No. 7. 



Quincy*s Address. 



203 



minister, "and then we will pass into Asia; 

 wo will overrun her kingdoms, and then wc 

 will wage war upon Africa ; and when wc 

 have conquered all, we will sit down quiellj' 

 and enjoy ourselves." "And why," replied 

 his minister, "should wc not sit down and 

 enjoy ourselves without taking- all this trou- 

 ble ]" And why may not you, it may be said 

 to many an aspirant after wealth, enjoy in 

 reality all you seek, in your present condi- 

 tion "? 



"Give me neither poverty nor riches," 

 was the prayer of one of the sages of anti- 

 quity. And Lord Bacon, the wisest man of 

 modern times, says, "Seek not proud riches, 

 but rather such as thou maycst get justly, 

 use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave 

 contentedly." And can there be a truer de- 

 scription of a farmer's fortune] There is no 

 greater independence than that possessed by 

 a contented, fore-handed farmer. " Tell your 

 master," said a Roman general, to the am- 

 bassador of the king of Persia, who came to 

 bribe him with great wealth, and found him 

 washing the vegetables that were to consti- 

 tute his dinner with his own hands, "tell 

 your master that all the gold in Persia can 

 never bribe the man who can contentedly 

 live upon turnips." 



And the answer was as true in philosophy, 

 as it was elevated in patriotism. To be 

 happy, man must limit his desires. And 

 when he has sufficient for his needs, should 

 remember that the temptations and perplexi- 

 ties incident to overgrown wealth, more 

 than counterbalance its seeming advantages. 

 Health of body and competence of estate are 

 all the requisites for organic happiness that 

 the world can bestow. And to say that ag- 

 ricultural pursuits are eminently calculated 

 to insure these, is only to reiterate the lan- 

 guage of past ages, and to repeat the testi- 

 mony of our own. If you leave spch pur- 

 suits, the hazard increases as the profit aug- 

 ments. The amount of the premium is al- 

 ways proportioned to the greatness of the 

 risk. 



But health and the conveniences of life 

 are not all that a man requires to make him 

 happy. He desires to be useful, he wishes 

 to be esteemed. And what profession can 

 boast of a higher claim to utility than that 

 of the farmer'! The greater part of mankind 

 must be agriculturists, and on their charac- 

 ter the well-being of every state must de- 

 pend. Our free institutions are valued, but 

 how shall they be preserved 1 By the virtue 

 of the people. History gives no other an- 

 swer. No truth is more clearly emblazoned 

 on her pages, than that if a nation would be 

 free, her people must be intelligently virtu- 

 ous. And here the ajjricultural class be- 



comes of the first importance to the state. 

 The influence of a virtuous yeomanry on her 

 character, like that of the 'air on the indi- 

 vidual, is seen in the strength of those who 

 are unconscious of its presence. 



But they liave still a further power. If, 

 " when the righteous are in authority, the 

 people rejoice," they, who by their numbera 

 hold the gift of office, have an influence se- 

 cond to none in the republic. 



The political influence of the agricultural 

 class, is an important but a dangerous topic, 

 before an audience like the present, as par- 

 ticular applications may be made of general 

 observations. To prevent such a conse- 

 quence, I would illustrate my meaning by 

 reference to the oldest political disquisition 

 in existence, which is remarkable as showing 

 the similarity of political aspirants in all 

 ages; and which, as it was written two thou- 

 sand years before the discovery of this con- 

 tinent, can hardly be supposed to refer either 

 to the advocates of Texas or the tarifi^. 



It is more than three thousand years since 

 .lotham called to the men of Shechem, to 

 listen to a parable : " The trees of the forest 

 went out to choose a king over them : and 

 they said unto the olive tree, reign thou over 

 us." The answer shows who was meant 

 by the olive. "Should I leave my fatness 

 wherewith by me they honour God and man, 

 and go to be promoted over the trees?" It 

 was the answer of a religious and conscien- 

 tious man, who feared that public station 

 would not be favourable to the virtues which 

 were the objects of his life. 



" And the trees said to the fig tree, come 

 thou and reign over us; and the fig tree an- 

 swered, should I forsake my sweetness and 

 my good fruit, and go to be promoted over 

 the trees?" Could a better personification 

 have been found of a close, calculating man, 

 who looked out for the main chance, and took 

 special care of number one? It was his own 

 sweetness and good ti-uit that influenced his 

 decision. The emoluments of office, such a 

 one knew, were small and precarious; and 

 as for honours, he would not give a fig for 

 the whole of them. 



" Then said the trees to the vine, come 

 thou and reign over us." The vine was one 

 of your popular fellows, who can take hold 

 of anything to help himself up; who is al- 

 ways on tile fence, when nothing higher of- 

 fers, and who, too pliant to stand alone, will 

 run well if properly supported. But his vo- 

 cation was " to cheer the hearts of gods and 

 men," and as office-holding and popularity 

 did not agree very well together, he declined 

 the honour. 



"Then said all the trees to the bramble, 

 come thou and reign over us." There were 



