﻿10 
  Clerida 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  

  

  to 
  call 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  extreme 
  indisposition 
  which 
  prevails 
  in 
  

   the 
  South 
  of 
  Europe 
  to 
  notice 
  any 
  thing 
  which 
  emanates 
  from 
  

   countries 
  less 
  favored 
  by 
  geographical 
  proximity 
  to 
  the 
  extinct 
  

   foci 
  of 
  civilizing 
  action. 
  The 
  anciently 
  intolerant 
  spirit 
  and 
  

   exclusive 
  pretensions 
  of 
  the 
  southern 
  nations 
  have 
  not 
  yielded 
  

   to 
  the 
  advancement 
  of 
  their 
  fco-mer 
  pupils 
  ; 
  but 
  gone 
  are 
  all 
  

   the 
  attributes 
  of 
  greatness, 
  of 
  which 
  these 
  were 
  the 
  fitting 
  

   companions 
  ; 
  the 
  really 
  superior 
  position 
  once 
  held 
  in 
  science 
  

   and 
  literature 
  has 
  been 
  abandoned 
  ; 
  and 
  even 
  where 
  industry 
  

   in 
  acquiring 
  and 
  zeal 
  in 
  diifusing 
  knowledge 
  are 
  combined 
  in 
  

   some 
  gifted 
  individual, 
  a 
  secret 
  spirit 
  of 
  economy,* 
  which 
  ill 
  

   contrasts 
  Avith 
  the 
  luxuriance 
  and 
  liberality 
  of 
  social 
  life 
  in 
  

   those 
  regions, 
  bars 
  the 
  library 
  doors 
  to 
  the 
  intellectual 
  produc- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  other 
  nations. 
  

  

  The 
  laborious 
  students 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  succeed 
  occasionally 
  

   in 
  awakening 
  a 
  slight 
  degree 
  of 
  interest 
  : 
  but 
  England 
  is 
  less 
  

   known 
  than 
  when 
  her 
  bivalve 
  treasures 
  were 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  

   greedy 
  expectation 
  in 
  the 
  palaces 
  of 
  Rome 
  ; 
  while 
  America, 
  of 
  

   dubious 
  existence, 
  indeed, 
  to 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  the 
  people, 
  is 
  con- 
  

   sidered 
  by 
  the 
  few 
  who 
  are 
  aware 
  of 
  her 
  existenccy 
  too 
  distant 
  

   and 
  too 
  uncivilized 
  to 
  have 
  produced 
  a 
  single 
  intellect 
  capable 
  

   of 
  advancing 
  any 
  department 
  of 
  knowledge 
  ! 
  

  

  These 
  views 
  have 
  been 
  still 
  more 
  impressed 
  on 
  my 
  mindy 
  

   by 
  perceiving 
  the 
  extreme 
  brevity 
  with 
  which 
  M. 
  Spinola 
  has 
  

  

  * 
  It 
  would 
  be, 
  to 
  say 
  the 
  least, 
  illiberal 
  to 
  accuse 
  the 
  cultivators 
  of 
  science 
  in 
  

   Southern 
  Europe 
  of 
  a 
  want 
  of 
  industry 
  and 
  perseverance 
  in 
  their 
  endeavors 
  to 
  pro- 
  

   cure 
  American 
  books. 
  Commerce 
  is 
  always 
  ri'ciproeal, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  quite 
  as 
  easy 
  for 
  

   Frenchmen 
  or 
  Italians 
  to 
  procure 
  books 
  from 
  this 
  country 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  for 
  Americans 
  tO' 
  

   procure 
  works 
  printed 
  in 
  France 
  or 
  Italy. 
  Considering- 
  the 
  rapidity 
  with 
  which 
  

   unknown 
  species 
  (too 
  likely, 
  in 
  most 
  cases, 
  to 
  remain 
  unknown) 
  are 
  named 
  and 
  

   diagnosed, 
  " 
  pour 
  prendre 
  date," 
  want 
  of 
  zeal 
  is 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  numbered 
  among 
  their 
  

   faults. 
  I 
  therefore 
  prefer 
  tracing 
  the 
  neglect 
  mentioned 
  in 
  the 
  text 
  to 
  national 
  

   characteristics, 
  which 
  will 
  find 
  their 
  remedy 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  improvements 
  which 
  ther 
  

   elow 
  course 
  of 
  time 
  may 
  bring 
  about. 
  

  

  