No. 199.] 375 



Enlightened mind is a prerequisite to exploring^ thought, and ex- 

 ploring thought is the instrument that penetrates the mysteries of na- 

 ture and brings forth her hidden treasures. 



Astounding discoveries in science, and revolutionizing novelties in 

 mechanism, have, must, and will follow in train to mental culture, 

 and where it pervades, they will abound. But the United States of 

 America is the acknowledged home of general intelligence ; the rich 

 and the poor alike may partake of its blessings. It is accessible to 

 all, diffused through all classes, and American mind is saturated with 

 it. Intelligence is a marked characteristic of our people, a distin- 

 guishing peculiarity of our laborers; and its general diffiision is a leading 

 and proud feature of our government. It is the aliment on which re- 

 publics must feed and live ; and without it they can neither be sus- 

 tained nor would be worth sustaining. 



As certain as the Republic of the United States will hold its on- 

 ward way through future years, so certain is it, that it will soon be 

 the grand laboratory of the world, and command the entire frontier 

 of the dominions of science. In short, the whole nation, by its sys- 

 tem of general education, is one grand school of tactical training, 

 preparing armies of adventurers for scientific explorations, and to finally 

 seize the most outward posts of discovery^ wrest them from all other 

 nations, and bear them triumphantly further and still further on 

 through ages to come. 



The feelings of ennobling independence, engendered by the influ 

 ence of our government, and possessed by every American citizen, 

 impart self-respect, give self-reliance and confidence, and call into 

 vigorous exercise all the noble and productive natural .powers of 

 mind. 



A general diffusion of education among all the people, without dis- 

 nction of rank or birth, co-operating with conscious freedom from 

 servitude, multiplies laborers in the field of scientific research, and 

 gives power, buoyancy, and elasticity of thought, whose flights infini- 

 ty alone can bound. 



