The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-05-19

self, mental and m oral heroes led the hosts
OF the renaissance-the new-birth from the
death Of ignorance and individual, social
and political slavery; through the Unity
years war, through the age OF colonization,
commercial enterprise and discover; through
our own revolutionary Wharf.-The more fear
full scenes.of the French revolution; through
the invention of the steam engine, the war;
OF Napoleon, the growth aud extraordinary
development of the United States OF Amer
lea. through the revolution OF 1880 ana
lAS in Europe; the quick popu
lar gain and half reaction, the lay
ing OF the teigraphie cable across the ocean,
through our own unhappy civil war, and
the campaigns OF Sadowa and Sedan;
through all these representative points OF
time, the law Of special development flowed
onward with resistless and persistent energy
down to our own day.
The general result has been lifting of
the masses and pulling down OF the privi-
legged classes; government. for the people
and by the people and great advance in
the manner of living, consequent upon the
wonderful development of the physical
science. Division of labor, which has been
the economic result OF our modern develop
ment, secures great and tangible blessings
10 the people at large, a sure means OF sub
sistence to skilled workmen and great eX-
cellence in the products Of labor. But it
will scarcely be denied that these profitable
| results are to be secured by dwarting
OF the individual man, by sharp divisions
OF social life, by uniting the majority OF
those thus segregated, tor meeting with
lull equality their fellow upon the
social platform. Still, We cannot escape
from the protective tax of those laws which
we ourselves impose. Yet, who would not
| rather be . kniie-grinder in Christian Shelf
| Shnrtpnint ~ n of
his grindstone, than be the Bedouin Arab
drying up under Syrian sun in the wild
freedom of a woltish old age?
Besides, the monotony and disadvantages
OF the human lot under the rule of the pres
ent order of things are alleviated by the
benetcent effects OF certain institutions ana
avocations which are addressed to the case
OF mankind in the aggregate. Socially,
human life will ever be sundered into
groups and classes even in the most demo
cratic community, but there is a common
platform found for all mankind; first, in
the church, that divine institute in
which there should absolutely be no
respect OF persons. The effect of bib
ncai force in the present civilization
is factor clearly outside of and in ad.
dition to the forces derived from the ancient
citizens. Besides this powerful moral force
continually acting on the masses, Which
would be aside TOR me to expand, it is plain
tnat the chief agency is that of the press
The influence OF the press at the present
day is something Immense To a resurrected
Greek Perlcles or Plato's day, it would APP
pear Miraculous. The printing press is the
emblem OF modern civilization, amid its
motto Is read and known! am not such IA
hereto as to claim that all eduCation is com
| prised In ook-learnibg. MaLy living in old
communities nlay think so, but life in the
New West vii! dlspel the narrow idea, and
reveal the lac that nature and experince
are above any merely formal or artificial
methods in the discipline of life. But it
may safely be said that the development of
the age has brought man to that point
where he avails himself of the
swift and condensed methods of
book knowledge in order to render
comprehension OF human science possible
IN It's widest scope, and to utilize the expe.
rience and learning OF those who have expe.
rimented and studied i'll times past. The
charge OF superticiaity attached to mere
book knowledge may be made good in the
main, but submit that it is the choice be-
tween some knowledge lin many depart
mehts) or none; while in the few cases of
original minds and true students, the helms
to deeper and broader comprehension are
indefinitely facilitated and increased. In
the DAY when manuscript was worth 900
sheep, the common people, so far from be-
ing able to read, were absolutely chained to
the soil--adscrpti glebm. The patrica,s
turned up their noses Az the ungentlemanly
accomplishments of literary knowledge,
ana signed their names with clumsy
cross, OF winch our lately emanc,pated
Sambo would be profoundly ashamed.
The Arabian schoolmaster, in many dis
tricts, at the present day teaches his intel
igent pupils by means of letters and dia-
grams traced upon the sand What the
Saracen teacher does from poverty, the an.
Gent ana medieval teacher did from ignor-
ance, tracing his copies and instructions on
paper or wax tablets, The number taught
was OF course inconsiderable. The lettered
class was handful among the millions
hopeiessly llliterate. We are apt through the
alliuehce OF our literary knowledge, to for
get the long night through which men
passed without printed book.
Gharemagne. after conGuering Europe,
III MS olu age became inspired with the am
bition Of conquering the alphabet, He
tailed: Think of it. The hero of the age,
the mightlcst Potentate on earth could not
learn TO write his own name. A child OF
, the nineteenth century, six wears old
could have been the teacher of the greatest
! statesman OF the tenth century. 1t is diff
, cut to- over'esttmate the influence
/ OF the invention OF printing upon our
civilization. by degrees the wisdom of all
: ages conserved in books, filtered through
, layer alter layer of social qualification.
until finally it was poured upon the mil.
lions who had been so long serls and bonds.
men,; In the new order constituted the
middle rank rose into a consequential es-
tate, the skilled artisan became a unit in
the social and political body, the laborer AT
last began to spell out his rights, if not as
! dramatically as his baronial master did at
J Runimede-yet as really-in the historic
! victories OF Wickliile's Bible, at Marston
= Moor in the Bill of Rights, in the free in.
, stitutes of the United States, in the consti.
tutional triumphs of France, italy, Ger
I, many and Spain. l do not assert that the
a Immediate result of the invention of print
! ing was the education of the masses, or
a that they are even now educated, directly.
in some countries, or thoroughly anywhere;
but do affirm that had 1t not been for the
!, diffusion OF knowledge consequent on the
= great invention the elevation OF the masses
: won,d have been indefinitely
: possible. knowledge is power. A little
a Knowledge, even in so vast a class as the
v common people, acts as prodiglous
4 power. Before Its sceptres are turned into
. baHbles, and by ii standing armies are dis,
armed. The army ever surrenders to the
4 people. The rudiments Of literary eduoa.
= ton is all that is needed to place illimitable
|, possibilities within the reach of the multi
tude. In Great Britain, Germany, Belci
i UNI, Holland, France, Scandinavia and the
a United States OF America this has been No
y quired to great extent, and the people ar,
;, now liz the ascendant, or ate rising into IL
!, The two most powerful means by which
" this result has been produced are In,
!, modern school system and the newspaper