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TheVorld wa made so various thai the mind of desultory man, studious of change and pleased with novelty, might be indulged, CowpsV.
RALEIGH, N. C. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1838.
No.
WW
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kt&ii 3? 4 V PUBLISHED, WEEKLY. '- 1 i.-'-
' By Master X E ONI D AS' B.LEMAY.
v i:zt $150 per annum. i ..
Advertisements inserted at the. usual rates,"
LETTERS ON EDUCATION.
No. III. , y---.,,..
Mb. Editor Addison has beautifully ob
served in one of his, essays, that the constant
efforts of the human mind to arrive a perfec
tion, without being able to attain it, is a con
vincing propfof the immortality of the soul.
The same remark he has also applied with
equal judgment to our love of happiness. If
we cannot be perfectly happy, we certainly
find pleasure la the pursuit of happiness; and
if we cannot be perfect in knowledge,! we can
undoubtedly attain a great degree of perfect
ibility in acquiring it: and' this is what we
mean by education' - We consider the Su
preme Being tabe all-wise and omnipotent,
and as we naturally suppose our minds to re
semble his, so1 are weinduced consequently
to ascend as hTglHk&e s
mcnt as our" iTatare.4t'lation will en
able us'ib- do. Ndil tiJ6,cnd and bu
siness "of educoJtojafc' who would
excel in his- aiTi$!;HufiujUrih nature
and use'of hi&tbolsjdtheiif his
materials. He who wbjiiy "ltetpiexie
rate himself tmanmi 6ompTjMd him
self knowhis owlpqwers"andc!ties
and learn the qualitiesjand combinations of
the objectaround hlh is
placed in two things- it is necessary to know
our own constitution1, and to know the means
of improving -our powers and faculties.
Youth, in their studies; practice 'the latter
while they are acquiring the former. I
Education is tiieoretical and practical: the
oretical because it imparts the knowledge of
our nature, and the nature of those objects
.. which we perceive by our senses: practical,
because it loaches us to" use and improve our
powers; and the powers of other animated
beings of material substances. Theoretical
knowledge constitutes science art lis the
practical exercise of knowledge. Geography
is a science- drawing is an art. - i.
As the bodily and mental povera of child
hood gradually unfold into manhood, so must
the scholastic exercises of y outh lead; us by
degrees to the perfectibility of out nature
that is, to" the free and completeuse' of all
our corporal and men tal. faculties in a high
state1 ,o& progressive: improvement. jHence
the natural di vision arises of the education of
the fodfrtandthe ed ucatioirof the mind man
form the mind, it is necessary to cultivate the
faculties of perception, attention, memory
reason, an3 invention:, to rear toe body, we
most give4 it health, strength, actiyityy and
dexterity. tSana rhensjn torpwtsno'
In the. orcpass rif our knowledge three
subjects may be distinguished. , First, the
, thiogstherasetves; ifiextj the properties of
things;jnd v lastly; theirvrelationsif Thek
things subject to burlknowledgeare mlndc"
matter. We know Erectly only ene inind-
onr own; indirectly we ecorne acquainted
with the roirids of other men a6d with that
of the Suprerr.3 Being. t Whatever we-perceive
by our senses is matter or the proper
ties and .relations of matter. . These originate
ce vv nc is circle oi our Knowieage, ana on
them are founded the multiplicity of human
arts & sciences. shall not now delineate all
the varied branches and twigs of the arts and
sciences which sprout from these two solid
roots;, much less describe the beautiful and
variegated foliage which adorns its top with
verdant and many-colored tints.' O n the vast
field ; of rhuman enterprise each inquisitive
spirit will pursue its separate, chosen path;
education respects the great public roads on
ly which young and inexperienced traveller
must pursue at first ' To enable a child to
walk in the way in which he should go, his
steps must be guided from earl iest infancy.
Chi ben comincia, ha le meta dell opra."
The beginning is half the, work. ' The influ
ence of mothers and nurses on the first ideas
and notions of a child is almost unlimited,
and from it arise many of the greatest de
fects of youth'J The evils of temperament
and many other bad habits may be traced to
the same cause. The fretful impatience 6f
the nurse will often re-appear in the nursling,
and the mother's follies revive in thechild's
r dissipation. The selection of domestics to
have charge of children may be of little im
portance to the parent, but it is of vital inter
est to the child. The first passions aroused
are apt td be the predominant ones m after
life. Even Phrenologists acknowledge this
truth when they confess that habit may cor
rect the defects of nature or alter the effect of
temperament. The first lessons in litera
ture are likely to be the pattern for successive
ones. The practice of learning correctly1,
thoroughly, and understanding!! cannot be
acquired too early. The vast importance of
a good beginning is very strongly and aptlvj:
recommended in the prospectus of onr Uni
versity. ' " If parents desire that their sons
and wards shall attain to good scholarship1,
they must look well to the foundation on
which the superstructure is to be reared. If
this duty be neglected, let it be remembered,
that on them rests the responsibility." If
children form a taste for virtue and learning
in tbeir'early years, that taste wilUaccompa
ny them in the fall of age. Principiis o5,
sta, sero jnedicina paratur, ore is a trite
adage but a true one.
