The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-03-31
The VALUE OF HISTORY.
WHAT OUR COUNTRY GIVES HER YOUNG
MEN.
An Essay Delivered by Prof. J. IL
Miller. of ErSkine College.

man as he looks out upon life are, Wll'lt tlHl Z
and what am to do? Until we know our
! selves we can never know what we can 90.
The very moment that we master ourselves
| that moment we are ready TO begin 10 reHi0Ve
barriers and to accomplish poSsibllltlcS. IIe
measurements Of possible lfe-wOrk lncluue
not only the strong agencies which our DodleS
and our minds furnish rs, but also all those
| immeasurable conditions OF growth which re-
! suit from all the advancement OF the past.
Eue,y american youth is Tich-rich In that
which he inheru$, and richer still III that
| which lie nlaV acquire.
our national character receives It's impress
| not only from our natural, physical environ
ments but also from the welded WORTH OF the
| Roman. the BritOn. the Saxon and the Nor
man. Each one of these great peoples IS a als-
tinguishcd branch of the noble Caucasian
race-a race that bears the stamp of suprcma-
| cy on its nature. Each one of these four ma.
tions has left an indelibc image or ltsell 10 hll
pOstcrity in the monumental strength o1 the
present British empire. 1t is from this four
| field source that the weIl-balanced English
man draws his cool courage. his tamelcsS Splr-
! it, his wise counsel and his chlValrons con-
duct: qualities that make men-men VINO
rule in thought and action-men VINO car can
meet the most crucial emergencies OF ne,
from those emergencies which require the
stecled nature of the mailed warrior to those
which demand the proi0nnd al'alninents men, IT,, Oh
gland owes all that generations OF poets, ORA
tors and statesmen have made her. Ihey
have made the name Of "England name 10
|
dust" held by the costly caskcts of Wcstmn,
Ster Abbey. Those properties Of head and
heart which give to English history It's fade
less lustrc have been trans-planted without
! loss of strength to our own soil. Inelf pres
ence is attested by every field ana forensic
struggle in American annals from the cradle
days of the republic to this her time OF giant
manhood.
which uuccst,u oiUes That man hardly de-
serves the space that he fills on the globe who
simply sets the names Of his dead ancestors
to music and sings himself into ar existence
of biissful lndolence. He is not hero who
will wear withcred chaplets. "Wc have Abra.
ham to our father" is a vain and futile plea
those hose energies Which spring from the centre
of the soul, and which, in their strenuous
searchings and thirsty aspirations, tcrrify
competition and assume the nature OF dest,
nv, if these energies are wanting, q youthful
life may possrss all Of the enchanting colOrS Oh
the rainbow yet it will be without the royal
promise of that divine symbol. or all the ten
thousand truth-freigilted maXims that hoat
| In the air no one Of them Is more richly laden
than that one which tells you to build your
own fortunes. Some one asked Napoleon
about his father, and that greatest captain OF
modern times replied: II am the kudolPh OF
| brilliant C0rsican may not be the best type OF
manhood, yet there are elements In his coloS'
sal character worthy the imitation OF every
youth. His life may be very much like that
of the young pcarl-tliver, of whom Nathaniel
Hawthorne speaks, who becoming cntangled
| in the sea-weeds periShed in the very pres
cncc Of the prizes he SO vainly sought, yct,
| tell you the pulse of all Europe beats faster
from the fact OF Napolean'S Lille.
But whatever your country gives you in the
way of ancestry it amounts TO little unless
you avail yourself of other ADVANTAGES which
She extends. To-day your country stands be-
fore you with both her hands full of gifts. In
addition to this rich, autantcd ancestral hert-
tdge she offers 10 yon her proud history, 1T Is
valuable TO US not only because u is nstorS tl,
record of kingly tyranny. Repeat the ron OF
our Presidents and point to q single tyrants'
name. Some Of their names we scarcely feel
| like writing except it be with sunbeam.
The purest stone ever cut from an Italian
! quarry would tarnish some OF their names.
