188 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
ought to be vindicated and encouraged by every one who has the welfare 
of agriculture at heart, until another shall be produced superior to it, 
which, assuredly, has not yet been done. 
[The entire work, of which the preceding is but an extract, _ may be 
found in the Farmer's Library, an agricultural periodical published by S. 
Fleet, New-York.] 
Young 1 Men’s Department. 
[For the Cultivator .] 
ADVANTAGES AND PLEASURES OF RURAL LIFE. 
“ O, friendly to the-best pursuits of man, 
Friendly to thought, to virtue, and to peace, 
Domestic life in rural pleasure passed!” 
How pleasant is a rural life! An unambitious man, who is content to 
live on small gains—who is not over desirous of wealth, or what the world 
calls honor, can find, in almost every thing in Nature, something to call 
forth his mind to reflection and contemplation, and to lead it up to the 
Great Source of all life and being, There is somethingin a natural scene,' 
—a landscape, a forest, a river, or lake, which awakens in the mind sen¬ 
sations of pleasure beyond any thing which is realized by the man who is 
continually confined to business in cities. Besides this, it is more favora¬ 
ble to the cultivation of virtue and moral feelings. A person living in the 
country is free from the temptations' to dissipation and voluptuousness, 
which present themselves at every corner of the streets of large cities. 
Young men, in particular, possess a strong natural desire for amusement 
and pleasure, and they are led by the many opportunities which present 
themselves, as well as the fashicnableness of it, to become Votaries of the 
theatre, the game house, and other vicious establishments. From such 
temptations youth in the country are in a great measure free. They can 
associate together without being lead into crime. They can walk through 
the verdant fields and enjoy the fragrance of the balmy air without being 
assailed by a profligate, who would gladly make them like himself. 
Another consideration which heightens the value of a country life is its 
healthfulness. The salubrity of the air which sweeps across a forest or 
cultivated field, fraught with fragrance of the.herbage, is the most pure of 
any; it revives the spirits and is most congenial to health. If I wished to 
enjoy rational and virtuous pleasure, such as Nature has designed we 
should enjoy, I should certainly choose a rural scene. There I could be 
comparatively free from disturbance by the midnight drunkard, and from 
the oaths of profanity, which we cannot fail to hear almost every time we 
walk the streets of our populous cities;—free from that obscenity which 
there too stalks abroad, and appears in enchanting characters in the bills of 
theatres and other public hand-bills; and free from the distressing curse 
which trouble the man of business there. Were there nothing in the 
quiet of a rural life more than its tendency to lead men. to a calm, con¬ 
templative, peaceful state of mind, it would appear that these were a suf¬ 
ficient inducement for adopting it. But such is the power of fashion 
over men, and such their love of splendour and greatness, that we find 
but few who are willing to give up to it. They appear to wish to keep 
their minds as far removed from themselves as possible; and to think that 
were they to be placed in a situation where they could not have access to 
their gay though .heartless companions—where their minds would be turn¬ 
ed in upon themselves, and they be ied to reflect-on their ways, would be 
a situation almost as miserable as they could conceive. They are continu¬ 
ally asking for something new—something to keep up the excitement, and 
expel all serious and sober thoughts from their minds. There is a vacui¬ 
ty in the minds of fashionable people without some such excitement which 
almost makes them sick of every thing around them, and even of life it¬ 
self. This arises principally from idleness;—from having nothing on. 
which to fix the energies of the mind. Despising all manual labor as mean 
and boorish, they would think it degrading to be employed in any kind of 
useful industry. In fact, “ to kill time ” is the great business of a large 
portion of community. The more successful they are in accomplishing 
this, the more honor they claim to themselves. With such a mind, it is 
not surprising that men should abhor the quiet, unaspiring humility of a 
rural life. That it is humiliating I allow; but this humility is one very 
important ingredient in human happiness. 
It has been very wisely said, that no applause is of any value unless we 
have with it our own approbation. The man. who amasses Wealth by 
means which his conscience tells him are wrong, may receive honor from 
the multitude. He will receive it. Riches do procure for the possessor 
a certain degree of respect from all classes. But will that honor advance 
in the least his own happiness? Will it support his mind in trouble like 
a consciousness of rectitude? I answer, no! Will it not rather, when 
he thinks of himself, make heavier the lashings of conscience? I believe 
a temptation to make money fast, and get immediately rich, is ruining 
thousands. Such is the desire lor wealth, that men.are tempted—strong¬ 
ly tempted, to use any means to acquire it, whatever may be their moral 
tendency. They engage in reckless speculations; lay out a piece of fo¬ 
rest land into village lots, and sell them at an incredible price—launch in¬ 
to business, and into debt without counting the cost, and are obliged so 
give up their effects to their creditors. And even if successful, there is, 
perhaps, greater danger. It has been always observed, that a fortune ve¬ 
ry quickly gained, generally ruins the possessor. There is something to 
enchanting—so fascinating in riches, that very few can receive the smiles 
of fortune with an uncorrupted heart. There is danger—great danger 
here where few anticipate it, or are prepared for it. The man who, by 
patient toil and industry, has acquired a competency, knows howto value 
and how to use it, but he who has gained a fortune as Jonah did his 
gourd, will in most cases be left like him to mourn its premature loss. 
