Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-06-26
Cultivated and UncuItfyated.

Cultivated ana Upculuyated'
observations OF a Philosophical Friend |
OF Ours)
Wisely. my son, while yet thy days are
long,
And the fair change OF seasons passes
slow.
Gather and treasure UP the good they
yield,
All that they yield of virtue, Of fair
thought.
And pure affection, reverence Tor tiny
God
And for thy fellows; Then when thou
shalt come
Unto these barren years, thou wilt not
find
A mind unfurnished and a withered heart.
Bryant.
"Enollit mores neo sunit epeferos."
Ovid.
The general world has widely varying
notions of cultivation and the want OF
IT. Their ideas may be said 10 range
from the small patch by the tumblins-
down hut that, for very little lazy dig
ging and scratching yields few indl1-
ferent cabbages and some common to-
bacco and weeds, up to the watered gar
den, whose waters fail not, IN and upon
which are gathered all the elements OF
fertilization aid all the influences mat
make for abundance and beauty ana ex-
cellence, and from which all that onends
Is carefully kept away.
The Parable Of the Sewers pretty much
covers the case The wayside stands for
the commonplace mind. 1t Is entirely
superficial. 1t has all its existence In the
public eye and ear. Whatever falls on II
out of the air is quickly taken of by the
inhabitants of the air The commonplace
world have all things in common; and
what Is common makes up their life. The
stony ground of the trading and pro-
fessional are cultivated to certain de-
gree. They are taught and cultivated
only for their trades and professions
They are mere put-up Jobs. They study
languages only to be teachers and pro-
fessors. Orthography. etymology, syntax,
and prosody are all in all their
study. Humanity, truth, character, prin-
ciple the knowledge OF God and man
and the dignity of human life, that are
the soul Of classic learning, are hardly
considered. They know them only in the
way Of trade. Otherwise, they are not
business. And business is business" in
school and college, as elsewhere. And so
the rocky take all learning. 1t Is merely
selfish Instead of deepening and ferti-
LIKING, 1t rather incrusts and sterilizes.
These cultivated, in a very little while,
throw away all their school and college
learning. keeping only what belongs TO
their business, and let their hearts and
the larger part Of their minds lie waste.
They use no more than is necessary to
keep them alive and pass muster in the
| crowd. Eating, drinking, smoking, and
card-playing and newspapering and novel;
reading make their lives. 1t Is a pretty
rocky and dry heath that they get into:
themselves dried up and withyted, no
thing but leaves.
The thorny ground is the unkept and
undiscriminating These minds have a
natural fertility. Good thoughts grow
them company. They have strong diges-
tons and can eat anything. And so
they do: and so their thinking takes its
fiavoring, its coioring, and It's character.
| Presently, like an unweefed garden,
things rank and gross in nature possess
1t merely The gross and noxious out
| grow and dispossess the better sort
| The strongest mind and most robust
genius cannot change their taste and ma
ture any more than the Ethiopian his
skin or the leopard his spots. The general
and indiscrminate reader may dis
| dain the comparison: but II is said OF
! such, that
wide. unclasp the tables OF theil
thoughts
| To every ticklish. reader. Set them down
For sluttlsh spells Of opportunity"
We call them intellectual wantons
| Selfish and ambitious knowledge, so fan
| from humanizing, softening the manner:
and not allowing barbarism, does, In fact
| dehumanize and demoralize and de-
christianize. 1t Is one of the great en-
| deavors of the day 10 make truth grow
among thorns and accommodate Chris
| tianitv TO The care OF this world and the
deceitfulness Of riches. But II VIII mol
| work.
| Good ground is plainly that which has
| been wisely cultivated. And the hrst
thing In cultivation is the use or the
plough that stirs the depths OF the SOIL
/ unlocks its treasures, and brings all re-
| sources into use. And that these may
] all be brought 10 perfection and use
| they must be made TO feel cold and heal
| darkness and light, rain and sunshine
| storm and calm, frost and warmth, ane
al the changes and chances OF tAt
| world. Each of these imparts virtue
| and leaves a blessing. And all together
| make and mix the elements that make
the ground good. Artificial processes
| cannot make good ground. 1t Is a SAL
thing 10 see how the best educationa
arts and appliances fall to cultivate
They fail to lmpart love of virtue ana
an appreciation Of large manhood. They
fan 10 cultivate good taste. delicacy. ana
love of the good, the true. and the beau
| ,iful. They largely ignore man as tine
| lord OF Creation and son OF God. ant
| take them es money produces grist 10,
their mills. They teach him edncatioha
| tricks, and sharpen end practice nm to'
s.,.,,,ar purs,,its They adjust the NOR