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istence. Their progress has every where kept pace 

 with that of the moral and social condition of mankind, 

 and their history marks, with unerring truth, the rise 

 and fall of nations. In tracing that history, it is grati- 

 fying to perceive that while literature and the arts con- 

 tribute so largely to improve and refine mankind, they 

 have flourished most in those countries where free in- 

 stitutions prevailed, and where liberty loved to dwell. 

 In other countries, a taste for literature and the fine 

 arts is confined to a favored few the aristocracy of 

 birth, of wealth, or of talent ; and there such a distri- 

 bution is natural and may be sufficient, because these 

 classes alone govern those countries, //ere, the people 

 reign all power is centred in them ; and if we would 

 have them not only maintain their ascendency, but use 

 their power discreetly, no expense or pains should be 

 spared to inspire them with a love of literature, and a 

 taste for the fine arts. To effect this, the effort must 

 be made here. It must originate at the seat of Govern- 

 ment, and spread from this place over the populous 

 plains and fertile valleys of the land. Could a greater 

 curse fall upon this country than that the sons of the 

 intelligent, and enlightened, and virtuous men who 

 achieved our independence and secured our freedom, 

 should become less intelligent, less enlightened, and less 

 virtuous than their sires ? That these valleys and plains, 

 instead of teeming with a race burning with the love 

 of freedom, and ever ready and able to vindicate their 

 rights, should be filled by a people supine and ignorant, 

 the fitting tools of demagogues and tyrants ? 



In a free country, literature may and will flourish by 

 the well directed efforts of individuals ; but the arts re- 

 quire the protecting hand of Government. They owe 



