164 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



may be made effect ive to its beneficent purpose; Init, above all, noble 

 lor its destination — ' the increase and diffusion of knowledge among 

 men,' leaving it to the wisdom of Congress to devise and provide the 

 institution that should be most effective to this end. It ought to be an 

 institution a\ hose effects upon the country will make it a living monu- 

 ment to the honor of the illustrious donor in all time to come. Such 

 an institution, I conceive, maybe devised, of which, however, at pres- 

 ent there is no model either in this country or in Europe, giving such 

 a course of education and discipline as would give to the faculties of 

 the human mind an improvement and power far beyond what they 

 obtain by the ordinarj^ systems of education, and far beyond what they 

 afterwards attain in any of the professional pursuits. Such an insti- 

 tution, as to its principle, suggested itself to the sagacious and far-see- 

 ing mind of Bacon as one of the greatest importance. But while his 

 other suggestions have been followed out with such wonderful success 

 in extending the boundaries of physical science this has been over- 

 looked and neglected. One reason is that the other suggestions were 

 more elaborately explained b}'^ him; there, too, he not only pointed out 

 the path, but he led the way in it himself. Besides, those other sug- 

 gestions could be carried out by individual exertion and enterprise, 

 independently of the existing establishments of learning, or they could 

 be grafted on and made a part of those establishments. But this 

 required an original plan of education and a new foundation for its 

 execution, where the young mind would be trained by a course of 

 education and discipline that woidd unfold and perfect all his faculties; 

 where genius would plume his young wings and prepare himself to 

 take the noblest flights. The idea, however, was not entirely original 

 with Bacon, for it would be in effect but the revival of that system of 

 education and discipline which produced such wonderful improvement 

 and power of the human mind in Greece and Rome, and especially in 

 Greece. Its effects here, I am persuaded, would be many and glorious. 

 Of these I shall now indicate only one, but that one whose importance 

 all must admit. In its progress and ultimately it would give to our 

 country, I have no doubt, a national literature of a high and immortal 

 character. However mortifying to our national pride it is to say it, it 

 must be confessed that we have not a national literature of that charac- 

 ter; nor is it possible we ever should have, as it appears to me, on our 

 present systems of education. Not that our literature, such as it is, is 

 inferior to that of other nations produced at the present day. No; 

 mediocrity is the character of all literary works of the present day, go 

 where you will. It is so in England, it is so in France, the two most 

 literary nations of Europe. It is true learned men and great scholars 

 are everywhere to be found; indeed, they may be said to abound more 

 than ever; the whole world, too, has become a reading world; the 

 growth of the press is prodigious; but it is all ephemeral and evanes- 



