MR. Oliver's address. 33 



your time, your money cind your labor to no purpose ; — sup- 

 posing you to work for the remedy on the terms of " no cure, 

 no pay," — and despairing of all success, have recommended to 

 the Honorable gentleman, if he had no other means of living 

 than the yield of this hopeless farm, to sell it for the most he 

 could get, pack up his traps, and push for the West or for Cali- 

 fornia. 



I am aware that there are very many [most excellent farm- 

 ers, possessing great practical skill in their vocation, and so 

 producing most excellent results in their culture of their farms. 

 And were you to take issue with me, and to ask the question, 

 whether there have not been more successful farmers, without 

 education specially as such, — than there have been successful 

 farmers with education, it might be difficult for me to sustain 

 my argument by proving the latter to have been the case, 

 though perhaps a good point might be made by showing that 

 one cause for its not having prevailed is, that it is of compara- 

 tively recent date, that the subject of the education of the 

 farmer with distinct reference to his calling, has been specially 

 urged. Cicero has some remarks, which, with their reasoning 

 and with but slight change, I might adopt here — though 

 originally applied in another connection. — " I own" he says in 

 his oration for the Poet Archias, from which I have already 

 made quotation, — "I own, that there have been many men of 

 excellent talent and of pre-eminent virtue, who, without learn- 

 ing, and by the almost divine force of nature herself, have 

 been wise and eminent, — nay, farther, that nature without 

 learning, is of greater efficacy towards the attainment of glory 

 and virtue, than learning without nature. But then, I affirm, 

 that when to an excellent natural talent, the advantages of 

 learning are added, then there results from such union, some- 

 thing great and extraordinary." 



The appeal I have made thus far, has been urged more di- 

 rectly upon the farmer now actually engaged in his work, and 

 not in reference to the prospective farmer. For the right edu- 

 cation and culture of the latter, I shall have no fears, if I can 

 prevail upon the former to yield to my arguments and become, 

 as soon as may be, an educated man, self-educated, and they 

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