150 Extracts from the Journals. [July, 



and unpolished, it Is undoubtedly genuine marble, and will repay 

 the labor devoted to it. Indeed, let the early history of distin- 

 guished men in our country, I mean our lawyers, our physicians, 

 our clergymen, and our politicians, and the leaders of our benevo- 

 lent enterprizes, be traced out, and I am greatly mistaken if you 

 do not find that a large majority have once followed the plow. 



Of the reflex influence of education upon agriculture I might 

 say much. It is this indeed, almost exclusively, that distinguishes 

 the farmer of New England from the serf of Russia; the one, 

 about as low in the scale of humanity as is possible; a servile 

 animal, with scarcely more of intellect than the ox or the horse; 

 the other, an intelligent freeman, with sagacity to know what his 

 rights are, and with the determination to maintain them; far more 

 independent than the European lord, who, with all his wealth and 

 his castles, is a slave to his menials. The American farmer has 

 enough property to supply all his reasonable wants, but not so 

 much as to make him miserable. He knows how to take care of 

 himself, and is not compelled, therefore, as most of the wealthy 

 are, to commit his happiness into the hands of mercenary hire- 

 lings, or unpaid slaves. And it is his education merely, that gives 

 him such a proud preeminence over so vast a majority of his fel- 

 low men. This alone teaches him what are his peculiar advan- 

 tages, and how best to improve them. 



SHIRKING OF LESSONS A SELF ROBBERY. 



[Extract from the report of Horace Mann, the secretary of the 

 Massachusetts Board of Education. It contains matter well 

 worthy the consideration of the younger part of our readers.] 



I fear that this slurring or shirking of the lesson, is sometimes 

 regarded in no other light than as a clog upon the progress of the 

 pupil ; or as an abatement from the success of the coming exami- 

 nation. The substance of the argument often used, as a warning 

 against this species of misconduct, is, that whoever leaves a les- 

 son of his course, unmastered, leaves an enemy in ambush behind 

 him; — an enemy who will, at some day, rise up to molest his 

 peace, and perhaps to defeat his most cherished hopes. But, 

 though this is a legitimate consideration, yet the subject has rela- 

 tions far more important. It is not so much the lesson which is 

 omitted, as the wrongful act which is committed. The knowledge 

 that is lost is an insignificant matter, compared with the trickish 

 habit that is gained. The avoidance of the lesson has deprived the 

 intellect of so much exercise, and therefore has prevented what- 

 ever of strength that exercise would have given; but the means 