AN OLD FIELD TEACHER.
( To be continued.)
FOR THE MICBOCOS3I.
ON THE DISSOLUTION OF ALL THINGS.
Every thing of earth is dissoluble. "There
is nothing in the wide world, beneath the
throne of God, that is not subject to rauta-n
tioftto decay, i The " everlasting hills," as
thev are called, are snraduallv wastingr awav. -
ueiu cunaubiutju o uouy auu iumu. i u ju- f 5 ana niiin? up tne vauies ai ineir Dase. 1 tie
solid granite of the mountain wastes away
under the ravages of ,time. Where magnifi
ficent cities in one age obtrude their splen
dors upon the gaze o an astonished people
in the next, perhaps naught is seen but a wide
spread waste of ruins. We logk out upon
the world, and here and . there see the relics
of splendid empires -thtf jphlseled fragments
btjs-; proud :?col4mnsrtriuttnyarches'
remains of magnificent temples the ruins
'fof; ancient mausoleumsnd upon ? every
- fracrmcrit "of things' that were we see uiscrib
, ed by the hand, of time " passing away.' :
Supposewe; go ift fancy .and gaze- npon an-
cient Babylof4, irj,!! her strength and beau
ty. ; h Soe Ker':ty werinjf ; serial ' gardens her-
I 'grand and finished temples, surmounted with
spiral minarets and glittering cupalos. View
her massive walls and impregnable towerr,
and ask, can this city, which in the Book of
God is called the ".beauty of the Cbaldean'd
excellency! and " the glory of kingdoms,"
ask, can it ever be laid waste 'Hie projph-
et's eye, piercing the dizzy vista of interven
ing years, looked on until the present. He
saw it a pile of ruins, without an inhabitant;
except beasts ot prey and the most loathsome
of animals. Go, now, with the grave anti
quarian, and search for its site; and as you v. 1
stand at the lonesome '.hour f of mid night and
listen to the startling scream of thfc defrm
ed night prowling hyena, the savage yelj of ,1
the jackall,.orthe menacing roar of the Hoai
do younbt;feel that all things on eaith kre
dissoluble- hastening to decay! - Co in fan
cy and. contemplate the splendid remainstif
the proud Parthenon and Acropolis ofHth
ens; and as you gaze upon their tottering col- -
urns and upon the scattered fragments of her ', ,
ruined capitals and polished frieies telljme .'J '
if earthly grandeur is not evanescent i
Transport yourself in thought to the far-famed
Colliseum of Rome; and as you trace upon.
its pillars the ravages of time and hear ihe
winds wailine the direre of its denartfd o-ln..
ry, among itslofty, turrets and ruined battle
ments say if allt .things are not subject to
mutation.. Where are Alexandria, Echatana,
Persepolis, and hundred-gated Hiebes of eld-.""
en time! Balbec, of the 1 desert. and 'Jar.
thage, where! Past away and buried be-
Man himself hastens to decaf .lUSee theln.
fant of davs, rocked in th& cradle. nnrtuVp
and caressed by the doting- mother. Lfloja
again.' He is treading the slippery paths of
youthand again, and wc see him in all the"
vigor of manhood: but look again, and you ;
see Mm with whitened lock, furro wed cheek, :
palsied hand, and decripped step, treading 0
along upon the farthest brink of time-bend-
ing. over eternity. Gaze for a moment npon '
the loveliest object on earth, a young and
beautifuHeraalewith handsome mien aDd a
Lstep as buoyant asair; her cheek glows with
a mountain frephness," while vivacity and
sprightiiness sparkle in her eyeCan she "
-:.$Yer die!: Look and you see her blasted by
Vaflaictiofj--like the tender flower by autoiw
hal frosts. . The rosy hue has forsaken herrv'
cheek and is followed by the paltnes9dfi
death? her eye no longer burns with f the fire :.
of yoiith, but is covered with the film of
death.: She. is dead -carried to the tomb;'
Look .again: the withered , grass, waves
; mournfully over her slumbering form; au- V
tumnal leaves, sere and blasted, rustled own V
Htipph her grave, fit emblems ofj earthly beauV K -ty.
A1 flesh is as grass." Seeing then tJ
that all these things shall be dissolved.' what
manner of persons ought ye to be, in all koly - - -
. 1 1 1; , ; v
" OMEGA.
Nov. 1838.
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THE POWER OP MUSrC.
We have picked up, from soma, of the' ua-
pera, tne -louowing story;. taougn ; we -40 .not j-? .
know that it 1 troe. ; .At u .onifXli
8ulton Amurath, a very : -cruel' pHncvtof',cri '.Tr3 '
laid siege tolhe city tttkAX'jX
gave orders that 30,000 of the Petwathotskxyf v '
-r f - S - 4. i .
7
they bad submitted and laid down'thetr ir
aould be put to deatn. . "iv
Anions these anfortanate victims wif
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