OPENING ADDRESS, 



BY 



JOHN TYLER, 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND PATRON 

 OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE. 



I 



Gentlemen : I have felt myself highly flattered in having been called upon to 

 preside over this, the first general meeting of scientific men from all parts of the 

 Union which has ever been held at the seat of Government ; and I hail this assem- 

 blage, as opening a bright and auspicious vista, through which we can discover the 

 future coming up, to this same place, to lay upon the altar of science, its rich con- 

 tributions. Under the auspices of the National Institute, a brotherhood of men of 

 science is established, which constitutes them as one family, worshipping in the 

 same temple, and making their offerings at the same altar. The poet may bring 

 hither his wreath, made up of the bright creations of his fancy — the child of music, 

 his lute — i-the mathematician, his theDrem — the philosoper, his speculation — the 

 mechanic, his latest invention — the navigator, the productions of distant and 

 unknown lands — the honest farmer, his system of agriculture — the manufdcturer, 

 his beautiful fabrics — the astronomer, the navigator of the skies, his observations 

 on the heavenly bodies — and the patriotic statesman, his generous views, as to the 

 present and future fate of nations. What a noble monument may thus be raised 

 to science ; and how eagerly will those who are to come after us, read upon its 

 pure surface the names of those who have contributed to erect it. 



This auspicious commencement has arisen from the exertions of a few indivi. 

 duals, in the first instance, who conceived the plan of a National Institute, where 

 all contributions to art and science, might be collected and suitably arranged. It 

 seemed only necessary for them to develop fully their plan, in order to secure for it 

 the public favor. The concentration of means is quite as necessary in matters of 

 the arts and sciences, as in the world of capital and labor. It would be vain for a 

 single, unaided individual, by his mental and physical exertions, or his own private 

 means, to erect a rival monument to those which tower aloft, and mark to genera- 

 tions, as they succeed each other, the flight of time. It is only by a union of means 

 and the concentration of the strength of numbers that this can be done. So in the 

 world of science. The light of all the stars serves not to dispel the darkness. It 

 is only upon the rising of the glorious sun, that the shades of night are thoroughly 

 dispelled, and a cloudless flood of light breaks in upon the universe. The brightest 

 emanation of intellect may have its birlh in the wilderness, and be unseen. Tho 

 sweetest strain of the lyre may vibrate through the humble valo, and bo unheard 

 amid the strifes of man. Philosophy may conceive, and art may invent; but tho 

 conceptions of tho one, and the inventions of the other, may wholly be unknown 

 for the want of a means to convoy tho knowledge of their existence to mankind. 

 Hence, the groat importance of philosophical and scientific associations, whoaa 



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