Слике страница
PDF
ePub

ty through an atmosphere of explosive gas, and has already preserved the lives of hundreds of human beings, is a title to glory and the gratitude of his fellow men, which the most renowned destroyer of his race might envy.

The counsels of such a man, in his retirement and meditation, are worth listening to. I am sure you will think I bring this lecture to the best conclusion, by repeating a sentence from one of his moral works:

'I envy,' says he, 'no quality of the mind or intellect in others; not genius, power, wit, or fancy; but if I could choose what would be most delightful, and I believe, most useful to me, I should prefer a FIRM RELIGIOUS BELIEF to every other blessing.'

AN

ADDRESS

DELIVERED AS THE INTRODUCTION TO THE FRANKLIN LECTURES, IN BOSTON, NOVEMBER 14, 1831.

NOTWITHSTANDING the numerous institutions, for promoting useful knowledge, in our community, it was still found, that many were excluded from the benefit of them. The number of persons that can be accommodated in any one hall, is, of course, limited; and it has been thought desirable to make the attempt to provide an additional course of lectures, on the various branches of useful knowledge, for the benefit of those, who have not had it in their power, for this or any other reason, to obtain access to the other institutions, which have set so praiseworthy an example, in this work of public utility. We are assembled, this evening, to make the beginning of this new course of popular instruction.

The plan of this course of lectures was suggested at so late a period, this year, that it may not, perhaps, be possible, the present season, to carry it fully into effect, in such a manner as is wished and designed, in reference to the choice and variety of subjects. It is intended, eventually, that it should extend to the various branches of natural science. It will impart useful information, relative to the Earth, the Air, and the Ocean; the wonders of the heavens; and the mineral treasures beneath the surface of the globe. It may extend to the different branches of natural history, and acquaint you with the boundless variety of the animated creation. The various properties of natural bodies will form a prominent sub

ject of consideration, as the basis of so many of the arts and trades, and the sources from which so many of the wants of man are supplied. In like manner, those natural powers and properties of matter, the agency of fire, water, steam, and weight, which, in their various combinations, produce the wonders of improved machinery, by which industry is facilitated, and the most important fabrics are furnished cheaply and abundantly, will not be overlooked. It may be supposed, that a due share of attention will be paid to the geographical survey of the globe, to the history of our own race, the fortunes of the several nations, into which mankind have been divided, and the characters of great and good men, who, long after they have departed from life, survive in the gratitude and admiration of their fellow-men. A general and intelligible view of the constitution and laws of the country, in which we have the happiness to live, tending, as it will, to enlighten us in the discharge of our duties as citizens, will no doubt be presented to you, by some, who will take a part in these lectures. Nor will they, I venture to hope, be brought to a close, without having occasionally directed your thoughts to those views of our common nature, which belong to us as rational and immortal beings, and to those duties and relations which appertain to us as accountable agents.

The general plan of these lectures extends to these and all other branches of sound and useful knowledge; to be treated in such order, as circumstances may suggest; and with such variety and selection of subjects and fulness of detail, as the convenience of the lecturers and the advantage of the audience may dictate. They have been called the Franklin Lectures, in honor of our distinguished townsman, the immortal Franklin, the son of a tallowchandler, and the apprentice to a printer in this town ;-a man, who passed all his early years, and a very considerable portion of his life, in manual industry; and who was chiefly distinguished by his zealous and successful efforts for the promotion of useful knowledge. His name has given lustre to the highest walks of science, and adorns one of the proudest pages of the history of our country, and the world. But we have thought it was still more a name of hope and promise, for an institution like this, which aims to promote useful knowledge, (the great study of his life,) among that

class of our fellow-citizens, from which it was ever his pride himself to have sprung.

It would seem, at the commencement of a course of public instruction of this kind, a pertinent inquiry, Why should we endeavor to cultivate and inform our minds, by the pursuit of knowledge?

This question, to which the good sense of every individual furnishes, without meditation, some general reply, demands a full and careful answer. I shall endeavor, in this address, to state some of the reasons, which go to furnish such an answer.

All men should seek to cultivate and inform their minds, by the pursuit of useful knowledge, as the great means of happiness and usefulness.

All other things being equal, the pursuit and attainment of knowledge are, at the time, the surest source of happiness. I do not mean, that knowledge will make up for the want of the necessaries and comforts of life: it will not relieve pain, heal sickness, nor bring back lost friends. But if knowledge will not do this, ignorance will do it still less. And it may even be affirmed, and all who have made the experiment themselves will testify to the truth of the remark, that nothing tends more to soothe the wounded feelings, to steal away the mind from its troubles, and to fill up the weariness of a sick chamber and a sick bed, than, for instance, some intelligible, entertaining, good book, read or listened to.

But knowledge is still more important, as the means of being useful; and the best part of the happiness, which it procures us, is of that purer and higher kind, which flows from the consciousness that, in some way or other, by good example or positive service, we have done good to our fellow-men. One of the greatest modern philosophers said, that knowledge is power; but it is power because it is usefulness. It gives men influence over their fellowmen, because it enables its possessors to instruct, to counsel, to direct, to please, and to serve their fellow-men. Nothing of this can be done, without the cultivation and improvement of the mind.

It is the mind, which enables us to be useful, even with our bodily powers. What is strength without knowledge to apply it? What are the curiously organized hands, without skill, to direct

their motion? The idiot has all the bodily organs and senses of the most intelligent and useful citizen.

It is through mind, that man has obtained the mastery of nature and all its elements, and subjected the inferior races of animals to himself. Take an uninformed savage, a brutalized Hottentot, in short, any human being, in whom the divine spark of reason has never been kindled to a flame; and place him on the sea-shore, in a furious storm, when the waves are rolling in, as if the fountains of the deep were broken up. Did you not know, from certain experience, that man, by the cultivation of his mind, and the application of his useful arts, had actually constructed vessels, in which he floats securely on the top of these angry waves, you would not think it possible that a being, like that we have mentioned, could for one moment resist their fury. It is actually related of some of the North American Indians, a race of men, who are trained, from their infancy, to the total suppression of their emotions of every kind, and who endure the most excruciating torments, at the stake, without signs of suffering, that when they witnessed, for the first time, on the western waters of the United States, the spectacle of a steamboat under way, moving along without sails or oars, and spouting fire and smoke, even they could not refrain from exclamations of wonder. Hold out a handful of wheat, or Indian corn, to a person wholly uninformed of their nature, and ignorant of the mode of cultivating them, and tell him, that by scattering these dry kernels abroad, and burying them in the cold damp earth, you can cause a harvest to spring up, sufficient for a winter's supply of food, and he will think you are mocking him, by vain and extravagant tales. But it is not the less true, that in these, and in every other instance, it is the mind of man, possessed of the necessary knowledge and skill, that brings into useful operation, for the supply of human want, and the support and comfort of human life, the properties and treasures of the natural world, the aid of inferior animals, and even our own physical powers.

When, therefore, we improve our minds, by the acquisition of useful knowledge, we appropriate to ourselves, and extend to others, to whom we may impart our knowledge, a share of this natural control over all other things, which Providence has granted to his rational children.

« ПретходнаНастави »