Address [pp. 651-652]

180. -.R ogte~ ldes 5
return with its proceeds to their homes in the same time,
and all the way exclaim,'What good has education ever
done!' They will see their invaluable staple scudding
down three hundred mile's length of river, enter the ocean,
shoot across the wide Atlantic, undergo a magic transformation, and return to them in beautiful and useful fabricsall in the space of a few short months, and all with the exertion of little more physical power than a child could command; and all the time they will exclaim,' What good has
education ever done!' They will take the seven-penny
calendar from their fire-side, read with pleasure the date of
the coming comet or eclipse, and witness their return with
delight-phenomena that a few centuries back filled the
world with alarm and made piety ridiculous, and all the
time they will exclaim,'What good has education ever
done!'"
We like the following.
"I rejoice that the gifted sons of the soil, begin to discover that there are other and more useful fields of labor for
talent at this time, than the forum or senate house. I rejoice that I have lived to see the dawn, or rather the return
of that patriotism which looks to the permanent good of the
country, more than to the momentary triumph of a partywhich prefers the chaplet that a grateful posterity weaves
around their benefactor's shrine, to the brightest garland
that withers with the wearer's cheek, and is buried in the
wearer's grave. In hoary old age, it is lovely; in youth's
vigor, and ambition's noon-day, it is morally sublime."
We give the following defence of the manual labor syste m; upon which there is a difference of opinion-we cannot say that we are decided in our own minds as to its efficacy-but let the public hear.
" 1 repeat it, the fault cannot be in the system; it must
be in parents, preceptors, or pupils; and there can be no
difficulty in giving it its proper location, if a very generally
received opinion be true; namely,' that the manual labor
system will do very well for schools, but will not do for
colleges.' If so, the conclusion is inevitable, that manual
labor will not do for colleges, because collegians will not
do manual labor. Schools and colleges are composed of
precisely the same individuals, changed only in age and
size. Why can they pass creditably through the school, and
not co ntinue their oneiard course thr ough college? There
is but one answer to this question, and it is so discreditable to the youth of the coun try, that I know not whether I
would give it, if it had an y a pplication to th o s e w hom I am
addressing. It is this: that the discipline of t he f irst is
addressed to he an o the physic al, and of th e last, to the moral sensibilities of the student; it succe eds in the one case be
cause he must bear, and stay; and fails in the other because
he will not bear, and goes away. Can it be possible, that
just a t that point of time when the student begins to se e the
true end and aim of all college dut ie s and exercises-when
his own enlightened understanding should supersede all
discipline-wh en verging upon man's e state, he should assume the port and bearing of a man-wh en com i ng upon
the confines of a busy world, he sees over all its broa d sur -
face, industry rewarded and indolence despised-can it be
possible that he will forfeit his high privileges, wvound his
parents, and abuse himself, rather than perform a short service of healthful, useful, instructive bodily labor!m Such
fatuity can be accounted for onlly upon the suppositions that
one of the first conceptions of manhood in this country is,
that it is disgraceful to labor. I knlow that this opinion is
to be found in some older heads than are to be found in
college classes; Lbut from the birth of C:incinnatus to the
death of Washington, I never heard of the trully wise republican who harbored it, even for a moment. No, young
gentlemen, it is an exotic imported hither from the land
where rank comes by chance, dignity by blood, and fortune
Of storm-vex'd ocea ns, and the thun der-shock,
All speak of Him whom thou hast dared to mock!
Go to the woodl ands in the summer-d ays,A thousand happy voices hymn His praise;From earth and air the same glad notes are given,
Swell on the breeze, and, mingling, mount to heaven!
T he winds, the wild-bird's song, the insect's hum,
Ar e v ocal w ith H is pr ais e-wilt thou be dumb?
Yet, if thou spurn'st the God we worship, go
To the green hills when tints of Morning glow,
Unloose thy thoughts, and give thy spirit scope,
And drink, from vwells of Truth, the draughts of Hope,
And there, beneath the limitless expanse,
Kneel and adore thy great Creator, CHANCE!
Man-man alone,-thirsting for power and pelf,
Hath dethroned God and deified himself,Or, lost amid the ruins of the Fall,
Hath worship'd Nature as the God of all!
As well might he attempt, in mist and vapors
To blot the sun, and light the world with tapers;
Or prove that the cold statue at the fountain
First made the hand that hew'd it from the mountain!
And some there are, bearing the Christian name,
Who shrink from toil, and fear the taunt of shame,And love the world, its gaiety and strife;
-Dead blossoms clinging to the tree of life,On which the dew-drops and the showers may fall:
They only iot, and cast a blight on all!
Gird on thy armor, Soldier of the Cross!
Why pause to count thy earthly gain or loss?
Is there no meed but laurels red and gory,
To lure thee on to conquest and to glory?
Is't not enough to feed Ambition's flame,
-A world to win, a lost world to reclaim?
Press on!-the lights of heaven before thee shinePress on!-a wreath unfading shall be thine!
A. B. LONGSTREET'S ADDRESS.
Wve are pleased with this Address, from our hasty perusal of it. It was delivered by President Longstreet, at his
Inauguration, on the tenth of February last. It is a noble
opportunity for one to speak for humanity, for his country,
and for his God, when he has the ear of ardent. active and
expecting youth open to his teachings-particularly in a land
like ours. It is then surely a time for practical, strong., energetic precepts-a time to lay broad and deep and immutable foundations of true benefit and happiness. With
these ideas eloquent within him, we may believe President
Longstreet spoke. We will give our readers some idea of
the production before us, by a few extracts; and the first is
an eloquent rebuke of those who enjoying the benefits of
practical knowledge all around them, in almost every step
they take, still cry out seemingly against Education. Of this
class, President Longstre e t thus remarks:
" I speak of those who oppose all colleges, upon the ground
that they are useless. They can scarcely touch a household or farming utensil that is not directly or indirectly a
trophy of science. They cannot know the boundaries or
contents of their own lands, without it; and yet they are
ever exclaiming,'What good has education ever done?'
They will sweep over a space of a hundred and fifty miles
in a day, with the product of their whole year's labor by
their sides, vend it at the best market on the seaboard, and
1840.]
.9. B. Long'street's Iddress.
651
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* Address delivered before the Faeulty an(-l Students of
EMORY COLLEGE, Oxford, Georgia. By Au,,,,ustus B. Longstreet, President. of that Instit,ition.