have ever been the noblest
incentive for the deeds indelibly
written upon the highest monu-
ments of the worlds history.
"Woman, the star that shines
With purest rays,
We're Ger our footsteps roam
The only sovereign We obey,
The angels of our home"
With the same breath, l would
ask your kind indulgence while
listening to the fanciful notions OF
inexperience and to the vagrant
thoughts of youth, penned together
by it's careless hand. To lay before
you new plans, to advance original
ideas, to clothe them with burning
words and paint them with the
golden hues of a bright imagina-
ton, or to describe yonder stars,
which, glittering in their ethereal
depths, portray by their brilliancy,
both the goodness and omnipotence
of their Creator. All these, for fully
worthy of the Utopian aspirations
of philosophers. are too lofty to be
/, touched by my limited power. So,
while others may have feasted your
minds upon the grand and noble
principles of life, the mysteries OF
death or the vastness of eternity
with their various concOmitants.
humbly beg leave to present to you
a theme more known for its practi-
cality than loftiness; namely that
of utility.
| Observation will prove that every
object in connection with its actual
existence, possesses an inherent
value, attached to it, proportional to
the degree of it's utility: in fact
utility may be considered the stan
dard of value. For it is natural for
man to prize highest and employ his
time in pursuit of those objects,
which by their utility yield him the
most profit. His Unsuitable desire
always aims for improvement, and
his reason carefully investiga-
tes the means by which that
state is attained. Hewho lives
to- day, as he lived yesterday,
and expects no more tomorrow
than he has today, must surely be
content with travelling life in cir
icle. There is no idea advanced, nc
plan built for an action, unless its
utility is first taken into consider
iation. OF what benefit will this be
Tor what the effect of that? are inter
3rogatories which present themselves
to the mind, simultaneously with
| the first suggestions of the plan OF
Idea; and unless they can be salts
factorily answered, it is more than
probable that all attempts fol
their realization will be abandon
cd. In all cases it will be seen that
the benefit Of an object or beneficial
effect of an action constitute the
utility upon which the value de
pends. Having given definition
| of this word in it's general sense,
shall confine myself in its further
examination, to it's application to 8
lcertain object, which, when reached
/ trust you will readily perceive.
| The earth is pierced and its
Idepths are searched for hidden
treasures; the soil is cultivated
flor tue production of life's nee
lessaries; the ocean is traverseo
| by the white-winged birds of com
merce; continents are in constant
Communication with each other by
Ingenious inventions; nations arr
brought into intimate relation By
the facilities of modern age. Tht
merchant in his store, the mechan
lie in his shop, the student in hi
office, all these are unmistakablt
signs Of the fact, and loudly pro
claim that we live in an age Of util
|ity. The genius of man, led by tht
constant restlessness of his spirit
has sought and explored new fields
to feed his mind. In this he has
lcoped with the powerful agencies q