OPENING ADDRESS, 
BY 
JOHN TYLER, 
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND PATRON 
OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE. 
Gentlemen : I have felt myself highly flattered in having been called upon to 
preside over this, the first general meeting of scientific men from all parts of the 
Union which has ever been held at the seat of Government; and I hail this assem¬ 
blage, as opening a bright and auspicious vista, through which we can discover the 
future coming up, to this same place, to lay upon the altar of science, its rich con¬ 
tributions. Under the auspices of the National Institute, a brotherhood of men of 
science is established, which constitutes them as one family, worshipping in the 
same temple, and making their offerings at the same altar. The poet may bring 
hither his wreath, made up of the bright creations of his fancy-—-the child of music, 
his lute—the mathematician, his theorem—the philosoper, his speculation—the 
mechanic, his latest invention—the navigator, the productions of distant and 
unknown lands—the honest farmer, his system of agriculture—the manufacturer, 
his beautiful fabrics—-the astronomer, the navigator of the skies, his observations 
on the heavenly bodies-—and the patriotic statesman, his generous views, as to the 
present and future fate of nations. What a noble monument may thus be raised 
to science; and how eagerly will those who are to come after us, read upon its 
pure surface the names of those who have contributed to erect it. 
This auspicious commencement has arisen from the exertions of a few indivi. 
duals, in the first instance, who conceived the plan of a National Institute, where 
all contributions to art and science, might be collected and suitably arranged. It 
seemed only necessary for them to develop fully their plan, in order to secure for it 
the public favor. The concentration of means is quite as necessary in matters of 
the arts and sciences, as in the world of capital and labor. It would be vain for a 
single, unaided individual, by his mental and physical exertions, or his own private 
means, to erect a rival monument to those which tower aloft, and mark to genera¬ 
tions, as they succeed each other, the flight of time. It is only by a union of means 
and the concentration of the strength of numbers that this can be done. So in the 
world of science. The light of all the stars serves not to dispel the darkness. It 
is only upon the rising of the glorious sun, that the shades of night are thoroughly 
dispelled, and a cloudless flood of light breaks in upon the universe. The brightest 
emanation of intellect may have its birth in the wilderness, and be unseen. The 
sweetest strain of the lyre may vibrate through the humble vale, and be unheard 
amid the strifes of man. Philosophy may conceive, and art may invent; but the 
conceptions of the one, and the inventions of the other, may wholly be unknown, 
for the want of a means to convey the knowledge of their existence to mankind. 
Hence, the great importance of philosophical and scientific associations, whose 
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