Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-04-26
Advancement.
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"The very air is luminous with the spirit of sd-
vancement."
When we consider the marvellous
achievements of this teeming age, we
wonder If the end has been reached, and
If limitation has not been placed over Or
iginality. But as the old and familiar
pass away, the new aC1 wonderful con-
tinually appear. The march of progress
since the world emerged from the dark
ages, was slow for centuries. But dur
ing the nineteenth century it has gone
forth with the rapidity of lightning and
with the force of a giant. New applica-
ton has been made of old ideas in gov
ernment and in morals. The spirit OF
progress has breathed upon all of the
elements and converted them into new
factors in life. Medicine and theology
have been largely revolutionized. Even
law, one of the most conservative of
professions, founded upon authority and
practiced by precedent, shows signs of
evolution. Chemistry, geology, arch
zoology, ethnology, have all been shower
ing upon the world the riches of their
wealth. The travellers have searched
every available nook and corner of this
planet for new objects of interest. As
tronomers have diligently swept the
heavens in search of new worlds. Yet,
in the face of all the positive advance
ment, we are asked by Tennyson to stop
and:
Contemplate all this work of Time,
The giant laboring in his youth"
The results of the last few years have
shown, is the development of scientific
invention, an activity wholly unparalleled
In past ages. Some new and startling
scheme Is thrown up at every step we
make. A writer says, "Every man and
woman seems specially endowed for some
project, and grasping at the future as if
certain that it held some grand prize
that could be secured by individual or
combined effort We now only stand on
the threshold of mechanical discovery
and in our infancy in the great world of
scientific development. The wonderful
results of the past are only stepping
stones to the vast future that lies before
us. We certainly have been advancing
with rapid strides and with an increased
ratio during the latter part of the present
century. What may be the grand
achievements of scientific discovery,
what wonderful developments of practi-
cal results may not be expected before
its close? We can easily surmise the
possibility of some new and inexpensive
motive power, that will displace ell of
the present methods. Perhaps it may
be electricity, perhaps new combina-
ton of gases, using the atmosphere, or
water, or both combined. 1t is possible
that we may navigate the air with the
same ease and certainty that we now do
the sea, only with an accelerated speed.
How anxious do we peer into the
future" These prophetic words are
quoted from one who even proposes TO
overcome friction. We have not yet
seen the great age. 1t is imbedded in
the future. Or it might be better to say
that it is terminating in the present, and
will arise in its splendor to meet the
future. But in all the grandeur of this
physical advancement of the world, let
no man be forgotten. He should stand
out, superior to all, the "fnest finish"
OF his age, and
'The herald of higher race"
Indianapolis Herald.