The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1881-09-21
The Worlds Thinkers,

The individual might and worth Of
the thinker depends upon quiet and Sc
renity. The best thought has been
evolved from minds free from carking
care and the grinding despotism of petty
circumstances. Upon individual celeb
rity depends the might of a nations lit
eratrre. The worlds greatest authors
have been enumerated inside Of hun
bred numbers the great authors of any
one nation can be told upon the fin
gers The nameso of Shakespeare, Chau-
Ger, Milton, Pope, and Wordsworth rep
resent Englaud's greatness in the field OF
poetry.
In sunny Italy, with her myriad paint
ers, sculptors, and architects, the litera-
ture of the country is confined to only
a few great names--Dante, one OF the
worlds greatest poets, Boccaccio, Pc
tarch, Michael Angelo, and Raphael
the latter ones merely sonnetteers.
Spain had her Calderon, Cervantes, aud
Lope de Vega, although the latter was
onl " monstrously prolific triier in the
world of letters. Little Portugal has
only her one poet, Camoens. Germany,
the fathorland OF thought, has but few
bright geniuses whose names will survive
thousand years-Goethe Schiller, Less
ing, Richter-and France none at all of
that dignity, not excepting Racine, Ra-
belais, Yoltaire, and Hugo
Our own country, it may be said in all
humility, has not produced one author
of such classic proves that he may vie
with any of the authors above men
toned. Even Emerson and LongfellOw
will not be permitted to live IN the ar
chiyes of fame until their celebrity has
been canouized by the verdict of futur-
ity. As yet they can be placed on no
higher plane than Tennyson and Car
lyie. Time only will tel the truth about
them.
In Greece, the mother Of all nations
in literature, the school OF all later am
billions, there are five famous names OF
the first magnitude, Homes, Hschylus,
Plutarch, Plato, Demosthenes in Rome
as many more, Horace, Virgil, Caesar,
Cicero, and Juvenal. They have given
humanity assurance Of its greatness /;
they are now as hostages of humanity
in the realm of perpetuity. Their breth-
rem of lower degree are gradually sink
ing out of sight in the limbo OF obliv-
ion. Those nations which failed to pro-
duce any distinguishing lights in lit
erature, will in time come to be cOnsld-
cred merely barbarous, OF at best, medi-
OGRE.
The Middle Ages have been called the
Dark Ages darkness, ignorance, and
superstition are said to have prevailed.
The monks were said to have slept then
lives away the whole period has boon
tlspicted as if it were ahideous nightmare.
This is q mistaken impression. If the
reader will but consider ours as new
world, quite apart from the old classic
world-iust as the world that began with
Noah was different from the world that
BEGAN with Alam-he will see o new
hight dawning on this glorious Renais-
sance of thought-the spring time OF a
new era in literature. The times OF the
German and English Reformations, and
the French and American revolutions
may then be compared to the summer
time following, with fierce and fiery
heats: and our own degenerate, or
rather mature day, is the autumn OF this
great era of thought; we are now in the
sere and yellow leaf, rs regards lltera-
ture. and the occasional pre- Raphaellte
glints of color, against soberer back
ground, are only the gorgeous dyes and
tints of early autumn, presaging blight.
--kIokonlo Ind) Tribune.