We have raised monuments to some OF them
which almost bathe their massive forehealS
How wisely was it said that "monuments
mark and make the history of Il people.
. But all the pencillingS and chisellingS OF
genius cannot tperpetuate virtue. It needs not
will write the epitaph of time, but these pen
cillings and carvings can express nations
History is the material out of which are
wrought Stcpping-StOncS for the present. 1T
has its ominous warnings as well us It's cheer-
! ing Incentives. American history is not COM
piete. We have our heroes, civil, military,
and literary, but may they not be only 'pro.
phctic pictures of those that arc to come
American intellects will continue to grow
and expand under the fostering condition OF
salubriOus climate, terri torial wealth, vener-
able institutions of learning, and under the
ouickenins impulses of the industrial and
! commercial forces. Here in America all
young men start even. Here every man can
win splendid prize who is endowed with en-.
ergv and common ability. None of those un-
happy influences which In the Old World
stitle hope and paralyZe ambition meet you
in your racc-course There are no fixed laws
! by which hOnOrs are conferred save by the
immutable laws Of justice and merit. The
| i've of the throObing ambition OF the hum.
best boy before me. The very genius of our
laws guarantee to him an honest recognition
! of every honest effort that he makes. That Is
why SO many OF our rulers come from Lhatch-
ed cottages. History is Il safe though not an
infallule guide. The best of the past is its
| lessons. He is very unwse who qnits the
present to live in the past II Is just like pre-
| ferring mildewed food to that which is frseh.
Every nation that has hung the picture OF
! its history on the walls Of time has lett us an
embodiment of its ideal of manhood. Like
man, a nation should never rise above Its
ideal, always approaching 1t, II should never
be reached. When Roman pride and Grecian
conceit led them to believe that there was
| nothing higher in life above them, their pow
/ er wasted and their glory declined, Their
| ideal was wanting in the spiritual element.
Those broken marble forms which still stand
! In their mouldy temples, and which lie scat.
| Iercu through Guclf SIlilly ClLleS uc SlSulll.
can't and mournful monuments Of the carnal
nature Of their ideal manhood. The magical
strength Of an ideal consists in It's power to
emancipate us from the threatening evils of
kindlng, the Inspiring and the deathless en-
ergy Of ifnnortas. Day by day under the en-
thralling witchery Of its spell must we climb
higher until we lift ourselves up into the COW
! eted regions Of our golden dreams. If we
would grow we must compare ourselves with
that and those above us and not with that
and those below us.
Your country supplies you with every con-
/ dition Of high manhood possible for 1t to sup.
ply, yet there are some elements Utat must be in
the mo,,. Henry Ward Bcecher in his glow
ing and impartial eulOgy on General Grant
defines good citizenship to consist of three
elements: l. That which ancestry gives; 2
That which opportunity gives, and 3. Thu
,Dl,ich ciu tlevelopes. Some men are the weak
minions of circumstances, Whlie others
mould circumstances as the skiIfn sculptor
molds his clay. Wil-power is an element OF
manhood and without it men are no more
| tkan the wcather-cocks mat arc nailed 10 the
roofs of their houses. Wll'-force should rest est
careful analysis. Men of strong Wills are
men of strong purposes, and where life is con-
| tr0led by the iron rule of some grand pur-
pose results flow from it with = preorlained
Is in those tightening words Of Luthers, when
being besought by his friends not to 60 to the
city of Worms that it would be instant death,
he calmly and grandly replied: "1f there
were as many devils in Worms us there are
roof-tilcs 1 would on Why. my friends,
there is enough of energiZeu determinaliou
under that one sentence to create and con.
firm the greatest religious reformation OF all
the ages never think of those lighthouses
| Of granite and metallic framework which our
efficient Signal Service has erected along the
dangerous points of our coasts without being
reminded Of how BEAUTIFULLY they represent Il
life with Il firm purpose Through ages OF
darkness these Storm-proof structures have
stood in the sea tri riumphantly mock ing the
unstable waters that sometimes play and
sometimes war around their base.