TWENTY-FOUKTU CONGRESS, 1835-37. 151 



perseverance of pursuit, proportioned to tlie means furnished 

 by the will of the founder, and to the greatness and sim- 

 plicity of his design as by himself declared, "the increase 

 and diffusion of knowledge among men," it is no extrava- 

 gance of anticipation to declare, that his name will be here- 

 after enrolled among the eminent benefactors of mankind. 



The attainment of knowledge, is the high and exclusive 

 attribute of man, among the numberless myriads of ani- 

 mated beings inhabitants of the terrestrial globe. On him 

 alone is bestowed, by the bounty of the Creator of the uni- 

 verse, the power and the capacity of acquiring knowledge. 

 Knowledge is the attribute of his nature, which at once 

 enables him to improve his condition upon earth, and to 

 prepare him for the enjoyment of a happier existence here- 

 after. It is by this attribute that man discovers his own 

 nature as the link between earth and heaven ; as the par- 

 taker of an immortal spirit; as created for a higher and 

 more durable end, than the countless tribes of beings which 

 people the earth, the ocean, and the air, alternately instinct 

 with life, and melting into vapour, or mouldering into dust. 



To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is, there- 

 fore, the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon man- 

 kind. It prolongs life itself, and enlarges the sphere of 

 existence. The earth was given to man for cultivation, to 

 the improvement of his own condition. Whoever increases 

 his knowledge, multiplies the uses to which he is enabled 

 to turn the gift of his Creator to his own benefit, and par- 

 takes in some degree of that goodness which is the highest 

 attribute of Omnipotence itself. 



If, then, the Smithsonian Institution, under the smile of 

 an approving Providence, and by the faithful and perma- 

 nent application of the mean.^ furnished by its founder, to 

 the purpose for which he has bestowed them, should prove 

 effective to their promotion ; if they should contribute es- 

 sentially to the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, 

 to Vv'hat higher or nobler object could this generous and 

 splendid donation have been devoted ? 



The liither of the testator, upon forming his alliance with 

 the heiress of the family of the Percys, assumed, by an act of 

 the British Parliament, that name, and under it became 

 Duke of IsTorthumberland. But, renowned as is the name 

 of Percy in the historical annals of England, resounding as 

 it does from the summit of the Cheviot hills, to the ears of 

 our children, in the ballad of Chevy Chase, with the classi- 

 cal commentary of Addison ; freshened and renovated in 

 our memory as it has recently been from the purest fountain 



