too: the quiet, the contentment, the harmony, existing in the country are proofs of his ability and power, which speak to all at once, and at once gain the reward of our admiration. But I think we should not judge thus superficially. We must look deeper than this, if we wish to reach the truth. It is not the most evident merit that is always the most real and worthy. Quiet influences often do more than noisy ones. The deepest rivers always flow the most silently. And looking beneath the surface of the question now in hand, I seem to think that the Poet does more true and valuable service to the community than either the Soldier or the Statesman. I do not speak of the mere Rhymer, of course: I mean the real and great Poet-the earnest apostle of Truth and Beauty;-the man who, speaking to the divine part of humanity, lifts it above its mean and grovelling passions, and allies it permanently to what is pure and noble. The Poet's office is one of the highest that I know. It is to purify the heart,-to elevate the moral sense, to calm the perturbed spirit when agitated by its earthly trials,-to refresh the tired soul with draughts from the spring of Eternal Beauty. The Poet is a voice ever speaking to our immortal part, ever telling us that earth is not our final home. Were there no such voice to speak to us, our souls would become stupified and lost in the perplexing cares and sordid ambitions of the world: but as it is, the Poet continually reminds us of our great and lofty destiny, and so leads us more nobly to fulfil it. We have a threefold life; a physical life—a mental life, and a moral life;-of these the last only is immortal. The Warrior leads our physical partthe Statesman our mental part-and the Poet our immortal part. For this reason I hold that the Poet's is the highest mission of the three. FIFTH SPEAKER. Sir, With much that was admirable and eloquent in the speech of the gentleman who has just resumed his seat, I think there was also much that was visionary and unproved. The Poet should do all that our friend has described, but does he? I submit that this is yet unshown. Will the gentleman maintain that all great Poets have purified the world, elevated the moral sense, and kept chaste the human heart? Are there no licentious Poets? no sceptical Poets? no misanthropic Poets? What was Ovid? What was Shelley? What was Byron? Will our friend pretend to say that Ovid is an apostle of morality that Shelley is a teacher of holiness-that Byron is a promulgator of philanthropy? Sir, if the Poet's office is to teach what these men teach, I must say that I do not believe that it is very beneficial to mankind. It seems to me that at best the good which the Poet does is visionary. We do not see, we cannot trace, his influence; and how, then, can we say with certainty, that it is vast and good? I think we act much more wisely in bestowing our esteem upon men whose work is perceptible-such as the Warrior and the Philosopher or Statesman. We see what the Soldier does - we see what the Statesman does:-between them, therefore, our judgment must lie. I give my vote, without hesitation, to the Warrior. He may not perhaps mean the most good, but he does the most. He is the means of extending commerce and civilization-he is a hero and the creator of heroes he introduces order, discipline and regularity into the state-he is the fearless protector of his country's rights, and the patriotic architect of its renown. History seems to say to us that a country always flourishes most under military rule. Rome proves this:- Sparta proves this: our own country proves this. Rome was happiest when her legions were the most victorious; -Greece was greatest when Miltiades and Leonidas led its arms to victory;-and England was greatest when Cromwell's strong arm ruled its destinies. The Statesman's office is a great one, doubtless; but the Warrior's seems to me even greater. I, for my part, would cheerfully give up our Chathams for our Nelsons. For the Warrior, then, I give my ready vote. SIXTH SPEAKER.- Sir, I do not wonder that so many of the speakers have adopted the cause of the Warrior-for there is something very attractive in the character. Nay, at the first sight there is something even beautiful in it-very beautiful. To direct a mass of men to the accomplishment of one settled purpose,- to unite their various energies in a given direction, to fix one aim in a hundred thousand bosoms,-to lead that mass on to battle, and to win the victory in defiance of difficulty, danger, and death, — seems a great and noble achievement;—and in this simple aspect, it is so, undoubtedly. The fame, too,—the glorythe universal acclaim and distinction that await "the hero of a hundred fights; "—the trappings— the banners-the excitement-the thrilling battlemusic-the "pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war," all these conspire to attract us towards the military character, and to invest it with a high degree of dignity and excellence. But when, Sir, I come to look through these vestments of the Warrior, and see the man himself, to my sight there is not a more melancholy spectacle. I speak not now of the gallant soldier who fights to defend his home, his liberties, and all he holds most dear -no! honour be to him wherever he may be! I speak of the soldier by trade the soldier of enterprise and conquestthe soldier who fights for hire or plunder. I called him a melancholy sight; and so indeed he is. For what is he? Let us be plain a murderer: a wilful and deliberate murderer; before whose cool atrocity the secret slaughter of the frenzied assassin rises into virtue. He goes into the field of battle: - he deliberately plans the destruction of the fellow-creatures opposed to him:-brings the most powerful and terrible material agents of the earth to aid his horrid purpose; and is not satisfied till one or other perhaps both of the contending hosts are exterminated. I cannot conceive of murder more foul than this: and I appeal to all who hear me whether this is not the characteristic of the Warrior in general? Survey your list of heroes! Hannibal Hannibal Cæsar -William the Conqueror Cromwell - Bonaparte are not the very names synonymous with cruelty, rapine and murder? Oh, Heaven forbid that after this we should ever look upon the Warrior as a benefactor to his nation! To me he seems its curse its plague - its dishonour. I speak plainly, Sir, and emphatically-for I see that the brilliancy of the military character has misled many here, as it has misled millions in the world, and I wish, so far as my humble power will let me, to strip it of its false glitter, and expose it in its bare and ghastly deformity. Between the Poet and the Statesman I can scarcely judge;-and I shall wait before I decide. |