But if successful—should he gain his utmost wishes, and realize his 
most sanguine hopes, how it elates his heart! how it lifts him above his 
former asspeiates! with what feelings of disdain does he look down upon 
those who are less adventurous than himself; who labor by small means 
to gain a comfortable, and an honorable competence! Having gained his 
fortune with so little trouble, and in so short time, there is danger of his 
running into excesses of all kinds, and thus ruin his health and corrupt 
his morals. It having cost him so little, he knows not how to appreciate 
its value ' He has but little sympathy for those who are in want, for he 
thinks with a little exertion they might easily take care of themselves. 
Besides, there is a proposition which I have never heard advanced. It 
is, that God has given to mankind a certain quantity of the necessaries and 
comforts of life to be used by, and are needful alike to all; and they who 
hoard up a greater quantity than is sufficient for their own use, deprive 
others of their legitimate share. This is supported by the fact, that in 
those countries where some are very extravagantly rich, many are equal¬ 
ly disproportionately poor. It is a principle in political economy, that all 
| idlers, including gpntlemen who live on their fortunes, and all fashionable 
people who do nothing, and,all non-producers, are supported at the ex¬ 
pense of the industrious. There is no difficulty in discerning the truth of 
this. It is so plain that no one can easily mistake it. This being fhe fact, 
are those free from crime who amass enormous wealth? I mean those 
who amass it for its own sake, and for personal aggrandisement, and not 
to use it for the benefit of their fellow-men, less labored than themselves. 
iThere is certainly something noble in the men who make money for the 
good of their species. I honor such men; I respect them; I consider 
them indeed the benefactors of mankind. But for any lower object, I 
consider it doubtful whether men are free from crime who heap up wealth 
more than they themselves need- Thus we see it is a positive duty, 
binding on every man of wealth, to do all the good with that wealth in 
his power. 
But my object was to examine the relative enjoyments of a rural and a 
city life. . The man who is once infected with the mania of money mak¬ 
ing, cannot easily be- persuaded-to give up his object for one so unpre¬ 
tending as a rural occupation presents. The idea of making thousands is too 
fascinating for him to be induced tnrelinquish it. But what isffiie object of 
life? Is it not the attainment of happiness, both for the present and fu¬ 
ture life? And is money the only or most sufficient means of procuring 
this happiness? If it is, then let every man devote his entire energies to 
acquire riches; but if not, how foolish is such a course! That it is, who 
will pretend? That it is not, is proved by the experience of, perhaps, eve¬ 
ry one who has gained a fortune, if he would frankly acknowledge it. No; 
“ a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he pos¬ 
sesses.” Happiness is not to be gained by any selfish means. 
In the occupation of' the husbandman there is very little to gratify a 
thirst for wealth, ease,.-or pleasure." The man who would adopt it, must 
expect toil; he must expect to work hard; but his labor is well compen¬ 
sated. He feels a satisfaction which money cannot give. This is no 
doubt the situation for which man is peculiarly adapted. He is fitted for 
labor; without it, life hangs as a dead weight upon him, and he feels 
weary of himself; by it he sustains his health, produces his subsistence, 
and enjoys- many pleasing emotions to which the idler is a stranger. 
Thus it is that the curse denounced on man, when he was expelled from 
Eden, is to prove a-real blessing. Nature presents to the mind many 
sources of rational enjoyment. Who can look over any part of our fair 
world; and behold the variety of its products, and how exactly they are 
adapted to the wants of animated existences, and to man, without feeling 
a glow of pleasure thrill his mind, and thankfulness arise from his heart to 
the Great Author of all this pleasing Variety of beauty and usefulness? 
Who can look up and behold in the twinkling points above him, suns and 
other systems of world, without being divested of any desire to appear 
great in the estimation of his fellows! There is not the smallest object— 
a leaf, a plant,, a flower or an insect, but will teach a lesson of wisdom to 
the.reflecting mind. P. 
Origin of Disease .—I will tell you honestly what I think is the cause 
of the complicated maladies of the human frame; it is their gormandizing, 
and stuffing, and stimulating these organs (these digestives) to excess, 
thereby producing nervous disorder and irritation. The state of their 
minds is another grand cause—fidgeting, discontenting yourself about that 
which can not be helped, passions of all kinds, malignant passions, and 
worldly cares pressing upon the mind, disturb the cerebral action, and do 
a great deal of harm— Abernethy. 
