St. Landry democrat., 1891-11-28
AR4sTOCRACY OF INTELLECT.

READ before the Opelousas Convention cf
Amateur Journalists, October 81, 1871
In every age are minds which tower above
y submerged continent; minds when Slail lof-
aver be landmarks of the greatness which lives
in memory, monuments to the uniauhS glory
of intellect AristOcracy of wealth ana hlnJ'l
pa6 before that nobler AristOcracy OF Intellect
which is the advance ana fe"r-suaFu "a a.!
that can hope to pass INTO eternity and 30 CO.
existent with the Eternal himself
The civilization OF any country Is obtalnC,i
throu Oh the ability and wisdom Of few orl4l-
nal aggressive minds. Let lis search III Inc
dim and dusty archives of the past for lnstall-
ces OF the Aristocracy OF Intellect, ana loom,
ing up out Of the mists OF antiquity, we nild
such giants as the authors OF the Immortal We
das-those sages who have perpetuated their
name and fame in the massive works known to
us as the Ramayana, the ManaDarata anu the
Then look at Greece during her days of 81.
prem acy, and we behold, embazOned Oh the
Aristotle Pericles and Aeschylus--" denlZcns
of that lofty plain which echoes Only to the
tread of Genius"
literature and art is one Of The most striking
features in the history of that people. Their
intellectual activity and their Keen apprtcla-
ton of the beautiful, constantly save pifti 70
new forms of creating genius. There was an
uninterrupted progress IN the deTcIOpmcnt OF
the Grecian mind from the earliest dawn of
their history to the downfall OF Their political
independence; and each succeeding age saw
the production of some OF those nIasterWorhS
of genius which have been the mode and the
admiration of all subsequent time;
But we need not linger among the records or
the distant past since as Greece has her " A ge
of Pericles," so has England her "Elizabethan
Age" that period OF glorious brghtness-made
resplendent by its AristOcratS of Intellect
Shakespeare, Bacon, Spencer, johnson and
kaleigil-those mighty minds that form the
planets OF England's literary system. And il
our own day and country we have as eminent
examples, Thomas A. Edison, who was recently
an hunored gllest at the courts OF kings and
emperors; and James b. Eads, whose death
came as a national calamity. The great leader
attracts to himself men OF kindred character,
drawing them towards him rs the loadstOne
draws iron. There is a contaSiousness i'll every
example of energetic character; the brave man
ia an inspiration to the weak and compels
them, as it were, to follow him. Let a man Of
enterprislng and upright character be appoint
id to position of trust and authority, aud all
who serve under him will become conscious of
an increase of power.
When Chatham was appointed minister, his
personal influence was at once felt throughout
all the qualifications of Office. Every sailor
who served under Nelson, and knew he was in
command, shared the inspiration OF the hero.
Napoleons legions, from the rank and file to
the highest officers OF the army felt victory as
sured when the Little Corporal led them.
Character embodied in thought and deed is
of the nature of immortality. The solitary
thought OF u great thinker will dwell i'll the
minds of men Tor centuries, 1lntll at length it
works itself into their daily life and practice.
1t lives on through the ages speaking as
a voice from the dead, and influencing minds
thousands of years apart Thus Moses and
David and Solomon, Plato and Socrates and
Xenophon, Seneca and Cicero and Epictetus
still speak to us from their tOmbs. They still
arrest the attention. and exercise an influence
upon character, though their thoughts be con-
yeyed In languages unspoken by them aud i'll
their day unknown.
Great workers and great thinkers are the
true makers Of history, which is but contn-
uous humanity influenced by men of character
by great leaders, kings, priests, philosophers,
statesmen and patriofs-the true ariatocracy
Of man. Indeed, Carlyle has broadly stated
that Universal History is at bottom, but the
history of Great Men. They certainly mark
and designate the epOchs of national lie. Their
influence Is active as Well as reactivc. Though
their mind is, in measure, the product OF
sheir age. the public MUD is also, to IL large
extent, their creation. Their individual action
identifies the cause.-the institution. They
think great thoughts, cast them abroad and
the thoughts make events. Thus the early
RefOrmers initiated the Reformation, and with
it, the liberation of modern thought.
Emerson has said that every institution is to
be regarded as but the heightened shadow OF
some great man; as Islamism of MOhammed,
Purtanism of Calvin, Jesuitism of Loyola,
Quakerism of Fox, Methodism of Wesley, ADO
litionlsm of Clarkson. Great men stamp their
mind upon their age and nationals Luther did
upon modern Germany, and Knox upon Scot
land and Ii there be one man more than an
other who stamped his mind upon modern
Italy, il was Dante. During tho long centuries
as q watch-fire and beacon to all true men. |
He was the herald of his nations liberty-brav.
ing persecution, exile and death, for the love
Of 1t. From the time of his death, all educated
Italians had his best passages by heart; and
the sentiments they enshrined inspired their
lives and eventually influenced the history Of
their nation.
1.-THE names and memories of great men," |
says an able writer, " are the doWry OF q ma |
ton. Whenever national life begins to quick
en-, the dead heroes rise in The minds OF men,
and appear to the living to stand by in solemn +
spectatorship and approval. No country can
DO wholly lost which feels herself overlooked |
by such glorious witnesses"
It Is the great lesson II biography to teach |
us what man can be and What man can do at
his best. These grand brothers OF ours in blood
and lineage. who live universal life, still
speak to us from their graves, and beckon Us
on in the paths which they have trod.
The sage say the Chinese, :" is the instruc-
Tor OF q hundred ages. When the manners of
Loo are heard of, the stupid become I'M eliaent.
and the wavering determined AMH.
JOB PRINTING DONE NEATLY AND WITH